Best Service Stories

[Working 2 Cruise]

Your mistake was asking for a dessert to go. You should have just ordered the baked Alaska in the dining room and walked out with the plate in your hand. No one would have said a word.

 

Possibly, but I try do things "by the book" whenever possible. By the way, I ended up eating two slices of Baked Alaska since I already had eaten one in the dining room!

 

I usually try to bypass desserts though... but in this instance...

[caribill]

Possibly, but I try do things "by the book" whenever possible. By the way, I ended up eating two slices of Baked Alaska since I already had eaten one in the dining room!

 

 

Princess usually does not allow passengers to carry food out of the dining room (even the rest of a birthday cake--which they will deliver to your cabin).

 

I am surprised the waitstaff did not offer to send a slice to your cabin after you asked if you could take a slice.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Have many we could tell, but two in line with OPs post

 

Baked Alaska,

 

.it was DW birthday so had a little event planed on deck at 10.00pm

 

however it was baked Alaska night and things were running late so had toleave diner to be on deck at the right time, so there we are watching MUTs and away in the distance a light can be seen, its our waiter and an assistance bringing us our own Baked Alaska he did not want us to miss out, service above and beyound,

 

Diner

 

I was not feeling well so had spent most of the evening in my cabin,

our head waiter noticed that I was missing from diner, asked about me,

he then phoned my cabin and asked if wanted any food, I said yes, minutes late a waiter arrived with a menu, a few minutes after my order, two waiters arrived with my order.

 

I could go on and on,

 

but its very simple treat the crew with respect, be nice and they will be nice to you, we all have off days, but a smile can work wonders,

 

yours Shogun

[sherryf]

I'm sure I could think of a lot of little things, but one comes immediately to mind. Last year when we took my kids to Alaska, my daughter was 12, but she is a tiny little thing and looked younger. As a good Seattle native, she drinks coffee. I bought her a coffee card instead of a soda sticker. The first time she went to the International Cafe and ordered a mocha, the barista seemed shocked and wondered if she really wanted hot chocolate. I explained that she is from Seattle and really does drink coffee. When her mocha was too hot to drink, he put in a bit of ice. After that he always remembered her and made sure to not make her drinks too hot. Aleksandar from Montenegro was her favorite employee on the ship, and she filled out a comment card praising him at the end of the cruise.

 

I appreciate good service for myself, but I love it when I see my kids getting great service!

[Working 2 Cruise]

Shogun, I completely agree with you! The Princess staff works so hard....

 

I love stepping on a ship and being greeted with smiles and welcomes!

 

Caribill: that is what happened... Staff must have been overworked that night, and I did not expect them to offer... But when the Baked Alaska arrived at our cabin, we were overjoyed!

[beachgirl34]

Two special things happened to me on my first Princess cruise.

 

I was given the wrong dessert menu one night, it was from the previous night. When I ordered my favorite dessert, tiramisu, the waiter apologized profusely and told me it wasn't available. The next night, right after I finished my meal, a large tiramisu was brought directly to me by the waiter, who had an enormous smile on his face.

 

That same cruise took place when my son was only 5 years old. After a full day of sightseeing he was a little bushed at the dinner table and was leaning against me as we waited for our meal. The maitre'd noticed this, put two chairs together for a makeshift "bed" and covered my son with his own jacket before bringing him one of those plastic ship bottles filled with ginger ale.

 

On my last cruise my son was 9 but still not too adept with a full-size steak knife. At the Crown Grill when our steaks arrived I started to cut my son's, but didn't get too far before the head waiter took over the jobsaying he had a son the same age. He then proceeded to "rif" a few lines of a popular movie with my son, who was delighted.

 

PS: first post, but I've been lurking for a while. Thanks for the helpful info!

[blazerjan]

One of my favorites, although not a Princess story, is from our family cruise on the Independence of the Seas. There were nine of us and every night after we'd finished eating and were enjoying our dessert, our waiter. Joey, would do magic tricks at our table for our grandkids. He was really good and by the end our our 8 day cruise, all the tables around us were also looking forward to Joey's nightly tricks. My grandson still talks about him.

[dtb55]

I sprained my ankle at a port and went straight to the medical center upon my return to the ship. My husband dropped some items off at our cabin and our steward asked where I was. When I got back to the cabin the steward appeared with an extra pillow and an ice pack for my ankle.

 

 

 

Denise

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[1025cruise]

We had a great cabin steward 2 years ago on the Crown Princess.

We were sailing for a belated anniversary. It was past the calendar days where Princess would do the cake/balloons/etc. As a surprise to my wife, I paid for the vow renewal ceremony. A couple of days later, we found a small gift from the steward to my wife, with a note wishing a happy anniversary. I would say that was definitely above and beyond. I made sure to tip him a bit extra (more than I normally would). Too bad the steward we had this past May/June on the Star Princess was so "lackluster".

[Duane T]

We just got off the Diamond Princess. Out cabin steward was absolutely fantastic. The same goes for our Vivaldi Room Dining staff. They just went out of their way to make our day better. A crew member recommended we try and recognize any crew member in the review princess send you after a cruise. Their job performance is based alot on the written feedback from customers.

[geocruiser]

We were on Tahitian Princess in Alaska. We went on shore and when walking around I step in a pile of dog s--t. I tried to get it off as best I could. When we got back to the ship I took off my shoes before going near the gangway and walk on to the ship without my shoes on. When I got on the ship the men in white, ask me why I was holding my shoes. I told them why. They took my shoes, and ask my cabin number, and said they would clean them for me. They were returned to me all clean. The officers told me that they were so happy that I did not walk on the ship with the dog mess on my shoes. I told them I would never walk in my house like that and threrefore would never walk on a ship with that mess on.

[hcruz007]

I love these stories!! The crews must have difficult jobs at times and they show such thoughfulness and consideration. Makes me appreciate them even more. :)

[windsor26]

Not on Princess although there are several stories from those ships. We were in the casino one night and it was almost empty - I mean about 3 people there - We were chatting to the manager and having an enjoyable swap of stories about towns near home. We are not big gamblers so did not play.

 

The following evening the head waiter appeared with the wine menu and asked us to choose a bottle with compliments from the Casino Manager with thanks for us easing his boredom:).

[PescadoAmarillo]

I had to seriously consider this before commenting. On Princess, it happened last year on the Emerald. I happened to ask our headwaiter Antonio if they were still giving out the frosted shot glasses at wine tasting, because there was one design we still needed. He asked which one and I told him. The next day, when he saw us come in the dining room for the wine tasting, he swept us over to a table that had been set with the ones I was looking for. Very thoughtful!

 

But, honestly, the best service we've ever had was when I bundled up DH with his two broken arms, just after two surgeries, and took him on a last minute Celebrity Panama Canal cruise. I was worn out and needed someone else to see to the cooking and the cleaning and the transportation. We were both waited on hand and foot, and our assistant cabin steward would come to our cabin on his afternoon break with more ice, after seeing to us first and last thing in the morning and first and last thing in the evening. It was the kind of above and beyond service that we'll never forget.

[DiTomCruisers]

What a great idea for a thread.. We have a couple of good stories..

 

1. A couple of years ago aboard the Emerald, we stopped by for a peanut butter cookie after the MUTS movie, a cook manning (Juan Jo from Mexico) the buffet late at night saw my wife's sad face when they were out and asked her what was the matter, she said she had her heart set on a PB cookie, he said he'd be right back. He came back, out of breath, with a plate of cookies for her. I asked where he had to go for those and he said to the International Cafe (down, 8 or 10 decks and almost at the front of the ship)!! I gave him a tip at the end of the cruise and you'd think I gave him an ounce of gold. I just wanted to let him know that we appreciated his service.

 

2. We had a great waiter at Sabatini's (Alessandro from Venice) on the Caribbean Princess, we saw him again on the Ruby a year or two later, but this time he was in charge of the International Cafe. We offered our congratulations and told him we had such a nice time when he was at Sabatini's. Each time he saw us he had a handshake for me and kissed my wife & MIL's hand. He was a charmer for sure and made my MIL feel like she was so special, he escorted my MIL to our table in the dining room and told the waiter that she was a friend of his and to take care of us. They fawned over her and made her feel very special (which she soaked up).

[Working 2 Cruise]

These are such wonderful stories! Thank you all for sharing! It somewhat eases my withdrawal pains... I am trying to parlay a 7-day to Mexico into a 14-day to Hawaii.... Wish me luck...:D

 

Please keep these great stories coming!:D

[zahav1]

All of these stories just show how wonderfully and well trained the crew is.

 

This is not about good service, but about a steward's concern, many years ago on the old Crown Princess my husband decided to throw away his undershirt in the garbage since it had some holes. We went out to dinner and noticed when we came back a folder undershirt on the bed, at first couldn't figure out what's going on, but it was the one from the garbage. Obviously, the steward thought it fell into the garbage can.

 

So, that night my husband threw it back in the garbage and the next day, after breakfast when the room was made up, that undershirt was back folded on the bed.

 

On the third try we put the undershirt inside a paper bag and then threw it out.

[RickEk]

We were on the Sapphire Princess on a Mexican Riviera cruise with my partner, my two kids and my ex-mom-in-law (we're still very close). Well, about halfway through the cruise, XMIL wanted brownies for dessert, but the waiter (and the head waiter) didn't really understand what brownies were... On the last night (after Baked Alaska!), the maitre'd came out with the most deliciously dense chocolate cake just for her. It wasn't a brownie, but it was extraordinary nonetheless.

[Guest arowe6]

I had to seriously consider this before commenting. On Princess, it happened last year on the Emerald. I happened to ask our headwaiter Antonio if they were still giving out the frosted shot glasses at wine tasting, because there was one design we still needed. He asked which one and I told him. The next day, when he saw us come in the dining room for the wine tasting, he swept us over to a table that had been set with the ones I was looking for. Very thoughtful!

 

But, honestly, the best service we've ever had was when I bundled up DH with his two broken arms, just after two surgeries, and took him on a last minute Celebrity Panama Canal cruise. I was worn out and needed someone else to see to the cooking and the cleaning and the transportation. We were both waited on hand and foot, and our assistant cabin steward would come to our cabin on his afternoon break with more ice, after seeing to us first and last thing in the morning and first and last thing in the evening. It was the kind of above and beyond service that we'll never forget.

 

Antonio is the best. Enough said.

 

-Andrew

[Thrak]

We were on the Sea Princess last year on the inside passage cruise and my son wanted to get out onto the portion of the deck just forward of HC. There is access via stairs but he's a disabled vet and MUST use a wheelchair. There is a door from HC but it's locked. We asked if we could have the door opened and a waiter told us it had to remain locked. We asked who could unlock it and he pointed to an officer. (Sadly, I don't know which officer it was.) The officer ordered the door unlocked and allowed us to get my son onto the outer deck. He told us that the door did need to stay locked and to just knock when we wanted to bring the wheelchair back inside. He then proceed to hang around the area and, when we were ready to come back inside, he had obviously been watching out for us and the door was instantly opened before we went had a chance to knock. It would have been easy just to say that policy required the door to be locked but he went the extra bit to make sure my son was able to enjoy this great view.

[Working 2 Cruise]

We were on the Sapphire Princess on a Mexican Riviera cruise with my partner, my two kids and my ex-mom-in-law (we're still very close). Well, about halfway through the cruise, XMIL wanted brownies for dessert, but the waiter (and the head waiter) didn't really understand what brownies were... On the last night (after Baked Alaska!), the maitre'd came out with the most deliciously dense chocolate cake just for her. It wasn't a brownie, but it was extraordinary nonetheless.

 

Rick, I wanted to say thank you for all of the information you always provide us with! I love the Sapphire and will be back on her in a few months... Never soon enough though!

 

It is a great story about your ex mother-in-law. Thanks for sharing!

[Id rather be diving]

We had Godwin, head waiter on several cruises. After the second cruise, he remember us, what type of table we liked, and always give us a good wait staff.

 

We've cruised with Godwin too. The first being on the Emerald's maiden TA (with you Sam & Char!). Godwin was able to pronounce our sometimes difficult last name without any issue. 2 years later we were on the Ruby, we walked up to the dining room and there he was and said, "Welcome back, Mr. & Mrs. Elizalde. It's so good to see you again. It's been a while." I almost fell over because we had not given him our cabin number or anything. He just remembered us!!!

 

My other favorite service story is that I left my Palm Pilot onboard in the safe one time. It was black and hard to see so I missed it in the safe. I called Princess when I got home, but it had not been turned in. So, imagine my surprise when 3 weeks later I got a package in the mail with my Palm Pilot in it. It was so great that it was turned in and sent back to me.

 

The service is one of my top reasons for sailing Princess. We've done 2 Royal Caribbean trips and the service doesn't come anywhere close to Princess - it's where I belong!!!!!!

[clmom]

We had Godwin, head waiter on several cruises. After the second cruise, he remember us, what type of table we liked, and always give us a good wait staff.

Oh Godwin!!! we had the same experience with that wonderful man! he greeted us each night like long lost friends and VIP passengers. He made our last cruise so very special on the Emerald.

[NeurosurgeryNP]

We have sailed the CB four times and we are sailing on her in a few weeks. We had the opportunity to do the BVE on her a Few weeks ago as a pre cruise teaser. My husband is GF and we emailed the dietary coordinator for the CB to see if they could accommodate the GF diet (gluten free). Not only did they accommodate it, but the head waiter Giovanni, went above and beyond to help keep my husband safe. The desserts on the lunch menus weren't gluten friendly, so he went to another dining room and retrieved a crime brûlée for him. They were amazing as always with his diet. In fact he will be the head waiter for our dining room on our cruise, and he assured us he will watch over us.

 

On the Crown a couple of years so, we had a stop in Cozumel. I am not a big drinker, but we overindulged on tequila. Not something i would normally drink. I got sick when we got back and we had to call to get our bed linens changed. We had balcony dining scheduled for that night. Not only did we get a all from the medical center to make sure I was OK, but we also got a call from room service offering to change the night of our dinner. :rolleyes:

[Braselton]

I read on several post that Head Waiter Godwin was on the Emerald and went on a 2 month vacation the first of November 2012, checking to see if he is coming back to the Emerald or another ship on his return???