Booking Servers in Advance on Wonder

[MHag]

I am doing the Alaska cruise this coming June as a party of 14 -- 6 adults and 8 kids ages 2 to 18. Everything I read makes me realize how important the restaurant servers are to your enjoyment on the cruise. Having never done a cruise before, would people suggest requesting certain servers before our cruise? Obviously I would be relying on friendly people like yourselves to recommend servers who have really gone above and beyond on a past cruise on the Wonder. Thanks in advance for all your help and suggestions!!

 

[hanscarlet]

I liked Cipri in Palo and Jojo in the MDR

I found the level of service on the Wonder to be better than the Magic and Dream so I think almost all of them are good... seems like the Wonder team has a certain cultural pride of service being above and beyond, this was at least our experience... (not that they other boats aren't good, because they are, just hard to explain)

 

[MPS516]

I have to agree, while the MDR service is great on all ships, we do feel it is a step above on the Wonder. We do have our own favorite we request but our reasons may not match yours. Additionally the assistant servers are generally not the same for long periods of time so a combination may be what made any particular trip special and they will not be the same pair next trip. In my humble opinion you can not go wrong if you don't over expect. While you read a lot on here about a particular person or thing, no one does it all.

 

[mevelandry]

Why not letting DCL surprise you?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Why not letting DCL surprise you?

Exactly. We've never requested specific servers. And never been disappointed.

Now, if we were frequent cruisers, or had special issues, and found a server that works well with us, I might reconsider this stance.

But, especially for first time cruisers, why not just go with the flow?

 

[MexiFinn]

Just off wonder. We had 2 sets as we did a B2B. Jesus and Aaron. Highly recommended.

 

[MHag]

Just off wonder. We had 2 sets as we did a B2B. Jesus and Aaron. Highly recommended.

Thanks so much! Hope you had a great cruise!

 

[clten]

As a first time cruiser, I don't know that I would request a server. Just having someone's name that worked well for another family does not guarantee that they will be a good match for your family. If you request someone just because someone else reported that they did magic tricks or made napkin hats, chances are most of the servers do this so you would end up with someone like that anyway. Also it doesn't mean that server or serving team can't have an "off" cruise and you would have been better off with a different team. We have a server that we request because of allergies. He is a great server, for us. Last year, he wasn't his usual self because of the individuals in his station (he had a very large table that was very demanding of his time and kept him running back to the kitchen). He was apologetic to us but because we knew him very well we knew why his service to us was not "typical". If this was the first time serving us, we would have thought he was an average server.

What I would do, something first time cruisers rarely know to do, is to talk to your head server about what you need your serving team to improve to give you the dining experience you want. And if the fit isn't right, have the head server move you.

 

[hubbard53]

ive never considered requesting specific servers (i've never understood the infatuation on this board with servers)

I guess the only ones i would request are the ones who set up our table, bring us our drinks, and let me and my family enjoy our meals without riddles, jokes, magic tricks, or interruptions. I know i sound like a prick but we just dont get into all the "extra" entertainment from the wait staff. . .