Could this be a reason for decline in service?

[wild0826]

I have not been on a cruise for almost 2 years. I will be sailing on Liberty in August. I have read on these boards lately that many things have changed. For instance I have heard of decline in service for the dining room especially(food quality and service) I know this is subjective but I cannot judge until I myself experience it. I came across this article on the RCI website. Here is a part of the article. Do you think this could be a valid reason or not? Any opinions?

 

Last year we had a few challenges to our dining room service. We had almost the entire Oasis start up team come from existing ships, so we had to back fill the open positions with mostly new hires across the fleet. Because our Food & Beverage team is the largest onboard, the influx of so many new hires had an impact on our service until the new staff got into the routine onboard.

We’ve recently launched a fleetwide “We Service Incredible” contest to the dining room staff to have an increase in training and focus on really delivering the wow in the dining room. In addition, we also have put into place new timing and training so that when we staff Allure, it doesn’t have the same impact across the fleet.

[cb at sea]

While we HAVE experienced a decline in food quality and selection, we've never had a problem with the service.

[krisko]

I've read that the food on Oasis has been mostly great so this could be a reason for the decline elsewhere. When you sail Oasis, you've got to figure that RCI's best people in all areas are on board.

[critterchick]

We Service Incredible? What on earth does that mean, LOL?

 

I'm sure Oasis staffing had a huge impact on every department on other ships, not just the dining rooms.

 

But we saw plenty of decline before then - for example, in 2006 we had an assistant waiter from China who had been with the line for two weeks - her English was minimal and her training must have been as well. She tried her best, but didn't understand even the basics of service - allowing a customer to pick a bread (she just dropped something random onto the bread plate), bringing hot water for the tea bags, etc. And we've also seen more duties piled on the waitstaff to the point that they are just food flingers - no time to chat, no time to make sure everything is in order. And the wine service - don't get me started.

 

I'd also like to see We Cook Incredible (although it makes me cringe to see that slogan, LOL). All the service in the world isn't going to make up for some of the food we've seen lately.

[Bakincakes]

Don't blame the newer ships.

 

RCI has been on a decline for awhile now.

 

The service is usually adequate but the food quality had definately suffered over the years.

 

I know newer cruisers hate to hear that things have gone downhill but those of us who have been cruising for years have noticed and do have the right to mourn what used to be SOP on cruises.:(

 

RCI probably pulled many of their premier staff for the Oasis to make an impression on pax.

 

Does that mean the rest of the ships are left with the "second stringers"?

 

Time will tell...

[wild0826]

We Service Incredible? What on earth does that mean, LOL?

 

I'm sure Oasis staffing had a huge impact on every department on other ships, not just the dining rooms.

 

But we saw plenty of decline before then - for example, in 2006 we had an assistant waiter from China who had been with the line for two weeks - her English was minimal and her training must have been as well. She tried her best, but didn't understand even the basics of service - allowing a customer to pick a bread (she just dropped something random onto the bread plate), bringing hot water for the tea bags, etc. And we've also seen more duties piled on the waitstaff to the point that they are just food flingers - no time to chat, no time to make sure everything is in order. And the wine service - don't get me started.

 

I'd also like to see We Cook Incredible (although it makes me cringe to see that slogan, LOL). All the service in the world isn't going to make up for some of the food we've seen lately.

 

We Cook incredible now that made me laugh. I do not know what is "We Service Incredible" at all. I was wondering the same thing. As I said I haven't cruise since 2008, so I cannot judge about anything. When I last went the food was great and so was the service, so it will be interesting to see if by the time I go things are the same or different.

[BecciBoo]

Will wonders never cease! For once I agree with Bakincakes!

The service is adequate. But there are exceptions such as the impeccable and thoroughly professional service by our waiter Viocchoslav this past Voyager cruise. I don't think we have ever had the level of service he gave us on any ship in the fleet. He was Romanian I believe.

But the food quality, which IMHO has nothing to do with staffing for Oasis, has declined sharply within the last 5 years. There are still some stellar dishes around, like the prime rib, breads, duck and lamb among others, but most everything else has been down graded or done away with altogether. We are still happy with our dining experience, but if something isn't done soon, that may change:(

[wild0826]

It is nice to hear everyone's opinions so far. I know there are many of you have that seen decline, because I have read many posts about this lately. It is interesting to know that RCI actually sees this decline. The real reason is are they making excuses and plan to fix it, or if they really feel this is why. I hope that if it is a problem they do something about it. They should realize that they have many loyal customers and it is in everyone's interest if they provide quality service. I can't wait until August for Liberty. I know I will enjoy myself, but it will be interesting to see the difference in service, if there is any at that time. Either way I always look for the silver lining and enjoy the heck out of my vacation. I run a daycare and I rarely get vacations. Looking so forward to this one.

[BecciBoo]

You will love Liberty, so far my favorite ship. And I too, always make lemonade out of the lemons that are served me:D

Be sure to go to the Cruise Director's office door around the corner from the Champagne Bar on Deck 5 and read what's on the wall there:D Throw her a kiss for me will you?

[depplep]

The service really hasn't changed in my opinion, but the quality of food has to the extent that we choose to eat at JR's or in the Promenade instead of the main dining room. Windjammer is a VERY last alternative.

[wild0826]

You will love Liberty, so far my favorite ship. And I too, always make lemonade out of the lemons that are served me:D

 

Be sure to go to the Cruise Director's office door around the corner from the Champagne Bar on Deck 5 and read what's on the wall there:D Throw her a kiss for me will you?

 

 

I will make sure I do. Now you have me interested what is on the wall there??? Lol

[GOIN2C]

The service really hasn't changed in my opinion, but the quality of food has to the extent that we choose to eat at JR's or in the Promenade instead of the main dining room. Windjammer is a VERY last alternative.

 

We have always found the food in the windjammer to be very good. Especially at dinner time in place of the main dining room The selection is great and the Jade section is excellent if you like oriental food. On formal nights I prefer to eat in the Windjammer. THe menu is the same and the service is excellent because it is not that busy. The staff goes out of their way to see you have an enjoyable experience. Again this is my opinion

[sunandsnow]

We were just on the Liberty 3/21. We found the service very good everywhere on the ship. We had late traditional dining. Our waiter was wonderful. Our assistant waiter apparently left the ship in Costa Maya (homesick). We had a newbie asst. waiter. You could tell he was just learning but it didn't bother us. Our waiter made up for everything. He's been with RCCL for 10 years. Our room steward was also very good. On the last day, he was not able to service our room in the evening (he was very apologetic - again didn't bother us). He had 16 staterooms total and we never saw anyone helping him (that we were aware of). I think that may be a difference. Any cruise we've been on there has usually been someone assisting the room steward. My twin sons felt bad for him because he had been so nice so they made their own beds and did their own version of towel animals on the beds (smiley faces out of towels). When he saw what they did it put a smile on his face. I felt the food was very good but there is a difference in the menu selection from past cruises. Over the years, between the different cruiselines we have also noticed a decrease in the buffets by the pools, midnight buffets, etc. Overall, cruising is still a great price for the product and service that you get. We were very impressed with the service on Liberty. You will have a great time!

[toxicfairy]

I am so dissapointed we have not cruied in 2 years (we now have 2 booked :)). I recently saw a thread with a menu for the FOS which we will be on in August. We sailed FOS in August of 2006 and the food was to die for. The menu now looks... well .... it seems like it's all pork and Fish. Am I wrong? did I see the wrong menu?? I really am not a sea food person other than crab or lobster. It just didn't seem very appealing. Am I wrong please tell me I am. Also our 2 teenage daughters will be with us and I am wondering how they will like it. We always do the MDR. We like the atmosphere and getting dressed up for dinner. I am NOT very picky but it just didn't seem to look as good as I remember?

[negc]

I am so dissapointed we have not cruied in 2 years (we now have 2 booked :)). I recently saw a thread with a menu for the FOS which we will be on in August. We sailed FOS in August of 2006 and the food was to die for. The menu now looks... well .... it seems like it's all pork and Fish. Am I wrong? did I see the wrong menu?? I really am not a sea food person other than crab or lobster. It just didn't seem very appealing. Am I wrong please tell me I am. Also our 2 teenage daughters will be with us and I am wondering how they will like it. We always do the MDR. We like the atmosphere and getting dressed up for dinner. I am NOT very picky but it just didn't seem to look as good as I remember?

 

Don't judge the food by just reading a menu or two. There are usually a variety of meat and fish options including a very good slow roasted prime rib on some evenings and you won't be confined to choosing from only pork or fish. Beef, pork, lamb and chicken are spread throughout the menus on different days and while some may object to the extra charge for the Chops style steak ($14.95) we have found it to be excellent and worth the added cost if you don't choose to eat at Chops one evening. Daily menus are posted outside the dining room every day so you can see what is available in advance and plan accordingly. It has also been my experience that it is the skill of the chefs who prepare or oversee the preparation of the menu items that has the most effect on the quality of the meals you are served, not the creative abilities of those who write the menus.

[dougp26364]

I have not been on a cruise for almost 2 years. I will be sailing on Liberty in August. I have read on these boards lately that many things have changed. For instance I have heard of decline in service for the dining room especially(food quality and service) I know this is subjective but I cannot judge until I myself experience it. I came across this article on the RCI website. Here is a part of the article. Do you think this could be a valid reason or not? Any opinions?

 

Last year we had a few challenges to our dining room service. We had almost the entire Oasis start up team come from existing ships, so we had to back fill the open positions with mostly new hires across the fleet. Because our Food & Beverage team is the largest onboard, the influx of so many new hires had an impact on our service until the new staff got into the routine onboard.

We’ve recently launched a fleetwide “We Service Incredible” contest to the dining room staff to have an increase in training and focus on really delivering the wow in the dining room. In addition, we also have put into place new timing and training so that when we staff Allure, it doesn’t have the same impact across the fleet.

 

 

 

We went two years between cruises. I had been reading these forums and was wondering how bad it would be.

 

Honestly, I didn't see any difference. There were areas of strength and areas where they were a little weak but, it wasn't any different than any previous cruise on RCI.

 

Food is extremely subjective and it seems to vary from ship to ship. Our last cruise we thought the food was very good. The two previous cruises some two and three yeas ago.....not so much.

 

It's very easy for people to post about their negative experiences, especially in the dining room. For the most part we don't worry about it. RCI has been pretty consistant through most phases of the cruise experience.

[bluegirlum]

We have always found the food in the windjammer to be very good. Especially at dinner time in place of the main dining room The selection is great and the Jade section is excellent if you like oriental food. On formal nights I prefer to eat in the Windjammer. THe menu is the same and the service is excellent because it is not that busy. The staff goes out of their way to see you have an enjoyable experience. Again this is my opinion

 

I agree. We actually liked the food in the WJ on Majesty and Liberty better than the MDR and didn't have to worry about mediocre service, which is what we got on Majesty. Mediocre. We don't ask for a lot, but it was really bad. Eating at the WJ and JR was just easier and the food was better.

[wild0826]

Well I am counting down the days until Liberty can't wait. My son is excited also because he turns 13 next week and will be in the teen clubs.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

We sailed Oasis in December 2009 and Navigator of the Seas in January 2010. We have never had better service in the dining room than on Navigator so the idea that now all the crew on non-Oasis ships are second stringers now is just wrong.

 

Plus we had the best service in Portofino on Navigator that we have ever had on any RCI ship. I just didn't see anything lacking on Navigator. Of course, every cruise has its few misfits who do not know the concept of service and are not cut out for the cruise industry. But as a whole, I just don't buy the idea that RCI has declined on non-Oasis ships because they are staffing with second stringers.

 

Also, keep in mind that many cruise lines have launched or will soon launch their own meg-ships. They too would be experiencing staffing problems similar to RCI, if, indeed, there is such a problem.

[wild0826]

We sailed Oasis in December 2009 and Navigator of the Seas in January 2010. We have never had better service in the dining room than on Navigator so the idea that now all the crew on non-Oasis ships are second stringers now is just wrong.

 

Plus we had the best service in Portofino on Navigator that we have ever had on any RCI ship. I just didn't see anything lacking on Navigator. Of course, every cruise has its few misfits who do not know the concept of service and are not cut out for the cruise industry. But as a whole, I just don't buy the idea that RCI has declined on non-Oasis ships because they are staffing with second stringers.

 

Also, keep in mind that many cruise lines have launched or will soon launch their own meg-ships. They too would be experiencing staffing problems similar to RCI, if, indeed, there is such a problem.

 

You say that you do not believe that they have declined at all? I do not know since it has been a while since I cruised, but this is what RCI is saying themselves. It was posted on their web page. So do you think that they are making excuses? They themselves said that Oasis took crew from all over the fleet so they had to replace staff with newbies. I am glad that your experiences have been great. I know mine will.

[klingoncruiser]

Maybe it is me, but I have found that the food quality has come UP over the last few years. The quality of the beef certainly has risen. Service is still pretty good, but they are stretched too thin in the main dining. ALL the cruise lines are going backwards.

[sunshine 229]

"We serve incredible", but we don't speak the English so good? :D

 

I wonder who thought up that fantastic slogan.