Not so Happy Bithday celebration in Chops

[north29]

WOW that is an understatement, just go to most any restaurant above Mc Donald's and watch the table manners of many ADULT diners. I have no idea where and when tables manners were discarded by many parents but WOW it some times is like watching a old cowboy movie with scenes at the chuck wagon. I have even dropped potential friends who's table manners were POOR and embarrassing and I'm kinda a Jimmy Buffet kind of guy flip flops and a beer in hand.

[Cindy]

So you did absolutely nothing onboard, wait until you get home, and then complain to RCCL and expect them to give you something now?

 

You never gave them a chance to take any action when the event transpired but now they are supposed to pay.

 

Doesn't seem fair in my opinion.

 

I'm not sure why, but all your posts seem to be questioning the experience/actions of the OP. She has come back and said her husband spoke to the manager, but was told nothing could be done. How is discussing the situation with the manager not giving the personnel on the ship a chance to take action?

 

If my meal was ruined in this way and the on-board personnel were unable/unwilling to address the situation, I think sending a post-cruise letter would be an appropriate next step.

[NightOne]

I'm not sure why, but all your posts seem to be questioning the experience/actions of the OP. She has come back and said her husband spoke to the manager, but was told nothing could be done. How is discussing the situation with the manager not giving the personnel on the ship a chance to take action?

 

 

 

If my meal was ruined in this way and the on-board personnel were unable/unwilling to address the situation, I think sending a post-cruise letter would be an appropriate next step.

 

 

Here is what the OP said:

 

Looking back, I wish we would have talked to the manager of the restaurant and asked for his help. Perhaps they could have approached the family and diplomatically asked if there were something they coul do to make the child happy. I did speak with another dining room manager who said that they could not do anything in that situation as this is a family ship and the do not want to offend anyone. A lesson learned here.

 

OK, so they wish they would have talked to the manager at Chops, but they didn't. However, they did not but did speak with ANOTHER dining room manager. What dining room and when? Who knows?

 

Then they said:

 

Update! My husband did have a conversation with the chop.s manager and expressed his anger over the screaming child. The manager said there was nothing he could have done. Would have been nice if he had offered a refund or another dinner but he did not. And it will probably be a waste of time to write a letter to corporate.

 

A contradiction to their first statement. Apparently it was some time later since the language suggests past tense but they did talk to the Chops manager. When? Who knows?

 

I stand by my previous statements. At the time this happened (and during) they did nothing. They did not confront the noise makers directly and they did not engage the staff to do so. They did not complain while it was going on.

 

Now they are home and want to be given something which is unfair in my opinion.

 

Do I have this wrong?

Edited January 26, 2015 by NightOne

[Cruzaholic41]

Do I have this wrong?

 

Perhaps or perhaps not. There is no right answer here. Some people are uncomfortable with confrontation and given the way people react nowadays to being confronted, I can't say I blame them.

[sjh422]

So you did absolutely nothing onboard, wait until you get home, and then complain to RCCL and expect them to give you something now?

 

You never gave them a chance to take any action when the event transpired but now they are supposed to pay.

 

Doesn't seem fair in my opinion.

Clarification - my dh spoke with the restaurant manager the morning after the incident and did not ask for a free dinner or a credit on the one completed.

 

We do not want to be given anything by RCI at this point-- we just think that RC management should be aware of situations that detract from the enjoyment of the trip!!

[Cindy]

 

I stand by my previous statements. At the time this happened (and during) they did nothing. They did not confront the noise makers directly and they did not engage the staff to do so. They did not complain while it was going on.

 

Now they are home and want to be given something which is unfair in my opinion.

 

Do I have this wrong?

 

 

You're entitled to your opinion...that doesn't mean it's right or wrong, but there are a lot of different ways to handle something like this. I would never confront another passenger unless I felt like they were doing something that was a danger...not an inconvenience or an annoyance. You just never know how someone is going to react, and I think addressing situations is the responsibility of ship personnel.

 

I would be upset too if I was told the situation couldn't be addressed because the ship is a "family ship." That would make me feel like the thousands of dollars I spent for a quality vacation weren't valued as much as the thousands spent by the people with a screaming child.

 

Edited January 26, 2015 by Cindy

[LA_CA_GAL]

Yeah, smacking the child will really make him shut up.:rolleyes:

The responsible thing for the parent to do is to take the child out of the restaurant - give the kid a time out until he/she calms down.

 

When you have a child that acts like this, you have already failed as a parent.

 

I could not imagine my kid acting this way at anytime anywhere.

[akcruz]

When you have a child that acts like this, you have already failed as a parent.

 

I could not imagine my kid acting this way at anytime anywhere.

 

Really?? Do you have kids??

 

When my kids were younger we were often complimented on how well they behaved, but boy were there times when they were tired, not feeling well, etc that they acted up. Both DH and I have left restaurants with kids, sometimes coming back, sometimes note. I have left a grocery cart in the store full of items because one of my kids couldn't make it through the trip. Acting up is normal for kids, but they need to know when it happens it is dealt with, not ignored. There is no such thing as a perfect child :rolleyes:.

[Cruzaholic41]

There is no such thing as a perfect child :rolleyes:.

 

Exactly. No one can tell me their kids never acted this way. Besides, it's not the kids who are the problem here. It's the adults for their lack of proper response and proper discipline. It's the parents who think their kids never do wrong who are most commonly at fault here.

[LA_CA_GAL]

Really?? Do you have kids??

 

 

Yes, I do.

 

They were taught early, this isn't a democracy, bad behavior is never tolerated, and they would be held accountable for their actions.

 

We had a very well defined understanding.

[critterchick]

Yes, I do.

 

They were taught early, this isn't a democracy, bad behavior is never tolerated, and they would be held accountable for their actions.

 

We had a very well defined understanding.

 

My mother had "The Look" that would have scared Osama Bin Laden, never mind us (when she had her readers on, it was even more terrifying). But a child has to reach a certain age before the understanding sinks in, and I don't believe that OP ever said how old the child was. If s/he was an infant, then I don't think that there could be any look or understanding that would be effective.

 

The parents should have removed the child, period. Since they were unwilling to do so, management should have requested that they do so. Failing to do so impacted more people than "offending" the parents would have.

[NightOne]

Clarification - my dh spoke with the restaurant manager the morning after the incident and did not ask for a free dinner or a credit on the one completed.

 

We do not want to be given anything by RCI at this point-- we just think that RC management should be aware of situations that detract from the enjoyment of the trip!!

 

In the future I would recommend that you speak to you give them a chance to correct the situation while it is happening and not afterwards.

 

I mean how were they supposed to do anything about it when you waited until the next day to tell them? If they would have brought out your plate with a frozen steak on it I am guessing you would have said something at that moment so that they could correct the problem. Correct?

 

OK. So you don't want to be given anything from RCCL at this point but you feel it necessary to expend all this time and energy making them (and the internet at large) aware of the issue.

 

Not sure I am seeing the motivation here. Are you just trying to be a good Samaritan here and help everyone else out?

 

I guess what I am curious about is what exactly it is you hope to become of this? What is your dream outcome?

 

Certainly you don't owe me (or anyone else here) and explanation but I am curious if you would like to volunteer and share.

 

Thanks

 

:)

[NightOne]

You're entitled to your opinion...that doesn't mean it's right or wrong, but there are a lot of different ways to handle something like this. I would never confront another passenger unless I felt like they were doing something that was a danger...not an inconvenience or an annoyance. You just never know how someone is going to react, and I think addressing situations is the responsibility of ship personnel.

 

I would be upset too if I was told the situation couldn't be addressed because the ship is a "family ship." That would make me feel like the thousands of dollars I spent for a quality vacation weren't valued as much as the thousands spent by the people with a screaming child.

 

 

It's OK that the OP didn't handle it directly. Not the way I would personally handle it, but fine. If they want to have the staff do it, fine. My point is that they didn't do anything at all when it was happening. They waited until the next day to talk to the manager. Too late to fix it at that point. :)

[brfan]

In the future I would recommend that you speak to you give them a chance to correct the situation while it is happening and not afterwards.

 

I mean how were they supposed to do anything about it when you waited until the next day to tell them? If they would have brought out your plate with a frozen steak on it I am guessing you would have said something at that moment so that they could correct the problem. Correct?

 

OK. So you don't want to be given anything from RCCL at this point but you feel it necessary to expend all this time and energy making them (and the internet at large) aware of the issue.

 

Not sure I am seeing the motivation here. Are you just trying to be a good Samaritan here and help everyone else out?

 

I guess what I am curious about is what exactly it is you hope to become of this? What is your dream outcome?

 

Certainly you don't owe me (or anyone else here) and explanation but I am curious if you would like to volunteer and share.

 

Thanks

 

:)

 

While I understand what you are saying, they shouldn't have had to say anything unless the Chops Restaurant Manager was deaf. He/she was well aware of what was happening and should have spoken with the family without anyone having to ask him to. I'm surprised no one else in the restaurant said something, unless it was just the OP and the family eating there.

[NightOne]

While I understand what you are saying, they shouldn't have had to say anything unless the Chops Restaurant Manager was deaf. He/she was well aware of what was happening and should have spoken with the family without anyone having to ask him to. I'm surprised no one else in the restaurant said something, unless it was just the OP and the family eating there.

 

Yes, maybe no one else complained. We don't know. We don't know how many feet away the child was. 10 feet, 25 feet, 50 feet? We don't know. How many other people were in the venue? We don't know. So yes there are a lot of other factors but if you are affected my a situation you have to address it at the time it happens. :)

 

Also, what may be really loud to one person may not be all that loud to another. People are all different.

 

Here's a thought. This all seems to be surrounding the fact that this happened in an up-charge/specialty venue where the OP had to pay $35 a head more per person. However, what if this happened in the Windjammer? or MDR?

 

After all you are paying for that as part of your cruise fare. Are specialty venues supposed to have lower noise levels than other dining venues?

 

If so, where does it state that???

 

Just something to think about. :)

[bloodymary]

Yes, maybe no one else complained. We don't know. We don't know how many feet away the child was. 10 feet, 25 feet, 50 feet? We don't know. How many other people were in the venue? We don't know. So yes there are a lot of other factors but if you are affected my a situation you have to address it at the time it happens. :)

 

Also, what may be really loud to one person may not be all that loud to another. People are all different.

 

Here's a thought. This all seems to be surrounding the fact that this happened in an up-charge/specialty venue where the OP had to pay $35 a head more per person. However, what if this happened in the Windjammer? or MDR?

 

After all you are paying for that as part of your cruise fare. Are specialty venues supposed to have lower noise levels than other dining venues?

 

If so, where does it state that???

 

Just something to think about. :)

 

Please let it drop. You were not there,

[NightOne]

Please let it drop. You were not there,

 

I have no problem with doing that but no one else on the thread was there either so should all further replies cease? Or just those that do not agree with your POV or opinion? :D:D:D

 

Not trying to be snarky so please do not take it that way. ;)