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Dracoster
April 10, 2009 10:49 PM
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Holy crap! I'd so sue them out of the water.

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3 replies
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supercereal
April 10, 2009 11:38 PM
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@Dracoster: Sue them? For what? Sure, it was horrible service, and they should get something for their trouble, but they weren't \"wronged\" in any way whatsoever that would warrant a lawsuit.

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Zorantor
April 11, 2009 8:19 AM
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@supercereal: I think the initial comment was largely a vehicle for the \"out of the water\" pun.

I liked it well enough.

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dragonfire81
April 11, 2009 4:08 PM
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@Zorantor: Shitty service or not, the company did get a cruise which was technically \"what they paid for\" you can be sure Costa would argue this point in court.

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dragonfire81
April 11, 2009 4:09 PM
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@dragonfire81: rather the CUSTOMERS did get a cruise...

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sonneillon
April 10, 2009 11:42 PM
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@supercereal: Agreed, there is no tort for that, what damages would he allege. a dollar in baked goods?

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mythago
April 11, 2009 4:34 AM
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@sonneillon: Cost of the cruise, since you did not get what you paid for. You can sue for things other than torts, y'know.

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Kaellorian
April 11, 2009 5:27 AM
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@mythago: They had lousy service at dinner and didn't say anything about it until the last day. While I believe they should be given *something* in return, believing they're entitled to a full refund seems a bit steep.

Yes, you can sue for things other than torts, but there still has to be damages. The damages were poor dinner service - which the cruise line was not made aware of until the last day. I wouldn't trust the attorney who picks up the sword for this cause.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 2:57 AM
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@sonneillon: To be fair, I think it would a claim in contract, not tort. When the bargain is one to provide entertainment and enjoyment, damages can be recovered for mental distress suffered from the disappointment, distress, upset and frustration caused by the breach. The question is, did the customer suffer from mental distress as a result? At least, that's the law in Canada. It could be very different in the US or whatever country their contract is governed under.

IANAL...

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nerdtalker
April 10, 2009 10:55 PM
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Wow, that's ridiculous. One of the major upsides of taking a cruise is that waiter-table interaction, something which I think the letter touched on perfectly.

The bread incident, however, is amazing. Absolutely incredible.

After the first night of that, you should've raised hell with the maître d. I consider even one night of such service and a 3 hour dinner inexcusable.

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5 replies
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sleze69
April 11, 2009 11:21 AM
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@nerdtalker: My father took a cruise on Costa once and his description of the service and the quality of the cruise mirrored this lady's experience.


Needless to say, he nor I will never book a Costa cruise.

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deadandy
April 11, 2009 2:39 AM
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@nerdtalker: What's the waiter-table interaction? I don't get it. Is it something above and beyond what you'd get at a regular restaurant?

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LandruBek
April 12, 2009 3:16 AM
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@Trai_Dep: Interesting. Can they arbitrarily issue divorces too? Now that would be something! Imagine the headline:

\"CAPTAIN RUNS AMOK
Divorces, Randomly Remarries All On Board.

New couples locked into cabins for remainder of trip.\"

(Now that's \"misappropriating your bread basket.\" Good Lord, what have I just said?)

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godai
April 11, 2009 8:39 PM
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@deadandy: Yes. Now I've only been on one cruise.
But my party had two tables. And on a cruise with assigned tables you will get the same waiter every night. So after a night or two he knows your drinks. He knows your preferences and can make recommendations.

Plus since they use fixed menus how long it takes your food to arrive isn't based on the cooks (typically) but instead on your waiter and his table management skills as he isn't onlyhandling your table.

With our two tables we had one good and one bad waiter. On a couple of the nights the table with the good waiter was finishing up their main dishes when the bad table got their salads.

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HogwartsAlum
April 11, 2009 12:28 AM
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@nerdtalker:

Hear hear. Why wait so long before they said anything?

That guy is the worst waiter ever.

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faust1200
April 10, 2009 10:55 PM
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I'm guessing the waiter was favoring passengers who had payed them off, I mean tipped them at the beginning of the cruise.

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Radi0logy
April 10, 2009 10:58 PM
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OK I'm not condoning the poor service, but cmon, grow some balls and say something early. Why wait basically the entire trip? Nice guys finish last, or somesuch...

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sirwired
April 10, 2009 11:00 PM
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Errr... why not go to the Maitre'd (sp?) after the first night (or even two) of horrible service? Why put up with this crap for three nights? It seems a little off to not complain until after three entire nights of suckiness, and then turn around and demand more than a token amount.

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taking_this_easy
April 10, 2009 11:41 PM
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@sirwired: then their new waiter would have spit in the food


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ArcanaJ
April 10, 2009 11:08 PM
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Bad service to a captive audience sucks. They have every right to be angry, but am I the only one who feels bad for the poor jerk stuck doing waiter duty for which he clearly wasn't trained?

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BluePlastic
April 11, 2009 4:13 AM
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@ArcanaJ: Except why the heck would he offer their bread basket to people at another table that already had bread?! What was that? Some kind of passive-aggressive thing?

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deliciouscake
April 11, 2009 1:32 PM
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@BluePlastic: I'd guess because the people he was waiting on were being rude to him. Not saying what he did was right but trying to do a job you haven't been trained to do and have people you are serving not appreciate you trying would probably become frustrating.
..or maybe their server is just a douche.

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dragonfire81
April 11, 2009 4:10 PM
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@deliciouscake: He probably got frustrated and overwhelmed due to his lack of training and proficiency in english.

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El_Fez
April 10, 2009 11:09 PM
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Not that I'm blaming the customer, but I am curious - why didn't they take a more active stance in this problem?


The first night I'd have been all \"Well, it happens. I'll roll with the punch.\" Night two would have been sending up red flags all over the place, and at the START of night three, when Waiter 2.0 reported for duty, I'd have been out of my chair like a rocket and talking to the Maitre D', the guy who signs the Maitre D's paycheck, the guy that signs HIS paycheck, the captain of the boat, and the head chief until I got things resolved to my satisfaction.

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easy2panic
April 10, 2009 11:39 PM
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Be careful about raising hassles with the captain. They are the last legal dictators in the world. They have the legal authority to lock you in your room for the rest of the time or kick you off in some port.

(But talking to the captain nicely is definitely warranted.)

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Trai_Dep
April 11, 2009 1:22 AM
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@easy2panic: Or marry you to some arbitrary person when they're in a snit. It's a great perk of being a captain, but BOY does it suck for everyone else.

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ryes
April 11, 2009 12:04 AM
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They should have complained immediately after the first dinner and had their table changed. Hoping for the 1st waiter's return to the point of nightly aggravation ruins a no-doubt expensive cruise. Could it be masochism?

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csdiego
April 11, 2009 12:15 AM
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I'll probably go to hell for finding this story sort of amusing in an Office Space kind of way.

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1 replies
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SacraBos
April 11, 2009 9:03 PM
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@csdiego: yeah... I could set the boat on fire...

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savdavid
April 11, 2009 12:16 AM
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I doubt complaining would have done any good with this cruise line but I think ryes is right. It couldn't hurt to try. I know these customers were trying to be patient and understanding but after one night of this I would never go through another meal with that idiot. Y'all paid premium prices, honey! If someone hits me over the head again and again and I just keep quiet, guess what?.... he is going to hit me again.

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cccdude
April 11, 2009 12:29 AM
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Next time - go with NCL. Freestyle dining at your convenience amid a choice of restaurants.

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2 replies
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MeOhMy
April 13, 2009 1:26 PM
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@cccdude: Well...yeah...but your choices are somewhat limited if you don't want to pay extra for the premium restaurants...and you also get to roll the dice and have a crapshoot for awful service for every meal :-)

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Anonymous
April 12, 2009 7:01 PM
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@cccdude: I cruised on the Norwegian Dawn for my honeymoon, absolutely the worst. The staff was indifferent since tips were from a general pool for everyone and the food anywhere but te main dining rooms was poor at best, with rubbery deserts (when there were any) or cafeteria-style selections that would have embarrassed a Duffs. My Royal Carribean experience was much more enjoyable for a lower overall cost.

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WNW
April 11, 2009 12:38 AM
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You know, I've read a lot of posts here about cruises and they all seem like nightmares. I think I'll keep the money and buy myself a boat instead.

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7 replies
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jhuang
April 12, 2009 1:54 AM
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@WNW: I've been on a Princess cruise (which was alright, but a little boring for college-aged me) and a Disney cruise, which was FANTASTIC. We did the land-and-sea combo, and it was pricy, but it was well worth it. My whole family loved it, the entertainment was incredible, and the service was excellent.

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Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!)
April 11, 2009 9:18 PM
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@WNW: I've been on a couple. HATED the Carribean one -- full of drunk college students (which is only fun if you are a drunk college student) and the service was bad because all they had to do was keep providing liquor for the drunk college students. Enjoyed the shore excursions and stuff, but the floating hotel was meh. The Alaska one I went on I LOVED. It was mostly families, honeymooners, and older people, so it was a lot quieter. Service was great, food was great, entertainment was fun, and the whole thing was very focused on the passengers having a good time. (The blackjack dealer even gave my aunt who had never gambled before a cheat sheet so she'd know when the odds were in her favor for hitting and standing.)

My only complaint about the Alaska cruise was that the nightclub was pretty empty because there weren't too many teens/20somethings on the cruise, but frequently I was so wiped from the shore excursions I was asleep early anyway. Or watching my straight-arrow aunt try to gamble.

And our poor waiter on that cruise, who was fantastic, had to put up with us constantly sending drinks to \"Turd Ferguson\" and with one of my cousins who has a disability that includes, among other things, inappropriate but hugely amusing outbursts. He was a star, took great care of us, and was tipped accordingly.

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SacraBos
April 11, 2009 9:07 PM
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@WNW: The only nightmare I have about my cruise is the price... The service throughout our ship was outstanding (Carnival).

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veg-o-matic
April 11, 2009 3:41 PM
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@WNW: \"I think I'll keep the money and buy myself a sweet bread boat instead.\"

That picture is enough to convince me to start saving and searching for the perfect carbo-high-seas vessel.

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Trai_Dep
April 11, 2009 4:43 PM
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@veg-o-matic: On the Gravy Seas between the Mashed Potato Isles? I'm SO there!

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veg-o-matic
April 11, 2009 9:17 PM
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@Trai_Dep: Now look spry and load the butter knives! We launch at six bells!

Yo ho yo ho, and a bottle of... balsamic.

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Trai_Dep
April 11, 2009 1:21 AM
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@WNW: I hear that, around Cape Horn in Africa, they can be had for nearly nothing!

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rpm773
April 11, 2009 12:26 PM
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@Trai_Dep: Heh, but that's \"Horn of Africa\". \"Cape Horn\" is the southern tip of South America.

Cape Horn probably has a lot of cheap boats, too. But mainly due to shipwrecks, not piracy.

\"Horn of Africa\", I recently learned, is called such because it resembles the short of a goat or sheep (if the rest of Africa is the nose of said animal, I suppose).

That's all the useless knowledge I have for today.

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Trai_Dep
April 11, 2009 4:40 PM
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@rpm773: Thanks for the useful lesson.
Boy, it would have been so awkward had I been caught hopping over the rails in my ruffled shirt, parrot clutching my shoulder, and uncomfortably snug pantaloons. In Tierra del Fuego. ¡¿Tierra del Fuego?!
I mean, my parrot doesn't even speak Spanish!
Phew!

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rpm773
April 11, 2009 12:27 PM
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@rpm773: ..er..that's \"horn of a goat/sheep\".

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pikemu
April 11, 2009 12:51 AM
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I went on a cruise with this cruise line in February and I have to say it was the worst cruise I have ever been on. The ports of call were good but the experience on the boat was absolutely terrible. The food was awful along with the eating times. I would have to say one of the highlights was our waiter and helper, they made the dinners experience enjoyable even though the food was mostly awful. Room service was a joke. Even worse you had to deal with a bunch of extremely rude Europeans. My 10 year old asked me if they ever said excuse me or always pushed people out of the way. The best part about the cruise was that we rocked the casino for a very large bounty.

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Trai_Dep
April 11, 2009 1:20 AM
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You ever get the feeling that if tipping was allowed, they'd have gotten better service?

(ducking for cover)

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parrotuya
April 11, 2009 1:55 AM
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This is horrible, mon! My wife and I had the coolest Jamaican waiter on our cruise, mon! He provided good service and even told us where the good night spots were to be found, mon! He even said \"mon\" at the end of every sentence! He was the best, mon!

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feckingmorons
April 11, 2009 4:03 AM
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I am confused. Could you not have asked the people at the next table for some sugar.


Who wants to get to know the waiter? I've only been on two cruises and I did not get to know the staff. The waiters brought the food, and drinks and were otherwise invisible except when needed - just like a restaurant that does not float.


I don't want to chat up the waiter, or watch him dance.


If the service is substandard, and there is an alternative as you mentioned why not take the alternative. Will they not bring food to the cabins on these ships, they do on the ones on which I have cruised.

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humphrmi
April 11, 2009 5:05 AM
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I checked out Costa when I was looking for a Mediterranean cruise, but all of their itineraries (at the time) required a stop in Tripoli, which killed it for me.

For those not familiar with our new most favorite reformed terrorist state, Libya still officially calls for the destruction of Israel. So you think non-Jews have a chance to visit a historic city? Jah, unless you're American - American passport holders aren't welcome in Tripoli either. So much for our new friends.

When Costa reforms it's anti-Semitic, anti-American view of the world, I might consider them. Except I hear their food sucks. So never mind.

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fatcop
April 11, 2009 11:56 AM
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All your bread are belong to me.

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1 replies
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LandruBek
April 12, 2009 3:19 AM
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@fatcop: Take off every sugar. For great service.

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wcnghj
April 11, 2009 12:51 PM
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This sounds like it was a few months ago, but a willing CCC might be willing to do a partial(Lets say 40%) chargeback.

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GayNerd
April 11, 2009 1:57 PM
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No cheese plate?

OH NOES!

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edwardso
April 11, 2009 2:14 PM
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One of the reasons I will never go on a cruise is that you are stuck. If the food or service sucks you have no where else to go. It doesn't excuse bad service but, buyer beware. They should have brought it to someone's attention the first night

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 3:29 PM
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My first evening on Costa the dinner service was very bad, even allowing that Europeans enjoy dining for a much longer time. I spoke to the maître d' after dinner and I was assigned a new waiter the next evening. He must have been told to provide good service because the attention was excellent for the next 6 evenings.

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Anonymous
April 11, 2009 4:47 PM
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I don't wish to \"get to know\" the waiters, unless my sister is serving at Thanksgiving. I cringe when they do their ridiculous dance, but feel fortunate that they're not onto karaoke next. I resent it when they're not available to serve the tables while they're dancing. Waitstaff should be as invisible as possible.

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Stephanie Haller
April 11, 2009 4:54 PM
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Why did they wait so long to complain? That's ridiculous. The second night of problems, I would have immediately spoken up and gotten my seat changed, rather than wait and take their crap.

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Blinky987
April 11, 2009 7:04 PM
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@Stephanie Haller: Hindsight is 20/20. Simply, that is why.

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turkeyspam
April 11, 2009 7:14 PM
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Seems like a cruise is a big waste of money...

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zacwax
April 11, 2009 8:52 PM
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this sucks and everything, but she should have said something the moment it became a repeated incident

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nospacesinmyname
April 11, 2009 8:52 PM
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nevr been a cruise fan

\"lets go hang out on a boat!\"

no, thanks.

take t-pain

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Anonymous
April 12, 2009 7:11 PM
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@nospacesinmyname: My Mediterranean cruise on Royals Brilliance of the Seas was a great opportunity to see several interesting placeswith relatively limited attractiveness such as Egypt and Athens. We took a trip to the pyramids in Cairo, saw them, and got the heck out before the overly-pushy arab vendors and policemen looking for a bribe got the best of us. Cruising has it's downsides, but it is an easy way to see a lot of places without constantly packing and unpacking.

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redkamel
April 12, 2009 4:43 AM
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me neither....but I wont go into it lest I troll

BTW if someone is getting surgery, they are sick.

And maybe he was \"sick\" by the OPs definition, and ended up getting surgery.

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welsey
April 12, 2009 3:42 PM
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I feel bad for the poor guy getting stuck waiting tables! It can be a bumpy first few weeks for even properly trained new servers, but this guy was just shoved into cruise style service! Dancing waiters? Sounds uncomfortable. Perhaps he was trying to prove himself completely unable to wait tables to go back to his former position - if you're not working for tips, why take the risk that you'll be asked to dance? Of course, the blame for putting him out on the floor is with the cruise company and/or whoever was managing that particular area of the ship. Sounds like a disaster.

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tinyhands
April 12, 2009 4:13 PM
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Sharing the bread basket or sugar between tables is a very common occurrence in Europe (Costa is an Italian company) and should not be viewed through sheltered American eyes as disgusting.

This does not excuse the waiter from removing it without permission or the other rude behaviors, but please try to remember that customs may be different when travelling in foreign countries.

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WorldHarmony
April 12, 2009 6:00 PM
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I'm not condoning the terrible service, but I would have spoken to the maitre d' after the very FIRST incident- after all, cruises are expensive. Had the poor service continued I would have immediately - but in a polite manner- asked for a new waiter/new table. If that didn't work, I would have searched for a creative way to to sit with other passengers I'd befriended.

At no time, however, would I have spent hours of my vacation grumbling and spreading around my anger. There are some things that are out of our control, but we can control our own attitude. Why make a bad situation worse by choosing to complain throughout the entire vacation?

That being said, I do feel for Krista, as she did not get the enjoyable vacation advertised. I hope Costa Cruises is embarrassed about their horrible service and treatment of their customers, and that they respond with a sincere apology and a refund.

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dabofug
April 12, 2009 7:23 PM
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Don't mind him, he's from Barcelona.

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tankertodd
April 12, 2009 10:50 PM
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I will not cruise with Costa and I will make sure I tell all my cruising friends about how bad Costa is. This is atrocious. And it's not the passengers' fault if they didn't complain earlier or in a different manner. The cruise line is 100% accountable.

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quagmire0
April 13, 2009 2:32 PM
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Poor service, no doubt, but they were probably introduced to the head waiter on their first day, and should have complained to him after the second night, if not after the first.

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