Unfortunate dining room experience for solo cruiser on Majesty of the Seas

[Ldyandrea]

Just got back from a Thanksgiving 4-night sailing on the Majesty of the Seas to Key West and the Bahamas. Most of it was wonderful, but I did have an unfortunate experience with the head waiter of the Starlight Dining Room on Thanksgiving Day. I felt strongly enough about it that upon my return, I sent an email to Richard Fain, head of RCCL:

 

On Friday, November 26th, I disembarked from Royal Caribbean's Majesty of the Seas, and had enjoyed a lovely 4-night cruise to Key West and the Bahamas. This was my second trip on the Majesty of the Seas, with my first having been back in April of this year, and overall I found the ship and crew to have performed wonderfully. However, there was one very specific exception.

 

On Thanksgiving Day, I arrived at the Starlight dining room for breakfast a few minutes before 9:30 a.m. Despite the fact that there were plenty of guests who were still eating or had just been seated, I was told by the head waiter that they were "closed" and had no room left. I protested that it was not yet 9:30, and I had a tough time believing they had no availability when I could plainly see many empty tables and chairs. As a result of standing my ground in a polite but firm fashion, I was eventually escorted to join a large table of several other diners for breakfast. These folks had obviously just been seated themselves, as they had yet to order. Very shortly after that, another member of a family at that table arrived unexpectedly, and I offered to be moved to another table to allow them to sit together. I was moved to a table by myself near by, my breakfast was served, and the waitstaff for that area took very good care of me.

 

That evening, I discovered that my intended plans to participate in the karaoke that evening would conflict with my normally scheduled dining time of 8:30 in the Starlight dining room. I showed up at the dining room just before 7pm, and asked the female crewmember staffing the entrance if I could dine early since my normal time would mean I couldn't participate in the karaoke that evening. She tried to be very helpful, and went into the dining room to locate a single seat for the early dinner seating on my behalf. She returned a few times to kindly let me know that she was still working on it, indicated that it shouldn't be a problem to find a seat for me since I was on my own, and invited me to take a seat on a near by bench while she handled it.

 

A few minutes later, I was approached by the same head waiter who had tried to turn me away that morning. Once again told me that there was no available seating at all, and mentioned that there were so many "families", something emphasized no less than three times during that short conversation. I expressed surprise that there was not one single seat available in the entire dining room, and asked if I were to perhaps wait a while if something might open up. I was assured that there was no such possibility, and again told that because it was Thanksgiving and there were so many families, it wasn't possible.

 

The head waiter then indicated I should visit the buffet instead, and it was at this point I started to get angry. I indicated that wasn't what I had wanted to do for Thanksgiving dinner, and as I was both becoming more upset and very frustrated, I simply left and returned to my cabin without having dinner at all.

 

After thinking on both of my encounters with this man, and particularly how he kept continuously emphasizing "families", I felt very much as though this man just didn't want to be bothered having to seat a single person (whether at a table on my own, or with a larger group), and it was far easier to foist me off on the buffet as a lone individual than if I had been part of a group or, apparently a "family".

 

As an unmarried woman, I have traveled solo to many places in and outside of the U.S. and on a number of cruiselines over the years. This was literally the first time I have ever felt like I was treated as less important than other passengers simply because I was traveling alone. Ironically, solo cruise passengers pay a premium in the form of the single supplement, but I can honestly say that I have never expected special treatment for it, and I didn't believe I was asking for anything but a reasonable accomodation due to the aforementioned schedule conflict. I had wanted to eat Thanksgiving Dinner in the dining room that evening, but also didn't want to miss out on karaoke, which is one of the specific activities I look forward to on a regular basis when I cruise.

 

After changing clothes to go out to karaoke that evening, and having thought more about my experience with the head waiter, I felt I should at least discuss it with someone in management. I attempted to speak with someone that evening, but was told that the person I should likely speak with (Jordan), was not available any longer that evening. I indicated I'd come back in the morning to address the issue. I did indeed return the next morning, and was able to speak with Christy who is the Manager of Guest Relations (she gave me her card, but I've since misplaced it). She took me into her office, and listened to the concerns I had about my experience with the head waiter very seriously. She herself seemed surprised that I had been given such a difficult time over something that should have been easy to resolve, and seemed to agree that my concerns were valid.

 

I appreciated Christy taking the issue seriously, and indicated that while I was not trying to get the head waiter into trouble, I did feel that he could have dealt with my request very differently. She also suggested that she would have thought that any one of those tables full of "families" the head waiter kept going on about would have more than welcomed a single passenger to join them for dinner that evening. I agreed with her whole-heartedly.

 

Being alone during the holidays can be trying enough, and one of the reasons I had specifically wanted to sail during Thanksgiving week was I felt I would be enjoying the cruise too much to feel overly "single" that week. Unfortunately, that day I was instead made to feel as though being single and traveling alone relegated me to a less worthy status, at least in the eyes of the Starlight Dining Room's head waiter.

I intend to continue cruising solo, and am certainly inclined to take my business to those cruise lines that are making an effort to cater to that market segment of solo travellers. But at the very least, I certainly expect that any cruise line should provide the same level of customer service to their solo passengers as they do for those who travel in couples, groups, or families. This includes being able to be seated in the formal dining rooms, and having reasonable accomodation made for schedule conflicts, such as the one I experienced. I don't think that this is an unrealistic expectation for anyone who is a fare-paying passenger on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

 

I do look forward to cruising again on Royal Caribbean in the future, as I have enjoyed both of my cruises thus far, and feel that the crew is overall an exceptional bunch of people. What's more, I felt that there were certain crew members who, knowing I was traveling alone, went out of their way to engage me in conversation, and make my cruise experience a good one. For instance, my cabin steward (Nelson), one of the activities staff (Adrian), and one of the Bolero's bartenders (David), all went the extra mile to make me feel like a valued guest. In the future, I can only hope it will be impressed upon all crew that solo travellers deserve the same high level of customer service that is provided to the rest of their guests as well.

 

Thank you,

 

 

The timing of this seems serendipitous, in that I saw today the recent mentions on the boards here regarding RCCL's re-fitting some of its ships to include cabins for solo travellers. I'm very excited by the prospect that Royal Caribbean is recognizing the growing solo travel market, and I'm hoping this means the experience I had with the dining room will be addressed so that other solo cruisers don't have the same difficulty in the future.

[cruisinfanatic]

your letter is way too long.

The head waiter maybe should have worked a little harder but you have reservations for a specific time, you should go then. Being a single has nothing to do with it.

No sympathy here

[Greghouseo]

I appreciated Christy taking the issue seriously, and indicated that while I was not trying to get the head waiter into trouble, I did feel that he could have dealt with my request very differently. She also suggested that she would have thought that any one of those tables full of "families" the head waiter kept going on about would have more than welcomed a single passenger to join them for dinner that evening. I agreed with her whole-heartedly.

 

 

Yes you were.

That is precisely what you were doing.

I am not saying you didn't have the right to do so, but don't delude yourself into believing that there would be and there will not be consequences to your actions.

 

You are clearly an experience cruiser who knew the score, so complain away, but don't fool us into believing you didn't/don't know what could potentially happen.

[reallyitsmema]

I am trying to understand this. You had late seating but you were trying to get a seat for main seating an hour after the seating started? That would have been very inconvenient for the table that they sat you at since their dinner service had already started.

 

As far as breakfast, the times are posted. I don't think the head waiter was out of line if you came after the posted closing time.

[Ldyandrea]

Yes you were.

That is precisely what you were doing.

I am not saying you didn't have the right to do so, but don't delude yourself into believing that there would be and there will not be consequences to your actions.

 

You are clearly an experience cruiser who knew the score, so complain away, but don't fool us into believing you didn't/don't know what could potentially happen.

 

My interpretation of "trouble" would be at least a reprimand, or at worst being fired. To my mind, I just wanted the issue addressed with the guy so that it didn't happen to someone else in the future.

[Greghouseo]

My interpretation of "trouble" would be at least a reprimand, or at worst being fired. To my mind, I just wanted the issue addressed with the guy so that it didn't happen to someone else in the future.

 

Well as an experienced cruiser you must know that the consequences of your actions in such circumstances where they find they waiter culpable will be termination of contract and dismissal, if you don't know that, I am not sure what planet you have existed on.

[Ldyandrea]

I am trying to understand this. You had late seating but you were trying to get a seat for main seating an hour after the seating started? That would have been very inconvenient for the table that they sat you at since their dinner service had already started.

 

As far as breakfast, the times are posted. I don't think the head waiter was out of line if you came after the posted closing time.

 

Royal Caribbean, in addition to traditional dining, also have "My Time" diners who can be seated at any point between 7 and 9:30pm. It should not have been all that difficult to seat me with a table of those diners who don't have set dining times.

 

Also, I showed up before the posted closing time for breakfast in the dining room, not after.

[cruisinfanatic]

I am trying to understand this. You had late seating but you were trying to get a seat for main seating an hour after the seating started? That would have been very inconvenient for the table that they sat you at since their dinner service had already started.

 

As far as breakfast, the times are posted. I don't think the head waiter was out of line if you came after the posted closing time.

Ha, that's right. Dining is at 6 and this single shows at 7. Real cool thing to do. But wait it's the head waiters fault according to the OP.

Still no sympathy here

[reallyitsmema]

Royal Caribbean, in addition to traditional dining, also have "My Time" diners who can be seated at any point between 7 and 9:30pm. It should not have been all that difficult to seat me with a table of those diners who don't have set dining times.

 

Also, I showed up before the posted closing time for breakfast in the dining room, not after.

I am aware of MTD, I have used it but you have to choose either MTD or traditional dining. Did you ask if you could be seated in the MTD area for the evening? Many people who use MTD have set reservations each night so they can have the time and table size they want. There is also limited seating in MTD so there might not have been room for someone who already had a reserved place in traditional dining.

[gerif]

OK, I can see the breakfast issue if you did, indeed, come before the closing time, but for dinner you definitely should have been there on time for the early seating with your request or possibly even checked with the dining room in advance since you knew the time for karaoke from the night before (which, BTW, they had no requirement to grant since you had a different set seating time). To arrive that much later and expect to be seated was, IMO, asking entirely too much since it would have disrupted the dinner of any table you might have joined. You are dead wrong in complaining about this - again, JMO.

[Cruizlovers]

Wow, the lack of understanding here really surprises me. The OP didn't seem unreasonable to me, I think she had a valid issue and her letter, although rather long was well written. I read CC boards alot and post very little. I see some pretty nasty comments from regulars sometimes and think it's rather harsh. I thought this forum was a means to communicate with other cruisers and share ideas and experiences. Some might see this as petty but to the OP, she felt like she was treated poorly. Why so negative to this solo cruiser?

[flcruzer03]

Royal Caribbean, in addition to traditional dining, also have "My Time" diners who can be seated at any point between 7 and 9:30pm. It should not have been all that difficult to seat me with a table of those diners who don't have set dining times.

 

Also, I showed up before the posted closing time for breakfast in the dining room, not after.

 

 

but you weren't signed up for MTD...did you go to the MTD section at 7? If not then your request was most certainly unreasonable..single or not it you were asking to be allowed to disrupt the whole dining room service..I'm sorry your Thanksgiving dinner was not what you were hoping for but I fail to see how that is the headwaiters fault..

[Bakincakes]

Previous posters are correct..if you had traditionial dining then you eat when you are assigned.

 

If you have MTD you can go when you please. You can't abandon traditional because you want to attend a show or another venue. If you can't make your dinner time, if you signed up for traditional, then you go elsewhere..WJ or a specialty.

 

As a previous cruiser you should know the score on dining and the choices you have when deciding about your dining times.

 

IMO you wanted to bend the rules in your favor, got called on it and now you want retribution against crew who were merely doing their jobs.:(

[reallyitsmema]

Wow, the lack of understanding here really surprises me. The OP didn't seem unreasonable to me, I think she had a valid issue and her letter, although rather long was well written. I read CC boards alot and post very little. I see some pretty nasty comments from regulars sometimes and think it's rather harsh. I thought this forum was a means to communicate with other cruisers and share ideas and experiences. Some might see this as petty but to the OP, she felt like she was treated poorly. Why so negative to this solo cruiser?

So, you would allow a person to be seated at your table in the MDR an hour after main seating started? I wouldn't, I would have no issue having a single cruiser join us if they were on time for dinner but they are not going to alter our dinner service because they couldn't show up on time.

[cruisinfanatic]

Wow, the lack of understanding here really surprises me. The OP didn't seem unreasonable to me,

What lack of understanding. To show up for early dining an hr late when you aren't even scheduled for it is not reasonable.

[johneeo]

As far as breakfast, the times are posted. I don't think the head waiter was out of line if you came after the posted closing time.

 

Before you go on to criticize the OP, get the facts straight.

 

OP made it clear that she was there BEFORE the posted closing time.

 

I find it totally inexcusable that anyone would deny her entrance when in fact the dining area was open. Shame on the head waiter. He should be reprimanded for his unprofessional actions.

[rolloman]

I agree with a few others above...your only issue was breakfast and it became a non issue because they accomodated you. The fact you feel you can show up on a whim at 7pm an hour after dinner started and be seated is really wacky. Because of your own agenda, you had a choice of buffet or Karaoke, I at least hope you had fun singing...........

[clochette]

I think that you are being unreasonnable about the dinner issue. Your reservation is at 8:30 you need to come at 8:30 or go to the buffet, we travel as a family and eat together, I would not appreciate someone coming in after we started dinner and wanting to sit at our table, cruise for us is family time.

I am sorry if you felt mistreated as single, but I don't think that the headwaiter was wrong to tell you to go to the buffet.

[johneeo]

No sympathy here

 

And if you were to arrive at breakfast before the scheduled closing and were denied entrance, this would be OK for you?

 

You are incredibly tolerent.

[39august]

IMHO, the OP was completely out of line on the dinner seating request. You either have assigned traditional seating or MTD. She states she had traditional late seating. It would have been quite disruptive to others and the wait staff to seat her at 7 PM during the 6 PM traditional dining time. It's pretty simple. If you don't want to dine at your originally requested and assigned time, go to another venue to eat.

[wwcruisers]

Not to seem unkind here, but DH and I usually travel with family and friends, and opt for traditional dining (2nd seating). We would be more than annoyed if the waitstaff decided to plop a total stranger down at our table, nearly an hour into dinner service! Perhaps the OP would be happier choosing My Time Dining, next cruise. :cool:

[cruisinfanatic]

And if you were to arrive at breakfast before the scheduled closing and were denied entrance, this would be OK for you?

 

You are incredibly tolerent.

in the end she was not denied

[dixieva]

Being a widow myself and sometimes finding myself alone on holidays I can certainly understand your desire to not dine alone on Thanksgiving. That being said you are an experienced cruiser and should know that you simply cannot show up in the MDR and ask to be seated during the early seating when you are scheduled for late.

[Bound4Bermuda]

It sounds like you already felt sensitive about being alone for the holiday and the headwaiter certainly hit a nerve with the repitition of "family." Aside from his insensitive phrasing, it sounds like he had a valid reason for why he was unable to seat you (as several others have already responded). Perhaps if you had went to the dining room earlier in the day and explained that you would like to try to move to the earlier seating or MTD for that evening, they may have accommodated you. But to show up in the middle of the earlier seating, there really wasn't much they could have done. Correct me if I'm wrong, and this may vary from ship to ship, but in general, isn't one of the three dining rooms dedicated to MTD and the other two are Traditional seating? If you showed up to your regular Traditional dining room, there really wouldn't have been anything that they could have done in the midst of the service. However, had you gone to the MTD dining room, I would have been surprised if they had turned you away.

[GigglewolfOfTheSeas]

...I can also state that I had been made to feel as if "...being single and traveling alone relegated me to a less worthy status" while traveling alone aboard the Navigator of the Seas last year.

 

I was seated at a smaller table with no other guests (as if it were the children's table) and, while the adjacent larger table and one other smaller table were attentively tended, I was left to wait throughout each course of my meals in the MDR. I made certain to communicate my concerns with the service on my comment card, but if I'm traveling alone, I now avoid the MDR altogether.

 

For MANY years, I had sailed with RCI as a single guest without any significant impact on my MDR experiences. This original post is perhaps further evidence of a current void in RCI's ability to accommodate this segment of the cruising population.

 

Is it too far a stretch to seat all single guests together?? Even that would be an improvement. I can assure you, the guest manifests used by the ship & shoreside staff can clearly arrange that these folks be seated together; that's how it was in the past (now, everything is automated, so I don't believe there is the same attention to detail.)

 

And, OP, disregard the so-called 'haters' on here: as has been known to occur in any comments that don't absolutely BEAM about RCI, they will always try to diminish the experiences of others. I'm a tried-and-true RCI (& Celebrity) supporter and take any opportunity to rave about the ships & service when folks inquire; however, I can still maintain a basic amount of objectivity when trying to understand what another cruiser may have experienced. I'm a proud Diamond-level member, but don't feel I need to be blind to the possibility that RCI is less than stellar 100% of the time (even RCCL realizes this, by asking that we submit our comments at the end of the vacation).

 

God bless us...EVERYONE... and Happy Holidays!!

:p