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Don't force me to eat with the hired help


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A few weeks ago I was dining in Blu when a very high rank officer walk in. He went over to a table to greet some guests. I heard him say that he needed to leave quickly since he wasn't permitted to be in Blu. I asked one of my table mates about this and he told me that "even the Captain can't dine in Blu. Apparently,a past guest complained that no Officer should dine in Blu since it was reserved for AQ guests and the officers, including the Master, were only "hired help". I'm certainly glad that I don't know the name of the guest for a would violate some rule and post it. I would be honored to sit with any officer and I guess most would agree. One response to this snobbery would be a "Captain's Table" in Blu. I view the entire staff, not as "hired help", but as very fine people who are working to provide me with the best vacation possible. I'd like to offer a sincere "Thank You" for all their efforts.

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Whassamatter, you never got asked to dine at the Officer's Table in the MDR?

 

Don't know if this was directed at me, but here's my answer. I have been honored to be invited to sit at the Captain's Table a number of times. If someone who objects to dining with the help is on one of my cruises and happens to receive an invitation, I'll be glad to serve as a substitute.

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Sorry that an intervening post got in the way -- my snide comment was aimed at the poster who referred to the officers as "employees" who are forbidden to "mingle" with the passengers -- implying that this is the reason he believes he has been passed over and not invited to dine with them. I think most of us here hold the ship's officers in high esteem and deem it a privilege to be asked to share a meal with them.

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Lighten up, folks!

 

For anyone familiar with the British sitcom "Keeping Up Appearances" you'll recall the famous episode where Daisy and Onslow won a cruise on the QE2....in a grill class cabin....and nightly dining at the Captain's table.

 

Onslow, who's idea of fine dining consisted of a six pack and hot dogs, was appalled to think people pay top dollar to sail QE2 only to have to "dine with the help"! :D

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A few weeks ago I was dining in Blu when a very high rank officer walk in. He went over to a table to greet some guests. I heard him say that he needed to leave quickly since he wasn't permitted to be in Blu. I asked one of my table mates about this and he told me that "even the Captain can't dine in Blu. Apparently,a past guest complained that no Officer should dine in Blu since it was reserved for AQ guests and the officers, including the Master, were only "hired help". I'm certainly glad that I don't know the name of the guest for a would violate some rule and post it. I would be honored to sit with any officer and I guess most would agree. One response to this snobbery would be a "Captain's Table" in Blu. I view the entire staff, not as "hired help", but as very fine people who are working to provide me with the best vacation possible. I'd like to offer a sincere "Thank You" for all their efforts.

 

Really?! Someone eating in blu really thought they were that much better than everyone else on the ship including officers? I think those AQ guests are getting a little to big for their britches ;)

 

DH and I only sail in suites, which if I remember correctly are a higher category than AQ and we would be honored to eat with the officers.

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OK here is my take

 

My wife asked me if I minded the help using the restrooms in a restaurant. I said no because if there was a problem they would notice and get it fixed.

 

Same with officers eating with the passengers. If something was wrong they would get it fixed

 

imHo

In My HAUTY opinion

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I can only speak for RCI, but think most lines are similar. I have a friend who is the male lead entertainer in their production shows and has been for several years, and we have been fortunate enough to cruise with him and get a glimpse of shipboard life from a different perspective. He told me the entire staff is ranked and that determines where they can eat and/or mingle. The officers, and cruise director and entertainers pretty much had the ship at their disposal , but the dining room staff and stewards were confined to their own area and couldn't dine or mingle with guests when off duty. ( which is rare.)

He was able to join us at dinner in the MDR (and even the specialty restaurant, on a night that there was no show.) There were times when he would literally walk offstage and straight to the table to dine with us. We loved being onboard with him, and I cannot even fathom anyone feeling quite that superior in Blu. I thought those kind of folks had their own yachts...:)

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When we go to a new restaurant, we look at a few things: if it's crowded, and if locals eat there. We ate at a specialty rest. on RCCL, and about 8 of the ship's officers ate there. I had absolutely no problem with that. Those poor waitpeople ran around for the officers to please them and treated them like gold.

 

I look at it this way---if it's good enough for the locals, then it must be worth eating at!

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Well, actually the Captain is not part of the Crew but is the onboard representative of the company and highest authority onboard ship and its flag of registry.

 

Despegue may have made a good point, even if not always valid. A little looking found that Garland et al's Encyclopedia of Law defines crew to generally mean, as Despegue says, the ship's company without the captain, but admits sometimes it excludes officers and rarely includes all officers including the captain. So it seems it can mean just about anything you want it to.:)

 

Bill

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All I know is that I got to dine with the Captain and I thought I was "all that"! My husband tried to remind me that i was a mere mortal and not a princess, but I ignored him! (note that I said I got to dine with HIM not that he got to dine with ME.)

 

I think most people consider being asked to dine with the Captain (or any senior member of the crew at the Captain's table) to be a special event. Call him an employee or whatever.... the bottom line is that he is in charge of a very large vessel and responsible for the well-being of alot of people. Any one who has been charged with that kind of responsibiltity deserves respect.

 

As for the rest of the crew, I have been on several cruises and I have yet to meet anyone that I would not like to share a meal with and hear more about their lives, their family, etc.

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... the officers, including the Master, were only "hired help"...

 

I guess this would be true if one owned a majority, or controlling, interest in the cruise line. But short of that they are at least your hosts and really more than that, and the Master is...well...he is THE Captain. I'm honored whenever one of the officers spends some time to chat with us.

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When we were at Tuscan Grille, Que, the cruise director, was seated at the next table with several officers. they're definitely allowed at specialty restaurants at least.

 

We have never been invited to dine at the Captain's Table but hope one day to receive an invitation.

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I can only speak for RCI, but think most lines are similar. I have a friend who is the male lead entertainer in their production shows and has been for several years, and we have been fortunate enough to cruise with him and get a glimpse of shipboard life from a different perspective. He told me the entire staff is ranked and that determines where they can eat and/or mingle. The officers, and cruise director and entertainers pretty much had the ship at their disposal , but the dining room staff and stewards were confined to their own area and couldn't dine or mingle with guests when off duty. ( which is rare.)

He was able to join us at dinner in the MDR (and even the specialty restaurant, on a night that there was no show.) There were times when he would literally walk offstage and straight to the table to dine with us. We loved being onboard with him, and I cannot even fathom anyone feeling quite that superior in Blu. I thought those kind of folks had their own yachts...:)

 

I have heard this many times regarding the restaurant & lounge presence of staff/officers. It has certainly seemed to be the case on every Celebrity cruise we've been on since we started cruising with them in 1998.

 

I can cite many, many instances where we've had coffee in the coffeeshop alongside various officers and/or the Captain; instances where we've dined near officer groups in specialty venues; and times where officers gather in groups in the main dance lounge to socialize with one another and enjoy drinks.

 

We would NEVER think of these folk as "hired help." Like Lsimon I am highly honored when any official of any rank from the ship stops to chat or acknowledges me in some way. It shows me they are real people who do genuinely value the presence of the cruise line's "guests."

 

Yes, we have dined at the Captain's Table and while it was a wonderful, memorable, never-to-be-forgotten experience, it was a self-aggrandizing, incessantly vocal tablemate that put the only damper on the experience. The ship's officer on the other hand could not have been more pleasant, gracious and delightful dinner company.

 

 

CM

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I was on Eclipse in Europe in July, I happened to have a conversation with the safety officer at the Captains Club Party, he very kindly invited me to join him and the social hostess in Murano later in the Cruise. We had an extremely nice evening and needless to say all meal and drinks charges were taken care of.

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I would not refer to anyone as "the hired help" when that person has the power to disembark a passenger if the passenger contavenes the code of conduct policy on board.

I have always valued our invitations to the "Captain's Table" no matter who is the host. Until recently, several ships also offered a luncheon in the specialty restaurant at which several officers were present, each hosting a table with the most traveled cruisers and top suite guests.

Occasionally you will find passengers in the specialty restaurant(s) who have invited officers or staff to dine with them.

I am sure that if you were an AQ passenger and knew a senior officer well, that you could invite them to a dinner in Blu unless there was a crowding problem. I can't see any Blu manager kicking the Master or HD out of any locale.

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