Butlers and Maitre D's onboard in Alaska in July

[JOPA28]

Good Day,  Does anyone have an idea of who the butler's onboard may be in Alaska in July on Serenity.  Did Crunch and Engin come back to Crystal?   

 

Also interested in who the Maitre D's may be. 

 

Thank you kindly.

 

[Keith1010]

Engin returned to Crystal.  Crunch is no longer with Crystal.

 

If this is your first cruise with new Crystal you will see that there re many more butlers than before as every suite and every room has a butler.

Several former butlers returned, some members from other areas were promoted to butler and new to Crystal butlers were hired.

 

Keith

[Emdee]

Under Rao’s training the new butlers are doing an excellent job anticipating your every need.

[JOPA28]

Thank you for your replies.

[vistaman]

i was told when cruising  on another luxury company at least 7 headwaiters are not going back

aware 3 in higher functions on other lines 

and one F&B manager is now hotel director on that particular  company 

and i remain of my opinion new C never had to take back one HD

 

[Keith1010]

22 minutes ago, vistaman said:

i was told when cruising  on another luxury company at least 7 headwaiters are not going back

aware 3 in higher functions on other lines 

and one F&B manager is now hotel director on that particular  company 

and i remain of my opinion new C never had to take back one HD

 

Interesting.

 

For Serenity I am aware of two who didn't come back due to higher positions. Most others who didn't come back retired. Not sure about Symphony.

 

The ones I am aware of on Serenity had the opportunity to return and it is understandable that they didn't.  But as they say you never know. New ships. New opportunities.   

 

Keith

[vistaman]

1 hour ago, Keith1010 said:

Interesting.

 

For Serenity I am aware of two who didn't come back due to higher positions. Most others who didn't come back retired. Not sure about Symphony.

 

The ones I am aware of on Serenity had the opportunity to return and it is understandable that they didn't.  But as they say you never know. New ships. New opportunities.   

 

Keith

I will be on the Symphony 3rd June  so wait and see  - the senior headwaiter R on the S did not come back ... 

[Keith1010]

4 minutes ago, vistaman said:

I will be on the Symphony 3rd June  so wait and see  - the senior headwaiter R on the S did not come back ... 

The two I am thinking of who didn't come back first initial is not an R.  Of the two Senior Head Waiters on Serenity back in 2021 one retired and the one who swung into his position did come back and now is the Senior one with someone else swinging when he is on vacation.

 

Several others whose first initial is A, F and C retired.  

 

The good news is it has opened up opportunities for others.

 

And another Head Waiter from Serenity went over to Symphony as soon as new Crystal started up for a promotion which is great.

 

We miss them all though.

 

Keith

[vistaman]

1 hour ago, Keith1010 said:

The two I am thinking of who didn't come back first initial is not an R.  Of the two Senior Head Waiters on Serenity back in 2021 one retired and the one who swung into his position did come back and now is the Senior one with someone else swinging when he is on vacation.

 

Several others whose first initial is A, F and C retired.  

 

The good news is it has opened up opportunities for others.

 

And another Head Waiter from Serenity went over to Symphony as soon as new Crystal started up for a promotion which is great.

 

We miss them all though.

 

Keith

i can fill in the names 😁

L and V are  manager on Regent ( I met them both ), and I stayed on the Endeavour

the Dutch hotel manager on that ship moved to SB 

it seems the - imho - best bartender  A came back to the  Serenity

I am really curious for the Symphony! 

 

Is it true new C is closing the main dining room for lunch on  every day in port? 

 

 

[nancygp]

31 minutes ago, vistaman said:

Is it true new C is closing the main dining room for lunch on  every day in port? 

 

 

Yes

 

Nancy

[May B]

2 hours ago, vistaman said:

i can fill in the names 😁

L and V are  manager on Regent ( I met them both ), and I stayed on the Endeavour

the Dutch hotel manager on that ship moved to SB 

it seems the - imho - best bartender  A came back to the  Serenity

I am really curious for the Symphony! 

 

Is it true new C is closing the main dining room for lunch on  every day in port? 

 

 

As, I believe, old C did as well.

 

You're such positivity and charm. Do you find it difficult to carry on such a cheerful demeanor?

[skybluewaters]

It's good to hear that Crystal has decided not to keep the dining room open for lunch on port days.  This is a wise choice in the allocation of resources, both regarding manpower and the wastage of food. 

[vistaman]

I do not like that - on every day -  on old C it was not on every day ...

One of the several reasons  I left SB  , however the lunch buffets on SB were far inferior on those on C. 

On SS and Regent some non - buffet restaurants  are open for lunch ! 

[Emdee]

8 hours ago, vistaman said:

I do not like that - on every day -  on old C it was not on every day ...

One of the several reasons  I left SB  , however the lunch buffets on SB were far inferior on those on C. 

On SS and Regent some non - buffet restaurants  are open for lunch ! 

Yes I wish they would open the Italian and Japanese restaurants for lunch sometimes too. Always a pleasure to dine in Chartreuse and Prime 7 at lunch.

 

To be fair to C  the marketplace lunch is definitely the best at sea, Bistro, Tastes and Grill are also open as well. 

[BWIVince]

On 4/3/2024 at 12:51 PM, Emdee said:

Yes I wish they would open the Italian and Japanese restaurants for lunch sometimes too. Always a pleasure to dine in Chartreuse and Prime 7 at lunch.

 

To be fair to C  the marketplace lunch is definitely the best at sea, Bistro, Tastes and Grill are also open as well. 

This!

 

I don’t honestly care as much about whether Waterside specifically is open for lunch, as much as something more interesting than Tastes, Marketplace and Trident are available.  Right now there isn’t another lunch venue that comes within a million miles of Waterside, in ambiance or cuisine. 😔 

 

Vince

[ryndam]

38 minutes ago, BWIVince said:

Right now there isn’t another lunch venue that comes within a million miles of Waterside, in ambiance or cuisine. 😔 

 

Vince

 

Vince, re: cuisine. On our 30+ days onboard this past January, on the sea days that Waterside was serving lunch, every single item that was offered in Waterside was also available in Marketplace, albeit in a self-serve mode, rather than served tableside by a staff member. In addition, there were way more selections and varieties available in Marketplace that were not offered on the served lunch menu in Waterside.

 

Re: ambiance. Casual self-service is a different atmosphere than a more formal restaurant.

 

Rob

[sullaRaffaello]

On 4/2/2024 at 6:27 PM, skybluewaters said:

It's good to hear that Crystal has decided not to keep the dining room open for lunch on port days.  This is a wise choice in the allocation of resources, both regarding manpower and the wastage of food. 

Why on earth do you think jt's good to hear? It's the one thing about new Crystal I condemn. Marketplace isn't a wastage of food? If Waterside is closed, Crystal ceases to exist.

[skybluewaters]

The saddest place on a Crystal ship is Waterside during a port day at lunchtime. Maybe three tables occupied, passengers whispering so that their voices don’t echo across the room, multiple servers standing around staring forward, no energy, no vibe.

 

I do understand the desire for luxury white tablecloth meals, but once daily at dinner suffices for me. 
 

Better to let the crew have some time off

[Keith1010]

Part of this discussion we had with Old Crystal, particularly in the summer months when fairly often Waterside was closed during port days.  Over the years old Crystal was had moved to fewer sea days and that has continued with new Crystal.  

 

It's not just a matter of giving people off.  The number of crew members on-board is less than it was because of fewer guests.  On top of this some crew positions have been reallocated. For example, less waitstaff in Waterside due to increase in the number of butlers and runners.  There are also regulations that govern how many hours crew can work.

 

And as we've discussed over the years and on numerous threads part of the evolution of cruising is that there is less demand for lunch at Waterside versus other areas including The Trident Grill, Tastes and Marketplace on port days.  

 

Just like on land not everyone agrees with the evolution of a product or the evolution of trends. Remember when one got dressed up to go to a Broadway show?  How about baseball games when fans would arrive all dressed up?  Forma nights without the word optional. Semi-Formal nights?  Land based restaurants requiring men in a tie and jacket?  Assigned dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner on cruise lines?  

Life moves on.

 

Keith

[BWIVince]

13 hours ago, ryndam said:

 

Vince, re: cuisine. On our 30+ days onboard this past January, on the sea days that Waterside was serving lunch, every single item that was offered in Waterside was also available in Marketplace, albeit in a self-serve mode, rather than served tableside by a staff member. In addition, there were way more selections and varieties available in Marketplace that were not offered on the served lunch menu in Waterside.

 

Re: ambiance. Casual self-service is a different atmosphere than a more formal restaurant.

 

Rob

I probably should have been more specific and broke out ambiance for Marketplace and cuisine for Tastes and Trident…. Although ambiance is all kind of homogeneous between the three too, now that I think of it.  Marketplace’s food and variety are fine, no complaints there, but as someone who spends much of his work travels eating from staff buffets, one of the privileges of spending luxury cruising fares is to get away from that.  Not to mention the stuff that passengers do on buffets sometimes (in all segments of cruising) is completely disgusting… But that’s out of everyone’s control, so I don’t fault that.  Marketplace does what it does about as well as I could expect — I have no fault there…. It is, however, a buffet.

 

Trident…. All I can say is, to each their own.  It’s popular, it does what it does well, and people like it.  I’d rather have a root canal than pay those kinds of fares to eat a burger and fries when (using my next cruise as an example) I’m only on for 7 days.  I get that this is different for folks that are on for months at a time, but to Keith’s point about NC, the itineraries are shorter and more port intensive now, so this is increasingly the norm.

 

Tastes…. Again, no harm, no foul.  The current lunch menu is like a room service menu from a 3 star hotel, back when 3 star hotels still had room service…. Or a nice college cafeteria menu, just with table service.  Again it’s great to have crowd pleaser favorites that wont offend anyone, but at some point there’s a gap between the “food for the masses” lunches Crystal is offering and my expectations for luxury travel.  [Edited to add: While these are AMONG the items you’d see on a Four Seasons or Rosewood resort lunch menu, they wouldn’t be ALL you’d have to pick from at a Four Seasons or Rosewood resort, normally.]

 

I know I’ve spoken out in defense of closing Waterside on port days — as much as that would be my preferred option, I see firsthand how that’s not sustainable at these loads or scale…. But as others have noted, other lines have figured out how to offer interesting culinary options in a nice atmosphere at a small (participant) scale for lunch, and I would love to challenge Crystal to put their thinking cap back on for this one, because the current offering is really missing something…. Unless you love self service, burgers or chicken quesadillas.

 

Vince

 

Edited April 5 by BWIVince

[vistaman]

5 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

Part of this discussion we had with Old Crystal, particularly in the summer months when fairly often Waterside was closed during port days.  Over the years old Crystal was had moved to fewer sea days and that has continued with new Crystal.  

 

It's not just a matter of giving people off.  The number of crew members on-board is less than it was because of fewer guests.  On top of this some crew positions have been reallocated. For example, less waitstaff in Waterside due to increase in the number of butlers and runners.  There are also regulations that govern how many hours crew can work.

 

And as we've discussed over the years and on numerous threads part of the evolution of cruising is that there is less demand for lunch at Waterside versus other areas including The Trident Grill, Tastes and Marketplace on port days.  

 

Just like on land not everyone agrees with the evolution of a product or the evolution of trends. Remember when one got dressed up to go to a Broadway show?  How about baseball games when fans would arrive all dressed up?  Forma nights without the word optional. Semi-Formal nights?  Land based restaurants requiring men in a tie and jacket?  Assigned dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner on cruise lines?  

Life moves on.

 

Keith

I will not deny an evolution ...

Same on airplanes : on my first business intercontinental BA  flight there was half a lobster with mango dressing, trolley with cheese and another with sweets and fruits , Chablis  and Napoleon Cognac. Last February to Barbados , 3 shrimps   stew and cheap wines no cognac. 

At least market place was better as on other companies however the best lunch buffet is on Hapag Lloyd. 

[travelberlin]

5 hours ago, BWIVince said:

I probably should have been more specific and broke out ambiance for Marketplace and cuisine for Tastes and Trident…. Although ambiance is all kind of homogeneous between the three too, now that I think of it.  Marketplace’s food and variety are fine, no complaints there, but as someone who spends much of his work travels eating from staff buffets, one of the privileges of spending luxury cruising fares is to get away from that.  Not to mention the stuff that passengers do on buffets sometimes (in all segments of cruising) is completely disgusting… But that’s out of everyone’s control, so I don’t fault that.  Marketplace does what it does about as well as I could expect — I have no fault there…. It is, however, a buffet.

 

Trident…. All I can say is, to each their own.  It’s popular, it does what it does well, and people like it.  I’d rather have a root canal than pay those kinds of fares to eat a burger and fries when (using my next cruise as an example) I’m only on for 7 days.  I get that this is different for folks that are on for months at a time, but to Keith’s point about NC, the itineraries are shorter and more port intensive now, so this is increasingly the norm.

 

Tastes…. Again, no harm, no foul.  The current lunch menu is like a room service menu from a 3 star hotel, back when 3 star hotels still had room service…. Or a nice college cafeteria menu, just with table service.  Again it’s great to have crowd pleaser favorites that wont offend anyone, but at some point there’s a gap between the “food for the masses” lunches Crystal is offering and my expectations for luxury travel.  [Edited to add: While these are AMONG the items you’d see on a Four Seasons or Rosewood resort lunch menu, they wouldn’t be ALL you’d have to pick from at a Four Seasons or Rosewood resort, normally.]

 

I know I’ve spoken out in defense of closing Waterside on port days — as much as that would be my preferred option, I see firsthand how that’s not sustainable at these loads or scale…. But as others have noted, other lines have figured out how to offer interesting culinary options in a nice atmosphere at a small (participant) scale for lunch, and I would love to challenge Crystal to put their thinking cap back on for this one, because the current offering is really missing something…. Unless you love self service, burgers or chicken quesadillas.

 

Vince

 

Thanks Vince! I agree with you.  Happy to ser you back on this board.

 

Ivi

[PaulaJK]

I am in the boat w Vince. I do not eat in cafeterias at home and don’t understand why I should embrace them as a daily occurrence during a ‘luxury’ vacation. Like Vistaman it

was a strong factor in our abandoning SB. Like others I do appreciate Regent’s offering of lunch in either Chartreuse or Prime ..and SS also offers diningroom and Japanese restaurant offerings. 
While the buffet in Waterside is nice, the peeking behind panels to find an open table ( & trying to find it again on your return from the buffet!), trying to capture the attention of a staff member to acquire a drink, plates building up on the table and lukewarm food are definitely not my idea of a luxury offering…lots of hustle and bustle…not v satisfying. We have not been able to groove w Tastes and limit our burger ordering to a late return to the ship.

[vistaman]

in Europe Med; I cannot resist to go and lunch in France and Italy , however In Scandinavia  were a glass of wine is costing a fortune  and for sure never in caribbean ports ! 

so in North Europe and Caribbean : compulsory  buffet lunch 😝

not luxury in full...