Quality of Service / Big Ship compared to small?

[Col1874]

Good Afternoon All,

 

I have a question that I'd like to ask those who have cruised on several RCCL ships.

 

I have only been on Independence, and I feel that the quality of service was pretty poor and the whole 10 days seemed like we were being targetted by sales people (Photographers, Jewelery, Handbags etc)

 

My wife and the in-laws were on Splendour 5 years ago, and they all agree that it was a whole different experience. It was a more enjoyable holiday and they felt like royalty for the week.

 

So, what I want to know, is, do you lot think that the service goes downhill if you chose a larger ship, or is that just nonsense?

[marci22]

I don't think it necessarily goes downhill, but it seems to get more impersonal. (not sure if that is the best term)

[jmraggs]

I am not sure how to really answer this since as we have received great service and poor service on both small and large ships. Freedom was absolutely the worst service we have ever had in 2006, but it was only out 2 months and maybe they hadn't figured out how to deal with the larger crowds yet. Liberty in 2007 was one of the best cruises that we have had with service; both are large ships of the same class.

 

We have had great service on the smaller Majesty and once it was terrible, but we talked to the Head Waiter and we received a new Wait Team which was fantastic and we couldn't have asked for any more from them. A lot of it is not so much the ship, but the person waiting on you as some are better than others and IMO it's a crap shoot.

 

It's interesting on what you said about IOS, we did a B2B on her this past March (14 nights) and never noticed anything that you just mentioned about being targeted by sales people, was this in Europe? Our cruise was East/West Caribbean.

[cb at sea]

The larger ships simply have more opportunity for sales...more "upcharge" stuff than the smaller ships.

And, on the smaller ships, the staff seems to notice the passengers as individuals more than on the behemoths....on the large ships, you may see another person only once during the entire cruise...smaller ships, you'll be running into the same folks all week!

I think it's easier for the staff to think of you as a "guest" on the smaller capacity ships!

[Aquahound]

No matter the size of the ship, I always tend to find my favorite hang-out spot. From the Majesty to the Oasis, I have received nothing but excellent and personal service.

 

Just an example, on my recent Oasis cruise, Eugenio (Eugene) at the Solarium Bar and Molly at the Schooner Bar were not only personable and gave great service, but they also took the time to talk to us and get to know each other.

 

The other sales hawking stuff, like photographs, etc, exists on every single ship.

[goouchjac]

We were on the Indy last year (eastern carib) and found the service to be just fine,,,no problems with hawking,,just have to say no as soon as you see them coming at you:D.. We used MTD and requested the same table every night and that was really fun with the waiters and bus boy,,,they were quite entertaining....

[cruisegirl1]

We’ve always had good service on any ship.

 

I’ve never felt targeted by salespeople on any cruise, large or small. Sure, we’ve had particular staff better or worse on any particular ship but ship size was not the issue.

 

We do not find any staff pushy – except maybe for the bingo announcements. As for the photographers, a simple, “no thank you” will suffice it you don’t want a photo taken. We have NEVER felt targeted by any clerk pushing their product. They approach you as you enter the ship store (as they should) and generally leave you alone.

 

Sorry you had an unpleasant experience.

 

 

M