Questions About MDR Service

[erewhon]

Just off the Volendam and I experienced the worst MDR service ever. This was a 34 day cruise and I was seated at a table for ten with nine of the best table mates in the world. In addition to our table, the servers had an eight top and a six top to handle. This was fixed early seating (a choice I had never made before and will never make again).

 

It seems that for some reason I was the designated orphan. Wrong orders or an entree forgotten entirely, requested cappuccino never arrives or arrives just as everyone is leaving the table. Until the table decided to wait until 6:00 before ordering, orders were taken as each one arrived and that meant someone was enjoying their soup while someone else was being served dessert. That way, at least we could be served together and if someone was late they suffered the consequences.

 

Now for the nitpicking. Our servers neglected to help me get seated. As you know those chairs are heavy and it is not easy to get close to the table without help. Presentation was also slipshod. We know the training these people go through so It was surprising when the HAL logo ended up at two o'clock. I admit - nitpicking, but it is an indication of how the "Signature of Excellence" has slipped.

 

Now, who is to blame? I have to blame HAL. I have been sailing with them for a decade and have watched the service decline as the staff is reduced and they are put under more and more stress. One strange aspect was the white jacketed person who positioned himself near our table giving the waiters "stink-eye" as they struggled but never lifted a finger to help. Who was he and what are his responsibilities?

 

Quite frankly I have experienced better service on a three day Carnival cruise than had on this pricey 34 day adventure.

 

Am really disappointed to read of your experience on the Volendam.

[erewhon]

I, too, always notice if the HAL Logo is not centered on top when the plate is put in front of me. It is an automatic reflex of mine to adjust it if it is not placed properly.

 

The stewards are taught to do that and sometimes in their rush, they do not pay attention to that detail.

 

I miss they don't 'bother' with fish knives anymore. It was lovely to be served proper utensils but regular knife has to suffice now. :(

 

Those were the sort of things that made HAL 'better than the rest' IMO

 

 

 

Are fish knives no longer available?

[Boytjie]

We had "As You Wish Dining" or "Anytime Dining" or "Open Dining" (does that cover all bases?) ...

 

"As You Wish Dining" covers ALL the dining bases. :D

[cruz chic]

"As You Wish Dining" covers ALL the dining bases. :D

Yeah, the word open dining is SOOOOO hard to remember:D;).

[pms4104]

On the Noordam recently with early/fixed dining upstairs ... really sucky service with too few servers having too many tables. The first night onboard (when we couldn't even cut our thin and dry prime rib with a steak knife:eek:) must have generated lots of unwelcome comments because on the next night, the maitre 'd made the rounds and introduced himself and said that any comments on food or service should be directed to him. Seemed to be an attempt at damage control. That night was even worse ... so our chairs went empty for the remaining 9 nights, as we ate elsewhere.

 

Our iimpression: noticeable and unacceptable cutbacks, both in food and service.

[durangoscots]

I must have been very lucky. On my single cruise with early fixed seating service was generally good. There were a couple of slow times, but hardly worth commenting on. On most of the cruises I have taken I have had "open seating" and tend to go early. I am a single, usually sat a table for 6. Rarely had to wait more than a few minutes for the table to fill and we were all served together. Service was good. This applies to the Amsterdam, Statendam and Maasdam. All were cruises of at least 14 days to 35 days (the fixed seating was 57 days and open seating was not an option).... maybe the longer cruises do better with their dining service.

 

 

Susan

[cruz chic]

On the Noordam recently with early/fixed dining upstairs ... really sucky service with too few servers having too many tables. The first night onboard (when we couldn't even cut our thin and dry prime rib with a steak knife:eek:) must have generated lots of unwelcome comments because on the next night, the maitre 'd made the rounds and introduced himself and said that any comments on food or service should be directed to him. Seemed to be an attempt at damage control. That night was even worse ... so our chairs went empty for the remaining 9 nights, as we ate elsewhere.

 

Our iimpression: noticeable and unacceptable cutbacks, both in food and service.

I had some fish that was disgusting on a formal night on the N.A. You couldn't even cut it with a knife and it was like a tough steak. How can you screw up fish that bad? I did have fish a couple more nights and it was beatifully done. Looks like your chef and mine could use some more training:D. Hope that happens before I get on the Noordam.

[ansjefitnes]

I only did 3 cruises on HAL and did not have any complaints about the service in the MDR. We had a table for 2 on the Rotterdam twice and a table for 6 on the Westerdam, all fixed late dining.

 

We always let our waiters know the first night we are not in a hurry and it has worked very well for us.

[kazu]

Just back from the Westerdam and from the comments/reviews I am reading it does seem it's the Open Seating that has the issues on this particular cruise.

We had main dining (fixed) and service was excellent:D

We were visited by the dining room mgr (or asst) several times on the 7 day cruise;)

We have done everything from tables of 2 - 8 on numerous ships all main dining and have had good service on all ships but one - however, after speaking the asst dining room mgr the service improved immensely:)

JMO - but from what I have observed - service improves with a smaller table versus a larger one. Just our experience though;)

[496and706]

We were given fish knives when we had fish and steak knives when we had steak. The steak knives caused great hilarity at our table because my father in law didn't want them, he wanted his regular knife.

 

We had marvelous service every single night and we only ate in the MDR at 8 p.m. The dining room manager stopped by to chat at least once every night. Even when we didn't have wine or champagne, our wine steward also stopped by to chat every night at least once.

 

If and when my logo wasn't at the top, it very easily fixed it with a quick flick of my wrist.

 

Life is too short to be bothered about some things. Would you rather be buying the food, cooking it and cleaning up afterwards, or sitting and enjoying be served and being able to look at the beautiful Murano ceiling and watching the staff balancing some of those massive heavy trays?

[G&G]

We have found that issues with dining on HAL ship's is that the service is inconsistent from ship to ship.

 

We recently sailed on the Maasdam VOV, 35 days and Statendam, 14 day Panama Canal. Both cruises we had anytime dining, table for two, same table each night. Here was the difference:

 

Maasdam: waiter and assistant were excellent; well trained and very attentive; Assistant Restaurant Manager visited our table every night and helped waiters if got behind. Restaurant Manager visited our table once a week.

 

Statendam: waiter was ok and assistant appeared to be in training. Walked out of MDR first night waiting 30 minutes for a scoop of ice cream; Assistant Restaurant Manager never came to our table; Restaurant Manager never came to our table.

 

Maasdam (Pinnacle Grill): service was adequate nothing special. PG Manager gave me the impression he was just a "figure head"

 

Statendam (Pinnacle Grill); Best service ever (WHY?). Because the PG manager worked with his staff as a team; taking table orders, bringing food to the table and removing plates

[RuthC]

Would you rather be buying the food, cooking it and cleaning up afterwards, or sitting and enjoying be served and being able to look at the beautiful Murano ceiling and watching the staff balancing some of those massive heavy trays?

Since I'm paying good money for someone else to purchase, cook, and clean up, I would rather that it be done properly.

[retafcruiser]

My questions are surrounding the service in the MDR and whether or not the service is somehow better with traditional fixed dining than it is with open seating.

 

We were in open dining this past fall on Veendam, and the experience was horrible. It was so bad that it makes me doubtful I will sail on HAL again. One thing for sure - never again for "as you wish"!

[Randyk47]

Since I'm paying good money for someone else to purchase, cook, and clean up, I would rather that it be done properly.

 

Absolutely! Unfortunately MDR food and the service along with it have been slipping for the past five or six years or at least that's when we first noticed a decline. Interestingly it was about that time that we saw the first hints of staff cutting across much of the ship.

[lvz2cruz]

We are generally satisfied with MDR service and always have open seating. We try to check in about 6:30 to avoid a wait and are usually seated within 5 minutes. It seems service is very good but there will be one night we might have a long lull between courses.

[jaguarstyper]

Life is too short to be bothered about some things. Would you rather be buying the food, cooking it and cleaning up afterwards, or sitting and enjoying be served and being able to look at the beautiful Murano ceiling and watching the staff balancing some of those massive heavy trays?

Happily accepting things that are not good doesn't make your life any longer, just less enjoyable.

 

And if the food and service that I paid for is bad, I would very much rather prepare it myself at home. I don't make bad food and my service is outstanding. Just ask my girlfriend. :D If a restaurant is bad, I don't want to go there even if they do buy and cook the food and wash the dishes.

[vicocala]

I'm left handed, does that mean the HAL logo should go to the bottom? I have to switch my silverware around anytime I go to a restaurant so to me this is just being overly picky.

 

You should be born a left handed person to understand what I am talking about, the whole world is backwards.:rolleyes:

[sail7seas]

Happily accepting things that are not good doesn't make your life any longer, just less enjoyable.

 

And if the food and service that I paid for is bad, I would very much rather prepare it myself at home. I don't make bad food and my service is outstanding. Just ask my girlfriend. :D If a restaurant is bad, I don't want to go there even if they do buy and cook the food and wash the dishes.

 

 

I agree.

I'd rather meal plan, shop for our meals, prepare and serve it and clean it up than eat food we don't think is good. I resent eating calories I don't fully enjoy.

 

JMO....

 

[sail7seas]

I'm left handed, does that mean the HAL logo should go to the bottom? I have to switch my silverware around anytime I go to a restaurant so to me this is just being overly picky.

 

You should be born a left handed person to understand what I am talking about, the whole world is backwards.:rolleyes:

 

 

Left handed/right handed....... no difference the HAL logo on the plate should be placed top center. Why would dominant hand make a difference for that?

 

My sister was left handed and had no problem navigating in the world.

 

[vicocala]

Left handed/right handed....... no difference the HAL logo on the plate should be placed top center. Why would dominant hand make a difference for that?

 

My sister was left handed and had no problem navigating in the world.

 

 

 

I don't want my cuff falling in the mashed potatoes while I cut my meat. You really don't get my humor or sarcasm do you? :rolleyes::)

[sail7seas]

You are right.

I don't seem to be on your same wave length. :D

 

[vicocala]

You are right.

I don't seem to be on your same wave length. :D

 

 

 

That's ok, maybe it's a gender thing. Sometimes my DW doesn't get it either.:eek:

[496and706]

Your "humour" doesn't come across at all.

[Mary Ellen1]

and back to the topic at hand... ;)

 

We were on the Eurodam over Thanksgiving week, and had awful MDR service. We had late fixed seating, at 8pm, and were the last ones served, and the very last table to leave the dining room (and not because we were slow eaters!).

 

Two nights I timed it, and we got our entrees around 9:30pm, and dessert at 10pm. It was just too slow!

 

One night we switched to open seating (with permission -- before anyone jumps all over me... :rolleyes:), in the lower dining room, and had great service, and dinner took about 1 hour instead of 2. Much better! :)

[sail7seas]

and back to the topic at hand... ;)

 

We were on the Eurodam over Thanksgiving week, and had awful MDR service. We had late fixed seating, at 8pm, and were the last ones served, and the very last table to leave the dining room (and not because we were slow eaters!).

 

Two nights I timed it, and we got our entrees around 9:30pm, and dessert at 10pm. It was just too slow!

 

One night we switched to open seating (with permission -- before anyone jumps all over me... :rolleyes:), in the lower dining room, and had great service, and dinner took about 1 hour instead of 2. Much better! :)

 

 

 

How was your Thanksgiving Dinner? Was it to your liking?