Am I The Only One......

[srlafleur]

My profession pretty much requires me to retain names after a first introduction so I do a pretty good job at remembering some the people who make my vacation special. Especially those who make a lasting impression or go above and beyond their duties for me. I DONT consider them "friends" though :confused:

 

I dont understand these "Am I the only one that doesnt......" threads though. Its almost as if they are a "jab" at those who DO choose to remember names of staff they have met on the ship. Im also sure that people that can afford to and are able to cruise many times and do the same ships over and over DO consider some of these people are "friends" :) I see nothing wrong with that really.

 

My apologies in advance if my assumption is wrong. You know what they say about assuming things.

 

Carry on :)

 

Oh, it's no jab at folks who do remember, at least not on my part. I'm impressed by people who can do that. I'm confused by people who book a certain cruise because of who the CD is, but that's only because I'm booking for itinerary and price, not for the ship or even the cruise line. Certainly not for the CD (or captain or anyone else in particular on the staff). If or when I have as many cruises under my belt as some of those people, perhaps those will impact my own decision as well.

:cool:

[alohanails]

When I was eight years old, my parents took me to Disney World. We went to the Hoop-De-Do-Review at Fort Wilderness. Out waiter was great. His name was Dallas. I remember that for two reasons: First, at that time, my father shot slide pictures. And every time we looked at the slides for years to come, when we got to the picture of my brother and I with Dallas, he and I screamed out "DALLAS!!!!". And second, because a few years ago, I ended up back at Disney with my friend and his kids. And don't you know... thirty years later, sitting at the Hoop-De-Do-Review, our waiter comes over... I look at him and yell "Dallas!!!!". Yeah, it was him:)

 

That's the best I got.

 

Yours is better than mine....We were on the Rhapsody a few years ago....hung out in the Diamond lounge and conversed nightly with the bartender Alex every evening....loved it when he referred to the ladies as "madam".....well several months later I am poolside on the Allure and i hear the familiar " why yes Madam...of course" ...I got up so quick...and there he was....Alex! He even remembered us because we lived in Hawaii and the Rhapsody was heading there so he was full of questions...we are now actually FB friends so I always message him to see if will be crossing paths...he is currently on the Oasis....

That's my story!

Bonnie

[aggie1]

Margie, I am with you. Can't remember names. I chalk it up to getting older and names go first!! Maybe we can make a pack on our Mariner TA to remember just one name. I remembered yours and you remember mine and we will be fine.

[Wilda]

My "on-board computer" has a limited amount of bandwidth that is reserved for the important things...like passwords and PIN numbers;)

[JesterPlaying]

I don't know how you can cope with not remebering them all. Before each cruise I try and get a list of all attendants, crew members down to engine crew and even the personnel asisting boarding on the port.

 

I mean how else can you write up complaints if they didn't allow you to board with all those priority people. Knowing the names come in handy when you are reporting the pool attandent who moved your stuff that you carefully placed on your lounge chair the night before in case you want to swim for a few minutes around 2:00 PM. Not to mention the mini bar items you swear the steward never even put in your room. Without a name the wrong steward might not have his pay docked properly.

 

If I don't know all the names I just wouldn't be able to relax and enjoy myself. I mean taking all that time to actually look at name tags would take precious moments away from me cutting in line at the buffet.

 

:D

[BillOh]

I'm with you. Since I feel I mainly get excellent service, I tend to remember the name of the last waiter, cruise director, or cabin attendant.

[lakelorain]

Remember their names :o We're lucky if we can pronounce them ;).

 

I'm in the same boat. If they don't give me pronunciation lessons, there is no chance I'll remember their names.

We have been recognized a few times by staff members. Head Waiter, Waiter, bartender and member of Cruise Director's staff, all on the Jewel of the Seas, actually remembered our names. I didn't remember theirs. My DH is better at remembering names then I am so I leave that to him.

I do, remember the Captain's names.

[karena1]

Sometimes I feel like the only person on Cruise Critic who doesn't remember the names of cabin stewards, bartenders, masseuses, Cruise Directors, waiters.....not even the names of Captains.

 

I am not a bad person, I over tip if anything, I don't demand much from the staff while cruising and I hardly ever complain. I love cruising and part of the reason I love cruising is because I feel so taken care of and pampered. BUT, I don't think of the staff members as my "friends" and I never remember anyone's name once I walk off the ship and head home. I retain fond feelings and happy memories, but the cruise staff just blends into my thoughts and no one person stands out.

 

Maybe I could pay more attention, but then I would be spending valuable vacation time doing something that doesn't matter me. :rolleyes:

 

Oh well, just wanted to get that off my chest. :D

 

I typically don't remember names either. The only ship we know some of the staff on is Majesty but that is b/c we are on her all the time. we probably know 6-8 of the staff by name. But otherwise, like you, once I am off the ship, I don't remember anyones name, just fond memories of the great service we received.

[Trainman-2]

You are not alone. I do remember one cabin attendant named Amy, but nobody else's name from all my cruises. lol At my age, I'm lucky to remember the name of the ship.. lol

 

 

[CruisinCrow]

I'm loving some of these comments. "Captain Speaking". LOL :)

 

I only remember one cruise director, the one from our first cruise on Carnival Fantasy in 1991 - John Heald. I don't know if I remember him because it was our first cruise or if it was because he was really funny and involved or if it's because he's well-known now.

 

I do remember our waiter's name from our last cruise. His name was Ron and is my husband's and so was the man at the table next to us. Made things simple. :)

[shayelle]

couldn't tell you any of our waiters, cabin stewards, CD's, bartenders, etc. I really appreciate their service, tip accordingly, but do not consider them a "part" of our vacation.

[Kartgv]

Hey, I'm lucky to remember our kids' names. We make a real effort to learn and use names while we're on the cruise, but they quickly disappear once we're off the ship. Actually I do remember our cabin steward from the last cruise, but we were there for 34 days so got to know him pretty well, plus his name "Rolly" suited him so well! Everyone else's names are long gone. One of the names that disappeared the fastest was our 2nd "My Time Dining" host who called us "Mr & Mrs. (cabin number)" instead of our name the whole cruise. I only remembered his name long enough to mention it in the satisfaction survey - and not in a good way.

[Worn out mailman]

Sometimes I feel like the only person on Cruise Critic who doesn't remember the names of cabin stewards, bartenders, masseuses, Cruise Directors, waiters.....not even the names of Captains.

 

I am not a bad person, I over tip if anything, I don't demand much from the staff while cruising and I hardly ever complain. I love cruising and part of the reason I love cruising is because I feel so taken care of and pampered. BUT, I don't think of the staff members as my "friends" and I never remember anyone's name once I walk off the ship and head home. I retain fond feelings and happy memories, but the cruise staff just blends into my thoughts and no one person stands out.

 

Maybe I could pay more attention, but then I would be spending valuable vacation time doing something that doesn't matter me. :rolleyes:

 

Oh well, just wanted to get that off my chest. :D

 

Margie, I kind of agree.

 

I remember the names of my stateroom attendant and wait staff long enough to get home and write a review of my cruise, but that's about it.

 

The Cruise Director, Captain, bartenders and waiters don't see me (or anyone else that they don't know personally) as anything other than 'cruiser on this sailing'. No matter how much they might portray themselves as personally interested in us, they're really not. How could they be? Why would they be?

 

When I see threads on the topic of current Cruise Director, or Captain, I wonder if I'm missing something on my cruises. Your comments vindicate me for how I feel. :)

[atb]

We have been sailing from Baltimore for a few years - so we repeat on Enchantment. I write down the names of staff we meet. I'm lousy with names - and wouldn't remember them long enough to do the satisfaction survey at the end of the cruise.

I have a cruise notebook, and have names from our cruises 10 years ago.

[CRUISE4JANE]

Nope................not alone. Count me in :p.

[retiredgram]

We have been sailing from Baltimore for a few years - so we repeat on Enchantment. I write down the names of staff we meet. I'm lousy with names - and wouldn't remember them long enough to do the satisfaction survey at the end of the cruise.

I have a cruise notebook, and have names from our cruises 10 years ago.

That sounds like a good idea. I don't know if I would have been that diligent in writing the names for that many years.