RCCL Main Dining reached a new low

[rolloman]

Just got back from the Independence of the Seas. Great cruise (as usual) but my main seating dining was about as bad/sad as you can get. I will start by saying my wait staff was the worst I have ever had on any line in my life. The majority of the food was cold when served. Extremely slow service, for example one night we did not recieve our main course until 7:35 pm, I did not stick around for desert so I did the clean up crew for second seating a favor.

 

At least twice every evening a dish was not delivered that was asked for, or a dish not even ordered showed up. No bar service, the actual times I wanted a beer, I had to go outside the dining room and buy one at Boleros and then bring it back to my seat. And now for the lowest of lows..... on one particular night I ordered the 14.95 Chops steak medium rare and after an hour and twenty minutes they bring me a well done black angus sirloin steak off the anytime menu. I showed the waiter and the head waiter and challenged them to take it back to the kitchen and let me know if I was wrong or if indeed it was a filet medium rare. When they came back to the table they gave me my sea pass back, said sorry for their mistake and asked if I wanted to re-order. I declined. So as I sit here, I wonder just how many people are ordering the Filet and paying the up charge and actually not getting the Filet? One other funny note, I was sitting in the preferred seating right next to the Captains table, silly me for thinking they usually put their best staff in that area.

[gadaboutgal]

I would have been really upset with the waitstaff that you had and have gone to the Maitre D by the end of the first meal. No one should have to put up with continuously bad service.

[gerif]

I would have been really upset with the waitstaff that you had and have gone to the Maitre D by the end of the first meal. No one should have to put up with continuously bad service.

 

ITA - either the servers would have gotten their act together by the next night or there would have been different servers. No way would I have put up with that lack of service for an entire cruise.

[B-52]

Funny you should mention this.

 

My Boss and his family just got back from the Independence 3 weeks ago. He is a seasoned cruiser, 2-3 a year. This was his first time on RCL.

He said the food was lousy and will not sail RCL again.

[DonnaK]

Oh goodness...I wouldnt have been happy either. Without a doubt, I would have complained to the Maitre-d and asked for a table in a different section with a different wait team.

[LBcruzman]

That is a bummer, rolloman. I have seen the service/food decline over the last several years but your review is not a good sign. Sorry you had that experience, I hope it doesn't become commonplace.

[threeofus]

That bar service situation has gotten worse over the years. The last two cruises were were on we could NOT order a glass of wine.

One night I ordered a specialty coffee and it took about 20 minutes. The waiter finally admitted that he had to go to the latitudes to get it.:eek:

 

After a night or two we got a nice fresh glass of wine on our way out of the

CL - saved us aggravation and $$$. :D

 

Big mistake on their part.

[SandraLee]

ITA - either the servers would have gotten their act together by the next night or there would have been different servers. No way would I have put up with that lack of service for an entire cruise.

 

You would think so, but I just got back and boy . . . That dining room had some serious issues this cruise. We spoke with our Head Server the first or second day about it. He told us to 'be patient, we are still at the beginning of the week.' Well, the last night really pushed us over the edge.

 

It was my niece's birthday (18!) and ordered the strip steak that was on the menu. She also asked for ketchup while we were ordering. Can you believe she was told they were almost out of ketchup and the server would have to go look for it? We said we would go to Windjammers ourselves, if necessary. So, eventually, our steaks come out (three at the table). No ketchup. Two of the steaks were mixed (one med/well the other med/rare). The server proceeds to try and bring us all these other sauces that we told him we didn't want.

 

Eventually, she gets up and goes to Windjammer's to get the ketchup. The server did get around to bringing it, also, but by then, all the rest of the meals were stone cold. We talked w/ the Head Waiter. This would be the 2nd time we talked with him. (Of course, he didn't visit at all during the week). Finally, he asked what he could do for us. The three of us got steaks from Chops. They were pretty good, but took FOREVER.

 

On my way out, the Head Waiter caught up with me and wanted to be sure I 'understood' that there are problems sometimes and I should have brought up the problems to him earlier so he could take care of them. Hello? I did do that. Anyway, it was clear his main concern was that I didn't slam him on the comment cards. He told me more than a couple of times that was his report card as to how things were in the dining room. Unfortunately for him, I had already turned in the card.

 

And, I, too had to go to Boleros two nights to get a drink and bring it into the dining room. We also did figure out to order the wine the night before and that worked, but didn't work for my drink.

 

It was the worst dining room experience I've had on a cruise ship. I can only say I'm glad it wasn't my first time cruising.

[SandraLee]

ITA - either the servers would have gotten their act together by the next night or there would have been different servers. No way would I have put up with that lack of service for an entire cruise.

 

We tried to change our table. There was ABSOLUTELY no place to go. That ship was jammed packed solid with people.

 

rolloman . . . . What table number were you? We were 456. Funny if we had the same wait staff.

[sandm]

I have to agree about the Independence. We are just off the March 28 sailing and were at table 430. It was absolutely the worst service we have ever had and we are diamond members. We, like others here, never received main entrees or drinks on several occasions. . Were only offered bread/rolls one time during the meal and when we asked for more they promised but never delivered. The ship was full so there was no where to go.

Our waiter would deliver only one plate at a time and would constantly refer to a cheat sheet but still he would come up short and our food was cold by the time he got around to delivering everyones food. Our water glasses were not refilled. We had to borrow from the kids or send them to the bar to get a glass.

Everyone in my extended family were very disappointed with the dining room food and service so much so they all voted to try a new line for our next years trip. Everything else about the trip was great but the dining room service was so bad it really put a sour taste in our mouths about RCCL.

[Matti]

I'm sorry to hear that a bunch of you are having consistently bad service :(

 

It's funny, though, how much it varies from ship to ship. We had amazing service on Grandeur with none of the problems that are being described here. Actually, a lot of them were things that I noticed the waitstaff did very well. I'd think that things would be more consistent across the fleet :\

[rolloman]

We tried to change our table. There was ABSOLUTELY no place to go. That ship was jammed packed solid with people.

 

rolloman . . . . What table number were you? We were 456. Funny if we had the same wait staff.

 

We were table 379 3rd deck right next to the Captains table. I took notice of the 3 other tables my waitstaff had and I could tell by the looks of their hungry faces they were not happy either. As for switching tables... funny again because we had to switch tables on the first night because they sat some of our family at a seperate table on the first night, how this happend is beyond me as we were clearly all linked together in the system. Yet another bone head mistake by the staff. Thank god everything else on the cruise was excellent with great weather. A couple months ago I was on the new Celebrity Equinox and now off the almost new Independence, comparing the two, I believe I will stick with Celebrity going forward. If anything, the Elite status completely blows away Diamond status, those "NEW" coupon books are laughable.

[Ashland]

We were on the March 20th INDY sailing and after hearing about your complaints, consider ourselves lucky.....We had the first seating and table #577 with two of the best waitstaff we have had in a long time..sorry this was not the case for some of you...We were also in a great alcove area with a table for two by the window..Hope your next experience is better...

[SandraLee]

We were table 379 3rd deck right next to the Captains table. I took notice of the 3 other tables my waitstaff had and I could tell by the looks of their hungry faces they were not happy either. As for switching tables... funny again because we had to switch tables on the first night because they sat some of our family at a seperate table on the first night, how this happend is beyond me as we were clearly all linked together in the system. Yet another bone head mistake by the staff. Thank god everything else on the cruise was excellent with great weather. A couple months ago I was on the new Celebrity Equinox and now off the almost new Independence, comparing the two, I believe I will stick with Celebrity going forward. If anything, the Elite status completely blows away Diamond status, those "NEW" coupon books are laughable.

 

Ok, you confirm it . . . We also voted to try Celebrity next time, now I'm sure we'll give it a try.

[rolloman]

I have to agree about the Independence. We are just off the March 28 sailing and were at table 430. It was absolutely the worst service we have ever had and we are diamond members. We, like others here, never received main entrees or drinks on several occasions. . Were only offered bread/rolls one time during the meal and when we asked for more they promised but never delivered. The ship was full so there was no where to go.

Our waiter would deliver only one plate at a time and would constantly refer to a cheat sheet but still he would come up short and our food was cold by the time he got around to delivering everyones food. Our water glasses were not refilled. We had to borrow from the kids or send them to the bar to get a glass.

Everyone in my extended family were very disappointed with the dining room food and service so much so they all voted to try a new line for our next years trip. Everything else about the trip was great but the dining room service was so bad it really put a sour taste in our mouths about RCCL.

 

Interesting. I was going to give the benefit of the doubt because the ship is now on its way back to Europe and the crew seemed to be really focused on that. So with this info, it seems they just might need better management. They picked the wrong dude to pass the cheap steak off on as I have a long history of ordering and eating that steak. Unfortunately it will be something I will probably not forget. No one likes to be cheated or made a fool of.

[rolloman]

We were on the March 20th INDY sailing and after hearing about your complaints, consider ourselves lucky.....We had the first seating and table #577 with two of the best waitstaff we have had in a long time..sorry this was not the case for some of you...We were also in a great alcove area with a table for two by the window..Hope your next experience is better...

 

I will tell you we had a waiter named Alberto in the morning. The guy was awesome. Everyone said, man why couldnt we have had him the whole cruise. Unfortunately, he was and I repeat was the only bright spot out of many many wait staff we encountered. The guy this morning named Earlie.... major attitude issues as well. Oh well, not going to beat a dead horse, but the steak thing is inexcusable.

[Maraprince]

First, let me say I am very sorry to hear about your experiences. This will be my friend's first time with RCL. Considering he is a major investor in a private company that put up a lot of money for the Oasis, hopefully our experience on the EOS this October will be a good one. For me, it will be the 3rd time on the EOS.

 

If this had happened to me, the first night I would have complained to the Maitre'd. If it happened a second time, I would have first attempted to speak with him again with the request of either switching me to another wait staff or receiving a failing grade for the wait staff and him on the surveys. Failing any corrective action, I would have been at the Purser's Desk telling them of the problem and the steps I took to correct it and requesting some type of intervention (perhaps picking up the tab for eating in the extra charge venues).

 

No way would I have put up with for the entire cruise. Whether or not the ship was returning to Europe is no excuse for bad service. Either the staff does their jobs properly or they should be moved to other jobs that do not deal directly with the passengers.

 

MARAPRINCE

[aloha of the seas]

I hope you had not prepaid your tips

[CruiseSlacker]

I had the same problems with My Time Dining back in February. Glass not refilled. Long wait for main course and desserts. On the last night I was tired of waiting for the the waiter to take my order, I walked out and went to Portofino.

 

Dining room service was the only one that got unsatisfactory in the end-of-cruise survey.

[rolloman]

If this had happened to me, the first night I would have complained to the Maitre'd. If it happened a second time, I would have first attempted to speak with him again with the request of either switching me to another wait staff or receiving a failing grade for the wait staff and him on the surveys. Failing any corrective action, I would have been at the Purser's Desk telling them of the problem and the steps I took to correct it and requesting some type of intervention (perhaps picking up the tab for eating in the extra charge venues).

 

 

MARAPRINCE

 

I actually did speak to both Maitre'd about the situation and they were involved. As a matter of fact I have never seen a maitre'd work so hard in my life working the tables. The ship was packed, no tables to move to. I signed up for my time dining and the wait list was huge.

[negc]

First, let me say I am very sorry to hear about your experiences. This will be my friend's first time with RCL. Considering he is a major investor in a private company that put up a lot of money for the Oasis, hopefully our experience on the EOS this October will be a good one. For me, it will be the 3rd time on the EOS.

 

If this had happened to me, the first night I would have complained to the Maitre'd. If it happened a second time, I would have first attempted to speak with him again with the request of either switching me to another wait staff or receiving a failing grade for the wait staff and him on the surveys. Failing any corrective action, I would have been at the Purser's Desk telling them of the problem and the steps I took to correct it and requesting some type of intervention (perhaps picking up the tab for eating in the extra charge venues).

 

No way would I have put up with for the entire cruise. Whether or not the ship was returning to Europe is no excuse for bad service. Either the staff does their jobs properly or they should be moved to other jobs that do not deal directly with the passengers.

 

MARAPRINCE

Your suggestions are really the only way to properly deal with as bad a situation as the OP described. Perhaps we have been unusually fortunate in not having any experiences that even remotely resembled those described, but there is no excuse for bad service even on one occasion and certainly not on more than one occasion. The one occasion when we experienced poor service from a waiter and headwaiter, we quickly spoke to the Maitre'd and were moved to another table in the dining room where we had excellent service from everyone that we dealt with. I recently read something from Lisa Bauer which indicated that one of the unfortunate things that resulted from moving their best wait staff from other ships in the fleet to Oasis was the necessity to add inadequately trained new staff to those older ships with a resultant decline in passenger satisfaction. She claims that they have taken measures to weed out the poor performers and also indicated that they will not repeat their mistakes when staffing Allure. Time will tell if just how successful they will be. When Radiance of the Seas was first launched they staffed her with new and very inexperienced waiters and bar staff whose shortcomings were so obvious that the line took immediate measures to correct and improve the situation and within a short period of time the quality of service on that ship had risen dramatically. :)

[Pitbull1130]

To be honest I haven't eaten in the MDR in 4 cruises. It specialty or windjammer only...................

[J & G]

Ok, you confirm it . . . We also voted to try Celebrity next time, now I'm sure we'll give it a try.

 

Depending on the Celebrity ship, you may not get any better service. We did Select Dining (same as My Time Dining) on Celebrity Millennium in Feb and the service was atrocious! I ended up in tears by the third night, since we were with a group and I was the trip planner! It was AWFUL!

 

One night we missed a show we really wanted to see because dinner took 2 hours and 45 minutes (due to terrible, SLOW service!). The Maitre'd had the nerve to tell me, in the most condescending tone that, on a cruise ship, dinner often takes 2.5 hours or more, implying that it was fine dining and that I was ignorant for thinking that we should have received more prompt service.

 

All I can say is don't hope for a great improvement on =X=, if our 11 days on Millie is any indication!

[cruzincurt]

Whether or not the ship was returning to Europe is no excuse for bad service.

 

MARAPRINCE

We were on her first cruise after coming over from Europe and chalked up poor service and atmosphere to that. Apparently, nothing changed in the months she was serving the Caribbean.

[bluegirlum]

Based on our poor service on Majesty, we're only going to do one or two nights in the MDR on our upcoming Oasis cruise. The menu looks blah anyway, and I don't expect very good service. It's really too bad. We're not even going to bring formal clothes.