Dream Server - Please Help Advise!

[ajgardner]

Hello - This will be our 4th Disney cruise coming up in April. I did not request servers for any of our past cruises because I felt pretty confident that we would like whoever we got. This was the case for the first two cruises. Our last cruise, our servers was absolute duds....no jokes, no magic, no riddles/brain teasers, no cutting kids' food, etc.. They were very professional and got the job done, so we can't complain and it didn't ruin anything for us - it just left us a little underwhelmed and disappointed. I'm not sure if we should just go with the flow again or try to request someone?
Does anyone have suggestions of a server who would be on the Dream that would bring back that "wow" feeling?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hello - This will be our 4th Disney cruise coming up in April. I did not request servers for any of our past cruises because I felt pretty confident that we would like whoever we got. This was the case for the first two cruises. Our last cruise, our servers was absolute duds....no jokes, no magic, no riddles/brain teasers, no cutting kids' food, etc.. They were very professional and got the job done, so we can't complain and it didn't ruin anything for us - it just left us a little underwhelmed and disappointed. I'm not sure if we should just go with the flow again or try to request someone?
Does anyone have suggestions of a server who would be on the Dream that would bring back that "wow" feeling?

We've never requested specific servers on any of our 11 cruises. Only issue we ever had was a brand new assistant server on one cruise. But she learned quick and by the end of the cruise she was in the swing of things.

I've found that often servers don't bring out their "bag of tricks" (mostly been seated at adult only tables) until we've indicated to them that we're interested in such things.

 

[ajgardner]

My gut tells me to just go with it, and get whoever we get. But we will be very disappointed if we get another server like our last one. I have to assume that he was just not the typical server...just very formal and not that fun/friendly feel at all.
If anyone does have a specific server they think is just great on the Dream, I wouldn't mind hearing about it!

 

[TCB in FLA]

We were on the dream at Christmas, had a great serving team of Miguel and Matthew. Miguel did magic tricks each night that even neighboring tables (with different servers) would stay to watch. And they were top notch serving team as well.

 

[Doodledogs]

I think Alex Campo is the best server on the Dream. We have had him twice now!

 

[kkayluvsdis]

My gut tells me to just go with it, and get whoever we get. But we will be very disappointed if we get another server like our last one. I have to assume that he was just not the typical server...just very formal and not that fun/friendly feel at all.
If anyone does have a specific server they think is just great on the Dream, I wouldn't mind hearing about it!

Do you remember the names of your serving team? We just got off our first cruise, also on the Dream, and were too, disappointed by our experience. After our amazing "server" at our embarkation day lunch at the Enchanted Garden we had high hopes for our MDR team. Just like you said, they were sufficient, but just seemed very rushed, didn't give any advice about foods to order nor give any special attention to our kids. We didn't complain, tipped full amount, and left thinking maybe we had unrealistic expectations.

 

[ajgardner]

Do you remember the names of your serving team? We just got off our first cruise, also on the Dream, and were too, disappointed by our experience. After our amazing "server" at our embarkation day lunch at the Enchanted Garden we had high hopes for our MDR team. Just like you said, they were sufficient, but just seemed very rushed, didn't give any advice about foods to order nor give any special attention to our kids. We didn't complain, tipped full amount, and left thinking maybe we had unrealistic expectations.

I'm terrible with names, I bet my husband would remember. However, this was on the Fantasy last year - so probably not the same server. The two cruises before that we had excellent servers, so it was just s huge let down. But like you said, it was sufficient - nothing to complain about and we tipped full amount.

 

[ajgardner]

We were on the dream at Christmas, had a great serving team of Miguel and Matthew. Miguel did magic tricks each night that even neighboring tables (with different servers) would stay to watch. And they were top notch serving team as well.

Do you happen to know Miguel's last name or home country?

 

[Bishoparc]

I am personally of the don't request anyone camp. For our November cruise we requested a previous server who was one of our best and felt like since we had him before that he didn't have to give us his all. The dinners each night took the longest it has ever taken and we were all there right on time each night with our party of 6.

This is just my personal experience and I realize some people have had awesome experiences requesting the same person over and over.

Also we, 90% of the time, are traveling as a couple so we sit with table mates. I find making requests throws off who you get seated with. I've just personally decided to go with the flow on the dining assignments as it tends to go better for us personally (better service and better table mates). Again, just me personally.

What you may also run into sometimes is that they've just gotten back onboard from their time off and that first cruise can take a little to get back in the swing.

All that said, I've not had what I would call "bad" service on the Dream. Just varying levels of excellence.

 

[Vicki106]

We were on the Dream last March and our serving team was wonderful. We had Wayne from Jamaica and Crystal (she spelled it differently) from Mexico. Our head server was Kendall from Trinidad. We absolutely loved them! Wayne did some tricks for my 8 year old son and all three of them were very efficient while still taking time to joke around and tease my teenage daughters. We would ask for them in a heartbeat.

 

[tink1970]

I never request but I think I'd like OP's servers...I hate the magic tricks, riddles, etc. Just please serve and let me eat, or clear and let me leave! I think that's a challenge, some people love the superfluous stuff and others don't. Can't make all of the people happy all of the time sort of situation.

 

[ajgardner]

I never request but I think I'd like OP's servers...I hate the magic tricks, riddles, etc. Just please serve and let me eat, or clear and let me leave! I think that's a challenge, some people love the superfluous stuff and others don't. Can't make all of the people happy all of the time sort of situation.

This is very true. If it were just my husband and myself we would probably prefer the just serve us route. But our kids absolutely love all that other stuff. It's a hard balance.

 

[TCB in FLA]

Do you happen to know Miguel's last name or home country?

I'm afraid I don't know his last name, but he was from the Domican Republic. Matthew was from South Africa I believe.

 

[ajgardner]

I'm afraid I don't know his last name, but he was from the Domican Republic. Matthew was from South Africa I believe.

Thank you!

 

[pontikes67]

KIAT! We loved him, but back when we sailed, I saw a number of great servers (or at least our table interacted with several around Kiat's station). We were crazier than normal tables I suppose

 

[Sytrace]

I find that the service on a shorter cruise like the Dream is a bit more challenging in regards to serving teams and how they perform.
There is so much transition for not only the serving teams, but for the guests to get familiar with where they are even going the first few nights and the fun and theater of the dining rooms themselves, that sometimes, less is more. We don't need the games or tricks, but the kids like a good brainteaser every now and then. I think servers use their instincts to tell whether a table is receptive to that or not.
We don't request servers anymore. We did that a couple of times early on, but we have met so many wonderful people that it is just not a priority anymore. You can always let the team know what you would need and like at the outset...that might be helpful for everyone.
We have sailed on both the Fantasy and the Dream and the vibe is definitely different on the Fantasy. You have time to settle in and learn about your team and they about you.

 

[mernin]

We were on the Dream Feb 6-10 and had a good experience with Kurt from Jamaica and Marco from Montenegro. Kurt was really quick getting our courses out to us and Marco did lots of tricks, etc with the kids. Kurt arranged to send cookies for my daughter with an allergy over to castaway cay as well. They also made sure to stop by our table during lunch in the dining room when we ate there. We were very happy with them. It was our first cruise so we don't have others to compare it with.

 

[Mama Lisa 911]

Servers Leo Utaja from Indonesia and Travis Francis from Jamaica are awesome! We always request them when we go on the Dream. They used to be a serving team but when we went on our most recent cruise this past October, Travis had gotten promoted from assistant server to server. Travis was paired up with an assistant server named William from Great Britian who was also excellent! You cant go wrong with either Leo or Travis as your main server. They are great fun and took great care of us. We consider them to be one of the best parts of our cruise. We are really going to miss them when we take our next cruise on the Fantasy this October.

 

[Napoleon Dynamite]

I have never requested, and our first 3 cruises on the Dream, we had GREAT servers. Great with the kids, very attentive, cut the food, had drinks ready, etc. We just got off the Wonder, and our servers were duds. The first night we had a female server who seemed confused. Didn't interact at all. We skipped dinner the next two nights. The last night we had a male server, I think the female was a fill in? Same assistant, who was slightly snotty, and even more snottier at breakfast on disembarkation day. But, we don't cruise to eat, hence the reason we skipped two nights in the MDR, so I just brushed it off!

 

[mandylovesdisney]

I have never requested, and our first 3 cruises on the Dream, we had GREAT servers. Great with the kids, very attentive, cut the food, had drinks ready, etc. We just got off the Wonder, and our servers were duds. The first night we had a female server who seemed confused. Didn't interact at all. We skipped dinner the next two nights. The last night we had a male server, I think the female was a fill in? Same assistant, who was slightly snotty, and even more snottier at breakfast on disembarkation day. But, we don't cruise to eat, hence the reason we skipped two nights in the MDR, so I just brushed it off!

Who did you have on the Wonder?? In November we had Norbert.... Not my favorite server. I forget the girls name who was helping him.