I'm jealous of ya'lls service!

[carmel]

My husband, two daughters (ages 2 and 6), and I sailed on the Explorer (RCCL) for a 7 night E Carib cruise. I had read so much about the superior service... I was ready to be pampered. However, I was mostly disappointed.

Our steward was....well....extremely ordinary. Not bad enough to complain to management but he definately did NOT go above the minimum. We got 1 towel animal on the last night (buttering us up for tips possibly?) He knew we were traveling with children so I kinda thought we would see >1 towel animal. In a cabin with 4 people, we got one piece of chocolate on the last night. The vac was always propped on the wall right outside of our cabin and dirty glasses were in the hallway the entire cruise (they were *different* glasses but it seemed to be a storage area, of sorts for them).

Because of my toddler, we only ate in the dining room once for lunch. I didn't want to take a chance that she might get fussy at the table and bother other diners. The wait staff there was pretty bad. I'm not sure the waiter or the assistant waiter said one word to us the entire meal. I told them what I wanted, they nodded and quickly went away. I chalked it up to not knowing us very well (However, I go into restaurants all the time where people don't know me and had better service). We chose the buffet all the other times. Our servers in the buffet were great - one got a tear in his eye while kissing my girls goodbye on the last night. We tipped them very well - they exhibited the type of service, I felt, waranted a good tip.

We tipped our steward what was expected but in hind-sight, I'm kinda sorry I did. I am a FIRM believer that tips should be for service ABOVE the minimum. It was not that I minded paying the money - it was that I didn't think he earned it. But, I got all sad thinking he might need to send money home to his family and was having an off week and yada, yada, yada.

I'm not sure what my point is other than to say I kinda regret tipping the poor service the same as the good service. It was my fault but think I will be more savvy on my next cruise. Again the service was not bad enough to complain about but was simply the minimum effort that could be put forth without being negligent.

Oh well - live and learn.

[dickinson]

sorry about your experience. i am not sure why you are posting this on a carnival board when you sailed rccl. i would definately say your steward was not ordinary!!!! The service was definately lacking and I would have complained and tipped low if my complaint went unanswered. I am sure your next cruise will be a big improvement.

[cruisinqt]

Carmel, I'm so sorry that your service on RCI wasn't that great. Personally, I've been on them several times and had great service every time. I usually went on the Rhapsody of the Seas, so maybe they just have really outstanding service or something. We brought along our two children and had a different towel animal every night. In fact, the last one was the best because he propped a bar between the two upper bunk beds and had a towel monkey swinging from the bar. It was really realistic and our kids loved it!:D We gave those who did okay the bare minimum tip that was the suggested tip. Our steward was so good we gave him a little extra. He filled our cooler with ice every night and even replaced the toilet seat when he saw a crack in it. We never had to ask for a thing.

I've also had excellent service with Carnival and would highly recommend them. I don't know why there is so much Carnival bashing out there. I guess people get a little jealous of the younger crowds and parties on Carnival or something. So they decide to talk negative and say everyones a drunken lush. Personally, I've never seen the depraved drunken lushes that other cruise lines acuse Carnival of having. Either they're jealous and defensive of their favorite cruise line or they just happened to have a bad cruise that's not indicative of how Carnival really is. Anyhow, I would definitely recommend Carnival to anyone. I would also recommend RCI too. I like them both. You may have just had a steward that was under the weather, depressed from missing his family, or was just having an off week.:(

Don't feel bad about giving the minimum tip, I always do. They don't get much from the cruise line and our payment is basically their salary. So if the room was cleaned every day and they took care of my needs, then I pay them for it. I give a little extra to those that go above and beyond the call of duty. But for those that did just enough to get by but didn't really go out of their way for me, I just give them the minimum tip. Everyone tips differently, but that's how I feel anyway.:)

[Cotton]

[b]Carmel - Girl...you just need to stick with Carnival!:D [/b]

[crzndeb]

Carmel, I am also sorry that it wasn't a great cruise...they should all be great. I too, have been on 6 RCI cruises and never had a bad one...In fact, out of 15 cruises on several lines,the worst one I had was in 1986 on Carnival's Carnivale....I swore I would never cruise Carnival again.....But in 2003, I wanted Carnival's Spirit's Exotic West. Carib. itinerary and lo and behold, I had a fantastic time. I'm now going on the Elation over Thanksgiving.
Bad service doesn't discriminate, it's all over and hopefully your next cruise on whatever cruise line will make up for your last one.

[Cruising89143]

[quote name='crzndeb']Bad service doesn't discriminate, it's all over and hopefully your next cruise on whatever cruise line will make up for your last one.[/QUOTE]
That about sums it up. You can have bad service on any line including Carnival. I can vouch for that.

[steveaaaa]

Well thats par for the course. I always seem to get the bad steward and bad waiter every single time on both cruise lines. Mine seem to be more morons than anything else.I request NO towel animals and I still get them.I request an extra ice bucket and have never gotton one. I also have requested no morning service yet they still do it. Another issue has always been getting youth life preservers.What is so hard about that.
Dinner is another issue.For the 10th time, no I don't want tomatoe bread! Don't bring me food you think I might like, and if I order 2 meals, your job is to get them and not make a joke about it.
Steve

[cruisinqt]

I just had to laugh when I read your post Steveaaaa!:D You sound just like my husband. It doesn't matter what restaurant we go to, Applebee's, Chilies, On The Border, or anywhere else, he just gets bad service. Me, my friends, my other family members and our children all get great service. But he tends to be looked over every time. It's a running joke with my family that if they bring my husband along with them bad service will be sure to follow him. I think it's because of his size. He's 6'6" and is built like a linebacker. He looks like a big mean guy but he's really just a big soft teddy bear.:) You couldn't find a nicer guy. But I think his looks are intimidating and the waitresses tend to shy away from him. Especially since he is very particular about the way he wants things. But when they do a good job he gives fantastic tips. It's too bad that you've had such bad service on your cruises. Even my husband who tends to always have bad service has had nothing but the best service on our cruises. They don't say a word or even make a smirk or smile or anything when he orders two entrees in the dining room either. Maybe they expect such a big guy to eat extra, I don't know. I wish you the best of service on your next cruise, good luck!:D

[steveaaaa]

[quote name='cruisinqt']I just had to laugh when I read your post Steveaaaa! You sound just like my husband. It doesn't matter what restaurant we go to, Applebee's, Chilies, On The Border, or anywhere else, he just gets bad service. Me, my friends, my other family members and our children all get great service. But he tends to be looked over every time. It's a running joke with my family that if they bring my husband along with them bad service will be sure to follow him. I think it's because of his size. He's 6'6" and is built like a linebacker. He looks like a big mean guy but he's really just a big soft teddy bear. You couldn't find a nicer guy. But I think his looks are intimidating and the waitresses tend to shy away from him. Especially since he is very particular about the way he wants things. But when they do a good job he gives fantastic tips. It's too bad that you've had such bad service on your cruises. Even my husband who tends to always have bad service has had nothing but the best service on our cruises. They don't say a word or even make a smirk or smile or anything when he orders two entrees in the dining room either. Maybe they expect such a big guy to eat extra, I don't know. I wish you the best of service on your next cruise, good luck[/QUOTE]cruisinqt,
Glad to see I am not alone in this world. I am wondering if your husband is not a distant relative?:D I am over 6'2" myself.
I too am the family joke that something will go wrong, and almost always does.I must say I am impressed with the servers in the Disco on the ships.After a day they know me well and they took good care of me and my party every night.I like the drinks to come every 15 minutes until someone passes out then every half hour then.:D You are so correct about the local restaurant's.I alway get bad service.Another thing that gets me is when there are free soda refills, where is the wait person to refill me?Why at the Hometown buffett is it always the end of the roast beef when I want some?
I get better service at a fast food place then a nicer restuarant?:confused:

Steve

[crzndeb]

Hey Steve, do you think it might be the Hannibal Lector mask you keep wearing???? LOL!!

[carmel]

Sorry guys, I can see where you would be confused about me posting a RCCL story here. I guess I should have said that I was excited to experience the service level with Carnival (I have heard the Holiday crew is really attentive).

Anway, I was just kinda jealous about the good service levels I read about here. Once I got back from my RCCL cruise, I have been on this board exclusively since I took a beating over on that board for taking my kids along. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly that this was a RCCL complaint.

Sorry!

[Cotton]

[b]Carmel - I KNOW you've been excited about your upcoming Holiday cruise. No problem in posting about other lines, in my opinion - comparison gives insight.[/b]

[steveaaaa]

[quote name='carmel']I took a beating over on that board for taking my kids along.
Sorry![/QUOTE]
You actually took kids on a ship and infringed on someone else's vacation?:eek: :eek::eek:

Good for you! I always take mine once a year too.Next time book a Celebrity cruise.:D
Steve

[DollyCruise]

[quote name='dickinson']sorry about your experience. i am not sure why you are posting this on a carnival board when you sailed rccl.[/QUOTE]
She must be jealous of the service on Carnival.

Dolly

[Lauri32]

Well I think it just depends on the cruise not necessarily the cruise line. We've sailed Carnival, RC, and Disney. We've had bad and good experiences on all of them. The dining room staff on the Navigator was the best we've ever had. We went on the Mariner last month and had bad dining service from the waiter, but outstanding service from the asst waiter. On the last night I found out it was her first job as waiter. We've had good and bad serice on Carnival as well. Our best room steward was on the Disney Magic. He was very interractive with our girls, 11yrs at the time. Our steward on the Mariner did everything we asked and more but was less intrusive. Which is fine, too.

[voyagerfl]

[u][b][size=3][color=DarkRed]steveaaaa,[/color]

[/size][/b][/u][font=Comic Sans MS][size=3]Making up your bed & forcing Towel animals on you against your will..:eek::eek:

OMG. The Horror....I'm surprised you will ever cruise again......LoL ;)[/size][/font]

[tbrown]

I agree that you can have bad service on anything. We were on the Fascination last year and I swear the room steward would make the bed with us in it if we weren't careful. He was wonderful.

NOW, we were on the Holiday this Sept and after reading all the raves on how good the personel was on this ship I think that Carnival switched them for the week that we were on there. Never seen our room steward at all and this crew we had rudeness was a must for the job that week. But, that is my opinion which I express no matter where I get bad service let it be a ship, or a local restaurant. They want our money we want what we pay for in my opinion.:)

[TexasAlexus]

I'm sorry the service on your cruise was so lacking. It is truly disappointing when you wait and anticipate your upcoming cruise, and then it doesn't turn out to be as special, or as memorable of an event as they advertise it to be. I agree that you should not feel bad leaving the tips though, because we call them tips but in reality they are the staff's pay. I would never want to feel like someone worked for me for free, so I would have kept them in place. I think you did the right thing. As far as getting bashed for bringing your children along...well don't even get me started on that subject. My three children have been on 5 cruises now, and we will continue to cruise together as a family reguardless of what anyone else thinks. I feel bad that you were criticized. I wanted to let you know that there are many other parents out there who understand exactly why you cruise with your children and what an incrediable experience it is. It has cost my husband and I a small fortune, but the memories we will always have traveling as a family are priceless!

[dsclark]

Carmel, I was on the EOS and also had poor cabin service (I think the steward's name was Jackson). Towels were never replace (Our ocean soaked towle from Nassua sat by the door from the afternoon we left it there'til the morning we left the ship- it stunk!), never any ice, etc. Food was bad too. To add iinsult to injury, RCl charged much more for this cruise than CCL would for the same destinations.
I didn't think all was bad on the EOS, the entertainment was great. However, for service and food, CCL is great. The lower price is just icing on the cake.

[sailyn]

[font=Arial][size=4][color=red][size=6]TexasAlexus ... we're looking for you![/size] :D [/color][/size][/font]
[font=Arial][size=4][color=red]It's about time for another DFW M&M and I don't have your e-mail address on our 'notification list' so I can alert you. Please use the link in my footer to send me an e-mail so we can add you to the list. I hope you can make this one ... it would be great to see you again! :)[/color][/size][/font]