Serious staffing shortage on Jewel

[Cruisin4beaches]

I'm currently on JOTS highly noticeable staff shortage. In the windjammer, main dining and bar.

Had dinner in Chops Sunday night and the waiters were literally running in the dining room.

The food was good, but the staff running did not make for a great experience.

Was told by crew between vacations and crew transfer to Wonder of the Seas they are being stretched beyond busy.

In the windjammer no one said a thing about guest serving themselves.

I have been on JOTS 3 times in the last 4 months you really can see the difference.

This is just a heads up for you future cruiser's.

[Jimbo]

Someone has to take one for the team..............Usually it's the little guys.

 

Probably see in trickle down to the food selections they are buying from the vendors eventually also when they stock  the ship.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Jimbo

[neverbeenhere]

Automat Specialty Dining can’t be far off. 

[Sigma Cruiser]

I can't believe that rccl is taking a great number of crew from Jewel to work on Wonder. How many ships out the total fleet are in active service? And how many of those inactive ships are in the caribbean just floating around to take crew from to send to Wonder or to other ships to replace those who went to wonder? 

[Scotty G]

Saw this happen when Oasis rolled out. Nothing unusual except still recovering from COVID Worldwide!!!

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, Sigma Cruiser said:

I can't believe that rccl is taking a great number of crew from Jewel to work on Wonder. How many ships out the total fleet are in active service? And how many of those inactive ships are in the caribbean just floating around to take crew from to send to Wonder or to other ships to replace those who went to wonder? 

Before starting back up Ship has about 100-130 Crew each. Unfortunately as Ship return they take from others. In normal times even 20-30yrs ago a Brand New Ship would get 30% experienced Crew from existing Ships, and these were some of Best Highest Rated Members and include the most Senior Staff for the Shiny new Ship

[brillohead]

Cripes, Jewel was horrendously short-staffed when I was on her in December.... I can't even imagine LESS staff!  

Windjammer only had about a third the number of servers they needed for the food stations that were open, and they actually ran out of plates, and it was hard to find a table that had been cleaned off so you could sit down.  It really was horrible.

[NC State]

No, no, no....not what I want to hear...I'll be on JOTS in 24 days!

[kokopelli-az]

This is not good news.   😞     We'll be on the Jewel departing March 26.......

[Joseph2017China]

Good news......no masks, and capacity is increasing, shows are happening, but with all that, something else happens, the need for more crew, and in the last year, this got really complicated.  For example, we all assume those that went without work, did not find new jobs.  Cruise lines have to start all over with new crew, training, and the complicated process of following all the Covid rules and all the countries they are coming from.   I can live with a little short staff, if it means the companies are not going bankrupted

 

[jimdalva]

10 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Automat Specialty Dining can’t be far off. 

You must be as old as me if you remember Automats!

[DerekB]

16 minutes ago, jimdalva said:

You must be as old as me if you remember Automats!

Or in the Netherlands - we have them everywhere still. 

[ocean sounds]

10 hours ago, Sigma Cruiser said:

I can't believe that rccl is taking a great number of crew from Jewel to work on Wonder. How many ships out the total fleet are in active service? And how many of those inactive ships are in the caribbean just floating around to take crew from to send to Wonder or to other ships to replace those who went to wonder? 

On Oasis last week there was a poster doing a semi-Live.  She mentioned minimal hours for some free restaurants, and one not available..  Crew transferred to Wonder was the explanation she received also. 

[neverbeenhere]

1 hour ago, jimdalva said:

You must be as old as me if you remember Automats!

 

Something my Great-Grandparents used to talk about. 😃

[shipgeeks]

On little Enchantment last month.  1000 pax, 700 crew.  It was wonderful.  Great service, no rushing. Servers at every station in WJ.

[patrioticgirl]

8 hours ago, brillohead said:

Cripes, Jewel was horrendously short-staffed when I was on her in December.... I can't even imagine LESS staff!  

Windjammer only had about a third the number of servers they needed for the food stations that were open, and they actually ran out of plates, and it was hard to find a table that had been cleaned off so you could sit down.  It really was horrible.

I was on the Dec. 12th sailing. The staff in the Windjammer was in constant motion trying to keep up, and those who were busing the tables were hustling to keep as on top of it as they could. I sailed solo so I often would sit and observe as I was eating. There were quite a few workers who were definitely getting a gym equivalent workout. It was the same for my stateroom attendant... he was good, but you could tell he was tired. One day I asked if he was okay and he said that he was loaded down with something like 25+ staterooms and that it was hard not to be able to get off the ship and to be limited in socialization & spaces in which they could interact with others due to Covid. It was actually painful to hear him talk about it and I felt terrible for him. The conditions they were under had to be taxing, especially with the holidays approaching, but other than that brief slip of how things were onboard and that tired look, he went about his duties each day with a pleasant and smiling demeanor. I made sure that I kept my stateroom spotless with everything in its place to try to give him a break and even told him that he did not need to come in most days, but he never once skipped a visit. I left a Christmas card with an extra tip and a small gift for him when I disembarked, but somehow it just did not seem like enough because I was headed home to family and he was stuck onboard with no idea when he would see his loved ones again; I felt very sad for him and it made me much more appreciative of my own situation. I will be back onboard JOS later this month and will attempt to check on him as soon as I board.  

Edited March 16, 2022 by patrioticgirl

[Baron Barracuda]

2 hours ago, patrioticgirl said:

I was on the Dec. 12th sailing. The staff in the Windjammer was in constant motion trying to keep up, and those who were busing the tables were hustling to keep as on top of it as they could. I sailed solo so I often would sit and observe as I was eating. There were quite a few workers who were definitely getting a gym equivalent workout. It was the same for my stateroom attendant... he was good, but you could tell he was tired. One day I asked if he was okay and he said that he was loaded down with something like 25+ staterooms and that it was hard not to be able to get off the ship and to be limited in socialization & spaces in which they could interact with others due to Covid. It was actually painful to hear him talk about it and I felt terrible for him. The conditions they were under had to be taxing, especially with the holidays approaching, but other than that brief slip of how things were onboard and that tired look, he went about his duties each day with a pleasant and smiling demeanor. I made sure that I kept my stateroom spotless with everything in its place to try to give him a break and even told him that he did not need to come in most days, but he never once skipped a visit. I left a Christmas card with an extra tip and a small gift for him when I disembarked, but somehow it just did not seem like enough because I was headed home to family and he was stuck onboard with no idea when he would see his loved ones again; I felt very sad for him and it made me much more appreciative of my own situation. I will be back onboard JOS later this month and will attempt to check on him as soon as I board.  

All those extra cabins entitles him to lots more grats.  I remember when they switched cabin stewards from teams of two to working solo.  Those we spoke with happily took on the additional work in exchange for more money.

[time4u2go]

On a recent cruise, the hotel director indicated that during the covid shutdown, a lot of workers realized that they liked staying home with their families, and chose not to return to work after things started up again.  He said they are having trouble hiring workers.

[cindyscruise]

Loved those Automats.  Hated to see them go. Worker shortages are everywhere.  I can imagine after spending time at home they would not want to return to 7,8,9 month contracts where they would be away from family.  

 

[soxin2000]

On 3/16/2022 at 8:30 AM, kokopelli-az said:

This is not good news.   😞     We'll be on the Jewel departing March 26.......

I’ll be with you! Hope for the best

[DirtyDawg]

On 3/16/2022 at 6:01 AM, NC State said:

No, no, no....not what I want to hear...I'll be on JOTS in 24 days!

 

4 hours ago, soxin2000 said:

I’ll be with you! Hope for the best

Just bring more $1's and $10's to tip the fastest runners. 🏃‍♂️ + 💲 = 🥰

[Surfguyxxx]

On 3/16/2022 at 10:57 AM, patrioticgirl said:

I was on the Dec. 12th sailing. The staff in the Windjammer was in constant motion trying to keep up, and those who were busing the tables were hustling to keep as on top of it as they could. I sailed solo so I often would sit and observe as I was eating. There were quite a few workers who were definitely getting a gym equivalent workout. It was the same for my stateroom attendant... he was good, but you could tell he was tired. One day I asked if he was okay and he said that he was loaded down with something like 25+ staterooms and that it was hard not to be able to get off the ship and to be limited in socialization & spaces in which they could interact with others due to Covid. It was actually painful to hear him talk about it and I felt terrible for him. The conditions they were under had to be taxing, especially with the holidays approaching, but other than that brief slip of how things were onboard and that tired look, he went about his duties each day with a pleasant and smiling demeanor. I made sure that I kept my stateroom spotless with everything in its place to try to give him a break and even told him that he did not need to come in most days, but he never once skipped a visit. I left a Christmas card with an extra tip and a small gift for him when I disembarked, but somehow it just did not seem like enough because I was headed home to family and he was stuck onboard with no idea when he would see his loved ones again; I felt very sad for him and it made me much more appreciative of my own situation. I will be back onboard JOS later this month and will attempt to check on him as soon as I board.  

It made me smile to hear you saying these things. I do the same thing as I know these guys/gals are working so very hard.  I'll be doing an 8 night Southern Caribbean next week and following that with a TA at the end of April.  With patience and some understanding and compassion, I'm going to have a great trip.  

[lovesthebeach2]

When we were on Odyssey in early November it was a brand new ship and I think we were the third sailing. The staff was very experienced. We mentioned to some that we will be on the Odyssey TA in April and look forward to seeing them and every one of them that we spoke to said they were being moved to Wonder. ☹️

[poocher]

Docked next to Jewel Wednesday in St Maarten.  On my deck 10 balcony for sailaway facing Jewels pool deck!  Can’t believe what a beast Harmony is!

[patrioticgirl]

3 hours ago, Surfguyxxx said:

It made me smile to hear you saying these things. I do the same thing as I know these guys/gals are working so very hard.  I'll be doing an 8 night Southern Caribbean next week and following that with a TA at the end of April.  With patience and some understanding and compassion, I'm going to have a great trip.  

They do indeed work hard!  By the way, I'll see you on the ship! 🙂