Snail mail versus email: which is better?

[Maggie'sMom]

We just got off a 3 night cruise on the Wonder yesterday and I wanted to write DCL to tell them about some beyond excellent service we received. Would a snail mail letter make more impact than an email? Or does it not matter? I'm just thinking how so few people write formal letters and mail them anymore. For me, receiving a handwritten thank you note in the mail is so much better than an email thank you. So maybe a handwritten letter would carry more weight?

But I also have to say, I have completely changed my mind on the role of a head server. On all my past cruises, I've barely ever seen the head server. It seemed like he stopped by the first night to introduce himself and then stopped by the last night for his tips. But we had a head server this time that was incredible. It was Deniz from Turkey. There were a number of special things he did, but the most important came from an issue that occurred on our second night. They switched serving teams on us. The team we had the first night was absolutely amazing. And I was really disappointed the second night when we were switched to different servers, a team that just didn't have the same finesse and pizazz as the first. Deniz came over to explain why there was a change. Another family hadn't linked all their reservations and wanted to be seated together. Deniz sent over glasses of champagne for us as an apology for the switch. That was very nice, but what was really great was he saw me and my DD in Cabanas that night for the Pirate Buffet. He stopped and asked me how our dinner service was that night. I was honest that the service was fine, just not as spectacular as our first team. He said he would see what he could do, and sure enough, we were back with our first team for our final night.

I wouldn't have cared so much about our serving team if it had just been me and my DD cruising, but we had brought my parents for their very first cruise ever and I wanted them to be wowed. My dad is fighting stage 4 cancer and we took advantage of a 6 week break in chemo and radiation to take them on a vacation. I don't know how much longer my dad will be with us. This may have been the last time he will be able to travel. I wanted it to be as special as possible. And that first serving team definitely helped make this vacation an amazing experience for all of us.

 

[dcassetta]

I always send a letter, and have always gotten a nice letter in response.

 

[JW9DVC]

It wouldn't hurt to have both done. If service was that great it would be awesome to have such recognition that you wanted to make sure made it to the proper channels.

If you had kids along. Have them sign it to.

 

[MyDisWorld]

E-mail in my opinion is less formal, and would have less impact. I would think that if you took the time to write and mail a formal letter, They would appreciate you took the time and effort to compose and mail it.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Thanks for the responses. They confirmed what I was feeling, that a formal letter sent by mail would be the better choice. I really want to convey how much I appreciated our entire serving team.