Is being asked for feedback often a sign of care or too much pressure? One cruiser was bothered by it, but wasn't sure how to respond.
On the Royal Caribbean subreddit, Gohalo1 posted their recent experience on Icon of the Seas where they were asked so many times for feedback in the Main Dining Room it disrupted their experience. In fact, they questioned if it amounted to "pestering by the staff."
"Just got off Icon and my group of 4 felt this cruise was different in the way of staff asking in two ways," they started off their post.
They encountered so many different crew members asking if everything was okay in the Main Dining Room on the first two nights of their cruise that they, "didn't feel like going back after" and booked dinners elsewhere.
Their experience is something I've encountered across my cruises, but I think others might want to know how to handle this sort of situation if it were to happen to them.
"We felt like we could barely talk to each other"
According to Gohalo1, the Main Dining Room staff was "incredibly overbearing asking for feedback."
Across the first two nights at dinner, both the waiter and assistant waiter asked after each course if the food was good. Then the Dining Room Manager came and did the same thing.
Their frustration stemmed from the fact it interrupted the flow of their conversation and they couldn't hold a conversation.
Things got worse on the third night when they didn't go to dinner, and the manager called their stateroom to ask why they were absent.
"Starting the third night, the manager called our staterooms every day asking for feedback as to why we hadn’t returned that night."
Why crew members are so concerned with guest feedback
I can't say this person's experience is unheard of, although it sounds like it was more than even I've encountered.
Royal Caribbean is obsessed with guest feedback, and wants to ensure the product they deliver is what guests expect. But asking too often goes from "observant" to "annoying" quickly if it's done too often.
Part of this stems from the company's adherence to Net Promoter Scores (NPS) as a way to measure everything they do. Using NPS is very commonplace in the travel market (as well as other industries) because it quantifies the basic question "would you recommend this to others."
Crew members know at the end of the cruise, every passenger will get a survey asking for their feedback on every aspect of the cruise, including the Main Dining Room.
Presumably to avoid a situation where a guest has a poor experience because no one checked in to see if there were any problems or if anything could be improved, the crew will be proactive in seeking feedback. They want their guests happy, well fed, and not leaving with any problems.
It's not rude to ask for a change
In this situation, it seems like the staff's level of concern went well past the point of doing due diligence.
Gohalo1 asked at the end of their post if this was typical, and the answer is, no. If each waiter and manager was checking in so much to the point they felt the flow of the meal was being disrupted, I would say that's abnormal.
Typically the waiter will be the point person for gathering feedback from their guests. The best ones can almost sense it, but certainly asking how the food is, or if they can get you anything else, is common.
The head waiter usually can be counted on to visit a few times per cruise. In my experience, it's not every night, but close to it. The head waiter calling the room to ask why they're not at dinner is not unheard of, but not common either. It's part of the reason why many cruisers will let their waiters know ahead of time they won't be at dinner because they're dining elsewhere.
Whether you want more check-ins or less, I would have started with the head waiter to politely explain while everything is good with the service and food, the flow of dinner isn't good.
I would explain I appreciate the concern, but the requests for feedback is disrupting our enjoyment and for just the waiter to ask once per meal, and that's it.
If that didn't stop it, I'd probably politely ask to speak to the Maître D or deck manager, and then explain the situation to them. I'd probably say something like, "We're enjoying our meal, but the constant requests for feedback is bothersome. If there's a problem, I'll speak up. But in the meantime, can we please cut it back so we can enjoy the food and our time together?"
I get it, you don't want to insult these people that are working very hard to ensure you're having a great meal. But as you're being polite, it's not rude to ask for them to take a step back.
At the end of day, their top goal is for you to be happy and have a great meal experience.
