Head servers

[disgirl14]

So after my cruise, I am just wondering... Do the head servers do anything? He came over to talk to our family twice, for a minute each time, but I just don't really see that to be deserving of a tip. The rest of the night we saw him standing around doing nothing while the server and assistant server were working harder than I've ever seen people do in my life? Is there some "behind the scenes" thing the head servers do that I am unaware of, that makes them deserving of a tip?

 

[CruznLexi]

Us they do so much behind the scenes. They make sure you food comes out promptly and the correct temp. Special diets are correct. They also over the buffet as well.they do a lot behind the scenes.

 

[taswira]

They also keep a watchful eye on their serving teams (servers and assistant servers) to ensure that they are performing their duties, thus the head server is their immediate supervisor and the person you should inform if you have any issues with your serving team.

 

[erionm]

On our Fantasy cruise this past November, our Head Server stopped by the table almost every night to check on things. Also, the suggested gratuity for the Head Server is only $1 per night per person.

 

[bobbiwoz]

The head server we had on the Wonder was Englebert. He checked on us every day and I think he did an excellent job in overseeing the dining room.

 

[Angiedee]

Just got off the Fantasy yesterday my head server did nothing said hello once.
After 2 meals with them I took my family and eat at Palos every night after
The veal had more fat then meat I asked him y he came back with sorry it happens maybe we should bring you 2 next time to witch would be better .

 

[tinkerone]

first couple of cruises we only saw him on the last night with his hand out. we wondered as well, why are we tipping him.
after those two cruises things changed for us. we saw him help bring meals, help clean tables and he always made time to say hi, anything you need. we felt much better about tipping because we could see what he was all about.
also on our last cruise, which was a b2b, he came over and asked if we would like for him to arrange us to have the same wait team for the second week of our stay. he was even able to have us keep the same table. that head waiter went way above and beyond imo.

 

[kiford]

On our B2B, he not only arranged to have the same servers for our second leg, but managed to seat us with a couple we'd sat with the previous year on our cruise. Neither of us knew that the other was going to be there so it was a nice surprise.

On our Med cruise, the head server came by every night and chatted with us, told us what was going to be happening the next day, important things to know, to check that we were all getting what we liked. She was very nice and funny; even got photos with her on the last couple of nights.

One day we ate at the MDR for breakfast and we waited for a bit after we had been seated and no one had come over. I saw one of the head servers go and talk to one of the servers and suddenly we were attentively waited on. They make sure that no one is neglected, handle any issues, will make arrangements to move you if you have issues with any of your tablemates (not that we've ever had that problem - we are currently even arranging to go on a cruise next year with a couple we met at our table last year and still correspond with some others we've been seated with).

I have seafood allergies and I've had the head server has come to our table to advise me that something I ordered had, or may have, seafood in it or that they cannot guarantee that it doesn't because it has something pre-packaged in it. Most of what they do is supervisory and behind the scenes but some are more social and visible than others. If you have no issues with your meal, have good and attentive servers, a lot of it is due to the head server.

 

[ibouncetoo]

And sometimes YOUR head server may also be the dining room manager, so he/she will be involved in issues elsewhere in the room. I've had cruises where the HS was rarely seen (at our table) and others where all our special needs or requests were handled efficiently and immediately. Certainly the longer the cruise, the more likely you are to have interaction with you HS.

If you run across one you love, be sure and request them as your HS in future cruises. I've found that the quality of the HS is reflected in the quality of all the servers and assistant servers under them!

 

[Starwind]

I have multiple food allergies, and on our 4 night Disney dream cruise this past fall, the head server is the one who:

- took my order each night for the three meals I would have the next day (all in MDRs; and also for lunch at Castaway Cay); he also made sure we knew where to go for which meal;
- would welcome us shortly after we arrived at our table at the start of each dinner;
- was usually the one who actually brought me my food at dinner (my sister's was brought by our server), and would check in with us at least once after the meal was served to make sure everything was alright;
- is the one who gave me my food at Castaway Cay; and he came over while we were eating to make sure it was ok;
- twice I think was the one who brought my food for breakfast in the MDR


So, for us, with multiple food allergies for one of us, we saw our head server a lot.

-SW

 

[dbarker]

I think of the Head Server kind of like a restaurant manager. If he seems to be doing nothing, then everything in the dining room is going smoothly and everyone is doing their job well and there are no issues. Practically Perfect in Every Way.

On the last night of our first cruise, I had ordered a steak Medium Well. I came out Medium Rare. I caught the eye of the head server and he fixed it very quickly. Our servers were crazy busy that night. The Head Server stepped in and took care of the issue and no one would have been the wiser.

 

[tvguy]

We saw our head server every night.

The night our assistant server showed up drunk (after getting a Dear John letter from his fiance in Croatia), he stepped up and helped our main server.

On disembarkation morning, when the dorks who had our table for early seating snuck in the main dining room 15 minutes before late seating breakfast, denying us our final meal with our server team, he quickly found us another table with another server team, and then twice covered for our server team so they could come by and say good bye to us.

If things were great for you in the main dining room, it was because the head server did his or her job in the background. If there were problems, they stepped up to fix them. And if you had a bad main dining room experience, it was because the head server did not do their job.

If they do their job, they do deserve the suggested tip IMHO.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

We saw our head server every night.

The night our assistant server showed up drunk (after getting a Dear John letter from his fiance in Croatia), he stepped up and helped our main server.

On disembarkation morning, when the dorks who had our table for early seating snuck in the main dining room 15 minutes before late seating breakfast, denying us our final meal with our server team, he quickly found us another table with another server team, and then twice covered for our server team so they could come by and say good bye to us.

If things were great for you in the main dining room, it was because the head server did his or her job in the background. If there were problems, they stepped up to fix them. And if you had a bad main dining room experience, it was because the head server did not do their job.

If they do their job, they do deserve the suggested tip IMHO.

*WOW* What ship was this and when?

 

[tvguy]

*WOW* What ship was this and when?

Magic. NYE Cruise 2003/04

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Magic. NYE Cruise 2003/04

Oh good, I didn't want it on my upcoming cruise.

 

[twindaddy]

The head server we had on the Wonder was Englebert. He checked on us every day and I think he did an excellent job in overseeing the dining room.

We had Englebert as a server on the Wonder last year, he was fantastic.

The head server at the time was Harry Simmons, who was fantastic. He checked in every night, and when a giant tray of food landed, he helped his staff pass it out and cut food for my kids. He even brought me a Diet coke once because I drink about 50 per meal.

When a boy at a table next to us barfed all over the place, he and his team had it cleaned up in about 4 minutes. He was the man who was everywhere, and I gladly tipped hiim.

However, others have said they never said their head server till the last night, not sure if I would want to tip them.

 

[rentayenta]

We saw our head server nightly. He may have had a hand behind the scenes but he didn't refill a water or run any food or anything like that that I noticed. We did not tip him extra but did tip our other two servers more.

 

[Iamaplanner]

I'm actually glad you posted this. We have been on two Disney cruises. Both times, we never saw the head server, except on the last night, when he was making the rounds and asking how everything had been. It really left us with an odd feeling, especially since that was the 'tipping night' (honestly, it came across as a cash grab to us). We opted to tip our servers a lot more than the standard (they were run off their feet!) and not tip the head server above the customary amount. I'm happy to hear other have had a better experience because we were left with an uneasy feeling about what the head server actually does.......

 

[bumbershoot]

Just got off the Fantasy yesterday my head server did nothing said hello once.
After 2 meals with them I took my family and eat at Palos every night after
The veal had more fat then meat I asked him y he came back with sorry it happens maybe we should bring you 2 next time to witch would be better .

You were there twice and he said hello once. That sounds pretty good to me!

You asked him why the meat had more fat than it should? And the answer that it happens (as I'm sure it does, given that it doesn't come out of a laboratory) wasn't OK, nor was him trying to solve the situation?

I'm trying to get it, and why it was bad.

Oh good, I didn't want it on my upcoming cruise.

Seems to me the situation with the assistant was taken care of (and poor assistant), and the other thing was, too, and wasn't really the fault of anyone but the other guests, right?

Even if it just happened last week I wouldn't let that combo bother me. Seems so unlikely it would happen again.



Head Server is a position where if you do NOT see them regularly, you're probably having a pretty good time while dining. There could have been many issues taken care of without you ever knowing. They are running things smoothly.

 

[tweety38]

Just off The Fantasy yesterday, we had Plamen as our Head server. He came to our table multiply times during this trip. He helped serve one night when our main server was under the weather and had the night off.. I met him on The Wonder as our Server. It is nice to see them move good people up.