Staffing issues in the MDR.

[MicCanberra]

As stated at the beginning, I think the main service issues are for anytime dining, however, the breakfast, lunch and brunch settings would likely apply as well.

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 3/3/2024 at 1:32 AM, REOVA said:

They do...it's called on demand in your cabin. 😉

 

I like the idea that Carnival states wait time on the app (similar to ERs in our area that show it as you drive by) but it's just another thing that CCL has not consistently implemented across all brands for some reason. 

 

HAL has data as to how many passengers are on board, how many specialty reservations on a given night and probably historical data of what time many of the passengers eat (and what they order) since many are regulars and for 7, 10, 14 days they are sequestered. Back in the day that I cooked in a hotel restaurant, we could estimate the number of people eating and what they may order off the menu (even with them never being there before) just based on occupancy. We may be off or "86" of inventory a few times, but service was always on point. 

 

Yes, they do have and use past data. I've done galley tours several times (pre-covid, of course) and we were told that they have a good idea of what will be most popular any given night. I think we were told that on surf and turf night, about 90% of people order that (back when it was lobster). On Cunard, they said that the passenger makeup affected the amount of lamb ordered. People from the US are less likely to order lamb than people from the UK. 

[Cruise_buyer]

We are currently sailing on NieuwStatendam. Our waiter in MDR appears to have 7 tables. This smacks of overworked and understaffed workforce. Have been on over 50 cruises in the past and not seen such slow, spotty service. Couldn't even get our drinks ordered for 20 mins after being seated. Received them another 20 mins aftrwd. Saw our poor waiter hurrying from table to front to table repeatedly. We reported the poor service to mngr or maitre D who only could apologize and offer wine. We each have a drink pkg, but why have to wait another 20 mins ? If this is HA's new business model, I will go back to Celebrity or Princess.

Edited May 20 by Cruise_buyer
Misspelled

[CruiserBruce]

36 minutes ago, Cruise_buyer said:

We are currently sailing on NieuwStatendam. Our waiter in MDR appears to have 7 tables. This smacks of overworked and understaffed workforce. Have been on over 50 cruises in the past and not seen such slow, spotty service. Couldn't even get our drinks ordered for 20 mins after being seated. Received them another 20 mins aftrwd. Saw our poor waiter hurrying from table to front to table repeatedly. We reported the poor service to mngr or maitre D who only could apologize and offer wine. We each have a drink pkg, but why have to wait another 20 mins ? If this is HA's new business model, I will go back to Celebrity or Princess.

There was no assistant waiter? No drink waiter?

[FlaMariner]

Great waiter service for us in the MDR for 25 nights on the Oosterdam last month....

 

The waiters are busy....but there was no chaos or delays.....Food was excellent....hot food arrived hot.....Service was as good as always.....Menus promptly given upon arriving, great recommendations, our specific requests were always ready for us (coffee w/dessert, Sommelier wine package wine and/or menu ready)....The maitre de and chefs would stop by the tables every few days to inquire....Even the Captain walked thru the MDR a few nights....We enjoyed our 5 course meals in an hour or so.....Best part of the voyage.....Perfect.

[doone]

Gees, I just got off the Nieuw Statendam Saturday, we ate in the dining room twice, we had great service and were in an out of the dining room in 70 minutes.  Food and drinks were wonderful.  So sorry you are not having the same experience, hopefully it gets better.

[crystalspin]

3 hours ago, Cruise_buyer said:

Saw our poor waiter hurrying from table to front to table repeatedly. We reported the poor service to mngr or maitre D who only could apologize and offer wine.

So you reported your poor waiter to his boss? Classy.

[julia]

3 hours ago, Cruise_buyer said:

We are currently sailing on NieuwStatendam. Our waiter in MDR appears to have 7 tables. This smacks of overworked and understaffed workforce. Have been on over 50 cruises in the past and not seen such slow, spotty service. Couldn't even get our drinks ordered for 20 mins after being seated. Received them another 20 mins aftrwd. Saw our poor waiter hurrying from table to front to table repeatedly. We reported the poor service to mngr or maitre D who only could apologize and offer wine. We each have a drink pkg, but why have to wait another 20 mins ? If this is HA's new business model, I will go back to Celebrity or Princess.

I agree that waiting 20 minutes to place a drink order is too long, but I fail to see why you mentioned having the drink package... that is irrelevant. All MDR's will have peak times and service will be slower.  Therefore, we arrive with a fresh drink IN HAND from the Pinnacle Bar, which is lovely while perusing the menu.  Wine is ordered WITH food choices, and we stay ahead of wine requests so we're not dining "empty glassed".  Staff appreciates us.

[ChinaShrek]

36 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

So you reported your poor waiter to his boss? Classy.

Poor service is poor service. I don't care who is at fault or why. The problems needs to be rectified. 

[ChinaShrek]

6 minutes ago, julia said:

I agree that waiting 20 minutes to place a drink order is too long, but I fail to see why you mentioned having the drink package... that is irrelevant. All MDR's will have peak times and service will be slower.  Therefore, we arrive with a fresh drink IN HAND from the Pinnacle Bar, which is lovely while perusing the menu.  Wine is ordered WITH food choices, and we stay ahead of wine requests so we're not dining "empty glassed".  Staff appreciates us.

Since when is wine ordered with the food? Is that customary or a unwritten rule? At every restaurant I go out to, the server take drink orders first and then comes back to take food orders. In fact, I expect to have drinks in my hand before I have selected any food item. The longer I wait for a drink, the more the survey scores will suffer!

[ghstudio]

I can handle the wine....I have a problem having to otder the dessert with the rest of the meal.  No good restaurant does that....it's really a poor service model aimed at not giving you a nice meal experience, but rather at getting you out as soon as possible.  I'm not sure I've ever been in a land based restaurant that asks you to order your dessert in advance.

[Cruise Suzy]

32 minutes ago, ghstudio said:

I have a problem having to otder the dessert with the rest of the meal.

 

@ghstudio No need to order dessert with other courses. All you have to do is tell your waiter you'll order it later. There's never been a problem when we do that. If you have fixed dining, the waiter will know by the second (or third) day how you do it.

[Seasick Sailor]

3 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

Since when is wine ordered with the food? Is that customary or a unwritten rule? At every restaurant I go out to, the server take drink orders first and then comes back to take food orders. In fact, I expect to have drinks in my hand before I have selected any food item. The longer I wait for a drink, the more the survey scores will suffer!

 

We do the same as @julia. Bring our cocktail and order our wine when we order dinner. Why? Because if one decides on a beef dish, a red wine. Fish, chicken, several different white wines. Neither customary or unwritten rule. Our choice.

[ellieanne]

3 hours ago, ghstudio said:

I can handle the wine....I have a problem having to otder the dessert with the rest of the meal.  No good restaurant does that....it's really a poor service model aimed at not giving you a nice meal experience, but rather at getting you out as soon as possible.  I'm not sure I've ever been in a land based restaurant that asks you to order your dessert in advance.

I've been to a number of fancy land-based restaurants where you are asked to order dessert with the rest of the meal, especially of the dessert is complicated to prepare. It's not an unusual practice in New Orleans' best restaurants. Commander's Palace requests diners order dessert with the meal, particularly if they will be ordering the signature Bread Pudding Souffle or a Shortcake, as each requires at least 20 minutes prep time. Ordering dessert early allows them to plan not only your meal, but the work in the kitchens as well.
And you can always order dessert later if you change your mind, bearing in mind that there may be a bit more of a wait.

[julia]

6 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

Since when is wine ordered with the food? Is that customary or a unwritten rule? At every restaurant I go out to, the server take drink orders first and then comes back to take food orders. In fact, I expect to have drinks in my hand before I have selected any food item. The longer I wait for a drink, the more the survey scores will suffer!

Aaaaannnnd there you have it. No further explanation needed.

[durangoscots]

On 2/28/2024 at 10:37 AM, OlsSalt said:

Sounds like more passengers are  now making more individual demands is part of the equation too. Before dining was pretty much a group affair. You ate what was put in front of you. You ate around what you did not like.  HAL was much more a meat and potatoes standard banquet type dining setting when we first started back in 2009.

 

"Vegetarian" options were just starting to make inroads beyond a plate of steamed vegetables. Factor in now the large number of individual dietary accommodations and personal consultations required of dining staff for every meal, that did not happen even a few years ago.

 

Fact of life now. Same numbers of staff perhaps, but the individual diner attention demands have grown tremendously.  There are only so many staff beds available on any given ship. There is a limit to what staff members can offer individual passengers. Have we reached a tipping point?

Add to that the fixed dining patrons who arrive late for their seating. That happened to me recently... sometimes as much as 1/2 an hour after time.... rest of table was on their main courses when they ordered their starters.