Acknowledging the waiters at dinner

[KansasK]

When on the May 22, 2016 Allure of the Seas cruise, we had a good waiter and assistant waiter. We had early, traditional dining. The bartender who took our drink order each night also did a good job. On Tuesday, they had the parade of waiters and we all acknowledged them with applause, waving napkins, etc. The Maitre 'D announced how many meals the waiters delivered during the cruise, which was a huge number, as you might guess. This was also applauded with enthusiasm.

 

The next night was the parade of chefs and everyone again applauded and waved napkins, etc. We appreciate the chefs.

 

On the second to last night, our waiter and assistant waiter came together asked if there was anything they could do better for us and we all smiled and told them we were happy with their service. They told us we would get a survey and that a 10 was the only score that mattered. We all again assured them we were happy with them.

 

On the last night, just after getting the dessert menu, they played the "Happy" song and people got to their feet and some danced with the waiters and the Maitre 'D again told us how hard working the waiter staff is and gave us the number of meals statistics again and went on some with this and then asked if we didn't think they all deserved a standing ovation? Everyone stood then and applauded them all again.

 

We had given the waiter, assistant waiter and bartender an additional tip early at dinner when they came to take our order. We had prepaid tips, but felt they deserved the additional cash tip.

 

I respect that the Maitre 'D appreciates and supports his staff. I thought the last night was kind of overdone and was a little uncomfortable with this much adulation on top of the two nights earlier in the week.

 

I wonder if this is now happening on all ships?

 

(When the survey came, I was comfortable with giving our wait staff a 10. I don't think they should ask for it, though. This did not stop me from giving the 10, which was deserved.)

[Merion_Mom]

Most of the ships have dropped the "waiter parade" and I, for one, am grateful and happy.

 

:rolleyes:

 

What you experienced was definitely over the top. That makes me very uncomfortable, just reading about it.

[awestover89]

I just wished the survey allowed you to rate your waiter and assistant waiter separately. I would have gladly given our last waiter a 10, but our assistant waiter was a 3 or 4 at best.

[Amtrac]

Over the last few years what you experienced seems to have become the norm.

 

 

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[bouhunter]

Most of the ships have dropped the "waiter parade" and I, for one, am grateful and happy.

 

:rolleyes:

 

What you experienced was definitely over the top. That makes me very uncomfortable, just reading about it.

 

Me too. Reminds me of why we don't miss MDR when we eat all our dinners in specialty dining and windjammer.........

[DonnaK]

On our last 2 cruises, the head waiter passed around glasses of champagne, complements of "your wait team", and then went into the speech about giving them 10s on the survey. I would have given them 10s anyway because they were deserved 10s, not because my rating could be bribed by a glass of champagne.

[Capt_BJ]

get a NAME

 

and put it in the comments section of the "review" . . .

[cello56]

Since I ususally have my cell phone in my purse for photos, I take a photo of the names of the wait staff that is in the plastic block on the table.. That way when I get home, I have their names and the correct spelling!

[Merion_Mom]

I just wished the survey allowed you to rate your waiter and assistant waiter separately. I would have gladly given our last waiter a 10, but our assistant waiter was a 3 or 4 at best.

 

get a NAME

 

and put it in the comments section of the "review" . . .

 

Yes, that's how you can let RC know about your experience. :)

[reallyitsmema]

Since I ususally have my cell phone in my purse for photos, I take a photo of the names of the wait staff that is in the plastic block on the table.. That way when I get home, I have their names and the correct spelling!

 

That only works if the names on the block are the right names and are spelled correctly. Last cruise, the block had wrong waiter's names on it. When we sailed Freedom, the block said Salma, so we assumed we had a woman. When the waiter came over, his name was Slama. We pointed out the name on the block and he said they did them wrong and he thought they were all corrected. Later in the week, we were joking with him about the incorrect name still on the block and we told him that we initially thought we were going to have a woman as our server and he was horrified. He took the block away and presented us with the corrected block the next night. :p

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Most of the ships have dropped the "waiter parade" and I, for one, am grateful and happy.

 

 

 

:rolleyes:

 

 

 

What you experienced was definitely over the top. That makes me very uncomfortable, just reading about it.

 

 

I kind of like that I have never experienced a "waiter parade" on Disney. One more point for them. [emoji6]

 

On HAL they paraded representatives of all the service areas around - which just made our already awful service that night in the MDR even worse. The only thing that made that slightly amusing was one of the cabin steward representatives - a guy - was carrying a towel elephant. In a rather compromising place. [emoji23][emoji23]

 

On Radiance they gathered them all on the steps on either the last night or the next to last night. No parading and DEFINITELY no unhygienic waving of napkins. (It amazes me that people can be so hyper about hand sanitizers but think nothing of flinging napkins they have been using all around when people are eating!!) I'm hoping it will be that low-key on Brilliance...

 

But yes - listing their names and/or writing a letter will ultimately mean FAR more to them than a bunch of applause.

 

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Edited June 14, 2016 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[Ashland]

This is certainly very uncomfortable and something I just experienced on Adventure too. It was almost on the verge of begging...Also at the end of my meal I don't care to have my waiter tell me about the next menu for breakfast possible lunch and dinner recommendations and ask me to please come back, and certainly not about the next day onboard activities...I don't think this should be a waiter's job and it was indeed very uncomfortable.

[jflatto]

I kind of like that I have never experienced a "waiter parade" on Disney. One more point for them. [emoji6]

 

 

 

FWIW, we were on the Disney Fantasy over this past Christmas and while they did not have a waiter parade, the last night, both the waiter and assistant waiter were pretty pushy about receiving good grades. It was kind of obnoxious and we would have given them good grades regardless.

 

This whole process bothers me. Like Lake Wobegon where every kid is above average. :p

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

FWIW, we were on the Disney Fantasy over this past Christmas and while they did not have a waiter parade, the last night, both the waiter and assistant waiter were pretty pushy about receiving good grades. It was kind of obnoxious and we would have given them good grades regardless.

 

This whole process bothers me. Like Lake Wobegon where every kid is above average. :p

 

 

I nip it in the bud the first night. "If I am not happy with something, I will let you know when it happens. Otherwise, we are cool and I don't need the speech." [emoji3]

 

 

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[cb at sea]

The "overkill" should be expected...they are catering to NEW cruisers..who think this stuff is "cute"....or something!

 

We no longer do the "survey"....it's just a bit much. We travel, we get good or bad service....whatever..and tip accordingly. When I'm in a hotel for a week, we don't have to jump through these hoops...why must we on a ship????

[IsanTom]

I always rate the cruise staff based on their actions and their service.

[gliles]

When on the May 22, 2016 Allure of the Seas cruise, we had a good waiter and assistant waiter. We had early, traditional dining. The bartender who took our drink order each night also did a good job. On Tuesday, they had the parade of waiters and we all acknowledged them with applause, waving napkins, etc. The Maitre 'D announced how many meals the waiters delivered during the cruise, which was a huge number, as you might guess. This was also applauded with enthusiasm.

 

The next night was the parade of chefs and everyone again applauded and waved napkins, etc. We appreciate the chefs.

 

On the second to last night, our waiter and assistant waiter came together asked if there was anything they could do better for us and we all smiled and told them we were happy with their service. They told us we would get a survey and that a 10 was the only score that mattered. We all again assured them we were happy with them.

 

On the last night, just after getting the dessert menu, they played the "Happy" song and people got to their feet and some danced with the waiters and the Maitre 'D again told us how hard working the waiter staff is and gave us the number of meals statistics again and went on some with this and then asked if we didn't think they all deserved a standing ovation? Everyone stood then and applauded them all again.

 

We had given the waiter, assistant waiter and bartender an additional tip early at dinner when they came to take our order. We had prepaid tips, but felt they deserved the additional cash tip.

 

I respect that the Maitre 'D appreciates and supports his staff. I thought the last night was kind of overdone and was a little uncomfortable with this much adulation on top of the two nights earlier in the week.

 

I wonder if this is now happening on all ships?

 

(When the survey came, I was comfortable with giving our wait staff a 10. I don't think they should ask for it, though. This did not stop me from giving the 10, which was deserved.)

 

That does seem a little over the top.

[CGinMTL]

I have no issue with them remind me of the survey. But I really do not like the "beg for 10".

Usually, f you ask for it, I won't give it .

.

I do write down names and make sure to mention them personally.

[Big_G]

The "overkill" should be expected...they are catering to NEW cruisers..who think this stuff is "cute"....or something!

 

We no longer do the "survey"....it's just a bit much. We travel, we get good or bad service....whatever..and tip accordingly. When I'm in a hotel for a week, we don't have to jump through these hoops...why must we on a ship????

 

I wouldn't think someone with 75,000+ comments on Cruise Critic would feel that filling out a short internet survey was comparable to 'jumping through hoops'... unless of course, you're really unappreciative of their work.

[Virtopia]

I don't like this situation either - I think the worst I had it was on my last cruise. If you did the work to get a 10, then you'll get a 10. But, as someone mentioned, this is why I'm not a fan of MDR anymore.

[TexCruise371]

All this is why we prefer to not dine in the MDR. I don't remember seeing this is in any other dining venue such as a restaurant or an all inclusive., not sure why cruise ships feel it necessary. We only dine in the MDR if cruising with friends who want to.

[Lean-N-Supreme]

Had a short conversation with my waiter as well as my room attendant about the survey on my last cruise as well, but I had no issues with it. Having worked in a retail environment, I understand the pressure to have customers fill out a survey and to score high on a survey.

[KansasK]

Some of you commented to mention the wait staff by name on the review, and I did do that when I got to the page where I could comment. I agree that is more important than the 10 on the survey.

 

I hope RCI either drops the waiter parade or keeps it to one night. I am relieved that I am not a real scrooge about this, or not the only one. ;)

 

The asking for a 10 won't go away since it comes from the top and the wait staff seems to be under pressure to get the 10.

 

If this is running people away from the MDR, RCI needs to change it.

Edited June 15, 2016 by KansasK

[Overtyme]

Some of you commented to mention the wait staff by name on the review, and I did do that when I got to the page where I could comment. I agree that is more important than the 10 on the survey.

 

 

 

I hope RCI either drops the waiter parade or keeps it to one night. I am relieved that I am not a real scrooge about this, or not the only one. ;)

 

 

 

The asking for a 10 won't go away since it comes from the top and the wait staff seems to be under pressure to get the 10.

 

 

 

If this is running people away from the MDR, RCI needs to change it.

 

 

I'm going to have a conversation with the team on the first or second night in the hopes that we don't have to be subjected to the speech on the last night.

 

I suspect some are more professional about it than others.

 

 

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[Queen of Oakville]

This is common on Royal and Carnival.

 

The constant begging/soliciting for perfect marks is ridiculous. What is the point of a survey if you are guilting people into perfect marks? On Royal, you hear it from the Cruise Director on down, from as early as Night 1. I think it is ridiculous.

 

It's one of the things I really like about celebrity. There is no pandering for top marks. Service is excellent, because it should be. There is a mention towards the end of the cruise that the survey will be emailed but that is about it. I've taken 2 celebrity cruises, and neither one had any pandering/soliciting for top marks from the CD, the Head Wait, the Maitre D or the actual waitstaff. It is a MUCH more enjoyable experience for the passenger.