We have sailed the smaller ships once each and both times that has been some of our best service and it seems a much higher percentage of tenured crew. But the last we sailed a small ship was April so maybe now with the Destiny coming out next month and Adventure a few more months after that, they are starting to stretch thin.
Even my worst service on DCL has been fair. We have had 3 different serving assistants who seem to ādisappearā but the best service teams that weāve had are true teams and either are willing to run to grab whatās needed and are on it making sure everyone gets enough of what they want both food and drink.
DHās biggest pet peeve is lemons in his iced tea. He hates the seeds that fall in. And he always asks for iced tea and no lemon. And only on the last night did his iced tea show up without a lemon. Small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, but it was annoying.
My upcoming trip on the Fantasy will be our second-ever cruise, and first-ever DCL cruise. So it will be interesting to compare the two. We found the service on the Allure of the Seas to be impeccable. I would say the one negative really was that sometimes it felt like the servers were (in a way) pandering for a nicer tip, maybe? Not terrible or anything, and I get why they do it. This is there livelihood. But, they really were excellent.
Iāve heard nothing but great things about DCL, so excited to experience the difference.
One of our favorite things we missed this trip was the servers would bring over puzzles to solve at the end of the meal. My 15 year old son and 18 year old nephew had such a fun time trying to solve them last trip and I remembered them from previous experience as well. I hope you get these types of little things that make all the difference!
This reminds me - there is a new video on the Disney imagineering channel that highlights the DCL live entertainment training facility in Toronto. Fascinating! Itās incredible how much work goes into these shows.
Iām sorry your experience was disappointing! Now that you mention it, we didnāt see any of the puzzles or tricks from the servers on our last cruise (Treasure in August). I did miss that, but we donāt have any young kids, so I chalked it up to that. I find service on DCL to be very high on average. I have encountered a person here and there over my six DCL cruises who seems less enthusiastic, or less well trained. The assistant server on our last one seemed less good, though pleasant. I donāt knowāI appreciate cruise staff so much, as I recognize how hard they all work all the time, so I have a good bit of grace for them. Iām not saying you donāt, but perhaps my standards are lowerāI donāt expect impeccable or even nearly so.
As far as the animation, in the past they did have live CMs doing these classes, and now they have the professional animator on video. In my experience, the video does a much better job because the CMs were not animators. But reasonable minds may differ on this one.
Weāre very much the same when we cruise. On our four DCL cruises, weāve had fantastic service almost every time. Two cruises ago our assistant server was super nice but was obviously still learning. Our main server had to step in for him a few times and DH found himself waiting for his wine on several occasions. Our most recent cruise had a fantastic pair of servers. Our main server had just been promoted on his last cruise when the server he was the assistant for had a heart attack! They paired him with an obviously experienced assistant server for our cruise and they were a great team.
Perhaps we have lower standards, but weāve always found the food to be terrific as well! We tend to try things that I canāt cook myself so Iām not comparing in that way.
I think the issue is that it was so off from our previous experiences, so I was looking to see if others felt the same. If this was our first time, we probably would have had different expectations. But we used to rave that the disney cruises were worth the added cost because of exceptional service, food and experiences and we just didnāt feel that way leaving this time.
I very much feel the same. Even the assistant servers that havenāt been as on the ball with drink refills are so pleasant. And I noticed our first cruise just how hard they worked for us in those days onboard. Even if it felt like they were absent somewhere else, you could just tell they were busy, but really wanting you happy. And in the end, on a Disney ship all the included drinks at dinner are all available up on the pool deck in as much as you want to drink, and that leaves more space for actual dinner at dinner.
But really, they work crazy hours - 12+ hour days Every.Single.Day for the entire contract which can be 3-5 months. And they donāt even have time to sit down really between sailings. If theyāre lucky they have just enough time to run out on the cast shuttle when in port usually to stop at a store for any supplies they are low on, but then they donāt get to have any down time. And they use whatever minutes they can to get in naps since so many of them are up early and late to do those 12+ hr shifts.
I was surprised to learn that when we were at Perfect Day at Coco Cay, that MOST of the people working the food stands and such were actually crew from the ship itself. So, even when the ship is at the private island, they donāt get a break for those few hours.
Our first cruise was 2023 so post Covid and I remember feeling like it wasnāt quite up to the rave reviews I had heard. Everything was good and we had a server that was one more cruise after us away from being home and you could just tell he was so ready. But he was still so on the ball (and helping fill in some of the gaps with our assistant server who was one of those ones who would be missing awhile), but you could just our main server was so tired.
Then looking back and knowing how hard they were working and how much he was still able to deliver, I realized just how good he was.
And I felt like it spoke a lot to all our credit, that at the end of the night our serving team was lingering at the table, hanging out with us and chatting the adults, doing magic and puzzles with the kids.
And that last morning I read all about how it just feels like they just want you off the ship and we didnāt feel that one bit. Our serving team after second breakfast was over still playing with the kids showing them tricks and puzzles and we were lingering so long over breakfast (in the Enchanted Garden that has the light effects) that we they turned on big lights and turned off the effects and then our serving team was like ok, ok, I think we need to say goodbye. And my kids still ask about him every now and then (Andrew from Jamaica).
I have heard it from both our main servers at dinner all the way up to several servers at Palo that the crew all use any of their down time in the day to nap because they get so little of it! And I havenāt gotten the courage to ask any of them, but I sometimes wonder how much fresh air and deck space do they have available to them. Because thereās not open decks below 4 and I donāt think they can just pop up to the deck, so Iāve often wondered how they manage that.
I donāt want it to come across that we donāt appreciate the staff and all they have to go through. I did take the survey and gave them all high marks because I know how much and how hard they work. DH and I were actually wondering if there were new, external factors impacting things, like them having more tables than usual or if Disney cut the number of staff aboard (which 100% is what is happening at my work now and is definitely impacting everything!). It just felt different.
I think everyone has a point that having more ships means it will be harder for them to staff all the ships with the best, most experienced crew. It may take some time for them to catch up.
I thought our crew on the Wish earlier this month was fantastic, but I thought the crew of the Magic back in 2023 was better. Our head server in particular left a real impression on me! The head server this time was nice but not as sharp.
On the Wish, our assistant server gave our kids little figures made from pipe cleaners at every meal. They loved that.
On our recent Treasure cruise, the server at the table next to ours did tricks with the two adult couples there but I did not notice that with any other tables.
We recently sailed on Treasure. This was our first Disney cruise and my 8th cruise overall. I have sailed Carnival, Royal, and NCL. Happy to answer any questions people might have. Treasure is a beautiful, cozy ship and the theming is wonderful.
Hey All, I have a concern about my upcoming dates. I went on the NCL website to look up my cruise, w/o logging in, to see if the room Iāve bid on for an upgrade was availableā¦ and the cruise dates are different than my reservation, boarding pass everything. I got on the NCL chat and they sent a link to show me I had the correct date but when I opened her link it was the wrong dates. Iām not sure what more I can do to verify this. If I leave our flight in at the current date and the departure date is wrong, we will miss the embarkation. I didnāt use a travel agent so I have no one to contact to verify. I also do not have international calling w/o a hassle that is.
the only thing I can think to do is change our flights and arrive a day early. WE didnāt do that in the first place b/c the cheapest room we could find was 500 pn or a hostel for 90 pn
I could be so far off, but is there any chance there was some kind of confusion booking it in a different time zone? Thatās about the only thing I can imagine! And even that itās a big stretch. I have to imagine your original email and receipt should be Enough to go by.
I also wonder that if you just go on again tomorrow somehow be fixed because itās actually an IT issue
cause good sleep and good prices!!!