Declining Service in MDR?

[squirk]

I just got off the Wonder, and I can’t say I saw a decline in service. Our Lead was very good - probably our second-favorite Lead we’ve ever had. Our Assistant was quiet and reserved, but very nice and did her job well.

And no one gave the “excellent” speech, which was a definite plus.

After six cruises, the MDR menus are getting a little tired, but the food quality itself was as good as it always has been.

 

[slatterie]

I hope everyone is putting these comments down on the survey card at the end of the trip and as has been mentioned earlier keeping the food quality and service as separate issues. I think between this topic and the lack of dinner buffet option thread DCL really needs to look at how they do dinners. Things have changed considerably - some people want a bit more flexibility in their dining. I realize the ships are not designed for any real flexibility because the MDR is a combo of "fancy" food, service and a show. If the staff has been cut, DCL must have drunk the Chapek "cut everything" Kool-Aid. Sad because according to what I am reading above and my own personal experience it is hurting what used to be a great experience. Just not sure what the solution would be, but curious to see what the upcoming Wish has to offer. Food quality and type of food is a different discussion.

 

[Stratus22]

Guess I'm the minority in this group. I like the food, I love the CM's and to be honest, I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. I go on these cruises not expecting much. I go to relax, not have to cook and to forget any stresses back home. Rushed?!?!...sure the CM's are rushed. If you are first seating, they have the second seating to prepare for. But again, I go on VACATION to get away from having to do anything. Can't wait for my next cruise!!

 

[vetrik]

We have had serving teams that do magic tricks, origami and brain teasers for the kids. Sometimes they have some trivia that they might bring up. I think we had one server made a mouse or something similar by folding up a cloth napkin and then made it look like it was jumping out of his arms when he held it. These used to be the kinds of things that we looked forward to as well as chatting with the server here and there during the meal.

On our last 2 cruises, we haven't seen anything like described above. As others have said, they were mostly rushed with getting food and drinks for all of their tables.

We were on the 2/14 Dream Cruise, and our servers did all of this. It was our first Disney cruise, so I can’t compare it to any others, but the MDR and our serving team were a top highlight of the whole trip. My kids absolutely loved them, and we laughed so hard every night. I had been on Norwegian before, and our experience made me prefer the assigned dining over the Freestyle approach. Although they didn’t mention the survey to us, we made sure to mention how wonderful they were.

However, it did seem inconsistent between serving teams - we may have gotten lucky because some people in our cruise group posted about being unhappy with the service they received.

 

[jeffann6]

In my opinion if DCL wants to keep commanding top dollar for their cruises then the quality of service should be at Disney standards, even the little things matter. Honestly the same thing is happening with WDW. Prices keep going up and the level of service is going down.

 

[gomagic]

Without going into detail, there have been a lot of changes in the past year that affect the servers. The pressure DCL puts on them is unreal especially with the guest survey and how they have used the ratings for evaluation and the end it is causing what can be seen as large turnover in CM's especially in the MDR's. I know for a fact that one ship for has been short staffed in the MDR for awhile now due to resignations during contracts and while on vacation enough so that CM's have been asked to volunteer to come back early from vacation.

 

[Lisa F]

People always think their experience is a trend.

Disney is made up of individuals - some better at their job than others. I don't think there is a trend in declining service, but I do think that familiarity can breed contempt and the more cruises you take the more your chances are mathematically to run into someone not as great at their job. Also things just shine less the more times you do them.

Best trip of my life was in 2014 when I took my 6 year old kiddo after a 5 year break following divorce - I've owned DVC for 20 years and have seen more posts than I can count about how Disney is going down the tubes over the last 20 years. I've taken trips every 2 years since then and now am ready for a break again - it doesn't shine like it did 6 years ago for me and I ran into that a few times over my two decades of owning at DVC so I recognize what I am feeling.

My last cruise before my 2018 cruise was 2005 and the cruise line was as good or better than I remembered it. Just got off a 7 night cruise on the Fantasy and it was even better than the 4 night 2 years prior. But I bet if I had been taking yearly cruises every year since 2005 I would have had a different perception.

We had really good servers on both but no one I've ever seen coveted here as a superstar. As good as I remember them in 2005. We are pretty low key though and have been lucky enough to get servers who were just right in the attentiveness level. I'm not looking for more family, but it's nice to feel a little pampered. On both cruises they also did tricks and puzzles with my son.

 

[Jkpark]

For someone like me who didn’t start sailing with DCL until 2017 and has only been on 3 cruises (on 3 different ships) it is hard to make direct comparisons. Our least favorite was on the Magic in 2018/19 (NYE cruise) but they certainly weren’t bad enough to negatively affect our cruise experience. Our best by far was on the Dream in April ‘19. I’ll be back on the Wonder in a few weeks for the first time since 2017 so it will be interesting to compare our experience (wasn’t particularly thrilled with our team in 2017 but they were fine).

I was on that Magic sailing!

My first ever DCL cruise provided my best ever serving team. 7 night Fantasy and we were a group of 8 with 4 kids under 7-10. It set the bar VERY high. Next cruise, also on the Fantasy team, serving team was adequate, and the asst. was pretty good but not overly impressed. Then we did a 3 night dream where everything seemed more rushed so no harsh judgment on our serving team. Next was Alaska on the Wonder and our server was rushed to the point of just being rude. It was our first shared table with people we didn't know and some of the other teen girls had difficulty deciding on food, and would barely eat it when it arrived - he seemed annoyed. No drinks waiting for the kids even though they drank the same thing every night. No recommendations. No offer of - you can try both. And if my husband asked he again seemed put out. They were REALLY slow. Late dining and we were never out of there by 10. I wasn't sure how much was due to our table mates and how much was just that team, but on our next cruise - also the Wonder - we specifically asked to not have him again, which I had never done before. That team was good but nothing to write home about. Last cruise was the New Years Magic and I loved our team. It helped a ton to know it is somewhat luck of the draw. Some teams match our family better than others and it isn't just a constant downhill from our first cruise (although I would take Sergio and Vaz in a heartbeat)

 

[MomOTwins]

Our main server on the Fantasy last November was a superstar. Spot-on recommendations, immediately swapped out food if we made the foolhardy mistake of ordering something he didn't recommend and were not wowed by it, brought a repeat of my favorite dessert from another restaurant without us asking, puzzles galore, great with our kids, and just tons of personality and solicitousness. I note he did ask us near the start of the cruise about pacing and whether we preferred to get in and out of dinner faster or take our time, and we said we prefer a leisurely meal, so maybe that is why we never felt rushed.

I also wonder if some of the "rushed" aspect may have to do with cold and flu season. Our original assistant server became ill on day 2 of our 7 day cruise and was kept in his cabin for the remainder of our cruise. We had a replacement assistant server (who did seem very busy, but Johnny our main server filled in the gaps). It did make me feel good about DCL's health policies though--someone who is sick should not be handling people's drinks for sure, so glad they gave him time for a full recovery. But I could see how a side effect is that you wind up short staffed in the dining room and that would only get worse as flu season progressed.

 

[disneyholic family]

We were on the Disney Magic in July, 2019 and had the BEST servers we've ever had.
They were simply outstanding.
All 3, the head server, server and assistant server.
They went way above and beyond anything we've ever experienced on any of our cruises, both Disney and Royal.

And the food was delicious as well (much much better than our last two royal cruises).
I guess what they say is true. Your mileage may vary.

.

 

[mmouse37]

We just got back from the 2/8-2/15 Fantasy and this is the first time in 10 cruises that I felt awkward with our dining room team. They weren't bad, they just were rushed, or they made themselves rushed. We would sit there with dirty plates for quite a while and no drink refills. They did not interact with us on any kind of a personal level. It was really off-putting and we ended up not attending dinner on three of the nights because I did not feel like sitting there feeling uncomfortable. We did dine in Cabanas one night and other than the annoying lady behind us, had a marvelous meal with a great server!

We were on the Fantasy 2/1 to 2/8 and we felt it was one of our better dining experiences. Our serving team was great and they interacted with us, were funny, refills came promptly...all the boxes were ticked. I feel bad hearing that people had less than great service.

Could servers have other things on their minds like this Coronavirus stuff, worrying about family back home? Just trying to think why so many seem to have distracted servers lately.

MJ

 

[mmouse37]

We were in the 2/8 Fantasy on our 5th DCL voyage and had the best service we've ever had. We prefer 2nd seating, not sure if that matters at all. Akshay and Bob were fantastic. I will say there were many empty tables in our area several nights, so maybe we were able to get more personal service. He gave us port advice, showed us magic tricks and mental games. We were thoroughly entertained and served quickly. I guess it just depends on your team.

We had Akshay on the 2/1 Fantasy!!! He had a different assistant server than Bob but both were wonderful!!

MJ

 

[CaseyCruiser]

We were on the Wonder 1-19. Our server and assistant server were great. The food and wine were excellent. Our server has been with DCL since 1999. I guess we got lucky? Palo was also excellent.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Guess I'm the minority in this group. I like the food, I love the CM's and to be honest, I wouldn't want to be in their shoes. I go on these cruises not expecting much. I go to relax, not have to cook and to forget any stresses back home. Rushed?!?!...sure the CM's are rushed. If you are first seating, they have the second seating to prepare for. But again, I go on VACATION to get away from having to do anything. Can't wait for my next cruise!!

Thank you. I thought it was just me. I don't go on a vacation to compare to other cruises or past CM's. I live in the day. Why set yourself up for disappointment? We've been pitched the survey every time but people need to remember that it is part of their job. I'm sure they don't like it any more than you do. Why get upset over it? It's just words Listen to them for the 2 seconds and then carry on. People complain if they don't socialize. Others complain that they are and want privacy. They can't win. Service and food quality can vary here at home, too. As long as I am not making my bed and cooking on vacation then life is good. We've never been disappointed on a DCL cruise. For that matter, any cruise.

 

[Mickey of the Villages]

on our last cruise -Wonder last November for Panama, we had Mladen from Serbia as our server. He has been on the Wonder many years, and he is awesome. We had a great service team.

We sailed on the Wonder out of Galveston in January of 2019 and Mladen was our server in Palo. His wife Susannah was our assistant server! He was terrific (tall) and she was brilliant (tall too). I'm short and believe talls should marry talls. Anyway, we sailed again in January of this year and they retired from DCL after many years but Susannah's brother works as a server. Fun!!!

 

[Mickey of the Villages]

We just returned from our 10th cruise and have to say I was a little disappointed in our service team. We're not high maintenance by any means, but it was disappointing. The service team seemed rushed and unhappy. That along with the countless speeches on the survey made for a rather awkward and uncomfortable dining experience. We have friends going with us next year, and after raving about our previous DCL experiences, I hope they're not disappointed.

Congratulations on becoming Platinum. You can now get the fancy lanyard! My wife and I are one cruise away so until then I will be jealous of you (in the best possible way). I hear what you are saying about servers and interactions with the cruisers. One thing to consider is that they are living the cruise. I mean they live at their job. It must make for unusual dynamics. Given the constantness of the work on the ships I think folks do pretty well.

Still, I get it, enough with the excellent on the survey already.

 

[DisBNewB]

I find this thread so interesting, and want to echo a few people who've posted recently saying that it's often so subjective, and there are so many things that affect service. (I also definitely would not want to be in their shoes! And will take the tip that somebody gave a few days ago about letting them know up front that you'll give them a good review, no need to hassle us for it.)

We've only been on one cruise thus far, and we ADORED our service team. We felt like they really were personable and connected with us, our dinners weren't fast, but we didn't expect them to be, and everything came out in a timely manner, we never felt like we were waiting overly long for something, etc. However, in my cruise group was a couple that had the same service team on the same rotation and seating, and they thought the service team was awful. Slow, not personable, etc. We did have kids at our table while they didn't, so it's possible that that was part of it, but I always find it interesting how many people can have vastly different experiences at the same time.

 

[dclpluto]

Yes the service is going downhill on dcl from the servers. Still love DCL and probably always will. At my last character breakfast. I know it’s not your service team but it’s still the servers. Never got my toast I asked for and I asked for ketchup. The server came with the ketchup after I was done eating and he still wanted to put it on my plate. LOL. Also if your not a coffee drinker you have to wait a long time for your drinks during the character breakfast.

At dinner drinks are left empty for a long period of time.

 

[mom2brooke76]

Our servers are always a little detached with us - I assume because we have no children and request our own table so we may seem like we want alone time. I've been enjoying it less and less as we cruise because I also like different things on the menu and they've mostly stuck with their dishes for as long as we've been cruising (I'll never forget you, baked Alaska!).

This cruise was the first time we not only got the survey spiel from our server and head server AND host, but also had both servers stress over and over that if you comment on the food being poor that reflects badly on them as they could have gotten us something else. Trading an overcooked filet of salmon for overcooked pork isn't going to solve anything... I even had some very overdone seafood in Palo this time which was much more shocking. A couple of cruises ago I requested the curry they can bring out as I had heard how good it was, but honestly it was very generic - kind of like canned spaggheti o's of masala. Unless the servers can pull a Remy and bring out something on a whim thats different, delicious and has a better ratio of vegetables to protein its not going to help matters. But then, you also can't just NOT fill out the survey either as that also reflects poorly on them... I hate the survey. There I said it.

I was shocked that our first Carnival in January had baked Alaska! And it was a 3 night cruise!

 

[MillauFr]

In my opinion if DCL wants to keep commanding top dollar for their cruises then the quality of service should be at Disney standards, even the little things matter. Honestly the same thing is happening with WDW. Prices keep going up and the level of service is going down.

There has been no decline on the Wonder. However that ship does attract the best cast members. I was not impressed by the servers on the Dream