4-29-17 Gem 7 days NYC - Florida, GSC, Nassau. Dailies, essential tips, FAQ not semi-live

[mking8288]

... We always book the 2 bedroom villa - just so I can have 7 days in the bathroom of my dreams. If you can swing it ... curious about your glitch - you mentioned it in passing in your review ...

Ha ha, who doesn't love these Garden Villa - we had a tour of the Dawn's 3 BR courtyard villa back in 2003, oh mine ... one of these days, when I can get the entire extended family clan + friends to go.

 

The glitch without going too details, has to do with one of the hostess in the MDR during lunch midweek, 6 of us from 3 staterooms did the usual walk-up (no reservations needed nor taken) - she insisted on taking more than 1 keycard to swipe (we ain't new to NCL, obvious that I'm Platinum plus VIP status/recognition from the concierge) and actually ended up swiping all 6 keycards, with an attitude, not a smile nor welcome/greeting as we approach the podium (plus, it wasn't busy at all).

 

Initially shocked in disbelief, as we had lunch twice that week in the MDR and more for dinner, making 1 single reservation & only presented 1 keycard to other host/ess without issues whatsoever - to be told this is policy & her tone was at first not pleasant, annoying by the 3rd or 4th card - and, totally unacceptable. I was for her name/title & she claimed to be in charge for the MDR, then I told her I wanted to see the F&B director (and her superior in charge & on duty) - yeah, it was a scene, noticed by quite a few wait staff as most of them were standing around, not busy. But, code of silence here as I understood, the crew weren't going to say anything negative about their hostess, living & working on the ship together. The gentlemen, manager on duty was actually not far away, I realized shortly thereafter, as he saw/heard the "conversation" and came over to our AFT round table in the back - after chatting with the hostess, and did his best to cool things down.

 

My BIL/SIL and our CAS friends in the 3rd. room were also not pleased or happy with the encounter. Wrote a note & dropped it off in the lobby ... to the attention of F&B. Next day, a followup note + a bottle of wine send to our stateroom after the call. Strange enough, this policy was not enforced against us for the remainder of our cruise - the manager on duty, not the host, in the smaller MDR, Magneta came over each time - twice, while we dine there - to make sure everything is fine for 6 of us, etc.

 

The hostess, I realized, had no clue as DYKWIA, but it didn't matter - it's a basic customer service issues, and I pointed out that a smile & a welcome hello is in their basic training 101, sometime we knew as posted below deck ... seen & talked about during the Behind The Scene tour. No idea why, was she trying to bully us ... thinking what ?? - and I had said, this isn't something I want to post & write about here on CC at all. Didn't lose my cool but it was close to fuming standing on that long staircase.

 

Anyway, that's the story in a nutshell - they do read & follow posts here on CC, and, I think from prior cruises - they've associated my CC ID/handle, my email address & profile with their database/records - and, they do collect those info, I believed.

 

We will be on the BA pretty soon this Fall, it was a minor incident and didn't allow it to ruin our Gem cruise, but not to speak up about it - nope, and it's not like we're giving that hostess a hard time, IMO.

[amygutman]

Wow...heck of a story. I always try to rationalize when someone is rude or even less friendly - the cruise ship staff work long hours, stay in cramped locations, and have to deal with some crazy cruisers. Yet, honestly, 85% of every staff member we have ever met has been happy, helpful and accommodating. It really sticks out when someone is less than professional.

I am sure your platinum status helped with the resolution of the problem, but still, EVERYONE on a cruise should have the same response. This is an industry based on customer service and choice - there are a lot of cruise lines out there to spend money on, and the companies should be treating your money and your loyalty like gold. Sometimes all it takes is one bad encounter to entirely ruin a vacation - Im glad to see you enjoyed the rest of your trip (any many after that).

Amy