Princess needs to rethink how they handle food & drink orders on the medallion app

[CineGraphic]

One would think that if you are sitting near the burger grill and you order fries in the app that your order would come from there, but in reality, all orders are going to a single room service kitchen.

No matter where you are, or what you order, it all goes to this one kitchen with a limited number of servers on hand to make deliveries.

I feel sorry for the folks working and managing room service.

Can you imagine trying to fulfill 800 orders in one day with just a dozen people to make those deliveries?

So, as nice at it sounds to have snacks and drinks delivered wherever you are, consider walking to the nearest venue or ordering in person with a waiter or waitress, thus saving someone from schlepping your Coke the entire length of the ship.

[CruisinFinsUp]

Not surprised at this.  
 

Even the waiters walking around get drinks from one bar at one end of the pool deck, even if you are closer to another bar.  
 

We leave the phones in the safe and goto the bar / food to get what we want ourselves. Nice to chat with the crew and get exactly what we want.    
 

[Coffeeluvr05]

That seems efficient but yet not. Also, I can see how things would not be prepared the same as you would get directly from the venue. That would really bug me because when I like something, consistency is important! 

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

So, as nice at it sounds to have snacks and drinks delivered wherever you are, consider walking to the nearest venue or ordering in person with a waiter or waitress, thus saving someone from schlepping your Coke the entire length of the ship.

Some people just won't as much budge off their behinds to get things for themselves. They're on a cruise & want everything brought to them.

[victory2020]

I also don't like the fact that people are eating anywhere & everywhere, leaving dirty dishes behind.

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, CineGraphic said:

One would think that if you are sitting near the burger grill and you order fries in the app that your order would come from there, but in reality, all orders are going to a single room service kitchen.

No matter where you are, or what you order, it all goes to this one kitchen with a limited number of servers on hand to make deliveries.

I feel sorry for the folks working and managing room service.

Can you imagine trying to fulfill 800 orders in one day with just a dozen people to make those deliveries?

So, as nice at it sounds to have snacks and drinks delivered wherever you are, consider walking to the nearest venue or ordering in person with a waiter or waitress, thus saving someone from schlepping your Coke the entire length of the ship.

 

Noted, but when I was on the Regal last month, I got my three of my room service dinners delivered to the room in 10, 10, and 12 minutes.  The other dinner took longer (20 minutes), but that one had a steak involved.  As a comparison, when I ordered a burger at the grill, it took about 10 minutes for them to take my order, grill the burger, fry the fries, and hand it over.  No complaints about that at all, just FYI.

 

My opinion is that this was the BEST ROOM SERVICE SERVICE I'VE EVER HAD and they don't need to rethink ANYTHING except how to recreate this for anyone on any ship.  Your mileage may vary.

[pms4104]

Likely Princess will be forced to rethink the process once they have a sustainable pax complement ... perhaps they'll just hire a boatload of food and beverage runners or, god forbid, charge a nominal fee for their everything/anywhere/anytime service.

[dreaminofcruisin]

Then this is different than pre-covid for beverages. I only used the medallion twice to order drinks and I know that they came from 2 different bars. They were the closest bars to where I was. Maybe it's different now with less passengers?

[Margarita Jane]

We were on the Regal over New Years. We usually go to the bar and order in person, but used the app a few times. Twice we got a message indicating our location could not be determined….we were in the piazza the first time, and by the pool the second time. Not exactly remote locations….

[startedwithamouse]

We had nothing but a great experience when ordering through ocean now. If you are sitting next to the burger grill, why would you order fries through room service?  

[gardenbunny]

My imppression I was not a big fan for different reasons.  Just off Enchanted 1/9 and put this comment in my survey.  I wrote that I am concerned Princess will go too technology oriented and forget the personal relationships with crew that they are known for.  We have had enough social interaction deprivation during Covid.  I am ready for one on one and a smile and conversation with the crew.

We sat on pool deck almost the entire day everyday.  We would get our own food, either from Lido, burger grill or pizza.  But we would order diet cokes when we could flag down a crew member.  I can remember before Covid crew was always walking around asking if they could bring you anything.  It seemed on this cruise they were too busy delivering! (Similar experience in the mornings for drinks in Lido).  They would eventually stop and most times their device could not read our Medallions so we had to give cabin number.  They would hit a lot of buttons and leave.  Quite a bit later a different person would deliver.  Or if it never came, a crew supervisor would stop to ask if we got it.

Just seems very awkward.  I eventually usually brought my own with me and would get a refill if someone at our table stopped someone.  

I also think DMW and no longer a Maitr’d is taking away the personal.

I don’t cruise to have an everyday drive-thru or door dash experience.

Just saying……

[MissP22]

13 hours ago, victory2020 said:

I also don't like the fact that people are eating anywhere & everywhere, leaving dirty dishes behind.

If I recall correctly there was one cruise line a few years ago that tried to limit where people could bring their food from the buffet.

That idea didn't last to long at all.

[Roberto256]

16 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

I feel sorry for the folks working and managing room service.

Can you imagine trying to fulfill 800 orders in one day with just a dozen people to make those deliveries?

 

 

My observation on princess has been ... if one area gets busy, they move people to that area (if possible).

 

For instance, there was a waitress in the lido in the early evening wearing crown grill uniform.

She said that there were not many reservations that night, so they sent people from crown grilll to help out in the lido.

 

In St. Thomas, with a quick afternoon shower, the atrium / international cafe was crowded with people

rushing back onboard.  They sent people from the lido to help out.

 

Same on last morning ... if there are a lot of room service orders, there are more people assigned there.

 

Now could a business do optimizations where a medallion app order is filled from the nearest location

... or perhaps the location that is the least busy and could deliver sooner ?   Sure.

 

Could Princess / Accenture do it with the medallion app?

 

Better bring some snacks from home.

 

 

[disneyochem]

My experience and use of food being delivered is a little bit different than most.  I have celiac so need to have gluten free food.  When I order from the Medallion, my dietary needs are addressed.  I’ve ordered food via the Medallion numerous times and have been contacted by room service if they can’t accommodate my request or have any questions about my order. I can have a gf sandwich with a salad while my hubby is eating his hot dog and fries while sitting by the pool. 
 

My dirty dishes are bused along with my hubby’s so not much more of a mess.  I take the stairs up to the Lido deck so am getting up off my bottom to get food.  With the current low ratios of staff/passengers, we’ve found that we’ve been able to engage staff more in conversation than ever before.  YMMV.

 

[Daniel A]

Is your first drink ordered through the app still comp'd or was that just during the initial rollout pre-pandemic?

[Daniel A]

 Well..... I guess @voljeep just answered that question!!! 😄 

[Coral]

I have a love/hate relationship with the medallion. Previously I would always go to the bar and get my own drinks and never had ordered from someone walking around - so I have nothing to compare this to.

 

I found a pretty quiet place to read on the Grand with no bars nearby (some previous bars that used to be staffed were not staffed on our sailing). I decided to give the app a chance and I was surprised that my drink was quickly delivered to me. I was thrilled they found me.

 

I couldn't sleep one night and ordered room service from the app - the person from Alfredos delivered it to me. This would have been after Alfredos closed - I didn't realize she also did this.

 

Both of these experiences were very positive when I wasn't sure what to expect.

Edited January 17, 2022 by Coral

[MissP22]

21 minutes ago, Coral said:

I have a love/hate relationship with the medallion. Previously I would always go to the bar and get my own drinks and never had ordered from someone walking around - so I have nothing to compare this to.

We have always gone to get our own drinks also, especially when we ordered from bartenders we know. We always get a better drink when they know who it for. 😉

[MsSoCalCruiser]

4 hours ago, disneyochem said:

My experience and use of food being delivered is a little bit different than most.  I have celiac so need to have gluten free food.  When I order from the Medallion, my dietary needs are addressed.  I’ve ordered food via the Medallion numerous times and have been contacted by room service if they can’t accommodate my request or have any questions about my order. I can have a gf sandwich with a salad while my hubby is eating his hot dog and fries while sitting by the pool. 
 

 

How did you know that they were delivering GF to you? I am dairy free and I’m trying to figure out how to order a sandwich using the medallion app without cheese. I do let them know ahead of time that I have a dairy allergy.  I ordered the breakfast sandwich one time and mine arrived with cheese.  I would love to get this figured out before my next cruise.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

21 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

One would think that if you are sitting near the burger grill and you order fries in the app that your order would come from there, but in reality, all orders are going to a single room service kitchen.

No matter where you are, or what you order, it all goes to this one kitchen with a limited number of servers on hand to make deliveries.

I feel sorry for the folks working and managing room service.

Can you imagine trying to fulfill 800 orders in one day with just a dozen people to make those deliveries?

So, as nice at it sounds to have snacks and drinks delivered wherever you are, consider walking to the nearest venue or ordering in person with a waiter or waitress, thus saving someone from schlepping your Coke the entire length of the ship.

If we get our own drinks and snacks will Princess ever figure out how it really should be done?  They need to figure out that the orders should be filled at the nearest location, correct?  Just a thought.

[Jadn13]

I’m at the point now that my “drink of choice” is being made when they see me walking to the bar. (i don’t drink that much but this ship is quiet in certain areas)  An App can’t give that service 😆

[Coral]

13 minutes ago, Jadn13 said:

I’m at the point now that my “drink of choice” is being made when they see me walking to the bar. (i don’t drink that much but this ship is quiet in certain areas)  An App can’t give that service 😆

I have to say I had that experience also in One5. The moment they saw me, they brought me my drink of choice. 

[CineGraphic]

1 hour ago, Jadn13 said:

 An App can’t give that service 😆

 

Truer words were never spoken.

[pedirn]

6 hours ago, disneyochem said:

My experience and use of food being delivered is a little bit different than most.  I have celiac so need to have gluten free food.  When I order from the Medallion, my dietary needs are addressed.  I’ve ordered food via the Medallion numerous times and have been contacted by room service if they can’t accommodate my request or have any questions about my order. I can have a gf sandwich with a salad while my hubby is eating his hot dog and fries while sitting by the pool. 
 

My dirty dishes are bused along with my hubby’s so not much more of a mess.  I take the stairs up to the Lido deck so am getting up off my bottom to get food.  With the current low ratios of staff/passengers, we’ve found that we’ve been able to engage staff more in conversation than ever before.  YMMV.

 

I am so glad to see you mention this.   In the past when ordering room service sandwiches etc, I would just request on gluten free bread.  Do they just automatically bring GF bread since your allergy is in your profile?   Or is there a box to check for bread type when ordering?    Did you also have any issues ordering drinks?   I love vodka gimlets but need Titos (or some other GF vodka).   Is there a way to specify type of vodka when ordering a drink?   From what I have seen from menus posted Princess makes gin gimlets so ordering just a gimlet wouldn’t work.  Usually security just laughs when they see me coming…I am the one boarding with my own GF rolls, cookies etc.

[luv2cruise99]

On 1/16/2022 at 12:00 PM, CineGraphic said:

So, as nice at it sounds to have snacks and drinks delivered wherever you are, consider walking to the nearest venue or ordering in person with a waiter or waitress, thus saving someone from schlepping your Coke the entire length of the ship.

I just got off of the Ruby yesterday and the Grand 2 weeks ago, so I can attest to the fact that on at least those 2 ships, drinks are delivered from the nearest bar.  I would often order food and a drink (Coke or Chocolate Banana) at the same time.  The drink would usually be delivered in under a minute by the server who was working in that area, with the food being delivered 15 to 30 minutes later by a different server.  Once I ordered one drink, the same server who brought me the first one would come back often to see if I wanted another.