Is free continental breakfast from room service truly back?

[PaperSniper4]

4 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Onboard NCL recently (April 2023) - based on the newest accounting rules for posting charges - 

morning continental breakfast is free (that included the "free" hot items like eggs & choice of sides") and of course, coffee & juice, etc.   It WAS (is) subject to a $4.95 delivery charge or fee, plus 20% - hence, it showed up as a Room Service amount of $5.94.  

 

If other items from the Room Service Menu is ordered during the day/evening/late night, etc. - the delivery charge is $9.95 plus 20% (disclosed in the "fine prints" at the bottom of that slip - fonts, 2 points sized ... really impossible to read)   All these are true, whether you are ordering just a pot of coffee or a big order to feed 3 or 4 in your cabin, maybe for 5 or even 6 ... NCL doesn't really care on the quantity.  

 

 

Well, that's good enough for me, sounds like no more coffee and croissants brought by the staff gratis for us to enjoy on the balcony.  Sigh. I won't pay at least $6 USD for that; and that's assuming that "delivery fee" is for both of us. I'm just too Scottish for that. Many of the things that "used to be" don't bother me, but this one really does. I guess I'm getting lazy<er> in my old age. <g> So, back to my old routine of hiking up to the lido deck with our insulated cups and my cargo shorts with its large pockets! At least I know they coffee will be hot and the croissants will be warm.....the latter due to body heat only no doubt. 😉 Plus then I can say I exercised that day!

 

Thanks for all the replies. I'll have to read the FAQ link and the posts above again and see what is the "enhanced room service menu". We rarely eat breakfast anyway, so the enhanced does us no good, but I realize that to some this might be a great deal. When we do have a breakfast, we walk up to the lido deck usually.

 

We also plan to cruise on RCI out of NOLA, alternating between RCI and NCL depending on the itinerary and the price. I hope RCI hasn't decided to do as NCL with their breakfast room service. Gotta check that out.......

 

 

 Doug

[omahabob]

5 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

...Further, disclosing their salary is irrelevant to the discussion....

It is also incorrect. They get paid very well. Just look at the job listings. I've considered doing it myself.

[omahabob]

5 hours ago, vacation44 said:

If I order those delicious chocolate croissants and a pot of coffee in the morning and then charged $5.94, I do not consider it free...

Yeah, it cracks me up when people say "It's free if you're in the Haven." Free? Have you seen the prices for Haven cabins? That ain't free, dude.

Edited June 21, 2023 by omahabob

[Pepper the Pug]

It says coffee, continental breakfast and orders for guests in haven do not receive a service charge. 

[mking8288]

5 hours ago, vacation44 said:

... I do not consider it free.   

 

   🙄 😁 😉 - neither do I / we ... we only ordered it on a sea day when all 3 of us got lazy, didn't feel like getting ready and out of the cabin to stand in line to get seated in the MDR.  Once was enough b/c I wanted to see - we ordered plentiful to make get our money's worth, also knowing that direct cash tip will be directly in the hand of the crew making the delivery, not to line indirectly Frankie and/or Harry's compensation package.  Hey, at least they lowered the "charge" or "fee" for the 3 hot breakfast menu items.  That's "better" than paying $3.25 & change plus 20% for a highball glass worth of fountain soda filled with ice, something that we used to get over dinner as - unlike others - we don't go for the beverage or soda packages, etc.  

 

I suspect and purely speculating on my part, by adding this $4.95 charge, NCL truly discouraging others from ordering the continental breakfast and hence, free up at least a handful of crew members assigned to assemble & do the morning deliveries - it is, not, for our convenience, rather as another cost-cutting measure to reduce staffing level.  

 

[omahabob]

And this says it isn't free.

 

 

They pay for it, just in a different way. Hey, I'm guilty of saying the same thing sometimes. It just cracks me up when I think about it.

Edited June 21, 2023 by omahabob

[JennKach]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I have no issue with the breakfast delivery fee. It is well worth it to me especially on early excursion days or the last day to not waste time going upstairs, and it's a back up wake up call.  We get the full hot breakfast though so it's more than just coffee and croissants.  I think we ordered twice on the last 7 day cruise and 4 times on the 11 day.  I especially enjoyed breakfast on the balcony in my bathrobe going through the Panama Canal at 6:30am.  They do honor write in requests sometimes so I add a couple orders of crispy bacon.  

[tjc78]

$5.00 to deliver a tray of breakfast to the cabin is worth it to me… better than carrying a tray back from the buffet  

[bkrickles1]

On 6/21/2023 at 8:15 PM, JennKach said:

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I have no issue with the breakfast delivery fee. It is well worth it to me especially on early excursion days or the last day to not waste time going upstairs, and it's a back up wake up call.  We get the full hot breakfast though so it's more than just coffee and croissants.  I think we ordered twice on the last 7 day cruise and 4 times on the 11 day.  I especially enjoyed breakfast on the balcony in my bathrobe going through the Panama Canal at 6:30am.  They do honor write in requests sometimes so I add a couple orders of crispy bacon.  

The write in request is a great idea!

We're sailing Joy in 30 days and we plan on, at least, 1 day of ordering breakfast to our cabin and ordering some extra bacon sounds good to me.

As you said, they might not accommodate us, but they might. Lmao!!

[nferr]

On 6/21/2023 at 1:51 PM, vacation44 said:

If I order those delicious chocolate croissants and a pot of coffee in the morning and then charged $5.94, I do not consider it free.   Free is free where the end result is no charge.   I do not care what the $5.94 entails or what they call it, it is no longer free.   Just my opinion.  Will add that we always do tip room delivery of food--no matter if we are in a Haven cabin, a non-Haven suite or a club balcony suite.  

What's the difference? You want breakfast delivered it's $5.94. You don't want to pay it don't order it.  It is what it is. For two people ordering a full delivered breakfast it's three bucks apiece.

[vacation44]

1 hour ago, nferr said:

What's the difference? You want breakfast delivered it's $5.94. You don't want to pay it don't order it.  It is what it is. For two people ordering a full delivered breakfast it's three bucks apiece.

I think my point was missed by many.  I was pointing out that it was not "free" as a few others were noting that it is still free with a service charge then added.   To me, that is not free.  

[omahabob]

Well, if you really want to get technical, the breakfast is free, but the service isn't.

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, vacation44 said:

I think my point was missed by many.  I was pointing out that it was not "free" as a few others were noting that it is still free with a service charge then added.   To me, that is not free.  

The food is free. The delivery is not. The last time, we got a cart stacked high with dishes for breakfast. Wanted to get out money’s worth. 

[vacation44]

Just now, BirdTravels said:

The food is free. The delivery is not. The last time, we got a cart stacked high with dishes for breakfast. Wanted to get out money’s worth. 

Again, then it is not "free" by MY definition of free.  But thank you for adding your two cents in.

[UKstages]

21 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

then it is not "free" by MY definition of free. 

 

if you go to a hotel and order a $20 hamburger from room service, they will tack on a 20% gratuity and a delivery fee of $6.00. there will be a $30 charge on your bill.

 

but the price of the hamburger is still only $20.

 

room service breakfast is free on NCL.

 

there is, however, a service charge for delivery of $4.95+.

 

you would prefer, for some reason, to look at the delivery fee as the "price" of the breakfast. and that's fine, if you choose to do that. but the breakfast is still free. you're paying for delivery. as you know, if you want, you can get get every one of the breakfast selections at the MDR or buffet. the same items are free there, too. and there is no fee when you pick it up yourself. 

 

you don't really have your own definition of the word "free."  you have your own definition of the word "fee." and i don't think "fee" means what you think it means.

 

 

[vacation44]

17 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

if you go to a hotel and order a $20 hamburger from room service, they will tack on a 20% gratuity and a delivery fee of $6.00. there will be a $30 charge on your bill.

 

but the price of the hamburger is still only $20.

 

room service breakfast is free on NCL.

 

there is, however, a service charge for delivery of $4.95+.

 

you would prefer, for some reason, to look at the delivery fee as the "price" of the breakfast. and that's fine, if you choose to do that. but the breakfast is still free. you're paying for delivery. as you know, if you want, you can get get every one of the breakfast selections at the MDR or buffet. the same items are free there, too. and there is no fee when you pick it up yourself. 

 

you don't really have your own definition of the word "free."  you have your own definition of the word "fee." and i don't think "fee" means what you think it means.

 

 

I am well aware of the definition of free and fee.   But thank you for adding your two cents in.

[omahabob]

Semantics. Not really worth the trouble, folks

[UKstages]

5 hours ago, vacation44 said:

But thank you for adding your two cents in.

you are most welcome.

 

in what?

[Mistizoom]

On 6/21/2023 at 8:51 AM, mitchtech said:

So as I read it, morning coffee and continental  breakfast even if you're  not in haven are free. If you order hot foods then it's a charge. Am I reading this wrong. Has anyone ordered just coffee and gotten a 4.95 charge?

That is what the website says, but the website is wrong/outdated. The words, "Morning coffee, continental breakfast and" need to be deleted.

Edited June 24, 2023 by Mistizoom

[LloydJr]

On 6/21/2023 at 8:19 AM, omahabob said:

I've learned to use both.

 

By the way, I've never had a PCC assigned. I'd love to have the last lady that booked me, but I never got her name or extension number. She was very knowledgeable, and had cruised many times.

Check your booking invoice.  I have one that I made with an NCL agent over the phone and her name appears in the upper left hand corner under my address.

[omahabob]

Not on mine.

[alwalaska]

21 hours ago, Mistizoom said:

That is what the website says, but the website is wrong/outdated. The words, "Morning coffee, continental breakfast and" need to be deleted.

Yeah - I told the person I talked to about that, but... they don't care if they have incorrect info.  There are still FAQ entries about 2016 and 2017 out there. It is really frustrating for people like me who like to research and know what is going to happen in different situations.

Although, one website glitch just helped me get the cabin that I really wanted.  There is a whole section of cabins on Deck 10 of the Spirit that don't show up on any booking site I have found, including NCLs.  I had originally booked the port side cabin at the back of deck 10 before NCL canceled my cruise, but it was already gone on the 2024 cruise. I asked the World Points person when I was getting my points back from the canceled cruise if the other cabin was still available for the cruise I was looking at.  She typed it in and said yet. Then, when my FCC came in and I tried to upgrade to that cabin via the World Points phone line, I was told it wasn't available.  I asked them to type in the number and they said they only had a list, they could not type anything in, so I gave up and was sad.  I decided to call my amazing TA and ask if she could see if the cabin was available and then I figured I would call back until I got someone at WP who knew how their software worked. She not only found that it was still available, she moved me to it.  I was a happy camper and glad NCL hadn't fixed the problem yet.

The point of this story is that about 3 weeks ago I was talking to tech support at NCL and I mentioned the missing cabins on Deck 10.  He said he would report it to that group, but the cabins are still not available to be booked unless you know they are there and have access to one of the travel agent portals where you can type in actual cabin numbers rather than scrolling through lists.

[LloydJr]

57 minutes ago, alwalaska said:

There is a whole section of cabins on Deck 10 of the Spirit that don't show up on any booking site I have found, including NCLs.  I had originally booked the port side cabin at the back of deck 10 before NCL canceled my cruise, but it was already gone on the 2024 cruise. I asked the World Points person when I was getting my points back from the canceled cruise if the other cabin was still available for the cruise I was looking at.  She typed it in and said yet. Then, when my FCC came in and I tried to upgrade to that cabin via the World Points phone line, I was told it wasn't available.  I asked them to type in the number and they said they only had a list, they could not type anything in, so I gave up and was sad.  I decided to call my amazing TA and ask if she could see if the cabin was available and then I figured I would call back until I got someone at WP who knew how their software worked. She not only found that it was still available, she moved me to it.  I was a happy camper and glad NCL hadn't fixed the problem yet.

The point of this story is that about 3 weeks ago I was talking to tech support at NCL and I mentioned the missing cabins on Deck 10.  He said he would report it to that group, but the cabins are still not available to be booked unless you know they are there and have access to one of the travel agent portals where you can type in actual cabin numbers rather than scrolling through lists.

They are on the deck plans at NCL.com.  When you create an on-line booking, they don't show graphically when you select a cabin but they are in the listing of cabins on the left side of the screen.  I've booked them this way, without having to call anybody.

[alwalaska]

2 hours ago, LloydJr said:

They are on the deck plans at NCL.com.  When you create an on-line booking, they don't show graphically when you select a cabin but they are in the listing of cabins on the left side of the screen.  I've booked them this way, without having to call anybody.

Interesting, yes, I did see them on the non-booking deck plans, that was how I learned about them.  I haven't seen them when I tried doing fake bookings and the lady from World Points didn't have any of them on her list, but they were available.   Good to know that they at least show up in the available cabins list typically.  Not sure why I wasn't seeing them.

[nferr]

On 6/23/2023 at 5:45 PM, vacation44 said:

I think my point was missed by many.  I was pointing out that it was not "free" as a few others were noting that it is still free with a service charge then added.   To me, that is not free.  

 Again - so what? Pay it or don't order it regardless of whether it's a fee or not.