Why do people request servers?

[ludari]

I always request the same sever depending on her location. She has been my server for four cruises and I enjoy having someone around I consider a friend. The second time she was my server I was impressed that she remembered my name, drink and food preferences.

 

[twopeasonepod]

We always request the same server on the Wonder and another on the Magic. If we know they are good and we like them, then why take a chance? Their assistants are always different, but it has worked out splendidly. We have stayed in touch as well, so we know if they will be on the ships!

 

[dpswift]

We requested a server on our 3rd Disney cruise because the servers on our 1st and 2nd Disney cruises annoyed us to no end. So I took notes on one of those "best Fantasy servers" thread and made a request. DCL honored our request and the servers were great.

That is such a great idea. I might just do that . As much as I LOVE Disney cruises on both of them our servers were not good. We have had much better servers on RCI and Carnival.

 

[Flhokie]

In 20+ cruises we've never requested specific servers, but after our Fantasy sailing this past week, we definitely would request our server again. He was so personable, professional, caring and fun. DD fell in love with him and just asked me when she will see him again.

 

[happydisneymom]

We were on the Wonder in November and we will be back on the Wonder for Alaska this summer. Our waiter said he will definitely be on board. The reason we requested him is because he was extremely efficient and good at his job. He was by no means the waiter we had the most fun with but we did think he was very nice and good at his job. The cruise prior our waiter had a much better personality but we always seemed to be the last ones out of the dining room. The reason we requested for our Alaskan cruise is we are choosing great efficient service and the known is better than the unknown.

What was your servers name?

 

[Justacruiser]

I have made it a practice to request a specific head server on our cruises. For me, know the head server trickles down to very good service. Servers and Asst Servers knowing you have that connection with the Head Server has ALWAYS been a plus for us. Often times, the Head Server states that he hand picked the team specifically for us.

Good stuff!

 

[HookdonWDW]

We've always lucked out and gotten fairly good servers, but after our last cruise, we'll be requesting in the future. We just didn't get a great team the last time, and the whole experience really suffered. Since I'm already dealing with allergies, a good serving team makes all the difference. After being served plain no-sugar added vanilla ice cream as my only dessert option for the 3rd night in a row (after explaining twice that I don't eat ice cream), I gave up.

 

[jrabbit]

there's only 2 reasons to request a server
1) you've had them before and want them again (we've had one server 3 or 4 times - NEVER requested him - and we loved him (he's long since "retired")
2) "Disney people" are over-planners and are not happy unless they are WAY OVER-THINKING THIS WHOLE VACATION thing.

DCL cruise is simple. Book your cruise, make sure you have the proper valid ID (passport), pay off you cruise fare, pack some clothes, show up and have a great time.

 

[Justacruiser]

there's only 2 reasons to request a server
1) you've had them before and want them again (we've had one server 3 or 4 times - NEVER requested him - and we loved him (he's long since "retired")
2) "Disney people" are over-planners and are not happy unless they are WAY OVER-THINKING THIS WHOLE VACATION thing.

DCL cruise is simple. Book your cruise, make sure you have the proper valid ID (passport), pay off you cruise fare, pack some clothes, show up and have a great time.

ummm, don't totally agree.

I don't think requesting staff is way over thinking anything, especially as often as I cruise. It is crazy, but there are staff that actually remember us and ask specific questions that tie into our previous cruises with them. 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.

It is a positive for the CM that you request them, somehow that looks good for them. Plus, i generally know what kind of service we are going to get with the requested CM. And, most important to me, they know how much we appreciate them when we ask for them by name.

So many say, including me that they cruise for the atmosphere and experience that DCL creates. That's one of the reason for the premium prices and the mostly full ships. By the way, most of the CM's like working for DCL that we have talked to anyway. I want to have my cruise surrounded by those kind of CM. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Quellman]

Two possibilities. Me and another guest pay the exact same fair. We both show up to the dining room. One server team is extra attentive. They make origami animals, have magic tricks, and table games for the kids. They immediately know what we want to drink each night and are able to provide the tasty fried brie from Royal Table the next night even though we are dining in Animators. The other server team is fine, they cut the kids food and bring the drinks each night, but they are watered down some. They also seem rushed trying to get everything done since they are newer cast members.

Me? I want the experienced team who is going to make my experience super awesome. My vacation time and budget is limited so I want the best that I can get. Selfish? Entitled? Maybe but I don't care if you judge me for it. I'll be having a great time with my servers and you'll be wishing you were me.

 

[clten]

We have a server on the Magic we always request -- most of the time he is on-board and our request is honored. Once he was onboard and our request was not honored. It was a little uncomfortable as he was serving the tables immediately next to us and thought something was wrong that we wouldn't request him. (We straightened that out but then things were uncomfortable with our original server.) Why do we always request him? For us he just fits -- he isn't one to be folding origami napkins or doing magic tricks -- but he has a great personality and is extremely efficient. When he has been on vacation we have had other servers that have worked out great but as the interaction with the crew, especially the dining staff, is a big reason why we have great cruises and keep coming back to DCL, why should we risk it if we don't have to?

We don't request rotation as the servers are on a set rotation and we'd rather have the server than the rotation. We are not planners at all, I don't see requesting a server as "over-thinking" anything. But I would caution people who are just going on other people's recommendations -- find out why people enjoyed/recommended their server. The things they found to be important may not be important to you. (Example: MANY people here always commented how about a particular head server who was so great -- think he left DCL now. We had him once -- thought he was one of the worst head servers we ever had. Why? We don't have children. He tended to interact more with tables that had kids. But he didn't interact with us at all and twice on his watch we were given dishes that should have been plated without certain garnishes or decorations because of allergies.)

 

[Pinky3]

How do you request a specific server? We would love to have the same server this year as last.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

How do you request a specific server? We would love to have the same server this year as last.

Just call DCL and have the request placed on your reservation.

 

[Pinky3]

I can do that myself or do I have to have my travel agent call? thanks for your help.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I can do that myself or do I have to have my travel agent call? thanks for your help.

I'm not really sure about that. Probably wouldn't hurt to have your TA do it.

 

[squirk]

I am sure people have asked why before? I *think* I've read that CMs do get some kind of notice if they are requested (i.e. more indication that they are excellent and helps with job reviews?) but we all seem to request so many things. If you request servers are you still requesting rotations and table size and what not? Are people disappointed if they don't get the requested server?

I'm just curious. I know we have had great and not so great serving teams ourselves.

You want to stick with what works for your family. If a server does a great job and you genuinely like interacting with them, why take a chance on another team in the future who might not measure up? Granted, that future team might be even better, but these cruises are expensive and I suspect most of us would rather go with a sure bet. And, yeah, if you like the person, DCL notices when a server excels enough to be requested again.

One thing I've wondered is whether you are shooting yourself in the foot when requesting a specific server and a specific rotation. The two might not necessarily be compatible, meaning you can only get one or the other. If you don't tell DCL which request takes precedence (or if DCL simply can't/won't evaluate conflicting requests in order of priority), you might find yourself getting the lesser of your two requests.

 

[Trisha79]

My first DCL cruise was terrible because of the awful serving team we had. My daughter and I are both celiac and our serving team didn't understand gluten at all. We were offered very little to eat and on day four I finally went to guest services asking what I was supposed to do. Up until I went to guest services we had only had nothing but donuts for breakfast, rice and chicken for lunch and rice and our choice of chicken or salmon for supper, when I asked about dessert we were offered the same donuts we got for breakfast. I had researched before the trip and had read multiple reports of people getting lots of choices for their meals and the servers being accommodating. I did everything right - I let DCL know about our allergy weeks before we arrived, I met the head server on the first day and still that was what we got. After I talked to guest services we did have other options but the team was very cold to me and acted very put out. We are actually really easy to accommodate and were not expecting anything excessive.

Since that cruise we have done three more DCL cruises where I requested a serving team. I have had nothing but excellent service and people that understand our needs. That's why I'll never not request a team.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My first DCL cruise was terrible because of the awful serving team we had. My daughter and I are both celiac and our serving team didn't understand gluten at all. We were offered very little to eat and on day four I finally went to guest services asking what I was supposed to do. Up until I went to guest services we had only had nothing but donuts for breakfast, rice and chicken for lunch and rice and our choice of chicken or salmon for supper, when I asked about dessert we were offered the same donuts we got for breakfast. I had researched before the trip and had read multiple reports of people getting lots of choices for their meals and the servers being accommodating. I did everything right - I let DCL know about our allergy weeks before we arrived, I met the head server on the first day and still that was what we got. After I talked to guest services we did have other options but the team was very cold to me and acted very put out. We are actually really easy to accommodate and were not expecting anything excessive.

Since that cruise we have done three more DCL cruises where I requested a serving team. I have had nothing but excellent service and people that understand our needs. That's why I'll never not request a team.

On the other hand, we've never requested specific servers and have had good to great service on all our cruises. Only "weak spot" was on our 2nd DCL cruise - our assistant server was brand new and hadn't quite gotten the swing of things. By the end of the cruise (we were onboard for 10 nights on that one), she was fine.

 

[tlynk]

For the 6 Disney cruises that we sailed we never requested a server. However, we did request a particular server that we had on our Alaskan cruise for our WBPC in May 2016. We are going with our Uncle and Aunt who joined us on the Alaskan cruise and I thought it would be a nice surprise for them if we get our request. We've sailed the Wonder 5 times and loved all our servers, but our servers on the Fantasy weren't that friendly.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

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.