The service left me Wondering.

[sJv2011]

Just got back from our second trip and it was much different than our first.
The service on the Wonder was lacking compared to our trip on the Fantasy. Not as personal, just totally lacking. It felt like the cast members were just not as friendly.
First day, I'm peeking around the buffet and lifted up one of the warmers to see, a cast member came over to say "it's just pasta" and shut the warmer while my hand was still on it.
Our room attendant was just flat. Forgot to give us luggage tags the last night.
In Wavebands we went to bingo almost every day, same crew staff it they didn't make us feel welcome to come back. Again, just not as excited as the Fantasy who made a point to say "nice to see you again" and interact with us. Also, the server lost my kttw card and kept asking me if I gave it to him. He made me a new one but it would have been nice to get a free beer considering we spent quite a bit of time in there.
Dining staff was ok, nothing special. Last trip they would have our daughters drink waiting for her but that didn't happen this time. There was one night that she fell asleep at the table and the asst waiter personally delivered dessert to our room.
We put a place holder in for another cruise but I'm thinking we will go back to the fantasy or try the Dream.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Just got back from our second trip and it was much different than our first.
The service on the Wonder was lacking compared to our trip on the Fantasy. Not as personal, just totally lacking. It felt like the cast members were just not as friendly.
First day, I'm peeking around the buffet and lifted up one of the warmers to see, a cast member came over to say "it's just pasta" and shut the warmer while my hand was still on it.
Our room attendant was just flat. Forgot to give us luggage tags the last night.
In Wavebands we went to bingo almost every day, same crew staff it they didn't make us feel welcome to come back. Again, just not as excited as the Fantasy who made a point to say "nice to see you again" and interact with us. Also, the server lost my kttw card and kept asking me if I gave it to him. He made me a new one but it would have been nice to get a free beer considering we spent quite a bit of time in there.
Dining staff was ok, nothing special. Last trip they would have our daughters drink waiting for her but that didn't happen this time. There was one night that she fell asleep at the table and the asst waiter personally delivered dessert to our room.
We put a place holder in for another cruise but I'm thinking we will go back to the fantasy or try the Dream.

Just so you know, the staff onboard changes a couple of times a year. Not all at the same time, but they do change. We've had great servers on all our cruises (all ships), and the room host has been very helpful often.

Yes, it's possible to get a "bad apple", or even a couple, but that's not the norm, regardless of what ship you're on.

 

[sJv2011]

I know that. We've cruised multiple times on other lines. I'm just disappointed that our experience was not up to the standard I remembered for Disney.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know that. We've cruised multiple times on other lines. I'm just disappointed that our experience was not up to the standard I remembered for Disney.

I'm just saying, it's not the standard for Disney. You apparently got a bad set of crew. It's not the norm.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I've honestly found Disney service/crew to be just as hit and miss as other lines.

Maybe I've just had several "not the norm" experiences, but I struggle to see where Disney service is miles above anybody else.

I've fantastic service both on and off Disney and pretty crap both on and off.

I just got back yesterday from a Princess cruise that probably had the best service I've had on any ship.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Just got back from our second trip and it was much different than our first.
The service on the Wonder was lacking compared to our trip on the Fantasy. Not as personal, just totally lacking. It felt like the cast members were just not as friendly.
First day, I'm peeking around the buffet and lifted up one of the warmers to see, a cast member came over to say "it's just pasta" and shut the warmer while my hand was still on it.
Our room attendant was just flat. Forgot to give us luggage tags the last night.
In Wavebands we went to bingo almost every day, same crew staff it they didn't make us feel welcome to come back. Again, just not as excited as the Fantasy who made a point to say "nice to see you again" and interact with us. Also, the server lost my kttw card and kept asking me if I gave it to him. He made me a new one but it would have been nice to get a free beer considering we spent quite a bit of time in there.
Dining staff was ok, nothing special. Last trip they would have our daughters drink waiting for her but that didn't happen this time. There was one night that she fell asleep at the table and the asst waiter personally delivered dessert to our room.
We put a place holder in for another cruise but I'm thinking we will go back to the fantasy or try the Dream.

We were on the Wonder back in September and thought the service was much lower than our Dream and Fantasy cruises. The exception to this was our stateroom hostess, Noreen, she was nothing short of AMAZING! I actually felt the majority of the CM's were uninterested. The activities staff was great as always but the rest were just meh.

We were on the repo from Vancouver to San Diego and they all had just returned from a round trip from Hawaii so I figured they were missing the islands.

It won't stop me from sailing DCL again but I was really looking forward to the great "intimate personal" service that so many here on Disboards proclaim the classic ships have. We certainly didn't see that at all. Oh well, there's always next time.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I've honestly found Disney service/crew to be just as hit and miss as other lines.

Maybe I've just had several "not the norm" experiences, but I struggle to see where Disney service is miles above anybody else.

I've fantastic service both on and off Disney and pretty crap both on and off.

I just got back yesterday from a Princess cruise that probably had the best service I've had on any ship.

Would you mind writing up a short (or long review of your Princess cruise? Especially in comparison to Disney?

 

[MunFam]

Ya know, I think I understand how you feel.

For me, DCL sets passengers' expectations high. They sell world class, personalized service and they charge accordingly for that premium experience. After 15 days aboard, (and on a heavily discounted MTO fare), I left feeling like the value was just not there, even after the discount. It is very unlikely that we will cruise DCL again, especially with the new alcohol policies and additional upcharges. I have a 25% off coupon from DCL and I can stack it with my travel agent rate or partner's MTO discount and I still do not think we will go back.

 

[mevelandry]

After two cruises, I've found the service to be outstanding when there was an extra charge for it (Cove Cafe, Palo, Remy) and the hosts were nice... (We remember their names, that's how good they were!)

Outside of those, it was what I encounter anywhere else. Sometimes very good, sometimes very bad.

 

[bcwife76]

Our first cruise was on the Wonder, it was the same cruise that @Club Disney Chandler just mentioned. After reading for months on these boards about such outstanding and stellar service we were a tad disappointed to see our service was, in our minds at least, average. Our stateroom host (who we barely saw) was fine, but I don't think any better than any maid service we've ever had at an all inclusive resort in Mexico. Our server and asst server were very pleasant and the asst server I think was the best out of all of them - she always remembered which drinks each of our girls liked, she brought me gingerale when I was feeling sea sick and offered it to me throughout the cruise and she just seemed genuinely happy to offer any assistance we might need. Our server was fine, but not above and beyond. The head server? Ugh. Seriously when we gave our tip envelopes the last night he practically grabbed it from my husband and didn't even acknowledge it! I wanted to rip the effing envelope out of his hand. Grrrr.....

That being said, our second cruise is also going to be on the Wonder and I will go on with no preconceived notions this time and see what happens

 

[southerngirl528]

Sorry to hear about less than stellar service on my favorite Disney ship. I just spent 10 nights on the Wonder for the Hawaii cruise last Fall. Saw several CM's that recognized me from previous sailings on both the Wonder and the other ships. The service was very good all the way around. Every single interaction wasn't absolutely amazing, but across the board, very good service from our cabin steward to room service to dining room servers, guest services, managers, Palo, Spa, and so on and so on.

As PrincessShmoo said the crew does rotate. They do not always get the ship they request with each new contract. I find that when I make eye contact and enjoy interacting with CM's it pays back big time. I'm not inferring the OP did not do this, just saying that wherever I travel, whether on land or sea I almost always find myself having good service and often fun interactions.

After spending about 3 months total on Disney ships, both my DH and I think DCL does an excellent job which is why we will return over and over. On the rare occasions I have received less than good service, I kindly mention it to the management. If there's one thing I am convinced of, it's that DCL's leaders DO want feedback.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

Would you mind writing up a short (or long review of your Princess cruise? Especially in comparison to Disney?

Sure. I will make a thread so as not to hijack this one.

 

[tinkerone]

Ya know, I think I understand how you feel.

For me, DCL sets passengers' expectations high. They sell world class, personalized service and they charge accordingly for that premium experience. After 15 days aboard, (and on a heavily discounted MTO fare), I left feeling like the value was just not there, even after the discount. It is very unlikely that we will cruise DCL again, especially with the new alcohol policies and additional upcharges. I have a 25% off coupon from DCL and I can stack it with my travel agent rate or partner's MTO discount and I still do not think we will go back.

totally agree with this plus I think we, on the dis boards, also raise expectations. there are a ton of threats that proclaim dcl to be the 'BEST' and give examples of what was so great about the service. sadly, not everyone is going to get that special service or even feel that it is special for them.
I've had some meh service as well however I have had amazing service also. its really hit and miss with probably more hit than miss but the miss is still there.

 

[Yumi696]

Ya know, I think I understand how you feel.

For me, DCL sets passengers' expectations high. They sell world class, personalized service and they charge accordingly for that premium experience. After 15 days aboard, (and on a heavily discounted MTO fare), I left feeling like the value was just not there, even after the discount. It is very unlikely that we will cruise DCL again, especially with the new alcohol policies and additional upcharges. I have a 25% off coupon from DCL and I can stack it with my travel agent rate or partner's MTO discount and I still do not think we will go back.

Sorry to be a bit off topic here, but what are you talking about with the new alcohol policies? Thanks!

 

[jaiminee krikit]

We cruised on the Dream in 2014. Our waiter and assistant waiter were phenomenal. Our head waiter was a pretentious jerk. Our stateroom host was just blah. As others mentioned, I think it's hit or miss. Our waiter and assistant waiter went above and beyond in every way. They remembered what we ordered to drink and had it ready for us every night. My daughter asked for a baked potato one night for dinner and they brought her 2 gigantic potatoes. They helped the kids cut their meat and did magic tricks and told jokes. I actually got tears in my eyes when we said good-bye to them on our last morning. The waiter told me my daughter was a wonderful and beautiful young lady. The head waiter did as little as possible for our group. Our stateroom host surprised me. I am very friendly with everyone, and he seemed, not unfriendly, just not Disney friendly. On our CC day it rained all day. I didn't want my backpack to get wet so I had covered it with a WDW poncho. When we got back to our room in the early afternoon, I hung the poncho over the shower curtain to dry. When we got back after dinner, the poncho was gone. The next morning I asked him where he had put my poncho. He told me he threw it away. I was flabbergasted! I asked him why he threw it away and he couldn't answer me. I went to guest services shortly after that and told the CM what happened. That day before dinner, there was a brand new WDW poncho on our bed. He never apologized about throwing away the poncho. Maybe he thought it was a WDW garbage bag, I don't know. I'm hoping he was just new.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Sorry to be a bit off topic here, but what are you talking about with the new alcohol policies? Thanks!

The "old" policy allowed whatever beverages you wanted to be brought onboard (alcoholic or otherwise). Current policy is 2 bottles (max 750ml) of wine or champagne OR 6 beers (12oz) per guest 21 years of age and older may be brought onboard (no hard liquor).

 

[Yumi696]

The "old" policy allowed whatever beverages you wanted to be brought onboard (alcoholic or otherwise). Current policy is 2 bottles (max 750ml) of wine or champagne OR 6 beers (12oz) per guest 21 years of age and older may be brought onboard (no hard liquor).

Ah ok thank you!

 

[JMHDisney]

Our first cruise was on the Wonder and I remember thinking, what are all these DIS people talking about? Have they never been to a nice restaurant? I mean, our service wasn't anything to complain about but it wasn't anything great either. Then our second cruise on the Magic I was like OH, this is what they mean! The service was truly fantastic.

That said, i don't think it is ship dependent. Sometimes you get a good one, sometimes you don't, regardless of ship. But I will admit that I haven't been back on the Wonder since that first cruise. Disney sells its cruises at an astonishing upcharge. If it wants to do that, it needs to deliver at a level that justifies the higher prices.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Ya know, I think I understand how you feel.

For me, DCL sets passengers' expectations high. They sell world class, personalized service and they charge accordingly for that premium experience. After 15 days aboard, (and on a heavily discounted MTO fare), I left feeling like the value was just not there, even after the discount. It is very unlikely that we will cruise DCL again, especially with the new alcohol policies and additional upcharges. I have a 25% off coupon from DCL and I can stack it with my travel agent rate or partner's MTO discount and I still do not think we will go back.

Whoa! Really???? I'm curious what happened....

 

[jtba]

Whoa! Really???? I'm curious what happened....

it's because of this. :\