Cutback in Carnival Bartenders and Waiters??

[gtalum]

Perhaps it's a ship by ship thing. On Glory in March we were constantly barraged by waiters at the pool and in the theater at night. We never had to wait long at the bar, either.

 

It seems an unlikely cutback for a bottom-line-oriented business, since waiters are cheap and paid primarily by tips and reducing the number of them is sure to reduce alcohol sales. I suppose it could be a side effect of the popularity of the Cheers program, though.

Edited June 23, 2016 by gtalum

[MJF0507]

You would think that with the Carnival Hub app on the phones, they would come up with an "add on" where you could tell a waiter where you are and what you would like to drink.

 

I could be persuaded to create that app for little to no money (just free drinks!) - ha, ha.

[Frank12]

DW and I noticed far fewer Lido waiters on the Victory last month. As others have said...not really a bad thing though.

[brooklynfc]

Noticed it on the sunshine back at the beginning of May. I thought it was because she was dry dock right after and they took some crew off, but apparently this is bigger than that. I'm not one for being pestered for drinks, but I should be able to walk up to a bar and not wait 30 mins. to get a drink. I probably spent less on alcohol because it was easy to access and I had better things to do with my time. Seems like they are shooting themselves in the foot on this one.

[Podna's]

Makes you also wonder if the more cheers packages sold on a cruise the less service to get you a drink. Might not be the case but just a thought.

[gtalum]

Makes you also wonder if the more cheers packages sold on a cruise the less service to get you a drink. Might not be the case but just a thought.

 

I have found that finding a few favorite bartenders and then adding a $1 tip to each drink eliminates slow service.

[Bases5]

I have been sitting on my porch all morning and not 1 waiter to be found

I'm switching cruise lines:eek:

[elainmir]

I personally DO NOT enjoy when they constantly jump you on the Lido deck or at dinner asking about drinks... In the casino though I make sure I tip extra per drink..I never have trouble getting a drink in there nor do I have to tell them what I'm drinking...they know..tipping does get you service! ;)

[Cruisegoer]

The reason why the bar server staff has disappeared is because of the big push now by the cruise lines to do the All Inclusive drink option. They don't actually want you to drink your limit (15) drinks per day so if they make you get up and walk to the bar for at least half of them (since some staff does still remain) they might make a few dollars off you paying the flat daily fee. If staff was there to run and serve your drink 24/7 everyone would be tipsy and they would be losing money.

[jamesr3939]

January on the Magic it was really bad in the comedy club. It was packed and there were maybe 2-3 servers working the entire area. We were about 3/4 of the way toward the back and never had anybody even come close to our table or the tables near us.

 

On deck during the day I didn't see much change, but we usually sat near a bar and I would get my own.

 

My observation is two fold, first it's labor savings and second it reduces the usage of anybody with a drink package (again a savings). So make it less convenient to get a drink equals less expense to the ship for the same income.

[tonit964]

I have found that finding a few favorite bartenders and then adding a $1 tip to each drink eliminates slow service.

 

So are you saying when there are guests waiting their turn to be served at a bar and you walk up, the bartenders take your drink order before the others that have been waiting?

[ryano]

Don't bother ryano. .

 

I know. I knew better! :o

[DnD_Cruisin]

Our last cruise on the Imagination I did notice fewer servers on Lido. However this wasn't a problem for me as I prefer to interact with and tip the bartenders. I've found, for us at least, that we get a more generous pour.

[elliair]

Cut back on service but the prices remain the same or they're increased. If you have to wait on yourself, why leave a tip?

[mistyinca]

Carnival's biggest money maker and they are slowing down the distribution channel.

 

Not really though. If a lot of people are buying cheers, then ccl already has the money in their pockets and can get away with fewer drink pushers.

 

 

 

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[http404]

Not really though. If a lot of people are buying cheers, then ccl already has the money in their pockets and can get away with fewer drink pushers.

 

I guess it depends on the percentage of drinkers who are buying cheers.

 

Would be interesting to know that metric.

[poobears]

I think what we are seeing is they are going to continue with cut backs across the board until they hit the breaking point. That's the point where cruisers will push back in each dept and say no more, which is not unusual for most customer based industries. In this case they haven't hit it yet because as you see people are still saying I don't like it but I'll deal with it. When enough hit the point they will not tolerate the wait times and cut backs Carnival knows that is their limit and they will bump it up slightly and that is where they'll set their new service bar at, people will eventually get use to it. The days of providing above par service are quickly fading away, now it's lets see what we can lower and how far we can lower it without lowering prices.

 

Not only are people still paying the same price for less service you have people voluntarily paying extra to get the same service they were getting before. Before they use to get waited on quickly and bartenders were attentive to them, now they aren't. But if they start tipping them extra for their drinks, they suddenly get that service again and they think they are getting something extra for that money. No you are just getting what you use to get by paying extra and you are happy to do it, score one for Carnival LOL :D

[gtalum]

So are you saying when there are guests waiting their turn to be served at a bar and you walk up, the bartenders take your drink order before the others that have been waiting?

 

Yes, that's pretty much how it works. I've always tipped an extra dollar on my drinks for just that reason. By day 2 the bartenders remember.

Edited June 23, 2016 by gtalum

[gtalum]

Not only are people still paying the same price for less service you have people voluntarily paying extra to get the same service they were getting before.

 

If this is aimed at me, I've always tipped an extra dollar per drink to get better service. I'm not a fan of waiting in line. ;)

[poobears]

If this is aimed at me, I've always tipped an extra dollar per drink to get better service. I'm not a fan of waiting in line. ;)

 

No it wasn't aimed at you, if that's what you always do then you haven't changed your habits any as a result of lower service. In fact it wasn't directly aimed at anyone specific and wasn't even specific to alcohol tipping. It also applies to room stewards and those that have recently started tipping to get ice buckets filled, extra turn down service etc, these are things that were always standard and now they are paying to get the service and they feel like they are getting rewarded for their good tips. No they are getting old service for more money. They are the ones coming out short in the deal and they don't even know it, ignorance is bliss I guess.

[riclop]

I have been on 29 cruises, with the last three on the Carnival Pride. My last one returned to Baltimore on the 29th of May. On this cruise, there seemed to be cutbacks on the amount of bartenders in all locations... and very few if any waiters to serve the lounges and on the entire Lido deck. Gratuities are the same per beverage, but you had to go up to a bar (particularly on the Lido deck underway) and wait there to be served. The gratuities amounts where the same as before when the waiters where available. My question to you all is three fold:

1. Was that just a one time shot on the Pride cruise I was on..?

2. Is this still happening on the Pride's cruises since then..?

3. Or, are this cutbacks happening throughout the Carnival Line..?

 

I just enjoy a little service.....

Manualwriter

 

Good so they won't be asking every minute.

[JohnSpo]

Maybe i am in the minority, but I never really liked the drink servers walking past every 5 minutes asking if i wanted a drink.

This is one cutback (and yes there are others that do affect me) that does not bother me at all :)

 

Agreed. It can get annoying at times. I prefer to get my drinks directly at the bars.

[ryano]

I think what we are seeing is they are going to continue with cut backs across the board until they hit the breaking point. That's the point where cruisers will push back in each dept and say no more, which is not unusual for most customer based industries. In this case they haven't hit it yet because as you see people are still saying I don't like it but I'll deal with it. When enough hit the point they will not tolerate the wait times and cut backs Carnival knows that is their limit and they will bump it up slightly and that is where they'll set their new service bar at, people will eventually get use to it. The days of providing above par service are quickly fading away, now it's lets see what we can lower and how far we can lower it without lowering prices.

 

Not only are people still paying the same price for less service you have people voluntarily paying extra to get the same service they were getting before. Before they use to get waited on quickly and bartenders were attentive to them, now they aren't. But if they start tipping them extra for their drinks, they suddenly get that service again and they think they are getting something extra for that money. No you are just getting what you use to get by paying extra and you are happy to do it, score one for Carnival LOL :D

 

Thats a very good post and I will go on further to say that anyone that believes this is only happening on Carnival clearly has their head in the sand. These same complaints are all over the mass market cruise line forums and other social media outlets.

[moongal]

Oh wow, you mean there used to be waiters that came around and asked if you wanted a drink? I've only been on one cruise (Magic 2015) and I never had anyone come by asking if I'd like a drink. Nor anyone I was sailing with. The one time we tried to get a drink it took forever waiting in line. We gave up.

 

When we went to watch the comedy show I saw a waiter going around delivering a few drinks to the people near the front and I wondered how they ordered the drinks to be delivered to them there, but at no time were we asked about ordering drinks.

 

I guess new people like myself have nothing to compare it to (the good old days) so it won't bother us that it is gone now because we never experienced it as it used to be. I guess carnival and other cruise lines will just continue to cut back and eventually no one will ever remember how it once was.

[ryano]

Oh wow, you mean there used to be waiters that came around and asked if you wanted a drink? .

 

Numerous waiters, every five minutes or so. Sometimes it could get rather annoying. Some people do not see them going away as a bad thing