Does crew attitude change on the last day?

[nfcu]

Don't forget, the crew knows that the guest post-cruise comment evaluations were probably already submitted, so their performance on the last day will not be reflected.

 

I agree with the above comments on no room service breakfast the last day. That's one of the (many) reasons we now prefer Silversea over Cunard. And if Holland America can do it, why can't Cunard? I doubt room service breakfast has anything to do with cabin availability time for arriving guests.

[BlueRiband]

..I agree with the above comments on no room service breakfast the last day. That's one of the (many) reasons we now prefer Silversea over Cunard. And if Holland America can do it, why can't Cunard? I doubt room service breakfast has anything to do with cabin availability time for arriving guests.

 

No room service disembarkation breakfast probably has as much to do with staffing as cabin availability. It's the one day where almost the entire ship would use it and all at the same time. And stay in linger in their cabin longer. HAL can to it because cabins won't be ready for occupancy immediately when the ship starts boarding. As for Silversea, well, you paid dearly for it.

[ToadOfToadHall]

The first cruise we went on (and it was with Cunard), I was fuming on the last night when the daily programme arrived and informed us we had to be out of our cabin by around 9. We were not picked up till about 3 in the afternoon and then had to sit around in the airport till about 8.

 

I remember at the time saying "Right, get off our ship". I was livid, it was clearly the case that they had had your money and now they wanted you off as you were an annoyance to them.

 

It upset me that much we almost did not bother again. However, since then all the cruises we have done have been to and from Southampton so the "get off our ship" attitude does not apply.

 

If you stayed in a hotel and you were treated with so much contempt on your last day you'd never set foot back in the place.

Edited July 22, 2015 by ToadOfToadHall

[Lakesregion]

Reading an awful lot of "Me, me, me" here. Adding extra crew would delay debarkation by several hours as customs cleared the extra crew on board. Allowing everyone to remain in their cabins until being called to exit the ship would then require the new batch of pax. to wait until after three to board. It does work for hotels. You can stay until 11 or 12 but you generally then have to wait until after 3 or even 4 before checking in.

 

So far Cunard is operating on the principal of "We do miracles on a daily basis, the impossible takes longer". So be patient, maybe with the coming of robots who can work 24/7 with just a minor oiling, they will be able to turn around a 3,000 passenger ship in an hour. Until then, relax, one does not need their hand held 24/7.

[Host Hattie]

In what way Hattie?

 

In the way that we are no longer the happy, relaxed holidaymakers, we now have to face the journey home & back to reality.

 

Personally it was a bit of a shock on our first cruise to be turfed off so early but as someone else has said, it's nice to be able to start your holiday early so you have to pay the price somewhere. Our worst experience was P&O where we had to be out of our cabins by 7am !

 

We usually try to leave the cabin as tidy as possible with just our hand luggage to collect after breakfast. It was a pleasant surprise on our last trip to find Eggs Benedict on the Britannia breakfast menu on the last morning (& to be able to get a table for 2 !).

[Jayneykul]

Jimmyschippy you cracked me up "I'm too busy sulking" that's me to a T I always feel like having a little sob (apart from my 1 MSC cruise when I ran off celebrating)!

[ToadOfToadHall]

Reading an awful lot of "Me, me, me" here.

 

I'd say more like "I'm a paying customer here and I don't expect to be treated like an inconvenience".

[fantasy51]

(apart from my 1 MSC cruise when I ran off celebrating)!

 

I'm with you there Jayney. Two years ago I did that with Australian friends, as it was the only cruise that suited their timing. Never again! To make it worse, the luggage label came off one friend's suitcase (stupid instructions on the labels - I could see instantly that they were a disaster waiting to happen) and so it was the last off the ship. We missed our transfer to the airport and had to wait an extra hour or so for another one until we could disappear into the peace and quiet of an airport lounge.

[GUT2407]

Not something I've ever felt.

 

But then I have a lot of sympathy for them trying to turn around in such limited time.

[SPacificbound]

In addition to all of the work to turn the ship around for the next cruise, they have also been very busy the previous night getting all of the luggage moved.

[david,Mississauga]

If I understand correctly from other postings, one can board a HAL ship but not necessarily go to one's stateroom immediately. Arriving passengers often have to wait in public spaces until their staterooms are ready for occupancy - thus the observations of seeing passengers carrying or dragging their overnight bags about the ship.

 

Those rooms have to be vacated in one way or another. Personally, I prefer Cunard's trade off. The convenience of getting settled upon boarding is more of an upside versus staying there until the last minute.

 

On our Alaska cruise we boarded at 11:35 a.m. and our accommodation, as everyone's, was ready. We are not frequent HAL passengers, but we have been told by those who are that until a few years ago passengers did have to wait in public rooms for an announcement, but now the accommodations are ready at 11:30. I could find out more details, but it is getting off-topic. One other unusual benefit we noticed was an embarkation lunch in the main dining room for past passengers. When we board Cunard early in non-Grills the only place for lunch is the lido.

[tv24]

A couple of months ago on QMII we had an odd experience on the last morning in Britannia Club. We had received pre-paid gratuities as a part of our purchase. We did give a few tips to a few staff who had done exceptional jobs, and we filled out lots of "White Star Service" cards for staff who were great. But our main waiter had not done anything special during the entire 25 days, and had actually made a bunch of mistakes. We did not give him a tip, and he treated us extremely coldly on the last day, and almost refused to shake our hands. Very odd. Did not change my opinion about a very nice cruise. But this guy clearly wanted some extra money for nothing.

[Tangoqueen]

Not sure if it's already been mentioned but don't forget for some staff they will be going back home after months away from family and loved ones and subsequently want to get their jobs done ASAP to get themselves sorted. I don't know, but possibly they are not required to work on that last morning which would result in more work for their peers as the new crew won't be boarding until later. Either way we have noticed the distancing from some staff but not all. Out with the old and in with the new (potential tippers).

[Pegase90]

I'd say more like "I'm a paying customer here and I don't expect to be treated like an inconvenience".

Well, I agree with this.

 

Of course I respect the people who deliver my holiday experience, and I will empathise with the crew members who are busy, or who have a lot to do, or are travelling home, or who have luggage to move, etc., but it is their job.

 

On the other hand, it is my holiday. I paid a lot of money for it, and some of that - plus tips - pays their salary for which they are expected to be busy, have a lot to do, etc.

 

So come on people - you're showing signs of Stockholm syndrome here. But maybe that's a consequence of cruising.

[Sikwemu]

Came off QM2 yesterday, after the 175 B2B, and the day before I certainly wasn't as chatty to the crew as I normally was. I'd got a mental face on that I was having to get off and, besides having to do that, I'd got to pack as well!! In all honesty I wouldn't have really noticed if I wasn't being smiled at as usual because I wasn't doing much smiling myself as I was too busy compiling the "got to do" lists and such.

 

Yesterday morning though I can assure everybody that my morning smoothie was poured with the usual grin and a "see you soon madam". Also the cabin steward wished us a good trip home. The only Cunard person that didn't smile was the security officer as the keycard was zapped through for the last time but smiling doesn't often go with security wherever they are

[navybankerteacher]

I'd say more like "I'm a paying customer here and I don't expect to be treated like an inconvenience".

 

The simple fact is that, as a departing passenger, you ARE an inconvenience. Passengers who do not recognize the extraordinary efforts the crew must put in to clean up after them and ready the ship for the new batch are simply showing amnesia: don't they recall how they felt a week or so earlier when they wished they could board earlier, when they wanted their cabins to be available immediately upon boarding?

 

As a "paying customer", you need to recognize reality --- you have not really paid for a full seven days on a seven day cruise: Magic does not happen - you have to recognize that about 12 hours of your seven days is a sort of "tax" withheld. You will pay it either up front- and not be able to board until late evening of your first day, or at the end ---- by getting yourself off the ship quickly without looking for sympathy or tender farewells.

[Pegase90]

Thanks, that's very encouraging for a first timer to hear.

[ToadOfToadHall]

Passengers who do not recognize the extraordinary efforts the crew must put in to clean up after them and ready the ship for the new batch are simply showing amnesia:

 

It's not an "extraordinary effort", it's a called a job of work - its' what their jobs entails. Cruise lines are a service industry, and those that work for cruise lines are, therefore, also in the service industry.

 

As I say, if I stayed at a hotel and was treated as on a cruise on the morning of my departure, I'd not be returning to that hotel.

[Jayneykul]

Fantasy51 don't get me started on MSC! We docked in Venice 7am at 12 half of the ship still not unloaded The perfect end to a dreadful experience I feel ill when I see their logo

[fantasy51]

Fantasy51 don't get me started on MSC! We docked in Venice 7am at 12 half of the ship still not unloaded The perfect end to a dreadful experience I feel ill when I see their logo

 

This is all off topic, of course, but it shows others how lucky we are on Cunard and why a little thing like a rush on the last day is reasonably irrelevant.

 

On MSC I had knocks on my door every morning about 8am, whether I had notices out or not. On Cunard I only have to sleep late one morning and they don't disturb me for the rest of the cruise. On MSC the first morning I turned over and ignored it when someone knocked and poked his head in. The next moment a male and female came knocking. Perhaps they were worried that I was dead! Obviously a sleep-in on an MSC cruise is unheard of.

 

Kids ran up and down the corridors, supposedly removing any 'Do not disturb' signs in the mornings. The kids seemed to be unsupervised. I heard one 4-year-old knocking on the cabin door calling 'Let me in. Let me in. Or at least tell me where I'm meant to be going - Deck 3, Deck 4, where?' I don't think there was a kids' club.

 

There were long lines for the buffet at lunchtime. We would wait in line for 10-15 minutes before we could get to the food. However, their little afternoon tea fruit tarts were more to my taste than the Cunard ones. That was the only good thing.

 

Announcements galore, right into the rooms, and all in 6 or 8 languages! You couldn't actually tell when they started to speak in English.

 

The safety drill consisted of us all standing outside on deck while instructions were given in all languages, a few sentences at a time in each language.

 

Friends commented once that they felt I chose cruises according to the cruise ship whereas they chose according to the destination (anything from MSC to Seabourne). They are so right!

[Jayneykul]

The following happened on our MSC cruise:

1. Key card to open cabin door changed 5 times on embarkation before we could get in

2. Muster is not compulsory hardly anyone there

3. Entertainment opera or jaded singer who had to stop half way through as he didn't know the words stopped once as his clip in pony tail dropped out

4. Gala show finger shapes against the curtain

5 food at breakfast and lunch so poor we lost weight (tinned hamburgers et al)

6. Fighting in reception over gratuities

I could go on! Compare this with Cunard and having to leave cabin early on last day!

[Host Hattie]

:eek: A friend of mine is trying MSC for her first cruise soon, I hope she isn't too traumatised. She didn't ask for advice before she booked it so I didn't get chance to warn her.

 

I've read enough reviews to know that they didn't appeal to me.

[Jayneykul]

Host Hattie after your friend has been on her MSC cruise and looks at you in a very quizzical way as to why exactly you enjoy cruising direct her in the right path she can be saved!

[Runaways]

If comparing Cunard and MSC, is's a bit like comparing 'apples & oranges'. If the topic is service and crew attitude, then I have to say my one and only unplanned experience with MSC in July 2014 was a positive one. I broke a bone in my foot while on holiday at our house in France which resulted in a foot-to-knee cast. An emerging hip problem on the other side meant a wheelchair rather than crutches was necessary. My stepmother's holiday became a nursing/cook/housekeeping exercise- poor thing. We were booked on Celebrity Equinox for the last week of our holiday but needed to leave the house earlier as it was rented. Judy needed a break too. I found a suite on a 7 day round trip out of Marseille on MSC Lirica. I booked it last minute with some trepidation after hearing a friend's report on their Med cruise and reading others. I have to say I/we were treated with friendly kindness and consideration with efficiency from the moment we arrived at the pier. There was a letter from the Special Services Manager delivered to our suite (which was really just a large stateroom, but perfect for us) within an hour of boarding detailing everything on offer and not to hesitate to contact her for any reason. MSC also had red-jacketed bell-boys who arrived at my door within a minute of calling to take me wherever I wanted to go. This meant Judy could go on shore excursions or other ship board activities without worrying about me being confined to the suite. On Celebrity Equinox, while similarly generally kind, I had to rely on our cabin steward or general crew to wheel me around which took them away from their primary duties. I was always apologising because they were busy enough doing their regular jobs. So, MSC's bell-boys were fantastic - and I was their job. The food wasn't as generally good as Cunard or Celebrity and the style very different but that was expected, being an Italian line with a majority of European families on board. It wonderful to see 3 generations sitting down for a full , leisurely lunch together. But I must say we came away from that short, last minute cruise with good feelings and, getting back on topic, wonderful service from the moment we arrived at check in until a crew member put us in a taxi at the end.

Edited July 24, 2015 by Runaways
spelling error

[janecambridge]

Reading about kids removing do no disturb signs,on a recent river cruise,there is a light switch in the cabin that you turn on when you do not want to be disturbed and a small red light appears outside your cabin door.Stopping any mischief with the card tags.:D