Why did Celebrity do away Farewell Napkin Waving

[keithm]

Perhaps many have been on enough cruises and have gotten sick to the point where we tried to figure out why. We travel with a very large group. Over half of us routinely get sick, cruise "crud", you know if you have cruised you caught this, too, yet we don't "think" twirling napkins could be harmful in any way....even though many have wiped their boogers into them, wiped away food, spat out non-edible pieces of food, etc, into these napkins. Why not, as someone else suggested, do the celebrating BEFORE food is being served. Often some tables serving is later than others, time after time again I have seen people doing their little napkin twirling while others close by are still eating.

 

No surprise so many get sick. Sometimes they say "oh its just norovirus" and they try to decontaminate the entire ship. Try checking the dining room. If the CDC ever saw this they would condemn the practice.

 

But it goes hand in hand with the cruise lines all ignoring the proven facts that second hand smoke kills people. Hey, I like having fun cruising and with my group, but people need to wise up as should the cruise lines.

For someone with a sick & twisted "visual ability" I think you'll give me nightmares for weeks with your great description of how the napkins are used.

[Fish Lover]

I don't know why they did, but I am thankful they have.

 

Perhaps because it seems odd to go through such fanfare for the restaurant staff, but no one thinks anything about the bar staff, cabin stewards, janitorial staff, trash sorting staff, sewage treatment staff, ship painting crews, that it was obvious one class of employees as granted strong favor at the expense of others?

 

What? It isn't for the benefit of the crew, it's for the passengers. Way back when, before select dining, they used parade through the dining room with the flaming baked Alaska. The crew is probablt relieved they don't have to do it anymore and I don't think the rest of the ship's staff gives a damn about this.

 

However, it did provide a special feeling for the last night....a sort of "good-bye".

[Tiggertastic]

Yeah I don't have to avoid that day and time anymore, waiters dashing to get things on tables do they could be in the line up whilst someone tongs their gravy stained napkin in my face

 

 

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[donaldsc]

One thing I really used to enjoy at the end of the cruise was the parade of chefs, the clapping, the napkin waving, the dancing with the waiters and a general good feeling for the end of a great cruise.

 

Last year, we noticed there was nothing going on in the MDR. We had new virgin cruisers with us and I know they would have loved this and given it a special ending to their holiday. So why did they stop this, surely not from listening to a few moaners? After all from the noise everyone used to make and the way everyone joined in, it seems the majority loved it.

 

A whole bunch of ship cooks and waitstaff parading around the dining room waving napkins in the air. Can anyone imagine anything dumber than that. I can't.

 

DON

[Guest Ivenia]

I am so happy to hear Celebrity has done away with this stupid practice - wish Royal Caribbean would follow in their footsteps.

 

Worst memory is food flying on to my dress from the waving napkins on a Holland America ship - horrible.

[iancal]

Have to agree. We dislike napkin waiving almost as much as we do the old baked alaska parades. Very smaltzy.

[Marelaine]

Boy, bunch of grouchy people in this thread! I plan to twirl my napkin every night to cheer you guys up!

 

LOL! Me too!

 

We took my elderly mother with us on the Equinox and had the same waiter and assistant waiter every night in select. They made mom promise she wouldn't miss formal night and the parade. They stopped at our table and dosy-doed mom a few times and twirled those napkins in saucy fashion. It was the highlight of her first, and probably only cruise. I know it's corny, but we enjoy the parades.

[Pstreet12]

Glad to see it go; we've hurried on many cruises to try to get out before the "performance." It's pretty corny; I don't see crew members exactly thrilled with doing it--and now, thanks to this thread, I've considered the germs flying about the dining room.

 

I can see that for a first time cruiser it might be fun. For the rest of us, I suspect that, in general, it is less appreciated.

[Pushka]

Dislike this a lot.

[impatientlywaiting]

We just got off Eclipse on 15 Mar. Plenty of napkin waving in MDR for last formal night

 

Yes, we were on the Eclipse b2b Mar.1st and 15th and we waved those napkins and hooted our wait staff like we were greeting the Pope!!!! It's just plain fun!

 

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So glad to read this. We just booked a B2B2B on Eclipse (we've jumped ship from Royal to Celebrity) and would definitely miss this on the last night(s)! And yes, we waved our napkins and sang right along with the staff on our B2Bs on Radiance! Fun, fun, fun!

[lysolqn]

If you've never had "Baked Alaska" done individually, then you've missed a really great dessert. The ones served on ships are really lame.

 

Not a fan of Baked Alaska on land or at sea but agree that the mass produced Baked Alaska served on ships leaves much to be desired.