Since cutbacks, how many MDR servers per table of 4?

[lopat08865]

Just trying to anticipate tipping. I've only always ever had 2 servers, even for a table of 7.

[Wolfie48]

Just trying to anticipate tipping. I've only always ever had 2 servers, even for a table of 7.

 

Total of 3 one head waiter and two assistants....

[firefly333]

But of course they usually have to serve at least 3 tables, not just yours. Sometimes 4 tables if they dont have some larger ones.

[lopat08865]

Total of 3 one head waiter and two assistants....

 

So that's the change, right, from 2 to 3? Or have I just never noticed the 3rd person, because they were sort of invisible? I swear I've only dealt with 2 before. Will I be dealing mostly with the head waiter to the exclusion of the other 2? Or will all 3 be interacting with us?

 

We had a great time on the Legend with only 2 [Hector and Bosco] for our table of 7 and I extra-tipped them both. Our Princess cruise we had 2, not as good as Carnival, but 9 nights of no corkage for magnum bottles earned a nice tip to both of them.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

So that's the change, right, from 2 to 3? Or have I just never noticed the 3rd person, because they were sort of invisible? I swear I've only dealt with 2 before. Will I be dealing mostly with the head waiter to the exclusion of the other 2? Or will all 3 be interacting with us?

 

We had a great time on the Legend with only 2 [Hector and Bosco] for our table of 7 and I extra-tipped them both. Our Princess cruise we had 2, not as good as Carnival, but 9 nights of no corkage for magnum bottles earned a nice tip to both of them.

 

I've never had 3 on Carnival and the tips were allocated for 2.

 

Bill

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

This seems to be a new thing. This past July on the Miracle and two weeks ago on the Glory there is now 1 head waiter and 2 assistants. I know they had a LOT of tables!

[funinthesun1964]

Yes, on Glory at the end of July, we had one head waiter and two assistants. They had a large section of people to wait on. Three of the tables were 8+. The service suffered. We only went to MDR the first two nights. It might have been better if we had table mates, but it was just a table for the two of us - and we were bored.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Yes, on Glory at the end of July, we had one head waiter and two assistants. They had a large section of people to wait on. Three of the tables were 8+. The service suffered. We only went to MDR the first two nights. It might have been better if we had table mates, but it was just a table for the two of us - and we were bored.

 

Sounds like they gave each team one additional person and probably a lot of additional tables.

 

Bill

[golfadj]

Sounds like they gave each team one additional person and probably a lot of additional tables.

 

Bill

 

I dont know how many extra tables but they have had this for last two cruises and seems like this is worse than what they did before.

 

Our head waiter on last cruise didnt like it at all.

[T. Advisor King]

Depending on what the reason is for your question, by far the most important factor is the number of tables (or better, total passengers) per serving team. If you have 3 servers instead of 2, you don't get better service if those three people are serving 6 tables of 4 instead of 4 tables of four. The net result will be more or less the same (8 passengers per serving employee in both cases).

[DebJ14]

We are currently at a table for 2 on the Magic. We have 3 servers - one waiter and two assistants. The service has been great all week. All 3 know our preference for water over tea, decaf coffee with dessert and that we don't eat bread. We have been pretty much served equally by all three this week. We prepaid tips, but will give extra to all 3 of them.

[ShakyBeef]

We first experienced the new 3-waiter system on our Glory cruise to Canada last June. It is definitely another Carnival cutback. And the difference in service is definitely noticeable - even from great waiters. They are just spread too thin. And the PP is correct - the waiters do not like it.:(

 

Here's an excerpt from my DH's memoir about the cruise where he mentions his discussion with our waiter about it...

 

 

I had an interesting conversation with our head waiter, Sentil. Remember that he’s Indian, so you have to read his parts with your best Indian accent, preferably out loud. Nevermind that “preferably” stuff – it’s mandatory. You must read Sentil’s lines out loud, with an Indian accent. I’ll keep it short in case your Indian accent is really bad. I’ve been working on mine for years, so I must admit, it’s quite good. In case you care, my accent is modeled after the Bombay accent, which is quite different than the Bengal accent.

 

It started about 8 years ago when I began spending more and more time on the phone with Cisco tech support in India. For the first 6 months, they had to repeat everything at least twice before I either understood them, or gave up trying and just discarded the tiny morsels of information I had gathered from their broken words. By the end of the first year, I was able to get through an entire 2 hour support session without having to ask them to repeat anything! I had also learned a bunch of their names, family members, learned about cultural differences, and a lot about their jobs… which happened to be a lot like mine, but much more boring.

 

Now when I talk to someone in India, the new guys in my office make fun of me for having an Indian accent. I found that they have an easier time understanding ME when I fake an accent! I’m fascinated with accents. If you ever get the chance to talk to someone with a foreign accent, and feel comfortable doing this – ask them to speak to you with an American accent. If you’re not American, ask them to fake an accent of your home country, if they can. Even if it doesn’t work out, it’ll be funny.

 

Ok, so here’s what I remember of our little conversation, remember to read out loud, with the accent. If you want to do an accent for my parts, use your best Maryland accent… whatever that is. Remember – read aloud with your best Indian accent. It’s mandatory.

 

Me: “So, Sentil, how does the 3 waiter system work? We’re used to the 2 waiter system on other ships.”

Sentil: “Well sir, we now have one head waiter, and two assistant waiters. We used to have one head waiter and one assistant waiter for 20 guest. Now, we have one head waiter and two assistant waiter serving 30 guest.

Me: “That sounds about the same to me – 10 guests per waiter. Does it help make things better?”

Sentil: “Well… [unusually long pause], the problem now is that we have 33 waiter per station, when we used to have 22 waiter per station. It gets very crowded at our stations now.”

Me: “Do you like the new 3 waiter system?”

Sentil: “Oh dear Sir, there are SO many thing that I cannot tell you. Would you like your Indian food every night?”

Me: “Uh, yes. Every night, please.”

 

So, my take on this three-waiter system is that it has nothing to do with service, but it’s just another cut-back on spending. They have the same number of staff for the same number of passengers, but they cut out head waiters, which I’m assuming cost more to train and maintain. I’ve never been successful in finding out what kind of salaries these guys make, but SOME DAY … I’ll give up trying.

 

So, it’s still 10 guests per staff, but if the dining room has 1,000 guests, that’s 100 staff members. Using the two-waiter system, you’d have 50 head waiters and 50 assistants. With the three-waiter system, you’ve got 33 head waiters, and 66 assistants and one guy that walks around in a gold vest looking busy, which depending on their compensation system, could be a considerable cost savings across a fleet of ships. It sounds like something a bunch of expensive suits in a board room would think up without really knowing what it means to the actual people sitting in the MDR. As a side note, I call these “f**k - f**k meetings”. Mostly because it’s normally hours of wasted time with people trying to justify their salaries and f**king other people in the process. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve attended my fair share of these meetings, and probably did my share of f**king people over, too… I was just mentioning my funny little name for the meetings, not necessarily my position or feelings on those meetings.

__________________

This post brought to you by Delta Hotel™

[S.S.Oceanlover]

so now the 3 person team has to split $5.80pp per day tip!:eek:

 

Bill

[cvpends]

Last summer on the Triumph we had two waiters. This April and July on the Splendor, we had three waiters. The three waiters had 6 tables of 4, as I remember it. Our Splendor wait teams provided excellent service but were working VERY hard -- too hard I felt. The assistant waiters have more responsibility than I remember assistant waiters having in the past, and I think it's because they have to step it up with the head waiter spread so thin. The head waiter does still try daily to make personal contact with each customer.

[JerseyshoreBruce]

I always have the headwaiter plus assistant and then the drink person! Always has been 3 every cruise.

[SnowWhiteNYC]

We had three - head waiter and 2 assistants. Always had 2 in the past. Our service seemed much like it had in the past, averaging a little over an hour to an hour and a half for our dinner at early seating.

[funinthesun1964]

so now the 3 person team has to split $5.80pp per day tip!:eek:

 

Bill

 

True. But I guess they have more people in their "section"? I'm sure that it depends on each individual cruise and crew if the service is great, or poor.

 

I remember the best service we had was on our first cruise, Splendor, in 2009. These waiters were the best! They spent time talking with us, refilling drinks, seconds on the bread selection, etc. etc. I've had nothing even close to service like that since.

 

Splendor Assistant 2009

 

 

Splendor head waiter

[askimdog]

The sign at the table said we had 3 people, saw only 2. First evening meal the head waiter said.."You want...what"

 

I said..."Hello", then ordered. No small talk, just.."You want what"

 

I asked for tabasco ( twice) never came

 

appetizer plates stayed on table during main course. Meal was over 2 hours.

 

Next morning..same thing, incuding asking for tabasco twice...nope, I did borrow some from another table. Asked if we could be offered a sweet roll, never happened.

 

Dinner on night 3 or 4..still "You want what", never a Hello, over 2.5 hour meal. The assistant waiter did smile on occasion, unlike our main guy.

 

Buffet the rest of the cruise. That was fine except for one altercation when raised voices debated amongst 4 waiters about who would pick up a spilled blob of food. Nobody was happy and anger was building. My wife had enough, grabbed a napkin and scooped it up to the applause of about 5 tables.

 

That whole cruise this past January was great, but the staff was bitter about something? Our steward we saw twice also appeared upset. (missing our room one day was fine with me..I have picked up my share of wet towels before and just placed the near full garbage can in the hall).

 

So, if we actually had 3, I never saw him/her. Unless it was the drink taker who appeared once and never again for a coffee refill.

 

I normally have had nice staff, ones that actually say hi and introduce themselves. This past cruise, something funny was going on amongst them.