Scarlet Lady: It Gets Better Than This….Right?

[Travel-and-See]

12 minutes ago, _tacocat_ said:

this is an absolute first world problem, but my ridiculous experience last month was that they refused to allow walk-up ordering at the salad station because "there are too many passengers onboard and this makes it quicker."  the servers have no clue what options are available because they change so frequently. 

 

i pointed out the absurdity, then brought a server to the station with me so i could dictate my order.  she proceeded to write it down on a piece of paper (apparently incorrectly) because the options are also not available on the app, handed it to a person working the station, and i corrected it while in progress.  the guy working said "no this is what was written," and was about to add things that i didn't want.  they either need to go back to in-person ordering for build-your-own salads or provide order forms/pencils if someone is trying to do a custom salad.

I had a similar situation... the servers have no clue what is or isn't available they just scroll through the app to see it. So saying something like "and I'd like beets" will result in the server staring at the screen for 30-60 seconds looking for beets. 

 

There also isn't any signage indicating if you can or cannot order directly from the counters. 

 

I think part of the issue is that Virgin still doesn't know the best way to handle the food hall and what works for 1/2 full sailings doesn't work when the boat fills up.  

[ociana]

Our sailings with VV have also been rough ones for the galley ordering process.  On our B2B last fall it was a running joke between us that my food was never delivered - just my husband's.  I think it was because we sat outside, but we had at least 3 times where nothing showed up for me while my husband got his food.  We noticed that during this trip there was one staff person responsible for that "station" who took orders and then there were runners who delivered orders based on table numbers. It clearly did not work very well.  Last month, they appear to have changed the process where the person running that station also picked up their own orders for that area.  It almost worked.  The gap was if you were seated at an area where there was not coverage, especially during off hours, you had to flag someone down for the order AND ask for it to be delivered. I sat at the counter and watched as 4 of my exact order left the station and the cook was waiting for new orders before I was able to flag down a manager and get my food made and delivered.  

 

As for the room, last month's trip on the Valiant was the first time we did not meet our room steward at all.  I was confused by it, but really it did not have a negative impact on our voyage. We had our room serviced daily on our sailings without issue, unless we stayed in with the DND red light on until past lunchtime...then we just filled our own water later in the evening and had no issue missing the day of service.

 

All that said, I continue to be a huge fan and understand there are growing pains as you roll out new things. The galley staff in particular are trying to use an app (that can't keep up with specials and custom items easily) and adapt to any changes that come at the on the fly.  I think one huge improvement would be if they made the table numbers be ones attached to the tables and not on items that can be moved around.  Keep it easier for staff to memorize where to bring food, so it is one less variable in their head.  Then have clear markings at the pass for each spot what area the food is for (like tables 10-25) so servers do have to constantly check the papers.  

[jon81uk]

I think with the Galley too they either need to actually create a proper pass with hot lamps for when orders are waiting to be bussed, or do away with it and get guests to collect their own food if it can’t be served immediately using pagers or similar. 
For the ramen, tacos, all-day breakfast (not omelettes) and salads they should all be able to be plated and handed to guests immediately which is what I think the original concept was. The hot sandwiches and omelettes need cooking to order generally so they might need pagers or something.

But at the moment the waited service doesn’t seem to quite work and as many have said, stations such as salad are better to walk up to anyway for custom creations.

[AdoraBelle]

I've had top notch housekeeping service on all my sailings (no matter what class of room), usually towel replacement (if not total, unexpected, cleanings) at night too.

Galley: I guess I'll mention this here in case VV is reading ... last month on Scarlet, I did feel like the Galley has become a less pleasant place than it was last summer/fall. Servers are definitely more annoyed-seeming, it takes longer to get someone's attention (especially if you're trying to, for example, eat lunch on a port day), and on more than one occasion I saw servers who had passed me by multiple times beeline straight past me to newly-seated tables of crew members instead. (This happened. I don't have a persecution complex and I didn't complain. I'm just observant and I was hungry.)

(I have ZERO PROBLEMS with crew eating in all the public spaces, but if they're going to be waited on preferentially then you need more wait staff in the galley. Or let me go get my food myself, either way is fine.)

Edited March 20, 2023 by AdoraBelle

[Hydro ergo]

On 3/20/2023 at 7:50 AM, CruisingWalter said:

 

My advice, avoid The Galley during the peak service times, usually breakfast on a port day, and visit The Wake or Razzle Dazzle for breakfast. You'll have a much better experience. 

 

hm...that is precisely the time I prefer to eat at "the Galley" (buffet on other lines)!  I'll be sailing my first VV cruise leaving this weekend.  Is it really faster to eat breakfast in one of the restaurants on a port morning? 

I'm a little disappointed reading this thread in general.  The whole point of the Galley or a buffet or whatever similar set up is to be quick and easy.  This sounds like it's just going to be frustrating.  As a solo traveler, I don't always feel like the production of a restaurant meal.  I'm looking forward to the cruise, but curious to see how this all shakes out...

[jon81uk]

8 minutes ago, Hydro ergo said:

 

hm...that is precisely the time I prefer to eat at "the Galley" (buffet on other lines)!  I'll be sailing my first VV cruise leaving this weekend.  Is it really faster to eat breakfast in one of the restaurants on a port morning? 

I'm a little disappointed reading this thread in general.  The whole point of the Galley or a buffet or whatever similar set up is to be quick and easy.  This sounds like it's just going to be frustrating.  As a solo traveler, I don't always feel like the production of a restaurant meal.  I'm looking forward to the cruise, but curious to see how this all shakes out...

Several stations including pastries, fruit/yoghurt and bagels you can walk up to and ask for food. So it’s possible to be sat and eating while waiting for the hot food to come out. Standard breakfast items are usually fairly quick in my experience, under ten minutes to come out, so if you do get a croissant or something by the time you’ve had it the eggs and bacon will be with you. Omelette may take longer they are cooked to order.

[CruisingWalter]

1 hour ago, Hydro ergo said:

 

hm...that is precisely the time I prefer to eat at "the Galley" (buffet on other lines)!  I'll be sailing my first VV cruise leaving this weekend.  Is it really faster to eat breakfast in one of the restaurants on a port morning? 

 In our experience, yes, especially Razzle Dazzle as it has a faster menu. But those flags on the tables might help. If they ever switch to app based ordering or table tablet ordering like NCL, that will greatly improve the system. 

 

I'm planning to test out the Galley for breakfast during our April Scarlet Lady cruise to see if it's any different. 

[Travel-and-See]

1 hour ago, Hydro ergo said:

Is it really faster to eat breakfast in one of the restaurants on a port morning? 

I've taken 2 cruises with Virgin (one one each boat) and it's pretty inconsistent to be honest. I've had quick breakfasts at Razzle Dazzle and a painfully long one as well.  Same with the Galley. Sometimes you sit down down and BOOM - here's a server ready to take your order and the food is out in about 5 minutes. Other times it can take painfully long. 

 

But to be honest, it's not very different than other lines... sometimes on Celebrity they have multiple egg/omlette stations and I can get my order in very fast, other times it seems to take forever. So while it's worth discussing as the inconsistency can be frustrating, it's not anything to worry about too much.

[SCruiseFam]

So the verdict is……it does get better. Thank you to the user who suggested using the app for cabin services because I decided to forego the “light” system all together and use the app to request my cabin cleaning. 
 

I didn’t go back to galley however, I was so frustrated with my initial experiences that I decided to simply go eat elsewhere. The food on Virgin is great. Like actually. I am so pleasantly surprised whenever I had a quick bite or at a restaurant. 
 

I was chatting with a  crew member and they said the past couple sailings have been at almost full capacity (doesn’t feel that way if you’re used to the bigger ships) but the crew can definitely feel it. I don’t feel it’s fair to rate the service I received (though not horrible) if they are short staffed. But note to Virgin, hire more crew members! 
 

I said earlier I wouldn’t sail on her again but wow I loved this itinerary. I think I would try her again. 

[Travel-and-See]

43 minutes ago, SCruiseFam said:

So the verdict is……it does get better. Thank you to the user who suggested using the app for cabin services because I decided to forego the “light” system all together and use the app to request my cabin cleaning. 
 

I didn’t go back to galley however, I was so frustrated with my initial experiences that I decided to simply go eat elsewhere. The food on Virgin is great. Like actually. I am so pleasantly surprised whenever I had a quick bite or at a restaurant. 
 

I was chatting with a  crew member and they said the past couple sailings have been at almost full capacity (doesn’t feel that way if you’re used to the bigger ships) but the crew can definitely feel it. I don’t feel it’s fair to rate the service I received (though not horrible) if they are short staffed. But note to Virgin, hire more crew members! 
 

I said earlier I wouldn’t sail on her again but wow I loved this itinerary. I think I would try her again. 

YAY! I'm glad it got better! Have you seen Duel Reality yet? Don't miss it if you have the chance... it's the best show I've ever seen on a cruise ship by far!   And I agree, the food is legit good on Virgin! 

[SCruiseFam]

On 3/20/2023 at 2:12 PM, AdoraBelle said:

Servers are definitely more annoyed-seeming, it takes longer to get someone's attention (especially if you're trying to, for example, eat lunch on a port day)

I thought I was the only person who noticed this haha! It was weird to see especially since with almost 4000 or so people on board crew members on Royal seem so happy and eager to help you. I almost felt I was bothering them on VV. 
 

But I’ll cut some slack considering they don’t seem to be used to the amount of people on board now. 

[SCruiseFam]

32 minutes ago, Travel-and-See said:

YAY! I'm glad it got better! Have you seen Duel Reality yet? Don't miss it if you have the chance... it's the best show I've ever seen on a cruise ship by far!   And I agree, the food is legit good on Virgin! 

I didn’t unfortunately, and I really wanted to! Something to look forward to when I come back.