Disney Wish - Dining rooms felt rushed

[SL6827]

Maybe I'm just hungrier than the average bear but I fully prefer this.

 

[Jennx36]

I agree with the rushed feeling. We just got off the Wish on Monday (3/17/25). We had a three night sailing with the first seating for dinner. I don't know if it was the volume of guests (ship was close to capacity), but the servers seemed overwhelmed. The noise only added to the chaotic vibe. Our first dinner was at Arendelle. The food was good, but nothing really stood out. The characters each visited our table, but the interactions were so rushed we couldn't even grab a quick picture. The photographer took a few quick pictures in the middle of our meal which also seemed rushed. It was like they had a checklist, and they were hurrying through each item so they could check the box and move onto the next table with no thought to the quality of what they were offering. At the end of the meal, the head server asked how we liked our dining experience. My husband and I each politely said, "It was good". He replied, "Good isn't good enough, we want your experience to be excellent. Please tell us what we can do to make your experience excellent." We looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. It wasn't that the servers weren't doing a good job, it was the entire atmosphere, the noise, the hustle, the cramped space. Our daughter got out of her chair to walk toward the restroom and was almost trampled by a server hurriedly carrying a tray full of entrees. Disney typically does such a good job concealing all the behind the scenes action, but there was no concealing how busy and hectic everything felt. I almost wonder if the dining room designer wanted the guests to see how hard everyone was working to increase the odds of guests leaving additional gratuity. At 1920, the server took away my husband's appetizer to deliver his main course, and before he could protest, the server was hurried off in the other direction. Then when my daughter needed a drink refill, we had to wait 15 minutes before our server reappeared. He had a water pitcher in hand and immediately refilled her glass without us having to ask. Again, they were checking all the boxes, and I could tell they were working hard and to the best of their ability. There were just too many guests for them to keep up.

 

[Racer X]

Absolutely this! You did a great job of explaining what I had a hard time with. Been on several cruises and it was never this way early on. And I'm sure the ships were just as full. I don't know what's different but the experience is definitely not the same and definitely not worth top dollar. Question is is anyone paying attention?

 

[tgarre06]

I agree with the rushed feeling. We just got off the Wish on Monday (3/17/25). We had a three night sailing with the first seating for dinner. I don't know if it was the volume of guests (ship was close to capacity), but the servers seemed overwhelmed. The noise only added to the chaotic vibe. Our first dinner was at Arendelle. The food was good, but nothing really stood out. The characters each visited our table, but the interactions were so rushed we couldn't even grab a quick picture. The photographer took a few quick pictures in the middle of our meal which also seemed rushed. It was like they had a checklist, and they were hurrying through each item so they could check the box and move onto the next table with no thought to the quality of what they were offering. At the end of the meal, the head server asked how we liked our dining experience. My husband and I each politely said, "It was good". He replied, "Good isn't good enough, we want your experience to be excellent. Please tell us what we can do to make your experience excellent." We looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. It wasn't that the servers weren't doing a good job, it was the entire atmosphere, the noise, the hustle, the cramped space. Our daughter got out of her chair to walk toward the restroom and was almost trampled by a server hurriedly carrying a tray full of entrees. Disney typically does such a good job concealing all the behind the scenes action, but there was no concealing how busy and hectic everything felt. I almost wonder if the dining room designer wanted the guests to see how hard everyone was working to increase the odds of guests leaving additional gratuity. At 1920, the server took away my husband's appetizer to deliver his main course, and before he could protest, the server was hurried off in the other direction. Then when my daughter needed a drink refill, we had to wait 15 minutes before our server reappeared. He had a water pitcher in hand and immediately refilled her glass without us having to ask. Again, they were checking all the boxes, and I could tell they were working hard and to the best of their ability. There were just too many guests for them to keep up.

Exactly! Our same experience. And I think we had the same dining rotation as you. We cannot wait to go on our next Disney cruise (it was so fun) and are booking soon, but we are much more likely to skip some of the dining room nights the next trip.

 

[Mommb]

At the end of the meal, the head server asked how we liked our dining experience. My husband and I each politely said, "It was good". He replied, "Good isn't good enough, we want your experience to be excellent. Please tell us what we can do to make your experience excellent." We looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. It wasn't that the servers weren't doing a good job, it was the entire atmosphere, the noise, the hustle, the cramped space. Our daughter got out of her chair to walk toward the restroom and was almost trampled by a server hurriedly carrying a tray full of entrees. Disney typically does such a good job concealing all the behind the scenes action, but there was no concealing how busy and hectic everything felt.

This is the sort of feedback that the head server needed to know. I know it's hard to articulate clearly in the moment (and probably wouldn't have been able to do so myself) but if guests have specific issues to report, such as servers rushing so much they almost trampled a child, it is important to convey them so the staff knows what's happening. I'm sure many people are reluctant to say anything on the comment card for fear of hurting their servers (and because there is no space for comments anyhow) so it may not be clear to DCL that there is a problem with the dining room structure that is not the fault of individual servers.

 

[Racer X]

It's impossible not to know. We had several collisions and tons of close calls at just one dinner with meals going flying that's how crazy hurried everybody was.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

This is the sort of feedback that the head server needed to know. I know it's hard to articulate clearly in the moment (and probably wouldn't have been able to do so myself) but if guests have specific issues to report, such as servers rushing so much they almost trampled a child, it is important to convey them so the staff knows what's happening. I'm sure many people are reluctant to say anything on the comment card for fear of hurting their servers (and because there is no space for comments anyhow) so it may not be clear to DCL that there is a problem with the dining room structure that is not the fault of individual servers.

I just left 8 pages of typed feedbzck wirh guest communication about my recent b2b on rhe Wonder. I was onboard for 24n and had quite a few issues with accessability and left some suggestions how they could easily improve those issues. They andwered me yesterday askibg for times they can call me to discuss. So if there is stuff tou want to share, reach out to guest communication…

 

[Liastaob]

I wonder if the rest of the fleet lost a significant number of experienced servers to the Treasure that they have yet to adequately replace?

 

[MsChristy12]

I personally miss the days of 2+hour dinners, where formal nights for men meant tuxes and semiformal meant suites (as a teen I hated those nights), some dishes and deserts were prepared table side and after dinner drinks and coffee and cappuccinos were the norm. Now my wife and I (no kids) are basically rushed in and out of any MDR or specialty restaurant in 45 minutes. At least with the dinner shows on DCL, things are not as rushed as they are on the other lines.

I do kinda miss that too. Not necessarily the whole nine yards w/ tuxes but at last semiformal. We've only sailed DCL once, but both my husband and I decided pretty quickly that we prefer non-DCL cruises based on the dining options and timing.

 

[Racer X]

I do kinda miss that too. Not necessarily the whole nine yards w/ tuxes but at last semiformal. We've only sailed DCL once, but both my husband and I decided pretty quickly that we prefer non-DCL cruises based on the dining options and timing.

Hi! What cruise line do you like to sail?

 

[MsChristy12]

Hi! What cruise line do you like to sail?

We have only sailed on Royal, but very interested in sailing w/ Celebrity.

 

[SL6827]

If I felt like they were trying to rush me, I would make a point to take my slow sweet time. Just like I would do in a WDW restaurant.

 

[Lorana]

You know, my DH and I were talking about this coming off the Treasure. We loved the cruise, but dinner was rushed with slow service, yet we could see our waitstaff never had a moment to slow down. And this was second dining.

Has Disney cut back on the number of servers in the dining room? Our kids first Disney cruise was back in 2013, again in 2014, and the next not till 2018, but one of the things that really sold us on Disney was the interactions with the wait staff. They had time to talk to you. They played magic tricks and left puzzles for my children. Our favorite server of all time, Igor, really drew my oldest out — so much so that my oldest asked for a photo with him on our last day of that 7 night cruise on the Fantasy and was heartbroken to leave.

But our experience in the cruises we’ve taken in the last three years feel so much more rushed on the dining and we don’t feel like the same connection is being made. We wondered if it’s just because our kids are older (and as of now all adults), or if there was a shift in how DCL views the dining experience.

 

[Kwami]

You know, my DH and I were talking about this coming off the Treasure. We loved the cruise, but dinner was rushed with slow service, yet we could see our waitstaff never had a moment to slow down. And this was second dining.

Has Disney cut back on the number of servers in the dining room? Our kids first Disney cruise was back in 2013, again in 2014, and the next not till 2018, but one of the things that really sold us on Disney was the interactions with the wait staff. They had time to talk to you. They played magic tricks and left puzzles for my children. Our favorite server of all time, Igor, really drew my oldest out — so much so that my oldest asked for a photo with him on our last day of that 7 night cruise on the Fantasy and was heartbroken to leave.

But our experience in the cruises we’ve taken in the last three years feel so much more rushed on the dining and we don’t feel like the same connection is being made. We wondered if it’s just because our kids are older (and as of now all adults), or if there was a shift in how DCL views the dining experience.

I was just on the Wish a few weeks ago. My server gave us puzzles to solve, made some origami, did a few tricks, told us about his home country, and even got some sambal for us to eat with the bread every night.

How can dinner be rushed with slow service? That doesn't make sense?

 

[tgarre06]

I was just on the Wish a few weeks ago. My server gave us puzzles to solve, made some origami, did a few tricks, told us about his home country, and even got some sambal for us to eat with the bread every night.

How can dinner be rushed with slow service? That doesn't make sense?

Just because it was not your experience does not mean it does not make sense.

 

[Kwami]

Just because it was not your experience does not mean it does not make sense.

No, I genuinely don't understand how dinner can be rushed if service is slow. That's a contradiction.

 

[tvguy]

No, I genuinely don't understand how dinner can be rushed if service is slow. That's a contradiction.

Well, if they bring you your soup and come back two minutes later looking to pick up the bowl, that would be rushed, even if the next course didn't arrive for 30 minutes.

 

[Racer X]

I understand exactly what the poster said. Rushed in that the entire dining room is like one chaotic event aka hunger games as I've said before well in the meantime it took us 15 minutes to get a drink ergo slow. Chaotic and slow are not contradictions it can definitely be both and was. With that being said glad you had a good experience that means it's possible which also means that they've most likely been running under staffed which is also not acceptable considering they are charging top dollar.

 

[Mommb]

But our experience in the cruises we’ve taken in the last three years feel so much more rushed on the dining and we don’t feel like the same connection is being made. We wondered if it’s just because our kids are older (and as of now all adults), or if there was a shift in how DCL views the dining experience.

With that being said glad you had a good experience that means it's possible which also means that they've most likely been running under staffed which is also not acceptable considering they are charging top dollar.

I haven't noticed that staffing has decreased (that is, that each server is responsible for more people), though that could be. I have noticed that in the last few years there have been more times than in previous years when a server or assistant server was not at dinner and our server, assistant server, or head server was working extra to compensate. It is possible that Disney is being more vigilant about monitoring cast members' health and keeping them away from guests if they are ill.

It is also possible that there are fewer "extra" servers available to help if someone is out. The pool deck buffet area is no longer used at dinner time as a training ground, and there may be fewer staff in training (either cause or effect).

Over the past few years the number of "dinner shows" has also increased, which makes dinner service more chaotic. It's one thing to prepare for Mickey or a parade of servers to march through the dining room at the end of dinner, and another to work around characters performing throughout the meal.

 

[Mango7100]

You know, my DH and I were talking about this coming off the Treasure. We loved the cruise, but dinner was rushed with slow service, yet we could see our waitstaff never had a moment to slow down. And this was second dining.

Has Disney cut back on the number of servers in the dining room? Our kids first Disney cruise was back in 2013, again in 2014, and the next not till 2018, but one of the things that really sold us on Disney was the interactions with the wait staff. They had time to talk to you. They played magic tricks and left puzzles for my children. Our favorite server of all time, Igor, really drew my oldest out — so much so that my oldest asked for a photo with him on our last day of that 7 night cruise on the Fantasy and was heartbroken to leave.

But our experience in the cruises we’ve taken in the last three years feel so much more rushed on the dining and we don’t feel like the same connection is being made. We wondered if it’s just because our kids are older (and as of now all adults), or if there was a shift in how DCL views the dining experience.

We also just got off the Treasure and felt the same way. Service was fine, not great but not bad. Certainly not any better than what we received on Celebrity. We ordered quick and then it seemed like a very long time before any courses were delivered. Our server did a magic trick once in the 7 nights for our daughter. I wondered if it was because she is a tween now but I didn’t notice any tables around use having any special interaction either. Compared to our first 2 cruises pre Covid where our server did something every night and knew our drink order and our daughter loved him so much she wanted pictures with him.