Requests for Concierge Stateroom steward

[energyequalscake]

Hi all I've searched a bit on the forum and have found partial answers but would like to confirm with folks who've sailed recently.

 

I'm sailing on the Reflection in concierge class. I have celiacs disease, and wondering if I can request ahead of time for the in-room canapes on embarkation day to be replaced with a gluten free option? If not that's fine, my husband will eat them so they won't go to waste. I assume I'll be able to ask the room steward for a gluten-free option to replace subsequent afternoon canapes?

 

Semi-related, is it possible to ask ahead of time for the minibar to be emptied or does that have to be a day-of request?

[Alakegirl]

As i remember, there aren’t any canapes on embarkation day.

 

 

[energyequalscake]

Gotcha, so probably a bit of a moot point then!

[srdancer]

We got them on embarcation day without asking. We canceled them for rest of cruise. Already too much food!!

[cruisestitch]

I wouldn’t get overly excited about the canapés.  They can be just plain weird.  Take a look at these as an example.  They came with no utensils.  Not even toothpicks for the fruit.  How are you supposed to eat the hummus?  

 

You will be better off grazing through the buffet and making up your own selections of meats, olives, cheese and fruits and bringing a plate back to your stateroom if you like pre-dinner snacks

[Luvcrusn]

You can ask the room steward to exchange the normal canapes for a fruit or cheese plate when you first meet them on embarkation day. We've done it without issue. As far as the mini bar goes, ask your steward to empty the mini bar when you first meet him/her on board.

[jelayne]

Keep in mind that many guests request the mini bar to be emptied & embarkation days is a busy one for the cabin attendants; we ask that it be emptied but offer that it doesn’t have to be done that evening.  Most times it is but occasionally it is emptied the next morning.  

[rugerdog]

I think I must be the only one that likes the in room canapes.  It is always fun to see what kind of things they bring every day.  Just a little nibble, nothing "necessary" of course, but I enjoy them.

[1025cruise]

I think we've only enjoyed the canapes once. They really aren't anything to get too excited about.

[EatonDoolittle]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

Keep in mind that many guests request the mini bar to be emptied 

 

Why in the world would one bother the steward with this simple task? Maybe it is difficult for some to bend down and remove the items? 

 

I simply toss an empty  grocery bag in my suitcase and empty the minibar into it myself.  

Let the steward know where it is stashed (usually in the closet somewhere) and I don't get charged.

I put it back on the last night, takes all of 90 seconds out of my vacation time.  

What am I missing here?  

Edited October 18, 2019 by EatonDoolittle

[DebInAntigua]

35 minutes ago, EatonDoolittle said:

 

Why in the world would one bother the steward with this simple task? Maybe it is difficult for some to bend down and remove the items?

 

So that the steward can audit and confirm that all of the items are there when it's emptied (and they are responsible for putting them back).

[Fouremco]

41 minutes ago, EatonDoolittle said:

Why in the world would one bother the steward with this simple task?

So is making my bed in the morning or turning it down at night, but these and a number of other simple tasks are the domain of the steward.

[fleckle]

12 hours ago, EatonDoolittle said:

 

Why in the world would one bother the steward with this simple task? Maybe it is difficult for some to bend down and remove the items? 

 

I simply toss an empty  grocery bag in my suitcase and empty the minibar into it myself.  

Let the steward know where it is stashed (usually in the closet somewhere) and I don't get charged.

I put it back on the last night, takes all of 90 seconds out of my vacation time.  

What am I missing here?  

 

Apparently you have been very lucky so far in not incurring any charges for missing minibar items.  Many other Celebrity passengers have not been so fortunate.

 

We ask our stateroom attendant to remove everything from the minibar at the beginning of the cruise and would never empty it ourselves simply because we don't want to be responsible for the minibar inventory,  whatever may be in there or whatever may be missing.

 

If there is a discrepancy in billing at the end of the cruise, we can honestly attest that we never removed any items from the minibar.

  

  

[PelicanLvr]

In our experience when the mini-bar is emptied, the contents are placed in a container and put under the bed.  We were told no place else to store it.  Never been an issue.

[Katyoparty]

We just sailed in concierge on Solstice and received canapés on embarkation day--not fans of them so told our steward not to bring any more. Also requested the mini bar be emptied and he did it while we were at the muster drill and took it somewhere. It wasn't under our bed or in the cabin.

[jerryd1]

On 10/18/2019 at 10:09 AM, cruisestitch said:

I wouldn’t get overly excited about the canapés.  They can be just plain weird.  Take a look at these as an example.  They came with no utensils.  Not even toothpicks for the fruit.  How are you supposed to eat the hummus?  

 How about a glob of what we can best describe as potato salad?      Just got off 15 days on the Eclipse and asked the same question of the Concierge Rep.    She said that she would have utensils delivered to our cabin with the canapes.   The next day we received a couple of forks with the weird plate of canapes.   But that was it....I guess they expected us to wash them ourselves and reuse them day after day.    Unfortunately, what they are serving is weird and not worth eating anyway.

 

Also, seem to recall a plate of fruit in our Concierge cabin.....not any more.   They used to put an upgraded Celebrity bag in each Concierge cabin....not any more, just the cheap blue bag.      The food in the MDR and in the buffet just wasn't quite as good as it had been on previous X cruises.     Seafood seemed to be particularly sparse in plates such as shrimp scampi or seafood piella.

 

Starting to rethink future cruise plans with the ongoing changes and cutbacks. 

[upwarduk]

On 10/19/2019 at 8:22 AM, fleckle said:

We ask our stateroom attendant to remove everything from the minibar at the beginning of the cruise and would never empty it ourselves simply because we don't want to be responsible for the minibar inventory,  whatever may be in there or whatever may be missing.

Much better arrangements on our recent Royal Explorer of the Seas cruise, the mini bar was empty on embarkation day, enabling us to put our 2 bottles of wine in immediately.

[gold1953]

Just off a 15 night TA and we decided to go with the canapes and a fork came with them each day. We ate about half of the offerings. Also we noticed that they were the same as the evening appetizers in Sky lounge.. ( the cold ones)

[hcat]

We wont be eligible fir the canapes...booked a Sunset Veranda on EDGE.  We will pick up some goodies at the buffet and or call room service for fruit and cheese.  Bringing our own crackers.. Wont really miss the canapes!

[dkjretired]

On 10/18/2019 at 3:07 PM, DebInAntigua said:

 

So that the steward can audit and confirm that all of the items are there when it's emptied (and they are responsible for putting them back).

 

And also to get an alternative since the Steward is the one who brings them.   

[drakes2]

On 10/18/2019 at 1:46 PM, rugerdog said:

I think I must be the only one that likes the in room canapes.  It is always fun to see what kind of things they bring every day.  Just a little nibble, nothing "necessary" of course, but I enjoy them.

My friend and I actually enjoyed them. Some days not so great but better other days. We did get cheese crackers and strawberries a couple of times. They are pretty good at accommodating.

Edited November 12, 2019 by drakes2
Words

[Cruiseoholic000]

I will be staying in my first concierge cabin. A bottle of champagne should be in our cabin on embarkation?  That is the only bottle you receive correct?  I am not a big drinker and champagne is not my favorite.  Can we swap it out for a red or white wine?

[Luvcrusn]

6 minutes ago, Cruiseoholic000 said:

I will be staying in my first concierge cabin. A bottle of champagne should be in our cabin on embarkation?  That is the only bottle you receive correct?  I am not a big drinker and champagne is not my favorite.  Can we swap it out for a red or white wine?

It may be waiting chilled in your room or the steward may wait for you to request it on the day of your choice. I've seen both. Yes, you can swap it out. We usually do. We take it to the dining venue and ask for a bottle of Prosecco or red or white wine and have never had any problems.

[Mark_T]

10 minutes ago, Cruiseoholic000 said:

I will be staying in my first concierge cabin. A bottle of champagne should be in our cabin on embarkation?  That is the only bottle you receive correct?  I am not a big drinker and champagne is not my favorite.  Can we swap it out for a red or white wine?

 

There seems some inconsistency between ships as to whether it will be in your cabin upon arrival, or if you have to request it, but one thing that is consistent is that it will not be champagne... sparking white is as good as it gets...

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

On my last cruise in September the canapes came with some sort of metal top which could absolutely not be removed!  When the steward came to pick it up, he tried and also could not remove it.  I just said that he should skip them in the future.  The fact that they come without silverware is pretty funny.