Pool Deck Waitstaff Almost Nonexistent - Equinox

[rclibertygirl5]

We just got off of a 10 day cruise on the Equinox on 2/9.  We were a group of 8, 4 of which had never cruised Celebrity before.  The lack of waitstaff servicing the pool area was an issue throughout the entire cruise.  We would occasionally see 1 person coming around taking orders but it was rare.  You would however see 3-4 people walking around pushing the cheap watered down drink of the day but they would not take a regular bar order.  Because of the lack of waitstaff, the pool bar had very long wait times.  We got to the point where we would just walk up to the oceanview bar to get drinks.  We have been on 34 cruises with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and never have seen it this bad.  It left a very bad impression with the 4 first time cruisers in our group.  This issue in addition to all of the other cuts that have been discussed repeatedly on this board have us looking to other cruise lines.  We will be trying Virgin next year and the rest of our cruises this year are with Royal Caribbean.  Celebrity brands itself as "modern luxury" but with all of the cutbacks, they are eliminating the things that used to differentiate them.  We don't have any additional Celebrity cruises booked at this point.

[davekathy]

Hopefully you mention all of this on your PCS. 

[jobinhume]

We just got off a cruise on brilliance of the seas that had a similar lack of staff around the pool. Obviously, I have no idea if this is factual, but I did hear from a number of people that cruise lines are having the same labor issues. Many businesses in the US are having, and it wasn’t a question of the cruise line hiring few were just fewer people willing to work the cruise. 

[rclibertygirl5]

Yes I did and more.....  There were also obvious staffing issues in the main dining room.  We loved our waitstaff and they were working so hard but they just couldn't keep up.  

[rclibertygirl5]

Just now, jobinhume said:

We just got off a cruise on brilliance of the seas that had a similar lack of staff around the pool. Obviously, I have no idea if this is factual, but I did hear from a number of people that cruise lines are having the same labor issues. Many businesses in the US are having, and it wasn’t a question of the cruise line hiring few were just fewer people willing to work the cruise. 

This is probably a valid issue but then the cruise lines should limit their capacity to the number of passengers that they can provide acceptable service for.

[DCPIV]

12 minutes ago, jobinhume said:

Obviously, I have no idea if this is factual, but I did hear from a number of people that cruise lines are having the same labor issues.

 

It's not a matter of available labor if they have more waiters pushing the "drink of the day" than those taking bar orders.  It's a matter of how X is using they labor they have.

[jelayne]

In 38 Celebrity cruises I have never seen a crew member walking around with the drink of they day trying to sell.  I have seen it on Carnival but not Celebrity.  This must be something new .

[rclibertygirl5]

2 minutes ago, jelayne said:

In 38 Celebrity cruises I have never seen a crew member walking around with the drink of they day trying to sell.  I have seen it on Carnival but not Celebrity.  This must be something new .

I agree and there would be 3-4 servers at a time walking around with trays by the pool trying to "sell" the drink of the day and they would not take a regular bar order.

[jelayne]

30 minutes ago, rclibertygirl5 said:

I agree and there would be 3-4 servers at a time walking around with trays by the pool trying to "sell" the drink of the day and they would not take a regular bar order.

Our 1st cruise was on Carnival and DH thought since they would walk up and reach out to him with a drink In hand that the drink was free😂

[Baron Barracuda]

With most passengers now sailing AI what's their incentive to push drinks?  Maybe some tips for servers but little additional revenue for X

[rclibertygirl5]

4 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

With most passengers now sailing AI what's their incentive to push drinks?  Maybe some tips for servers but little additional revenue for X

The are pushing the cheap watered down drink of the day instead of letting people order what they want which would cost X more.

[horseymike]

1 hour ago, rclibertygirl5 said:

I agree and there would be 3-4 servers at a time walking around with trays by the pool trying to "sell" the drink of the day and they would not take a regular bar order.

Maybe another money grab. Push the higher profit items and discourage the rest.

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, horseymike said:

Maybe another money grab. Push the higher profit items and discourage the rest.

Nothing new. Pick and choose and move on. 

[zitsky]

OP, when you had to wait for one of the bars near the pool, what were the wait times?  10-15 minutes?  

 

This makes me glad I booked a cabana on our next cruise.  

Edited February 13, 2023 by zitsky

[cbfb]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

In 38 Celebrity cruises I have never seen a crew member walking around with the drink of they day trying to sell.  I have seen it on Carnival but not Celebrity.  This must be something new .

My thought exactly! I have seen them with ice carts of water and beer but no drink of the day. 

[rclibertygirl5]

30 minutes ago, zitsky said:

OP, when you had to wait for one of the bars near the pool, what were the wait times?  10-15 minutes?  

 

This makes me glad I booked a cabana on our next cruise.  

At least 15 mins because you have to factor in the people that just barge up and say they are next even though others have been waiting..... 

[39august]

OR, if you've been waiting you can speak up about it. 

[zitsky]

32 minutes ago, 39august said:

OR, if you've been waiting you can speak up about it. 

A lot of people seem unable to use their words.  They think it’s rude.

[mcrcruiser]

So what do you  do or have done  about this issue ? If it bothers people that much speak with  the supervisory level or if need be  the Hotel Director ,  should it not be solvable at the lower levels  .It could take action to change things unsuitable or problems with behavior  .Say nothing & it remains the same & accept it that way . We all have choices 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

If you think it bad on Celebrity, the staffing problems were a lot worst on RCL 

[owensjro]

We had similar issues on our two DCL cruises in December. Lack of waitstaff in most areas on the ship and the dining team was completely overwhelmed. Full cruises and they clearly weren't staffed for it.

[binro01]

5 hours ago, rclibertygirl5 said:

This is probably a valid issue but then the cruise lines should limit their capacity to the number of passengers that they can provide acceptable service for.

That's very hard to do for them with the current inflationary period and the enormous amount of debt they had to take on during the pandemic shut down so they could survive.

[Bill Miller]

The drama of bringing employees online because of the pandemic is over. Something is wrong if RCCL/Celebrity can't find help. If you can't service your customers, passengers will take their hard earned vacation dollars elsewhere.

[rmalbers]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

OP, when you had to wait for one of the bars near the pool, what were the wait times?  10-15 minutes?  

 

This makes me glad I booked a cabana on our next cruise.  

I have to say I saw one couple rent a cabana on EQ on my 10 nighter last week.  I sort of wonder how it worked out because I sure didn't see anyone providing any service.  Maybe someone from the sunset bar checked on them, not sure.  I sure would research that plan before committing.  

[jcpc]

5 hours ago, jelayne said:

In 38 Celebrity cruises I have never seen a crew member walking around with the drink of they day trying to sell.  I have seen it on Carnival but not Celebrity.  This must be something new .

Actually, it’s nothing new.  It’s something “old”. Celebrity did this years ago (trays of drink of the day plus a “beer/water cart” being circulated around the pool).   But I have not seen this in years.  And I started sailing Celebrity the first year they started with the Horizon and have taken 90+ Celebrity cruises…so I’ve “been around” awhile!