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Crew and Service


Les Picantins
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Some time ago there was a lot of talk about the slip in service on the O-class ships after the launch of The Encore. This was assumed to be due to the more seasoned staff being selected for her inaugurational season.

 

That said, I have just come off a cruise on The Viking Star and I think I know what's happening to many of our favorite familiar faces. What's worse (or better, depending on who you talk to) is that they are not finished launching new ships. The captain on the Star boasted a total of 10 ships (including the present ones) in 8 years. Yikes

 

According to the echos, the crew is earning 20% more, working less and even have their own swimming pool! Obviously they are not filling all of their staff requirements with former Seabourn crew but also from Crystal, Silversea etc. I even bumped into Karl Eckl while on board. He is no longer hotman but is now overseeing the whole fleet. Everyone seems so happy, it's like the "Stepford Wives".

 

So that's the problem, now we need solutions to keep our people happy. While the situation should mostly be handled internally, we as passengers can do our part by remembering that there is a "Crew Welfare Fund". The CWF is a global tipping jar that was created to improve the conditions of the staff.

 

While Viking Ocean is a great product, it's still not Seabourn. Let's try to keep it that way.

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You are stating the obvious. It's SB's job to keep happy employees, not the their customers. All is not golden at Viking as many crew work one contract and return to where they came from. One difference is if they return to SB they will find a different crew versus those returning to Crystal. Crew retention has been higher on Crystal.

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Some time ago there was a lot of talk about the slip in service on the O-class ships after the launch of The Encore. This was assumed to be due to the more seasoned staff being selected for her inaugurational season.

 

That said, I have just come off a cruise on The Viking Star and I think I know what's happening to many of our favorite familiar faces. What's worse (or better, depending on who you talk to) is that they are not finished launching new ships. The captain on the Star boasted a total of 10 ships (including the present ones) in 8 years. Yikes

 

According to the echos, the crew is earning 20% more, working less and even have their own swimming pool! Obviously they are not filling all of their staff requirements with former Seabourn crew but also from Crystal, Silversea etc. I even bumped into Karl Eckl while on board. He is no longer hotman but is now overseeing the whole fleet. Everyone seems so happy, it's like the "Stepford Wives".

 

So that's the problem, now we need solutions to keep our people happy. While the situation should mostly be handled internally, we as passengers can do our part by remembering that there is a "Crew Welfare Fund". The CWF is a global tipping jar that was created to improve the conditions of the staff.

 

While Viking Ocean is a great product, it's still not Seabourn. Let's try to keep it that way.

 

The loss of Karl was a bog blow to Seabourn. Not many people are indispensable but imo he was.

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  • 4 weeks later...
You are stating the obvious. It's SB's job to keep happy employees, not the their customers. All is not golden at Viking as many crew work one contract and return to where they came from. One difference is if they return to SB they will find a different crew versus those returning to Crystal. Crew retention has been higher on Crystal.
We sailed Viking last Fall, not impressed. They are expanding so fast that the service was poor and while a beautiful ship it was rather boring.
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No donations to a Crew Welfare Fund could possibly affect decisions crew members make about where to work. Last September, the executive chef on the Encore talked to us about what he is doing to ensure that his kitchen staff is happy. He said it is very important that they are happy every day at work because so many new ships are being launched and there are many places experienced staff can go. So he said he was trying to ensure that the work atmosphere on the Encore is relaxed and happy.

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Competition is good.

It keeps cruise fares down, and standards high. No cruise line should be complacent about service, maintenance, food or itineraries.

Staff retention is always difficult when cruiselines with big build outs need experienced staff ASAP,

Seabourn is feeling the stress internally with the staffing of Encore/Ovation, but the external pressure of lines like Viking makes it even more difficult. Some of the larger lines are expanding their premium Suite offerings as in the new Celebrity Edge class.

Oh, and soon there will be the Ritz Carlton line.....

They all need experienced staff......

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Competition is good.

It keeps cruise fares down, and standards high. No cruise line should be complacent about service, maintenance, food or itineraries.

Staff retention is always difficult when cruiselines with big build outs need experienced staff ASAP,

Seabourn is feeling the stress internally with the staffing of Encore/Ovation, but the external pressure of lines like Viking makes it even more difficult. Some of the larger lines are expanding their premium Suite offerings as in the new Celebrity Edge class.

Oh, and soon there will be the Ritz Carlton line.....

They all need experienced staff......

Yes, we were on Viking last Fall, the service was not up to our expectations. We feel they are expanding to fast and even with crews from other brands Viking did not seem to be training the crew well. Very impersonal service and slow in the MDR. Even had a waiter forget where I was sitting in an uncrowded bar ( bar tender told us later) and the waiter did not bring my drink! :confused:We were charged for the drink, next day customer service removed the charge.
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