Vikings are Back

yes, i did tip. we could have removed them but our room steward and the
waitress were okay. it wasn't the waitresses fault that the kitchen didn't
prepare the food as ordered or the beef tasted like liver. the assistant
waiter could not understand that i didn't want coffee but that was his
training, he wasn't being mean.
the head waiter, the maitre de and the pursers staff were downright
horrible. i am not a complainer, honest!!!
to shake up the tips for the 75 cents a day the headwaiter gets would have
been overkill. also i went to crown grill the night they had rack of lamb
(one of my favorites) and they made it for me on the last night. it was
basically the attitudes that were so bad. and the dining room rules.
personal choice should be illegal and they should try to accomodate groups
better.


"Nonnymus" wrote in message
...
Out of curiosity, could members of the Viking Group comment on whether
they tipped the surly waiter staff and head waiter? It's one thing to
just leave a negative comment on the card, but if this had happened to me,
as reported by Tom K, I sure as heck would have visited the Purser's
(surly) desk and had the waiter/asst. waiter and head waiter(?) tip
removed.
--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

"LeeNY" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi Jean,

I'm coming into this conversation very late, but I never got the
impression that Tom was blaming Princess for not seating everyone
together. If I remember correctly, he said that it was unfortunate that
everyone wasn't seated in traditonal together, and that splitting the
group was terrible....but not that it was Princess's fault. Someone had
asked why everyone wasn't seated together, and an explanation was
provided. Far as I could see, no blame was placed.

Lee


Lee, then you have not read all of his posts, as Tom is definitely blaming
Princess for not seating everyone together. He is speaking of Princess's not
being able to accommodate them even if they booked late in his post below:


"Tom K" wrote in message
...
To not be able to accoomodate them with is is simply not acceptible
IMO.
Not when they have 6 months notice.
Splitting up the group was terrible IMO.

--Tom

If you read over all his other posts, he is blaming Princess for not having
enough traditional dining space..In the post below he specifically says that
Princess would not help.


"Charles" wrote in message
Tom and myself had traditional but some had anytime as I explain in
another post. The late bookers could not get traditional as it was
booked.

To which Tom replied:

They booked in July. That's not late... just later than most of the group.

5-6 Months notice isn't late.

Princess just didn't help.

--Tom

"Tom K" wrote in message
...
Hey Tobie... **** OFF!


Hey Tom, THAT was not necessary nor nice. If Tobie's remark smarted, maybe
there was a bit of truth that hit a nerve?
Anyway, I don't think Tobie deserved that sort of come back. You have been
known to be a Celebrity fan, which is fine, even though they, as many other
lines, have their shortcomings. It has always been difficult for you to
acknowledge that Celebrity does have some problems...almost as if you feel
that you would be disloyal if you admitted it.

--Jean

It's my belief that you can separate out who does and who does not get a
tip. I sure as heck would have tried at the Purser's desk. If I found
out that it was all or none, I'd have gone the "none" route, then tipped
the folks that did a good job with cash. IMHO, tipping a surly person
or receiving poor service only reinforces the behavior. These folks are
there to get tips, and the most strident way to insure good service is
to keep the attitude that tips are OPTIONAL and based upon satisfaction.

Long ago, Ermalee might remember, we had one of the world's slowest and
most indifferent/argumentative waiters I've ever encountered. If anyone
asked for a second appetizer or anything that involved any extra effort,
he would argue or roll his eyes. Our table was the last one served in
the dining room, and also the last to leave. We finally complained as a
table, and he was reassigned. (Later on, we spotted him as a waiter on
a different ship). At that time, we were tipping in cash and I made it
a point to NOT tip the creep.

Perhaps we all need to remember that tipping is still not mandatory, but
a customary option.

Nonny

kerry ambler wrote:
yes, i did tip. we could have removed them but our room steward and the
waitress were okay. it wasn't the waitresses fault that the kitchen didn't
prepare the food as ordered or the beef tasted like liver. the assistant
waiter could not understand that i didn't want coffee but that was his
training, he wasn't being mean.
the head waiter, the maitre de and the pursers staff were downright
horrible. i am not a complainer, honest!!!
to shake up the tips for the 75 cents a day the headwaiter gets would have
been overkill. also i went to crown grill the night they had rack of lamb
(one of my favorites) and they made it for me on the last night. it was
basically the attitudes that were so bad. and the dining room rules.
personal choice should be illegal and they should try to accomodate groups
better.


"Nonnymus" wrote in message
...
Out of curiosity, could members of the Viking Group comment on whether
they tipped the surly waiter staff and head waiter? It's one thing to
just leave a negative comment on the card, but if this had happened to me,
as reported by Tom K, I sure as heck would have visited the Purser's
(surly) desk and had the waiter/asst. waiter and head waiter(?) tip
removed.
--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.



--
---Nonnymus---
In the periodic table, as in politics,
the unstable elements tend to hang out on
the far left, with some to the right as well.

Good Morning Jean ...........

Seems to me that Princess did try to help by putting the entire group on
"Anytime" assigning specific tables and a specific time but this suggestion was
refused for whatever reasons, which were no doubt valid.

But you are correct that Princess will not bump passengers with firm assignments
to accomodate someone who books later. They are very firm about this and will
not deviate at all. We have in the past opted to change people from Traditional
to Anytime once aboard with firm assignments and it worked out wonderful. We
tried it again on a different ship and the MD refused our request and told us it
would be first come first served everynight, no prearranged dining. So it is a
crap shoot.

In addition, if there are say ..... 3 couples confirmed for late traditional and
the restaurant is full, waitlisted, and I try to add another couple to dine with
their friends. Princess will do the cross reference but bump the 3 confirmed
couples to the waitlist and all 4 couples now are unassigned.

It is weird but that is the way they do it.

When planning an "Active" group such as this one must be careful about ship
selection as not all ships like having this type of group aboard. Years ago I
did a lot of bookings for a Square Dance group from the Bay Area. Sometimes they
were asked not to come back ...........

The whole point is that people should be able to feel comfortable and to have
fun. If that is not the case then of course there are going to be bad feelings
and negative impressions.

Cal Ford



In article , Jean O'Boyle
says...


"LeeNY" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi Jean,

I'm coming into this conversation very late, but I never got the
impression that Tom was blaming Princess for not seating everyone
together. If I remember correctly, he said that it was unfortunate that
everyone wasn't seated in traditonal together, and that splitting the
group was terrible....but not that it was Princess's fault. Someone had
asked why everyone wasn't seated together, and an explanation was
provided. Far as I could see, no blame was placed.

Lee


Lee, then you have not read all of his posts, as Tom is definitely blaming
Princess for not seating everyone together. He is speaking of Princess's not
being able to accommodate them even if they booked late in his post below:


"Tom K" wrote in message
...
To not be able to accoomodate them with is is simply not acceptible
IMO.
Not when they have 6 months notice.
Splitting up the group was terrible IMO.

--Tom

If you read over all his other posts, he is blaming Princess for not having
enough traditional dining space..In the post below he specifically says that
Princess would not help.


"Charles" wrote in message
Tom and myself had traditional but some had anytime as I explain in
another post. The late bookers could not get traditional as it was
booked.

To which Tom replied:

They booked in July. That's not late... just later than most of the group.

5-6 Months notice isn't late.

Princess just didn't help.

--Tom

HELLO EVERYONE! Yes the Vikings are back and I been busy getting in
late due to a delay on the plane then went christmas shopping the next
day and was wiped out!
Back at work adn busy but Kerry sent me a note and said I better get my
butt over here so here I am!

I for the most part agree with Tom.
But here is my personal review...

Crown Princess 25Nov06 7 nights

My Boyfriend and I started out on Thanksgiving to San JUan, we stayed
2 nights at Courtyard by marriott... Which I have stayed in numerous
times and it was good as always. the group was at Embassy suites and
for the most part it was fine, one issue was when someone upstairs
took a shower water came out of their light in the bathroom, but the
next day they moved their room said they been having issues with
bathtubs and are replacing them. THey loved the Embassy pool. The food
there on Thanksgiving was not that good, but Ferrari Gourmet a little
place a mile away has wonderful food we ate there the next night and it
was good as always, I do not care much for chain restaurants and like
food of the native place.
I had a car and we went by the Port on day of embarkation around 11 am
and it was BEDLAM. WHy this ship has debarkation issues is beyond my
imagination. it took us til after noon to get off the ship we were
docked at 4 AM so have NO IDEA why they are so slow. And if you did not
have their Transfers you were on the bottom of the list. IF you had a
early flight they also had tohave your air tickets or they put up a
fight to get off! So that was not a good thing WHY can isney get it
right? ship clears you get off at your leisure!

OK back to the Ship

Buffet- was odd.... not bad just odd things. ALTHOUGH the last night
they ahd hugarian beef ghoulash and Spaetzle which I love. THey had a
seafood cold buffet with lobster claws which was nice. and we washed
our hands so much there was no norwalk going to get on them! haha
Some days the buffet was good others not- Mexican was bad...
then there was the dining room. Our waiter was fine she didher job as
did her assistant. Were they Overly friendly Not at all. She was
romanian or something as was alot of the crew, for some reason this
crew were just a unhappy bunch. Where is the Morning greetings like
Hello how are you, and Have a nice day? they rather knock into you and
keep moving... In the dining room the menu was VERY confusing LaRge
plate side Small plate side, I like it when it says APPETIZERS, SALADS,
ENTREE and you pick this one you had to really read or you miss
something. Tha pastas on this ship were wonderful just wonderful, the
Ice Cream is the BEST, very delish! there was good days and bad days
but this is true about all cruise lines, but I thought of Princess
being a step up a little and they were not, My boyfriend said its where
they buy their meats! I said when in NYC the food was fine but in San
Juan the food was not, and this was not just our group this was the
sentiment of MANY on the ship, MANY had said whats up with this crew? I
thought maybe I was being harsh but no....there was a attitude ship
wide. WHen the head waiter came to me and asked how I liked it and I
saId i did not it was not good at al he said it was my opinion WELL WHY
ASK ME if you did not want my OPINION! he also yelled at Kerry when she
asked the waitress for mashed potatoes each night they came one night
not the rest the waitress did bring them and the head waiterYelled at
Kerry for asking the Waitress for mashed potatoes! THIS IS UNREAL! his
name was Antonio from Italy just not the nicest guy around. So for me
the food ranks LOW.... Where is the guy who brings after dinner
shooters ? and there was hardly ANYONE going around asking if you
wanted a drink and to get juice or coffee in the morning forget waiting
for someone to come around and offer another cup- they had a cart butit
barely moved. I waited 35 min for ICE for ice tea...
WE went to sabatini's The Gratest Guy FUNNY named Fabio just funny as
all get out. he was the funniest of aLl the crew. great waiters there
but food was so so Just was not very Italian.. my lobster there was
great though and they had these ravioli that were wonderful!
but you only got a taste..
Crown Grill- Tom may have got a steak he did not like but the rest of
the group loved their meal, that was excellent and I should have paid
each night and gone there. My Ribeye was wonderful and the sides were
good. BUT the food we got there is what we USE to have 7 years ago...
VERY good, no complaints..
They had a good Sampler of the Desserts and they were good... And the
BEST Pizza on the sea!

Shows- Holy Moly no one better ever complain about Celebrity having bad
shows til they see these EEEK I saw better high school shows! there is
WAY to many comedians ALTHOUGH many liked them SArge being the best.
But those production shows oh gee..
The one show PEER FACTOR was horrid it was nothing but a commercial for
Princess cruises~

Pursers desk- Sofia was so arrogant I had a onboard credit and she said
i did not and said she deals with 3000 people a week and she never
heard of this amount of credit. Well I went to the room called our
group co ordinator and wthin 30 minutes I had it applied 3 days later
sofia called and said she got me the obc YEAH right!

BUT ya know I can have fun in a mud puddle! THe group this year was
just great one person won $6000 and others also had good winnings too!

I love seeing Tom Kanitra, Charles,John and Toms friend Bill, and of
course Kerry and Letty and their family.... We had great people in the
group that are alot of fun especially toma nd Charles they make me
laugh!

The Islands- WOW this is crusie 36 and I had not seen 4 of these
islands before!
Seems alot of folk Like Bonaire- I loved St Kitts and would like to go
back there and to nevis,
Bonaire has teh flamingoes and I love Flamingoes so it was WONDERFUL to
see these beautifu; Birds in their nesting habitats. JUST beautiful!
and I thinkTom like the BARS there! the Lush that he is! hahaha!
Charles did not sleep as much as usual BUT Kerry did get some pics of
him!
The weather was great! and I bought alot of Spices in Grenada- and wow
all the monkeys were adorable!

IT was a Great Cruise because of the Group the Ship sure;y was not my
favoirte as the crew can make or break it...
This is the 2nd time on this ship and the first was by far better

Looking foreward to go back to Royal on the Liberty of the Seas!

I do not drink coffee so no coffee card- WE had traditional dining not
anytime dining but they did not clear the entire group for it MORE
people want Traditional and the other dining rooms had availability and
they wanted the group to change to that we said NO way!
OH well!
Some parts of this ship do have a flow problem with how it is set up
but By the end of the week it was fine...
I did like MUTS pool too!

BUT the technology on a new ship was very backwards- You can not view
your onboard account on the TV and you can not order room service on
the tv, playing Bingo they had you buy a DABBER! I have not seen that
kind of BINGO in years! usually you use your finger and poke the
numbers out we had dabber ink all over our hands it was crazy! Some
things I just wondered why a ship would do thikngs with backwards
technology!
Sue and Kevin Mullen wrote:
Welcome home Tom and other Vikings!!

I agree that there were a couple of areas on the Crown where the
layout was confusing, but by the end of our week it wasn't a problem.
It was a very pretty ship and we also had no smoke issues which was
very refreshing.

I think there is a big difference between the food served when you
have traditional dining or anytime dining. All of us SGCers thought
the food and service were excellant, but we did traditional dining.
People on our sailing who had anytime dining complained about the food
and service and I read the same issue on cruise critic before and
after our sailing. I am surprised that with a group you choose anytime
dining, traditional would of worked better for you.

We ate in both specialty restaurants on the Crown and found the food
and service to be very good. Kevin just said he had the veal chop in
Sabitinis and it was very good. I don't know why there was such a
change since we sailed in august.

We also found the crew/staff all over the ship to be very friendly,
always a smile or hello as we passed them. The staff that we dealt
with were all very friendly, pleasant and helpful. Again I don't know
why there was such a change.

What did you think of the International Cafe and did you get a coffee
card??

sue


Tom K wrote:

The Vikings are back home after a week on the Crown Princess. Had a nice
week with the group, and a new itinerary for me that included Bonaire,
Aruba, Grenada, and St. Kitts.

Loved Bonaire. Liked Aruba. Grenada was rather different from the typical
Caribbean port. I liked it. Didn't care for St. Kitts. Went to Trunk Bay
in St. John, which I love.

The ship? Not my cup of tea by any means. Most confusing layout I've ever
seen. Pretty ship. I like the very restrictive smoking policy. Ship in
perfect condition since it's brand new.

Service? We had a table full of people one night with dinners that went
un-eaten because they were so bad, and the head waiter Antonio came proudly
and asked how our dinner was. When we said "Not Good"... he got into a
fight with us. When Susette said the food wasn't very good... he jumped all
over her and told her that it was "only her opinion". That sure made the
comment card.

I've never had a crew member get into a fight with someone before.

Overall much of the crew seemed.... maybe I'll use the term "surly". Not
happy. Interaction of crew with passengers wasn't good.

Dining room waitress was excellent. As was my cabin steward.

Anytime dining? I hate it. Because of it, our group couldn't all be seated
in one dining room. It definitely didn't work for us.

Food? IMO... now pretty much worse than both RCI and NCL food, which I
don't care for. Lots of really weird items on the buffets and dinner menus.
Lots of scallops, muscles, etc. Not my cup of tea. Steaks sent back. Fish
that smelled "fishy". Beef tenderloin that didn't even taste like beef (I
just ate the veggies that night). Excellent pizza. Excellent cold seafood
buffet the first evening. Lobster seemed OK. Not crisp, but not mushy
either. Veal chop in Sabbitinis that was fatty. Fillet in Crown Grill that
came out overcooked (ordered medium, came out well done) but still tender.
Neither specialty restaurant seemed worth the money.

Overall, fun week, but many in the group said they won't go on Princess
again. I most likely only would if it was an unusual itinerary, that did
something like Iceland or Norway's North Cape.

--Tom

Susette wrote:
the other dining rooms had availability and
they wanted the group to change to that we said NO way!

I'm just wondering, if the entire group could have been accommodated in
one of the other dining rooms, and assuming it could have been done as
a standing reservation for a specific time and set of tables every
night, why did you reject the offer?

Warren

The crown was a good fit as we wanted different Ports- and she had the
different ports the GROUP had a fun time with each other. Great
cocktail party! HEY I even flashed a couple times! next year we look
fioreward to St Martin- Right TOm? hahahha I bet you would want leslie
on that one!
wrote:
Hi i new Tom wasn"t going to like the Crown that much .Was on the
Grand when he was on her.He didn"t like that ship either . I like the
Crown ,but like thwe Grand better . Also i didn"t think the Crown was a
great fit for the Viking group . Welcome hopme every body !!

Ken G......

Tom K wrote:
We did 5 ports in 6 days... and we hung out as a gang of 6-8 of us most
every night... no time for MUTS. Though some watched USC vs. ND last week.

Everyone was always geting lost. One floor stopped here, and other there...




"Jeff" wrote in message
news:xMAch.1123$bW2.245@trndny04...
Very interesting Tom! Well glad you had a good time anyhow.... I am with
you on the anytime dining thing, although, it did work for me a bit in
August since I skipped out a few nights and did my own thing, and our wait
staff was among the best I've ever had! So you got the short end of the
stick on that score it sounds like. Def sounds like they are having some
food issues there!!! What did you find confusing about the layout? I
kind of liked it and it seemed fairly comparable to the Golden in most
ways. Did you do Movies Under the Stars at all?

Jeff



Tom K wrote:
The Vikings are back home after a week on the Crown Princess. Had a nice
week with the group, and a new itinerary for me that included Bonaire,
Aruba, Grenada, and St. Kitts.

Loved Bonaire. Liked Aruba. Grenada was rather different from the
typical Caribbean port. I liked it. Didn't care for St. Kitts. Went to
Trunk Bay in St. John, which I love.

The ship? Not my cup of tea by any means. Most confusing layout I've
ever seen. Pretty ship. I like the very restrictive smoking policy.
Ship in perfect condition since it's brand new.

Service? We had a table full of people one night with dinners that went
un-eaten because they were so bad, and the head waiter Antonio came
proudly and asked how our dinner was. When we said "Not Good"... he got
into a fight with us. When Susette said the food wasn't very good... he
jumped all over her and told her that it was "only her opinion". That
sure made the comment card.

I've never had a crew member get into a fight with someone before.

Overall much of the crew seemed.... maybe I'll use the term "surly". Not
happy. Interaction of crew with passengers wasn't good.

Dining room waitress was excellent. As was my cabin steward.

Anytime dining? I hate it. Because of it, our group couldn't all be
seated in one dining room. It definitely didn't work for us.

Food? IMO... now pretty much worse than both RCI and NCL food, which I
don't care for. Lots of really weird items on the buffets and dinner
menus. Lots of scallops, muscles, etc. Not my cup of tea. Steaks sent
back. Fish that smelled "fishy". Beef tenderloin that didn't even taste
like beef (I just ate the veggies that night). Excellent pizza.
Excellent cold seafood buffet the first evening. Lobster seemed OK. Not
crisp, but not mushy either. Veal chop in Sabbitinis that was fatty.
Fillet in Crown Grill that came out overcooked (ordered medium, came out
well done) but still tender. Neither specialty restaurant seemed worth
the money.

Overall, fun week, but many in the group said they won't go on Princess
again. I most likely only would if it was an unusual itinerary, that did
something like Iceland or Norway's North Cape.

--Tom

Never seen dabbers on a ship. Either they had to use them because the Bingo
Supply House ran out of paper games, or more likely ......

They make more money by selling daubers.

Cal Ford




In article .com, Susette
says...

I do not drink coffee so no coffee card- WE had traditional dining not
anytime dining but they did not clear the entire group for it MORE
people want Traditional and the other dining rooms had availability and
they wanted the group to change to that we said NO way!
OH well!
Some parts of this ship do have a flow problem with how it is set up
but By the end of the week it was fine...
I did like MUTS pool too!

BUT the technology on a new ship was very backwards- You can not view
your onboard account on the TV and you can not order room service on
the tv, playing Bingo they had you buy a DABBER! I have not seen that
kind of BINGO in years! usually you use your finger and poke the
numbers out we had dabber ink all over our hands it was crazy! Some
things I just wondered why a ship would do thikngs with backwards
technology!
Sue and Kevin Mullen wrote:
Welcome home Tom and other Vikings!!

I agree that there were a couple of areas on the Crown where the
layout was confusing, but by the end of our week it wasn't a problem.
It was a very pretty ship and we also had no smoke issues which was
very refreshing.

I think there is a big difference between the food served when you
have traditional dining or anytime dining. All of us SGCers thought
the food and service were excellant, but we did traditional dining.
People on our sailing who had anytime dining complained about the food
and service and I read the same issue on cruise critic before and
after our sailing. I am surprised that with a group you choose anytime
dining, traditional would of worked better for you.

We ate in both specialty restaurants on the Crown and found the food
and service to be very good. Kevin just said he had the veal chop in
Sabitinis and it was very good. I don't know why there was such a
change since we sailed in august.

We also found the crew/staff all over the ship to be very friendly,
always a smile or hello as we passed them. The staff that we dealt
with were all very friendly, pleasant and helpful. Again I don't know
why there was such a change.

What did you think of the International Cafe and did you get a coffee
card??

sue


Tom K wrote:

The Vikings are back home after a week on the Crown Princess. Had a nice
week with the group, and a new itinerary for me that included Bonaire,
Aruba, Grenada, and St. Kitts.

Loved Bonaire. Liked Aruba. Grenada was rather different from the typical
Caribbean port. I liked it. Didn't care for St. Kitts. Went to Trunk Bay
in St. John, which I love.

The ship? Not my cup of tea by any means. Most confusing layout I've ever
seen. Pretty ship. I like the very restrictive smoking policy. Ship in
perfect condition since it's brand new.

Service? We had a table full of people one night with dinners that went
un-eaten because they were so bad, and the head waiter Antonio came proudly
and asked how our dinner was. When we said "Not Good"... he got into a
fight with us. When Susette said the food wasn't very good... he jumped all
over her and told her that it was "only her opinion". That sure made the
comment card.

I've never had a crew member get into a fight with someone before.

Overall much of the crew seemed.... maybe I'll use the term "surly". Not
happy. Interaction of crew with passengers wasn't good.

Dining room waitress was excellent. As was my cabin steward.

Anytime dining? I hate it. Because of it, our group couldn't all be seated
in one dining room. It definitely didn't work for us.

Food? IMO... now pretty much worse than both RCI and NCL food, which I
don't care for. Lots of really weird items on the buffets and dinner menus.
Lots of scallops, muscles, etc. Not my cup of tea. Steaks sent back. Fish
that smelled "fishy". Beef tenderloin that didn't even taste like beef (I
just ate the veggies that night). Excellent pizza. Excellent cold seafood
buffet the first evening. Lobster seemed OK. Not crisp, but not mushy
either. Veal chop in Sabbitinis that was fatty. Fillet in Crown Grill that
came out overcooked (ordered medium, came out well done) but still tender.
Neither specialty restaurant seemed worth the money.

Overall, fun week, but many in the group said they won't go on Princess
again. I most likely only would if it was an unusual itinerary, that did
something like Iceland or Norway's North Cape.

--Tom