I was not Serenaded, nor was I WOWed!

[CrusingJoe]

I was not Serenaded, nor was I WOWed!

Loyalty Ambassador, non existence. He was never at his post in Guest Relations when posted. Believe he was sent home. Why create a position and not have reliable backup. Was told he was sick.

Top level event held at three in the afternoon, why? Beverage service was bad, bad, bad. Was told the Crown and Anchor members didn’t want miss their time in the Concierge or Diamond lounge from 4 to 8 pm, Bull.

I never received one amenity for cruising over 400 days.

The Service in the Concierge Lounge was bad. The Service in the Diamond lounge was better. Yes over 600 top tier members on this cruise, but the ship should have scheduled more staff when needed.

Food was the worsted I have ever had on any cruise ship or any cruise line, in the Main Dining room, Park Café and the Windjammer.

I reserved a table for 6, received a table for 4 in the MDR. I went to the Maitre’D and was told the tables of 6 were all taken only to find they were not. Appears he was not looking very closely at the requests submitted by Crown and Anchor. Eight pm seating was not full any night.

I found the ship to be clean, service in other areas good and our room attended excellent.

[micmacmissy]

Sounds like it's time for a change. Take your RCCL loyalty status and head over to Celebrity where you might find the service a notch or two better!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Were you on the reposition cruise?

 

We just got off the Serenade after a B2B cruise on April 4. We were in a balcony first week and a suite the second. so we can speak to both lounges. we felt the Diamond lounge was very good. Annalise was a good CL. We did not have as many D and D+ as your cruise, but they opened the Viking Crown Lounge to expand the D lounge.

 

We felt the CL was even better. I loved Melody the bartender there. Also, the CL was helpful and personable. It was always possible to find a seat. The Concierge [his name is eluding me] sent us an email about a week before our suite cruise. When I emailed back that we were onboard and would visit his lounge the following week. He sent us a bottle of wine. :)

 

One reason for some of your issues may be staff turnover. We kept hearing from staff that they were getting off before the repo cruises. [some even after our cruise] For example both the CD and AD were being replaced with staff that speak one of the Nordic languages.

 

We found on a repo cruise we had on the /grandeur that there were lots of little things that the staff needed to work out to work together.

Edited April 28, 2015 by DragonOfTheSeas

[Truckeral]

We were on this one also

Food was beyond bad

We booked two trans-Atlantic's on the second day

Will be canceling them as soon as our TA gets back from Scotland

We are Diamond Plus and service in the Diamond Lounge was much better than the CL but neither was great

Best I can say is thank God we skipped doing a B2B on to Copenhagen as we first planed

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

Top level event held at three in the afternoon, why?

 

What is a top level event ?

 

Sorry to hear that a staff member was ill, sent home, and you did not get to meet him.

 

Sounds that you are a victim of being ignored, or being avoided.

 

 

 

.

Edited April 28, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn is beautiful. GO LYNN

[Clarea]

What is a top level event ?...

Very similar to the regular repeater's party, except usually limited to Platinum and above. Sometimes they will have a special performance, such as by the ice skaters or singers.

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

Very similar to the regular repeater's party, except usually limited to Platinum and above. Sometimes they will have a special performance, such as by the ice skaters or singers.

 

Thanks for that.

[PSCruiser]

I was not Serenaded, nor was I WOWed!

Top level event held at three in the afternoon, why? Beverage service was bad, bad, bad. Was told the Crown and Anchor members didn’t want miss their time in the Concierge or Diamond lounge from 4 to 8 pm, Bull.

 

Can't speak to the other complaints, but I think that an afternoon Top Tier party is a good call. What incentive do Ds and D+s have to attend and drink punch, when they can be having cocktails in the lounges?

[Topo Gigio]

Can't speak to the other complaints, but I think that an afternoon Top Tier party is a good call. What incentive do Ds and D+s have to attend and drink punch, when they can be having cocktails in the lounges?

 

Exactly my thoughts. I have been to 1 or 2, but why bother if I can go at 5 anyways?

[coldflame]

One reason for some of your issues may be staff turnover. We kept hearing from staff that they were getting off before the repo cruises. [some even after our cruise] For example both the CD and AD were being replaced with staff that speak one of the Nordic languages.

 

Not the first time I hear "horror" stories about a cruise during staff relay/changeover. Some cruise lines just do not know how to handle the transition gracefully. Some have have a staggered transition and they leave staff at some ports and pick some up at other ports, all throughout the same voyage, which will almost invariably cause disruptions and service issues.

[Don Pedro]

Sounds like it's time for a change. Take your RCCL loyalty status and head over to Celebrity where you might find the service a notch or two better!

 

 

Suggesting that it is time for him to change cruise lines seem to indicate that the service he received was adequate and is what he should have expected. If the OP's concerns are valid then RCCL needs to remedy them.

[billsgal]

I was not Serenaded, nor was I WOWed!

Loyalty Ambassador, non existence. He was never at his post in Guest Relations when posted. Believe he was sent home. Why create a position and not have reliable backup. Was told he was sick.

 

The Loyalty Ambassador was sick, and sent home. However, one of the future cruise sales staff helped with Loyalty requests, as did the Guest Relations staff. A friend of ours did not receive the correct d+ amenity, went to guest services, and was given 2 of the correct amenity. Did you go to Guest Services to get your amenity problem solved?

 

 

Top level event held at three in the afternoon, why? Beverage service was bad, bad, bad. Was told the Crown and Anchor members didn’t want miss their time in the Concierge or Diamond lounge from 4 to 8 pm, Bull.

 

Since the event was held on a sea day, what difference did the time make? We would prefer it be held in the afternoon rather than the morning, but you must feel differently. Different strokes for different folks, I guess:)

I never received one amenity for cruising over 400 days.

 

See above comment.....did you let the Guest relations people know, and if you did, how did they respond?

 

 

The Service in the Concierge Lounge was bad. The Service in the Diamond lounge was better. Yes over 600 top tier members on this cruise, but the ship should have scheduled more staff when needed.

We had wonderful service in the Concierge Lounge from Nizar. If there were no empty seats when we arrived, he would find some and get us a seating area. Can't speak for the diamond lounge, we never went there, but friends did say it was quite crowded.

Food was the worsted I have ever had on any cruise ship or any cruise line, in the Main Dining room, Park Café and the Windjammer.

I reserved a table for 6, received a table for 4 in the MDR. I went to the Maitre’D and was told the tables of 6 were all taken only to find they were not. Appears he was not looking very closely at the requests submitted by Crown and Anchor. Eight pm seating was not full any night.

 

Food is subjective. For us, it was typical banquet food, some nights pretty good, some nights just OK. Park Cafe roast beef was awful the first time, then good the next two times we ate there. WJ was typical WJ INHO.

 

I found the ship to be clean, service in other areas good and our room attended excellent.

 

We also found the ship very clean and our room attendant Mariana was wonderful. Our wait staff was excellent and everyone around the ship seemed to be happy. Our bar waiter, Ghanna, in schooner bar, would have our drinks ready within 1 minute of sitting down. We do not sit at the outdoor pool, but the solarium bar service was spotty at best.

 

Our favorite ships have been Jewel and Brilliance, and this was our first time on Serenade, despite being Pinnacle members. We might just have a new favorite as we thought everything was outstanding. We had diamond and diamond plus members sailing with us, and all thought the service was wonderful. I am not in any way doubting your experience, but sometimes two people see things differently. I hope your next cruise will be more to your liking.

 

 

[CVU]

Last Fall we spent 24 nights on Serenade in the Med. and thought it had the best food of all we had been on, at that time with RCL.:eek:

We had no complaints at all and had a Wonderful B2B.

 

Always surprising to hear comments like these but perhaps it was the change of staff on this reposition?

[Cruzin-K]

We also found the ship very clean and our room attendant Mariana was wonderful. Our wait staff was excellent and everyone around the ship seemed to be happy. Our bar waiter, Ghanna, in schooner bar, would have our drinks ready within 1 minute of sitting down. We do not sit at the outdoor pool, but the solarium bar service was spotty at best.

 

Our favorite ships have been Jewel and Brilliance, and this was our first time on Serenade, despite being Pinnacle members. We might just have a new favorite as we thought everything was outstanding. We had diamond and diamond plus members sailing with us, and all thought the service was wonderful. I am not in any way doubting your experience, but sometimes two people see things differently. I hope your next cruise will be more to your liking.

 

 

 

I pretty much agree with you. Like you, I don't doubt the OP's experience but I had an enjoyable time. The time of the top tier party wasn't what I was used to, but with so many top tier members, I thought it turned out fine.

 

My biggest complaints were the photography and the bar service.

 

I realize that 99.9% of higher level C&A members no longer purchase photographs on board, but some of us still like to get one or two. I think they've been using the same backdrops for 10+ years, and more than one of the staff complained about having to use old equipment (loose lenses, unreliable flashes, etc.). I had a hard time finding photos good enough to purchase with my BOGOHO coupon. Princess does a much better job with photos.

 

Bar service has already been discussed ad nauseum on these boards, but my two cents is that all the complainers are spot on. No servers around the pool or in the public lounges. You had to go to the bar and get a drink, with about a dozen other people all vying for the bartender's attention. Increased prices and pushing the alcohol packages seems to have resulted in shoddy service.

 

We had good service in the CL, and by the cabin attendant.

 

The activities organized on our roll call were fun, especially the slot pull where we all won $7 :D

 

The Cruise Critic members got a special lunch (with wine) on the last sea day and it was really well attended. We filled up the entire starboard side of the Deck 5 dining room. It was a fun way to end a great cruise.

 

Food is subjective, but I wasn't really impressed except for my one meal at Giovanni's which was excellent. Our waitstaff was great.

 

The best part of the cruise as usual, was spending time with old friends and making new friends :) I'm looking forward to my next Serenade cruise (even though we will be crammed into a shoebox instead of my spacious suite. sniff)

[WisconsinFan]

I think with many new mega ships coming online and not with just RCCL, the degree of service is suffering. The better more experienced staff are being diluted throughout the fleet making the passanger experience less than before. It also may not be employee cutbacks, but management trying to keep up with adding more mega ships industry wide. My guess there is a large turnover with employees and trying to keep up is difficult.

 

Also remember Carnival and Royal own many of the other lines, so your experience may be not that much different by switching name brands.

[tip]

We were also on the repositioning cruise on Serenade from New Orleans to Boston. We are not new cruisers, this was our 25th.

 

I guess that it is all a matter of perspective. We had a wonderful cruise and found the food and service to be top notch. The food was much better than our last RCCL cruise which was on the Independence of the Seas.

 

The comments about the 'loyalty ambassador" not being at the reception desk (which is on deck four) are interesting since their offices to meet with passengers are on deck six aft next to the Safari Lounge. Every time I walked by they were meeting with passengers. The daily compass had a number to call to make a reservation every day.

 

I did notice that the ship had its share of complainers. One fellow was even in the complaining mood before we even boarded the ship. We took a dinner cruise on the Steamboat Natchez two nights before we boarded the Serenade and he just would not let up.

 

A couple, a few tables over, were never happy. She was always complaining about the lack of selections in the buffet, the fennel in her food (which was clearly listed on the menu) and he made a major scene with the waiter and the head waiter over how the crème brulee was prepared. He just would not let it go.

 

A special terrific lunch was served for Cruise Critic members on the last sea day. A woman who sat across from us started to complain before she even sat down (chairs and tables too close) and then went on to complain about the selections of unlimited free wines offered and the fact that she did not like any of the three choices of entrees. She got up and announced that she was going to the buffet and she took her free wine (which she did not like) with her!

 

Some folks are never happy. Maybe they would be better off sailing another line.

[tiessa]

I don't think it is fair to criticize someone when they voice their opinion. While some people are constant complainers, many are not. Your experience may not have been the same as yours. It doesn't mean their experience didn't happen. Just because you disagree with them does not mean they are liars or overly critical. It just means the 2 of you had different experiences.

 

I was on the Serenade earlier this year. I found the dining room food to be hit if miss. I thought the food in the buffet was disappointing in selection and in quality. The service was good except at the Park Cafe (I think that is what the food place on the pool deck is called.). There it was between non-existent and bad.

 

I also found the entertainment to be lacking. No one else has mentioned that but it was terrible and sparse on our cruise.

 

Respect people's opinions and accept them as their opinions even if you did not have the same experience. You can disagree without being rude and calling people names.

[Langley Cruisers]

The comments about the 'loyalty ambassador" not being at the reception desk (which is on deck four) are interesting since their offices to meet with passengers are on deck six aft next to the Safari Lounge. Every time I walked by they were meeting with passengers.

 

We were on Serenade last year and found this to be the case as well. They were always busy helping passengers in this location.

 

And I agree that one person's review may not resonate with everyone. We found the food to be tasty and we enjoyed the entertainment. I don't know... that "grain of salt" thing? :o:)

 

.

[Big_G]

 

Respect people's opinions and accept them as their opinions even if you did not have the same experience. You can disagree without being rude and calling people names.

 

 

I thought Tip was referring to the people in his comment and not the OP.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[tip]

I thought Tip was referring to the people in his comment and not the OP.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

You are indeed correct. I don't believe that I called anyone names, least of all the OP. I said that it was a matter of perspective. I did say that we ran across some "complainers" and then went on to provide some examples. I am not sure what else to call them.

[Cruzin-K]

fwiw, the Loyalty Ambassador and the next cruise sales person are not the same person. Two completely separate positions

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2198056

[Hoopster95]

Last Fall we spent 24 nights on Serenade in the Med. and thought it had the best food of all we had been on, at that time with RCL.:eek:

We had no complaints at all and had a Wonderful B2B.

 

Always surprising to hear comments like these but perhaps it was the change of staff on this reposition?

 

Hey neighbor! Yep, I was on Serenade with you and totally agree... I posted in my Serenade review that the MDR was one of the best I've experienced in the last 3 years or so hands down. And exactly like my Vision experience in Panama (and Max's'moms review if you read it) Vision was an incredible staff and ship... then repositioned to Tampa and seemingly all hell broke loose with horrible reviews for months. I experienced a not so stellar cruise on a 2010 Indy TA with a lot of new staff

 

It's seems to be posted here on CC more often than not... repositions, inaugurals, high number of staff changes can create havoc on a ship it seems with service, quality, etc.

[CarpeCerevisi]

I was on the NO to Boston repo. It was my forty somethingth cruise and one of my best. My cabin steward was fantastic, Norman in the VC during happy hour always was attentive and had always had a good word. Yes, I was a somewhat disappointed with the Windjammer at times but I thought it got better as the cruise went on. I'm not one for the MDR or the traditional shows so I can't comment on them. All in all, I found the crew to be hospitable, the ship to be clean and in good shape, and the itinerary to be much to my liking as well as my fellow cruisers. I don't know what else I could ask for. Oh, and the CC lunch the last day was a pleasant surprise with excellent food and the free wine was a plus.

 

I'm not saying that everything was perfect, but I never did mind the little things.

[tiessa]

My remark was not specifically aimed at tip. You'll notice I didn't quote him. It was a general remark to so many on here who are disrespectful to anyone who has a different experience.

[70Superbee]

This was our first cruise and was with 2 kids age 19 and 21

We were on Serenade of the Seas March 7, 2015 week.

Staff were great, friendly and helpful, tons of food, good variety, food was good, shows were good, comedians were funny. Getting on and off boat was trouble free and efficient.

Boat was clean, crew were always touching up things.

the only things that need "fixed" are the pool table cues, need some new tips and darts in pub are the cheap ones and not worth playing darts with.(bring your own)

 

Good people, good food, good fun, what else do you need..

 

Everything else was good, if you have complaints you are probably the type that always finds something to complain about