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Buying or Reserving Tables in Compass Rose


Travelcat2
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It has come to my attention (on an unrelated thread) that Regent guests reserve tables (same table every night in some cases) in CR. Some feel that upper level suites get this privilege and one poster admitted to greasing the palm of a Maitre 'd.

 

Our experience is that CR is first come first served. This has been the case whether we are in a Master Suite or lower category suite. Last Thanksgiving there were requests for big tables and Regent accommodated people by allowing reservations (first come, first served).

 

So, for those of you that have sailed on Regent, what has been your experience? And, if what I read is true, how do you feel about it?

 

I did send a note to Regent to clarify the policy but won't hear back until next week. I think it would be good for them to hear the feedback from their customers.

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Greetings, Travelcat2, from the Bermuda Triangle for restaurants. I don't think it is a good idea to start giving upper level privileges beyond what exists now. There is a certain logic in letting people who pay more reserve certain things on line earlier. So far, that seems to be excursions and restaurant reservations. That's enough. Otherwise, where will it end? Will CR reservations be parceled out by category? Will upper level suite have nicer robes? On QM2 you can tell who is where by robes in the Spa. Where will it end? I know I won't like it.

Mary

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Mary, agree with you completely. I was totally unaware of this going on until 3 posters indicated that they had reserved tables (one gave money to the Maitre 'd). I suspect, but do not know, that this is not Regent's policy. If this is the case, perhaps whomever the Maitre'd's report to should make it clear that they cannot accept money for a reserved table.

 

Our experience has been like LindaVH. The Maitre'd either remembers what table that we like or our server reminds them. Obviously, if we arrive in CR late, the table is no longer available (which is what one should expect).

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We had a favorite waiter on the Navigator and always sat in his section. For the first couple of nights, we reqested to be seated there and were escorted. After that, we were just waved through with a smile and a "Enjoy your dinner!" I have never heard of reserving tables, but we haven't been on Regent for a few years. I'll keep my eyes open when we're on our October cruise.

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TC2, I know this is part of another post I made on a different thread, but I am placing it on your thread as I believe that it is relevant.

 

As to the table issue, we saw people who gave the "magic handshake" on Regent to get their preferred table, but that was over 7 years ago. I did find it offensive, and would still find it offensive.

 

On both Crystal and Regent, I have seen, and experienced, tables being given to passengers based on medical, physical, and other reasons, and, as far as I know, there was no "handshake" to get that service. I think that it is important to note that there might be reasons that some people get given a specific table even when it is open dining.

 

For example when we sailed with our multi-generational family on Regent, we had one person in a wheelchair, one person who could only walk short distances, as well as two young children in our group. Regent gave us the same table every night that was located close to the entrance of the restaurant. Not only did this make it easier for the person who had difficulty walking (who could have been many different passengers on Regent so was not likely the reason), but it also meant that they could ensure that our large group could sit together, and the young children in our group would not (should not) be an issue for those passengers who did not want to have children in the dining room. We did not give any "handshake" for this service, but we were told from day one that we would have the same table every night. To me, it was a sign of the excellent service one expects from a "luxury" cruise line.

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mariners - agree with you. There are certain situations that require special seating arrangements (large groups and disabled passengers). I would think that these would be rare cases as I have seen wheelchairs accommodated at many tables and sitting near the entrance to CR should not be a big deal since these are not seats that people wait in line to get. This, IMO, is completely different than asking (or bribing) someone for the same table every night. and it is unlikely that this request would be made for a window seat for two. The incident described on the other thread occurred this year. For that reason, I'm questioning Regent about the policy and hope that Maitre'd's and Head waiters will be told very clearly that accepting money for tables is not acceptable.

 

I am happy that this subject has been brought up so that other passengers are aware of this practice as well as Regent corporate.

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No magic handshakes for us, but once we figure out who our preferred waiter is on a particular voyage, we just ask for a table in his/her section. After one or two nights the maitre d' knows our preference and will seat us accordingly. If there are no open tables in his/her section at the time we show up, we just go back to the lounge for another martini and they come and fetch us when a table is available. Sometimes they will seat us at a table adjacent to our preferred server's station and our server still takes care of us. Service! Wonderful! One of the reasons we stick with Regent.

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Like so many things on the internet now, opinions are subjective and facts are not always presented correctly or are viewed with a certain bias. We have sailed on Regent many many times and have gotten to know quite a few MDs and Waiters. Some MDs sometimes shake our hands when we come in, but believe me, there is no magic handshake involved, it's a friendly, "welcome back" shake.

Like so many posters here, we quickly find a waiter we like and a section we like to sit in. That's were we ask to be seated in and it usually works. But if there is no space or whatever, we sit somewhere else or wait. Now fortunately, we've never encountered CR to be soooo busy during the times we usually like to have dinner that there was a big problem. Once or twice we had the choice to wait or sit in a different section.

 

Could it be that the original informer just saw the "handshake" and thought it was magic...and then when the MD was friendly with the guest ...they assumed there was magic involved ?

 

Could it be that the guest with the magic handshake was one of those who thought that greasing the palm or giving a big tip "magically" gives him/her more privileges ? :-)Some people don't know that this doesn't do much on Regent.

 

Could it be that the original poster was lead to a different table due to the fact that a good MD is trying to do "load management" and try to even the load of his wait staff ? No waiter should have 10 busy tables, while another has just 1 and is idle.

 

There are so many reasons why I could think a person could/might get the impression of reservation etc., but I would find this highly unusual on Regent.

 

We like CR and enjoy our dinners there, staff is wonderful and we have a great time.

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Franzr: I wish that someone had just misunderstood something that they saw. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Below is specifically what the poster said on another Regent thread:

 

"Last fall while on a 10 day cruise on Mariner (our first on Regent - and we were not in a big suite), about halfway through the cruise we were seated at a 2-top next to a window in the CR and found a waiter we really liked. So on the way our of the CR, I took the Head Waiter who seated us aside, and asked him if we could have this table every night for the rest of the cruise. I also gave him the "magic handshake" and he took care of it. My only regret was that I should have asked for this earlier."

 

 

Two other posters had experiences with reserving tables (without the "magic handshake".). One of them asked for a table that was not occupied and was told that it was saved. The couple showed up 15 minutes later. Yet another poster said that upper suites can reserve tables (which is not true - at least this has not been our experience when in upper suites).

 

 

To me, this is a Regent policy issue. At this point I'm only trying to find out if this is acceptable to Regent or not. If Regent customers think that they can have their special table every night by handing over money, you can bet that this will be a new way of getting a table. I'm thinking positively and still believe that this is not something Regent gives their blessings to (other than exceptions discussed above).

 

 

P.S. mariners - I was mistaken about this taking place this year -- it was obviously last year.

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Like so many things on the internet now, opinions are subjective and facts are not always presented correctly or are viewed with a certain bias. We have sailed on Regent many many times and have gotten to know quite a few MDs and Waiters. Some MDs sometimes shake our hands when we come in, but believe me, there is no magic handshake involved, it's a friendly, "welcome back" shake.

Like so many posters here, we quickly find a waiter we like and a section we like to sit in. That's were we ask to be seated in and it usually works. But if there is no space or whatever, we sit somewhere else or wait. Now fortunately, we've never encountered CR to be soooo busy during the times we usually like to have dinner that there was a big problem. Once or twice we had the choice to wait or sit in a different section.

 

Could it be that the original informer just saw the "handshake" and thought it was magic...and then when the MD was friendly with the guest ...they assumed there was magic involved ?

 

Could it be that the guest with the magic handshake was one of those who thought that greasing the palm or giving a big tip "magically" gives him/her more privileges ? :-)Some people don't know that this doesn't do much on Regent.

 

Could it be that the original poster was lead to a different table due to the fact that a good MD is trying to do "load management" and try to even the load of his wait staff ? No waiter should have 10 busy tables, while another has just 1 and is idle.

 

There are so many reasons why I could think a person could/might get the impression of reservation etc., but I would find this highly unusual on Regent.

 

We like CR and enjoy our dinners there, staff is wonderful and we have a great time.

 

The waiters are assigned sections and tables but sometimes you might have a waiter or two that may be ill and that can have a bit of a impact on the service if you have them missing for duty. They are human.

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We have had the experience of seeing a window table for two reserved for a couple while we were seated at a nearby table. We asked to have the window table and were told it wasn't available. It had a wine bottle on it but otherwise wasn't set . After about an hour a very elegantly dressed couple came in and were seated at this table. He in a tux and she in an evening gown. It was in a section with a server we liked so we often sat there. When I saw this happen a second night I discussed this with a head waiter I knew well and let him know in a quiet voice how appalled I was as long time Regent cruiser. It was very disappointing to me as we play by the rules. The HD was very uncomfortable and said he planned to bring it up at the nightly meeting. It did not happen again.

 

The following statement will probably bring on a bashing but here goes. I know I am unrealistic but wish that people that feel the need to get special attention would go on a different cruise line and not ruin "My Regent" for me.

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We have had the experience of seeing a window table for two reserved for a couple while we were seated at a nearby table. We asked to have the window table and were told it wasn't available. It had a wine bottle on it but otherwise wasn't set . After about an hour a very elegantly dressed couple came in and were seated at this table. He in a tux and she in an evening gown. It was in a section with a server we liked so we often sat there. When I saw this happen a second night I discussed this with a head waiter I knew well and let him know in a quiet voice how appalled I was as long time Regent cruiser. It was very disappointing to me as we play by the rules. The HD was very uncomfortable and said he planned to bring it up at the nightly meeting. It did not happen again.

 

The following statement will probably bring on a bashing but here goes. I know I am unrealistic but wish that people that feel the need to get special attention would go on a different cruise line and not ruin "My Regent" for me.

 

 

What a great post! So happy that you spoke up (I would do the same thing) and it is good to hear that it didn't happen again during your cruise. It saddens (and angers) me when people want to change the "Regent Experience". If they want something different than what Regent offers, there are other luxury cruise lines (but bribing head waiters probably would be frowned upon there as well).

 

P.S. Purplelady1: I'm not getting the significance of your post. Do you feel that servers that get ill affects the ability of passengers to reserve tables?

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What a great post! So happy that you spoke up (I would do the same thing) and it is good to hear that it didn't happen again during your cruise. It saddens (and angers) me when people want to change the "Regent Experience". If they want something different than what Regent offers, there are other luxury cruise lines (but bribing head waiters probably would be frowned upon there as well).

 

P.S. Purplelady1: I'm not getting the significance of your post. Do you feel that servers that get ill affects the ability of passengers to reserve tables?

 

No, I was talking about slow service that could impact delivery. Yes, I was sidetracked. My comment has nothing to do with reserving tables.

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No magic handshakes for us, but once we figure out who our preferred waiter is on a particular voyage, we just ask for a table in his/her section. After one or two nights the maitre d' knows our preference and will seat us accordingly. If there are no open tables in his/her section at the time we show up, we just go back to the lounge for another martini and they come and fetch us when a table is available. Sometimes they will seat us at a table adjacent to our preferred server's station and our server still takes care of us. Service! Wonderful! One of the reasons we stick with Regent.

 

Absolutely agree with you. This has been my experience, as well.

 

However, on a recent Regent cruise, we were seated in a section with our favorite server, who we requested for the entire cruise. That request was honored, and we were seated at different tables in the same section. One night when we entered CR, we asked for the empty window table and we were told it was being held, by request, for guests who were expected soon. There was a couple who had sat at that table most nights. They never showed up and when I inquired half way through dinner, I was told that although he held the table for them, he was never notified that they were not coming.

I guess sometimes the maitre d is trying to honor a request from a guest. It doesn't necessarily mean there was a magic handshake. It might just mean that trying to satisfy inconsiderate people made him look foolish.

Edited by Bellaggio Cruisers
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We never asked for a specific table, but many times for a specific area, and our request was always granted. Sometimes the server would come get us and escort us, sometimes the maitre d' would. But it's been several years now.

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Absolutely agree with you. This has been my experience, as well.

 

However, on a recent Regent cruise, we were seated in a section with our favorite server, who we requested for the entire cruise. That request was honored, and we were seated at different tables in the same section. One night when we entered CR, we asked for the empty window table and we were told it was being held, by request, for guests who were expected soon. There was a couple who had sat at that table most nights. They never showed up and when I inquired half way through dinner, I was told that although he held the table for them, he was never notified that they were not coming.

I guess sometimes the maitre d is trying to honor a request from a guest. It doesn't necessarily mean there was a magic handshake. It might just mean that trying to satisfy inconsiderate people made him look foolish.

 

Really good example! As you know, last November we typically got the table for two by the window in Risky's section. However, we were not there every night because others got there before we did. The thought that a table would be held for anyone incenses me!

 

Purplelady1: No problem - we all have senior moments:D

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Iamheisenberg: that line is one of the great lines in film history.

 

I see absolutely nothing wrong with a magic handshake and my husband shakes hands on the first day of the cruise. We always tip at the end of a cruise, even though we are on all inclusives, so,why not tip as a tip was originally designed for "To Insure Promptness".

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Iamheisenberg: that line is one of the great lines in film history.

 

I see absolutely nothing wrong with a magic handshake and my husband shakes hands on the first day of the cruise. We always tip at the end of a cruise, even though we are on all inclusives, so,why not tip as a tip was originally designed for "To Insure Promptness".

 

However when the tip is provided before the service is provided, it becomes a BRIBE!!

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However when the tip is provided before the service is provided, it becomes a BRIBE!!

 

Absolutely not. We always tip our stewardess on the first day with a list of (minor) requests. We are thanking her in advance for the extra effort (in supplying certain sodas, waters, bedding, etc. we appreciate what they do or will do and recognize it.

 

Also, there are people who tip very big at the end of a cruise. They are remembered by the staff and you can be sure that's their requests will be honored the next time around in anticipation of another hefty tip

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