How would you handle glacially slow MDR service

[luddite]

Customers pay businesses. Businesses pay employees. I've never issued someones employee a pay statement or a W-2.

 

Businesses shuffle money.

Customers pay the bills. All of them.

[SydneyD'Augstralia]

All this talk of "stiffing" the crew brings to my mind a couple of questions....

 

Is the crew actually not paid or receiving lowered wages if a few pax here and there remove the discretionary service charge?

 

Is it just that the cruiseline pays the crew and it's own coffers aren't replenished as much as they'd like?

 

If the crew is actually paid their contracted rate and people don't pay, isn't it the cruiseline getting "stiffed"?

 

Hmmmm?:confused:

[sdmike]

Not having read every post, here's my input having read a few pages of it:

 

First - I sure hope (and suspect) the OP is exaggerating. Three hours for a meal is ludicrous. I'd be walking out if I was on a pace for over 90 minutes. We frequently eat with a group of 10 and more on our cruises, and we've never, ever experienced service like described. On the Jewel had a slow night and asked the pace to be sped up...and it was.

 

Second - In direct response to the OP (and stated by someone else), I'd leave and tell them why, opting to get food somewhere else.

 

Third - I would discuss this with the food service manager or hotel director. Not in an angry tone, because I truly believe everyone is working hard to make my trip enjoyable, but they should be made aware of the issue. Their job is service and each that I've met takes this very seriously

 

Fourth - I would not adjust the DSC. The people that get that are likely not to blame. It wouldn't be hurting the people the OP intends, in my opinion.

 

Fifth - I always love people thinking this is a conspiracy to drive people to specialty restaurants. Sorry, but from all my interaction with NCL, pissing off your customers isn't likely a business strategy they would employ

Edited February 2, 2014 by sdmike

[ColinIllinois]

Businesses shuffle money.

Customers pay the bills. All of them.

 

 

Ludd, I think we're saying the same thing in different ways.

[LoveyHowell]

Not having read every post, here's my input having read a few pages of it:

 

First - I sure hope (and suspect) the OP is exaggerating. Three hours for a meal is ludicrous. I'd be walking out if I was on a pace for over 90 minutes. We frequently eat with a group of 10 and more on our cruises, and we've never, ever experienced service like described. On the Jewel had a slow night and asked the pace to be sped up...and it was.

 

Second - In direct response to the OP (and stated by someone else), I'd leave and tell them why, opting to get food somewhere else.

 

Third - I would discuss this with the food service manager or hotel director. Not in an angry tone, because I truly believe everyone is working hard to make my trip enjoyable, but they should be made aware of the issue. Their job is service and each that I've met takes this very seriously

 

Fourth - I would not adjust the DSC. The people that get that are likely not to blame. It wouldn't be hurting the people the OP intends, in my opinion.

 

Fifth - I always love people thinking this is a conspiracy to drive people to specialty restaurants. Sorry, but from all my interaction with NCL, pissing off your customers isn't likely a business strategy they would employ

 

1. I can not emphatically enough state there is no exaggeration on my behalf. I am relaying the facts of the matter. My first hand experience was what I considered to be not normal and I am sharing my experiences. I have no reason to exaggerate just as you have no reason to doubt.

 

2. My cruise fare has paid for banquet style MDR dinner. I DO have the option of walking out going to the buffet or going to a pay restaurant, but I should not have to do so. Seriously, why is my expectation of dinner in 2 hours or less so unbelievable? I am waiting for someone to tell me that is unreasonable. The fact of the matter is my expectation is reasonable.

 

3. I did discuss with the head waiter and while he agreed and understood, told me there was nothing really he could do. I accept that he was being honest and upfront with me. But being honest and upfront doesn't make up for the fact that nothing improved. Am I supposed to spend my vacation in line at GS or hunting down people and complaining? Not my idea of fun.

 

4. If I do not adjust DSC, and onboard management is not effective, what recourse do you suggest? Screaming at guest services until they give me OBC so I can go eat at a pay for venue with better service?

 

5. NCL absolutely does try to drive people to specialty restaurants.

 

 

So as I see it now, my choices are A. remove DSC and inadvertently screw hard working people who are not at fault B. Spend more $$$ to eat at specialty restaurants. C. Write a letter resulting in no change D. Chase management around during the cruise.

 

Sorry to all the unwavering fans of NCL, just relaying my first hand actual experience. If you had had as long of a dining experience as I did you would be questioning how to rectify it as well. Getting up and storming out to go to the buffet is ONLY spiting myself and resulting in NO corrective measure.

[jonbgd]

Ive only been on a few NCL cruises

Everytime I went to the CC meet and great.

The Officers, gave us their name and number to call, in case their was any issue onboard.

[LoveyHowell]

Ive only been on a few NCL cruises

Everytime I went to the CC meet and great.

The Officers, gave us their name and number to call, in case their was any issue onboard.

 

You know what, thank you! That IS good practical advice. I didn't know that or perhaps didn't remember. Like I said, I had an "odd" experience on Carnival years ago and I stopped with roll calls, M&M's, etc. If NCL are sending management to those I should look into them. Having an efficient way to reach high up onboard management COULD resolve issues that arise in the future, if they do so at all.

[sdmike]

1. I can not emphatically enough state there is no exaggeration on my behalf. I am relaying the facts of the matter. My first hand experience was what I considered to be not normal and I am sharing my experiences. I have no reason to exaggerate just as you have no reason to doubt.

 

2. My cruise fare has paid for banquet style MDR dinner. I DO have the option of walking out going to the buffet or going to a pay restaurant, but I should not have to do so. Seriously, why is my expectation of dinner in 2 hours or less so unbelievable? I am waiting for someone to tell me that is unreasonable. The fact of the matter is my expectation is reasonable.

 

3. I did discuss with the head waiter and while he agreed and understood, told me there was nothing really he could do. I accept that he was being honest and upfront with me. But being honest and upfront doesn't make up for the fact that nothing improved. Am I supposed to spend my vacation in line at GS or hunting down people and complaining? Not my idea of fun.

 

4. If I do not adjust DSC, and onboard management is not effective, what recourse do you suggest? Screaming at guest services until they give me OBC so I can go eat at a pay for venue with better service?

 

5. NCL absolutely does try to drive people to specialty restaurants.

 

1. Fair enough

2. Like I said, I think 2 hours is UNREASONABLE. I'd walk out if I was taking that long

3. I suggested food service manager and hotel director

4. Did you talk to the food service manager and hotel director?

5. BS, unless you have evidence

 

Clearly you took offense to my comments as soon as you got to point #1 where I suggested you may be exaggerating. My apologies, but I'm just relating MY experience. I stick by the rest of my suggestions and comments. I'm not defending your experience or bashing you. I simply offered suggestions on what to do, as you requested. Since you didn't deal with the issue to your satisfaction on the ship, I would suggest maybe writing to NCL customer service to voice your experience. Send it to the CEO. There's evidence that he reads at least some of his mail from customers.

Edited February 2, 2014 by sdmike

[jonbgd]

You know what, thank you! That IS good practical advice. I didn't know that or perhaps didn't remember. Like I said, I had an "odd" experience on Carnival years ago and I stopped with roll calls, M&M's, etc. If NCL are sending management to those I should look into them. Having an efficient way to reach high up onboard management COULD resolve issues that arise in the future, if they do so at all.

 

Of the 3 cruiselines(RCCL, NCL,CCL) we cruise regularly on, NCL does it the best.

They actually seem too care.

 

On RCCL you might get a CD

 

Carnival, especially since the Magic TA, would rather not know you are on CC:rolleyes:

[$hip$hape]

My expectation is MDR dinner service in 2 hour or less. There's no attitude, chip on shoulder, or greater expectation of personalized service. I don't require specialized meals, off menu meals, or make great demands of service staff. I do not think my expectation is unreasonable. There is no need to speculate about anything as I am willing to have a discussion and answer any questions. I don't care for the implication that my expectation is unreasonable or that somehow I am unreasonable and the cause of and therefore the reason for slow service.

This thread is a must-read...

OP-1 / Cheerleaders-0

Edited February 2, 2014 by $hip$hape

[biker@sea]

You know what, thank you! That IS good practical advice. I didn't know that or perhaps didn't remember. Like I said, I had an "odd" experience on Carnival years ago and I stopped with roll calls, M&M's, etc. If NCL are sending management to those I should look into them. Having an efficient way to reach high up onboard management COULD resolve issues that arise in the future, if they do so at all.

Lovey ,so sorry to hear of The professor Passing .:(

I always go to the M&G I hate to say it but you do have political influence on the ship . The officers will tell you " if you have a problem let us fix it. Call Us please . We don't want to read about it online when it to late. "

 

Let me tell you they Mean It . All of them .

 

My friend asked the bar manager about gluten free beer supply . He checked finding one case , then telling her it was reserved for her and to tell any server or barkeeper anywhere to call him for it .

[triptolemus]

I do believe federal law mandates that if a server does not earn at least minimum wage in tips that the restaurant must make up the difference in wages. I know the reality is that a lot of land based restaurants rely on servers not knowing their rights and then the waiter or waitress gets ripped off by management. But the law does state otherwise.

 

I don't believe you understand precisely why the majority of cruise ships fly a foreign flag.

 

Short version: US federal labor laws do not apply.

[che5904]

 

5. NCL absolutely does try to drive people to specialty restaurants.

.

 

1

5. BS, unless you have evidence

 

 

A so agree with you Mike. Out of all the stuff I read on CC, I think this is the most laughable. How anyone could even possibly think that a business would purposely p*$$ off their customers in order to push them to spend more money is IMO ludicrous. The only thing a business accomplishes if they set out to tick a customer off on purpose is to drive them to another business, duh.

 

As for the OP, how could giving you slow service in the MDR cause people to flock to the specialty restaurants. Specialty restaurants are more designed to go at a slow pace. So over 2 hours in a specialty restaurant certainly would not be unheard of. The specialty restaurants is probably the only place on the ship, that I do have to say to the staff "could you leave less time between courses, because we really would like to get to..."

 

Think about this. Specialty restaurants go with reservations, therefore giving themselves plenty of time before they need your table again. MDR's on the other hand only have room for approx. 1/3 of the passengers on the ship, therefore, they would probably prefer people like me and others who wish to eat and be on their way, so they can fill the table again.

[barnacle_boy]

NCL absolutely does try to drive people to specialty restaurants

 

This is a reasonable conclusion to come to based on experience, but it's terribly ignorant and wrong. In recent years, NCL has taken concrete steps to help alleviate strain on the MDRs while still providing good food at complimentary venues. They are experimenting with higher quality items in the buffet (lobster, prime rib) on certain nights. Sheehan recently told press at the Getaway launch that O'Sheehans (which will be expanding fleet wide in the coming years) will also offer higher quality nightly specials to make it a more attractive dinner venue. To say that NCL is trying to force you to pay for specialty restaurants by not trying to address issues with crowding in the MDRs is utterly inaccurate.

[LMaxwell]

I don't believe you understand precisely why the majority of cruise ships fly a foreign flag.

 

Short version: US federal labor laws do not apply.

 

My posting was in response to someone who commented about the $2.XX per hour at US Land based restaurants. I know that ships are foreign flagged to, in part, avoid US labor laws. Sorry if I did make that clear in my first response.

 

Here is the Department of Labor page to support my original quote regarding US federal law (land based restaurants). I did not bring this topic up, someone else did and I was merely responding.

 

http://www.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm

Edited February 2, 2014 by LMaxwell

[CasinoCruzGirl]

I think you just don't want to pay the tips it's not only for that wait staff. Don't be cheap leave your DSC in place

 

 

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[4774Papa]

You did not provide specifics. Was your food cold when delivered? How long did it take for your food to arrive?

 

We enjoy taking out time to eat on a cruise. What's the hurry?

[LoveyHowell]

I think you just don't want to pay the tips

 

No dear. Read the thread next time. Maybe even read the title?

[sdmike]

You did not provide specifics. Was your food cold when delivered? How long did it take for your food to arrive?

 

We enjoy taking out time to eat on a cruise. What's the hurry?

 

Not speaking for the OP, but while I enjoy food and eating, I hate wasting time "waiting" for things while I could be off doing something else fun.

[che5904]

Not speaking for the OP, but while I enjoy food and eating, I hate wasting time "waiting" for things while I could be off doing something else fun.

 

Ditto

[RJ2002]

I guess we have been lucky in that we have not had an extraordinarily long meal in the MDR. On the occasions when we needed to be out a certain time (to she a show), our waiters have done a good job to get us going.

 

If we were experiencing a long evening, I'd first mention it directly to the waiter. If that didn't speed things along, I'd mention it to the dining room manager on the way out that evening.

 

If the slow service persisted on the next evening, whether that same waiter or another, I'd bring it up with the F&B Manager and/or the Hotel Manager.

 

There is no excuse for a MDR meal to take 3 hours. Should be done in 2 hours max, unless the party at the table is purposefully lingering.

[Vyhanek]

If I went to Applebee"s and dinner took 2.5 to 3 hours I certainly would be adjusting the tip! I mention Applebee's because I would say the meal is on par with Applebee's.

 

This problem has been going on since NCL went to Freestyle dining probably around a decade now. I think it's far too long to continue to be patient with the system. I've been on no less than 15 NCL cruises and they re all the same. Like you say, very polite wait staff, very apologetic but completely and totally inefficient. When you are in the dining room at 6pm and you have to leave before dessert to make an 8:30 or 9pm show, that should make the average customer IRATE!

 

A good customer, a good consumer would respond with adjusting the tip AND notifying the Management on exactly why. But like you said, the Management KNOWS, they've known they are inefficient and it's going on a decade now.

 

Yes, I believe if the tips are adjusted downward, and the staff as well as the consumer are complaining, then maybe there will be process improvement.

[milolii]

Not sure if this is all ships, but our service on the Spirit in the 2 MDRs was almost three hours on 3 out of 3 trips to the MDRs. Others on the roll call had the same complaints. Twice the dinning room was slow, almost empty and food lukewarm. Third date MDR was very busy. So understood that night, it was a late back on board from Mykonosis. On this cruise, it was not as much about rushing, just wanted to turn in as port days were very busy. We ended up using other choices.

 

 

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[LoveyHowell]

Ditto

 

Agreed. MDR is upscale-ish banquet (wedding) type dining. It is not fine dining prepared to order. I think the food is fine though and the staff congenial. The pace though last time was agonizing.

 

Some people say 45-60 minutes and they are out. Other times you may get my experience of long waits while seated. Then there are those that claim they wait an hour every single night to get in, but don't express concerns over food delays.

 

Whatever the issue with management and resources is, the experience seems to be at the very least inconsistent.

 

And for everyone telling me I just want to remove tips, or wanting to know every last detail about everything (and I AM willing to answer), or that somehow the fact that cooked food eventually showed up should be good enough (thats a low bar), not one person has said my expectation of being able to dine in the MDR in under 2 hours is unreasonable. 45+ minutes between finishing an appetizer and main course arriving; come on, the staff were running like chickens with no heads. Would this be expected at a land based restaurant? Would people be so happy about it there? We're talking about a pretty standard 3 or 4 course meal here, not a feast of platters.

 

As to NCL pushing people to specialty venues, I refer to the fact that they are building larger and larger 4K + passenger ships and MDR's can not fit much over 1/3 of PAX and certainly are understaffed. Like I said, other report waiting an hour all the time on NCL for a dining room. But as someone else said, if you go to specialty and have a reservation that hassle is removed. My wait times generally were 15-20 minutes, and not even all nights. I used to think NCL had the freestyle concept down really, really well. On the medium sized ships that's probably true. Now I am not so sure. Maybe it was just an off week on one ship at the times I wanted to eat...but I don't suspect that's the case.

 

But this thread has been hepful and I have learned much about resources. Thanks and let's all go enjoy our Super Sunday now!

[swedish weave]

Lovey ---- Now that you have been thoroughly raked over the coals, I see a few things in this thread that will benefit you in the future.

 

The big one is the Meet and Greet. It is not unusual to see 7 or 8 senior officers at the meeting, and they do beg you to bring any problems to their attention right away. That applies to all departments on the ship, and they are serious about wanting you to have a great cruise. Also, as has been mentioned, they would rather know about and resolve problems right away than to see them posted on CC or other internet places.

 

Keeping everything working on a ship is sort of like managing a city. Things do not always work as intended, but it makes it much simpler of the managers get a handle on the problems and get an opportunity to fix them.

 

Some of the deficiencies can be the fault of upper management, but many things that go wrong can be corrected by the people on the ships, and they do care.