Why some waiters are able to bring the food so quick

[mcatmcat]

My girlfriend is always wondering how some waiter are able to take all courses from the kitchen so fast that they are always the first while other waiter take forever.  

I was wondering if you know the process after a passage r places an order to finally get the dish in the table. 
 

In the Symphony  we were the first in the table compared to the rest of the tables that the waiter had and we were also the first to other but service was slow. In other ships the waiter can be super fast. 

 

 

thanks 

Edited December 8, 2022 by mcatmcat

[nhraformula00]

It all depends on how fast the waiter gets your order into the kitchen, and what you have ordered. 20 plus cruises here. We are always on time to sit and know what we want. Dinner service for us is right at an hour. If you are in a rush just let them know.

[neverbeenhere]

So no restaurant work in your past. Speed of service relates to every part of the process. Some staff work it to get you out of their way. What is ready to go? What did you order? We’re special adjustments chosen? How many beers did the waiter drink last night? Or in the last half hour? On and on

 

stop watch the same orders at your local McDonald’s, you’ll see they come out at various times. 

[Pellaz]

4 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

So no restaurant work in your past. Speed of service relates to every part of the process. Some staff work it to get you out of their way. What is ready to go? What did you order? We’re special adjustments chosen? How many beers did the waiter drink last night? Or in the last half hour? On and on 

 

Probably NO beers, or very few.   Cruise lines are quite strict about alcohol consumption by crew, and if found with a BAL too high, they are immediately dismissed.  And unlike normal end-of-contract, where the cost of seafarers' repatriation is borne by the cruise line, if a crewperson is dismissed for cause, they must bear the cost.  

 

[ldubs]

I'm going with a seat of the pants response.  Being the first table to have an order taken might work against you.  If all the ordered dishes come up for service at the same time,  then the last table to order would have the shortest wait time.  That is an 'if" that I don't know for fact.  Just a thought.   

[goldfish65]

I am a waiter. Some of us work faster than others, that's pretty much it.

[lovesthebeach2]

In our experience  servers that are confident, experienced and aggressive are the ones that get the food to the table the quickest.  Some servers have told us what it’s like for them in the back getting the food, and if they don’t have the above qualities, then we know we may be waiting longer.

[Amafro]

We did a gallery tour on our Allure cruise last week.  Our waitress was newly promoted to head waiter and our service was very slow.  During the gallery tour they mentioned two things that contributed to this.  60% of the gallery/dining room crew were brand new and it was explained to us that all the waiters line up to grab their orders (they are all laid out for waiters to go by and choose), but the experienced waiters quickly run in and cut in front of the non-experienced waiters!  This explained our service and I was surprised this is an accepted practice. We were fine with our service and our waitress was so sweet and trying her best.

 

[UKWLDCruise]

I have found that if you give the waiter a target, like I would like to see the 7pm show, they will do their best to hit it.

[Amafro]

1 hour ago, UKWLDCruise said:

I have found that if you give the waiter a target, like I would like to see the 7pm show, they will do their best to hit it.

I agree.  We had the 7:45 seating on Allure and one night wanted to be at a show at 9:30 and our waitress made sure we were out in time.

Edited December 8, 2022 by Amafro

[nelblu]

We found that table for 2 works best as the waiter does not wait for anyone else to take orders. 
 

On Oasis presently and sit at table for 6.  if table-mates are a bit late he asks if we want to wait or order our meals. 
 

a

Also, some waiters will ask if you have a show to catch. 

Edited December 8, 2022 by nelblu

[SargassoPirate]

1 minute ago, nelblu said:

We found that table for 2 works best as the waiter does not wait for anyone else to take orders. 
 

On Oasis presently and sit at table for 6.  if table-mates are a bit late he asks if we want to wait or order our meals. 

The two top also eliminates the slow eaters/fast talkers that hold up the courses for the entire table.  It took a couple of cruises when we first cruised to figure that one out.  

[shipgeeks]

Interesting, when I first read this post, I took it as just curiosity, not "How can I get in and out quickly?"

As mentioned above, we can always say we want to be out at a certain time, if that is the case.  However, IMO, a good waiter has the ability to read the table, and to know whether people want to rush, or to enjoy a leisurely meal.  Our preference is leisurely, with time to enjoy each course, digest a bit, have some conversation with our tablemates.  An hour and a half would be our minimum for the evening meal.  We've always had waiters who did this well.

[taglovestocruise]

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Interesting, when I first read this post, I took it as just curiosity, not "How can I get in and out quickly?"

As mentioned above, we can always say we want to be out at a certain time, if that is the case.  However, IMO, a good waiter has the ability to read the table, and to know whether people want to rush, or to enjoy a leisurely meal.  Our preference is leisurely, with time to enjoy each course, digest a bit, have some conversation with our tablemates.  An hour and a half would be our minimum for the evening meal.  We've always had waiters who did this well.

+1 We always have late traditionalnd prefer a table for 6 and love the 2 hour no rush meal with coffee after dinner. Many times we are at a table that is one of the last to leave. 

[ONECRUISER]

12 hours ago, ldubs said:

I'm going with a seat of the pants response.  Being the first table to have an order taken might work against you.  If all the ordered dishes come up for service at the same time,  then the last table to order would have the shortest wait time.  That is an 'if" that I don't know for fact.  Just a thought.   

Nope, after first nite I'm usually in and out in 25-30 minutes. Always one the first 10 walking into the Main Dining. This even 5-6yrs ago

Edited December 8, 2022 by ONECRUISER

[mac66]

We were on an 8 night cruise recently. My time 7:15 sitting, all in the MDR.  2 person table but close to other tables with the same waiters every night. 4 out of 8 nights service was pretty fast. Two nights about average and two nights pretty slow.

 

The slow nights tend to be formal nights when just about everybody ate in the MDR . In our case the first formal night and last night was really slow.

 

2 of the fast nights were port days when people are out all day and tend to go to the buffet. Sea days could be fast or medium depending on how many show up to eat in the MDR.

Edited December 8, 2022 by mac66

[LeeW]

On 12/8/2022 at 5:03 AM, Amafro said:

We did a gallery tour on our Allure cruise last week.  Our waitress was newly promoted to head waiter and our service was very slow.  During the gallery tour they mentioned two things that contributed to this.  60% of the gallery/dining room crew were brand new and it was explained to us that all the waiters line up to grab their orders (they are all laid out for waiters to go by and choose), but the experienced waiters quickly run in and cut in front of the non-experienced waiters!  This explained our service and I was surprised this is an accepted practice. We were fine with our service and our waitress was so sweet and trying her best.

 

 

Yup.  Our assistant on last cruise considered it a challenge/fun to get in and and out quickly.  Gave him more time to speak with us as well.  And most of our orders were "special" with substitutions.  Allure had a special challenge because the kitchen is on a different floor from the dining room we were in.  He had to use the escalator each time.

Edited December 10, 2022 by LeeW
correction