If you were in charge of DCL, what would you change?

[squirk]

I'm Johnny-come-lately on this thread, so everything I list has probably already been stated. Consider this a "seconding" of those ideas:

1.) No servers begging for "excellent" ratings;
2.) Give us the option of accruing CC status on either a per-cruise or per-night basis;
3.) DVC discount;
4.) Warm up the water in the AquaLab(s);
5.) Make the AquaDuck a little faster;
6.) Dedicated 18-21 space;
7.) More MSDA missions;
8.) Police seat-saving better, both on deck and in the WD Theater;
9.) Police kids in the adult area better;
10.) Update the Wave Phones.

These are all minor quibbles, and some are a little self-serving, but still.

 

[Dug720]

I'm Johnny-come-lately on this thread, so everything I list has probably already been stated. Consider this a "seconding" of those ideas:

1.) No servers begging for "excellent" ratings;
2.) Give us the option of accruing CC status on either a per-cruise or per-night basis;
3.) DVC discount;
4.) Warm up the water in the AquaLab(s);
5.) Make the AquaDuck a little faster;
6.) Dedicated 18-21 space;
7.) More MSDA missions;
8.) Police seat-saving better, both on deck and in the WD Theater;
9.) Police kids in the adult area better;
10.) Update the Wave Phones.

These are all minor quibbles, and some are a little self-serving, but still.

MSDA?

 

[TestingH2O]

MSDA?

I read it as mid ship detective agency.

 

[squirk]

I read it as mid ship detective agency.

Yes.

 

[Dug720]

I read it as mid ship detective agency.

Thanks. I was clearly not thinking on all circuits this morning.

 

[JW9DVC]

And your regular wait staff worked for you during breakfast and lunch. They don't work solely for dinner. They are there before you drag your backside out of bed, putting food out on the buffet, cleaning up after your children and making sure you can eat when you feel like it. Wait staff are not exclusively employed in the MDRs. They do much more than that. Not tipping them their regular tip because you *chose* not to eat in the MDRs and left them with an empty table that they can't just randomly fill with a walk-in (since there are no walk ins) is about as cheap as you can get.

Yep, some people are that way. Just some Devils advocate on my part.

 

[cgolf]

And your regular wait staff worked for you during breakfast and lunch. They don't work solely for dinner. They are there before you drag your backside out of bed, putting food out on the buffet, cleaning up after your children and making sure you can eat when you feel like it. Wait staff are not exclusively employed in the MDRs. They do much more than that. Not tipping them their regular tip because you *chose* not to eat in the MDRs and left them with an empty table that they can't just randomly fill with a walk-in (since there are no walk ins) is about as cheap as you can get.

I am not sure I agree with you on that one, but for us it is irrelevant because we always eat in the MDR. The only thing I would say is if you eat in cabanas every night and tip there, those people work all over the ship too, why should those folks have to double tip?

To help those folks that don't want to do the MDR, what might be nice is for DCL to not only offering the 2 dining times, but also an opt out option for those that just want to do cabanas or quick service. That way the MDR servers would still get a tipped table.

 

[Dug720]

I am not sure I agree with you on that one, but for us it is irrelevant because we always eat in the MDR. The only thing I would say is if you eat in cabanas every night and tip there, those people work all over the ship too, why should those folks have to double tip?

To help those folks that don't want to do the MDR, what might be nice is for DCL to not only offering the 2 dining times, but also an opt out option for those that just want to do cabanas or quick service. That way the MDR servers would still get a tipped table.

As I understand it, the servers in Cabanas are more "in training" and they are not considered in a tippable position.

Plus it is not open the first or last night.

 

[squirk]

I have worked in many tipped positions when I was younger, so I am very sympathetic toward the MDR servers getting tipped for the very hard work they perform and the very good service they deliver, but....an empty table is sort of an inherent risk one knowingly assumes when accepting that job, no?

 

[psac]

More characters and other activities during port days. Understandable why they don't, but we generally enjoy the ship more than the ports, especially Nassau!

Also agree more visibility of itineraries and rotations earlier on.

More meet and greets with rare characters. Joy and Boo were in the Pixar Party, but didn't greet anywhere.

Overall, though, there's a reason we keep going back to DCL.

 

[sarahandgreg]

Heres my list:

Change the menus - its needed
Cabanas open every night
No 18% auto gratuity on the spa - ESP on Rainforest - thats just not right.
In fact no auto charge gratuity at all - I keep requesting that they don't do it on our reservation but every time I get charged and then I have to go to GS and get it removed. We don't use the dining rooms on the 3 day cruise for dinners - we go to Palo. Plus you never see the Head server until the last night for about 2 mins - i don't think thats worthy of a tip.
Introduce buffet dining in the evening
Room service men is in need of changing.

 

[cgolf]

I have worked in many tipped positions when I was younger, so I am very sympathetic toward the MDR servers getting tipped for the very hard work they perform and the very good service they deliver, but....an empty table is sort of an inherent risk one knowingly assumes when accepting that job, no?

I would assume so, and the one trip that we had late dining on, we saw lots of empty tables, not sure if that was common for late dining, or just due to that trip being the third post drydock for the magic.

The funny thing is one of the nicest servers we have had was not our every night server, he was from our first day brunch, whenever he saw us the rest of the cruise he was very friendly and helpful. While he didn't get a tip from us, no clue which rotation he was on, he got a really nice write up on the comment card and email we sent once we got home.

 

[cgolf]

Heres my list:

Change the menus - its needed
Cabanas open every night
No 18% auto gratuity on the spa - ESP on Rainforest - thats just not right.
In fact no auto charge gratuity at all - I keep requesting that they don't do it on our reservation but every time I get charged and then I have to go to GS and get it removed. We don't use the dining rooms on the 3 day cruise for dinners - we go to Palo. Plus you never see the Head server until the last night for about 2 mins - i don't think thats worthy of a tip.
Introduce buffet dining in the evening
Room service men is in need of changing.

The head servers vary, they definately earn their keep with those of us with dietary issues. Also the really good ones jump in and help their teams out if they need it. Our top three are Fitz, no longer with DCL, Aziz, and Jeffery. Fitz was awesome, and Aziz was not good the first time we had him, but was a rockstar on our most recent B2b helping his team and getting around to the tables each night. Jeffery, was on our Hawaii cruise and he did his best to make our dining experience enjoyable with a servers that were clearly struggling to get the job done, thankfully they were super nice, the pairing just didn't work well.

 

[krissy2803]

I would love to add a scheduled stargazing time late at night. Have the ship turn off as many lights as possible/allowed and provide a "guide" to help explain what's up there.

 

[Jennifer777]

It is my understanding that there are tipped positions and non-tipped positions and the wait staff in Cabanas for dinner are non-tipped so they actually earn a salary. If I was in charge of DCL I most definitely would not change the way tipped position/service CMs are paid, which is almost entirely through tips. Paying them a higher salary up front and eliminating tipping might be nice for budgeting purposes but would raise the base price of a cruise and remove much of the incentive for providing that excellent service. As a customer, I like having the ability to reward those who go above and beyond extra while having the option to remove or reduce gratuities for those who are terrible. Removing this incentive for those providing service to customers would result in less stellar service because they would get paid the same regardless what kind of service they provide.

One change I would look into regarding tipping which could help improve service and employee compensation would be a feature on the app that showed each of the tipped positions serving you, including a picture so you could recognize them when you see them with a more detailed description of what they do for you during your stay, "Jeffrey supervises servers & inspects dishes in the MDR for quality and consistency, greets guests and shows them to their tables, coordinates special needs, allergy or dietary requests with waitstaff and chefs, oversees lunch in Cabanas, etc.". with a spot for you to leave thank you notes or reviews and adjust gratuities directly within the app.

I would also add an option on the website during booking to include gratuities, including higher than the recommended gratuities into your cruise fare for those that want to budget that into the cost of their cruise.

 

[cgolf]

I would love to add a scheduled stargazing time late at night. Have the ship turn off as many lights as possible/allowed and provide a "guide" to help explain what's up there.

They have done this, one of the people they brought on specific for the Hawaii cruise. From what we can remember it was up near the sports deck and they may have shut some lights off in the area.

 

[JW9DVC]

Pre order drink packages for alcohol, unlimited, not just beer and wine by the pack or bottles.

Bring back the allowance of bring your own alcohol. Not everyone drinks beer or wine.

Change the ages for Palo or Remy during a couple dinners because young children have better palletes than many adults. Adults can still have adult time if they wish and maybe have certain rules for manners.


Have food choices open until 2am. Not everyone wants to order room service and disturb others in the room. Maybe make one food service 24 hours.

Better photography company.


JW