Wait Staff attitudes?

Has anyone noticed a difference? I just got off a cruise (will keep it nameless) this week and must say that I had the worst experience with the wait staff. I have been cruising for many years (2 times per year) and always found it enjoyable. I have always enjoyed getting to know the waitstaff, where they were from and excellent conversation. My sister and her family (first time cruisers) were shocked. This time not a smile, not a greeting, they would just walk right up and ask if I was ready to order. When my sister had a question about a item on the menu, the waitress was clearly impatient and annoyed and spoke very harshly to her as if she was bothered to answer the question. My husband and I looked at eachother in shock. While talking to my sister about the attitude, the waitress must have over heard because she then served lunch to everyone at my table except me. Another waiter brought my meal & dessert. In another restaurant I noticed the same rude behavior, no greetings, no smile just "are you ready to order". After much thought (didn't want anyone in trouble or fired) I did finally decide to call the restaurant manager from my stateroom who was very apologetic, told me he would address the issue and offered us a bottle of wine for that evening. To say the least, our dinner that evening was perfect. The manager came to my table and apologized again, told me that he had addressed the issues and appreciated me informing him. I know that the staff works hard and sometimes is over worked but wow... Really made me rethink a cruise I have booked for January.

Well, not knowing which cruise line it is, I am not sure that my response is relevant. However; in all my cruises, one NCL, one Celebrity, and 6 Carnival, I have never had such bad service. I know that lots of people think Carnival is a subpar cruiseline, but for me, it has always been excellent and met my expectations. All six cruises on them, I have had the most attentive service that I could ever imagine.

You do not have to tell which cruise line you were on, but I can only say that if this had happened to me, I would have been quite put off. Also, I might have missed if you were at a fixed time dining table, same table, same wait staff each night, and if so, I think that I would have gone to maitre'd after the first dinner and requested a change to a different table and wait team. Again, sorry if I missed this addressed in your post.

What you experienced is certainly not acceptable. I hope your next cruise dining experience is way way better than that.

It has gotten more "rushed" in the last couple of years, although, we've never had "rude" waitstaff.....There simply is more for each waiter to do, and they don't have the support staff they used to. But, rudeness....I wouldn't tolerate that!

The superior, smug, arrogant attitude of my MDR waiter and the total lack of any contact with the room steward has kept me OFF X for 12 years & I will NOT be going back.

WAAAY too many other options & most are actually cheaper than X. I have >10 cruises under my belt: some with now defunct lines and others with Carnival (WalMart?) & NCL. Liked both lines. All MDR dinners (except NCL) were fixed time. Wanting to try Princess & thinking about HAL.

Has anyone noticed a difference? I just got off a cruise (will keep it nameless) this week and must say that I had the worst experience with the wait staff. I have been cruising for many years (2 times per year) and always found it enjoyable. I have always enjoyed getting to know the waitstaff, where they were from and excellent conversation. My sister and her family (first time cruisers) were shocked. This time not a smile, not a greeting, they would just walk right up and ask if I was ready to order. When my sister had a question about a item on the menu, the waitress was clearly impatient and annoyed and spoke very harshly to her as if she was bothered to answer the question. My husband and I looked at eachother in shock. While talking to my sister about the attitude, the waitress must have over heard because she then served lunch to everyone at my table except me. Another waiter brought my meal & dessert. In another restaurant I noticed the same rude behavior, no greetings, no smile just "are you ready to order". After much thought (didn't want anyone in trouble or fired) I did finally decide to call the restaurant manager from my stateroom who was very apologetic, told me he would address the issue and offered us a bottle of wine for that evening. To say the least, our dinner that evening was perfect. The manager came to my table and apologized again, told me that he had addressed the issues and appreciated me informing him. I know that the staff works hard and sometimes is over worked but wow... Really made me rethink a cruise I have booked for January.

I've found the quality of the service has fallen a bit, things like reaching across you and leaning on your chair. Which doesn't bother me just an observation.

But the friendliness was the same as always, in fact my cruise in Dec may have been the friendliest waiter I've ever had, but our steward was pretty poor.

But I think that will always be the case, when some are jaded or simply not suited to the job.

Delete.

We've only cruised Carnival but our wait staff on every one has been great. We always do anytime dining so generally get different staff each night, but on a couple of cruises we requested the same team for the rest of the cruise due to their excellent service. Thankfully we have never had the trouble the OP did. However, if we ever do I can assure you that the maitre'd will be notified immediately.

I haven't cruised NCL so I really can't give you a solid comparison. I can say I have never had anything but friendly and attentive servers on all of my cruises with Carnival, RCL, or HAL. They always go out of their way to accommodate us.

Only time I ever had a rude waiter was on HAL but then never saw him again after that first day. Maybe he ticked off the wrong person. I didn't bother complaining as it was only that one time

Lines keep cutting costs and that seems to mean cutting staff. Dining room waitstaff have more tables (and diners) to serve, they are rushed and don't have the time to linger at a table to converse. Serve, clear.....move on! We've never had rude waitstaff, but indifferent and inattentive.....yep!