Passenger to Crew Ratios

[pogieone]

I tried to search for this topic, but...

My wife and I are on the May 20 Noordam to Alaska. We've previously sailed on Carnival Pride to the Mexican Rivera. We had a great time ont he Pride, the food was good, and the service was very good. My question has to do with passenger to crew ratios. The Noordam is 2.4 p to c and the Pride is 2.3 p to c. Now I realize that this is not a significant difference, but that's the point. I thought HAL would have a higher p to c since HAL is suppose to have such great service. I know we will have a great time, but I just wondered.:)

[ak-bound]

pogieone,

This isn't an answer to your question, but--

Join the group over in the Roll Call section. We have a meet and greet planned for the first day at sea.

Zane

[Old As Dirt Mom]

According to my Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships, 2006 edition, the Carnival Pride crew/passenger ratio is 2.2, and the Noordam crew/passenger ratio is 2.1. On both ships, if all berths are filled, (think third/fourth passengers in some cabins) then the ratio becomes 2.6.

 

(Please bear in mind that I find the Berliz guide to be a flawed and very subjective reference, containing errors and poor editing).

 

I've only been on two HAL cruises, but the service has been excellent on both. However, I have no other cruise line with which to compare the standard.

 

I'll be on Noordam myself in June. Looking forward to your review of the onboard service:) .

 

Karin

[Krazy Kruizers]

Since 9/11 all the cruise lines have cut back. Some people here will say that HAL has cut back too far and that they had bad service, while others will say that they have always had good service. This is very hard to answer.

[pogieone]

I guess that the question I'm really asking is that since Carnival is suppose to be the "Party-Hearty" line and HAL is the more traditional line, why are the ratios just about even? If all the lines have cut back, shouldn't HAL still be relatively more service oriented than Carnival?

[serendipity1499]

I guess that the question I'm really asking is that since Carnival is suppose to be the "Party-Hearty" line and HAL is the more traditional line, why are the ratios just about even? If all the lines have cut back, shouldn't HAL still be relatively more service oriented than Carnival?

 

Having never cruised on Carnival, so can't really answer this question..

 

But hypothetically speaking, could it be that the number of Service Crew on HAL (Stewards, Bartenders, Laundry, Cooks, etc.) is greater than the Number of Entertainment Crew on Carnival..There seems to be so much more Entertainment, Games etc. on Carnival, therefore their CD's, Assistants, stage crew, performers, etc. might be a much larger group..:) Betty

[hammybee]

I guess that the question I'm really asking is that since Carnival is suppose to be the "Party-Hearty" line and HAL is the more traditional line, why are the ratios just about even? If all the lines have cut back, shouldn't HAL still be relatively more service oriented than Carnival?

 

I sail both HAL and Carnival and many of the others too. First off, Carnival is not the party -hearty line it once may have been, unless it's on an abbreviated sailing of less than 7 days.

 

I think both Carnival and HAL are service oriented but the devil is in the detail. The crew on HAL have a tendency to view HAL as their career, not just a job, till something better comes along. Those so inclined want opportunities to learn new skills and to advance within the organization.

The sincere desire to please and serve is what it's all about. Most of the onboard HAL crew take tremendous and obvious pride in a job well done.

They are the primary reason why I come home to HAL.