For decades everyone from nutritionists to mothers have been saying that breakfast is the “most important meal of the day.” One Royal Caribbean traveler is taking that message to heart.
In a TikTok with over 430,000 views, Lisa of Chip N Lisa’s Travels (@chipnlisa) shares her strategy for a tasty, free breakfast. Hint: it’s all about timing.
Sticking to complimentary items on the continental breakfast list, Lisa puts together a small breakfast buffet. She’s selected English muffins, croissants, donuts, grits and fruit in addition to coffee and apple juice. “I filled out my breakfast for tomorrow soon as I got in the room. This is something I’ve learned to just go ahead and do,” she said.
Then, when Chip asked about ordering a couple of mimosas, she explained that even though they have a drink package, they’ll still be charged for the beverages. “You can not order [alcoholic] drinks,” she says. Then explains: it’s considered a supplement, “so you probably don’t want to do that, unless you want to pay the extra drink cost,” she said.
Next, she notes that in order to get service, you just put your room number, the number of people dining, and the time you want it delivered on the menu, then hang it off your door handle. “Usually you will find these menus in a drawer in your room,” Lisa said while the camera cuts to a drawer being pulled open revealing a stack of menus and cruise-specific brochures. She took pains to point this out because she’s found that the menus “aren’t usually out.”
It’s an informative video, where despite Chip’s repeated focus on grits (don’t worry, he got them), she explained that many of the items are free. However, there’s a section of the menu highlighted in blue, and those are the things—like pancakes, eggs, and bacon (American breakfast)—that Royal Caribbean charges for.
She ends by reminding viewers that though the food is free, the servers still deserve a tip, “You should tip them for delivery anyway,” she advised.
Though there’s an 18% tip added to each order and tacked on to room charges, in the comments she explained that she and Chip, “also give cash.”
Despite Lisa’s attempt to be helpful, the internet took umbrage with how she requested a few extra things. Because next to the boxes for butter and cream, she wrote, in all capital letters: “XTRA” followed by two exclamation points. And some people seem to think this attention to her dairy needs is rude.
Bake British asked, “Do the staff have to pay extra for a ‘please?'” To which Lisa replied, “Not at all. That’s called shorthand—I’m not writing a book.”
Others took issue with how she filled out the boxes next to each item. “It literally tells you to write in the desired quantity in each box of what you need and you’ve went and X them all,” Kieran pointed out.
Lisa made a case for her method, writing, “Yeah, tried that on my last cruise after everyone told me. Ended up with 2 lbs of bacon,” she said.
But at least one person in the comments appreciated her thoroughness. Ryley Lu wrote, “I had been wondering if you had to pay for the mimosas if you bought the drink package. Thank you for mentioning it!”
How to choose the right breakfast on a cruise depends on what you want. But for this exercise, assume you’ve been out late, dancing and partying with the new best friends you just made, and thus, want to enjoy a leisurely meal in your bathrobe.
So the continental breakfast might be your best bet. Royal Caribbean itself acknowledges the meal is “basic, but worth it,” in a blog on its website.
In that post, writer Elizabeth Wright said she loves to drink coffee on her balcony while enjoying the ease of in-room delivery and the small luxury of not needing to budget time for breakfast.
She also clarified a small but valuable point on the breakfast menu: “items listed under ‘American Breakfast,’ incur a $7.95 service charge. That said, Royal Caribbean doesn’t charge $7.95 per item, so you can order as many hot dishes as you want for a single price.”
Two breakfasts for $7.95 apiece while traveling in style on the high seas. So while there’s no one “right” way to enjoy breakfast aboard, most of the anecdotal accounts agree: if you’re ordering in-room breakfast, make sure to hang your order off your doorknob by at least 3 a.m. Also worth noting the in-room meal is not available on debarkation day.
BoardingArea reached out to Lisa via email and with a TikTok direct message, we’ll update this with any other travel tips she shares.
@chipnlisa You see all the videos of people showing their room service but how do you actually get it? 🧇 This is how you order breakfast on Royal Caribbean cruise ships! 🚢 Follow us for more Cruise tips, tricks and fun!! 🤩 Need help booking a cruise? Let the cruise experts at CNL Travel help you book a cruise today! Best of all it’s free to book with CNL! 😉 #cruiseship #royalcaribbean #quantumoftheseas #roomservice #cruisefood @Royal Caribbean ♬ original sound – Chip N Lisa’s Travels
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