Less employees?

[kazu]

Oh so true. The Hotel Manager can have a very negative effect across the ship especially if he is disliked by his crew and things just start falling apart because the efficiency is just not there.

 

no question about it. Some couldn't care less if every toilet is not working as long as theirs is. Others are so wonderful and the crew responds to a good captain and a good HD/HM whatever the right term is.

 

I've seen some great ones - most recently on the Westerdam and the prinsendam. On the other hand our Maasdam cruise with a lack lustre PG (to be kind) should have been attended to long before we got off the ship, and yes, we did fill out the "what can we do to make it better" card.

 

You can tell when they care and when they don't. those that do, spread that through the crew like a wonderful infection and you feel the happiness and the desire to serve.

 

Example (small one) - westerdam cruise - I declined a drink and was asked then if she could bring me a water at the sea view pool!! Now, I do call that attentive.

 

Agree completely.

 

We do not have an emotional tie to any cruise line. Ship is often more important to us that the cruise line. We have found that in general the service, crew, food, etc. is about the same on the 3 cruise lines that we tend to favour.

 

We often read the HAL, Celebrity, or Princess boards where some posters wax poetic about how much better the crew or service is on that particular cruise line. This has not been our experience though we have seen glaring differences between ships of the same cruise line.

 

Agree - huge glaring differences and it comes from the top down. JMO though.

[solocanadian]

There's a place they could cut back that few would miss:D.

 

Hear, Hear!!! I thought they were sent packing a few years ago. :D Was so disappointed to see them back like ants at a picnic.:eek:

[earljr]

I agree that top down does have an impact on overall general attitude.

However I think there may be a generational change in the individuals as well.

Edited July 15, 2015 by earljr

[Khaos WolfKat]

In days of yore there was an ugly near naked guy beating a big drum to make the rowers row faster- Your point is well taken!

 

Are passengers allowed to beat the galley slaves? Are they allowed to charge for the beatings?

[antique sailor]

AHOY SHIPMATES,

 

I have cruised a lot on the older HAL ships and "THINK" I remember the Captains talked about the ratio of crew to passengers being so great with an initial crew/staff of approx 750 crew to approx 1000+ passengers.

Now the same ships have a crew of 560+or -, and about 25-30 more cabins

 

When I asked about the fewer crew compared to the original 750, I get the answer" that isn't possible because there isn't enough cabins to sleep that many crew.

Am I wrong or are they trying to cover up the reduction of service etc ?

[iancal]

The crew ratio is meaningless to me. How they are deployed, staff morale, and the on board management team can have a huge impact.

 

The second thing that matters to me is if I am getting the level of service that I expect and that meets the expectations set by the cruise line.

 

The first thing that matters to me is the condition of the ship and more specifically the condition of my cabin. Both cleanliness and fully functioning HVAC and plumbing with no musty smells coming from previously flooded carpets or leaking water supply pipes between the walls.

[mcrcruiser]

We have sailed 63 times with different cruise lines .however ,our favorite has been Celebrity & even here service has slowed in the MDR due to cut backs in staff . Ass't waiters serving the wine never happened on earlier cruises ;as a example .:o

 

We have done about 6 or 7 HAL cruises & we are looking forward to our cruise to Australia ,21 days on Noordam Oct 3rd;)

[DocF]

I sincerely believe that cutbacks in the service and housekeeping staffs have been almost universal in the cruise industry for several years. As long as price competition is so fierce, this will continue to be the case.