Unhappy staff?

[luckynumber6]

If someone had asked me my favorite cruise line a few days ago - I would say NCL. I am worried it has changed. We recently came back from a short cruise with NCL. Did we have fun - yes....who wouldn't being away from home? BUT we encountered the most unhappy staff I have ever experienced on a ship. Hardly a smile...except for one or two staff. In fact 2 different staff members told us randomly how much they hate their job out of the blue!! They both said (and this was not in the same conversation) that they had worked for other cruise lines but NCL was by far the worse. Except for 1 bartender and 1 Jr. bartender - we found it difficult to find anyone to give extra tips to! We always like to give cash tips throughout the cruise to the staff that help us. On the private island, we only had a $20 and asked a bartender (who we saw getting cash tips) for 2 $10's so we could tip both bartenders working as we would rather give them some extra cash here or there. We thought that might make them a bit happier. When I asked her - she actually rolled her eyes at me and told me she couldn't give me change because unlike me - she was poor. Then she smirked and walked away! We encountered a few "happy" servers at meals but most seemed like it was such a chore to be there or they seemed so nervous or stretched that they couldn't do a good job. When we had to go to customer service for something - the man that helped us made us feel so stupid about a question that dealt with the Beverage Package - which trust me if you haven't used it yet - it seems every bartender feels different things are covered. What is going on with NCL corporate? Why are their employees so unhappy. Let's face it....an unhappy employee means that the customer simply cannot get the best service. WHich means people like me will start not going on NCL because who wants to be made to feel bad if they order something in a restaurant, or wait to get a drink at a ship's bar for 20 minutes, or have eyes rolled at me with the suggestion that I am a rude "rich" person when I simply was trying to give a person a tip. We all go on cruises to be pampered and have a good time. I know we save for months to be able to go on a cruise. We are not rich, but we enjoy that feeling of being taken care of. Our experience with NCL this time just was not what we have had in the past. And, before people ask - I am not saying the name of the ship as I don't want to ruin anyone's future planned trip ( all I will say is it was 3 nights - some of you will figure it out )and we did try to speak to several of the people in charge - they acted like they had never heard a complaint before about their staff. So NCL if you are reading this....I don't really blame the employees who I encountered on the ship - I blame you as something is going on in the corporate level or ship level to make your staff so unhappy. The bad part is - if this keeps up you will continue to not have my business as I want to save my money and go on a ship where people smile at me :)

[ripjerry95]

I'm surprised! I always found NCL staff to be super friendly!

 

 

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[luckynumber6]

So have we....this was just such a different experience than we have had in the past... We have cruised Carnival, NCL, and RC. My favorite has always been NCL! So don't think I don't like NCl...but these people were so unhappy that something has changed since last we cruised NCL about a year ago - and it was same ship even! Everything ALMOST everyone did for us seemed like such a chore. Many of the fellow passengers we encountered had similar complaints. SO who knows? Bad weekend for the crew? Maybe...but I still want people to smile at me and be nice when I have saved for a vacation.

[Medtech2]

Sorry you ran into such down personnel. I was shocked to read that GSC bartender's response! I have usually gotten good service with a smile but I will say the service I encountered on GSC was pretty bad.

 

I just asked for water at the bar and was told point blank "No!" AND they even refused to give water to one of the life guards, which I found appalling.

 

Otherwise the majority of service on my NCL cruises has been great...

 

You are right when you say such pervasive attitudes usually start at the top. Hopefully management will find out what is going on. Do you think this could have anything to do with the typhoon in the Phillipines?

Edited November 19, 2013 by Medtech2
Spelling!

[B6ConMe]

We've found most of the NCL staff to be wonderful but then it was before the horrible devastation caused by the Typhoon Haiyan which affected a very high percentage of the crew. Many crew members are from that area so I'm not sure if that could account for some of the unhappiness.

 

It sounds very odd that you would have received such poor treatment, it's quite sad to hear this.

Edited November 19, 2013 by B6ConMe

[rvsullivan]

3 day Sky cruise. It seems the shorter cruises are tougher on the crew and the guests. Everyone trying to cram a weeks worth of cruising in 3 days. I don't think the crew gets treated as well on the short cruises.

[luckynumber6]

Interesting that you mention the disaster...as we had actually brought extra cash with us to give personally to staff if we met someone who had family who had been effected. We would try to have conversations with staff and ask if their family was ok - not one person said that their family had any issues. In fact all said that their families did not live where the storm destruction was - I do wonder though if they were "told" to say that. You hope not - but maybe that was why they seemed so unhappy? It would be hard to smile at all if you are worried. BUT the big thing that got me is how 2 random staff members told us that NCl was the worst cruise line they had worked for. And please believe me we weren't even having a conversation about that. Just small talk..

[HokiePoq]

Very sorry for your experience. Haven't ever had that myself.

I think the most of the Filipino population is to the north of the worst of it, but am no expert on that.

From my own work experience, an unhappy staff means leadership that is negative. Don't know who the captain is or if this has ever occurred on his watch before, but makes me wonder about that.

[Crusin6]

Regarding the op's comment about being told they were rude rich people. Well this is exactly why I leave auto tip on and do not give anyone a cash tip until the very end. And then only a 20 to the steward nothing if we do Anytime dining and have had several different waiters and may 20 if we have had td.

 

I never bought into the idea of tipping at they beginning of the cruise as that just seems pompous to me and I am ok with the 15% auto tip on bar drinks. Don't usually have more than 3 drinks in total on a 7 day cruise anyway so having a favorite bartender is foreign to me anyway

[vols_159]

Interesting that you mention the disaster...as we had actually brought extra cash with us to give personally to staff if we met someone who had family who had been effected. We would try to have conversations with staff and ask if their family was ok - not one person said that their family had any issues. In fact all said that their families did not live where the storm destruction was - I do wonder though if they were "told" to say that. You hope not - but maybe that was why they seemed so unhappy? It would be hard to smile at all if you are worried. BUT the big thing that got me is how 2 random staff members told us that NCl was the worst cruise line they had worked for. And please believe me we weren't even having a conversation about that. Just small talk..

 

They may not wanted to talk about it.. And they may know very little living on a ship. Exactly how bad the storm was

[Sheils65]

We've found most of the NCL staff to be wonderful but then it was before the horrible devastation caused by the Typhoon Haiyan which affected a very high percentage of the crew. Many crew members are from that area so I'm not sure if that could account for some of the unhappiness.

 

It sounds very odd that you would have received such poor treatment, it's quite sad to hear this.

 

This was the first thing I thought of was the Typhoon. I have always found staff to be upbeat from the washy-washy guys/gals to the cabin stewards to the cruise director.

[vols_159]

Regarding the op's comment about being told they were rude rich people. Well this is exactly why I leave auto tip on and do not give anyone a cash tip until the very end. And then only a 20 to the steward nothing if we do Anytime dining and have had several different waiters and may 20 if we have had td.

 

I never bought into the idea of tipping at they beginning of the cruise as that just seems pompous to me and I am ok with the 15% auto tip on bar drinks. Don't usually have more than 3 drinks in total on a 7 day cruise anyway so having a favorite bartender is foreign to me anyway

 

Ncl is 100% anytime dinning

[NH Cruisers]

People are people, they act as they do. I just try to be a good person and usually others will treat me with kindness.

 

A large percentage of the ships work force did have a major disaster befall their families. If that doesn't effect (all the crew) them personally, they are not human. I would give the benefit of doubt on this cruise.

 

I am sorry any customers had to be dissapointed with the service. I would be unhappy too, but understanding of the circumstances.

[Bonnie&Jim]

We were on the Breakaway in October, we truly never found anyone that was unfriendly.

 

Bonnie

[goose30]

Short cruise means quick turnaround results in unhappy crew.

[newmexicoNita]

we were on one NCL cruise with a somewhat inexperienced crew but not unhappy, by any means. This has always been one of the reasons we love NCL. I think OP, the fact it was a short cruise might have had something to do with this. We have only done a couple 3 or 4 day cruises and they have never been comparable to the longer ones. None were on NCL I would add.

 

I am guessing you just hit a bad few days. Once we did find a wait person on NCL that might not have said she didn't like her job, but it was obvious. Otherwise, even on a maiden crossing we took, the crew was happy and wonderful for the most part.

[Sparkygirl]

This is very unlike the Sky that we sailed in September 2012. We did find that 95% of the ship staff were Filipino. Our experience may have been different in that we lived in the Philippines and knew cultural standards that were different from typical western culture. We were in a suite and would eat breakfast in Cagney's when the restaurant was basically empty. The staff would play with our daughter while we ate breakfast or lunch. When we would meet the severs in other areas of the ship they would ask to introduce our daughter to another friend. My mom would tell them the story about how she would go shopping in Manila when I was a baby and the sales ladies would pass around and play with me while she shopped so it was okay with us that a staff member would be walking around the atrium with our daughter.

 

Although the staff may have been telling you their family did not live in the area affected by the typhoon, families are large extended networks and it will influence behavior. Also, the disaster has challenged an entire set of norms...the Philippines has a history of occupation by foreign nationals to include the spanish, americans, japanese, etc. That when the US bases in the Philippines were closed the countries constitution was changed to prohibit US military from acting on Philippines soil. Then a disaster strikes and a country that has been trying to be self sufficient suddenly has to rely on those who previous occupied their country.

[Crusin6]

Ncl is 100% anytime dinning

 

Yes i know that but I cruise several lines and that is why I said if I have anytime or td

 

And to be honest I never tip extra at anytime dining I only tip extra at the end of the cruise if I do td anyway

 

I believe in giving details when posting so as not to be misunderstood Please retread my original post. Thanks

Edited November 19, 2013 by Crusin6

[opalinem]

. We all go on cruises to be pampered and have a good time. . We are not rich, but we enjoy that feeling of being taken care of. )

 

Are you sure NCL is your favorite for staff? They're friendly but they're kind of "understated" and "natural" at the same time. They've never struck me as overdoing the "we're here to cater to your every whim" thingy. If you're into the neo-colonialist vibe of getting overindulged and "taken care of" like a child, or having staff -not so subtly- groveling for extra tips, it seems to me RCCL would be a better fit for your needs as they seem to have that type of attitude more.

[NLH Arizona]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with the staff. This does not always happen on NCL. On my cruise that I got off on 11/10 (Jewell), the staff was excellent. Always happy, I couldn't walk anywhere that I wasn't greeted with a smile and a good morning or good afternoon and I in turn always had a smile and a greeting for them as well.

 

Maybe because of your dissatisfaction with the staff's attitude and some not liking their jobs, you put off a "rude rich person" or unhappy vibe without knowing it and maybe that is why you were not treated the way you expected.

 

It might be time for a change of cruise lines for you; that way you would go in without any expectatiions as far as how you should be treated.

[MsTabbyKats]

We all go on cruises to be pampered and have a good time. I know we save for months to be able to go on a cruise. We are not rich, but we enjoy that feeling of being taken care of.

 

And just imagine how you'd feel "pampering and taking care of" people who are alluding to being rich, while your home, friends and family are being washed away by a storm...and you haven't even been able to contact them.

 

Think about others....not just yourself.

[halos]

If someone had asked me my favorite cruise line a few days ago - I would say NCL. I am worried it has changed. We recently came back from a short cruise with NCL. Did we have fun - yes....who wouldn't being away from home? BUT we encountered the most unhappy staff I have ever experienced on a ship. Hardly a smile...except for one or two staff. In fact 2 different staff members told us randomly how much they hate their job out of the blue!! They both said (and this was not in the same conversation) that they had worked for other cruise lines but NCL was by far the worse. Except for 1 bartender and 1 Jr. bartender - we found it difficult to find anyone to give extra tips to! We always like to give cash tips throughout the cruise to the staff that help us. On the private island, we only had a $20 and asked a bartender (who we saw getting cash tips) for 2 $10's so we could tip both bartenders working as we would rather give them some extra cash here or there. We thought that might make them a bit happier. When I asked her - she actually rolled her eyes at me and told me she couldn't give me change because unlike me - she was poor. Then she smirked and walked away! We encountered a few "happy" servers at meals but most seemed like it was such a chore to be there or they seemed so nervous or stretched that they couldn't do a good job. When we had to go to customer service for something - the man that helped us made us feel so stupid about a question that dealt with the Beverage Package - which trust me if you haven't used it yet - it seems every bartender feels different things are covered. What is going on with NCL corporate? Why are their employees so unhappy. Let's face it....an unhappy employee means that the customer simply cannot get the best service. WHich means people like me will start not going on NCL because who wants to be made to feel bad if they order something in a restaurant, or wait to get a drink at a ship's bar for 20 minutes, or have eyes rolled at me with the suggestion that I am a rude "rich" person when I simply was trying to give a person a tip. We all go on cruises to be pampered and have a good time. I know we save for months to be able to go on a cruise. We are not rich, but we enjoy that feeling of being taken care of. Our experience with NCL this time just was not what we have had in the past. And, before people ask - I am not saying the name of the ship as I don't want to ruin anyone's future planned trip ( all I will say is it was 3 nights - some of you will figure it out )and we did try to speak to several of the people in charge - they acted like they had never heard a complaint before about their staff. So NCL if you are reading this....I don't really blame the employees who I encountered on the ship - I blame you as something is going on in the corporate level or ship level to make your staff so unhappy. The bad part is - if this keeps up you will continue to not have my business as I want to save my money and go on a ship where people smile at me :)

 

NCL crew are the top reason I sail NCL. I am hoping your experience is not a fleet-wide thing.

 

Right before CCL started it's downward spiral (when the new CEO took over) the changes appeared first in the attitude of the crew. One waiter even came right out and told us that Gerry Cahill was a man 'all about the money'. It was from that point, that we started noticing changes and those changes kept us from booking any future CCL cruises.

 

I had worried when NCL went public with their stock because that meant there would now be stockholders to answer to...who wanted profits and are more about money...not about quality. I am praying that your experience is now a foreshadowing of changes to come.

That would suck.

 

The crew I have loved on NCL have literally worked for NCL for not just many contracts, but many years and all of them said their ships were like one big family. All of them credit the hotel director for their feeling of happiness and security. Maybe the ship you sailed just has a mediocre HD????

 

I don't know.

All I know is the attitude of the crew is vital to a good cruise and NCL needs to figure out what happend on your sailing. I hope you wrote to corporate with your concers and your experience.

Edited November 19, 2013 by halos

[newmexicoNita]

And just imagine how you'd feel "pampering and taking care of" people who are alluding to being rich, while your home, friends and family are being washed away by a storm...and you haven't even been able to contact them.

 

Think about others....not just yourself.

 

Excellent point: I think many of us might have forgotten that. That would even account for crew members saying the hate their job: what they might have meant, they hate being away from family.

[halos]

Are you sure NCL is your favorite for staff? They're friendly but they're kind of "understated" and "natural" at the same time. They've never struck me as overdoing the "we're here to cater to your every whim" thingy. If you're into the neo-colonialist vibe of getting overindulged and "taken care of" like a child, or having staff -not so subtly- groveling for extra tips, it seems to me RCCL would be a better fit for your needs as they seem to have that type of attitude more.

 

I am not who you directed this quetion to, but I'd like to respond.

First of all, yes, NCL has been my hands down favorite crew. Mostly because THEY are happy. happy crew=happy passengers.

 

Second, I truly take offense to your statement. People being caterted to or pampered a little on a cruise (or ANY vacation) is exactly why they vacation in the first place.

Just because you like being catered to on a cruise does not mean you are being over-indulged. YOU PAY for the experience. This is what cruising is. If it were just about a boat on the water, I'd pay a lot less and take a flippin' ferry.

 

Do you think the job description for a cruise ship crew member is to go about their job efficiently without any hospitality at all?? If you do, then you just don't get it.

~~~~~

As for the storm and how it affected so many, obviously the crew from the Phillipines are not going to be in the same state of mind while their loved ones are suffereing...but the OP's description of crew complaining specifically about NCL (having worked for other lines that they preferred) leads me to believe this had nothing to do with the storm. Not to mention that not every crew member on every ship is from the Phillipines. AND there have been no complaints like this thus far from passengers on other ships.

 

 

 

I hate that because the OP had a bad experience and posted as such here, she somehow becomes an uncaring villain. Seriously people.... :rolleyes: There is no sin in cruising a cruise line and expecting your experience to be the same or better than it was previously.

Edited November 19, 2013 by halos

[B6ConMe]

And just imagine how you'd feel "pampering and taking care of" people who are alluding to being rich, while your home, friends and family are being washed away by a storm...and you haven't even been able to contact them.

 

Think about others....not just yourself.

 

Very good point and one I was trying to make. I can't imagine how I would feel if my family/friends were besieged by such a catastrophic event. We just have to look in our own back yard at all those who've lost everything just recently. Fortunately the outcome, while there are huge monetary losses, the actual number of deaths is quite limited.

 

Please don't flame me for this, I'm so thankful that more were not lost.

We have a cruise coming up in less than 2 weeks and I hope things will have improved by then but I won't be expecting anything more than basics which I can provide myself.