What constitutes good wait service on NCL

[Zeno]

After reading a long and contentious thread on Tipping it occurred to me that people seem to have wildly different views on what constitutes adequate/good/excellent wait service on NCL - so out of curiosity I decided to find out how people define wait service. I want it to be NCL specific because on other lines the "waiter routine" is quite different because of fixed dining times.

So please give me some opinions - I really am curious.

First - my opinion.
I am a pretty relaxed sort of person when it comes to wait service BUT I do have standards that I think I can reasonably expect.

ADEQUATE service:
Menus appear promptly.
Orders are taken in a reasonable time frame.
My water glass is filled at least once.
Someone (I don't care who) will ask me if I want to order something else to drink)
The staff are polite.
My food appears in a reasonable amount of time OR an explanation is given.
Any mistakes made in orders will be apologized for (assuming it WAS the waiter's mistake) and rectified promptly.
If I say that I did not like something and request a replacement my waiter will politely and in a reasonable amount of deliver a replacement.

GOOD Service
As in "adequate" plus:
Orders are taken promptly
My water glass is filled whenever it is empty
My food appears promptly and in the appropriate order
If I say I do not like something, my waiter will immediately encourage me to order something else and will deliver my replacement promptly.
IF my waiter cannot answer questions about the food he/she gets someone who can.
My waiter will try not to interrupt any conversations except to deliver food.
Empty plates will be removed promptly

EXCELLENT Service
As in "good" and "adequate" service plus:
My water glass is filled when it is almost empty. I do understand that it is convenient for the server to top-up everyone's water glass at the same time even if some glasses are still almost full.
My waiter answers all questions about the food in an informed manner or promptly gets someone who can do so.
All orders are correct.
I never feel like the wait staff are rushing my dinner but I never feel like I am waiting too long between courses. This can be hard to get right and it really impresses me when it is "perfect".
My waiter will NOT ask me personal questions like "how was your day?". I find this disruptive and obsequious and frankly I am well aware that he/she really really does not give a damn (and I don't expect he/she to give a damn). My waiter is there to deliver my food in a professional manner NOT to be my best friend.
It's fine if my waiter asks if everything at the meal was to my satisfaction because that is relevent to his/her job but honestly I am perfectly capable of complaining if it was not.
The wait staff have a polite, professional, non-obsequious manner - attentive enough when required but not "in your face".

Things I really don't like but will put up with since they are common and obviously some people like them:

I find it distinctly unamusing when wait staff play little games (like pretending to have brought the wrong order and then magically revealing the correct order). They are there to serve my dinner - NOT to entertain me.
Waiters making small talk - I know some people really like this - but I don't.

OK - now I do know that some people enjoy the whole personal relationship thing with the waiter - I guess I am just a more formal sort of person. I enjoy friendly by-play with friends but neither expect it or want it from wait-staff. Your tastes may be quite different and that's fine.

SOOO - what are your expectations?

[gbcruise]

It was interesting to read your 3 classifications. Having been a waitress many years ago I've lived with how challenging it can be to please everyone. Going to work with the attitude that I would do my best with what personalities came my way served its purpose.

Me, I'm perfectly happy as long as I'm feed in a timely manner, all the rest not so important but thats just me.

[uppitycats]

I think for me it would be somewhere between your "good" and "excellent" categories. I rarely ask about the food or food preparation. so can't really rank that. And I can't think of a time when I actually sent something back because it wasn't prepared properly or I didn't like it. So again, don't know how to categorize that.

I'm pretty laid back. I'm real clear about what I want..and am clear with the waiter about that, not expecting him to "guess" or "know", but simply stating as I sit down. "Please bring coffee right away, and keep my cup full, OK?" is my major demand. And like you, I really don't need waiters to pretend to be my friend, or care about my day, or ask personal questions of any sort.

When we last cruised on NCL, my expectations were more than sufficiently met.

[bplazo]

Op, you really have alot of expectations. As long as I get dinner and the server is nice, I am happy. I do not give it much thought.

[luddite]

Great service...AAA+++ ---top notch couldn't be better service?
It means that no one spilled hot soup onto my nether regions.
Any thing less is simply 'adequate'.

[sillysailor 1955]

I find that if the waiter/waitress is pleasant and friendly then you are more than half way to a nice dining experience - its all about attitude both the server and the passenger. I can forgive a lot of shortcomings when people are nice.

[deepnite10]

i think alot of people say the service is spotty..and i figured out why in our case..

our expectation s , i have found change from one evening to another..if we re in a hurry to get to a show we might think service is slow..at other times the conversation just go s on and on and we feel rushed..

it seemed that on our last NCL cruise the timing went perfectly..in the event tell the matri d..you ll find that when you return you ll be remembered for your kind words

[roger001]

I don't measure efficiency or the product. It's the person and the personal interaction, based on how busy they might be at the moment. This last cruise, the crew and staff interacting with us were all outstanding in my opinion. In the MDR one evening, I'm ashamed I forgot her name, anyhow was so helpful, took time to talk at length about herself when she recognized we would welcome that, and when I placed a $5 tip on the table at the end of dinner, she said that she couldn't accept it. We assured her that her extra efforts serving dinner certainly deserved it. My wife had her take it anyhow. She was outstanding and I would have adopted her....except her husband would have probably objected.

[BIG_Steve]

Since I only went on my first cruise in April of this year, I missed out on the "Golden age" of cruising, or so it would seem. So all I have to compare it to is a shore restaurant. I expect on the ship, more or less what I expect on land.

Bring me water and a menu without undue delay (a few minutes.) If it's very busy, or the restaurant is short staffed that night TELL ME. I can be very reasonable if I know what's going on, but don't ignore me, and don't bring me cold food and THEN try to tell me you're busy.

Bring me the food soon after it's done. Don't let it sit under the heat lamps for 10 minutes. Refill my water or Iced tea without me having to flag you down.

On my NCL cruise, we ate in the MDR twice, and 2 different specialty restaurants. In all cases, they exceeded by far many land restaurants I frequent. I have to wonder what cruise service must have been like 20 years ago.....

[DMH15]

Here is something I really like in a server. That they will "scan" the room. If I need something, and can't seem to catch the servers eye it can be frustrating. If a server is good, they make eye contact and acknowledge, maybe with a nod and then make it to the table to follow up.

[*Wink*]

As long as I "sense" the server is engaged.. not even trying their best... but engaged with their duties, I'm satisfied.

I don't expect to gel with every server, but I do expect them to be professional.

That constitutes "good wait service" for me.

Good question, Zeno.

[wallygator]

Originally Posted by bplazo

Op, you really have alot of expectations. As long as I get dinner and the server is nice, I am happy. I do not give it much thought.

Your picture link is either posted wrong or somthing.


Check it. OK ?

[hamrag]

Originally Posted by Zeno

After reading a long and contentious thread on Tipping it occurred to me that people seem to have wildly different views on what constitutes adequate/good/excellent wait service on NCL - so out of curiosity I decided to find out how people define wait service. I want it to be NCL specific because on other lines the "waiter routine" is quite different because of fixed dining times.

I think your classifications for adequate, good and excellent are well thought out and reasonable. We expect NCL to be in the "good" category, since thay are not one of the premium cruiselines where "excellent" would be our expectation.

Incidentally, our experience with NCL in the MDR's is that the level of service varies between "adequate" and "good", but rarely "excellent". More or less meets our expectations indeed, as I write, we have 2 further NCL cruises already booked.

[sparks1093]

I hadn't thought about it to that level, but your lists are pretty close to my own definitions of adequate, good, and exceptional. All of my dining experience have been at three star restaurants and below, I don't believe that I've ever eaten at a four or five (wouldn't spend the money on it and don't know anyone that would treat).

[flashdog_1]

Some people who are accustomed to the traditional dining on other lines (where they take your order for beverage, appetizer, soup, & entree, and then after you've eaten bring a tray and show you some of the choices for dessert, describing each, taking your dessert order only after you've finished eating) have complained that on NCL they take your dessert order up front, along with the others, so opt not to order dessert right then. Then they complain when the waiter does not come back to offer them coffee and dessert exactly when they have finished their main course.

So for expediency on NCL, place your dessert order if the waiter requests it when you order everything else, and you will be served in a timely manner.

And if you are in a hurry to be on time for a show or other activity, tell the waiter upfront and he'll do his best for you.

[Zeno]

Thanks for the interesting replies! In general I have found the service in the Dining rooms to be adequate to good (and for me adequate is quite acceptable). In the Specialty restaurants I have found it mostly ranged from good to excellent. Although - the very best service I ever had on NCL was in a Dining room and the worst service I had was in a Specialty restaurant - so go figure. In general though I am pretty pleased with the wait-service on NCL - it suits me.

[Cubechick]

Originally Posted by sillysailor 1955

I find that if the waiter/waitress is pleasant and friendly then you are more than half way to a nice dining experience - its all about attitude both the server and the passenger. I can forgive a lot of shortcomings when people are nice.

I agree 100%. I imagine that if a server was flawless in the execution of their duties, but they did it with a scowl on their face I'd perceive the experience as less than stellar.

If my waiter/waitress is pleasant and keeps open the lines of communication if things go awry, I walk away satisfied.

[cacj]

I like your descriptive survey.

For us, we are somewhere in between some of the descriptions....we enjoy waiters with a personality, and will have a bit of conversation with them, but we don't want to interfere with their duties by doing so. Nor do we wish to feel like we now have an extra diner with us when they become too chatty....

We feel that they are definitely wanting to serve our dinner with a sincere effort to good service, that is our belief.

Sometimes they have a bad day, and we would appreciate knowing upfront that the dining room has a problem or an item is in short supply.

The food should not be under the heat lamps too long, if at all....and we can tell when it is, there is definitely a difference in food served well timed and left to radiation. We do not want our wine poured to the top, nor do we want it poured by the waiter at all...we prefer to do this ourselves. We don't like ice in our water, and we tell them at the outset, so when they inisist on doing this, they lose points with us.



As for the habit of ordering dessert upfront...we simply hate it....while I understand that might be of some help to them in putting a claim on a popular dessert, it is not something we want to decide when we place entree order. Many times it is the flavors of the entree that help us choose what would be a good dessert. Dessert should complement the experience. I cannot decide that until I have eaten the entree. We tell our server that we cannot and won't order dessert upfront (accepting the caveat that the dessert may be out of supply by the time we are ready to order)...there was only one who got irritated with that, being rather rude to us, but we let it slide.

Above all, when we tell the wait staff that "we are not in any rush, so please don't rush us"...we expect that to be respected, and that means steady service, not ignoring us, balance the service with attentiveness and a leisurely pace ....and of course, on the other hand if we ask for expedition, we mean it....

Our description of excellent service is a wait staff who know their jobs, but adapt to the party they are serving. Wait staff who display that they find it a pleasure to be of service, who are responsive and attentive, who enjoy the "humanness" of interaction without being overly intrusive, and who listen and show that they listened to your special "requests" or "peculiarities". While we always try to remember that they are people too, and feel aware of the demands of their job, we really would prefer it if they kept their troubles out of our dining time...if they are unhappy or in a bad mood, or having a dining staff feud, their job should require them to not let that affect their interaction or service to us.

Above all, we try to be forgiving for a bad day if it happens, but since our trip is expensive, and we have only so many days to enjoy, if the bad days are too many...well, we will take our next cruise with some other line and express our displeasure with the appropriate party.

[Roboat]

Originally Posted by luddite

great service...aaa+++ ---top notch couldn't be better service?
It means that no one spilled hot soup onto my nether regions.
Any thing less is simply 'adequate'.

lol!

[pex]

I suppose I am always happy with my service because I don't expect doting restaurant wait service. I consider the restaurants on NCL to be more analogous to a large banquet, albeit with more choices. NCL's main goal (and consequently the wait staff's primary goal) is to shovel food out quickly and efficiently. The logistics are similar, and I would expect differences in the way they organize their staff.

I think if the occasional grumblers would use banquet service as a benchmark, they would be pleasantly surprised when that standard is exceeded. As, in my opinion, it almost always is.