How to enjoy the MDRs, specifically servers more?

[christinalynne]

We are gearing up for our second Disney Cruise. Last year we went on the 5 night Western on the Wonder in April. I was very excited for the experience in the dining rooms having spent so much time on here in preparation and hearing all of the great stories of excellent service. Both my husband and I are very outgoing and tried to strike up conversation/establish a rapport but every meal we left extremely disappointed. Even now as I read and prepare for our next cruise, I see over and over how others' servers made their cruise that much more amazing.

Here are some areas where we were let down:

They did not interact with us AT.ALL unless it was taking an order or delivering it

They did not know any of us or our names by the end of the cruise and we went to every single MDR reservation

They did not interact with our kids (5 & 2.5) once, nor did they offer them something different when they obviously didn't like their food (and since they seemed so rushed and cold to us- we didn't bother asking them for something else).

It truly felt like we were being rushed and in an "assembly" line.


Anyway- I am committed to enjoying this aspect on our next cruise (7 night Eastern on the Magic), so does anyone have any tips- or do you think we just had bad luck last time?

Thanks for any tips about making the dining each night more memorable and "magical".

 

[KashasMom]

I would suggest requesting a table change! You certainly do not have to tolerate indifference. And if your children don't like what they're served don't be afraid to speak up and ask for something else!

Also - did you request a table with another family? Disney seems to do a decent job of putting "like" families together. Our daughter had twin girls her age on our last cruise and they had a blast together - ending up spending time together outside of the dining room.

 

[DahliaRW]

As far as servers, if they didn't meet your expectations, make sure you let DCL know. I'm sure DCL will train them on interacting, it is their job after all, but they don't know that these servers need additional training unless they are told.

You can ask to switch if you're not happy with your servers. You also could go talk to the head dining room guy who probably can help you out.

I'm really surprised you had such bad service. When we were on the Fantasy, servers we had for breakfast and lunch in the MDRs often remembered my kids' names and would greet them by name when they saw us in another restaurant!

 

[MsJiminyCricket]

We are gearing up for our second Disney Cruise. Last year we went on the 5 night Western on the Wonder in April. I was very excited for the experience in the dining rooms having spent so much time on here in preparation and hearing all of the great stories of excellent service. Both my husband and I are very outgoing and tried to strike up conversation/establish a rapport but every meal we left extremely disappointed. Even now as I read and prepare for our next cruise, I see over and over how others' servers made their cruise that much more amazing. Here are some areas where we were let down: They did not interact with us AT.ALL unless it was taking an order or delivering it They did not know any of us or our names by the end of the cruise and we went to every single MDR reservation They did not interact with our kids (5 & 2.5) once, nor did they offer them something different when they obviously didn't like their food (and since they seemed so rushed and cold to us- we didn't bother asking them for something else). It truly felt like we were being rushed and in an "assembly" line. Anyway- I am committed to enjoying this aspect on our next cruise (7 night Eastern on the Magic), so does anyone have any tips- or do you think we just had bad luck last time? Thanks for any tips about making the dining each night more memorable and "magical".

You can always tell the head server. They are usually very attentive to these issues so their families are happy.

 

[darkwing818]

OP here's something I've done on every cruise (12 on DCL) I always ask the server for their recommendations for the entree & usually dessert. I do this for 2 reasons, 1st usually there's maybe a couple things I can't decide between & 2nd it's a good ice breaker. They always seem willing & happy to give their recommendation. Over the years I have never been disappointed by any servers recommendation. This seems to build up a rapport over the course of the cruise. This seems to be especially true when I tease DW about not taking our servers recommendation on subsequent meals & making sure the server it part of the "Tease" (good natured of course
Clearly there is a risk here, what if the servers recommendation "stinks? But like I said, between the MDRs, Palo & Remy I've always been pleased with a servers recommendation & always made sure to tell them so.
Hope this all makes sense........

 

[twindaddy]

I would have asked for a table switch after the first night. On six cruises over 3 lines, I have never had that kind of indifference. Totally unacceptable.

I might have said something to the head server like "We are a very outgoing and friendly family, and we would like a server team that matches us. Our current servers X and his assistant Y seem to not want to interact with us much. Can you switch us to a different team?"

 

[JohnDS]

OP here's something I've done on every cruise (12 on DCL) I always ask the server for their recommendations for the entree & usually dessert. I do this for 2 reasons, 1st usually there's maybe a couple things I can't decide between & 2nd it's a good ice breaker. They always seem willing & happy to give their recommendation. Over the years I have never been disappointed by any servers recommendation. This seems to build up a rapport over the course of the cruise. This seems to be especially true when I tease DW about not taking our servers recommendation on subsequent meals & making sure the server it part of the "Tease" (good natured of course
Clearly there is a risk here, what if the servers recommendation "stinks? But like I said, between the MDRs, Palo & Remy I've always been pleased with a servers recommendation & always made sure to tell them so.
Hope this all makes sense........

Our server started meals by reading the menu items and making recommendations. But if you paid attention, what she did was recommend everything. I didn't feel that she added anything to our experience, rather she was the person we had to deal with to eat in the MDR. We generally got better service and at cabanas.

 

[darkwing818]

Our server started meals by reading the menu items and making recommendations. But if you paid attention, what she did was recommend everything. I didn't feel that she added anything to our experience, rather she was the person we had to deal with to eat in the MDR. We generally got better service and at cabanas.

I DO pay attention & we've not had a server who recommends everything on the menu. I guess we've just been lucky.

 

[MouseMomx2]

We have been very fortunate with our serving teams. Over 13 cruises we have never been let down. We usually go in on the first night and make sure to ask them some questions about themselves. We tend to be super friendly and chatty and want to get to know them as much as we want them to get to know us.

All teams are different. Some are very chatty while others are more laid back. Some do magic tricks and give brain teasers, some don't. I don't think I'd raise a fuss unless I felt the service they were providing was not good. That said, if I felt that our serving team was subpar I would definitely request a table change.

 

[michellekcm]

I didn't appreciate how good our servers were on our first cruise until we went on our second. Lol.

The server on our second cruise was disinterested, didn't interact with the kids at all (except to laugh at my daughter when she ordered mac and cheese for the 6th day in a row), etc. Admittedly, it wasn't helped by the fact that our table mates seemed to think dining start times were a guideline and were consistently 15-20 minutes late for main dining. They also often asked for things not on the menu. So we were always the last ones out of there.

Our assistant server was lovely though - we tipped her significantly more than our server, who only got the minimum daily rate .

 

[Plaid Princess]

OP here's something I've done on every cruise (12 on DCL) I always ask the server for their recommendations for the entree & usually dessert. I do this for 2 reasons, 1st usually there's maybe a couple things I can't decide between & 2nd it's a good ice breaker. They always seem willing & happy to give their recommendation.

This! Also, if you're adventurous ask them to choose for you! My husband will eat ANYTHING, so he had fun having the servers pick his meal. By the last night, our server didn't even hand him a menu... just brought out the food he thought my husband would like best. He paid very close attention to the dishes my husband liked and used them as a guide. He often also brought out extra things for the table, or special things with "different sauces" they'd come up with in the kitchen. It was great, and they both seemed to enjoy it!

 

[lilroo442]

We loved our servers- they knew my little nieces name on the first night and knew all of our names on the second night. We were very talkative with them, maybe you should try that? We asked about their cruising work experience, about their home country, etc. One thing they especially enjoyed was talking about their families- like how often they get to see them, what they thought about being away from home, that kind of stuff. We also did ask their recommendations for food as well, which they were very eager to give. They were obviously very busy but they took time out to talk to us- which got them some well deserved great tips!

 

[lbgraves]

Sorry that you had that experience. The servers can make or break your MDR experience. We have had 2 bad ones over 10 cruises. We did get one switched after day 3 because it was so bad. We also have had recommendations made for only one dish in the MDR. The servers have tried the food and have seen the results from previous guests with which meals get the best response. This can vary from year to year.

 

[JohnDS]

They also often asked for things not on the menu. So we were always the last ones out of there.

Things like this confuse me, on the one hand I hear that you should ask for something else if you don't like the menu. On the other hand there is the opinion above. I did not like the menu, but suffered through it so not to be a burden to the table. I would not do it again.

 

[michellekcm]

Things like this confuse me, on the one hand I hear that you should ask for something else if you don't like the menu. On the other hand there is the opinion above. I did not like the menu, but suffered through it so not to be a burden to the table. I would not do it again.

That probably came out not quite as I intended it. I was meaning that in combination with always being late to the table. Ordering different food will incur a delay, clearly, as it's not pre-prepared etc. Which didn't worry me on my first cruise. But when people are 20 minutes late arriving and THEN ordering different food, it means an additional delay. Hence why we were always last out.

And yes, we could have ordered when we arrived (and did one day), but our server wasn't really interested in taking our order until everyone was there. He dropped the menus off when we arrived then sort of disappeared until the others showed up. As I said, a very disinterested server.

So I think all that combined just made our dining experience loooonnnngggg.

 

[KathleenlovesMickey]

This is so interesting to me to hear these stories. We have had great and we have had good but never indifferent. The fact that Disney expects them to get 100% scores that is the thing that bugs me the most of all my times is just do a good job make me smile and the last night you can mention that it would be great to be given the highest score but don't go over it every night. This has happened to me every time. So I wonder how these indifferent servers can still be employed at least as servers. Or are people just not filling in the surveys? Really I think Disney really does read them and uses the information to make sure that the dining experience and all experiences on the ship are rated 100%.

 

[KashasMom]

This is so interesting to me to hear these stories. We have had great and we have had good but never indifferent. The fact that Disney expects them to get 100% scores that is the thing that bugs me the most of all my times is just do a good job make me smile and the last night you can mention that it would be great to be given the highest score but don't go over it every night. This has happened to me every time. So I wonder how these indifferent servers can still be employed at least as servers. Or are people just not filling in the surveys? Really I think Disney really does read them and uses the information to make sure that the dining experience and all experiences on the ship are rated 100%.

Our head server mentioned the 100% 4 nights out of 6 on our Fantasy cruise. We had room service one night just to avoid him otherwise it may have been 5 out of 7 nights!! It was unbelievably obnoxious and if it happens again, I will tell him/her the first time that if I hear about it again, I will NOT be giving them 100%!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

On the end of cruise questionnaire there is a question have you been put under pressure to give a high score.

If it's mentioned so many times that's pressure.

 

[Zandy595]

On our last two Dream cruises, our servers seemed so rushed, they didn't have time to interact with us. I don't think it was their fault at all, they just had too much work to do. I felt bad for them.

 

[DisneyHelen]

Our service on the Wonder and Magic was great. The service on the Dream was not great. We had a long wait to order and the server was so rushed he hardly talked to us at all.