Oddly enough, on our last Carnival cruise, the dining room service wasn't quite up to par, however it was just the opposite of your situation. The bus boy was busting his @ss, and the waiter was just standing around for the most part! It seems to me, that lately, there is a "cutting back" of staff, and that the wait staff has more tables than they used to serve, but in retrospect, it seems to have gotten a bit worse since the automatic tipping has come into play. As veterans of over 100 cruises, and 22 on Carnival, we have noticed the difference as well. It's not bad,,,,just not as good as it once was.
Ken
"SKY"