How would you handle glacially slow MDR service

[LoveyHowell]

On my last cruise we had excessively long MDR dinners, often 2.5 hours, approaching 3 in some cases. We did advise our wait staff of planned evening events and a desire for a faster pace but it never happened. MDR staff are cordial but inefficient. This, I feel, is managements fault. They do not supply an adequate level of staff. I did talk to a head waiter who was understanding and apologetic, yet unable to do anything. I don't believe he was unwilling to do so, just unable and limited by resources.

 

Am considering removing DSC in the future as I find the service sub par in MDR. On the one hand I know my tips are basicallyhow the waiters get paid BC the cruise line does not pay well, on the other hand I feel like I'm paying full service charge for poor service. Maybe its not fair to penalize the wait staff? I haven't made up my mind as I don't want people to not be paid for their hard work, but I believe NCL is sticking me with the payroll bill and providing lackluster service.

 

And before anyone suggests, I don't think I should need to go to an up charge restaurant each night to get adequate service. If the DSC is removed is it all or nothing? I may prefer it be adjusted downwards to reflect the service level provided but not $0. Much like a land based restaurant I anticipate to tip a certain amount when entering but adjust up or down based on services rendered, I do not subscribe to the notion that simply being nice means I need to tip well if the service is actually poor.

 

When you receive sub par service on NCL what have you done about it?

[sparks1093]

On my last cruise we had excessively long MDR dinners, often 2.5 hours, approaching 3 in some cases. We did advise our wait staff of planned evening events and a desire for a faster pace but it never happened. MDR staff are cordial but inefficient. This, I feel, is managements fault. They do not supply an adequate level of staff. I did talk to a head waiter who was understanding and apologetic, yet unable to do anything. I don't believe he was unwilling to do so, just unable and limited by resources.

 

Am considering removing DSC in the future as I find the service sub par in MDR. On the one hand I know my tips are basicallyhow the waiters get paid BC the cruise line does not pay well, on the other hand I feel like I'm paying full service charge for poor service. Maybe its not fair to penalize the wait staff? I haven't made up my mind as I don't want people to not be paid for their hard work, but I believe NCL is sticking me with the payroll bill and providing lackluster service.

 

And before anyone suggests, I don't think I should need to go to an up charge restaurant each night to get adequate service. If the DSC is removed is it all or nothing? I may prefer it be adjusted downwards to reflect the service level provided but not $0. Much like a land based restaurant I anticipate to tip a certain amount when entering but adjust up or down based on services rendered, I do not subscribe to the notion that simply being nice means I need to tip well if the service is actually poor.

 

When you receive sub par service on NCL what have you done about it?

 

I think that it is unfair to penalize the crew for something management is doing.

[Tedj6050]

May I suggest asking your server for all the courses of your meal at once.I have done this several times on my cruises when I'm in a hurry,I tell the staff to just make one trip for everything resulting in my dinner lasting less than 30 minutes.plus the service charge is for more people than just your mdr server.

[xcell]

thats why this time we are going for the UDP - can't take the wait. will pay for upgrade- plus never tried it in the past so let's see if its worth it or not. but agreed wayyyy tooo slooooooowww

[deladypilot]

I dont think removing the DSC will do any good as this is the money the wait staff gets, not the management staff. You should pen a nice, professional letter to NCL explaining the poor service and why you believe it is poor. Believe me, even if they do not respond, they do read them and do take it serious.

 

I do agree with you, you should not have to pay for the up-charge restaurants on your cruise, but you might chose to eat at non-peak hours or at one of the other free restaurants.

 

Best of luck

[bear3412]

....Am considering removing DSC in the future as I find the service sub par in MDR. On the one hand I know my tips are basicallyhow the waiters get paid.... BC the cruise line does not pay well,......Maybe its not fair to penalize the wait staff? I haven't made up my mind as I don't want people to not be paid for their hard work......

 

I'm getting the popcorn ready as we speak. Oh, wait.... that would be bacon and eggs. And of course, I'll throw on some corn beef hash t'dis morn' jus' cuz' :D

 

OK ...., round one.....;

Do you actually know who receives the DSC?

Do you know pretty much all the folks serving you OUTSIDE the MDR relies on the DSC for income?

Did you know only a tiny bit of the DSC goes to those lame servers you experienced in the MDR once?

Do you realize how ridiculous it is to say you will not pay the DSC in the future, because of a past experience?

You even admit how it's not fair to punish/withhold $ from the staff, yet, it's cool, acording to you, because you once were wronged. I get it.

 

Fwiw, I average 21 staff encounters per day aboard. Lets do the math. 7 night sailing, times 21 = a lot, X 4 family members, = even a lot more.

Yeah, your right. If I'm wrong once redact the DSC this sailing and all in the future. :eek:

 

I'm out. Bacon is ready. :p

[emcelh]

Never had a dinner last that long on any NCL cruise. If the service was consistently that bad I probably would think twice about another cruise line. I agree about not removing the DSC. Only a small percentage goes to the dining room staff.

[newmexicoNita]

On my last cruise we had excessively long MDR dinners, often 2.5 hours, approaching 3 in some cases. We did advise our wait staff of planned evening events and a desire for a faster pace but it never happened. MDR staff are cordial but inefficient. This, I feel, is managements fault. They do not supply an adequate level of staff. I did talk to a head waiter who was understanding and apologetic, yet unable to do anything. I don't believe he was unwilling to do so, just unable and limited by resources.

 

Am considering removing DSC in the future as I find the service sub par in MDR. On the one hand I know my tips are basicallyhow the waiters get paid BC the cruise line does not pay well, on the other hand I feel like I'm paying full service charge for poor service. Maybe its not fair to penalize the wait staff? I haven't made up my mind as I don't want people to not be paid for their hard work, but I believe NCL is sticking me with the payroll bill and providing lackluster service.

 

And before anyone suggests, I don't think I should need to go to an up charge restaurant each night to get adequate service. If the DSC is removed is it all or nothing? I may prefer it be adjusted downwards to reflect the service level provided but not $0. Much like a land based restaurant I anticipate to tip a certain amount when entering but adjust up or down based on services rendered, I do not subscribe to the notion that simply being nice means I need to tip well if the service is actually poor.

 

When you receive sub par service on NCL what have you done about it?

 

I don't think anyone would suggest you to the upscale restaurants as you call them. What is the answer? I have no idea. Maybe it was the time you were eating, maybe a new set of servers, I don't know. I also have a problem believing this happened to you more than once. We have sailed NCL about 15 times and have only had really bad service a couple of times, just like any other line.

 

I hate to suggest you might just not like the idea of automatic tipping, but I also can't believe dinner took 3 hours. We did have one situation where we took about 2 hours and it was a large party of 12.

 

Now, can you remove the service charge, of course you can, but when I see you are already thinking of this and you haven't taken the next cruise I have to wonder what is really going on in your mind?

[Walt724]

I would handle it by remembering that I am on vacation to RELAX. I am not there to stress out over every perceived problem. I would remember that I am not the only passenger on the ship. I would plan things out in advance so that no meal would have to be hurried in order to go of something else - there are other free options besides the MDR if you are in a hurry.

 

I would remember that being on a cruise is an experience that most people will never get and savor each and every moment.

 

I actually look forward to the slower pace of meals on board. It gives me time to enjoy the food AND the company.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Medtech2]

On my last cruise we had excessively long MDR dinners, often 2.5 hours, approaching 3 in some cases. We did advise our wait staff of planned evening events and a desire for a faster pace but it never happened. MDR staff are cordial but inefficient. This, I feel, is managements fault. They do not supply an adequate level of staff. I did talk to a head waiter who was understanding and apologetic, yet unable to do anything. I don't believe he was unwilling to do so, just unable and limited by resources.

 

Am considering removing DSC in the future as I find the service sub par in MDR. On the one hand I know my tips are basicallyhow the waiters get paid BC the cruise line does not pay well, on the other hand I feel like I'm paying full service charge for poor service. Maybe its not fair to penalize the wait staff? I haven't made up my mind as I don't want people to not be paid for their hard work, but I believe NCL is sticking me with the payroll bill and providing lackluster service.

 

And before anyone suggests, I don't think I should need to go to an up charge restaurant each night to get adequate service. If the DSC is removed is it all or nothing? I may prefer it be adjusted downwards to reflect the service level provided but not $0. Much like a land based restaurant I anticipate to tip a certain amount when entering but adjust up or down based on services rendered, I do not subscribe to the notion that simply being nice means I need to tip well if the service is actually poor.

 

When you receive sub par service on NCL what have you done about it?

When we have received really slow service we have gotten up and left, explaining why on the way out. However it has never been that bad each and every night. Did you go to Guest Services? Escalate to the Food Services Director? The HD usually has a box for letters and will see that the appropriate manager gets the letter.

 

I can tell you what I did on my last Carnival cruise, but only after receiving poor service in the MDR and really surprising poor service and attitude from the steward. I took just a few dollars off the service charge with a written explanation of exactly who, what, where and why. I also made a point to praise specific people. I did not wait until the last day to do it but I had also been to guest services numerous times for the problem before I did this. It was a minimal amount. I did not want to hurt anyone not involved. However I do believe Carnival handles that money differently, because Guest Services let me "target" the adjustment.

 

In Norwegian's case I think a specific written letter would do the same.

[MCAT48]

I don't see the logic in removing the dsc because of slow dinner service since you say the wait staff was apologetic and could not do anything about the situation. They were obviously doing their jobs with the limited amount of help and removing the dsc would not be fair to those who worked hard at attempting to keep you happy.

[david_sobe]

At least you are fair enough to realize it is a management staffing issue. On my last NCL cruise last year I saw lots of cut backs with staffing in restaurants. We saw the same staff everywhere from the Epic Club to all specialty restaurants. One night the crew were running around like crazy and still could not keep up with everything. They worked their butts off but it was a long wait and very long meal. The last night, several crew had to cancel their appearances in the crew final show because there was not enough staff for the restaurants.

The only way to try to correct this is to talk to the restaurant manager.

[Zoey]

I'm not a CEO, nor was I even a business major - BUT in my opinion it seems to me that management would want to staff the fare-included (free) restaurants with more staff to get passengers in and out as quickly as possible to go out and spend money in the casino, bars, etc. If I had to wait three hours to finish my dinner I would probably just be ready to return to my cabin and crash.

[B6ConMe]

Wow, 2.5 to 3 hr dinner.......hey that sounds like the very expensive restaurant we go to when celebrating a special day.

 

Seriously? We've had dinners that do take a while, especially if we've ordered several courses. You're on a cruise, as someone else noted, relax, my goodness it's not the end of the world to be late for a show on a cruise.

 

We did have some dinners in the MDR and the upcharge restaurants that ran 2-3 hrs but who cares? We love chatting with each over a glass of wine, even more so if we're with friends. It gives us time to enjoy each course as it's brought out.

 

To remove or adjust the DSC b/c you have to sit and relax during dinner? :eek:

 

JMHO

[tumblew467]

On my last cruise we had excessively long MDR dinners, often 2.5 hours, approaching 3 in some cases. We did advise our wait staff of planned evening events and a desire for a faster pace but it never happened. MDR staff are cordial but inefficient. This, I feel, is managements fault. They do not supply an adequate level of staff. I did talk to a head waiter who was understanding and apologetic, yet unable to do anything. I don't believe he was unwilling to do so, just unable and limited by resources.

 

Am considering removing DSC in the future as I find the service sub par in MDR. On the one hand I know my tips are basicallyhow the waiters get paid BC the cruise line does not pay well, on the other hand I feel like I'm paying full service charge for poor service. Maybe its not fair to penalize the wait staff? I haven't made up my mind as I don't want people to not be paid for their hard work, but I believe NCL is sticking me with the payroll bill and providing lackluster service.

 

And before anyone suggests, I don't think I should need to go to an up charge restaurant each night to get adequate service. If the DSC is removed is it all or nothing? I may prefer it be adjusted downwards to reflect the service level provided but not $0. Much like a land based restaurant I anticipate to tip a certain amount when entering but adjust up or down based on services rendered, I do not subscribe to the notion that simply being nice means I need to tip well if the service is actually poor.

 

When you receive sub par service on NCL what have you done about it?

 

 

 

Can you tell us what times you went for dinner, just curious.

[bobg529]

Can you tell us what times you went for dinner, just curious.

 

 

And while you're at it, please include how many people in your party? The only time I ever had a dinner take that long is at the Chefs Table and that dinner is seven courses and a table of twelve. It's the kind of dinner that is supposed to take 3 hours (including champagne, three wines served during the meal, and cocktails in the lounge after). The DSC goes to EVERY person that serves you on the ship. Not just the waitstaff. If you have such pressing concerns that you must be somewhere at a specific hour, than may I suggest either eating earlier, eating after the show, or just hitting the buffet first. And if you plan on being the type that witholds the DSC, then remember that it falls upon you to tip people individually. You better bring an extra roll of pennies...:rolleyes:

[garycarla]

First off, I think the discussion here is more about "what to do" and not about just taking of the DSC. The poster is frustrated and trying to figure out what to do.

 

The problem is real. And, NCL is not alone. On our recent Celebrity cruise we ran into this in the MDR as well. We tend to eat less and less in the MDR and either snack at Blue Lagoon or do the buffet or upscale.

 

I think the get up and leave is the only response that will get their attention. And even that is not a great idea.

[LoveyHowell]

We arrived at dinner most evenings before 6:00PM. Wait time, if any, to actually be seated was short. Some night we did not have to wait for a table. Other nights the wait was 15 - 20 minutes which I consider short and perfectly acceptable. The night we arrived at 7:30 we did not leave the dining room until 10:15. Generally we request a 2 top for ourselves, but there have been instances when we did sit with another couple that we had become friendly with. They also expressed that they thought dining room service was unacceptably slow.

 

Being told I should go to the buffet instead is not an acceptable answer. I've paid for banquet style sit down dining with SERVICE, have I not? The rah rah sis boom bah section of this website ALWAYS berates the guest when service is poor. Guess what, sometimes service is just NOT GOOD.

 

Please recall I did speak with a head waiter who empathized with my frustration but basically admitted there is nothing they can do about it. I do not think I need to go to guest services to complain daily. That's an energy drain and a waste of precious vacation time. I expressed my concerns to the management level I thought was appropriate. If NCL Guest Services or main office aren't going to do anything what good would it do if they read my letter?

 

To the poster who said I should request all of my food at once and dinner would take 30 minutes; I suppose that IS an option, but that's not the point of having a sit down dinner either. Dinner in the MDR SHOULD take 60-90 minutes, especially when the staff are informed that we would like to speed up the process to meet other planned events. It is not like we walked in at 7:00 PM expecting to get to an 8:00 PM show and are shocked and surprised that it took over an hour. I also like to be presented with hot or cold food (as designed) and having all my food brought at once leaves everything to sit at room temperature.

 

Anyone suggesting I am a penny pincher or have decided to screw the staff ahead of time are just flat and plain wrong. Why would I ever dream of doing that as my standard mode of operation? Let alone come here to have strangers bash on me for it? I simply asked what recourse do I have and HOW can DSC be modified. I have never removed or modified DSC in the past, but if NCL can not provide the "S" part of DSC, why should I be compensating at 100%? Is it not my option to fine tune the DSC to more fit the level of service received? I have been on 17 cruises and MDR service has gone down, simple fact. The gracious and hard working staff are being SCREWED by management, but as a result I now receive subpar service.

 

Anyone who pays 100% for anything and only gets 70% is a fool. Like I said, I don't wish to punish the staff who are serving me, but I don't feel like I'm getting the value advertised by NCL. Therefore there must be a middle ground.

 

For example, if I remove the DSC, is it all or nothing (still unanswered; and this is a question of FACT, not opinion)? I am aware that many behind the scenes, so to speak, staffers receive a portion of that. If the staff is unhappy about reduction of DSC and voice their complaints to management enough maybe they will get the staffing levels they need to have good service and thus be earning full DSC and above and beyond. I would never leave a land based restaurant without tipping, but if the service were horrible it might be a 12% tip, not 20%. Likewise, if service were great a tip can go as high as 25%-20%. Any place that automatically adds 20% gratuity to service, I have found personally, has poor service not worthy of the 20%.

 

For the record as well, I have always left DSC in place and given a little bit more to those who work hardest for me in cold hard cash.

 

I suppose there will be another 10 posts now not answering simple questions of fact but telling me I am cheap, should eat in the buffet, it never happened, I am liar, I am a bad person, NCL is faultless, it is my moral, ethical, and spiritual obligation to hand out $$$ to everyone I see, etc.

[LoveyHowell]

First off, I think the discussion here is more about "what to do" and not about just taking of the DSC. The poster is frustrated and trying to figure out what to do.

.

 

Thank you for your understanding. I did not see your reply as I was typing mine, but this sums it up well. I'm not looking to cheat the system, I am looking at how to best get the services I should be getting. If removal or reduction of DSC is the best way, it is an avenue I will take. If there is another more optimal way, I would look at those options.

[LoveyHowell]

And if you plan on being the type that witholds the DSC, then remember that it falls upon you to tip people individually. You better bring an extra roll of pennies...:rolleyes:

 

That's a pretty rude response. Come on; re-read the title of my post. You just wanted to make a nice little flame this morning. As to the answer of your questions looking for a way to "blame" me for receiving consisten subpar service I have answered those. I don't NEED to provide you with every detail as obviously you are going to have a negative opinion and not be helpful, but I did provide those details to satiate your own curiosity. Do you have anything useful to add?

[roger001]

We've never had MDR service anywhere near that slow. I do consider dining in the MDR a "relaxed, no hurry" atmosphere, which, if we choose to dine in there, is what we want. However....politely address issues if needed at the time. First, if in a hurry, tell you server that you will need to be hurried for this meal and that he/she can bring out your food quickly. If sometime the server just disappears and you can't find them to request their attention, just walk up to the desk and politely ask if you could see the matre d for a moment. Explain that you may have been forgotten and could he/she check into it please. But..again...we've never had this problem.

[sparks1093]

We arrived at dinner most evenings before 6:00PM. Wait time, if any, to actually be seated was short. Some night we did not have to wait for a table. Other nights the wait was 15 - 20 minutes which I consider short and perfectly acceptable. The night we arrived at 7:30 we did not leave the dining room until 10:15. Generally we request a 2 top for ourselves, but there have been instances when we did sit with another couple that we had become friendly with. They also expressed that they thought dining room service was unacceptably slow.

 

Being told I should go to the buffet instead is not an acceptable answer. I've paid for banquet style sit down dining with SERVICE, have I not? The rah rah sis boom bah section of this website ALWAYS berates the guest when service is poor. Guess what, sometimes service is just NOT GOOD.

 

Please recall I did speak with a head waiter who empathized with my frustration but basically admitted there is nothing they can do about it. I do not think I need to go to guest services to complain daily. That's an energy drain and a waste of precious vacation time. I expressed my concerns to the management level I thought was appropriate. If NCL Guest Services or main office aren't going to do anything what good would it do if they read my letter?

 

To the poster who said I should request all of my food at once and dinner would take 30 minutes; I suppose that IS an option, but that's not the point of having a sit down dinner either. Dinner in the MDR SHOULD take 60-90 minutes, especially when the staff are informed that we would like to speed up the process to meet other planned events. It is not like we walked in at 7:00 PM expecting to get to an 8:00 PM show and are shocked and surprised that it took over an hour. I also like to be presented with hot or cold food (as designed) and having all my food brought at once leaves everything to sit at room temperature.

 

Anyone suggesting I am a penny pincher or have decided to screw the staff ahead of time are just flat and plain wrong. Why would I ever dream of doing that as my standard mode of operation? Let alone come here to have strangers bash on me for it? I simply asked what recourse do I have and HOW can DSC be modified. I have never removed or modified DSC in the past, but if NCL can not provide the "S" part of DSC, why should I be compensating at 100%? Is it not my option to fine tune the DSC to more fit the level of service received? I have been on 17 cruises and MDR service has gone down, simple fact. The gracious and hard working staff are being SCREWED by management, but as a result I now receive subpar service.

 

Anyone who pays 100% for anything and only gets 70% is a fool. Like I said, I don't wish to punish the staff who are serving me, but I don't feel like I'm getting the value advertised by NCL. Therefore there must be a middle ground.

 

For example, if I remove the DSC, is it all or nothing (still unanswered; and this is a question of FACT, not opinion)? I am aware that many behind the scenes, so to speak, staffers receive a portion of that. If the staff is unhappy about reduction of DSC and voice their complaints to management enough maybe they will get the staffing levels they need to have good service and thus be earning full DSC and above and beyond. I would never leave a land based restaurant without tipping, but if the service were horrible it might be a 12% tip, not 20%. Likewise, if service were great a tip can go as high as 25%-20%. Any place that automatically adds 20% gratuity to service, I have found personally, has poor service not worthy of the 20%.

 

For the record as well, I have always left DSC in place and given a little bit more to those who work hardest for me in cold hard cash.

 

I suppose there will be another 10 posts now not answering simple questions of fact but telling me I am cheap, should eat in the buffet, it never happened, I am liar, I am a bad person, NCL is faultless, it is my moral, ethical, and spiritual obligation to hand out $$$ to everyone I see, etc.

 

I have never done it but I believe that the DSC may be adjusted to whatever level you feel comfortable with. As I said I do not believe it is right to take the DSC away from the crew if they clearly are doing their best with the resources that they have. If I brought an issue to onboard management's attention and nothing was done then I would write a polite letter to corporate out lining the concerns. Staffing is one of those things that can take some time to recognize as an issue and time to resolve.

[MCAT48]

The removal of the dsc is only going to hurt the person who it was supposed to goto not the company. If you want your concerns addressed writing/speaking to a member of management is the best option. If the first person doesn't listen or seem concerned speak to someone else.

[jkgourmet]

Having just returned from a 21 day trip on the Jade, I'll quickly agree with the OP. The MDR service is slow and inefficient ( especially in Altizar - after one try, we never returned).

 

But removing the DSC is NOT the solution. That only hurts all the staff, not the corporate decision that created the situation by under staffing and under training the MDR waiters. Getting up and leaving doesn't help either.

 

The solution is simple: Take your cruise dollars elsewhere. While NCL does many things very well, food and MDR service are not their top priorities.

 

I'm not complaining - we knew this when we booked, and paid less than we would on other mass market cruise lines that offer better food and service. It's about expectations and personal choices.

Edited February 2, 2014 by jkgourmet

[RikkuCat]

As long as I have a drink (and I am perfectly happy to go to the bar and get one if my server doesn't get to it), I don't care how long dinner takes on vacation. How often do you have a chance to relax over a leisurely dinner in your day-to-day life? We don't often - only on a special occasion when we're paying FAR more for dinner than we do on a cruise. For us, leisurely dinners every night are part of the appeal of a vacation - they give us time to focus on each other and relax more than we do at home. But that's just my opinion on the matter - and our dinners are usually shorter than yours because we're usually too full for dessert.

 

Personally, I wouldn't remove or adjust the DSC. I think the DSC is a bargain, since it comes out to less than I would tip if I tipped individually as service was received. We usually tip extra when we receive great service, so if the service is poor, we don't leave that extra tip. Slow service itself isn't a deal-breaker to me if I feel like the situation is out of the server's control (too many tables, kitchen backed up, etc) - but I would speak to someone if the server was rude, and I will speak to the server directly if I see another table receiving more attention from the same server.

 

In your case, I think asking for all of your courses to be served at once may help - or order fewer courses. If that isn't an acceptable option, write to Miami. Even if nothing is done for you in particular, they probably log complaints - perhaps something will be done to alleviate the situation if they hear the same complaint from enough people. Phrase your letter as constructive criticism and keep the tone calm - I've always had better results with this type of complaint than I've seen anybody get with angry threats.