That’s just how they’re configured for that room (or MrsT may have done that on purpose?!?!
).
Travel Plans For 2023
- Thread starter kaneohegirlinaz
- Start date
).
That's a twist on a Provencale favourite: pissaladiere.
A few stories, all from today:
1. We went to the sit-down pizza place for a late lunch. The couple in front of us, waiting to be seated…oof! I can think of a word I’d use to describe her, but I won’t say it here.
“Good afternoon, ma’am. How many, please? Two?”
“I wanna sit right there! There! I want that waiter! He’s my waiter!” - all while jabbing a bony four-inch finger at the table she wanted.
Host looks, tables are full.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am. That table, that whole area, is full. I can-“
“Can you move them? That’s where I wanna sit! That’s our regular waiter! And that’s by a window!”
Jab-jab-jab!
Waitstaff kind of float between restaurants here, and it’s common to request (the key word being “request”) someone if you like them.
The host looked around and said, “Please follow me, ma’am. I will make sure Arseni is your waiter today,” and off they went.
A few minutes later, he came back, and he looked a little annoyed, and MrsT immediately gave him a little wink and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll be easy…whatever you have is fine. Take your time!” - he gave her a little smile and said it was fine.
While he was scratching around on his paper, she added that two unexpected days at sea probably cost him some time off, so she was sorry about that.
“Please, right this way.” - and he deposited us in a big booth, right along the windows, that had just been cleaned off.
We thanked him and he just slipped out a little chuckle and a nod and walked away.
“Where’s that other woman, the one who was demanding everything?”
We looked around and found her and her husband, squashed in at a little table for two, jammed up against the drinks station!
But…Arseni was waiting on them!
Be nice, folks, it really pays.
1. We went to the sit-down pizza place for a late lunch. The couple in front of us, waiting to be seated…oof! I can think of a word I’d use to describe her, but I won’t say it here.
“Good afternoon, ma’am. How many, please? Two?”
“I wanna sit right there! There! I want that waiter! He’s my waiter!” - all while jabbing a bony four-inch finger at the table she wanted.
Host looks, tables are full.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am. That table, that whole area, is full. I can-“
“Can you move them? That’s where I wanna sit! That’s our regular waiter! And that’s by a window!”
Jab-jab-jab!
Waitstaff kind of float between restaurants here, and it’s common to request (the key word being “request”) someone if you like them.
The host looked around and said, “Please follow me, ma’am. I will make sure Arseni is your waiter today,” and off they went.
A few minutes later, he came back, and he looked a little annoyed, and MrsT immediately gave him a little wink and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll be easy…whatever you have is fine. Take your time!” - he gave her a little smile and said it was fine.
While he was scratching around on his paper, she added that two unexpected days at sea probably cost him some time off, so she was sorry about that.
“Please, right this way.” - and he deposited us in a big booth, right along the windows, that had just been cleaned off.
We thanked him and he just slipped out a little chuckle and a nod and walked away.
“Where’s that other woman, the one who was demanding everything?”
We looked around and found her and her husband, squashed in at a little table for two, jammed up against the drinks station!
But…Arseni was waiting on them!
Be nice, folks, it really pays.
2. Same pizza restaurant, same host.
Host was, as hosts do, just welcoming and seating people, then a drinks waiter would come out to take any drinks order, and then the regular waiter would come out to handle the food order. Seems to be standard practice here.
Right after we sat, in came the host, escorting a very aged woman, very frail, walking with much deliberation. He helped her to a seat and without asking, he fetched her some water himself, leaned over and whispered something, she responded, and two minutes later, he personally came back with a glass of wine for her, and a menu under his arm.
Nice. I like this guy.
He opened the menu and held it for her, pointed at a few different things, and she ordered.
He closed the menu, disappeared into the kitchen, and instantly reappeared with a bowl of soup for her.
The rest of her meal, we noticed he kept an eye on her, refilled her water, and the moment she was done, he cleared her plate, brought her a cup of coffee, and when she was ready, he helped her up, and then we watched him walk with her all the way out to the elevator to put her onto that.
Very sweet.
Gratuities (and generous ones at that) are built into the price of a cruise, you can pay them like one lump service charge ahead of time, but there’s nothing wrong with giving a waiter or someone on staff “a little extra” in the moment, and that’s what we did with him. He was brilliant.
Host was, as hosts do, just welcoming and seating people, then a drinks waiter would come out to take any drinks order, and then the regular waiter would come out to handle the food order. Seems to be standard practice here.
Right after we sat, in came the host, escorting a very aged woman, very frail, walking with much deliberation. He helped her to a seat and without asking, he fetched her some water himself, leaned over and whispered something, she responded, and two minutes later, he personally came back with a glass of wine for her, and a menu under his arm.
Nice. I like this guy.
He opened the menu and held it for her, pointed at a few different things, and she ordered.
He closed the menu, disappeared into the kitchen, and instantly reappeared with a bowl of soup for her.
The rest of her meal, we noticed he kept an eye on her, refilled her water, and the moment she was done, he cleared her plate, brought her a cup of coffee, and when she was ready, he helped her up, and then we watched him walk with her all the way out to the elevator to put her onto that.
Very sweet.
Gratuities (and generous ones at that) are built into the price of a cruise, you can pay them like one lump service charge ahead of time, but there’s nothing wrong with giving a waiter or someone on staff “a little extra” in the moment, and that’s what we did with him. He was brilliant.
And now the “bad” ones (so bad, you gotta laugh!):
3. We ate at the buffet tonight, partly because it was Bavarian Night, and partly because we didn’t want a full meal, just a little of this and that.
Walking through, looking things over, I got to the pastry/dessert area, and at one end, they had a little display set up of chocolate chip cookies on the left and right, and in the middle, a platter of the blackest brownies I’ve ever seen. To quote Nigel Tufnel, “It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.”
Anyway, I was heading down the floor toward the treats when a woman suddenly entered from the side, carrying a plate of food.
She looked at the delectables, did a double-take, stopped, reached with her paw, past the tongs that were there for that exact purpose, and grabbed a brownie.
But wait, there’s more.
She turned the brownie over a couple of times, giving it a critical stare, then took a bite, considered it…then sat it back down on the platter and zoomed away!
I came right in behind her, grabbed that one and two it was sitting on, pulled them off the platter, then gave them to an attendant to toss.
3. We ate at the buffet tonight, partly because it was Bavarian Night, and partly because we didn’t want a full meal, just a little of this and that.
Walking through, looking things over, I got to the pastry/dessert area, and at one end, they had a little display set up of chocolate chip cookies on the left and right, and in the middle, a platter of the blackest brownies I’ve ever seen. To quote Nigel Tufnel, “It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.”
Anyway, I was heading down the floor toward the treats when a woman suddenly entered from the side, carrying a plate of food.
She looked at the delectables, did a double-take, stopped, reached with her paw, past the tongs that were there for that exact purpose, and grabbed a brownie.
But wait, there’s more.
She turned the brownie over a couple of times, giving it a critical stare, then took a bite, considered it…then sat it back down on the platter and zoomed away!
I came right in behind her, grabbed that one and two it was sitting on, pulled them off the platter, then gave them to an attendant to toss.
4. Still at the buffet, eating chocolate cake and sipping coffee.
The buffet is attended to by workers constantly clearing used plates and cups, and also taking drink orders, either from the bar just outside the buffet, or from the drinks station in the buffet (coffee, tea, water, juice). Diners are also free to use the drinks station themselves.
We’re sipping away, and suddenly, MrsT said, Oh my god…look at that woman!”
She pointed over to the drinks station, and there was a woman, rinsing a cup under the hot water tap.
Now, to be clear, I don’t mean a sink tap. What I mean is, there was a coffee/hot chocolate/hot water machine there, the hot water meant for making a cup of tea, and she was essentially washing the cup, inside and out, under this little tap, holding the touchscreen button down, and water flying everywhere, including the tile floor.
At one point, she even “scrubbed” the cup with her thumb, to get some lipstick or coffee residue off, idk.
At that point, it was kind of funny, because we thought she was going to get another drink of something, and opted just to keep her cup.
Nope.
When she was all done running half a gallon of water out all over everything, rubbing her thumb around the rim, eyeing it inside and out…she put it back with the clean cups!
Before either of us could act, a staff worker, one of the customer service people, walked in and grabbed the cup and started to get a cup of coffee.
“No! No! No!”
MrsT jumped up and gave him the lowdown, and he sat the cup aside and thanked her, then laughed a little and said after years on cruise ships, nothing surprises him any more.
When she came back and sat down, I said, “Now you know why I don’t like buffets…
”
The buffet is attended to by workers constantly clearing used plates and cups, and also taking drink orders, either from the bar just outside the buffet, or from the drinks station in the buffet (coffee, tea, water, juice). Diners are also free to use the drinks station themselves.
We’re sipping away, and suddenly, MrsT said, Oh my god…look at that woman!”
She pointed over to the drinks station, and there was a woman, rinsing a cup under the hot water tap.
Now, to be clear, I don’t mean a sink tap. What I mean is, there was a coffee/hot chocolate/hot water machine there, the hot water meant for making a cup of tea, and she was essentially washing the cup, inside and out, under this little tap, holding the touchscreen button down, and water flying everywhere, including the tile floor.
At one point, she even “scrubbed” the cup with her thumb, to get some lipstick or coffee residue off, idk.
At that point, it was kind of funny, because we thought she was going to get another drink of something, and opted just to keep her cup.
Nope.
When she was all done running half a gallon of water out all over everything, rubbing her thumb around the rim, eyeing it inside and out…she put it back with the clean cups!
Before either of us could act, a staff worker, one of the customer service people, walked in and grabbed the cup and started to get a cup of coffee.
“No! No! No!”
MrsT jumped up and gave him the lowdown, and he sat the cup aside and thanked her, then laughed a little and said after years on cruise ships, nothing surprises him any more.
When she came back and sat down, I said, “Now you know why I don’t like buffets…
”My sister tells me that people like that are rather common on cruise ships. Some people think that because they paid a lot of money to go on a cruise, they deserve to get EVERYTHING they desire.
CD
rascal
Forum GOD!
We have a friend in dinner club like that. Thinks she owns waiter, changes her mind mid service. So frustrating.
Russ
You have mentioned her before. The rest of you should have a betting pool. Bet on things like how many times she will change her order.
CD
kaneohegirlinaz
Wannabe TV Chef
- Joined
- 19 Nov 2021
- Local time
- 8:45 PM
- Messages
- 4,844
At TastyReuben and caseydog OH.MY.GAWD!!!!
And here just last night DH & I were watching a youtuber on an Alaskan Cruise and we are of half a mind to try it.
Well, that's out!
Not that I'm a germ-a-phobe, but geez louise!
And here just last night DH & I were watching a youtuber on an Alaskan Cruise and we are of half a mind to try it.
Well, that's out!
Not that I'm a germ-a-phobe, but geez louise!
Things like colds and the flu do spread easier in enclosed spaces, like a cruise ship. But, it's not that dangerous. My sister does two to three cruises per year, and she's never gotten sick on one.
CD
rascal
Forum GOD!
I’ve seen less of that on this cruise than on the one I took in 2012. We had the displeasure of being sat every night next to a couple and her sister, and boy, they were something else, right down to addressing the fully-grown 30-something Filipino waiter as “boy.”
SandwichShortOfAPicnic
Legendary Member
Brrrr buffets 
and people
in an enclosed space
and people
in an enclosed space
SandwichShortOfAPicnic
Legendary Member
Took my motorcycle back to Spain after its UK MOT leaving Blighty end September.
Myself and Mr SSOAP got the ferry together from Plymouth to Santander and then parted company with him heading homeward to Costa Tropical.
I went east towards the Pyrenees to meet up with a couple of girlfriends for a dap around the mountains together.
It is one of my favourite things about motorcycle travel when you are setting off in unfamiliar territory to an unknown destination on your tod with only yourself to rely on. It gives me a type of excitement that I can really only ever recall in childhood.
I‘ve seen a lot of mountains and wasn’t really expecting to be quite so blown away, it is breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL
I’m really not sure how exactly I didn’t know this beforehand but I didn‘t so if anyone here likes green then this is the place to go!
The view from the house we stayed in for a couple of nights. Of course the camera on the phone doesn’t do it justice!
It‘s just mile upon mile of this glorious stuff!
Myself and Mr SSOAP got the ferry together from Plymouth to Santander and then parted company with him heading homeward to Costa Tropical.
I went east towards the Pyrenees to meet up with a couple of girlfriends for a dap around the mountains together.
It is one of my favourite things about motorcycle travel when you are setting off in unfamiliar territory to an unknown destination on your tod with only yourself to rely on. It gives me a type of excitement that I can really only ever recall in childhood.
I‘ve seen a lot of mountains and wasn’t really expecting to be quite so blown away, it is breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL
I’m really not sure how exactly I didn’t know this beforehand but I didn‘t so if anyone here likes green then this is the place to go!
The view from the house we stayed in for a couple of nights. Of course the camera on the phone doesn’t do it justice!
It‘s just mile upon mile of this glorious stuff!