Is the Sun a training ship?

[khirschman]

I just read somewhere that someone thought the Sun was a training ship and had mediocre service because of this. Does anyone know if this is true..not about the service but about the ship being a training ship?

Thanks!

[umpy10]

Now that you mention it, I heard from an old neighbor that she thought she knew a second cousin who was a cop and might have arrested someone who thought they heard from a priest that there was only a slight chance that this wasn't the truth............ but you never know !

 

Now that we have that out of the way, to whom were you speaking to and from where did they get their facts from?

If the service was that bad on a "Training Ship" then the Service Fleet Wide is in big trouble. :eek: Really ?... Please !

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

[khirschman]

Now that you mention it, I heard from an old neighbor that she thought she knew a second cousin who was a cop and might have arrested someone who thought they heard from a priest that there was only a slight chance that this wasn't the truth............ but you never know !

 

Now that we have that out of the way, to whom were you speaking to and from where did they get their facts from?

If the service was that bad on a "Training Ship" then the Service Fleet Wide is in big trouble. :eek: Really ?... Please !

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

 

I just asked a question.... if you dont know the answer thats ok!

[ColinIllinois]

I just read somewhere that someone thought the Sun was a training ship and had mediocre service because of this. Does anyone know if this is true..not about the service but about the ship being a training ship?

Thanks!

 

 

I've never heard that before but I would doubt that to be true. There is always going to be new people on every ship as positions open up. To put all the new folks on one particular ship would make no sense, especially since part of your business plan is to have first time cruisers return to your line.

[triptolemus]

Certainly if you "just read somewhere..." you could cite the source, no?

[Solararc]

When we were n the sun in September all the crew knew their job and performed well, I highly doubt they were trainees

 

 

*Living large one week at a time*

[www3traveler]

All of the Norwegian ships have some kind of training happening on every cruise.

[drvalo]

I don't know, but from what I have observed all of the ships are training ships. There have seemed to be staff in training on every ship on which we have cruised. Granted, it's been two years since I have been on the Sun, but we found the service to be excellent. It seemed to be a happy and fun crew contributing to one of our best cruises ever.

[khirschman]

Thanks for the replies.. I was thinking same thing that all ships "train" ..why would one do it all?

[khirschman]

Certainly if you "just read somewhere..." you could cite the source, no?

 

No.. It was an individual.. On another forum.. I'm not going to give out their name.. Why does it matter.. I turned to the seasoned cruisers of CC to see if they could help me out..and they have.. It's not like I was quoting prices or policy changes where you would want to know the source.. I should have just said I was wondering... Because I was...

[roger001]

Crew members swap between ships frequently. Six of the crew we knew well on the Pearl for three or four sailings, are now each on a different ship. And we've seen crew we met on other ships later on the Sun. New hires are dispersed throughout the fleet where ever they are needed, backed up by the experienced staff already on board. With each sailing almost, there will be a certain number of newly hired crew. That's the nature of the cruise ship industry employee turnover. And for the Sun, we've sailed on her 5 times, as recently as several months ago, and we love her and her crew. She is one of our favorite ships.

[fishin' musician]

I believe it is common to cherry pick the crew from across the fleet whenever a new ship is put into service.

 

I was on the Sun last summer and really enjoyed the crew. I attended a Q&A with the captain, chief engineer and the hotel director. The hotel director has been with the company since 1969!

[TrumpyNor]

Three of our 18 NCL cruises have been on the Norwegian Sun, the last time was two years ago. For us the crew on the Sun has been the best crew we have ever met, very service minded and friendly, as well as performing their various jobs very well. We are looking forward to be on board the Sun again next year.... We have been on 8 different NCL ships so far, and all though our favorite ships are in the Jewel class, our favorite crew has always been on the Sun. But I believe it also has to do with the captain and/or hotel director in charge, and the working environment they create on board - all three times we cruised with the Sun, it was the same captain, and I know for a fact that he was very much loved by his staff and crew. He is not on the Sun anymore, so I don't know if I would find the service any different now. I actually don't believe so - my own experience is that all though the larger ships may offer more "things to do" on board, the personal service is often much better on smaller ships - just because of the fact that there are less passengers and less crew on on board.... But that is of course a very subjective standpoint on my part... ;)

Edited March 12, 2015 by TrumpyNor

[khirschman]

Crew members swap between ships frequently. Six of the crew we knew well on the Pearl for three or four sailings, are now each on a different ship. And we've seen crew we met on other ships later on the Sun. New hires are dispersed throughout the fleet where ever they are needed, backed up by the experienced staff already on board. With each sailing almost, there will be a certain number of newly hired crew. That's the nature of the cruise ship industry employee turnover. And for the Sun, we've sailed on her 5 times, as recently as several months ago, and we love her and her crew. She is one of our favorite ships.

 

Thank you for this.. We have sailed 5 times..loved every ship..Dawn is my fav so far! What you've said is exactly what I was thinking..wanted to know what others thought before I opened my big mouth

[khirschman]

Four of our 18 NCL cruises have been on the Norwegian Sun, the last time was two years ago. For us the crew on the Sun has been the best crew we have ever met, very service minded and friendly, as well as performing their various jobs very well. We are looking forward to be on board the Sun again next year.... We have been on 8 different NCL ships so far, and all though our favorite ships are in the Jewel class, our favorite crew has always been on the Sun.

 

Good to know! Ive never been disappointed myself...have there been snafus here and there certainly .... But so much is attitude and rolling with it..it's a cruise.. How bad can it be!!

[TrumpyNor]

Good to know! Ive never been disappointed myself...have there been snafus here and there certainly .... But so much is attitude and rolling with it..it's a cruise.. How bad can it be!!

 

I agree 100%! :)

[swedish weave]

I can't say if the hiring requirements are the same as they were a few years ago, but at that time, NCL would not consider a waitstaff job application unless the applicant had experience in a three star or better hotel. If that is still in place, the only training that would be needed is familiarization with the ship itself and in how the service on NCL would differ from hotels.

[RuthlessBoss]

We were on Sun when it was at Canaveral> One night we got seated by a wall and by the way our waiter acted, he was very new. We were his only table in that area and I think he forgot all the little things. We really enjoyed having him and he relaxed once he knew we weren't going to bite him.

 

As for training on Celebrity years ago, we opted for the dining area where everyone was a trainee learning the ropes for the main dining room. Again, it's the little things they forget. We have always chuckled over the forgotten baked potato, that suddenly appeared in my line of vision between my arm and the table.:)

[BentleyRadcliffe]

Yes, we were told that the Sun IS a training ship. This was told to one of the other passengers, by the guest service desk, after they complained about one of their fiasco dinners. One of the workers stated that they work on the ship for eight months and then off for two months and the help train others.

Today, I was at Fred Howard Beach in Tarpon Springs and met someone who was on the Sun the week before my cruise. They too stated that they have been on other NCL cruises and had no problems, but were disappointed with the level of service they received on the Sun as well. As I stated in my original post, we had EXCELLENT service from our Steward, and great service in the casino. I understand that the reviews are subjective, but what are the chances of at least fifteen other cruisers felt the same way about the service in the main dining rooms?

[Loucat]

We are just off the Sun on February 8th,2015; I want to go back!!

This of all of our salings was one of the best. The crew was wonderful from the Officers who were visible to all to staff in restaurants. Of course, some are new but there is no way this is a "training ship". The crew are experienced; know each other and are out to make this the best experience for all.

My sad point is that the Sun will leave Florida for Alaska and then South America.

We LOVED this ship and crew!

I would board this Sunday in Tampa in a minute!

[Laszlo]

I just read somewhere that someone thought the Sun was a training ship and had mediocre service because of this. Does anyone know if this is true..not about the service but about the ship being a training ship?

Thanks!

 

Thats pretty funny. Our cruise was about 5 weeks ago and we like the Sun. I know for a fact our room Steward has been with NCL for 8 years and the Sun is his 5th ship (second tour). One of the Spa ladies has been with NCL for 7 years and enjoys switching ships every year. Don't believe the mediocre service. I will admit our first night dinner at Cagney's was more or less a disaster. We went thru two waiters, first guy just vanished, very very slow service until I got up and talked to the hostess. She could not have more apologetic. They had some internal issues going on. They did not charge us for dinner (6) of us and they gave each couple a nice bottle of wine. After that everything was great and I have zero complaints

[cmdchiefthom]

I have had the pleasure to sail aboard the Sun enough to know several of her crew, and I know they have taken crew members off the Sun as crew for taking our the new builds coming out of Germany. I've never heard anything about it being a training ship and that would really surprise me. However, I will ask the crew I know in three weeks when I board the Sun again, and post it here.;)

[swedish weave]

Yes, we were told that the Sun IS a training ship. This was told to one of the other passengers, by the guest service desk, after they complained about one of their fiasco dinners. One of the workers stated that they work on the ship for eight months and then off for two months and the help train others.

Today, I was at Fred Howard Beach in Tarpon Springs and met someone who was on the Sun the week before my cruise. They too stated that they have been on other NCL cruises and had no problems, but were disappointed with the level of service they received on the Sun as well. As I stated in my original post, we had EXCELLENT service from our Steward, and great service in the casino. I understand that the reviews are subjective, but what are the chances of at least fifteen other cruisers felt the same way about the service in the main dining rooms?

 

Eight months working and two months off is the standard contract on NCL for all the waitstaff whether new or experienced. I believe you are getting the wrong impression about how their contracts work.

 

There are some exceptions from countries that supply a few workers, but the majority are from Bali/Indonesia and Phillipines and have a standard 8 month contract.

Edited March 13, 2015 by swedish weave

[Lanzador]

I wonder if they would hire a 53 year old engineer.

[SeaShark]

No.. It was an individual.. On another forum.. I'm not going to give out their name.. Why does it matter.. I turned to the seasoned cruisers of CC to see if they could help me out..and they have.. It's not like I was quoting prices or policy changes where you would want to know the source.. I should have just said I was wondering... Because I was...

 

I believe the point that they were trying to get across to you was that when "someone" makes a claim, you should question THEM and ask THEM to back up and explain what they said. It isn't fair to ask others to pass judgment on what "someone" said without letting people see the actual claim so that they are aware of the context in which it was given.