Less employees?

[Copper10-8]

Absolutely right! Most of them pass out at home when they find out the REAL value of their beautiful print ;)

 

Good one! ;)

[cbr663]

FWIW, I just happen to have quick access to my Cruise Log from our Dec 7-14 Caribbean trip on the Eurodam: 2,083 guests & 870 crew. I don't know how that compares to the past but thought I'd throw it out there.

 

Interesting numbers, although, it is tough to determine much from it in terms of service. A cruise ship is different from other businesses in that it sails with its employees. The 870 number provided could be the total crew that the ship is sailing with. Now, out of that number, how many are actually working? A cruise ship would not be exempt from the day to day staffing challenges every business face. Crew do get sick, have accidents and what not.

[OCruisers]

HAL as well as other cruise lines, have been cutting down on employees in all departments for the last few years.

 

So true! It's not just HAL! :o

LuLu

[albingirl]

I didn't notice any staff cutbacks on our recent cruise, except for our cabin stewards being stretched to the max. This is nothing new. But, I don't like waiting until the afternoon, sometimes as late as 2 p.m. to see our room made up. However, this seems to be the norm in recent years.

[Typhoon1]

It's all about do more with less. That is the standard across the industry.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I didn't notice any staff cutbacks on our recent cruise, except for our cabin stewards being stretched to the max. This is nothing new. But, I don't like waiting until the afternoon, sometimes as late as 2 p.m. to see our room made up. However, this seems to be the norm in recent years.

 

 

This is just a couple of examples of cut backs.

Not too many years ago there used to be one cabin steward for 9 what is now called Neptune Suites. Now there are 2 cabin stewards for more or less 30 cabins -- some being Neptune suites, some begin balcony cabins, etc. That is a big reduction.

In the dining room we had a steward and an assistant and they used to have around 16 - 18 people. Now they serve around 28 -30 people. We haven't eaten in the main dining room the last few cruises, but I think someone mentioned on their recent cruise there weren't any assistants - not sure about that.

Oh -- and now in the dining room, the wine steward only serves bottles of wine. Your waiter has to take orders for glasses of wine and cocktails. Thus cut backs in the wine stewards. I haven't heard any updates on this.

[sail7seas]

It's all about do more with less. That is the standard across the industry.

 

You're right but isn't it the same in most of corporate America today?

[cruz chic]

This is just a couple of examples of cut backs.

Not too many years ago there used to be one cabin steward for 9 what is now called Neptune Suites. Now there are 2 cabin stewards for more or less 30 cabins -- some being Neptune suites, some begin balcony cabins, etc. That is a big reduction.

In the dining room we had a steward and an assistant and they used to have around 16 - 18 people. Now they serve around 28 -30 people. We haven't eaten in the main dining room the last few cruises, but I think someone mentioned on their recent cruise there weren't any assistants - not sure about that.

Oh -- and now in the dining room, the wine steward only serves bottles of wine. Your waiter has to take orders for glasses of wine and cocktails. Thus cut backs in the wine stewards. I haven't heard any updates on this.

 

When I asked my waiter on th Westy this year he said they serve 22 people. Have you been told something different KK? I think people could be confused about the assistant waiters. I believe they do most of the running so it likely appears that there aren't many or any.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

Just off the Volendam. 1,250 guests onboard, and our waiters in the MDR could not keep up with even a basic service, forget about finesse. The first three nights it took 2 and a half hours or so to get through dinner, and only after the entire table complained to three different officers did something get done about it. It was not a vast improvement, there was no service as such, simply waiters plonking down food in front of you in a very rushed manner. The waiters were stressed throughout the service and you could see them running around like headless chickens. Whenever we needed something that is standard in fine dining service (i.e. lemon water after crab legs) you had to ask the Matrie D who'd bring it to you, the waiters would just say no to any request that was not black and white.

 

I do not blame the waiters for the situation because they just had far too many tables. At the end of the cruise they approached me and apologised and told us ''we are sorry if we did not add to the enjoyment of your cruise but we just can't cope with the amount of people we have to serve''. There is a balance between cutting down and still maintaining the same service standard for which you are known, and cutting down to the point above. One night we were sat in another part of the dining room where the waiters had much less work and besides our night in the Pinnacle Grill that was the only night in which we got satisfactory service. If it is any conciliation though, the food was absolutely fantastic and far exceeded my expectations.

Edited January 6, 2015 by bahrain_not_dubai!

[cruz chic]

Just off the Volendam. 1,250 guests onboard, and our waiters in the MDR could not keep up with even a basic service, forget about finesse. The first three nights it took 2 and a half hours or so to get through dinner, and only after the entire table complained to three different officers did something get done about it. It was not a vast improvement, there was no service as such, simply waiters plonking down food in front of you in a very rushed manner. The waiters were stressed throughout the service and you could see them running around like headless chickens. Whenever we needed something that is standard in fine dining service (i.e. lemon water after crab legs) you had to ask the Matrie D who'd bring it to you, the waiters would just say no to any request that was not black and white.

 

I do not blame the waiters for the situation because they just had far too many tables. At the end of the cruise they approached me and apologised and told us ''we are sorry if we did not add to the enjoyment of your cruise but we just can't cope with the amount of people we have to serve''. There is a balance between cutting down and still maintaining the same service standard for which you are known, and cutting down to the point above. One night we were sat in another part of the dining room where the waiters had much less work and besides our night in the Pinnacle Grill that was the only night in which we got satisfactory service. If it is any conciliation though, the food was absolutely fantastic and far exceeded my expectations.

 

I think some waiters are disorganized. Just like in every company you have good workers and bad. I've had several cruises on princess. I've asked how many people the waiters had to handle. It was very close to the hal number and they take all alcohol orders. Princess waiters never looked like they're rushed off their feet. I don't know why hal struggles so much.

[cbr663]

This is an interesting thread and the impacts can be enormous. Using some of the numbers in this thread, we learn that the E'dam sailed with 925 crew in 2009 and only 870 in 2014. That's 55 less crew.

 

The E'dam has 1,052 cabins. Assuming that each steward use to clean 9 cabins, the ship use to need 116.88 stewards. Increasing the number of cabins to 15 reduces the number of cabin stewards to 70.13. The result is a saving of 46.75 positions. In other words, 46.75 x 9 = 420.75 cabins that use to have a cabin steward but don't anymore and now must be handled by those remaining.

 

There is still another 55 - 46.75 = 8.25 FTEs that are no longer sailing on the E'dam. Let's suppose (and I realize that my assumptions are just that - my assumptions based on the numbers provided) that those 8.25 staff are reduced in the dining room. This means that there is a range of 22 x 8.25 = 181.50 to 28 x 8.25 = 231 passengers that use to have a waiter and now must be handled by those remaining.

 

Of course, I realize that crew work in all parts of the ship and not just the dining room and cabins, it is interesting to see how these reductions could possibly affect two areas.

[LiseD]

I have to agree about the food....it was excellent! But service was not good. Again...no fault of our waiters, they just had so many tables....way more then the 22 someone mentioned above. Our waiters would come to the table and take the order and then deliver the food....nothing extra....no small talk, etc.

 

This was not just our table but through out the whole dining room. We spoke to so many different people at breakfast or lunch (when they seat you with different people each time) Everyone was reporting the same thing....slow service....rushed employees. Many days our stateroom was not cleaned until after 1 or 2pm. I just don't remember ever having it done that late. Our room steward said he had over 30 rooms.

 

One other thing.....we love the crows nest....a great place to hang out.....well.....the windows were just covered with lots of bird poop! I know washing windows is not easy, but this is where so many go to watch the views while sailing....and everyone kept commenting about how awful it was to have to look out such dirty windows. They were dirty when we got on and looked the same when we left....not ever cleaned.

 

We encountered only NICE and hardworking employees....there just were not enough of them to handle the full ship. But like others said....the cruise lines are just trying to stay profitable. But my fear is HA will start losing business over this. They have always been know for such great service!

 

I know this sounds like we didn't enjoy the cruise....we really did have lots of fun....had a great week with my parents and our daughters.....we were just a bit surprised by very noticeable cut backs.

[cruz chic]

It was me that said 22. This came from a waiter on the Westy in April 2014. I'm not making it up or guessing by how it looked. I can't speak for different ships, but I have no reason to doubt him.

 

Frankly, I don't need the waiter to be my bestie or stand around talking to me and learning everything about me. They have a job to do and I don't want to hold them up. Who knows if part of the problem might be too many requests or overly picky passangers?

[LiseD]

Oh you might be correct about picky passengers or those wanting a waiter to be their best friend? Kind of hope not as having a waiter for your best friend would be a bit sad! ;)

 

We have been in the hospitality industry (innkeepers) for 20 years and can totally understand demanding guests. Because of that, I feel we have to be one of the easiest groups to wait on!! That is also why we never said a thing to anyone on the ship and would never send HA a negative comment about ANY of their employees....they were all incredibly hard working employees. I was just asking about cut backs as after many years of cruising we really noticed changes and can't tell you how many times we heard others talking about it on the trip.

 

But my motto is and always will be, "It's always good when I don't have to shop for it, cook it or clean up from it" Our inn is open 365 days a year, so we always enjoy the times that someone else is doing the work. And we go out of our way to be friendly to everyone that serves us!

[redhot1]

LiseD. were on your same cruise and they service was slow in the dining room. Its not the crews fault, its a company mandate and there have been cut backs. Our room stewart had 29 cabins to handle, in the past they usually had in the neighborhood of16 cabins, they do a great job with all the extra work they have to fit in and were were extremely satisfied and commented on our survey on the great job he did. But service in the dining room was another story, bread,butter & water at the begining and usally never refilled. We would order soft drinks, milk , icetea and many times NEVER GOT THEM. They tried to keep up but with so many guest to serve it was hard.21/2 hour meals were the norm, We never complanied but sure felt like it. We had far greater problems with our Dau's cabin that had raw sewage in the bath tub for 2 days and a 2 day power outage, and yes we did complain and are writing a letter and we are loyal HAL cruisers and we even booked the same cruise for next year again same ship, but my wife said only on the condition that she eats in the Pinnacle every night becaused she doesn't want to experiene the same results again. this the first time in 40 cruises that I have had any negative comments by the way. Again this isn't a crew problem but a corporate problem that is focused more on cutbacks rather than guest satisfaction and it may come bact to bite them because guest will tolerare only so much then will make changes and that means other cruise lines. We booked this summer on Cel instead of HAL We had a great cruise but it was not worry free and we got a letter of apology from the Hotel director but raw sewage is a definate health problem and when brought to the room stewart attention he said he was on a break and would look into later well Analise in guest relations got he proper people to get the mess cleaned up then the power outage and she strightened that out al;so, our savior.But definately not happy with soem aspects of things, we'll see what seattle has to say as our rep at AMEX said she was appalled and as loyal cruisers should have fared better, so we'll see what happenens:):):)

[PathfinderEss]

HAL as well as other cruise lines, have been cutting down on employees in all departments for the last few years.

 

I agree Kk, they have cut down their employees.

[cruz chic]

LiseD. were on your same cruise and they service was slow in the dining room. Its not the crews fault, its a company mandate and there have been cut backs. Our room stewart had 29 cabins to handle, in the past they usually had in the neighborhood of16 cabins, they do a great job with all the extra work they have to fit in and were were extremely satisfied and commented on our survey on the great job he did. But service in the dining room was another story, bread,butter & water at the begining and usally never refilled. We would order soft drinks, milk , icetea and many times NEVER GOT THEM. They tried to keep up but with so many guest to serve it was hard.21/2 hour meals were the norm, We never complanied but sure felt like it. We had far greater problems with our Dau's cabin that had raw sewage in the bath tub for 2 days and a 2 day power outage, and yes we did complain and are writing a letter and we are loyal HAL cruisers and we even booked the same cruise for next year again same ship, but my wife said only on the condition that she eats in the Pinnacle every night becaused she doesn't want to experiene the same results again. this the first time in 40 cruises that I have had any negative comments by the way. Again this isn't a crew problem but a corporate problem that is focused more on cutbacks rather than guest satisfaction and it may come bact to bite them because guest will tolerare only so much then will make changes and that means other cruise lines. We booked this summer on Cel instead of HAL We had a great cruise but it was not worry free and we got a letter of apology from the Hotel director but raw sewage is a definate health problem and when brought to the room stewart attention he said he was on a break and would look into later well Analise in guest relations got he proper people to get the mess cleaned up then the power outage and she strightened that out al;so, our savior.But definately not happy with soem aspects of things, we'll see what seattle has to say as our rep at AMEX said she was appalled and as loyal cruisers should have fared better, so we'll see what happenens:):):)

 

This is disgusting. Would you mind sharing the cabin you were in or at least the type ie inside, oceanview? Yuk.

[yj_eugene]

It's all about do more with less. That is the standard across the industry.

 

From the corporate side it may be about doing more with less, but from the customer side what we're getting is less with less.

[LiseD]

Well said!

[Viesczy]

There's a place they could cut back that few would miss:D.

 

Quoting for truth.

 

Most of the art looks like paintings from motel rooms circa 1986!

 

Talk about the worst job, trying to smear lipstick on those pigs! EEK!

 

Derek

[erewhon]

Interesting thread.

 

Found Cruise Logs from some of our Volendam cruises.

 

2010: Guests 1433 Crew 609

2011: Guests 1335 Crew 589

2013: Guests 1432 Crew 604

2014: Guests 1326 Crew 603

[sail7seas]

Interesting thread.

 

Found Cruise Logs from some of our Volendam cruises.

 

2010: Guests 1433 Crew 609

2011: Guests 1335 Crew 589

2013: Guests 1432 Crew 604

2014: Guests 1326 Crew 603

 

This crew count listing is very interesting. How to explain a drop of 20, then an increase and only 1 crew person different a year later.

 

[redhot1]

We were in 091 and my dau and her hus were in d777 4th deck. I remember about 2-3 years ago of sewage problems on deck 4 I think but we are going to find out for sure. I checked our cruise log and I think it said about 1444 passengers and about 575 crew Veendaam dec 27th sailing. I'll check tomorrow and see if I have last years cruise log as we were on the same sailing last year also. But it felt like there was less diningg room help this year, I know the waits were longer and the service substancially less, it wasn't that they wern't trying they could just not keep up with the numbers they had to serve.Pleasant and nice and apologetic but still no where near getting things right and done in a proper timely manner. We had very good luck in the Pinnacle and ate there several times. To us, they always do a great job and the food is usally to our liking.As I said our room stewart was great and we tipped him extra. Also you are paying more for each succeding cruise fare and actually ARE GETTING LESS for your money. Myself, we arn't happy with alot of things that HAL is doing, we still give them the benefit of a doubt but are not hasppy cruisers.:):):)

[eldercruser]

Interesting to read these comments. It reflects some of the problems we saw a few years ago. We are just back from the Eurodam's New Year cruise and found quite the opposite (to our pleasant surprise).

 

Our cabin stewards were great and always had our cabin made up before noon - maybe because we are up and about relatively early, who knows for sure. For the first time we did open dining and made reservations for 5:45 pm. The dining room (deck 2) was only half full the five nights we ate there and the service was quick and efficient. We were always finished in an hour even though we had a multi-course dinner and dessert and coffee. The waiters were not busy at all. I did notice that the waiter did handle cocktails which surprised me.

 

The ship's log reported 2289 passengers (lots of kids!) and a crew of 889.

 

Best cruise we have had on HAL in several years. We go again in February aboard Noordam so it will be interesting to see what occurs.

[cruz chic]

We were in 091 and my dau and her hus were in d777 4th deck. I remember about 2-3 years ago of sewage problems on deck 4 I think but we are going to find out for sure. I checked our cruise log and I think it said about 1444 passengers and about 575 crew Veendaam dec 27th sailing. I'll check tomorrow and see if I have last years cruise log as we were on the same sailing last year also. But it felt like there was less diningg room help this year, I know the waits were longer and the service substancially less, it wasn't that they wern't trying they could just not keep up with the numbers they had to serve.Pleasant and nice and apologetic but still no where near getting things right and done in a proper timely manner. We had very good luck in the Pinnacle and ate there several times. To us, they always do a great job and the food is usally to our liking.As I said our room stewart was great and we tipped him extra. Also you are paying more for each succeding cruise fare and actually ARE GETTING LESS for your money. Myself, we arn't happy with alot of things that HAL is doing, we still give them the benefit of a doubt but are not hasppy cruisers.:):):)

Thx for the info :).