Hawai'i Observations

[suechef]

No, quite the opposite actually...I have NO problem with anyone having a good or even GREAT time. But when your good or great time negatively impacts MY vacation, that bothers me. The wife and I tossed back more than our share but we didnt bother anyone else when we did so.

What happened was these two tables were loud, rude and obnoxious. If you have a problem with the "wrapped butter" you could speak with Chickapong and Wiri (our servers) and get it taken care of you. You dont need to stand up and announce that "no respectable fine dining restaurant serves wrapped butter" or, on another night, again stand an announce that "this menu is terrible, Im ordering off the childrens menu"..that is classless in a restaurant....not to even mention to overly loud converations and yelling between tables. Had Chickapong and Wiri and Harry the Head server, not been so good, we'd have moved.

We had nicknames for everyone:

"Queen of the neighboring village" was a loud woman at the table farthest away from us, but still very much a part of everyones conversation.

"Mayor McCheese" was the loud man who though it his job to serve people at other tables food from his table, this made Harry very angry and Chickapong and Wiri got chewed out for allowing this to happen...this was unfortunate for them, they couldnt stop this guy.

"Walter" was the man who told story after story (like Walter Cronkite) while getting louder and louder.

Again, we've done 16 DCL cruises and actually completed night 100 on our 4th night en route to hawaii....so we're serious cruisers...but for all the complaining we always hear abt the kids...on this trip, it was the adults....but we still had a very very good trip!!



AND lastly, John Charles wife should have been hired to do all the "hula dancing" demos, she was 100 times better than the "professional hula girls" that were dancing on our way to the Islands..again, just my opinion.

As another member of one of the tables you are referring to, I also feel compelled to respond. Your posting of rude, classless, and extremely un-Disneylike remarks was totally uncalled for, especially since you obviously know nothing about our extremely large group of cruising friends. Your post was sent to me by one of our tablemates. I have never been involved with DISboards (I'd rather spend my free time enjoying my life and the wonderful friendship of all the people I have met on my past cruises (which, by the way, amount to 34 Disney cruises and 289 nights for me, while some of our party have been on over 50 long Disney cruises... so you may not be quite as 'seasoned' as you think you are). Apparently, you have nothing better to do than to find cute little derogatory nicknames for people who are some of the finest on earth. Sadly, you have not been on enough cruises yet to realize the value of getting together with some of the most kind and fun-loving Disney cruisers you'll ever meet... people from all walks of life, from all over the world. Had you made any meager attempt to socialize, you would have been welcomed with open arms (not open wine bottles...or as you seem to suggest, EMPTY wine bottles). Guess you were so bored with your own table mates that you found us mesmerizing...how flattering!

Two in our group are professional chefs (I have been a chef, food stylist, and food writer for over thirty years, and our fellow chef tablemate is the nephew of Cajun celebrity Chef Paul Prudhomme). After being asked to provide personal, private feedback about the menus and meals by Food and Beverage, the Executive Chefs and Galley Team, we were happy to do so. Perhaps you should have been eavesdropping a little harder when the chefs and officers came over to our table to chat, as they always do.
Except for the butter (which you also misunderstood, because our request was for UNSALTED butter, which the pastry galley always has on-hand. To the amazement of Dining Room Managers, the wait staff did not know the difference between unsalted butter and margarine, and continually brought us the wrong thing. Harry knew better, and he always made it right). It seems as though a large number of dining room servers and assistant servers were fairly new to DCL, and perhaps needed a bit more training in Disney protocol. We, as professional chefs, felt that the food and service was not quite up to par this time, and knew that had we not expressed our concerns, many things would go unnoticed and unreported. F&B told us on numerousl occasions how much our feedback meant to them. They were most appreciative.

The special attention our group received in the way of special treats was totally unsolicited...in fact, we urged them NOT to take time from their busy schedules to prepare special dishes for us. All these crew members have become our family on the high seas, and we treat each other as such. Several have accepted our invitations to spend time as our house guests , and all seemed to enjoy their visits thoroughly. They made these offerings because they WANTED to, not because we demanded anything. We even acknowledged their kindness in writing (thank you notes in addition to the standard comment cards) before we disembarked, as my upbringing dictates.

It certainly is a shame that you didn't get to share any of the special items that were prepared to be SHARED amongst our surrounding tables. These special dishes were OK'd, and approved, in advance by F&B, as well as Harry. Mayor McCheese (my husband) was only trying to save Chackkapong and Wira from the additional work involved with passing these special meals among twenty-some people, as he has done on many past occasions. No one got in trouble, as you suggested!

The special dishes were phenomenal, and were enjoyed by anyone...and everyone... in our group who wished to taste them. In fact, Chef Carmine's divine dessert specialty on our final night was later cut up and shared amongst the dining room staff. Sorry you didn't get a taste of that...it was, shall we say, truly 'MAGICAL"!

One final note...with experience does come wisdom, tolerance, and brotherly love. True friends don't mind hearing the same story over and over from the "Walter Cronkite'"s in one's circle of friends and family. We love them and cherish their friendship and company, and we try to literally 'speak up' for those in our group who have become hard of hearing, so they don't feel left out! You are so fortunate that you are obviously not hearing impaired. Perhaps, if the dining room was too noisy, next time you should consider booking a suite, and have room service in your own private dining area.

Wishing you many more wonderful Disney cruises, and the good grace to take life in stride. Stop and take time to smell the roses and ENJOY them, rather than pointing out all the thorns and finding new names for the heirloom rosebushes! You'll find that being kind and giving is far more rewarding than being 'catty' and cynical.

That's the DISNEY way, my friends!

Happy Cruising!

 

[Princess Dolly]

As a member of one of the tables you are referring to I feel compelled to respond to this. I feel sad for you that you allowed other people around you who were having a good time influence your vacation in a negative way. Had you taken the time to get to know any of the people at any of the THREE tables within your vicinity, you would have learned that they ALL met each other on previous DISNEY cruises, they have been on the same cruises many times, and they are a group of the kindest, nicest, most generous and thoughtful people I have had the pleasure to know..AND in an age group range of 20 – 60 plus, we all got along fabulously.

Your observations from afar are very distorted—you do not know the full stories around any of the circumstances or the relationships we have formed with each other as well as with many crew members—and had you made any effort whatsoever to join in, you would have been welcome with open arms. That is what we do.

As for loud…the dining rooms are loud. I couldn’t hear people at the end of my own table so the fact that you heard so much leads me to also compliment your amazing hearing!

Here is another member of the dining section you are referring to…Second seating, Table 3 in Harry, Chackkapong (Aka Pong) and Wira’s section.

Like you, I have been on many Disney cruises, and also hit my 100th night on a Disney ship during the recent Hawaii cruise. I had a fabulous time on this cruise and did not let anyone ruin my experience. My only complaint is that I wish the sun made more of an appearance. We loved John Charles' wife too! What a nice surprise and personal touch!

Nevertheless, I felt compelled to respond to your remarks, specifically referring to two tables in your section, because by process of elimination, chances are one of the tables you are referring to is my table.

Let me start by saying I am nowhere near 60 and I wish I was still in college thank you very much!!! Anyway, our table was in the corner away from others in both Animators and Tritons and one table away from the corner in Parrot. There was no way you could possibly hear what was said at our table. Did we laugh, try to talk over each other to get our point across, have an occasional cocktail, respond when friends at other tables called out to us, eagerly join the conga line on pirate night, proudly and loudly cheer for our serving team whenever they had to march around the dining room, YES. In fact, even Ducky himself and his table, who did not have our servers but sat next to us in two restaurants, were guilty of most of these things too.

Did we graciously accept food that was brought to our table by a fellow cruiser, YES. You have no idea why a special meal was prepared for one of the tables in your section, nor were you aware that my table was included in partaking in that special meal. This meal was pre-arranged by the head chef, and our serving team was aware of this, so I see no reason why Harry would have “chewed” Pong and Wira out because it was shared.

And I didn’t realize sharing food with the table next to you was such a faux pas. As a matter of fact, Ducky’s table even shared a special dish with us. Who are we to turn Ducky down, even if it was Spam!

I’m glad Harry, Pong an Wira were a great team for you. They were good, but certainly not the best, yet we still enjoyed their company and had a few laughs with them while we were at it. Perhaps my table suffered because they were so attentive to you. We actually had to ask for fresh pepper almost every night, and were served coffee and tea after our empty desert plates were cleared. Not to mention that the first course never came out at the same time as others at the same table, so you had to give up being polite and waiting for the others to be served, if you wanted to enjoy your first course while it was still hot. Did this get in the way of us enjoying a good meal and having a good time, no way. And yes, not to worry, any concerns with our service and food were addressed discreetly.

I apologize if our good time and those we were socializing with interfered with your dining experience. Maybe if you’re going on the first Greece cruise, we’ll run into each other, and you'll get to know us, and see firsthand just how fun we can be!

PS: If you dont mind, can you please tell me who was "Queen of the neighboring village"....the inquiring minds of Table 3 want to know, and it will help settle a bet or two! Thanks!

As another member of one of the tables you are referring to, I also feel compelled to respond. Your posting of rude, classless, and extremely un-Disneylike remarks was totally uncalled for, especially since you obviously know nothing about our extremely large group of cruising friends. Your post was sent to me by one of our tablemates. I have never been involved with DISboards (I'd rather spend my free time enjoying my life and the wonderful friendship of all the people I have met on my past cruises (which, by the way, amount to 34 Disney cruises and 289 nights for me, while some of our party have been on over 50 long Disney cruises... so you may not be quite as 'seasoned' as you think you are). Apparently, you have nothing better to do than to find cute little derogatory nicknames for people who are some of the finest on earth. Sadly, you have not been on enough cruises yet to realize the value of getting together with some of the most kind and fun-loving Disney cruisers you'll ever meet... people from all walks of life, from all over the world. Had you made any meager attempt to socialize, you would have been welcomed with open arms (not open wine bottles...or as you seem to suggest, EMPTY wine bottles). Guess you were so bored with your own table mates that you found us mesmerizing...how flattering!

Two in our group are professional chefs (I have been a chef, food stylist, and food writer for over thirty years, and our fellow chef tablemate is the nephew of Cajun celebrity Chef Paul Prudhomme). After being asked to provide personal, private feedback about the menus and meals by Food and Beverage, the Executive Chefs and Galley Team, we were happy to do so. Perhaps you should have been eavesdropping a little harder when the chefs and officers came over to our table to chat, as they always do.
Except for the butter (which you also misunderstood, because our request was for UNSALTED butter, which the pastry galley always has on-hand. To the amazement of Dining Room Managers, the wait staff did not know the difference between unsalted butter and margarine, and continually brought us the wrong thing. Harry knew better, and he always made it right). It seems as though a large number of dining room servers and assistant servers were fairly new to DCL, and perhaps needed a bit more training in Disney protocol. We, as professional chefs, felt that the food and service was not quite up to par this time, and knew that had we not expressed our concerns, many things would go unnoticed and unreported. F&B told us on numerousl occasions how much our feedback meant to them. They were most appreciative.

The special attention our group received in the way of special treats was totally unsolicited...in fact, we urged them NOT to take time from their busy schedules to prepare special dishes for us. All these crew members have become our family on the high seas, and we treat each other as such. Several have accepted our invitations to spend time as our house guests , and all seemed to enjoy their visits thoroughly. They made these offerings because they WANTED to, not because we demanded anything. We even acknowledged their kindness in writing (thank you notes in addition to the standard comment cards) before we disembarked, as my upbringing dictates.

It certainly is a shame that you didn't get to share any of the special items that were prepared to be SHARED amongst our surrounding tables. These special dishes were OK'd, and approved, in advance by F&B, as well as Harry. Mayor McCheese (my husband) was only trying to save Chackkapong and Wira from the additional work involved with passing these special meals among twenty-some people, as he has done on many past occasions. No one got in trouble, as you suggested!

The special dishes were phenomenal, and were enjoyed by anyone...and everyone... in our group who wished to taste them. In fact, Chef Carmine's divine dessert specialty on our final night was later cut up and shared amongst the dining room staff. Sorry you didn't get a taste of that...it was, shall we say, truly 'MAGICAL"!

One final note...with experience does come wisdom, tolerance, and brotherly love. True friends don't mind hearing the same story over and over from the "Walter Cronkite'"s in one's circle of friends and family. We love them and cherish their friendship and company, and we try to literally 'speak up' for those in our group who have become hard of hearing, so they don't feel left out! You are so fortunate that you are obviously not hearing impaired. Perhaps, if the dining room was too noisy, next time you should consider booking a suite, and have room service in your own private dining area.

Wishing you many more wonderful Disney cruises, and the good grace to take life in stride. Stop and take time to smell the roses and ENJOY them, rather than pointing out all the thorns and finding new names for the heirloom rosebushes! You'll find that being kind and giving is far more rewarding than being 'catty' and cynical.

That's the DISNEY way, my friends!

Happy Cruising!

I've been around groups like yours on other DCL cruises. You may think you are a fun group, but for the most part you drive your servers nuts and annoy others who aren't part of your special group. The worst though was a group like yours in Palo. Totally ruined the atmosphere. But hey as long as YOU ALL are having a good time, right?

 

[OKW93]

I've been around groups like yours on other DCL cruises. You may think you are a fun group, but for the most part you drive your servers nuts and annoy others who aren't part of your special group. The worst though was a group like yours in Palos. Totally ruined the atmosphere. But hey as long as YOU ALL are having a good time, right?

Correct - thanks for understanding....

 

[TDC Nala]

Eh, so they're having a good time in the dining room at their tables, with their groups. There was a guy in Palo once who kept banging on the table to emphasize his story that he was telling for his friends. Annoying, but big deal.

What did get annoying was the large group saving seats for about 50 people at pub night in Wavebands.

 

[MissSlimskys]

I've been around groups like yours on other DCL cruises. You may think you are a fun group, but for the most part you drive your servers nuts and annoy others who aren't part of your special group. The worst though was a group like yours in Palos. Totally ruined the atmosphere. But hey as long as YOU ALL are having a good time, right?

If this were Facebook, I'd like this post. Completely agree. Having a good time is not an excuse for behavior that interferes with others. I've heard many times in trip reports, etc. that there are many DCL cruisers who seem to feel they own the ship because they've cruised however many times... And I've also seen some of the nicest, most wonderful people who still take it too far when they are in a convivial, alcohol-fueled, vacation atmosphere. It sounds like both dynamics were at play here...

 

[finnaddict98]

As another member of one of the tables you are referring to, I also feel compelled to respond. Your posting of rude, classless, and extremely un-Disneylike remarks was totally uncalled for, especially since you obviously know nothing about our extremely large group of cruising friends. Your post was sent to me by one of our tablemates. I have never been involved with DISboards (I'd rather spend my free time enjoying my life and the wonderful friendship of all the people I have met on my past cruises (which, by the way, amount to 34 Disney cruises and 289 nights for me, while some of our party have been on over 50 long Disney cruises... so you may not be quite as 'seasoned' as you think you are). Apparently, you have nothing better to do than to find cute little derogatory nicknames for people who are some of the finest on earth. Sadly, you have not been on enough cruises yet to realize the value of getting together with some of the most kind and fun-loving Disney cruisers you'll ever meet... people from all walks of life, from all over the world. Had you made any meager attempt to socialize, you would have been welcomed with open arms (not open wine bottles...or as you seem to suggest, EMPTY wine bottles). Guess you were so bored with your own table mates that you found us mesmerizing...how flattering!

Two in our group are professional chefs (I have been a chef, food stylist, and food writer for over thirty years, and our fellow chef tablemate is the nephew of Cajun celebrity Chef Paul Prudhomme). After being asked to provide personal, private feedback about the menus and meals by Food and Beverage, the Executive Chefs and Galley Team, we were happy to do so. Perhaps you should have been eavesdropping a little harder when the chefs and officers came over to our table to chat, as they always do.
Except for the butter (which you also misunderstood, because our request was for UNSALTED butter, which the pastry galley always has on-hand. To the amazement of Dining Room Managers, the wait staff did not know the difference between unsalted butter and margarine, and continually brought us the wrong thing. Harry knew better, and he always made it right). It seems as though a large number of dining room servers and assistant servers were fairly new to DCL, and perhaps needed a bit more training in Disney protocol. We, as professional chefs, felt that the food and service was not quite up to par this time, and knew that had we not expressed our concerns, many things would go unnoticed and unreported. F&B told us on numerousl occasions how much our feedback meant to them. They were most appreciative.

The special attention our group received in the way of special treats was totally unsolicited...in fact, we urged them NOT to take time from their busy schedules to prepare special dishes for us. All these crew members have become our family on the high seas, and we treat each other as such. Several have accepted our invitations to spend time as our house guests , and all seemed to enjoy their visits thoroughly. They made these offerings because they WANTED to, not because we demanded anything. We even acknowledged their kindness in writing (thank you notes in addition to the standard comment cards) before we disembarked, as my upbringing dictates.

It certainly is a shame that you didn't get to share any of the special items that were prepared to be SHARED amongst our surrounding tables. These special dishes were OK'd, and approved, in advance by F&B, as well as Harry. Mayor McCheese (my husband) was only trying to save Chackkapong and Wira from the additional work involved with passing these special meals among twenty-some people, as he has done on many past occasions. No one got in trouble, as you suggested!

The special dishes were phenomenal, and were enjoyed by anyone...and everyone... in our group who wished to taste them. In fact, Chef Carmine's divine dessert specialty on our final night was later cut up and shared amongst the dining room staff. Sorry you didn't get a taste of that...it was, shall we say, truly 'MAGICAL"!

One final note...with experience does come wisdom, tolerance, and brotherly love. True friends don't mind hearing the same story over and over from the "Walter Cronkite'"s in one's circle of friends and family. We love them and cherish their friendship and company, and we try to literally 'speak up' for those in our group who have become hard of hearing, so they don't feel left out! You are so fortunate that you are obviously not hearing impaired. Perhaps, if the dining room was too noisy, next time you should consider booking a suite, and have room service in your own private dining area.

Wishing you many more wonderful Disney cruises, and the good grace to take life in stride. Stop and take time to smell the roses and ENJOY them, rather than pointing out all the thorns and finding new names for the heirloom rosebushes! You'll find that being kind and giving is far more rewarding than being 'catty' and cynical.

That's the DISNEY way, my friends!

Happy Cruising!

......and thank you for making my precise point.......I attempt enjoy everything, we even "made the most" of hearing about all of your experiences and had fun doing so. We just thought it was a little classless...again, just our opinion....we didnt want our own dining room, we just wanted people to act like they were in a dining room and not a middle school cafeteria. If the two chefs in your group had patrons acting that way in their establishments, perhaps you'd feel differently?

If, as you claim the group food service was approved, why then was Harry tearing into our wait staff asking them why they allowed the mayor to serve other tables? Oh, Im sure Im just making that up too, right?

In closing, Im happy you had a good time, I really am, we had a good time too...perhaps we should just leave it there??

 

[finnaddict98]

As a member of one of the tables you are referring to I feel compelled to respond to this. I feel sad for you that you allowed other people around you who were having a good time influence your vacation in a negative way. Had you taken the time to get to know any of the people at any of the THREE tables within your vicinity, you would have learned that they ALL met each other on previous DISNEY cruises, they have been on the same cruises many times, and they are a group of the kindest, nicest, most generous and thoughtful people I have had the pleasure to know..AND in an age group range of 20 – 60 plus, we all got along fabulously.

Your observations from afar are very distorted—you do not know the full stories around any of the circumstances or the relationships we have formed with each other as well as with many crew members—and had you made any effort whatsoever to join in, you would have been welcome with open arms. That is what we do.

As for loud…the dining rooms are loud. I couldn’t hear people at the end of my own table so the fact that you heard so much leads me to also compliment your amazing hearing!

Wow, you all seem to be rather thin skinned at this post. Just be happy you all had a good time and let it go......it was our collective opinion on our observances. You have every right to disagree, and I respect that. Perhaps we'll see each other on a future cruise, actually, I'd bet we will, it would appear our two groups sail very frequently!

Until then, best wishes!

 

[finnaddict98]

Here is another member of the dining section you are referring to…Second seating, Table 3 in Harry, Chackkapong (Aka Pong) and Wira’s section.

Like you, I have been on many Disney cruises, and also hit my 100th night on a Disney ship during the recent Hawaii cruise. I had a fabulous time on this cruise and did not let anyone ruin my experience. My only complaint is that I wish the sun made more of an appearance. We loved John Charles' wife too! What a nice surprise and personal touch!

Nevertheless, I felt compelled to respond to your remarks, specifically referring to two tables in your section, because by process of elimination, chances are one of the tables you are referring to is my table.

Let me start by saying I am nowhere near 60 and I wish I was still in college thank you very much!!! Anyway, our table was in the corner away from others in both Animators and Tritons and one table away from the corner in Parrot. There was no way you could possibly hear what was said at our table. Did we laugh, try to talk over each other to get our point across, have an occasional cocktail, respond when friends at other tables called out to us, eagerly join the conga line on pirate night, proudly and loudly cheer for our serving team whenever they had to march around the dining room, YES. In fact, even Ducky himself and his table, who did not have our servers but sat next to us in two restaurants, were guilty of most of these things too.

Did we graciously accept food that was brought to our table by a fellow cruiser, YES. You have no idea why a special meal was prepared for one of the tables in your section, nor were you aware that my table was included in partaking in that special meal. This meal was pre-arranged by the head chef, and our serving team was aware of this, so I see no reason why Harry would have “chewed” Pong and Wira out because it was shared.

And I didn’t realize sharing food with the table next to you was such a faux pas. As a matter of fact, Ducky’s table even shared a special dish with us. Who are we to turn Ducky down, even if it was Spam!

I’m glad Harry, Pong an Wira were a great team for you. They were good, but certainly not the best, yet we still enjoyed their company and had a few laughs with them while we were at it. Perhaps my table suffered because they were so attentive to you. We actually had to ask for fresh pepper almost every night, and were served coffee and tea after our empty desert plates were cleared. Not to mention that the first course never came out at the same time as others at the same table, so you had to give up being polite and waiting for the others to be served, if you wanted to enjoy your first course while it was still hot. Did this get in the way of us enjoying a good meal and having a good time, no way. And yes, not to worry, any concerns with our service and food were addressed discreetly.

I apologize if our good time and those we were socializing with interfered with your dining experience. Maybe if you’re going on the first Greece cruise, we’ll run into each other, and you'll get to know us, and see firsthand just how fun we can be!

PS: If you dont mind, can you please tell me who was "Queen of the neighboring village"....the inquiring minds of Table 3 want to know, and it will help settle a bet or two! Thanks!

I don't know who the Queen was, but one of our table mates titled her that becasue she would always cut off whomever was speaking to make her point. If you were in Triton's she would have sat at the third table down from the corner. Sorry I cant be more specific than that...so I cant settle a few bets on that.

 

[mmouse37]

Ok...enough is enough.....this is being closed.

MJ