Disgruntled Repeat Cruiser

[bettemom]

Lets see.....

I am NOT cooking

I am NOT serving....

I am NOT cleaning up......


You may put me ON the serving station if you wish....

Bette

 

[LAMPSKIES]

BUMP!!!!!!

 

[fireplug]

At the risk of sounding a litle bit grumby,and it is not meant as a slam on anyone

The serving stations serve a very important function. The ships, including the resturaunts, were desinged by professionals whose job it is to do just that DESIGN CRUISE SHIPS. While disney did have much imput in the overall theming as I understand it the actual seating layouts are done by experts. There are aisles that are designed to be the paths the servers take so as to avoid carrying trays over guests. But tables can be rearranged and seating changed due to other guests requests. If you have a server who you think is taking chances with the trays PLEASE tell the headwaiters. That is one of the reasons they are there. To solve little issues and assist the waiters. I would bet they will do all they can to help.

As far as being seated near one, we do not consider ourselves to be so important that we are not at a table nearby one. Someone has to sit there. So if those on our next cruise are going to get upset over being near a serving station, we will gladly switch.
I am on WONDERful cruise I will not let something that minor rattle me.

Steve

 

[GinaDice]

We took our 3rd Disney cruise this past May. We had not encountered any problems on any of our trips with our bill. However this time there was a mistake with a shore excursion charge. While I tried to get it taken care of with Guest Services - I think I just got someone at the wrong time. I waited until we got home and spoke to our travel agent. She contacted Disney and explained the error. Within 3 weeks of returning home we received a letter from the cruise line apologizing and all was corrected.

They say the customer is always right - but it helps when the customer is still nice and friendly too!

 

[AnnMorin]

Originally posted by fireplug
At the risk of sounding a litle bit grumby,and it is not meant as a slam on anyone

The serving stations serve a very important function. The ships, including the resturaunts, were desinged by professionals whose job it is to do just that DESIGN CRUISE SHIPS. While disney did have much imput in the overall theming as I understand it the actual seating layouts are done by experts. There are aisles that are designed to be the paths the servers take so as to avoid carrying trays over guests. But tables can be rearranged and seating changed due to other guests requests. If you have a server who you think is taking chances with the trays PLEASE tell the headwaiters. That is one of the reasons they are there. To solve little issues and assist the waiters. I would bet they will do all they can to help.
Steve

I so agree Steve! I wonder if people who find the serving stations so objectionable would feel the same way if they wanted a refill on water, or a hot entree, or pepper for their salad etc... you can not serve 1000 people without stations. I for one would never consider myself so important or above others that I should not be inconvienced by being seated there..."let the serves sit near the stations...." my goodness if I am being waited on and catered to I appreciate it. But then I don't go out all year so I can afford to be in the dining room..........

 

[Mjasp]

We also were seated near the station and I think even the kitchen door. There was 13 of us sailing together and seated at one table. So with all the talking and decisions of what wine we wanted to try each night along with selecting food and chatting with each other, as dinner was our common ground. I must say we didn't notice anything, we were just happy to be seated at one table. But I have to agree with the previous poster.
No cooking
No cleaning
No serving. Put me anywhere in the dining room.

Joanna

 

[noseybuddy]

I don't consider myself more important or better than anyone else, but I still would prefer not to be seated near a kitchen, slamming door, etc. I can't tell you how may times my family was seated in these areas, only to have my husbands chair constantly bumped into by every server who went by. Is that the way people are supposed to be treated when they go out to a restaurant to eat? I am sure if a VIP came into the diningroom they wouldn't be seated in these locations and no one else should be either. I never say there shouldn't be serving stations. I think the dining areas should be layed out better to avoid situations like this.

 

[abitjaded]

The only major complaint we had on our first cruise was table location. I can see where someone with other complaints could allow this to over-boil. I would love to hear comments from architect or design experts as to what could be done to make the dining areas better. We had table number 37. In Parrot Cay the table was at the near back of the restaurant. Those on one side of the table faced the back of the restaurant, toward the wall. At AP it was a similar location, but worse. This table was next to a large wall service station and the stacks of black highchairs. Both of these locations felt "buried in a hole". You could not see any of the "shows", such as character parades and flaming deserts, without rising from your seat. This was not an option for the wheelchair bound traveler in our group. Not to mention the difficulty of negotiating through a crowded restaurant. Lums was better, still toward the back, but at least one table off and facing a window. There were empty tables in the early seating, all the ones along the back wall were left empty. This location was so unpopular, the servers did not have ANYONE in the late seating, and by halfway through the cruise folks had even deserted our early seating in droves. We did not change our location because we liked, and felt sympathy for, our servers. DCL must be aware of how bad these locations are, the servers certainly were, and were obviously upset with their location, too. They probably only made a third (if that) of their normal tips that week. We were surrounded by tall service stations and not able to view much of the restaurant. In a non-ship restaurant these stations are not in the center of the room, but along the walls. They are too tall, but need to be so in order to not break the backs of the servers. But how do you move them out of the room without covering portholes and the AP light show?

I'm reminded of a restaurant in Denver, Cafe Odyssey, that quickly went belly-up. There were video displays and decorations only seen by about half the tables. This was due to the flat nature of the restaurant. It could have been remedied by terracing the back locations just a bit. Half the folks who were seated were already angry before dinner was served. Something needs to happen if DCL builds a new ship. You cannot have shows going on in a pancake-flat area, surrounded by high service stations filled with plate scrapings. Someone is bound to be miserable.

Carla

 

[Wishing on a star]

Ohhhh Jeezzzz!!!

After all that this board has seen the past few days, can we not have ONE thread that is not taken off topic by posters speaking of the original posts/posters concerns in a derogatory manner.....

 

[Wishing on a star]

Great post abitjaded!!!

Guess we would expect better from Disney 'Imagineering'!!!!

 

[dianthus]

If some of your posts were directed at me, I do not put myself above others at all. I do however, put my family's need first. Flame me for that all you want... Wishing on a star- you are right, hostility seems to be reigning supreme as of late on these boards. It's too bad...

We had the LAP rotation on our first cruise. The service stations in Lumiere's were so tall, we felt like we were in a separate room & we are very tall people. You could not see the beautiful dining room at all, which takes away from the experience. I was concerned the same thing would happen in Animators the next evening and my 9 yr. old daughter would not be able see the show.

Abitjaded~ you are right about DCL being aware of poor dining room locations, as the Head Server did say that our location for Animator's the next night was not very good either. He responded something to the effect - I've got to get you out of there, so your little one can enjoy the show...

The point of the matter was we were not satisfied, we asked for the situation to be rectified nicely & the Head Waiter did back flips for us. He found a superb location & we did get to enjoy the ambiance of Lumiere's the other 2 times through, in addition to unobstructed views in the 2 other dining rooms. We would have been miserable if we stayed with our original table. We probably would not have been a repeat cruiser.

I can see why the OP is not happy. This does indeed detract from the experience, especially if you have servers blasting by & trays whizzing above your heads, which is just inconsiderate. You can expect that at a banquet, or a wedding, but this is their vacation & they expected better. It's sounds like a lot of little things just added up along the way to make for an overall bad experience. When it's your 3rd cruise, you have certain expectations for the experience. It appears they were not met. I'm sure it's not because they think they are better than others..

I think you should write DCL & share your concerns. They truly do take guests concerns to heart & try to make it right. I would think this to be especially true with a family that has cruised with them 3 times and has a fourth one booked for the future...

 

[TnRobin]

Ladies and gentlemen,

This thread is fast turning into a debate. If anyone had any additional information to help the original poster, please feel free to post. If not, please step back, take a breath and move on.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Originally posted by LadyLvsTramp
We had table 60 in the dining rooms and constantly were next to the stations as well as having trays carried over our heads from different directions constantly.

We were next to a serving station last cruise too and hated it. I felt like we were in their way and it just made our dining area feel so busy. Nothing like having someone standing and/or working right next to you as you're trying to enjoy a romantic meal with your husband.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I just read through all of the posts (didn't read them all before I posted). Wow. That's all I can say about the 'mood' of this thread.

I feel for you OP and sympathize with you for the troubles you've had with your last cruise.

#1 - I was not pleased with being sat next to the service station, either. Although (I think some other posters took this to an extreme), I understand the need for them. I think that maybe the layout of the service stations and tables could have been thought out a little bit better. It didn't completely ruin my dining experience, although if I had a choice of tables, one next to the kitchen doors or serving stations would not have been one of them. If I get a table like this again next time, then so be it. No big deal, I suppose. I didn't ruin my time, either.

#2 - As for the extra charges on our bill, we've only experienced this while still on the cruise. Never when we got home. They were always happy to deal with it and remove the charges. I am sure they'll do the same for you soon.

Best of luck, OP. Don't let some of these posters get you down. These boards are for expressing both GOOD and NOT-SO-GOOD experiences. We are happy to listen and understand. Disney isn't perfect and I think we all understand that.

 

[LadyLvsTramp]

Of course I expected some response anytime you post negatively about Disney you get lots of response but nothing like I got...perhaps I did not explain very well the first time why I was really upset. The seating was only one issue my husband hardly ever complains and did send a complaint to Disney by email on his own. The biggest concern he had was the trays being carried over top of us and all around us in close proximity. We were near several poles and it required our staff and others to pass closer to us than he was comfortable with. Since this could be a safety issue I would assume Disney would rather know about it than not. After all as my Husband pointed out we were on a moving ship not a statonary resturant and some movement is not always predictable. By the way we were and are very easy to accomidate as diners I have been a waitress and my son a waiter so we are not demanding at all have been there done that. On several occasions when we did require service a mistake was made by the server and the wrong thing was served. This was not just a complaint about the stations because I realize the stations are necessary for extras and as a place to set the plates while serving.

The second issue was not just the incorrect billing I think I was more upset about the arguments involved. We accepted the internet the first day and were offered a credit because it was not working for much of the cruise. We had a family member ill and wanted to keep in touch by internet. The credit was not given as offeredwe had to request it be reviewed after which were given the credit. We were offered bottles of water a case actually while at dinner. I felt this was because we do not drink and they noticed that right away. Because we were going to be on land and our children like to drink bottled water we agreed. The servers informed us the price was $20.00 this seemed like a very good deal for 24 bottles of water so we ordered. When it was delivered we were charged $24.99 and $4.50 for gratuity. All they did was bring it to the room I would have picked it up if allowed for $4.50. Well maybe I'm cheap but that seemed like alot just to deliver it. We always give our servers, cabin steward, etc. the tip suggested or above and do tip room service staff so I do not feel we are unfair and we appreciate them for thier service. When we got our final bill we were charged $24.99 plus the $4.50 gratuity. The water ended up being over thirty dollars. I disputed this charge and explained why guest services said they would talk to the dining room and get back to me. This was occuring the morning we are leaving the ship. We did not want to carry our lugage to breakfast with us as it is crowded as in the past cruises so we returned to our room to get it after eating. The phone rang it was the head diningroom server he proceeded to argue with me about the charge I explained it was our server who offered it and the price we were offered at the time. He said it was supposed to be $24.99 but he had asked the server and he verified he had offered it at $20.00 this was not our mistake and the gratuity was not disclosed at any rate either. He offered to return any of the water left (very tacky I thought) I was willing to pay what we had agreed to pay but he insisted they could not charge us the $20.00 and so would have to remove the charge completely. I really felt he was trying to embarass me for asking to be charged the amount we were told in the first place. Then upon returning home we are charged an additional $19.99 on the card we had registered. This took another 3 weeks to straighten out.
I agree you get more by being constructive but I have tried that and would like to constructively complain I would hate to see someone hurt by a tray loaded with 10 or 12 dinner plates and metal containers. I also did not feel it was constructive or necessary to have a staff member argue with me guest services could have handled that. We told them the truth and the server verified it. They should have issued the credit without me being third degreed by the head server. We had already given our tip envelopes but this was enough to make me want to take back the head servers if I could have.
We have cruised since the inaugural year and feel at any rate a difference in the quality of the cruise. We are also Vacation Club members at BWV and since Disney is more expensive than most of the other cruise lines perhaps it is time for us to give someone comparable a try. I am sorry to say "The Disney experience" is not an excuse for the poor service we recived. Even a more personal response would have been appreciated than have a magical time for your next cruise....

 

[Mjasp]

lady...Now I do understand your concern of where you were seated. It was a safety issue and NOT just where you were seated. Thanks for clearing that up, and do write the letter as they do need to be aware like your husband said, it is a floating vessel and anything can happen. I was seated by a station but NOT by a pole and there was plenty of room for them to pass, probably why I wasn't bothered by it.

Also, I didn't know DCL sells cases of water? Is that only because you didn't drink that they offered you a case of water?

Thanks
Joanna

 

[Michelle]

LadyLvsTramp, just FYI, ALL bottled water sold on the ship includes that 15% gratuity. It doesn't matter whether you buy it at a bar or they deliver it to your room. The gratuity is automatically included with ALL beverage purchases, unfortunately.

 

[LadyLvsTramp]

Well I did not know 15% is on all drinks since we do not drink and use the beverage station between meals. We have also taken cans of soda on board with us and that lasted the trip for extra soda. I do feel they offered us the water because we do not drink and they noticed that right away. We ordered soda and coffee with our meals. I feel Disney makes enough on all the extras without making it on water for goodness sakes!