Does anyone really care

[VASOXFANN]

I agree, I think sometimes on here people get to serious about the whole thing and need to lighten up a little bit and not take it all so personally or seriously......life is too short to dance with ugly men!!!! ;)

 

LOL!

 

Good one :D and so true!

[VASOXFANN]

I was on the week before you in '03 and I think his name was Bobbie Brown. His wife was also on the CD's staff.

 

2P.P1

 

Isn't her name Whitney Houston? ;) :p :D

[Aubiecruiser]

I was on the week before you in '03 and I think his name was Bobbie Brown. His wife was also on the CD's staff.

 

2P.P1

 

Thank you, that's the guy. I've been racking my brain trying to remember.

Aubie

[Mikew0805]

I've noticed just the opposite. The RCI crew always seems happy and eager to be of service. They all smile and greet the passengers as they pass by. Whether or not it's sincere doesn't matter. They are obviously well trained.

 

Now I've always thought the many of the crew on Carnival (not all but a whole lot of them) seemed unhappy. They come off as zombies and tend to avoid eye contact. I do admit that I took a liking to a few drink servers on CCL who were the best I've had. I remember their names. :D

 

Gina

 

Honestly, when talking about the Room Stewards, Waiters, CD, Captain ( this thread was about lol ) I can only go by my opinion. I do not think any of them did a "bad" job really, but nothing outstanding. I do not necessarily think it is representative of the line, just these cruises.. or I probably would not continue to book.

 

I will say, that on the 15 nighter we got to know some casino staff really well, and they were more memorable than anyone on any cruise so far, Very friendly & personable.

 

We had some excellent examples of what I call "over & above" service on the last cruise on Carnival. I can't help that it happened, it just did.

 

I really want to like RCI more than I do, and I keep trying.. so I dunno.. I guess we will see.

[mommabean]

Honestly, when talking about the Room Stewards, Waiters, CD, Captain ( this thread was about lol ) I can only go by my opinion. I do not think any of them did a "bad" job really, but nothing outstanding. I do not necessarily think it is representative of the line, just these cruises.. or I probably would not continue to book.

 

I will say, that on the 15 nighter we got to know some casino staff really well, and they were more memorable than anyone on any cruise so far, Very friendly & personable.

 

We had some excellent examples of what I call "over & above" service on the last cruise on Carnival. I can't help that it happened, it just did.

 

I really want to like RCI more than I do, and I keep trying.. so I dunno.. I guess we will see.

 

I will say that outside of my general observations stated previously, my worst all time room steward was my most recent cruise on RCI. My best all time room steward team was my first cruise on Carnival. And I remember their names because they were so unusually good and pleasant. Anthony and Tony.

 

You just never know from cruise to cruise. The ship that I always thought was the best as far as service really disappointed me on my 4th cruise on her - Majesty. It was the worst overall service I've noticed on any RCI ship.

 

Gina

[dutchess43]

When it comes to waiters, & cabin attendents I call it the luck of the draw. We have had service from excellent to less then stellar, & everything in between. After a number of cruises we have seen quite a bit besides the staff!

[04cruises]

Having been on many different ships with RCCL,we have noticed that when the Captain and CD are more visual, the crew seems to also be more out going. We don't pick a cruise by them.

[geegee1]

thanks for posting this. it is something that i always did not understand.

 

But...

 

...Not sure if this is just this forum, or cruisers in general, that have a need to know every menu for every night, have pictures of their exact cabin before they even board, and need to see cruise compasses for every day. Who can have fun with all that stress?

 

i like to know what's coming up on the cruise, food, room layout, etc. but i always have fun. once i get on i know what i know, and enjoy the cruise.

[theotherchad]

I think most of the people here agree that they don't choose their sail dates based on the captain or CD, but I think a lot of folks who think that it makes no difference would be surprized how much difference it really does make. Even if you never meet them or hear from them, they (along with the Hotel Director) are the managers of the ship who set the tone for all the employees.

 

Good service and good job performance does largely come from the top down. Obviously, there can be horrible employees with great bosses, but they don't tend to last long.

 

Also, I think some of you folks don't drink enough. :rolleyes:

 

Did I do that right? ;)

[dmndlil]

We tend to get the name of the drink server at the pool(s). As for the Captain, it is always "This is Captain Speaking"...... as for the CD, some are just funnier than others. JM2cents

[kidless]

Also, I think some of you folks don't drink enough. :rolleyes:

 

Did I do that right? ;)

 

So you mean your kidding, dang I was going to get another cocktail!!!! ;)

[dmndlil]

Hey you know what...It's not that big a deal. If someone wants to know so what. I personally would never let it stop me from taking a particular cruise however, it makes me all the more excited to anticipate my cruise if I know there is a fun cruise director or interesting captain. When I went on the Serenade a few years ago, I was happy to hear I would have the captain that circled the Pitons in St Lucia. It was awesome!!

 

I beleive that was Captain Stig Nelson... He does an awesome job at the pitons.

[sayaguru]

I've had the same Captain on all my cruises "Captain Speaking":D. He's great.

 

Wakes me up when I'm having my nanna nap to tell me really important stuff like "the sea is calm".

 

Everyone has different opinions on Cruise Directors. As long as they do their job that's all I care about. If they are personable and with good humour it helps.

[owl61]

Generally the passengers who have the best time on a cruise are the ones who are personally acquainted with the Captain, Hotel Director, and/or Cruise Director.

.

Will you be my friend...please?

[G'ma]

I don't care or pay attention at all.

 

The only time I notice a CD is if he is irritating. Had one like that on a cruise in January.....was in love with the sound of his own voice and made waaay too many announcements with the sound system cranked up...and each announcement was too long, most was irrelevant.....

[printingchick]

I may have said the same thing a couple of years ago. It was then that we sailed on AOS, with CD Mike and Captain Tommy.

 

I've sailed eight times. The captain is almost always a small, heavy, balding man who rarely associates with his passengers beyond intercom announcements.

 

Captain Tommy was the first and only YOUNG captain I've had on a cruise ship. He always made himself available to the passengers and was friendly. He played in the crew versus passenger dodge ball game, wearing the T-shirt reading "El Capitan".

 

And Mike...best cruise director ever! We recently had Richard Spacey as CD on the Freedom. While great and talented, he was no Mike. Mike did everything - he was a natural comedian, he sang, he danced, he ice skated - all the while making you feel like the guy next door you'd share an afternoon beer with. His warmth was endearing.

 

So...after that cruise, I discovered that it actually does matter. Would I plan a cruise based soley on the captain and cruise director? No. But I'm currently on the fence about sailing AOS or Serenade in 2010. RCL tells me Tommy is with another ship but Mike will still be on AOS. That's figuring very much into my decision. (That, and the fact that AOS is leaving for Europe in June 2010.)

 

When you get a truly superior captain and CD on one of your cruises, you'll understand why it matters to some people.

[BroncosFan2010]

I would never let the captain or cruise director affect my sailing. I book for the itinerary and smaller ships. I also tend to avoid the annoying and cheesy activities that the cruise director is involved in.

[KarinaGW]

People that cruise ALL the time seem to feel a conection to these people like they are family. Other than that I dont see the facination either. I find it funny when Im on a cruise and someone says "Oh so and so is in the windjammer, I have to go say hi we've been on 40 cruises with them" or "We just sailed with them two weeks ago and now here we are again on the same ship" They work there!!! You are not "neat-o" because you know Abdul in the dining room. Its nice to be remebered by a crew member, but its their job to be nice, and you probably wouldnt give them time of day if they work at you local Dennys instead of a cruise ship.

 

I guess it just depends on who you are and how you get along with people.

 

And, your example entertains me because there's actually a waitress I met at Bob's Big Boy 22 years ago when I was 8 months pregnant with my daughter. Over the years, she has worked at different area restaurants and we always chit chat about how life is treating us. There's another waitress from a Friendly's that my kids and I used to go to when they were young who left the area about 15 years ago. I happened to go into a restaurant 40 miles away about 8 months ago and who was there but that waitress. I recognized her, but didn't say anything because really what were the odds 15 years, hundreds of customers later. But, she remembered and came up to me and we had a great chat.

 

On the ships I always talk to the various staff and cruise because I work in theatre and I know how much work it is behind the scenes and I am fascinated by the various needs of running a cruise ship. I haven't cruised a zillion times, but I have run into some of these people on other ships and it is nice to catch up with them and find out what they think about the differences between the ships.

 

We all get different things from our cruise experiences.

[monn_a]

Generally the passengers who have the best time on a cruise are the ones who are personally acquainted with the Captain, Hotel Director, and/or Cruise Director.

 

 

I have wonderful cruises without meeting the Captain and the Cruise Director, I've met them both on cruises and it didn't effect it one way or another. I don't hinge my having a good time on who I've met or didn't meet, what others wear, or what C & A level I am (FYI I'm Diamond and I rarely use the lounges or attend the C & A parties). I cruise because I like to cruise. Frankly I have a much better time getting to know the bar staff, the waiters and room stewards...

[maitaiguy]

This thread has given me a serious case of the chuckles!

 

Two cruises ago, we were chatting with a couple sitting near us on the lido deck. During our conversation they told us this was their third time on the ship (Norwegian Star). The wife turns to hubby and says "We have to make sure we go to (name of bar on the ship) and say hello to (name of bartender)." She then informs us that this bartender was really great to them the last time they sailed and that the bartender "would never forgive us for not stopping by to chat." WHAT?! :eek:

 

I laughed out loud at your comments! So true!

 

If crewmembers are pleasant to you and when you leave their area you are smiling then they have done their job very well. For many of us who love RCI's product, once you get beyond the beautiful ship and ports it is the wonderful people that treat you well that makes you feel special. They don't care as long as you are happy, right?