Just off of the Wonder & Alaska

[WishUponAStarryNight]

Our server and asst server were prompt. They had our drinks served within minutes of us sitting down. Refills were served promptly. I would get soda during dinner and then coffee with dessert. The coffee was there at dessert time without me asking. Our server would present the menu and make suggestions, awesome!! When he bought out the servings, a lot of the time he would bring an extra dish of something that he would think we would enjoy. He also brought out extra desserts. we had the greatest team on the wonder. all 3.

Who were your servers?

 

[KashasMom]

I wonder if the huge disparity between servers/serving teams has anything to do with the "excellent" ratings. Maybe enough people don't speak up or don't tell the truth on those comment cards.

 

[pixarfan79]

Wow, so interesting. We sailed the same itinerary last July and had a very, very good experience and the entertainment staff was amazing! (However it has changed over now). So that's too bad! We talked to many of the CMs and they seemed very friendly and happy, many had been on the Fantasy before Wonder, many had been on the Wonder tho for several years... you never know if they are telling the truth but they certainly did not seem jaded, frustrated, hurried or depressed at all. We did not use the kids clubs so I can't comment on that. I hope this is not a new trend because we adore DCL and plan to take many more.

 

[Ravenne]

I'm going through my vacay pics now and came across this. We had an obstructed view room with a scaffolding outside. The obstruction wasn't the issue, I booked the room knowing that, and was perfectly happy with it, but note the red circle. One of the rungs on the ladder is broken in half, yet I saw crew on that scaffolding at every port we stopped at, working. I'm not a mariner, but that doesn't look very safe to me, and if that's visible to guests, I don't want to think about what it looks like behind the scenes, and maybe that may be one of the reasons the crew doesn't feel the umph and pep. You can also see some of the caulking around the window peeling, but it wasn't causing us any issues, the porthole didn't leak or anything, just cosmetic to me, but still not the Disney standard. I understand the Wonder is an old girl, but the ladder rung...that's a safety issue.

 

[bookluvingbabe]

I wonder if the huge disparity between servers/serving teams has anything to do with the "excellent" ratings. Maybe enough people don't speak up or don't tell the truth on those comment cards.

Maybe. I usually send a pretty detailed email after the cruise because those comment cards are a joke in terms of real feedback. I didn't this time. After speaking to the head waiter, manager and guest services and still being treated terribly, I answered the comment cards honestly and moved on. We have 3 more cruises booked but I really wish that a different ship went to Alaska.

 

[cruiser21]

The put the tip envelopes out day 6 or day 3 or 12 day depending on length of cruise. What I'm trying to say is the tip envelopes go out 2 nights before debarkation now on all ships..... that is not exclusive to the Wonder.

I was talking to the wait staff of the Magic last month they said everyone likes to work on the Magic because it's more relaxed, less micromanaging and disciplinary action. As someone who works for one company at several different locations I can totally relate to this. Maybe the management on the Wonder is currently less then stellar to work for, but in the long run things tend to work themselves out. Unhappy employees leads to less satisfaction from customers....leads to management getting fired.

 

[Ravenne]

I was talking to the wait staff of the Magic last month they said everyone likes to work on the Magic because it's more relaxed, less micromanaging and disciplinary action. As someone who works for one company at several different locations I can totally relate to this. Maybe the management on the Wonder is currently less then stellar to work for, but in the long run things tend to work themselves out. Unhappy employees leads to less satisfaction from customers....leads to management getting fired.

I didn't want to say this publicly at first because I didn't want to risk any issues for the CM, and I also didn't want to cloud anyone's judgement, or rain on parades/impressions, but I'll say it without mentioning details of the CM. I was speaking to a CM onboard, just casual conversation about where they're from, and how they're doing that kind of stuff. The conversation lead to this CM divulging that they're not happy. They're not new, but many of the management team are, hired from other cruise lines, they try to run things the way they're used from the other cruise lines, and it's lead to a lot of issues back stage. Lots of contempt and turmoil. And this CM seemed very frustrated and fed up with it. But they're under contract. Plus they have financial obligations, so it's not like they can just put in 2 weeks' notice. So there it was. It wasn't something I wanted to hear. It made me sad for the CMs that have to deal with that while still putting on a happy face to appease DCL guests the way they're accustomed to and expect. It made me sad to hear that's happening to one of my favorite brands, known for superior service, part of which we pay a premium for. But I'm glad and really appreciated having a human conversation with this CM and not just the show face. This CM really enjoyed the company and DCL itself. They expressed that over the years, DCL has come through for them, but the management onboard the Wonder does not exactly make for a good working environment.

 

[TestingH2O]

I was talking to the wait staff of the Magic last month they said everyone likes to work on the Magic because it's more relaxed, less micromanaging

We ran into a previous server this week and heard the same. Management on the Magic is good. Actually, we saw several previous dining room staff from various ships

 

[bobbiwoz]

Our cruise on the Wonder in March was excellent in our opinion. We especially enjoyed our two meals in Tiana’s.

Sorry to read your Wonder experience was lacking.

 

[Shanti]

I wonder if the huge disparity between servers/serving teams has anything to do with the "excellent" ratings. Maybe enough people don't speak up or don't tell the truth on those comment cards.

Or maybe the huge disparity just represents the huge difference in various guests' perceptions and expectations...

 

[xavier2001]

Or maybe the huge disparity just represents the huge difference in various guests' perceptions and expectations...

THIS!! I have been trying to figure out how to nicely say it for 2 pages now!

 

[cruiser21]

I didn't want to say this publicly at first because I didn't want to risk any issues for the CM, and I also didn't want to cloud anyone's judgement, or rain on parades/impressions, but I'll say it without mentioning details of the CM. I was speaking to a CM onboard, just casual conversation about where they're from, and how they're doing that kind of stuff. The conversation lead to this CM divulging that they're not happy. They're not new, but many of the management team are, hired from other cruise lines, they try to run things the way they're used from the other cruise lines, and it's lead to a lot of issues back stage. Lots of contempt and turmoil. And this CM seemed very frustrated and fed up with it. But they're under contract. Plus they have financial obligations, so it's not like they can just put in 2 weeks' notice. So there it was. It wasn't something I wanted to hear. It made me sad for the CMs that have to deal with that while still putting on a happy face to appease DCL guests the way they're accustomed to and expect. It made me sad to hear that's happening to one of my favorite brands, known for superior service, part of which we pay a premium for. But I'm glad and really appreciated having a human conversation with this CM and not just the show face. This CM really enjoyed the company and DCL itself. They expressed that over the years, DCL has come through for them, but the management onboard the Wonder does not exactly make for a good working environment.

I think this is something we all deal with in our careers. I wouldn't expect DCL to be any different. Management is probably getting pressure from corporate over lower scores and they're putting more pressure on the front line people. Disney's expectations are really high and they don't necessarily live up to it. Do most of your servers deserve an excellent rating....probably not but Disney sure expects them to get one.

I can't say I've ever had bad service on any of the ships....I can't say I've really had excellent either. I rarely fill out the surveys anymore. As far as food goes...some dishes are good, some are great, some are terrible.

Like previous poster stated perceptions and expectations vary, but I think it's also related to cost. Since Disney costs considerably more then any other cruiseline peoples expectations are higher.....and they should be. We pay more for better quality in just about everything we buy... a cruise should be no different.

As far as maintenance around the ship. The Magic and Wonder are old. I think they do a good job of maintaining them, but I probably wouldn't pick those ships for Caribbean cruise. Those are the ships with the good itinerary's. If I was going on a Caribbean cruise I'd rather be on newer ship with more to do even if it's not DCL.

 

[KashasMom]

Or maybe the huge disparity just represents the huge difference in various guests' perceptions and expectations...

Not when it comes to being ignored and some of the other situations mentioned. On our Magic cruise out of NYC (2012?) our head server had a very large table and the 3 of us alone at another table. Needless to say he spent all his time with the other table. We don't require a lot - actually we prefer to enjoy our dinner as a famiiy without a lot of interruptions - but I'm sure someone who expected that high level of service and attentiveness would not have been too happy with the situation.

 

[mmmears]

I'm sorry to hear all of this. We had a fantastic cruise on the Wonder in Alaska, but that was a number of years ago. I also can easily believe that a change in management can lead to worker unhappiness and a worse experience for guests. Since many of our perceptions come from limited exposure to the crew (as in OUR stateroom host, OUR dining team and rotation, etc.) I can readily believe that some people can have a truly wonderful cruise and others can feel like the service was nowhere near excellent.

We ran into a previous server this week and heard the same. Management on the Magic is good. Actually, we saw several previous dining room staff from various ships

This is good to hear in terms of the Magic since we're taking our first cruise on her in a couple of months. I really hope we won't regret booking with DCL.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

QUESTION: What time did they let you off the ship (first off)? Is there enough time to get a noon flt out of Vancouver? Airlines just changed departure time from 2:40 pm to noon.

 

[cruiser21]

QUESTION: What time did they let you off the ship (first off)? Is there enough time to get a noon flt out of Vancouver? Airlines just changed departure time from 2:40 pm to noon.

They will let you off around 7am. It's 30 minutes to the airport. Honestly you have time to relax and have breakfast unless you enjoy waiting in an airport for 4 hours. I think you got lucky with the time change.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

They will let you off around 7am. It's 30 minutes to the airport. Honestly you have time to relax and have breakfast unless you enjoy waiting in an airport for 4 hours. I think you got lucky with the time change.

Thank you @cruiser21

 

[Ravenne]

I think this is something we all deal with in our careers. I wouldn't expect DCL to be any different. Management is probably getting pressure from corporate over lower scores and they're putting more pressure on the front line people. Disney's expectations are really high and they don't necessarily live up to it. Do most of your servers deserve an excellent rating....probably not but Disney sure expects them to get one.

I can't say I've ever had bad service on any of the ships....I can't say I've really had excellent either. I rarely fill out the surveys anymore. As far as food goes...some dishes are good, some are great, some are terrible.

That's very true. No job is perfect, no company is perfect, and I know that. Perhaps I expected Disney to hide it better because they have always been the master of theme and illusion. I'm kind of curious how it's done in Japan, and how Disney handles employment woes in Japan. They seem to have much happier employees and work environments. There was a CM at Guest Services who was from Japan, and she was ALWAYS smiling and happy! Not in a nauseating way, but very refreshing, pleasant, and respectful. She was a joy and you just can't help but smile when interacting with her. No one else at Guest Services were nearly as happy as she was.

QUESTION: What time did they let you off the ship (first off)? Is there enough time to get a noon flt out of Vancouver? Airlines just changed departure time from 2:40 pm to noon.

They started letting people off the ship just before 8am ish for express walk off. We had 2nd seating and ate in the MDR and by the time we were done at about 845am, they'd only called 3 tags (luggage tags) to disembark. I recall they hadn't even called ours yet, but we had all of our own luggage so we didn't wait. We stayed at the Pan Pacific for one more night before flying out and I think we were in the Pan's lobby around 9:30. I think you should be fine for a noon flight. The port people were very efficient, separating lines for taxis, and other guests so the taxis kept flowing.

 

[Snowwhyt]

QUESTION: What time did they let you off the ship (first off)? Is there enough time to get a noon flt out of Vancouver? Airlines just changed departure time from 2:40 pm to noon.

Did you plan time to visit Vancouver? It’s a huge mistake if you didn’t. There are businesses that will take your luggage to the airline and wait for you to pick him up at the airport after you’ve had your time visiting a local attraction. Like the bridge, the park, the market, absolutely amazing places that will be a huge mistake for you to miss.
I had no idea Vancouver was that interesting I am so glad I stayed two days before and two days after plan on spending a week there and I’ve never felt that way about a city before

 

[cruiser21]

Thank you @cruiser21

You're welcome. Another suggestion I have is the sky train. It's a 5 minute walk from the port. It takes you directly to the airport in about 20- 30 minutes and the cost is minimal. I thought it faster then waiting for a taxi. We left Cabanas at 830 and we're at the airport by 930.