Headwaiter not to be believed

[Jay Bee]

I have read many posts about headwaiters on this board --they show up only on tip night and maybe once to extract your lobster from the shell. People grumble about tipping them and are reminded that they are there to field dining problems if and when they arise. Not expecting anything other than the usual, I was stunned by our Headwaiter Amith on the Vision this past week.

 

Amith was there as we entered the dining room on the first night, very personable and energetic. He seemed to connect to everyone. He got everyone's name that first night, and I mean everyone at every table for all of his waiters. Our table of 12 was full of pranksters who scrambled their seating on night 2, mixing all the couples (except DH and me). Amith came around and was initially confused since he used couples as a memory tool, but stayed there, intensely determined, until he sorted them out. From then on he knew each one of us, calling us by name in or out of the dining room.

 

Amith was at each table in his section at least 3 times for every meal. It is a rule he makes for himself. Of course, he was present to help with shrimp in the shell and lobster. One night mid week he brought our table 3 bowls of his special chicken curry (not on the menu) with rice. It was outstanding. The next night 6 bowls. And 6 more the night after that. One of us inquired about the recipe for garlic soup (not in the RCCL cookbook). He produced it the following night. I saw him carrying around someone's small child - whether to calm the kid or just to be playful, I don't know, but he was a natural. One night towards the end he had our rowdy bunch silent in rapt attention as he shared his personal story. I'm sure he was doing similar things at his many other tables as well.

 

All this is not to say that Amith was trying to make up for inadequacies in his waitstaff. Our waiter Rayomand was fabulous, one of the very best waiters we've had. His assistant, My Beautiful Ashley, was also very good - attentive and on-the-ball.

 

Amith, in addition to the above, was the HW who did the speeches on each of the nights when the waiters paraded, danced, and sang. He also was in charge of the late night barbeque. He was incredibly poised and competent at both. He has been Employee of the Year several times which isn't surprising in the least.

 

This was the first time that we have been moved to embellish the standard HW tip, and there was no question that we would do it generously. He deserved every penny and more.

[Carey and Kerry]

Nice to hear something positive about the HW - so often it is a complaint as you say about their lack of attention -

 

Thanks for taking the time to single an exceptional employee out!

[Gator0178]

Thanks for sharing. It was a great story. We had a similar, although not as good as yours, experience on the Sovereign. I like the good stories:)

[DonnaK]

have you shared your thoughts with RCI? A letter like this is as much appreciated as your tip to the crew member you are praising!

[pegasusa]

We didn't have Amith, but our headwaiter was quite visable also. Normally we see the headwaiter at the first and last dinner, but not on the Vision. Every headwaiter was very attentive. We were quite impressed with all the staff on the Vision of the Seas. I don't see any Vision cruises in 2009 and noticed the Mariner will be taking this itinerary. I certainly hope the Vision is not being sent over to P&O.

[Jay Bee]

Nice to hear something positive about the HW - so often it is a complaint as you say about their lack of attention -

 

Thanks for taking the time to single an exceptional employee out!

 

I do my share of complaining so it's only fair that it gets balanced out by the positive.

 

I keep remembering things this HW did. One night he said that if we all wanted to come to breakfast the next morning in the dining room, he would not only arrange for us to sit together but he would serve us personally. I didn't go, but was told he was as good as his word, even to the extent of buttering one woman's toast for her.

[Jay Bee]

have you shared your thoughts with RCI? A letter like this is as much appreciated as your tip to the crew member you are praising!

 

Oh, that's a good idea. I will do that. Where is the best place to send the email, do you know?

[kidless]

That is really cool on all 6 cruises we have never seen the Head waiter except on tip night and sometimes not even then.

[cellotaxi]

I had Amith earlier this year, and he was amazing, I couldnt believe everything that he did for all of us. Everyone on the vision is amazing! Love them all!! Glad you had a good experience too!

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I think we had his twin on the Serenade. Our HW was the best in all of our cruises. It is nice to see that kind of service, something thats been a hit or miss in the past.

 

Glad you enjoyed the Vision and had great DR service. :)

 

***

[Apoggi]

That is a great story. I've never found a HW that made more than a cursory appearance and usually on the last night. I might have to book the Vision to check him out myself.

 

Ann

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

That is a great story. I've never found a HW that made more than a cursory appearance and usually on the last night. I might have to book the Vision to check him out myself.

 

Ann

 

You go girl......now thats what I call going above and beyond the call of duty!!! Love it...why didn't I think of that???? :eek: :D

 

***

[terri23]

......

 

Amith was there as we entered the dining room on the first night, very personable and energetic. He seemed to connect to everyone. He got everyone's name that first night, and I mean everyone at every table for all of his waiters. Our table of 12 was full of pranksters who scrambled their seating on night 2, mixing all the couples (except DH and me). Amith came around and was initially confused since he used couples as a memory tool, but stayed there, intensely determined, until he sorted them out. From then on he knew each one of us, calling us by name in or out of the dining room.

 

............

 

 

hey that's great. make a difficult job even more challenging. :rolleyes: would you do this in a "regular" restaurant between courses?

[Saracruise]

I have read many posts about headwaiters on this board --they show up only on tip night and maybe once to extract your lobster from the shell. People grumble about tipping them and are reminded that they are there to field dining problems if and when they arise. Not expecting anything other than the usual, I was stunned by our Headwaiter Amith on the Vision this past week.

 

Amith was there as we entered the dining room on the first night, very personable and energetic. He seemed to connect to everyone. He got everyone's name that first night, and I mean everyone at every table for all of his waiters. Our table of 12 was full of pranksters who scrambled their seating on night 2, mixing all the couples (except DH and me). Amith came around and was initially confused since he used couples as a memory tool, but stayed there, intensely determined, until he sorted them out. From then on he knew each one of us, calling us by name in or out of the dining room.

 

Amith was at each table in his section at least 3 times for every meal. It is a rule he makes for himself. Of course, he was present to help with shrimp in the shell and lobster. One night mid week he brought our table 3 bowls of his special chicken curry (not on the menu) with rice. It was outstanding. The next night 6 bowls. And 6 more the night after that. One of us inquired about the recipe for garlic soup (not in the RCCL cookbook). He produced it the following night. I saw him carrying around someone's small child - whether to calm the kid or just to be playful, I don't know, but he was a natural. One night towards the end he had our rowdy bunch silent in rapt attention as he shared his personal story. I'm sure he was doing similar things at his many other tables as well.

 

All this is not to say that Amith was trying to make up for inadequacies in his waitstaff. Our waiter Rayomand was fabulous, one of the very best waiters we've had. His assistant, My Beautiful Ashley, was also very good - attentive and on-the-ball.

 

Amith, in addition to the above, was the HW who did the speeches on each of the nights when the waiters paraded, danced, and sang. He also was in charge of the late night barbeque. He was incredibly poised and competent at both. He has been Employee of the Year several times which isn't surprising in the least.

 

This was the first time that we have been moved to embellish the standard HW tip, and there was no question that we would do it generously. He deserved every penny and more.

 

We had Amith on the Vision in May for our Alaska cruise, it was my third cruise and the first for everyone else in my family (Mom, Dad, and 2 sisters). I have nothing but nice things to say about the whole wait staff we had. Amith went above and beyond and was there in a split second if something needed to be changed with a meal. He it the best HW that I have ever experienced. Our Waiter was Viktor and he had a great sense of humor on the last night when we switched seats between courses and our AW Carol was also great.

[mamaza]

I think we were very lucky then. On Navigator last January, our HW was fabulous. We noticed he spent more time at some of the other tables than our, but he made a point to stop by every night and say "Hello." He did the lobster night, helped the waitresses serve dinners when he was near by or not tied up with someone else and served special deserts to each couple at our table - we had a 1st, 25th and 35th anniversary at our table.

 

My DW made a point of telling HW that we liked our wait staff and he replied that she (they) was his best waitress and then said that's why we didn't see more of him. I still thought we saw a lot of him. He never just stood around.

[Jay Bee]

hey that's great. make a difficult job even more challenging. :rolleyes: would you do this in a "regular" restaurant between courses?

 

No. And we didn't do it then. Our table for 12 included a group of 10 friends. DH and I were the extra couple thrown in to fill the table. We appreciate how hard the staff works and were not comfortalbe making it any harder. We stayed put.

[piercetc4]

what a great story! this guy sounds amazing!!!! no wonder he gets hw of the yr all the time:)

[terri23]

No. And we didn't do it then. Our table for 12 included a group of 10 friends. DH and I were the extra couple thrown in to fill the table. We appreciate how hard the staff works and were not comfortalbe making it any harder. We stayed put.

 

thanks for replying. those antics are a pet peeve of mine (maybe you could tell :o )!!

 

glad you had such a good DR experience. seems like the staff is getting spread thinner and thinner, so I always appreciate their efforts.

[Cloud9 Bob]

hey that's great. make a difficult job even more challenging.

 

That was my first thought too. I know you didn't participate in the "prank" Jarie and I applaud you for it, but is it any wonder how these hardworking people from other countries come away from a job like this thinking Americans are spoiled brats with nothing better to do while on a luxurious vacation?

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

We had the best HW on the Jewel! Better than any other-he was so attentive to our kids, helped the waitstaff, and was such a nice guy! We did send a letter to RCI about the dining room team (and our stateroom attendant too) we had because they were phenomenal and went above and beyond to make our dining experinece great. Our kids had a blast with them! He did a different magic trick every night, came by for conversation, was so friendly to crew and passengers... His name was Ferit.

[shorbr]

I do my share of complaining so it's only fair that it gets balanced out by the positive.

 

I keep remembering things this HW did. One night he said that if we all wanted to come to breakfast the next morning in the dining room, he would not only arrange for us to sit together but he would serve us personally. I didn't go, but was told he was as good as his word, even to the extent of buttering one woman's toast for her.

 

 

I had a similar experience like this, only it was the HW who actually applied my lipstick at the end of each meal. Its a habit that I have and I guess he took note of it. I actually have a picture of him doing this. Needless to say, a letter of commendation was written as well as a generous tip given.

[terri23]

I had a similar experience like this, only it was the HW who actually applied my lipstick at the end of each meal. Its a habit that I have and I guess he took note of it. I actually have a picture of him doing this. Needless to say, a letter of commendation was written as well as a generous tip given.

 

LOL now that's a little weird, but I guess a good photo op!

[shorbr]

LOL now that's a little weird, but I guess a good photo op!

 

I thought it was weird too, but loved every minute of it :)

[cruise_lover]

I think we had his twin on the Serenade. Our HW was the best in all of our cruises. It is nice to see that kind of service, something thats been a hit or miss in the past.

 

Glad you enjoyed the Vision and had great DR service. :)

 

***

ArizonaCruiser85374 - just noticed where you are from. Our Connectiuct cousin and her husband lived in Surprise when they first moved to Arizonia. Last name is Sterpka. I'm not sure how big Surprise is but just wondering if you know them.

[bridedoll1026]

One of the best things on our cruise (yes, 10/28/07 AOS!) was our HW, Emery, he honored a special request for banana cream pie! Ozcan,our waiter, was a doll & real professional!