HAL Room Service - constructive criticism

[KAKcruiser]

The Amsterdam had the rolling carts.

[MissPoovey]

On our July 08 cruise to Alaska on the Ryndam the room service was fantastic. However as per requested, I could wish for larger pots of hot chocolate. Say coffee pot size.

We had a deluxe suite,and plenty of relatives visiting while watching glaciers. I ordered hot chocolate from room service for 4. I recieved one tiny hot tea pot of hot water and a packet of powered hot cocoa mix.

I won't complain, just went to the neptune lounge and made our own.

But if we were wishing....

:rolleyes:

[Stevesan]

You need to cruise Maasdam in an "S" suite. We ordered Room Service Breakfast every morning but one of our 14 day cruise. Every morning the steward wheeled our breakfast on a cart with sides that lift to form a round table. The table was fully set with white linens, flowers, salt and pepper. He removed the covers from all plates and set them out for us to enjoy. By the third day, he knew I was the egg white omelette and DH had the bagel. :) He even helped DH bring in a chair from the veranda every morning as he doesn't like sitting in the low leather chair in the cabin. The veranda chairs are perfect.

 

This is at least the third year Maasdam has used those carts and it is a delightful, luxurious, pampering way to serve Room Service Breakfast and certainly dinner. I don't know if any other ship uses these carts but they are wonderful on Maasdam.

 

Another option:

 

For a few thousand $ less, book a balcony, or lower category, hie yourself to the Lido buffet and schlep a tray back to your cabin. :D

[BoiseIdahoSpud]

I was thinking about this a little more last night and mulling over everyone's comments. Thanks to everyone for sharing and participating.

While my original post was a constructive suggestion on how to move what is an already good service toward being a really great service, I think the larger question is how HAL can continue to compete and succeed in the premium market space.

Take business class hotels for example. Chains like Hyatt, Renaissance, and Marriott all compete in the same space. But a smaller chain, Kimpton Hotels, offers what is often a superior product and service package at roughly the same price point.

Kimpton differentiates itself with little service extras, a keen attention to detail, and extensively training to recognize that each guest's needs are unique. This personalized approach is what keeps their clientele loyally coming back for more. It feels different-maybe even a little special-at a Kimpton vs. the generic approach of the larger chains.

HAL does a great job in many aspects and they deserve ample credit for all they do. But we, as customers who care about the success of the line, should always help to point out ways in which they might improve their offering. After all, we are reason they are in the business.

Praise with a roar, criticize with a whisper...:)

[hammybee]

When we stay at a hotel, we pay a premium to order off a Room Service menu and when we do there are local taxes and a Service Charge for delivery. A full breakfast, from Room Service can and does run at least $30 p/p, when all is said and done.

 

To the best of my knowledge, HAL is the one and only non luxury cruise line that makes their full menu available for Room Service and does so for every cabin grade at no incremental charge to the passenger. This in itself distinguishes HAL from the others, including true premium botique cruise lines.

[BoiseIdahoSpud]

To the best of my knowledge, HAL is the one and only non luxury cruise line that makes their full menu available for Room Service and does so for every cabin grade at no incremental charge to the passenger. This in itself distinguishes HAL from the others, including true premium botique cruise lines.

 

Thank you for this clarification, Hammybee. We certainly enjoy room service on HAL and hope that they continue to offer it for all passengers in all cabin grades.

 

Pete

[TCF]

First, let me say how much I am enjoying the discussion on this thread and thank the OP for starting it. Here are some observations:

1. I read a note somewhere in my cabin that asked that we don't place our finished trays in the hallways as they are a danger to others trying navigate what are already narrow hallways. (That was on the Veendam)

2. I have to agree completely with those who contend that HAL's competitive edge is with the details of what is already a fine service.

A ship is a ship...they are all generally the same...they all offer generally the same services and onboard ammenities.

Where HAL moves to the top of the mass market offerings is in detail....the food just a little better....the service just a little better...the ships a little cleaner....the crews just a little more professional. None of these details on their own set HAL above the rest...add them all together and you have a superior product worth the money. Take away the details and HAL becomes just one more market line that has become overpriced!

3. There is no doubt that HAL, as a business, has to be cost competitive in these horrendous economic times but, cutting the details and services passengers have become accustomed to recieving as a key part of the HAL cruising experience is not cutting costs, it is cutting the advantage HAL currently holds in the market place!

In the past two years we have cruised four different lines....Carnival, HAL, Princess and NCL...and to be perfectly honest HAL and Princess are becoming almost identical in everything except cost!

Successful companies are being forced to walk a very nasty tight-rope at this particular time. The successful ones will be those that don't forget that the bottom line is generated not by the "bean counters" but, by the people who insure that the service offered keeps the customer happier and coming back.

Just as a side note, we experienced an interesting event on our last HAL cruise that was more likely than not only really noticeable because it was so long, (five weeks). Half way through the cruise we had a change in Captains. Within days of this change-over we noticed that the service and attitude of all the crew members increased. Now, this is not to say that the service and attitude prior to the change-over was bad, because it most certainly wasn't, but the crew was happier and just automatically went a little further in making sure we were having a good time and getting everything we expected and needed. So it just shows that sometimes it is the leadership from the Bridge that can make a crusie that much better...and has noting to do with the decision makers in Seattle.

[BoiseIdahoSpud]

Outstanding contribution to the discussion, TCF. Thank you for sharing your insight and experience with other lines.

 

Pete

[MightyQuinn]

I have to agree completely with those who contend that HAL's competitive edge is with the details of what is already a fine service.

 

Where HAL moves to the top of the mass market offerings is in detail....the food just a little better....the service just a little better...the ships a little cleaner....the crews just a little more professional. None of these details on their own set HAL above the rest...add them all together and you have a superior product worth the money. Take away the details and HAL becomes just one more market line that has become overpriced!

I believe HAL needs to determine what are the "core" elements of the HAL cruise experience and then do everything possible to protect that "core". They need to clearly identify their target audience & run focus groups to determine what they value. Loyal HAL Mariners must carry some weight here. Don't guess at it or give fancy slogans to describe it. Do some basic market research.

 

As cost pressures escalate & HAL continues to homogenize their product, I believe they run the real risk of being " just another" in the crowded cruise market. If the "core" of HAL is allowed to erode, they'll find themselves in the commodity business where lowest price prevails. The slope is slippery indeed.

 

I think HAL must differentiate itself clearly & consistently. And recognize that cost-cutting is sometimes not the answer.

[chloes nana]

Two points.

 

1. I've been cruising HAL since 1994, and do not ever recall the room service steward "setting up" my meal. I do believe, though, that room service overall is better now than when I first cruised HAL. Better selection, fresher/hotter/colder food, and happier stewards.

 

2. I honestly think you are being nit-picking about this. JMHO. If you are that unhappy with one tiny component of the cruise, and that's the one thing that can make or break your satisfaction with the cruise line, perhaps you need to go a bit more upmarket and see if a more costly line can better meet your expectation. Or you can adjust your expectations somewhat, and enjoy the great product HAL offers at a reasonable price.

well now... a level head! that is exactly what I was thinking..;)

[kryos]

I understand what you're saying, but I feel that with the economy the way it is...I will pick what's really important to me, and let the smaller things go.

I never even knew this service existed. I know Princess offers something called the "Ultimate Balcony Dinner" or something by some such name ... and I think they not only set it up, but also deliver the items course by course on your balcony. But, that dinner incurs an extra charge ... something like $75 ... so it's not free.

 

Frankly, I'd be happy just to get the food hot and the order complete. I just tell the steward where to put it ... generally the tray right on the desk ... and I can well serve myself. I'd rather free him up to go and deliver the next person's order while I am digging into my own.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

I believe HAL needs to determine what are the "core" elements of the HAL cruise experience and then do everything possible to protect that "core". They need to clearly identify their target audience & run focus groups to determine what they value. Loyal HAL Mariners must carry some weight here. Don't guess at it or give fancy slogans to describe it. Do some basic market research.

You know ... it's funny, but a friend and I were having just this discussion last night at work. We were comparing two seemingly different companies, but found they were alike in a lot of respects: HAL and Starbucks.

 

Both of these companies feature personalization as a strong feature of their service. On HAL, we love it when our steward remembers our name and our preferences, and greets us by name each day. We so love it when we walk into the Lido in the morning and the steward handing out the trays addresses us by name. We love it when our dining room stewards (assuming we are in fixed dining) remember that we like a glass of iced tea with dinner, and has that glass of iced tea waiting for us when we sit down. I guess these little touches are what HAL cruisers value, and that's why we sail the line. Perhaps this personalized service is the core element in the HAL cruising experience, and what the line needs to preserve.

 

Starbucks is apparently the same way (at least according to this friend of mine who works a part-time job there). The chain developed its niche by keeping enough people on duty at any one time so that the various service people could get to know the regular customers and what it is they drink. This friend told me that he can't get over how impressed some customers are when he addresses them by name and says "your regular mocha chocolate latte?" But he said Starbucks is changing. In these tough economic times, they are starting to keep fewer and fewer people on the schedule, such that they will be so busy as not to always have the time to get to know the customers, and thus remember what they normally drink. He said that in times past, they had enough people on duty that it was actually encouraged for servers to chat a bit with customers as they took their order. Then the next time that customer came in, the server may remember that the customer told him that his wife was under the weather, and so the server could say, "Jack, how's your wife feeling? Is she over that nasty stomach virus yet?" Such would really impress the customer and make him feel important. "Wow, this guy remembered that conversation from two weeks ago, and obviously cared enough to ask after my wife's health!"

 

It is this personalized service that makes people pay the additional money a cup of coffee at Starbucks will cost, over what he could get it for at, say, Dunkin Donuts. At Dunking Donuts he wouldn't get the personalized service and because that personalized service so pleases many people, they are willing to pay more at Starbucks in order to get it. But, now, with Starbucks often not having enough people on duty to provide this, they could be losing their "niche" in the market. If I'm going to be treated like just another "joe," at the Starbucks, why not just go to Dunkin Donuts where I'll pay a lot less for the same cup of coffee and a muffin?

 

It's the same way with HAL. If they lose that personalized service ... that way of making the guest feel special and catered to ... regardless of their cabin category ... then I fear too that HAL will become just another cruise line in the mass market.

 

But as far as setting up a room service order ... I don't think that would be considered a "core" element at all and I can well understand their room service waiters not having adequate time allocated to them to perform that service. Yet, I think I would be a bit distressed if my cabin steward was so busy that he couldn't keep my name straight or my preferences. That would leave me missing something that I used to get on HAL ... and encourage me to look at other cruise lines that might actually be cheaper to sail.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[the_dylaness]

Hello!

 

Just wanted to add a bit of clarification about the Princess Ultimate Balcony Dining. This service is $100 per couple but includes a bit more than just a delivered dinner. I haven't had it (although I've done the ultimate balcony breakfast) but I believe it includes such features as waitstaff who wait outside your door and reenter to serve each course, a photograph of the dinner, a cocktail each, and a surf and turf dinner (of course there are other choices but I believe that is the most popular).

 

The Ultimate balcony breakfast is of course, set up for you. Other times I've ordered room service breakfast (on RCCL, Carnival, and Princess) sometimes they would offer to set it up, sometimes not. I never accepted but did like the offer. If I were having a larger meal such as a multi course dinner, I might have accepted but I can pretty well pour the coffee from the carafe.

 

My RCCL experience was at a time when they offered full delivery of any meal to any category cabin (I was in an OV.) I don't think they do that anymore although I am not sure.

 

I hope that on my upcoming Eurodam cruise, if I order breakfast (or any other meal) the server offers to assemble it- if they don't, I won't be heartbroken, but it seems a simple and polite gesture and a way to differentiate HAL from other lines.

[twinkletoes4445]

Amen! I wish you and others the best during these difficult times. As the Chinese proverb says, crisis and opportunity live together. May we all find latter in the former.

 

Pete:)

 

Well, thank you! And I wish you and everyone else the same. :)

 

This is a very interesting thread and certainly has given me a lot to think about. For me, setting up the room service tray isn't something I really even thought about...but what brought us to HAL in the first place is their reputation for service. And that's what brought us back again.

 

If HAL's attention to details starts declining, then HAL will be no different than any of the other lines (IMO). Be it the room service question you inquired about, or list of items that Rita mentioned (which we experienced and feel the same way she does), it is the "HAL experience" that brought us to HAL and will keep us there.

[twinkletoes4445]

We have never called for Room Service to pick up the tray. It always disappears like magic. It must be our cabin steward always removes it because I couldn't stand to have dirty dishes laying around our cabin. That is a giant Yuk for me.

 

I'm sure Room Service automatically comes back for the rolling carts but if we have a tray from a snack, I have never called for its removal.

 

 

We've never called for a tray pick up, and our tray was always gone when we returned to our cabin (and we spent a lot of time in our cabin-and we always wondered how someone managed to get in and out without us seeing them). A couple of times I did see our cabin steward walking away with our tray, so I suspect he was the one who removed it each time.

[twinkletoes4445]

[quote name='kryos']I never even knew this service existed. I know Princess offers something called the "Ultimate Balcony Dinner" or something by some such name ... and I think they not only set it up, but also deliver the items course by course on your balcony. But, that dinner incurs an extra charge ... something like $75 ... so it's not free.

Frankly, I'd be happy just to get the food hot and the order complete. I just tell the steward where to put it ... generally the tray right on the desk ... and I can well serve myself. I'd rather free him up to go and deliver the next person's order while I am digging into my own.

Blue skies ...

--rita[/QUOTE]

I knew about ordering off the dining room menu, but we've not tried it as of yet. But we're going to try this on our upcoming cruise. I love HAL's extensive room service policy...especially the breakfast. It's nice to be able to order a full breakfast and "write in" other items. I'm glad we don't have to pay $75 for dinner to be delivered to our cabins. If it cost that much, we'd be in the dining room or at the Lido.

[twinkletoes4445]

[quote name='TCF']
Where HAL moves to the top of the mass market offerings is in detail....the food just a little better....the service just a little better...the ships a little cleaner....the crews just a little more professional. None of these details on their own set HAL above the rest...add them all together and you have a superior product worth the money. Take away the details and HAL becomes just one more market line that has become overpriced![/quote]

This is exactly how we felt after our first HAL cruise.

[cruz chic]

[quote name='kryos']You know ... it's funny, but a friend and I were having just this discussion last night at work. We were comparing two seemingly different companies, but found they were alike in a lot of respects: HAL and Starbucks.

Both of these companies feature personalization as a strong feature of their service. On HAL, we love it when our steward remembers our name and our preferences, and greets us by name each day. We so love it when we walk into the Lido in the morning and the steward handing out the trays addresses us by name. We love it when our dining room stewards (assuming we are in fixed dining) remember that we like a glass of iced tea with dinner, and has that glass of iced tea waiting for us when we sit down. I guess these little touches are what HAL cruisers value, and that's why we sail the line. Perhaps this personalized service is the core element in the HAL cruising experience, and what the line needs to preserve.

Starbucks is apparently the same way (at least according to this friend of mine who works a part-time job there). The chain developed its niche by keeping enough people on duty at any one time so that the various service people could get to know the regular customers and what it is they drink. This friend told me that he can't get over how impressed some customers are when he addresses them by name and says "your regular mocha chocolate latte?" But he said Starbucks is changing. In these tough economic times, they are starting to keep fewer and fewer people on the schedule, such that they will be so busy as not to always have the time to get to know the customers, and thus remember what they normally drink. He said that in times past, they had enough people on duty that it was actually encouraged for servers to chat a bit with customers as they took their order. Then the next time that customer came in, the server may remember that the customer told him that his wife was under the weather, and so the server could say, "Jack, how's your wife feeling? Is she over that nasty stomach virus yet?" Such would really impress the customer and make him feel important. "Wow, this guy remembered that conversation from two weeks ago, and obviously cared enough to ask after my wife's health!"

It is this personalized service that makes people pay the additional money a cup of coffee at Starbucks will cost, over what he could get it for at, say, Dunkin Donuts. At Dunking Donuts he wouldn't get the personalized service and because that personalized service so pleases many people, they are willing to pay more at Starbucks in order to get it. But, now, with Starbucks often not having enough people on duty to provide this, they could be losing their "niche" in the market. If I'm going to be treated like just another "joe," at the Starbucks, why not just go to Dunkin Donuts where I'll pay a lot less for the same cup of coffee and a muffin?

It's the same way with HAL. If they lose that personalized service ... that way of making the guest feel special and catered to ... regardless of their cabin category ... then I fear too that HAL will become just another cruise line in the mass market.

But as far as setting up a room service order ... I don't think that would be considered a "core" element at all and I can well understand their room service waiters not having adequate time allocated to them to perform that service. Yet, I think I would be a bit distressed if my cabin steward was so busy that he couldn't keep my name straight or my preferences. That would leave me missing something that I used to get on HAL ... and encourage me to look at other cruise lines that might actually be cheaper to sail.

Blue skies ...

--rita[/quote]
Rita, interesting info about Starbucks. I have to admit I am one person that really doesn't like Starbucks but I never knew that they had such a marketing strategy. I can't say I would enjoy the this type of intrusion when I just want to get my coffee and go. That said, I do enjoy talking with my steward and waiter as their time permits on a cruise.

[twinkletoes4445]

[quote name='kryos']You know ... it's funny, but a friend and I were having just this discussion last night at work. We were comparing two seemingly different companies, but found they were alike in a lot of respects: HAL and Starbucks.

Both of these companies feature personalization as a strong feature of their service. On HAL, we love it when our steward remembers our name and our preferences, and greets us by name each day. We so love it when we walk into the Lido in the morning and the steward handing out the trays addresses us by name. We love it when our dining room stewards (assuming we are in fixed dining) remember that we like a glass of iced tea with dinner, and has that glass of iced tea waiting for us when we sit down. I guess these little touches are what HAL cruisers value, and that's why we sail the line. Perhaps this personalized service is the core element in the HAL cruising experience, and what the line needs to preserve.

Starbucks is apparently the same way (at least according to this friend of mine who works a part-time job there). The chain developed its niche by keeping enough people on duty at any one time so that the various service people could get to know the regular customers and what it is they drink. This friend told me that he can't get over how impressed some customers are when he addresses them by name and says "your regular mocha chocolate latte?" But he said Starbucks is changing. In these tough economic times, they are starting to keep fewer and fewer people on the schedule, such that they will be so busy as not to always have the time to get to know the customers, and thus remember what they normally drink. He said that in times past, they had enough people on duty that it was actually encouraged for servers to chat a bit with customers as they took their order. Then the next time that customer came in, the server may remember that the customer told him that his wife was under the weather, and so the server could say, "Jack, how's your wife feeling? Is she over that nasty stomach virus yet?" Such would really impress the customer and make him feel important. "Wow, this guy remembered that conversation from two weeks ago, and obviously cared enough to ask after my wife's health!"

It is this personalized service that makes people pay the additional money a cup of coffee at Starbucks will cost, over what he could get it for at, say, Dunkin Donuts. At Dunking Donuts he wouldn't get the personalized service and because that personalized service so pleases many people, they are willing to pay more at Starbucks in order to get it. But, now, with Starbucks often not having enough people on duty to provide this, they could be losing their "niche" in the market. If I'm going to be treated like just another "joe," at the Starbucks, why not just go to Dunkin Donuts where I'll pay a lot less for the same cup of coffee and a muffin?

It's the same way with HAL. If they lose that personalized service ... that way of making the guest feel special and catered to ... regardless of their cabin category ... then I fear too that HAL will become just another cruise line in the mass market.

But as far as setting up a room service order ... I don't think that would be considered a "core" element at all and I can well understand their room service waiters not having adequate time allocated to them to perform that service. Yet, I think I would be a bit distressed if my cabin steward was so busy that he couldn't keep my name straight or my preferences. That would leave me missing something that I used to get on HAL ... and encourage me to look at other cruise lines that might actually be cheaper to sail.

Blue skies ...

--rita[/QUOTE]


Interesting observation about the similarities between HAL & Starbucks. You're right, HAL needs to preserve their personalized service because without it, they'd be just another cruise line. And off we'd go. We've done this several times with places we do business with...especially recently. Customer service at most businesses is at an all time low, IMO.

[iancal]

I frequent the same Starbucks, four times a day, five days a week. Never have I experienced this type of service! And the line ups are long! We liked our HAL cruise and we would definately take another HAL cruise. And when we had room service, they steward did the table set up-each morning. But I have to say that I did not find the level of personal service or the cleanliness on HAL any different than we have experienced on Princess or Celebrity. Perhaps it was the particular ship that we were on. In fact, the service on the pool deck was non existent.