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

[Ldyandrea]

I originally posted this to the Royal Caribbean forum, but wanted to post it here as well, since I'm curious if others have had similar experiences on this or other cruise lines.....

 

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.

 

 

[Crazy Gramps]

The head waiter should be demoted or fired.

 

Gramps

[Ldyandrea]

The head waiter should be demoted or fired.

 

Gramps

 

Personally, I wouldn't want them to go that far, but I think a bit of "enhanced training" would not be out of line. I wonder if the guy even realized what he was doing or if it was unconscious. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but having had the same guy try to blow me off twice in one day, it really bugged me.

[zoncom]

Since you were not treatedwell vote with your pocketbook. Never return. I was on a terrible 10N RCL many years ago in a bad storm. They took my Mothers wheelchair and quarenteed her to cabin. We were running out of food. I could go on and on. No compensation.I never returned to RCL. Try Celebrity; ask for a singles table upon booking.Much classier treatment for solos.

[Ldyandrea]

Since you were not treatedwell vote with your pocketbook. Never return. I was on a terrible 10N RCL many years ago in a bad storm. They took my Mothers wheelchair and quarenteed her to cabin. We were running out of food. I could go on and on. No compensation.I never returned to RCL. Try Celebrity; ask for a singles table upon booking.Much classier treatment for solos.

 

Well, the thing was this was really the only time I felt that the customer service was less than great. It wasn't a big enough deal for me to swear off of RCCL all together, but certainly enough to make comments about to the management.

 

Thanks for the heads-up on Celebrity. I haven't yet sailed with them, and wsan't aware they offered that for solos. :)

[Carolla5501]

Well... I have one suggestion. WHY DID YOU WAIT to complain. Next time you walk from the jerk to the desk and ask for the officer on duty. You then take him/her to discuss this wilth you and the jerk! Do NOT wiat and write a letter It's MUCH harder to ignore an upset guest then a letter!

[Ldyandrea]

Well... I have one suggestion. WHY DID YOU WAIT to complain. Next time you walk from the jerk to the desk and ask for the officer on duty. You then take him/her to discuss this wilth you and the jerk! Do NOT wiat and write a letter It's MUCH harder to ignore an upset guest then a letter!

 

You're right, I shouldn't have waited...and I did try to talk to someone that evening, but the person I was told to speak to wasn't available by that time.

 

Also, since I was getting angry and upset, I really just wanted to leave by that point.

 

For future reference, thanks for the heads-up on asking for the officer on duty. I would not have known to ask for that person. :)

[Lois R]

You're right, I shouldn't have waited...and I did try to talk to someone that evening, but the person I was told to speak to wasn't available by that time.

 

Also, since I was getting angry and upset, I really just wanted to leave by that point.

 

For future reference, thanks for the heads-up on asking for the officer on duty. I would not have known to ask for that person. :)

 

The Head Waiter has a boss....either the Ass't Maitr'd or where the

buck stops would be "The Restaurant Manager". Who is Jordon? What

position did he hold? Management is always available, even if they

say they are not...sorry about your experience:eek: the Head Waiter

(in my view) is stupid..or if not stupid, definitely acted stupid!:rolleyes:

Yes, reading Carolla's post, Jerk is the correct word for him.

[Ldyandrea]

The Head Waiter has a boss....either the Ass't Maitr'd or where the

buck stops would be "The Restaurant Manager". Who is Jordon? What

position did he hold? Management is always available, even if they

say they are not...sorry about your experience:eek: the Head Waiter

(in my view) is stupid..or if not stupid, definitely acted stupid!:rolleyes:

Yes, reading Carolla's post, Jerk is the correct word for him.

 

I believe they told me that Jordan was the head of Food and Beverage Services for that ship.

 

Thanks!

[yellowbird23]

Simply put, I would NEVER settle for a lamebrained explanation such as he had for you. When this type of thing happens, I just simply go to the purser's desk and remove all tips for the person/persons who have NOT given me the service I paid for. End of story. If that makes me a bad person, then so be it. I pay enough travelling solo, but to be treated in such a way is just nonsense and inexcusable. On the other hand, I tip extra for those who do. "You get what you paid for" goes two ways. You "pay for what you get"!

[Lois R]

I believe they told me that Jordan was the head of Food and Beverage Services for that ship.

 

Thanks!

 

Your more than welcome. The Restaurant Manager would be the

Head Waiter AND Maitr'd's boss. And the Restaurant Manager answers

to the Hotel Director. (They hope the complaints stay within their

own departments) but the Hotel Director is the Supervisor of all those

individual departments.....if you don't get a satisfactory answer then

go see the H.D.

[50cruiser]

I had a problem on the Jewell last spring on my trip to Europe . Out table had a terable waiter . We were always last served and last out of dining room . Our food was cool when delivered . after 2 nights of this I first went to matedee . He said they were short stafed but he would talk to our waiter. Next night same service . Before end of meal I went to head materdee and explained situation . He said they were short stafed but he would look into it . I gave up there and went to pursers desk and filed a complaint . That night I got a call from pursers dest telling me how sorry they were , no excuse for poor service. The next night we had a waiter from Chops who was great . He was one of the best we have had . We got our food promptly and it was hot .{ The other waiter took our food back and microwaved it . It was terable dryed out } . The moral of my story is complain imediatly and keep going higher each time . Im one person who follows up on a problem . The people at tables around us thanked me after they found out what hapened. Most said they would just put up with poor service . Its surprising how few people complain . I own A large sporting goods store so I try to give good service and I also expect good service from others . I also think the auto tip is encoriging poor service as the waiters figure they will get paid no matter what they do . I tip for good service not medocure . If I was you I would have gone up one floor to anytime dining and insisted in being seated . I was delayed on a tour and mised my MDR time . I went to tha MTD room and explained I had missed dinner at mdr because of a tour and had no problem getting a seat . But Im 6 ft 240 lb ex military and not easly intimitidated by any one . CARL

[mets550]

OP--I'm very sorry that you were treated this way, and I agree with everyone else on here that no one should be treated like that--regardless of when or with whom they are travelling.

 

I actually disagree that companies will disregard a letter. While you definitely did the right thing to complain onboard, sending a letter and putting your complaint in writing is probably the best thing you can do after the fact. I have written letters to hotels, restaurants, etc. that I have had unfortunate encounters with, and I have almost always received at the very least a response letter, if not some type of compensation.

 

Please let us know what, if any, response you get from RCI.

[wimsiecruise]

I'm so sorry you had that happen to you !

 

I'm traveling on the Liberty during Christmas and I'm fearful of being treated badly simply because it will be mostly families too. I seldom feel like a 5th wheel, but after reading comments on CC of some of the nasty treatment, from both staff and other guests, I'm a little worried. It used to be that when I went to a fancy restaurant on my own, the Maitre'd would place me at the back, near the kitchen door as though it were a shameful thing to have a solo female dining in their establishment. In recent years, I've found the opposite to be true and the restaurant staff are usually very attentive (and I tip well in appreciation). I guess either the times have changed and single women have as much money as single men...or my silver hair and my age gets me some r.e.s.p.e.c.t. But on a cruise, with 3,000 other pax, I worry I'll be seen as a nuisance, with the Head Waiter wondering "where to put me" LOL. Seriously, I just hate to hear about someone being treated as you were, and I'm glad you did the right thing and wrote in a complaint ! In fact, if you can get it written up in a newspaper, that would be even better...poor publicity is as bad as a billion dollar loss for any corporation ! You go girl !

[Ldyandrea]

If I was you I would have gone up one floor to anytime dining and insisted in being seated . I was delayed on a tour and mised my MDR time . I went to tha MTD room and explained I had missed dinner at mdr because of a tour and had no problem getting a seat .

 

Actually, the Starlight Dining room is also the My Time Dining Room on the Majesty of the Seas. They apparently do both My Time and Traditional seatings in the same dining room. Yet another reason why I was surprised there wasn't anything available.

 

Thanks Carl!

[50cruiser]

I would really be ticked if they did MTD in the same room . I can see why you are ticked , I would be too. Absolutly no excuse for that. Any seat av. should then been ofered to you. I would definatly handled it diferent than you. Its our vacation , nothing is set in stone. You should have called officer of the deck imeaditly. When I did Chefs table I asked the head dog what if I get in late from a tour and mised my MDR time dining . He told me to go to MTD on upper floor and tell them you mised your sehelded time and tell them to add you to waitlist. No problem , They want you fed and happy . Again this is an example of tiping at the end of cruise for service rendered. IM against curent policy of deducting daily tips not earned . I usually tip above the auto deduction for good service . But I would have gone to purser as I said and if nothing else had tips removed from his area and tell them why . They have to explain why tips were removed if a few people do it they will look into it . CARL

[cherylroslyn]

Actually, the Starlight Dining room is also the My Time Dining Room on the Majesty of the Seas. They apparently do both My Time and Traditional seatings in the same dining room. Yet another reason why I was surprised there wasn't anything available.

 

Thanks Carl!

Have you heard back anything from RCI? I also recommend Celebrity. I read about Celebrity on this solo board but I believed I could not afford Celebrity solo..... thankfully I was very wrong in my percepption and I thouroughly enjoy Celebrity......

 

 

 

I however enjoy traditional dining as a solo and I do not prefer my time dining at a table for one. I love having tablemates and the bigger the table the better in my opinion......

[50cruiser]

Iv been on Celebrity 6 times . I think its my no 1 cruise line . Ive gotten great solo rates on celebrity. It just depends on how full the ship is . I booked RCI for my Jan 3rd 2011 trip as I got a great solo rate . I got 7th floor bump balcony $1090 plus fees 11 day solo cabin . I looked at Celebrity , RCI, HAL, and princess. I like these 4 so I no longer price the others . I start watching for sales 120 days out from my vacation time . Ive found that is the best time to start watching for discounts and price reductions from 60 to 120 days is when they seem to give the best rates . After 32 cruises it dont matter to me which of these 4 lines I take its only the price and the itenery and length of cruise . I dont take less than 10 day cruises anymore . Its too much work setting up everything with airfare to do a shorter cruise . You just get on , learn your way around and your off the ship . I always figure you loose the 1st and last day for travel so a 10 day is actually a 9 day . Just about right . CARL

[wrp96]

Guess you all missed the thread yesterday where the OP shared more details but she left them out here because she didn't get a favorable response so thought she'd try her luck with a slightly different story.

 

The OP booked a TRADITIONAL dining time, NOT My Time Dining. Traditional dining means you show up at the time you are assigned not whenever you feel like it. And it certainly doesn't mean you can show up for the other seating time (and 1 hour late for that even because main seating is at 6pm, not the 7pm when she showed up) and expect to get into dinner. The response from the headwaiter that she should visit the buffet if she didn't want to show up for her 8:30 assigned seating time was correct. And it would be correct whether it was one person showing up for the wrong seating time or an entire family. If she wanted flexibility in dining times, she should have signed up for My Time Dining NOT traditional dining.

 

Yes they were wrong to deny her entrance at breakfast but that was corrected onboard per her original story.

 

This isn't a case of a cruiseline treating a solo cruiser poorly. This is a case of a cruiser wanting the cruiseline to bend the rules solely for her and getting upset when they won't.

[LovesCruising]

Guess you all missed the thread yesterday where the OP shared more details but she left them out here because she didn't get a favorable response so thought she'd try her luck with a slightly different story.

 

The OP booked a TRADITIONAL dining time, NOT My Time Dining. Traditional dining means you show up at the time you are assigned not whenever you feel like it. And it certainly doesn't mean you can show up for the other seating time (and 1 hour late for that even because main seating is at 6pm, not the 7pm when she showed up) and expect to get into dinner. The response from the headwaiter that she should visit the buffet if she didn't want to show up for her 8:30 assigned seating time was correct. And it would be correct whether it was one person showing up for the wrong seating time or an entire family. If she wanted flexibility in dining times, she should have signed up for My Time Dining NOT traditional dining.

 

Yes they were wrong to deny her entrance at breakfast but that was corrected onboard per her original story.

 

This isn't a case of a cruiseline treating a solo cruiser poorly. This is a case of a cruiser wanting the cruiseline to bend the rules solely for her and getting upset when they won't.

 

I read the other post as well and have to say I agree with you 100%

[gapearl]

Good for you for writing a letter. Please be sure to post again if and when you receive a response back. I would love to hear how they handle this.

[Single Cruiser]

I read the other post as well and have to say I agree with you 100%

 

I read the original thread as well and also agree.

If you don't want to dine at your selected traditional slot then you can eat elsewhere?

If they start making allowances for solo passengers then what if a couple wanted to do the same? After all they are only 2 and surely there would be space for two?

 

I also have to wonder just how close to 9:30 the OP was for breakfast.

[goose30]

Where is the other thread?

[Lois R]

Guess you all missed the thread yesterday where the OP shared more details but she left them out here because she didn't get a favorable response so thought she'd try her luck with a slightly different story.

 

The OP booked a TRADITIONAL dining time, NOT My Time Dining. Traditional dining means you show up at the time you are assigned not whenever you feel like it. And it certainly doesn't mean you can show up for the other seating time (and 1 hour late for that even because main seating is at 6pm, not the 7pm when she showed up) and expect to get into dinner. The response from the headwaiter that she should visit the buffet if she didn't want to show up for her 8:30 assigned seating time was correct. And it would be correct whether it was one person showing up for the wrong seating time or an entire family. If she wanted flexibility in dining times, she should have signed up for My Time Dining NOT traditional dining.

 

Yes they were wrong to deny her entrance at breakfast but that was corrected onboard per her original story.

 

This isn't a case of a cruiseline treating a solo cruiser poorly. This is a case of a cruiser wanting the cruiseline to bend the rules solely for her and getting upset when they won't.

 

I went back and read the post again.....sometimes I have a habit

of not reading long posts with all the focus I should:eek:

OK....person has traditional dining which is a set time. They then

show up at the dining room to eat MY TIME at 7:00? Or to eat

at traditional for the earlier seating at 7:00 but that seating started

at 6:00? So the person is an hour late?:confused: I am trying to understand

this scenerio?....being an hour late (no matter who you are) is rude.

 

But being rude from any staff member is unacceptale too.

 

Just now trying to see what I missed in the original post:eek:

[50cruiser]

What I dont understand from everyone is MY TIME DINING HAS NO SET TIME . If something hapened and she couldnt make her fixed time dining which is what she said whats the problem waiting for anytime dining . That is what I was told to do by the head of the restrants when I asked about getting in late for my 1st MDR dining at 6:00 . She isnt doing it everyday , I also thought you can switch to anytime dining if you wanted . I still dont see problem with this . She didnt insist on eating 1 hr late at the fixed dining she went to anytime dining . If she was willing to wait for a open seat at anytime dining I dont see any problem . There is usually someone who went to another restrante { Chops , Portofino , Or the buffet . ] so if there is empty seat whats the diference . Were paying to eat on a cruise so sometimes something hapens . I just read the original post and I still think the waiter or materdee should have acomidiated her . Any time dining means that anytime dining . Keep the passengers happy they are paying to eat and enjoy themselves . CARL