Tsk Tsk Tuscan Grill - Infinity

[Ramona760]

My husband and I just finished the Coastal Cruise from San Diego to Vancouver aboard the Infinity. It was a nearly perfect trip. The MDR was stellar in service and the sommelier very accomodating. Everything was near perfection until we decided to dine at the Tuscan Grill. With OBC to burn, we decided to splurge on an upscale dinner. I made reservations for 8:30 and we arrived on time. Seated and given water, menus and bread. And then nothing..... 8:40, 8:50, now my husband is making that face.. me trying to keep the conversation going:rolleyes::rolleyes:. Finally he says They're ignoring us.. at 9:00 I wave down the maitre d and say we have been sitting here for 30 min. and no one has even taken our drink orders.. We requested to cancel our reservation and wish not to be charged.. Well the maitre d panics and begs us not to go, that he would comp our dinner! But by that time any ambiance is lost and we said no thank you and left to have dinner in the MDR where we were welcomed with our daily waiters. They were shocked when they heard what happened. the maitre d at the MDR begged us to give them a second chance but we said no, the experience is lost.. even to be compted, would be very awkward for us. We later recieved a bottle of wine (inexpensive) a reservation the following day (no thank you) and chocolate covered strawberries to our room. I chose not to make any comments on the Celebrity survey as I know they can lose their jobs and they did try to make amends. But it was a weird experience on an otherwise flawless cruise.

[jaspersmommy]

It’s unfortunate that they dropped the ball at Tuscan Grille. But geez... why not give them a chance to make it right? Why hold a such a grudge?

[chemmo]

It’s unfortunate that they dropped the ball at Tuscan Grille. But geez... why not give them a chance to make it right? Why hold a such a grudge?

 

Agree!

 

Mistakes happen, we have occasionally had issues on cruises but try to give staff the opportunity to ‘put things right’. I can understand that on that evening the ambiance had flown but you missed the opportunity the next night to enjoy, your loss not theirs....

[WorcesterPear]

I sympathise with the OP, as we had a similar situation a few years back of being ignored in Murano for nearly 30 minutes while all of the staff waited on a very large extended table of about a dozen of ships staff and the professional entertainers. We were left with our wine, but no food! We were not at all happy, and tried to attract a waiter- any waiter!- to come and deliver our meal.

 

The Maitre D apologised profusely and invited us back the following night , promising to make it up to us. We accepted and we did have stellar service the following evening.

 

However, my wife is extremely allergic to both strawberries and chocolate, which was notified on our booking and which Luminae and our butler took great care to ensure that neither strawberries nor chocolate did not go anywhere near her- however this information seemed not to have reached Murano as they sent a tray of chocolate covered strawberries to our suite with a note of apology! Our butler removed them pronto!

 

When we returned to Murano for the follow up meal, the Maitre D insisted on personally making a table side crepe Suzette for my wife, - with no strawberries!

 

 

 

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[ghstudio]

I guess there are two approaches. If Celebrity doesn't know that there was a service failure, then they can't work to fix it. Why not let them decide if it was a one off issue or something endemic to Tuscan on that ship. I think I would have commented about it (form/survey) but include that they did the right thing in handling it (comp meals/etc). Nothing will happen to the individual(s) with one complaint, but what if that service is also happening to others who are also saying "I won't write anything about this because they tried to make it right and someone could be disciplined".

[skt4cruise]

I agree with OP, once burned I would not return, the moment is spoiled, move on.

[luvstosail]

Agree!

 

Mistakes happen, we have occasionally had issues on cruises but try to give staff the opportunity to ‘put things right’. I can understand that on that evening the ambiance had flown but you missed the opportunity the next night to enjoy, your loss not theirs....

 

Very well said, I agree !

 

luvstosail

Boston/Capecod

[hcat]

We also had a bad experience at Tuscan on Infinity on our Pacific Coastal cruise last Oct. We did not get service with a smile from our maitre d.

 

We had pre booked our res and brought our E plus sheet which states we are entitled to a Specialty Dining discount. We have done this before many times and usually they quickly credit us. But this time , upon arrival when we advised the maitre d we would like a credit....he refused to believe us..even with proof in hand,,...he was quite rude!

 

He spent the entire meal calling around to check on it,,,,,,but never once asked how we were enjoying the meal. We were also ignored for quite awhile. It was awkward and uncomfortable and ruined what would have been a nice evening,

 

Guest rel fixed it all with apologies, but we did cancel all remaining Spec Dining res as we felt quite put out by it all,

[Duanerice1]

That stinks but I sure would have gone back. They would have gone above and beyond the next day. Missed a great opportunity. Bummer

[Gracie115]

My husband and I just finished the Coastal Cruise from San Diego to Vancouver aboard the Infinity. It was a nearly perfect trip. The MDR was stellar in service and the sommelier very accomodating. Everything was near perfection until we decided to dine at the Tuscan Grill. With OBC to burn, we decided to splurge on an upscale dinner. I made reservations for 8:30 and we arrived on time. Seated and given water, menus and bread. And then nothing..... 8:40, 8:50, now my husband is making that face.. me trying to keep the conversation going:rolleyes::rolleyes:. Finally he says They're ignoring us.. at 9:00 I wave down the maitre d and say we have been sitting here for 30 min. and no one has even taken our drink orders.. We requested to cancel our reservation and wish not to be charged.. Well the maitre d panics and begs us not to go, that he would comp our dinner! But by that time any ambiance is lost and we said no thank you and left to have dinner in the MDR where we were welcomed with our daily waiters. They were shocked when they heard what happened. the maitre d at the MDR begged us to give them a second chance but we said no, the experience is lost.. even to be compted, would be very awkward for us. We later recieved a bottle of wine (inexpensive) a reservation the following day (no thank you) and chocolate covered strawberries to our room. I chose not to make any comments on the Celebrity survey as I know they can lose their jobs and they did try to make amends. But it was a weird experience on an otherwise flawless cruise.

 

 

Sorry you had the bad experience but we would have gone back and given them a chance to prove themselves....every one screws up occasionally.....

[Cruise a holic]

I would try to go back Yes the waiter did drop the ball, but deserved a second chance. Nice competent people make mistakes! The staff works long hours and paid a minimum wage. We should all be a little forgiving. I cannot believe that you never had a negative experience previously.

[warmwinds]

I'm in the "once the mood is gone, it's gone" camp. And I would find nothing worse than being overly fawned over the next night - I just want a nice, normal, as-expected experience the first time.

[davekathy]

We would have enjoyed the wine, the chocolate covered strawberries and the free meal. If everything went well the second time we would have thanked the Maitre D.

[DreadPirateRobert]

I’m sorry you had that unfortunate experience. Truthfully, your husband probably lasted longer than I would have.

We were on the Infinity for the April 17th Canal sailing, ate 4 meals in Tuscan Grille and had wonderful food and service each time. As frustrating as it was I’m pretty sure that was just a bad day, not the norm.

[ccotting]

I sympathise with the OP, as we had a similar situation a few years back of being ignored in Murano for nearly 30 minutes while all of the staff waited on a very large extended table of about a dozen of ships staff and the professional entertainers. We were left with our wine, but no food! We were not at all happy, and tried to attract a waiter- any waiter!- to come and deliver our meal.

 

The Maitre D apologised profusely and invited us back the following night , promising to make it up to us. We accepted and we did have stellar service the following evening.

 

However, my wife is extremely allergic to both strawberries and chocolate, which was notified on our booking and which Luminae and our butler took great care to ensure that neither strawberries nor chocolate did not go anywhere near her- however this information seemed not to have reached Murano as they sent a tray of chocolate covered strawberries to our suite with a note of apology! Our butler removed them pronto!

 

When we returned to Murano for the follow up meal, the Maitre D insisted on personally making a table side crepe Suzette for my wife, - with no strawberries!

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I’ve had the same experience on more than one cruise ship. When the other staff come into the speciality restaurants service declines. Service staff spend all their focus on the staff table, particularly if it includes senior officers. I mostly have cruised Royal and had this experience more than once but we were on Infinity earlier this year and had 2 trips to Tuscan. Our first was not quite as bad as the OP but not great, our second much better. We honestly would not have gone the second time given our first experience but had done Quisine twice and wanted to have a better menu (read big steak for DH) for a special day.

 

I often wonder if these meals are “comped” for the officers because they are so often in the speciality restaurants.

[Bo1953]

Well, well, well....

 

My approach would have been to go over to the Senior Officer at the table and whisper in their ear about what a wonderful time they seem to be having and the food and service they are getting is commensurate with what we expected to receive, yet our table is being ignored and may we join you?

 

Never again on that sailing would you have been ignored in ANY venue, as you would be known as the 'staff whisperer' to get action.

 

That would have illicited a few thoughts and eyes and staff gossip...

 

Sorry service was so poor for you, yet I would have taken the no charge dinner and the next night no charge dinner for the make up... :halo:

 

Glad you enjoyed the rest of the sailing...

 

bon voyage

[Ramona760]

It’s unfortunate that they dropped the ball at Tuscan Grille. But geez... why not give them a chance to make it right? Why hold a such a grudge?

 

We didn't report it nor did I mention it on the survey. They knew they dropped the ball and as far as I'm concerned, they got the message. I don't think we held a grudge. It would have been very awkward for us to have everyone fawning over us after the fact. We declined because WE would not be comfortable regardless of being comped, not to punish anyone. My husband is an excellent cook and believe me, we didn't miss out on any dining experience he can't match! We were just trying to use up some extra OBC.

Edited June 2, 2018 by Ramona760

[Straughn]

Interesting thread and I find both viewpoints to be valid as to whether or not to accept the comped dinner. I have never been on Infinity. But, I have dined in Tuscan on three different S class ships. The first two times, our experiences were similar to the OP’s. On one, we were seated, our drink order taken and then we sat for about 30 minutes, before the drinks or our waiter appeared. Second experience, once the sommelier found out we would not be ordering a bottle of wine, he disappeared. Our waiter finally had to go get our glasses of wine. The waiter was fine, but overall things seem to go at a snails pace, and we are leisurely eaters. He repeatedly checked on us, told us our food would be out shortly. His definition of shortly and mine vary. I think it was a kitchen problem. On both of these occasions, there was not a senior officer in sight. Last experience, we were invited to dine with the ship’s engineer, in, you guessed it, Tuscan Grille. Service was top notch, wine glasses were never less than half empty. My partner’s second drink arrived, without him ordering it, just as he was finishing the first. My point is, there seems to be on going issues with Tuscan across multiple ships. Some people have excellent experiences, but it seems that there are a lot of service issues being reported.

[bluecruisin]

Sorry for the poor service you rec'd. But your reaction sounds like the old expression "cut off your own nose to spite your face".

[yorky]

Bit of an over reaction for me, they dropped the ball and did everything they could to make it right by the looks of it. We are all human and make mistakes, it’s how you deal with it that counts and they look to have done that in a positive way.

[bunnyette]

After 15 minutes I would have waved down The maître’d...

 

 

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[zanderblue]

The descision whether to return or not is wholly subjective. As you say the mood was gone and you felt better giving it a miss. Clearly the correct way to handle it for you.

Others mileage may vary.................

 

I do admire your patience though. I can’t see us waiting much beyond the 10 minute mark, before being inclined to take action.

 

We did have something similar in MDR one time a few years back. Long story short, after complaining to MD, It turned out our regular wait staff had been assigned extra covers and were stretched too thin.

It was a good conversation with him and I did notice a difference in service levels for the remainder of the trip.

[yorky]

Interesting thread and I find both viewpoints to be valid as to whether or not to accept the comped dinner. I have never been on Infinity. But, I have dined in Tuscan on three different S class ships. The first two times, our experiences were similar to the OP’s. On one, we were seated, our drink order taken and then we sat for about 30 minutes, before the drinks or our waiter appeared. Second experience, once the sommelier found out we would not be ordering a bottle of wine, he disappeared. Our waiter finally had to go get our glasses of wine. The waiter was fine, but overall things seem to go at a snails pace, and we are leisurely eaters. He repeatedly checked on us, told us our food would be out shortly. His definition of shortly and mine vary. I think it was a kitchen problem. On both of these occasions, there was not a senior officer in sight. Last experience, we were invited to dine with the ship’s engineer, in, you guessed it, Tuscan Grille. Service was top notch, wine glasses were never less than half empty. My partner’s second drink arrived, without him ordering it, just as he was finishing the first. My point is, there seems to be on going issues with Tuscan across multiple ships. Some people have excellent experiences, but it seems that there are a lot of service issues being reported.

 

We dined in all the speciality restaurants on our cruise on the Eclipse and Tuscan grill came bottom for service, huge different between that and Murano where the quality of staff were on a different level. Not sure if Murano gets the best staff but they are all upsell restaurants and as such service should be the same across the board. I will say Tuscan was the restaurant that never looked full and they were constantly pushing it around the ship.

[ggo85]

One other thought . . . we've found that specialty restaurants sometimes think folks want a "relaxing" (meaning 2-3 hour) dinner and don't want to appear to be rushing you. However, there is definitely a fine line between providing unhurried service and ignoring customers -- sounds like the staff at Tuscan Grille crossed that line with the OP.

 

One thing I do recommend -- if you don't like extended meals, let the waiter know early on that you like to "eat quickly" or however you want to describe it. While that would not have resolved the OP's situation, since they wanted a relaxing meal (but not to be ignored), it can help move things along for those who prefer a shorter dinner by letting the staff know you don't want to linger over each course.

[Northern Aurora]

Ramona: While I don't think that we met, my husband and I were on the same Infinity cruise. We also had dinner one night in Tuscan, and our service was excellent. I wonder if something odd happened to cause the wait staff to inadvertently drop the ball.