Dining Service Quality Changes

Queenofthecastle

<font color=red>I may be the Queen, but the Tag Fa
Joined
Mar 5, 2003
Has anyone noticed a change in the quality of service in the MDRs this past year? We cruised on the Fantasy twice this summer, and the Wonder once this fall. We had first seating on all cruises, and we were a table of all adults, 3 couples total for each cruise. Our servers were very pleasant and seemed like they were doing the best they could, but the main glaring issue was that we consistently had empty water glasses and soda glasses every night. Service was also quite a bit slower than usual, and some minor mistakes were made (wrong orders delivered, etc.). All not a big deal, but not up to par with past standards. We always talk up Disney cruises and amazing service to our friends and family, but are now reconsidering. During our last cruise two weeks ago we brought this up to the MDR manager and he said that they did change "procedures" a little bit last year and made it a point to focus on "teamwork" as far as head server, main server, and assistant server overlooking the tables. For example, everyone was responsible for keeping water glasses filled now, whereas in the past it was the assistant server. Now the assistant servers help in bringing out the large trays of food, and the the main server hands it out to the appropriate guest. We think this "group mentality" is causing balls to be dropped, and one person needs to be responsible for all the needs of the table, and delegate as necessary. None of our servers seemed to have time to offer what had been offered in the past such as magic tricks, jokes, and basically just spend a bit of time talking to the table. They were always rushed.

We basically told the manager that whatever changes they made has broken what was working before. We reiterated that it was definitely not a personal server issue, but a systems issue. The manager seemed to really listen to us and said he would take out feedback into account.

Long of the short: has anyone else noticed this decline in service?
 
Has anyone noticed a change in the quality of service in the MDRs this past year? We cruised on the Fantasy twice this summer, and the Wonder once this fall. We had first seating on all cruises, and we were a table of all adults, 3 couples total for each cruise. Our servers were very pleasant and seemed like they were doing the best they could, but the main glaring issue was that we consistently had empty water glasses and soda glasses every night. Service was also quite a bit slower than usual, and some minor mistakes were made (wrong orders delivered, etc.). All not a big deal, but not up to par with past standards. We always talk up Disney cruises and amazing service to our friends and family, but are now reconsidering. During our last cruise two weeks ago we brought this up to the MDR manager and he said that they did change "procedures" a little bit last year and made it a point to focus on "teamwork" as far as head server, main server, and assistant server overlooking the tables. For example, everyone was responsible for keeping water glasses filled now, whereas in the past it was the assistant server. Now the assistant servers help in bringing out the large trays of food, and the the main server hands it out to the appropriate guest. We think this "group mentality" is causing balls to be dropped, and one person needs to be responsible for all the needs of the table, and delegate as necessary. None of our servers seemed to have time to offer what had been offered in the past such as magic tricks, jokes, and basically just spend a bit of time talking to the table. They were always rushed.

We basically told the manager that whatever changes they made has broken what was working before. We reiterated that it was definitely not a personal server issue, but a systems issue. The manager seemed to really listen to us and said he would take out feedback into account.

Long of the short: has anyone else noticed this decline in service?
We sailed on the Fantasy this past December and had better service than during our Magic cruise the year before.

Our head server was genuinely excellent. Our server was very good. Our assistant server was basically good, though slower to fill our drinks than I'd like (they did get filled, though). No mistakes were made and they did good work & expressed care for us without laying it on too thick.

My Palo server was excellent, too, and my Remy server was good. Very good experience overall.
 
I've heard similar complaints recently, but to be honest, we did RCCL this last year and won't be back on DCL til April next year, so am curious. Kind of sounded like maybe they lowered the number of auxiliary staff that fill drinks etc?
 
Kind of sounded like maybe they lowered the number of auxiliary staff that fill drinks etc?
Don't see how that could be. The original set up was the assistant server would hand out menus, serve drinks, clear table between courses. The server would take food orders, and serve you when the food was ready. Head server keeps an eye out that everything is working as it should, stepping in to help, if necessary.

I don't think it's possible to "lower the number of auxiliary staff" as each service team is still the same - server & assistant server, and head server.
 


We just got off the Fantasy last week and had the best servers. Sheree from the Philipenes and Laura from France.
 
On our recent Magic cruise our drinks often went unfilled too. Nothing that wasn't solved by flagging down our drinks person and asking for a refill, but it was sometimes hard to get a hold of her.
 


We just got off the Dream on Monday. I agree with the drinks. We had to flag down the asst server on more than one occasion to remind him of refill for hubbys soda. Also one night we ordered 2 of the specialty drinks. We waited so long we forgot we ordered them. Then had to ask 2 more times.

It def didnt ruin our experience and I prob would've forgotten about it if this topic hadn't been brought up.
Maybe the asst servers responsibilities have increased?
 
We got off the Wonder yesterday and my group noticed the same things about service. Our server was good, but not great and our asst. server and head server were both excellent. I didn’t speak to anyone but will email.
 
On the magic this past summer, the first few nights were great and then the rest were what was described above. Bomin and Drussel were very nice and great but it seemed like they were rushing. They still did Magic tricks and jokes but ever time I saw them they were walking very quickly.
 
The server team we get have always been great. We always request the same server and he seems to know how to get in and out of the kitchen fast, and always has great suggestions for the dinner. Yes, they sometimes have more tables and a lot of guests to serve.
 
This was my one slight quibble I had for our last cruise. I always had to ask the drink server for refills on water. He never refilled my girls' drinks either. If my girls had complained to me I would have spoken to the head server but they never even noticed. Next time though I'll stand up for myself.
 
I thought service on the Magic in October was great. For everyone who wasn't happy with it while on the cruise, why wait until you debark the ship to say something? Restaurant servers like to make their guests happy, give them the opportunity to fix it while you're still there instead of bringing it up on social media after the fact, that does nothing to help anyone.
 
Having sailed three of the four ships in the last year, I come to the conclusion you cannot generalize service quality across the fleet, or even a ship or specific rotation based on your experience.

Coming from a customer service background, I enjoy analyzing the quality of the service provided to me and other guests. My wife and I spend a lot of time in the MDR watching CM’s work, how they communicate, etc.. I constantly noticed great variations based on the service team.

On our Wonder cruise, our own team was simply bad : glasses empty, forgotten items, lack of resourcefulness, excruciatingly slow service. All their tables left the MDR while it was nearly empty, while we usually brisk through dinner, having looked at menus before arriving. Some tables just gave up and left before dessert. Around us, the other service teams were providing the expected excellent DCL service.

On our next cruise on Fantasy, we had the best team ever, but a group of tables not far away was always complaining to the head server, with reason it seems. Our friends were on a different rotation and everything was good for them, but not excellent. Their team was not engaging with them, only bringing out the dishes.

Then, on Magic, we had again excellent service and did not notice any problems around us.
 
Just got off the Wonder and I think the only reason our service suffered was that we had three different assistants servers over the cruise - never really in synch and had to explain desires to each different one.
 
The server team we get have always been great. We always request the same server and he seems to know how to get in and out of the kitchen fast, and always has great suggestions for the dinner. Yes, they sometimes have more tables and a lot of guests to serve.
Hi there! May I ask who your server was on the last cruise that you took on the Wonder?
 
We were on the Panama Canal cruise on the Wonder in October and actually liked the new system. Our food was served quickly and was always hot. Our drinks were refilled as needed. The only thing we noticed is that there is not as much fun interaction with the server's. Overall though, we felt the service was excellent.
 
Honestly not at all, we just were on the Wonder in October and service was good, not as good as when were on the Magic last year, but that was because we had a server that was incredible on the Magic. Seriously, she was the best server any of us have had ANYWHERE, not just on a cruise ship.

Now granted for us, we have dietary issues, so we were all ordering the night before, so we may not be as good of a judge on it all. But we never went without drinks on our Wonder cruise, our assistant server actually ended up getting a larger tip than our server did, not that our server was bad, he was great, but she was that much better.
 
Honestly not at all, we just were on the Wonder in October and service was good, not as good as when were on the Magic last year, but that was because we had a server that was incredible on the Magic. Seriously, she was the best server any of us have had ANYWHERE, not just on a cruise ship.

Now granted for us, we have dietary issues, so we were all ordering the night before, so we may not be as good of a judge on it all. But we never went without drinks on our Wonder cruise, our assistant server actually ended up getting a larger tip than our server did, not that our server was bad, he was great, but she was that much better.
Hi cmwade! Could we please ask the name of your server and assistant server on the Wonder? We will bbe sailing on her next year... Aloha, Karen
 
Hi cmwade! Could we please ask the name of your server and assistant server on the Wonder? We will bbe sailing on her next year... Aloha, Karen
Be aware, if you're thinking of requesting a server, it's best to make only one request - for the server, or assistant server.

It's quite possible that a serving team on one cruise may not be working together any longer (asst server is now a server; server is now in an adult dining venue; one or both may be on another ship; contracts end; vacation time). And, if you make a request that asks for both, DCL is notorious for not granting either request (as they don't know which you would prefer - one or the other).

Same thing, if you're requesting a specific rotation, don't also put in a request for a specific server. It's likely that the server may not be on the rotation that you want, and, again, DCL won't know which request is more important to you, and most likely grant neither.
 

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