Breakaway - Indifferent staff? No way!

[Stickboy3327]

We were on the Breakaway last week NYC/Bermuda. We had read many reviews where folks mentioned the cruise staff was indifferent or even rude.

 

That was NOT the experience we had last week. I would say well over 90% of the crew we saw would smile and offer some sort of greeting (the others we did not interact with or were working). No one was ever indifferent or rude to me or my family.

 

Note that we were not in a Haven room so we were sailing with the "general population."

[NLH Arizona]

Thanks for posting this. I too have read a few posts where posters have said that the crew was indifferent, rude, etc., but I've also been reading many posts like yours that say just the opposite. Not sure why the crew in general would be indifferent or rude to some and not others, unless it is that one would get back what they give out. Anyway, thanks for reinforcing what I've always seen from the crew on all my cruises.

[TMD7496]

I was also on the Breakaway last week (5/8-5/15) and found that the staff were extremely friendly. I recall reading many reviews complaining about how rude the staff is but I have found them to be among the most friendly staff I have ever seen on a cruise ship.

[dolls123]

I was on this cruise last week in the Haven and found all staff to be friendly & go out of their way to be helpful (shore excursions, extra blankets, snacks, etc)

[Gershep]

Glad to hear this. Last time we were on the Breakaway the crew was fantastic but after some of the reviews I was starting to worry.

[luvtheships]

Never had any problems with rude staff on any Ncl ship. Or ccl or princess ship

[luvtheships]

Never had any problems with rude staff on any Ncl ship. Or ccl or princess ship

[ofbp Walt]

ok won't deny finding one or two staffers who were a little 'off',

but they nevertheless provided fine service.

 

but the other 99.98% of the staff was remarkable in attitude and

competence, despite the masses of people on board!

[CMW5060]

Just off Breakaway on 5/15 and have same experience. With the exception of one or two, extremely friendly and hard working crew! We were treated so well, but then again we engaged everyone in conversation, and a little of that goes a long way toward receiving great service. They truely want to make your vacation a great experience, no need to be rude to the crew but we witnessed many ignorant people doing just that. We had a great cruise!

[bobg529]

Just off Breakaway on 5/15 and have same experience. With the exception of one or two, extremely friendly and hard working crew! We were treated so well, but then again we engaged everyone in conversation, and a little of that goes a long way toward receiving great service. They truely want to make your vacation a great experience, no need to be rude to the crew but we witnessed many ignorant people doing just that. We had a great cruise!

 

 

I couldn't agree with your example more. I think that most of the snarky comments about nasty crew members come from folks that are, dare I say it, a bit nasty themselves. Sure there's a rotten apple in every barrel, but more often than not you get what you give in this world. I try to treat everyone with genuine respect and gratitude for their work. It's the way I was brought up I guess and I think it's just the right way to behave. :)

[psupa]

Haven't been on the Breakaway, but have been on many cruises on different lines and have never had any problems with rude staff. We have found them to be nothing but pleasant and always courteous. We treat them like we would want to be treated and always greet them with a smile and thank you. It takes very little to be nice.

[April42749]

I couldn't agree with your example more. I think that most of the snarky comments about nasty crew members come from folks that are, dare I say it, a bit nasty themselves. Sure there's a rotten apple in every barrel, but more often than not you get what you give in this world. I try to treat everyone with genuine respect and gratitude for their work. It's the way I was brought up I guess and I think it's just the right way to behave. :)

 

I've been on the BA twice, several other NCL ships, MSC Divina and a few Carnival ships. I never had an unfriendly or rude employee.

 

I think those who complain have unrealistic expectations, or think they are sailing 1st Class on the Titanic and the employees are their personal servants.

 

The people are working. They may not have time to engage in small talk with passengers. If I were carrying a large container of dirty dishes in the buffet, I doubt I'd have a smile on my face and want to discuss "nonsense" with someone.

[npater]

Just off the BA today and I just want to say that I don't know what these people are taking about re NCL crew members being rude. They are the most friendly people, always saying good morning, how is yr day going, etc. I think it is the passengers that are very rude and inconsiderate to the crew members and to other passengers. We have seen passengers pushing, cutting in front of people, etc. we were talking to a couple of passengers the last night as they wanted dessert before they closed the garden cafe and they said they couldn't wait to get out of there as people were grabbing everything they could get, pushing, it sounded like they never ate before. That is why we go to the sit down restaurant most of the time We always spoke to all the crew members, never had any problems. Remember they are people too, not just your servant for the week. They work real hard to take care of you to make sure you have an enjoyable vacation, that is why we tip them before we leave even though we pre-pay our gratuities and we had the free UBP and we still gave them a $1 tip for each drink that we ordered. We always had great service

[N55cruiser]

Agreed. We sailed BA last year and found them absolutely lovely and hard-working individuals.

[Casino Comp Chick]

The staff on the BA are awesome!

[Winnigirl]

I couldn't agree with your example more. I think that most of the snarky comments about nasty crew members come from folks that are, dare I say it, a bit nasty themselves. Sure there's a rotten apple in every barrel, but more often than not you get what you give in this world. I try to treat everyone with genuine respect and gratitude for their work. It's the way I was brought up I guess and I think it's just the right way to behave. :)

 

This is so true. On our last cruise on the Epic the people next door were so rude to our room steward. It was terrible. You could hear them speaking to him in such a condescending manner and never a please or thank you. He, on the other hand, kept his composure throughout and was nothing but polite in return. I found myself apologizing to him almost every day - for people I didn't even know!! We gave him something a little extra special at the end of the cruise for putting up with their awful behaviour. I find that the same thing happens in guest reviews. If one thing has not gone their way or a mistake has been made - the whole cruise was horrible. That's why I always take reviews with a "grain of salt".

[Wnde7]

We were on the BA the week of 5/22 and I too was worried after all of the negative reviews that I had read prior to sailing but I am happy to report that the service could not have been better! We did not have any negative encounters with any of the staff. Our room steward (Abdul) was exceptional! He greeted us with a genuine smile and happy sentiments every morning and knew all of us by name from day one.

I really wonder what the expectations of some people are because I cant imagine that the staff can change that drastically from one cruise to another.

[djmcwilliams106]

Was just on the Breakaway we were in the Haven I must say our first time and it was the Best.... The extra money out was worth every penny. Getting on the ship and getting off was EZ.. Can't wait to book our next cruise

[jackparts]

As I posted earlier, we were on the BA over Thanksgiving 2015. The problem(s) we had were with Guest Service or lack of it. Long lines embarkation day which I expected. Told me that they would check and back to me on the Dining problems and did not . Went there again and still did not have things worked out, never did. If you check back over the posts, the problems with Guest Service were found on MANY cruises.

[darlene62]

The staff on the BA are awesome!

 

I was on the Breakaway in October and although room steward was not fabulous at his job, he clearly tried. My opinion is he was overwhelmed. The drink service at casino was terrible and restaurant service slow. I stayed in Haven suite with my mother on 5/22. Restaurant service in all places we went including haven was still very slow although it seemed to us (like on my Oct cruise )staff working hard. Casino drink service at least 10x better. The vast majority of staff were were very friendly and helpful ( hey no place is perfect there is always a bad day or or nasty person) My mom was ill part of this cruise and what was stellar was our butler Gian and room steward. They are the ones that went way out of their way to make this special for mom and me. They were caring, sweet and offered assistance for both of us when we needed it the most.