Did we just have a bad experience??? Or....

[Shelley9962]

We sailed on the Legend on December 27 to January 4, which included the New Year's holiday and, unfortunately, had a pretty disappointing experience, as did many of our shipmates. Examples: waitstaff was slow, had great difficulties understanding our simple questions and at times, were even argumentative; the bartender was too lazy to call and find out if we could get the bottle of champagne we wanted, he just made up a price which was $100 more than the actual price of the bottle! (we bought it later in the dining room)... little things like that, but on a consistent basis.

 

I've sailed before, and I expected things like my chair being pulled out for me, my napking being placed on my lap, bartenders who were pleasant... Thankfully our room steward was good, but then we tipped him right away too after he helped us try to find a piece of misplaced luggage.

 

We just came away with the feeling that the staff on the ship didn't want to be bothered with making sure that the niceities were provided. I speculated that maybe it was because it was a full ship....maybe it was because there were 600 kids on the ship... or maybe because it was the holidays.

 

We really enjoyed the itinerary and the balcony cabin, but....being treated so poorly really put a damper on the time on the ship.

 

Is this pretty typical Carnival service ... or is there a good excuse? I'd especially like to hear from those of you "stockholders" -- maybe it's time to worry less about who's bringing alcohol on board and more about how passengers are being treated....

 

Thanks in advance for opinions and comments...

[staylor]

There seems to be a pattern...... Hoilday Cruises = Unhappy People

[Oliver Sudden]

:mad: Yup, you sure did!

 

Your experience is typical of many who have book cruises over the holidays, mainly because the ships are usually filled to capacity, and the crew is only human.

 

They have to deal with a lot of problems, and sometimes if you are a person who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, you have, up, you guessed it, a BAAAAAAAAAAD experience.

 

It can happen on any line, but usually more frequently on RCI, CARNIVAL, and other lines who cater to young families with LOTS OF CHILDREN ON BOARD.

 

It happened to us on RCI. BUT . . . excellent, cheerful and willing crew. The windjammer personnel could not do enough for everyone, but they and other crew members were just overwhelmed with people who made a mess of the ship. They just could not keep up with it.

 

:) However, we got what we wanted, a good itinerary and the time we wanted away from home. You just have to take the good with the bad.

 

PREVIOUS CRUISES:

Jun 1989, RIVER CRUISES, -- Paddlewheeler Julia Belle Swain, GD

Sep 1993, US NAVY TIGER CRUISE, USS Halsey CG23, HI-CA, EXC

Nov 1997, CAPT. COOK CRUISES, Murray Princess, Australia, EXC

Jan.1993, RCL Majesty of the Seas 1st big cruiseship, we were green

May 1998, US NAVY TIGER CRUISE, USS Fife DD 191, HI-WA, EXC

Apr 1998, US NAVY TIGER CRUISE, USS Fife DD 191, HI-WA, EXC

May 1999, DELTA QUEEN STEAMBOAT CO, Delta Queen, EXC

Sep 2000, US NAVY TIGER CRUISE, USS Fife DD 191, HI-WA, EXC

May 2001, HAL Maasdam. E. Caribbean, VD

Feb 2002, HAL Rotterdam, S. Caribbean, exc. ship decor, EXC

May 2002, CARNIVAL Pride, W. Caribbean, garish decor, VG

Sep 2002, CELEBRITY, Mercury, Panama Canal, Rail & Sail FR

Dec 2002, CARNIVAL Spirit, E. Caribbean, nice decor, VERY GD

Apr 2003, HAL Statendam, CA-HI, good all around, VERY GD

Aug 2003, CARNIVAL Paradise, E. Carib., non-smoking ship, EXC

Sep 2003, CARNIVAL Paradise, W. Carib., non-smoking ship, EXC

Dec 2003, HAL Noordam, E. & S. Caribbean, VG

Mar 2004, HAL Volendam, W. Caribbean Wayfarer, VG

May 2004, MSC, Lirica, West Indies, GOOD

Nov 2004, HAL Prinsendam, 28-day Amazon River Explorer, VG

Feb 2005, CARNIVAL Glory, E. Caribbean, POOR

Mar 2005, CARNIVAL Glory, W.Caribbean, POOR

July 2005, CARNIVAL Miracle, W. Caribbean, EXC

Dec 2005 RCL Mariner of the Seas, E. Caribbean REVIEW

 

COMING UP

Apr 2006 HAL Ryndam, S. Caribbean INCLUDING ARUBA!

Sep 2006 CARNIVAL Sensation, Bahamas (a short one)

[Cotton]

Hmmm. I don't know why your service was inadequate. I've never experienced any of what you mentioned on any of my Carnival cruises. My waiter always pulls my chair out and puts my napkin in my lap, and I've never had any complaints.

 

The only thing I can think of, and it certainly doesn't excuse any of the lax performances of the staff, but the holidays, in general, can be a depressing time for many folks, and crew members aren't any different from the rest of us. I'm sure they miss being with their families in their homelands, especially over the holidays. This IS their chosen way of making a living, however, and they should try a little harder. But still - it can't be easy, and as I said, it doesn't make it right or acceptable.

 

Try Carnival again. There are many reasons for so many repeat passengers.:)

[thebets]

I was also on the Legend with Shelley. We had fair service in the diningroom - not horrible. But, for example, our TA sent us a bottle of Merlot one night, and altho they delivered it to the table, we had to ask three different times if they could open it for us. We had eaten our appetizer and salad course, and starting on entree before this happened...We also felt the wait staff were always rushing us along (and we were 2nd seating). In their defense, Carnival expects them to entertain us with singing/dancing most nights, and I know they felt pressure to be at a comfortable spot with the diners when they had to stop for this. We have seen some of this on other lines, but it seemed excessive on Carnival. I felt sorry for the servers - I think they should be left alone to do their job...they shouldn't be expected to be entertainers as well. I found it a bit tacky. We had great service from our cabin steward.

 

Our biggest complaint on this cruise was the entertainment, or lack there of...I would be interested to know how Shelley felt about this. There were two live bands on board - a reggae band on the pool deck, and a pop band which played in a bar called Sachimo's (I think I may have misspelled this - sorry!). Both were awful!! Basically the lead singers in both bands were always off key! The actual instrumental seemed fine, but who could listen to that awful singing song after song?!! I absolutely LOVE reggae music, and this is something I really look forward to listening to and dancing to on a cruise. I literally couldn't sit within earshot of the pool band the entire week. Because of this, we missed out on seeing other games, etc. poolside. Most of those are tacky, but still, I often find them a humorous change of pace. The shows were not up to par from my experience as well. The ship's dance troupe was fine - average at best. They had a comedian which put me to sleep - the next day, I overheard two separate conversations with people saying the same. The cruise director did the usual magic show instead of a guest performer, and the performance was lame!!! They also had try-outs for the guests to perform a talent singing show on the last night. This was fun, but I was struck by the obvious difference in this cruise overall (our first Carnival) in terms of how much $$ they must have saved on entertainers - the difference was obvious and significant. They also scheduled activities such as "Newlywed Game", etc, during the day on sea days, instead of our experience on other lines where they occur in the evening. We have always had many options for evening entertainment, but this was not the case on the Legend. There was the show, and occasionally kareoke, and that's it. Most of the bars were dead. It was wierd - maybe just an unusual group on this cruise. We had 2nd seating, and at about 7:00, we would leave our cabin dressed for dinner looking for a lounge to have a drink. There was not one bar on board that had entertainment until 7:30 at the earliest. This just seemed wierd to us. The last night, we wandered into the casino (we never gamble), and it was packed, with a live band to bout. I have never seen this before (This was my nineth cruise), Maybe Carnival appeals to this crowd more...I will say the jazz trio was fabulous!, but the bar was OK for smokers, so this was an issue for us. I would also like to know if this experience was unusual? Thanks!

[stacyinpa]

It must depend on who is your server. I just got off the Victory (Dec 18-25)and our wait staff NEVER pulled the chair out for anyone around us. However, on the Inspiration (which we loved) we did have all that 'pampering'. And of course...we made sure we showed appreciation in our tipping too.

 

So, I guess it depends on the staff. I certainly was disappointed in some stuff on the Victory..mainly the lack of things to do, especially after having 5 days at sea and 2 short days in Costa Maya and Ocho Rio. The ship was clean, food good, entertainment (at nite..LasVegas shows) room staff...all excellent, but boring when all they had to fill in the gaps were BINGO (at $20 a card).

 

Can you believe there were people in the Lounge entertaining themselves with Charades while we all waited for something to happen. Cruise mates taking that into their own hands....excellent on their part but sad on Victorys that this had to be resorted to, in order for us to pass the time.

 

This was my 3rd cruise....2nd on Carnival.

 

JMO, Stacy

[jobythebay]

We sailed on the Legend on December 27 to January 4, which included the New Year's holiday and, unfortunately, had a pretty disappointing experience, as did many of our shipmates. Examples: waitstaff was slow, had great difficulties understanding our simple questions and at times, were even argumentative; the bartender was too lazy to call and find out if we could get the bottle of champagne we wanted, he just made up a price which was $100 more than the actual price of the bottle! (we bought it later in the dining room)... little things like that, but on a consistent basis.

 

I've sailed before, and I expected things like my chair being pulled out for me, my napking being placed on my lap, bartenders who were pleasant... Thankfully our room steward was good, but then we tipped him right away too after he helped us try to find a piece of misplaced luggage.

 

We just came away with the feeling that the staff on the ship didn't want to be bothered with making sure that the niceities were provided. I speculated that maybe it was because it was a full ship....maybe it was because there were 600 kids on the ship... or maybe because it was the holidays.

 

We really enjoyed the itinerary and the balcony cabin, but....being treated so poorly really put a damper on the time on the ship.

 

Is this pretty typical Carnival service ... or is there a good excuse? I'd especially like to hear from those of you "stockholders" -- maybe it's time to worry less about who's bringing alcohol on board and more about how passengers are being treated....

 

Thanks in advance for opinions and comments...

 

We just got off the 1/1/06 Liberty sailing. The service was amazing for us. The waiter always pulled out my chair and put my napkin on my lap. We were treated like royalty. I hope you left a comment letting them know your experience.

[Shelley9962]

I have to second TheBets -- the entertainment was lacking. The Jazz trio was amazing -- they played in the cigar bar, but fortunately, I LIKE cigars, so it wasn't a problem and I spent most evenings there. I saw two out of the three comedians and they were mediocre at best. I am not of the game show mentality, so I found most of the events during the day to be not of interest.

 

But... I did read three books and highly recommend Carl Hiassen's Skinny Dip as a great cruise book, if you can handle the irony of reading a book about a man who tries to kill his wife by dumping her overboard on a romantic cruiseship that sails out of Miami! I read parts of it to my husband... just in case he had any ideas ---I wanted him to know I was on to him! LOLOL

 

It was an odd cruise... I guess I'm used to vacationing with Euorpeans who are very laid back on their holidays -- there was a lot of tension on the ship to hurry up and do everything.

[nimbex1970]

of four carnival cruises, only our last one didn't meet our service expectations... being barely adequate, nothing to complain about. Not much to say good about. Our problems in the dinning room I attributed to the lack of English speaking waitstaff. Ours really did try their best, they were not standing around, but we found them slower, not personable at all and only a very fake sneer like smile when dealing with my son. Left me feeling all creepy:eek: We tend to hang out at the bars and only came across one bartender who knew our drinks, called us by name or even smiled or waved if we passed. A huge difference from other cruises.

 

that being said, we still had a wonderful vacation, it was the farthest from perfection we've come across... but it in no way left me thinking this was a carnival standard or had me second guessing another carnival cruise. hope this helps.

[serene56]

I have been reading reviews for about the past month-- did you notice how many tables your wait staff was waiting on?

 

I am wondering if they have way too many tables to make sure we get the personal service we come to enjoy and expect.

 

On one of our cruises our waiter had 5-6 tables. Our cabin steward had 26 cabins 2 helpers.

[Deb&Bert]

We have been on 6 Carnival Cruises.. Last Jan. we were on the Victory.

 

BAD BAD BAD In the dinning room.. Our heard waiter was the worst thing I have ever seen.. We had a group of 50 people.. Tables of 8 to 10.

At my table we had 2 couples who HAD NEVER SAILED.. NEWBIES..

We were so excited for them to enjoy the whole trip.

The first night in the main dinning room, One of the Newbies ask for something small and the HEAD WAITER ROLLED HIS EYES AT HER... I Stopped him and SAID PLease tell me this is not what I just saw.. HE ROLLED THEM AGAIN... The service was bad the whole week.. Made me sick.

 

The whole trip I was really unhappy with many things on the Victory.

 

We are sailing in 2 weeks on the Glory.. Can't wait. Ofcourse this has not stoped us from Sailing....

[Umbarger]

Just had to tell you what a waiter said to me on the Triumph on the last day of the cruise at breakfast two years ago. We were seated at a table of 10. The syrup bowl was empty since there were so many of us at the table. When I asked the waiter for more syrup I was told "no, you've had enough" :eek: I kid you not. Poor waiter must have been in the worst mood. We laughed about it then and still laugh about it now. :D

[jobythebay]

I have been reading reviews for about the past month-- did you notice how many tables your wait staff was waiting on?

 

I am wondering if they have way too many tables to make sure we get the personal service we come to enjoy and expect.

 

On one of our cruises our waiter had 5-6 tables. Our cabin steward had 26 cabins 2 helpers.

 

Funny you should ask. We just got off the Liberty. The service as I said below was so amazing we watched our head waiter. It seemed he only had two tables. There was a party of 10 next to us and we were 8. Thus the personal service! His name is Eugene if you happen to get to ask for a waiter and his assistant is Laura. It looked as if she helped other head waiters because she would disappear but never for long. He never disappeared (except when they were singing. He was very self-conscious about singing.)

[MrPete]

I'm not saying this is a correllation, but...

 

Carnival used to close their doors to the dining room 15 minutes after start of mealtime.

 

We always mosey in within 5 minutes, as it's unbelieveable that many DO line up at the door waiting to get in.:confused:

 

Many MANY times, I see certain tables of people who walk in 15 30 sometimes 45 minutes after the start of dinner. And then I hear them complaining about these very things you're mentioning.

 

It throws them off.

 

I only complained once, when I saw the waiter bring out our tray of food, saw these people who were 30 minutes late, trying to sit them down and get them menus while my food was sitting there. He was a hustler, but they should have been the ones waiting.

 

Actually, they should have been directed to the Lido restaurant.

[flyingb]

I'm not saying this is a correllation, but...

 

Carnival used to close their doors to the dining room 15 minutes after start of mealtime.

 

We always mosey in within 5 minutes, as it's unbelieveable that many DO line up at the door waiting to get in.:confused:

 

Many MANY times, I see certain tables of people who walk in 15 30 sometimes 45 minutes after the start of dinner. And then I hear them complaining about these very things you're mentioning.

 

It throws them off.

 

I only complained once, when I saw the waiter bring out our tray of food, saw these people who were 30 minutes late, trying to sit them down and get them menus while my food was sitting there. He was a hustler, but they should have been the ones waiting.

 

Actually, they should have been directed to the Lido restaurant.

 

Couldn't have said it better, Mr. Pete!

Why do some people seem always to be late and then complain about their service? Sounds like they need their own 'private' staff! :rolleyes: I've found that, not always, but most of the time the wait staff respond better to a smile than anything else. Just my humble opinion.

The only really bad experience we've had was the time on the day of debarkation, we ordered our breakfast and waited........ and waited....in a while we saw our waiter going past us, outside on the pier :eek: . We learned that it was the end of his contract and he had a pregnant wife about to deliver. After we learned the truth we understood. ;) It was too late to order again, but we didn't seem to lose any weight from our experience. :p We still laugh about that and it was many cruises ago.

 

Luv's Crusin'

[serene56]

I agree with you Mr Pete- But I always seen the door closed within 15 minutes after seated.. maybe thats something new this year.

 

On the Miracle the asst waiter had to go to the Lido deck on somenights between stuff as it was very crowded and not enough people- so if the asst disappears that is where they went. He only went to clear tables up there (about 10 mintes at a time-- then came back)

[nimbex1970]

While I totally agree that if I treat you with courtesy and respect I deserve it back, a smile helps break the ice..... I disagree that durring holiday cruises and for any other reasons at home, any service oriented employee is justified or should be excused from poor customer service.

 

I'm a nurse... want to hear about my problems at home? Do you want to know about my troubles or my missing MY family on christmas? Hell no, you expect a smile, courteous and prompt treatment, and that is exactly as any paying customer deserves. (I knew becomming a nurse meant holidays away from family, this is no different, I have a family to support too)

 

 

poor customer service under any circumstances (OK, except for the very nasty customer) are not acceptable, warrented or should be excused or tolerated. I think we are seeing a pretty big holiday trend here and the cruise lines need to know this.

 

If the staff is homesick, accomodations per the cruiselines... free phone calls home, free e-mails (which are NOT free) need to be added to help pamper the crew and take good care of them so they can take good care of US, the customers! I know that well provided for employees, give the best customer service back...

 

Am I alone in feeling this way?

[nimbex1970]

sorry, forgot to state that the holiday poor service kick I was on was due to several threads combined, not only this one if that clears up while there weren't a large amount of holiday negatives. "Assuming" you knew what I've read:o

[Mgetta]

Nimbex, I totally agree. If the waiters are overworked, etc. Carnival needs to correct it. One of the things I'd never thought about until mentioned earlier in this thread is the amount of time they spend "entertaining" us. It really is pretty lame and I'd rather have them spend their time waiting on the tables. Those who agree with me should probably start politely letting Carnival know how we feel. That is something they could quickly and easily change at no cost.

[NMCRUISERS]

We were on the Legend in December and the staff we associated with was great! No problems with the room steward, bartenders, lido deck ee, chefs, pursers desk.

 

I must confess that we didn't eat in the Dining Room. We decided awhile back that we enjoyed it more when we could control what time to eat and not get dressed up.

 

Maybe it was just a bad week for some of them???

[kiwigirl]

Funny you should ask. We just got off the Liberty. The service as I said below was so amazing we watched our head waiter. It seemed he only had two tables. There was a party of 10 next to us and we were 8. Thus the personal service! His name is Eugene if you happen to get to ask for a waiter and his assistant is Laura. It looked as if she helped other head waiters because she would disappear but never for long. He never disappeared (except when they were singing. He was very self-conscious about singing.)

We were on the 12/10 sailing. We had a group of 14 split over 3 tables (1-8, 2-4). We also had Eugene and Laura. Laura was excellent the entire week. We saw her one day on the lido deck and let her know that the group wouldn't be there for dinner as we all were going to Harry's. The next night she asked how dinner was and if we enjoyed it.

 

Eugene was good also, but always seemed to be in a bit of a rush or a bit pre-occupied. Although, I will say both he and Laura handle the kids great. We had 2 boys, age 8 & 11 that would sometimes sit at their own table with another boy, 13, from the group. The kids all ordered off of the adult menu and Eugene and Laura treated them as such.

 

From what I recall, it looked like Eugene only had 3 tables, 2-8 seaters and 1-4 seater, but I may be wrong.

 

It also seemed that he wasn't real thrilled with having to sing. I don't remember as much singing in the past, but if the crew is already stressed for time in getting everyone served, why interrupt them to make them sing? Maybe it's just not my thing...

[Wennfred]

On the Pride this past Oct. our head waiter on the very first night would not move this small table that held 3 pitchers of ice cold water over 5 inches to the right when I asked him politely, I didnt want it to fall over Wendy or even over on my camera or something, he made a big stink about moving this small table, I was shocked. This guy lasted only 4 nights, I guess the Second seating people must of had problems also and complained, he was gone and we had the Asst. waiter take over and he did a great job.

[AmyMelissa]

We were on the same ship. Actually the 3 of us connected on this board, and then met on ship, which was fun. I have a lot of the same comments as they did, but we had a completely different experience in the dinning room. But as it turns out this was our head waiters first time as a head waiter. She had just been promoted, and I think she was trying to make an impression. Eva was just wonderful. You could see how much pressure they are under, and I agree that "entertaining the troops" is just more than should be asked of these people. Especially over the holiday, and a sold out ship. Our assistant waiter also couldn't have been better. Her name was Jolanta, and the four of us often stayed later and talked with the 2 of them. They were really quite wonderful, and made dinner time truly enjoyable.

Our room steward Wigcht was also wonderful. Very respectful of our schedules, and always responded to our requests immediately. We also got a great zoo of towel animals every night which was delightful to come back to every evening.

As for the entertainment, we thought it SUCKED!!! The 1st comedian was the worst I have every seen in my life!!! But the one place where I totally disagree with thebets. We spent many nights in Satchmo's, and we thought the band was incredible. They had such incredible range, and could go from Bruce Springfield to the Beach Boys at the drop of a hat, and their sound completely changed to the point where they sounded like a different band for every song. We thought they were fantastic. We only managed to sit through 2 shows, and couldn't bring ourselves to see any more. We also knew they would be repeated on the TV, so we saw a bit that way, which was just fine by us, we could turn it off.

On the whole, we would not go back on Carnival again. This was our 2nd Carnival Cruise, and the only reason we went back on them was for the itinerary. We really enjoy RCI much more. This cruise during the holidays is also something we would never do again. Way too many big families. We are talking 20-30 people per group, and they were annoying at best!!! We were not able to get a big table at dinner because they were catering to the larger groups, but as it turned out we sat with a couple we met in line and really hit it off, so that was really the highlight. Way too many kids on board too. They really need to consider an Adult only cruise. Like 18 yo and up. It would be a very popular cruise.

The other thing that really annoyed me was not being able to enjoy a cocktail in the hot tub. They had the anal police up on the pool deck to prevent this horrible crime. He was a jerk!!! On RCI, the waiters specifically come to the hot tubs to push drinks. We enjoy this. I mean lighten up Carnival, we're on vacation, and you serve in Plastic containers!!!

We spent a lot of time in the casino, and really thought the dealers were all great, and very helpful. The bartenders were wonderful in the Casino, and as well up in the bar at the Adult Pool Area. I big Thank you to them. I found the overall attitudes of the staff a little depressed, but again that might be due to it being the holidays, and not being with family. And yet I was surprized by the workers who couldn't wait to wish you "Happy New Year", and I'm talking about people we just passed in the hall or elevator.

Overall, it was just an ok cruise. I think we are "cruised out" for awhile. We are getting sick of all the islands and them all starting to look the same. I think it's time to see the US. Too many people, too many kids, lack of real personal attention I've felt on RCI. It was great to relax, and I think the ship is a pretty ship. I think they need more hot tubs, and more adult activities on board. And for God Sake, spend some money on the shows!! It would be worth going on a cruise to see Just one headliner like the old days.

[jobythebay]

We were on the 12/10 sailing. We had a group of 14 split over 3 tables (1-8, 2-4). We also had Eugene and Laura. Laura was excellent the entire week. We saw her one day on the lido deck and let her know that the group wouldn't be there for dinner as we all were going to Harry's. The next night she asked how dinner was and if we enjoyed it.

 

Eugene was good also, but always seemed to be in a bit of a rush or a bit pre-occupied. Although, I will say both he and Laura handle the kids great. We had 2 boys, age 8 & 11 that would sometimes sit at their own table with another boy, 13, from the group. The kids all ordered off of the adult menu and Eugene and Laura treated them as such.

 

From what I recall, it looked like Eugene only had 3 tables, 2-8 seaters and 1-4 seater, but I may be wrong.

 

It also seemed that he wasn't real thrilled with having to sing. I don't remember as much singing in the past, but if the crew is already stressed for time in getting everyone served, why interrupt them to make them sing? Maybe it's just not my thing...

 

He won't sing. Since we were often alone at a table for 8 they had time to chat with us. He doesn't like to sing and disappears. But he did sing the last night when they sing a rendition of Leaving on a Jet Plane. And as I said we are almost sure he only had 2 tables leaving him not at all rushed.

[LornaT]

As to the late arrivals at dinner time, we were on the 12/25 sailing of the Pride, the Caper's said that the doors to the dining room would be closed 30 minutes after start of dinner time..............never happened, there was a table of 8 that was 30 minutes or more late every night! and one night only the kids were at the table initially and then about 30 minutes later Mom and Dad show up with trays of food from the Lido deck. Also there was no regard for the published dress code, that same family showed up every night in everything from shorts, jeans and sweats................even on Formal nights.

 

I loved our cruise, the Pride didn't do the New Year's Party thing like I'd been spoiled with on other ships (Glory & Legend) but it was a great time anyway.

If anyone will soon be on the Pride the best wait staff ever is the team of Agne and Liliya and also on board is Rashna, she was our wait assistant on the Glory in 2003 (we always look for crew memebers from previous cruises that we have enjoyed) and the look on her face when she saw and recognized us was awesome.............made for a great week.