Normal for Freestyle Dining?

[caryn]

I got off the Sky 4 days ago and was really disappointed with the MDR service. We arrived late most nights (after 9pm) and it seemed that our servers were really put out. I think one may have even checked her watch when we were ordering multiple items. We decided to go a little earlier the last night (arrived between 8 and 8:30) but it was the same experience. In the past I've never been made to feel "greedy" for ordering more than one thing from a group (more than 1 app etc) and many servers will even suggest something else in addition to what I've ordered. However, the servers on the Sky were so irritated I wouldn't have been surprised if they told us they wouldn't bring more than one item. We even had to laugh sometimes at how po'd they seemed.

So, my question - is this normal if you dine later than 6pm??

 

OH!! And sooo irritating to me was the constant din of silverware being cleaned or put away or whatever they were doing with it. I joked that they were taking it out just to put it away.

 

I usually tip the servers more than the standard daily tip but there is no way I would have tipped any of these servers more. In a normal restaurant I would have toyed with not even giving a measly 15%.

[CanadianTwosome]

We're typically early diners, so I can tell you that I've never experienced anything like this - meaning that it's not 'normal for freestyle' in general, but I can't comment on what may have been happening later on our cruises. I think it's more likely something that was happening on the Sky the week during your cruise, because we never heard any complaints from the friends we met on board and many of them ate later. The servers are human and humans can be... well... 'bitchy', for lack of a better word. I'm sorry to hear about your experience, but I'm glad you at least got a laugh or two out of it. :)

[Brad1185]

Welcome to freestyle dining! Isn't it great.

[mypleasure]

I have not sailed on the Sky. We do, however, tend to eat late. Usually after 8PM and sometimes 9PM and have never come across such behaviour from staff. I would have been put out too because I believe that as long as you attend withing the hours the room is open the service should be the same.

[sjbdtz]

Welcome to freestyle dining! Isn't it great.

 

so, Brad....how much does RCL pay, to post on the boards? I do it for free...so whatever they're giving you, I could do it for 1/2, and I wouldn't be quite so transparent.

 

:eek:

[sottovoce]

Welcome to freestyle dining! Isn't it great.

Yes, Brad, Freestyle is "great." If you don't like it, why not just stay the heck away from the NCL board and stop being a royal pain in the backside. You add nothing here and show yourself as a first-class whiner and annoyance. I can't imagine having to cruise with someone like you.

 

Back to the subject: Based on my experiences, and we usually dine late, the OP, on his or her first NCL cruise, was looking for something to complain about and, that being the case, found it--whether accurate or not. This is the kind of thread best ignored.

[Planer's Edge]

Welcome to freestyle dining! Isn't it great.

 

Yes, it is no matter what you think.

 

Your schtick is wearing very thin. :mad:

 

PE

[JohnIreland]

Welcome to freestyle dining! Isn't it great.

 

 

I agree , it is great :).

[cliffd64]

I got off the Sky 4 days ago and was really disappointed with the MDR service. We arrived late most nights (after 9pm) and it seemed that our servers were really put out. I think one may have even checked her watch when we were ordering multiple items. We decided to go a little earlier the last night (arrived between 8 and 8:30) but it was the same experience. In the past I've never been made to feel "greedy" for ordering more than one thing from a group (more than 1 app etc) and many servers will even suggest something else in addition to what I've ordered. However, the servers on the Sky were so irritated I wouldn't have been surprised if they told us they wouldn't bring more than one item. We even had to laugh sometimes at how po'd they seemed.

So, my question - is this normal if you dine later than 6pm??

 

OH!! And sooo irritating to me was the constant din of silverware being cleaned or put away or whatever they were doing with it. I joked that they were taking it out just to put it away.

 

I usually tip the servers more than the standard daily tip but there is no way I would have tipped any of these servers more. In a normal restaurant I would have toyed with not even giving a measly 15%.

 

Over the 20 cruises or so with freestyle I have never experienced this.

 

However... if I did, I would have been sure to mention it to the maitre'd of the particular MDR and if that was not well received, certainly the hotel director.

 

Did you bring this up at the time it occurred? I would think that is the best time to address it.

[caryn]

 

Back to the subject: Based on my experiences, and we usually dine late, the OP, on his or her first NCL cruise, was looking for something to complain about and, that being the case, found it--whether accurate or not. This is the kind of thread best ignored.

 

 

Wow - I really wasn't just looking for something to complain about. I thought that maybe arriving late or later than most people could have been part of the reason that the servers were put off. Let me say that they weren't mean or didn't *say* anything bad but we definitely didn't feel welcome. We usually noticed the change in attitude when we ordered multiple selections from the categories. Our server in Le Bistro was great and we had no complaints about that meal - certainly worth the extra cost. Believe me - we were celebrating my friend's 30th birthday and I would have LOVED everything to be spectacular.

 

But I definitely was disappointed with my first sailing on NCL.

(Though I do admit my annoyance with the silverware is being picky - it just drove me crazy).

 

As to the person who asked if we complained to the maitre d'... We didn't complain because it wasn't something you could put your finger on as in "She told us we arrived too late" but was rather the general attitude at each meal. Since we only had three dinners in the MDR, it's once the third ends that you notice the trend.

[Planer's Edge]

Wow - I really wasn't just looking for something to complain about. I thought that maybe arriving late or later than most people could have been part of the reason that the servers were put off. Let me say that they weren't mean or didn't *say* anything bad but we definitely didn't feel welcome. We usually noticed the change in attitude when we ordered multiple selections from the categories. Our server in Le Bistro was great and we had no complaints about that meal - certainly worth the extra cost. Believe me - we were celebrating my friend's 30th birthday and I would have LOVED everything to be spectacular.

 

But I definitely was disappointed with my first sailing on NCL.

(Though I do admit my annoyance with the silverware is being picky - it just drove me crazy).

 

As to the person who asked if we complained to the maitre d'... We didn't complain because it wasn't something you could put your finger on as in "She told us we arrived too late" but was rather the general attitude at each meal. Since we only had three dinners in the MDR, it's once the third ends that you notice the trend.

If there is anything that is bothering you, the Maitre d' wants to hear about it. They want everyone to enjoy themselves to the max in their dining room. My experience is that compliments as well as concerns/complaints are received with the same amount of rapt attention. That room is their little "kingdom" and they want it to run with perfection.

 

PE

[caryn]

If there is anything that is bothering you' date=' the Maitre d' wants to hear about it. They want everyone to enjoy themselves to the max in their dining room. My experience is that compliments as well as concerns/complaints are received with the same amount of rapt attention. That room is their little "kingdom" and they want it to run with perfection.[/color']

 

PE

 

 

You're right and we probably should have said something but oddly enough we didn't want to seem like complainers -regardless of what the previous poster who said to ignore me thinks :D

It's just hard to complain about a feeling you get instead of a specific action.

[Planer's Edge]

You're right and we probably should have said something but oddly enough we didn't want to seem like complainers -regardless of what the previous poster who said to ignore me thinks :D

It's just hard to complain about a feeling you get instead of a specific action.

 

Yes, but you felt uncomfortable. I believe the Maitre d' will not look at it as complaining if your word it properly. As I said they are looking for ALL feedback.

 

So, now you know what to do in the future. If you don't want to talk directly to the Maitre d', you can easily drop a note to the Hotel Director at the reception desk stating your concern and explaining that you felt uncomfortable "complaining" on the spot. They are many ways to handle this

 

Hope your future NCL sailings are wonderful.

 

PE

[familyof4cruising]

Welcome to freestyle dining! Isn't it great.

 

 

It actually is GREAT! Great enough that other cruise lines are now offering it.:rolleyes:

[sjbdtz]

I guess the other consideration is....were they about to close? Nope.

 

So why would they care what time you got there?

 

 

It's "possible" that they were nearing the end of their shift and were a little tired...but I wouldn't take it personally (based on the picture you painted in the original post).

 

As for what you order, they don't care about that...either. They're not paying for the food, so why would they care how much / little of it you eat?

 

These people have seen these requests before... reading between the lines, I sense a very small degree of guilt about ordering multiple Apps, etc. and that might color perception of the reaction..... guilt / paranoia are very closely linked! ;)

[Pickels]

You're right and we probably should have said something but oddly enough we didn't want to seem like complainers -regardless of what the previous poster who said to ignore me thinks :D

It's just hard to complain about a feeling you get instead of a specific action.

 

I try to not use the "complaint" word. If something is wrong or not up to par, I usually do not "complain" but simply bring it to the attention of the proper personel.

For instance: A couple of cruises back, I got some bad salmon and got quite sick that night. The next day we went to the restaurant and spoke to the manager. I did not complain but simply brought it to his attention that something may be wrong and he should look into it so that others do not get sick. We also went to the customer service desk and again, not to complain but to bring the situation to their attention.

As a sidebar, we also received vouchers for dinners for the rest of the cruise. (and we had great meals for the rest of the cruise).

[Cruise_More_Often]

Back to the subject: Based on my experiences, and we usually dine late, the OP, on his or her first NCL cruise, was looking for something to complain about and, that being the case, found it--whether accurate or not. This is the kind of thread best ignored.

Aren't you kind of being the anti-brad1185? Really, now. The OP had a valid complaint (hint . . . some complaints are valid, even if they're complaints about NCL :eek:).

 

caryn, you've received some excellent advice on how to handle such a situation in the future. I'm just sorry you had such a bad first impression of NCL, and I hope you'll give the line another chance.

 

We've had a less-than-nice server only one time, and it was actually our fault. We neglected to bring the little slip of paper that tells the waiter where to find your half-finished bottle of wine from a previous evening. Boy did we get THE LOOK! And THE LOOK continued throughout dinner. Believe me, we'll never forget that little slip of paper again! :D

[uneamie]

Welcome to freestyle dining! Isn't it great.

 

 

Absolutely!...........maybe someday when you grow up you will get to experience! :rolleyes:

[uneamie]

You're right and we probably should have said something but oddly enough we didn't want to seem like complainers -regardless of what the previous poster who said to ignore me thinks :D

It's just hard to complain about a feeling you get instead of a specific action.

 

I can understand the situation you were in with there not being anything specific to bring to the ]Maitre d's attention.....in hind sight, perhaps just getting up and going to him and asking for a different table may have been the solution. When asked why....you could simple say you didn't like the location. At least you would have not had to put up with that servers attitude. Just a thought.

[caryn]

I guess the other consideration is....were they about to close? Nope.

 

So why would they care what time you got there?

 

 

It's "possible" that they were nearing the end of their shift and were a little tired...but I wouldn't take it personally (based on the picture you painted in the original post).

 

As for what you order, they don't care about that...either. They're not paying for the food, so why would they care how much / little of it you eat?

 

These people have seen these requests before... reading between the lines, I sense a very small degree of guilt about ordering multiple Apps, etc. and that might color perception of the reaction..... guilt / paranoia are very closely linked! ;)

 

We definitely felt that it was a 'nearing the end of the shift thing'. Couple that with ordering multiple items and that would make serving us take a little longer. But believe me, I ALWAYS order a few things - I looove to eat :)

 

I will try NCL again, especially since they are a great value. I was just wondering if other people have experienced not-so-great service when they arrived later but it seems like nobody has. They were all nice at the beginning when introducing themselves but it quickly fell off. Maybe we are interpreting concentration as annoyance? Don't know. Wish I was going on another cruise sometime very soon so I could find out :D

[big green]

We're typically early diners, so I can tell you that I've never experienced anything like this - meaning that it's not 'normal for freestyle' in general, but I can't comment on what may have been happening later on our cruises. I think it's more likely something that was happening on the Sky the week during your cruise, because we never heard any complaints from the friends we met on board and many of them ate later. The servers are human and humans can be... well... 'bitchy', for lack of a better word. I'm sorry to hear about your experience, but I'm glad you at least got a laugh or two out of it. :)

 

 

Being bitchy is not acceptable when you are paying $12 a day service charge or $48 a day for a family of four--i would have had my service charge adjusted for this.

 

Big Green

[Planer's Edge]

Being bitchy is not acceptable when you are paying $12 a day service charge or $48 a day for a family of four--i would have had my service charge adjusted for this.

 

Big Green

 

I'm sure you would have. Even before discussing it with the Maitre d'. :rolleyes:

 

PE

[MrLee]

It amazes me that the people heree can afford to cruise but the immediate solution to any problem seems to be to try to "hit them in the pocketbook".

[big green]

It amazes me that the people heree can afford to cruise but the immediate solution to any problem seems to be to try to "hit them in the pocketbook".

 

 

---no different than the cruise line hitting you in your pocketbook--

 

I would have tried to get the attention of Maitre d --if no resolution or it happened again-- I would then hit them in the

pocketbook.

 

BG

[Planer's Edge]

...never mind!!!