Why do people request servers?

[August2010]

Our server last Oct/14 told us to request him for our Nov/15 cruise. Although he was a nice guy we found the service to be mediocre compared to the servers on our first cruise. I will not be requesting him.

I would be tempted to request the first server we had but I'm not sure of his name of if he is still with DCL.

 

[aprincessatlast]

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I would be tempted to request the first server we had but I'm not sure of his name of if he is still with DCL.

I would have requested our server too for our cruise this year but could not remember his name from our previous time on the Magic. It had been a few years and we even looked at old pictures but could not make out his name. We did run into him on Castaway Cay this past trip and finally recalled his name! We told him we wanted to request him and he smiled big and told us to remember next time. We so wished we had him on the cruise as there are just so many mediocre servers all the while requesting to receive excellent marks. I think once you find a gem it is nice to know you will be well taken care of and makes you look forward to dinner a little more.

 

[JimmyV]

We've had some stellar servers & we've had some downright craptastic ones.

We requested a server on our 3rd Disney cruise because the servers on our 1st and 2nd Disney cruises annoyed us to no end.

We spent over $10K on our concierge suite and our server was subpar. ]He belittled our table mates and their allergy requests, he had no interaction with us or the kids, he was super slow (to the point where the other servers were already preparing tables for the next seating and all of his tables were just ordering their dessert...dinner typically took 2.5-almost 3 hours to finish. After the third night and some complaints we finally decided we would order our MDR food in our room since we had a one bedroom quite with a table.

We have had both excellent and poor experiences in the MDR.

We just didn't get a great team the last time, and the whole experience really suffered.

And, yes there are those CM that don't have a clue that they served us on a 7-day cruise 5 years ago, lol.

My first DCL cruise was terrible because of the awful serving team we had.

Perhaps the solution would be for DCL to up their game instead of having passengers locking in the good servers. These reports of bad service are not what one wants to hear from a cruise line that charges what DCL charges. I thought that "amazing service" was one of the things that made people choose to pay more to sail with DCL instead of its competitors. If good vs. bad service is such a crapshoot that it causes people to make special requests, doesn't that speak to a larger issue?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We had an amazing server/assistant server team on our back-to-back cruises on the Magic this summer. We will be doing another back-to-back next summer and will request them again.

I'll just repeat what squirk posted earlier, it's best to only make one request. Ask for either the server you had or the assistant server you had. By requesting a team, DCL may not be able to accommodate your request. That particular team may no longer be together (asst server now a server; contracts have ended are a couple of reason why). Generally, when faced with opposing requests, DCL tends to not grant either.

Our server last Oct/14 told us to request him for our Nov/15 cruise. Although he was a nice guy we found the service to be mediocre compared to the servers on our first cruise. I will not be requesting him.

I would be tempted to request the first server we had but I'm not sure of his name of if he is still with DCL.

If you kept the gratuities stub, the names of the people you tipped are on there.

 

[gilsan]

If you kept the gratuities stub, the names of the people you tipped are on there.

I usually take a picture of the gratuity stub so I can remember the names for next time.

 

[clten]

Perhaps the solution would be for DCL to up their game instead of having passengers locking in the good servers. These reports of bad service are not what one wants to hear from a cruise line that charges what DCL charges. I thought that "amazing service" was one of the things that made people choose to pay more to sail with DCL instead of its competitors. If good vs. bad service is such a crapshoot that it causes people to make special requests, doesn't that speak to a larger issue?

Good vs bad service is always a crapshoot because personalities and human nature are involved. What is great for one person isn't great for another. Also, the other diners in the serving teams area may affect how you are served without you even knowing it. We had issues with allergies on the Fantasy and spoke to the head server. He moved us to his "Best Servers" area. Service was efficient but not the best we've ever had. Wasn't until our 3rd night that we were there that she said anything to us beside "And what can I bring you tonight?"

As with any company, you interview applicants and hire people you think are going to do the job to your standards. Some do, some don't. Some fit in right away, some take a little time. The servers who are really bad, don't last long. Does that make it okay that they affected someone's one vacation of the year? No. But it doesn't mean Disney isn't addressing the issues. Disney also gives you options -- your head server leads the team and about 1/3 of the restaurant you are in. If you are having issues with your current server, speak to him/her and have the issue addressed or get moved to another serving team. If the problem is your head server, speak to the dining room manager. No one has to put up with less than amazing service (although some of our funniest cruise stories involve less than amazing dinners).

 

[JimmyV]

Good vs bad service is always a crapshoot because personalities and human nature are involved. What is great for one person isn't great for another.

In that case, the service isn't "bad". It is more that the server and the guest didn't "click". Which makes perfect sense. And it makes sense to request servers with whom you "click". But it sounds from some of these posts that some of the MDR service is out and out bad. And that shouldn't happen. Personally, I haven't experienced on DCL or any other cruise line. But with all the discussion about "DCL is worth the extra cost because of the awesome service", one would hope that craptastic service is very, very rare.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Perhaps the solution would be for DCL to up their game instead of having passengers locking in the good servers. These reports of bad service are not what one wants to hear from a cruise line that charges what DCL charges. I thought that "amazing service" was one of the things that made people choose to pay more to sail with DCL instead of its competitors. If good vs. bad service is such a crapshoot that it causes people to make special requests, doesn't that speak to a larger issue?

I wouldn't say it's so much a crapshoot as its normal. I know some may make the Disney product out to be so much better than the competition. Maybe some have had the best experiences every cruise they've had. Good on 'em for their good fortune. Not our experience. We've had amazing. We've had pretty awful. Yes, I do think other diners at the other tables the servers have can have an effect. I don't think Disney sets the bar. My opinion from our experiences. Way back in the day, waaaaay back, yes, I think Disney did set a bar in the service industry. But I haven't felt like they have been in that position for many years. Parks, resorts, cruise line. You name it. Disney just has a specific product. It's unique. You either buy it or you don't. But this illusion that Disney is superior to all others is very much not true. They're different. Not better or worse. Different.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

In that case, the service isn't "bad". It is more that the server and the guest didn't "click". Which makes perfect sense. And it makes sense to request servers with whom you "click". But it sounds from some of these posts that some of the MDR service is out and out bad. And that shouldn't happen. Personally, I haven't experienced on DCL or any other cruise line. But with all the discussion about "DCL is worth the extra cost because of the awesome service", one would hope that craptastic service is very, very rare.

I've been on 11 Disney cruises. Been on all 4 ships. I've had really incredible service twice. I've had truly terrible service (all 5 nights) once. The rest was good in an average way. Like going to a local restaurant with decent service. Nothing exceptional. Nothing bad. For us average good is the norm. Not something I think defines the cruise line or its value for the price paid overall.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Personally I think different people have different ideas when it comes to a good server. I herd a story from someone who was at table where someone had requested a server. The server in question was on a different rotation then the one the person that requested it had been also they were married to the head server in the section they would be in so they moved them of of that table to one on the other side of the dining room to avoid conflict. The people I spoke to didn't see why that particular server was all that great and it only caused confusion with the head servers in the dinning room.

 

[michellekcm]

We've never requested a server before, but I will be requesting an assistant server on our next cruise - our last cruise our kids just loved her, they were so excited to see her every time we went into the MDR. For me, that's worth a request

 

[Sytrace]

On our most recent cruise in April, we actually DID request a serving team that we had on our September 2014 cruise. We had never actually done that before but the team on that September trip was amazing! The others were all good and friendly, but these two women really had their act together and were fun!
They were both on the cruise in April but they were not working the same rotation...Irinia had been sent up to Palo so Amelia had a new partner.
We also ran into the first serving team and head server from our November 2013 journey who not only remembered us but called out our kids names and commented how big they had grown. This is such a wonderful feeling and really added to the magic. (Fantasy 7 day trips)

Our serving team in April is definitely NOT anyone who I would ever request and the head server was a real piece of work on the two occasions (first night and last morning) that we actually saw him. No magic there.

On our June 2014 cruise we had a great pair of guys, BUT they had no clue who we were when we saw them again in December 2014 (both on the Dream) lol

It can go either way, so we are just going to take who we get and enjoy being away on vacation. Unless we get the same team we had in April of course. Then I am going to have to make a visit to GS and get that figured out.