Just Off the Equinox— What’s the deal with the pool bartenders?

[linderr6]

I just got off the Equinox on March 31 and never went to the Pool Bar but I did get quite a few drinks at the Mast Bar. That place was so incredibly busy, one of the busiest bars on the ship, and some of the bartenders weren't super smiley but they were REALLY efficient, and some people were extremely rude to them. I never saw angrier people, or people more drunk than at that Mast Bar. So I wonder if the Pool Bar is the same - they are just wary of angry drunk people so not as smiley as the other, more relaxed bartenders. I really loved every drink they made me and they were stuck making time consuming "fancy" drinks often - so I did try to tip extra as they have one of the worst jobs on the ship in my opinion.

[Silkroad]

I am truly surprised. Just bartenders? I'm sure our waiters have told us about their days off - they might not do anything exciting, mostly sit on shore and make phone calls. And I know we've had alternate room stewards and were told ours was on his day off.

That’s interesting. Neither our regular MDR wait staff nor our stateroom attendant had a day off during our 16 night TA last year. All of them worked split shifts also, typically using their hours off to nap or catch up on personal things. Many crew members have told us they don’t get days off for the duration of their contract. When they do leave the ship, they’re required to be back an hour prior to passengers (more than that in US ports) so it’s not always worth their time & money to visit ports.

[Silkroad]

OP, I certainly understand why you’re unhappy about the rudeness you experienced at the pool bar. Regardless of their work issues, bar staff shouldn’t be short or rude to a passenger who has been waiting patiently for some time, and has made a polite request.

[mnocket]

Why all of the discussion of how hard and long the bartenders work? Is poor service supposed to be acceptable as long as there is a reason for it?

If bartenders (and other staff who work long hours) are providing poor service because they are overworked, Celebrity has a problem and needs to fix it. Personally, l don't buy this excuse. There are many workers, including bartenders, who are happy, friendly and willing to go the extra mile to provide good service. When so many of the workers provide good service despite working long hours, I find it interesting that so many here attempt to justify those that don't with a simple "well you have to understand how long and hard they work".

[Marelaine]

And the quality of drinks has greatly suffered !

 

I agree - the quality of drinks changed from bar to bar. The service part is sometimes not top notch. It makes me wonder if the servers and bartenders are not getting their fair share of the 18% gratuity that is added to each beverage package. How would Celebrity even figure that out?

[Lastdance]

Does the issue with getting drinks seem more apparent for cruises in the Caribbean? I have only experienced this in Michael’s Club. It was very crowded and there were a few customers who kept shouting out what they wanted. I finally said excuse me, but I have been waiting to place my order...yes...I was finally able to do it!

 

 

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[KateWes]

Why all of the discussion of how hard and long the bartenders work? Is poor service supposed to be acceptable as long as there is a reason for it?

If bartenders (and other staff who work long hours) are providing poor service because they are overworked, Celebrity has a problem and needs to fix it.".

 

Agreed!

 

No excuse for being rude to someone who is simply trying to engage you or ask for a recommendation!

[Vacationcheese]

I just got off the Equinox on March 31 and never went to the Pool Bar but I did get quite a few drinks at the Mast Bar. That place was so incredibly busy, one of the busiest bars on the ship, and some of the bartenders weren't super smiley but they were REALLY efficient, and some people were extremely rude to them. I never saw angrier people, or people more drunk than at that Mast Bar. So I wonder if the Pool Bar is the same - they are just wary of angry drunk people so not as smiley as the other, more relaxed bartenders. I really loved every drink they made me and they were stuck making time consuming "fancy" drinks often - so I did try to tip extra as they have one of the worst jobs on the ship in my opinion.

 

YIKES!!! We were on the same cruise.....glad we missed the Mast Bar except for sail away. I will agree the pool bar did seem a bit cranky....and we tip for every drink. I think the extra tips were maybe not flowing this cruise?

[Auburn1998]

Sorry you had that experience. It was just the opposite the 2 weeks we just went before you. Ricky, Lamy, Anjoop, were all very nice. The pool waiter staff was top notch, so I don't get it. But I will say that there were a couple of them that seemed to have slight attitudes. The, I don't want to be here attitude. Should not be that way. Captain Kate and her wonderful attitude may remedy that. She rubs off on her crew. Cruise staff monitors these boards, and will no doubt address that. No excuse for that. Rude fellow passengers certainly don't help either, as you mentioned. But still no good.

 

 

 

I echo everything said here as we just got off and agree Captain Kate’s attitude rubs off on the entire ship.

 

 

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[brooker]

I was on this sailing also, but did not experience rude bartenders at the pool bar or mast bar. Sure, when they are busy, they are less smiley and friendly, but always efficient and never rude.

[thmpsn]

We always take $100.00 in one dollar bills. We always give our bar waiters 1 or 2 dollars per drink. Needless to say, after the first day, we never have to wait for a bar waiter/ waitress. If we can afford to cruise, then an extra dollar or two per drink ( which is a free perk anyway) is a small price to pay for fast efficient service. We always get a smile and a “thank you “ with our drinks.

[walkersandtalkers]

This January my DH and I went on a B2B cruise. The second week, at the Sunset bar, a new drink menu was introduced. I ordered a new specialty cocktail and it was very bad. I asked my husband to return it and get a G&T instead. The bar waiter told my husband," Next time your wife orders a drink, have her read the ingredients!"

[bursting]

I'm sure you're exaggerating when you say they work for six months without a single day off! I don't think that's legal even at sea.

 

 

They work a six month contract with no days off. Just a few hours between shifts.

[Iamthesea]

Not sure this belongs here, but thought it interesting. I did not want to start another thread about "bars" and bartenders.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/beverages/what-mixologists-really-think-when-you-order-non-cocktails-at-craft-cocktail-bars/ar-AAvvqVB?li=BBnbfcL

 

PS - We also had a bad experience on our recent Solstice cruise with a bartender in the Sunset bar.

[Luvcrusn]

After reading through this whole thread I feel like I've been living in the "Twilight Zone." I am certainly not in any way questioning OP's experience, but in all of my X cruises, I've never experienced rude or discourteous crew members. To the contrary, I've often seen rude, demanding and discourteous passengers treating crew members as if they were less than deserving of being treated with common decency. Two examples come quickly to mind.

The first happened in the OVC at the stir fry station. The male passenger in front of me requested to have some of the already prepared fried rice incorporated with the raw, cooked to order chicken and pork. The crew member preparing the dish nodded yes and proceeded to cook the raw proteins first, before adding the desired rice and vegetables. The passenger yelled at the poor man, called him stupid and other names not allowable on this forum because he didn't immediately add the rice and vegetables, then asked if he was deaf! The crew member continued to prepare the requested dish, adding the rice and vegetables once the proteins were cooked properly. When he finished, he served the ungrateful passenger with a smile. The passenger again called him stupid, then turned and wanted me to agree. I told him he should be grateful that the crew member properly cooked his food rather than serving uncooked chicken and pork and burned vegetables and rice. He then cursed again and walked away. I complimented the crew member for his patience, pleasant demeanor, and professionalism, apologized for the fellow's rudeness and told the crew member's boss how wonderful he'd handled a very unpleasant situation.

The second incident concerned my DH and myself. While showering and dressing for dinner one evening, we realized we needed more shampoo and body wash and called our steward for some. He was eating his dinner, stopped immediately to deliver it with profound apologies that he'd missed that we needed replacements. He was absolutely terrified that he'd receive less than a 10 from us on our survey! He was wonderful in every way and we felt awful that we'd disturbed his dinner. We saw him working tirelessly at all hours of the day and don't know when he had time (even a few hours) off. We of course tipped him generously for his service throughout the cruise (in addition to required tips) and rated him highly.

It's been our experience that X ships are the land of yes and crew members have gone out of their way to make our cruise experience one that we'll be anxious to repeat. I hope we don't experience the service the OP suffered. Better yet, I hope the OP experiences the service we always have!