HAL / Ryndam - GLBT unfriendly waiter in diningroom

[Hans1]

Hi all, let me share this annoying experience with you. :mad:

 

My partner and me took a cruise on HAL´s Ryndam on 3/31 out of Tampa to Barcelona. We had a table for two in the Rotterdam dining room where we were served by a waiter who barely spoke the necessary things a waiter says while waiting on you. He really did not speak one more word than he had to and in 16 days never smiled once.

 

You might think he was just a bad waiter. But on all the other tables with male and female couples he was all "whistles and bells". He smiled, he even laughed, he talked and made conversation.

 

As from day one of cruise on we were friendly to him so at the end of the cruise we concluded that he must have a problem with an all-male table.

 

We think he is homophobic and need to warn you. Should you on a cruise end up with him you better ask for another waiter/table right away.

 

He is Indonesian and his name is YUYUS.

 

I truely hope you will have a better dining room experience than we had.

 

For a company who also offers GLBT only cruises this waiter is a true disgrace.

 

Take care, Oliver

 

PS: The bus boy was really nice by the way, courteous and smiling - the way you would expect it.

[keithm]

Hi all, let me share this annoying experience with you. :mad:

 

My partner and me took a cruise on HAL´s Ryndam on 3/31 out of Tampa to Barcelona. We had a table for two in the Rotterdam dining room where we were served by a waiter who barely spoke the necessary things a waiter says while waiting on you. He really did not speak one more word than he had to and in 16 days never smiled once.

 

You might think he was just a bad waiter. But on all the other tables with male and female couples he was all "whistles and bells". He smiled, he even laughed, he talked and made conversation.

 

As from day one of cruise on we were friendly to him so at the end of the cruise we concluded that he must have a problem with an all-male table.

 

We think he is homophobic and need to warn you. Should you on a cruise end up with him you better ask for another waiter/table right away.

 

He is Indonesian and his name is YUYUS.

 

I truely hope you will have a better dining room experience than we had.

 

For a company who also offers GLBT only cruises this waiter is a true disgrace.

 

Take care, Oliver

 

PS: The bus boy was really nice by the way, courteous and smiling - the way you would expect it.

Too bad. Some of the culture in Indonesia are pretty hoimophobic.This is true in the Muslim areas(sorry, but it's true)That being said the cruiselines really need to stress the issue with hiring. If you are NOT comfortable dealing with same sex couples than chhose another advocation. I'll admit we've never had an issue with any staff on Cunard. Quite a few of the Philippinos were "family". A nice way to make a living & lots of friends.

[cirman52]

Why did you put up with it ? Why didn't you file a complaint while in the dining room ?

Dining mgmt. should be made aware of this when it happens, not after the fact.

[simon stingray]

Sorry to hear of your poor experience.

 

I had a similar problem with a bartender whilst sailing on Celebrity Constellation a few years ago.

 

At first I thought that perhaps he was having a bad day but every time he served us drinks he was very abrupt and almost slammed the glasses down on the bar whilst avoiding any conversation wherever possible. This is the only time I have experienced a negative attitude whilst cruising and was tempted to report it but decided that I wasn't going to let HIS problem affect our vacation.

 

I did however make a comment on the Guest Satisfaction Survey which we completed on the last day, with a description of the crew member and the bar he was usually working at.

[Hans1]

I didn´t want him to ruin our cruise as I quite liked the table and the dining time. But I very well discribed the situation in the guest questionnaire and gave his name.

[Hans1]

Why did you put up with it ? Why didn't you file a complaint while in the dining room ?

Dining mgmt. should be made aware of this when it happens, not after the fact.

 

I didn´t want him to ruin our cruise as I quite liked the table and the dining time. But I very well discribed the situation in the guest questionnaire and gave his name.

[Rotterdam]

If the waiter was bold enough to treat you this way he most likely has treated others in a similar manner & will continue to do so. You could of kept the table etc but he would of been removed.....

 

People complain over stained carpets & yet not to bring this to managements attention immediately is beyond me. If these wrongs are not corrected how are things to improve for us all????

 

 

 

I didn´t want him to ruin our cruise as I quite liked the table and the dining time. But I very well discribed the situation in the guest questionnaire and gave his name.

[TxnAquarian]

Sorry this happened to you. We had a similar experience with the Maitre'D in Qsine on Celebrity Summit last year. He went to every table and introduced himself and chatted, yet ignored me and my bf the whole time. He also had a bad attitude towards us when we went to inquire about reservations on the first night. Luckily, we only dined there once and didn't have to deal with him again. But we did write a complaint with his name on the guest survey. We also saw him make disparaging remarks about other guests, in general. Ironically, we sailed on the inaugural cruise of Celebrity Reflection several months later, and he was onboard.....but was much, much friendlier to us and everyone else. Almost like he wasn't the same guy. I assume he was talked to.

 

By the way, how did you like the Ryndam? My bf and I will be on the Maasdam in June.

 

 

 

Michael

[Mermen]

Sorry to hear about the bad experience and homophobic waiter. We encountered this once before, on Princess and it was the Maitre'D. We were reserved for a table for 2 but our table was given away. Maitre'D was doing that 'bro bump' with all the passengers but us. I felt like I was in the principle's office by the way he was looking at us up and down, and not in a cruisey way...we ended up eating in the specialty dining venues or off-ship every single night and retracted our gratuities - and complained to the F & B Director. Maitre'D found us one morning at the buffet and offered for us to come back, 1/2 way into the cruise, we were not interested at that point.

 

As others have mentioned, stand up and say something. Hospitality does not need homophobes working in their enviornment...or anyone who doesn't understand or accept diversity (in any fashion).

[keithm]

Sorry to hear about the bad experience and homophobic waiter. We encountered this once before, on Princess and it was the Maitre'D. We were reserved for a table for 2 but our table was given away. Maitre'D was doing that 'bro bump' with all the passengers but us. I felt like I was in the principle's office by the way he was looking at us up and down, and not in a cruisey way...we ended up eating in the specialty dining venues or off-ship every single night and retracted our gratuities - and complained to the F & B Director. Maitre'D found us one morning at the buffet and offered for us to come back, 1/2 way into the cruise, we were not interested at that point.

 

As others have mentioned, stand up and say something. Hospitality does not need homophobes working in their enviornment...or anyone who doesn't understand or accept diversity (in any fashion).

What's a Bro Bump?

[Mermen]

What's a Bro Bump?

[Hans1]

 

By the way, how did you like the Ryndam? My bf and I will be on the Maasdam in June.

 

Sorry for the late reply. The experience was mixed. Friends already told us they would be very interested how we found the today´s HAL which kind of surprised us as we always liked them.

 

They really cut down on everything. Less personnel which is obvious in the Lido as they don´t offer walk-through-coffee service anymore. Very short breakfast times. In the Lido there are no large plates or trays. So you are forced to walk more often to get éverything together or you are too lazy and decide to eat less.... (you get the point, do you?) - that is pretty difficult to the elderly. Tiny appetizers at dinner. Nearly every dessert was not tasty at all - we mostly stuck on ice cream for dessert.

 

At the captains reception as well as the Mariner´s Club reception there was ONE (1!) glass of sparkling wine per person, not one more. Hors d´oeuvres only for the front row. A lady reached a higher level in the Mariner´s society during the cruise and she got a little medal for that occasion. She said quite loud in the theater "I exchange that medal for another glass of sparkling wine....".

 

The ship itself isn´t very clean. The curtains in the Lido? My grandma would say you could cook a soup from them. Full of stays, dirty where they reach the ground, food stuck in the curtains. The waiters drop food on the floor except for wiping it off to a tray. And so on.

 

It seems they are not interested in the guest anymore but only to make more onboard profits.

 

My feedback to them was: you are Carnevalizing the company. Too bad for a company with such a proud background.

 

The ship was nice and small, lots of room on the decks (Deck 9 is my favorite!). The library is nice and large. Cabins are decently shaped and not too tiny.

 

Oliver