We are very disappointed with help desk manager Jalynne Castro. We believe that a poor manager would set a poor example for all staff under her management. It is our third cruise with NCL. Previous two gave us good impression, but now we are not sure if we will take another NCL. It's sad. We hope Ms. Castro should learn to treat guests in a way she herself wants to be treated.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
After checking in, we waited another hour to get on ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Grand Pacific main dining is good, Orchid Garden is poor, the other is average. Garden Café buffet lacks of variety, serving the same food every day. So-called 24-hour O'Sheehan takes orders, very slow and simple.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
The worse problem with Gem is Service. Help desk doesn't help! When we asked for exchange from US$ to CA$, help desk staff had no knowledge that Gem does not provide such service but made us come twice to the cashier who only did exchange from CA$ to US$. When we asked if there was a non-smoking area in casino, help desk staff had no knowledge either. When we asked a waitress at Atrium to help filling thermos bottle with warm water, she turned us down rudely, saying that its use would cause "Public Health" issue. As we were not convinced, we asked manager Jalynne Castro for explanation. With great disappointment, she said that use of thermos bottle to fill warm water directly was prohibited. So, we argued that if directly filling was prohibited, can she use a mug to fill and then pour into bottle? The manager was totally defensive, saying that there might be no mug available for her. That is ridiculous! She does not have management skill at all! When guests bring up a complaint, what they expected was a good attitude. The manager never learned to say "Sorry" and a promise to improve, but totally defensive, picking up argument. It is terrible!
As far as the buffet service is concerned on the Dawn which is supposed to much the same as the Gem? Yes same food all the time but there were a lot of options and I think having the same food at a given place is a good thing? At least you can rely on going to a specific eating establishment and get what you knew was going to be there? There are so many places to eat on the ship if you want anything different????
As far as customer concerns or complaints I only had one and reported it to the desk, they really seemed not to give a damn and in no way apologized for the problem, in fact they were very defensive and rude. We actually decided it was better to complain about the problem the next day as we were probably not in the right attitude at that time meaning we were very upset they told us if we were so concerned we should have complained at the restaurant however when we left the restaurant there was nobody there to complain to.
So yes I can see if you have a complaint they really don’t give two hoots.
While poor customer service is never acceptable:
- The staff will not fill a thermos or bottle on behalf of a customer. You very easily could've asked for two pots of hot water and filled it yourself or gone to the buffet and used a mug there.
- Casino host would've been an ideal place to have a casino question answered
- and looking at your "reviews" from a previous Anthem of the Seas..... it seems you have lots to complain about.
Well isnt that too bad you had to an hour to board ship after checking in. Ever think that there might be others who were also boarding and that the crew had to clean and make up cabins after previous guests left? And if you can't figure out how to fill a thermos with hot water from the Lido deck than maybe you shouldn't be cruising! Crew is there to help not do everything for you!!
Actually hot water is tough to get on the ship.... There were a few people that I saw that would want their specialty teas or coffees and need scolding hot water for that in the morning. Many a person would ask very nicely if they could have maybe four thermos type flasks filled with boiling hot water and say thanks and tip the person a $5 or $10 for doing that service. Next day they would see the person know exactly what they wanted and get them the boiling hot water very quickly with a big smile.
We didn't need hot water but did fill our thermos bottles with cold water. This was not easy, but not impossible. From what I could see, getting assistance to fill a thermos with hot water seemed somewhat easier.
Perhaps it was simply the time (late at night when it wasn't too busy) which made all the difference.
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