Tired of dining room meals being interrupted.

[ONECRUISER]

Ok, call me a stick in the mud, but I am getting very tired of all the hoop a la in the dining room. Just got off Brilliance, on a five night cruise, and THREE of the nights had a head waiter yelling on a microphone for at least ten minutes. Yes the staff work hard, and I reward them with a polite thank you, and with my gratuities. Do we really need to have a staff member going on and on and on telling us how great they are? The exact same thing happened on Allure last month. Both times the person was literally yelling into the microphone to the point where it was hurting my ears. The woman last month went on for 20 MINUTES on the last night. Way over the top.

 

It used to be that they started this once you were at the end of the meal, and we could easily leave before it began. Now, they seem to be doing it earlier and earlier so they have a captive market. Last night we waited 58 minutes to get our entrees, so we were in the middle of dinner when they began.

 

I wish they would go back to the way they used to do it. Five minutes on the last evening at the end of the meal. People twirled their napkins, the staff did a short parade around the dining room, and they called it a night.

Nothing new, the extra stuff has been going on for 30+ yrs that I've experienced. Your lucky, 25-30 years ago it took 2hrs to get the whole meal. But back then was a 5 course meal...

Want get threw it quicker have to do like me. Go into Dining Room first, eat Solo at own table. I'm usually out in 30-35min incl Dessert, and this is Main Dining...

[Croozin Soozin]

Same kind of annoying announcement in the windjammer on the anthem during lunch and dinner.

[MJSailors]

Try taking a Princess or a Celebrity cruise.

We have never experienced anything on these cruise(Platinum level on Princess) as to what has been noted here.

Waiters do their jobs-serving passengers meals,no entertainment other than some pleasant banter and good service.

[LookingForward2]

Just experienced this on Harmony and wrote about it on the survey. The servers are so busy, it makes no sense to waste their time with this.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[GUEST71919]

Ok, call me a stick in the mud, but I am getting very tired of all the hoop a la in the dining room. Just got off Brilliance, on a five night cruise, and THREE of the nights had a head waiter yelling on a microphone for at least ten minutes. Yes the staff work hard, and I reward them with a polite thank you, and with my gratuities. .... People twirled their napkins, the staff did a short parade around the dining room, and they called it a night.

 

Not my preference either. If that was my scene, I would be likely to head to a Vegas or other similar spots. In a dance bar I would expect noise, but not in a MDR. We have sailed Disney, Princess, Holland, and Carnival in grad school, but we most often go with NCL. But very soon we will have our first sailing on RCL on the Allure and would have been very surprised to run into this as we have never experienced anything like that on any cruise before. I could perhaps see it if it had been some major holiday or event, but I haven’t seen napkin twirling outside of a football game! Maybe I am very sheltered!? ;p Looks like we are super lucky we decided on a suite and can opt for the Coastal Kitchen - and now I better understand why our concierge could not figure out why we were considering eating several dinners in the main dining room instead of the coastal kitchen! :o

 

Happy Sailing!

Lynn

 

@time4u2go - I agree. I can’t imagine how either of the behaviors described would be culturally based (unless the culture is that they were raised by fanatical soccer fans LOL) and as you note there are a multitude of cultures represented within the cruise staff (even in the 1970’s when a crew could be 80% from a single country, a single country would still represent a multitude of cultures). I appreciate that the poster wished to be tolerant, but I do not believe it would apply in this situation.

Edited October 7, 2018 by 2Beeze

[royalcruz]

Please, Royal, focus more on service and less on entertainment in the MDR!

[Merly]

Do a ‘back to back’. You get it all again.

[sparks1093]

I haven't read through the thread but at least they aren't dancing like they do on Carnival.:')

[nelblu]

Hey, I really miss the "baked Alaska" parade. Insurance concerns killed it.

[pcur]

Hey, I really miss the "baked Alaska" parade. Insurance concerns killed it.

 

Well, can't blame them for not wanting to set someone's hair on fire again.

[BillOh]

We've only had this happen one evening on all of our Royal Caribbean cruises, and because if that I don't mind it at all. I enjoy seeing the wait staff all together and a quick dance and a chance for us to show our appreciation.

 

If it happened more often, like the OP experienced, I wouldn't care for it at all either.

 

Dan

 

 

Agreed,. The most I have had this interruption was twice on my Freedom 2015 cruise. a couple of weeks ago it was on our last night on Enchantment and were finished and just socializing. I did have one cruise on Jewel in 2014 where we were the last table served every night and we were the last table to finish around 11 every night! Some people were getting dessert before we got appetizers. On that cruise the wait team ran off to participate before we got our entrees. I guess it varies ship to ship.

[LMaxwell]

Nothing worse than a bite of food not going down right.

 

You need to wash it down.

 

All the water glasses at the table are empty.

 

And your server & assistant are parading around in a Congo-line....

 

I think the song and dance is demeaning to the staff and negatively impacts service. Have had similar experience before; watching hot food left to be room temp on the station or running out of drinks and the servers are being made to perform.

[CruisinCrow]

Well, can't blame them for not wanting to set someone's hair on fire again.

 

Again??

[CruisinCrow]

I think the song and dance is demeaning to the staff and negatively impacts service. Have had similar experience before; watching hot food left to be room temp on the station or running out of drinks and the servers are being made to perform.

 

I think so too. They've cut the staff back so much, they barely have time to serve food, much less parade and sing.

[BillieJeanKaraokeKing]

It doesn't bother me too much really, other than it is pretty tacky. So for that reason, it'd probably concern me more if I was one of the staff! :)

[matj2000]

iiiiiiiiiiiiit's showtime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Batch5]

We were on a the Anthem or the Grandeur and during dinner the music started are waiter let out a big UHG and stated that he is a trained butler and thought the entertainment that he had to perform was belittling.

 

Chris

 

[sellwingri]

Hey, I really miss the "baked Alaska" parade. Insurance concerns killed it.

Me too AND cherries jubilee fixed table side.

[cello56]

Glad to hear that I am not alone in my dislike for this interruption. I did make sure to mention this on my post cruise survey. Perhaps if enough of us do, then they will reexamine how they are handling this multi night event.

[sparks1093]

We were on a the Anthem or the Grandeur and during dinner the music started are waiter let out a big UHG and stated that he is a trained butler and thought the entertainment that he had to perform was belittling.

 

Chris

 

 

As a trained butler I would think that he would know better. This is something he should tell management, not the customers.

[Baron Barracuda]

Me too AND cherries jubilee fixed table side.

 

And the crepes

[Baron Barracuda]

It wasn't the waiter parade on Anthem that annoyed us. A bit lame, but they've been doing it for 20+ years. What bugged us were the two nights where dr mgr got on the intercom to make lengthy sales pitches for specialty dining. Then on the last night he made shameless plug for 10's on the survey.

[dreamer976]

I do agree with some of the aforementioned comments, but to me the single most irritating headwaiter “sermons” is the one that often comes on the last night of the cruise.

 

I’ve always requested the largest table available in the MDR and except for only one cruise, have been blessed with very interesting, usually funny and endearing table mates. The last dinner together is kind of bittersweet and there’s so much to say, besides goodbye, but you have to sit there and listen to as much as 15 minutes of self-lauding, when a simple “THANK YOU!” would make everyone happy. Well, me at least... YMMV

[LMaxwell]

iiiiiiiiiiiiit's showtime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The one ship I enjoyed this was NCL Escape because it wasn't the waiters being sidelined, but actual musicians, singers, dancers on the dance floor in the dining room. Real instruments sound better than old tapes blaring through the PA system.

[HOSKI]

I think the song and dance is demeaning to the staff and negatively impacts service. Have had similar experience before; watching hot food left to be room temp on the station or running out of drinks and the servers are being made to perform.

 

This exactly, I haven't cruised in awhile and not on RCCL but on other cruise lines also they do the show and I hate it and feel bad for the staff. We have two cruises booked and I groaned when I read they are still doing this.:rolleyes: