Has MTD gotten better?

[kathyemma]

We have tried in twice in the past and didn't like it either time. We haven't tried it in about 4 years or so. We really liked having the same waiter each night - with MTD we had a different one every night. Also, never ONCE we were offed drinks from the bar. Not a big deal for me - but my mom will be with us on this trip (Thanksgiving, Independence of the Seas) and it will be an issue for her. We made reservations for every night but some nights it seemed those without reservations got seated much faster than us. Any input is welcome!

 

TIA

 

Kathy

[cathep]

We had a reservation at 6:45 every night and were seated immediately every time. The first 2 nights we had different tables, but the last 5 were at the same table.

 

We weren't offered bar drinks every night, but the person who got them went out of his way to accommodate my husband's request for a tawny port when he asked. We were quite impressed with him.

 

We were also told that MTD has the best staff since it's more of a moneymaker (more than 2 seatings each night means more in tips) and high in demand by the staff. We were extremely pleased with it. We'd done it once before on Princess and liked the convenience but disliked how we got shuffled around. We never felt shuffled this cruise. Once we settled in with our regular guys, our first couple of night's staff stopped by each night and chatted with us. It felt like the regular seating but without the small talk and at our pace instead of the greater table's pace. We were a party of 5 and had our own table every night.

[DM_KidAtHeart]

If you just indicate that you want the same waiter every night, they will do it. We've ended up at MTD on both our cruises, we had the same waiters every night.

[campingman]

Its the way to go.Its the best of the best.Works for us.

 

Its your time, and to get it right for yourselves,you may have to tweak it a little with the Maitre de?

[gcvt]

On Freedom last year, we never even had to request the same MTD waiters each night. They just made that happen for us. On the second formal night, we were seated in the 'room' adjacent to our normal area because they were so busy. When our regular waiter, or assistant waiter, spotted us over there, they came over there to serve us dinner. That was pretty impressive.

 

ETA: We never made MTD reservations. We just showed up and never waited more the 2-3 minutes to be seated. There was only the two of us though.

[Merion_Mom]

I was absolutely against it when it first came out. We have now used it on quite a few cruises, and like it. It has never been a problem for us: no waits, no refusals of reservation times that we wanted, usually the same waiters.

 

I recommend it.

[SoFlaCruzer]

Our party of 7 did MTD on the Indy last week. Due to the large size, we decided to make reservations nightly. Seems we always got 6:30 or 8:15. The 7:00 - 7:45 range was never available, probably due to the larger table requirement and we always booked same day. No biggie though.

 

We had the same table and waiters every day. After the second day, we had the drinks brought to us as we sat down. That included the wine by the glass (I had the beverage package), soda, and lemonade. He would refill my glass of wine just before it ran out - always! We had very good and fast service except the first night where they were a little slow. No issues starting day 2. I would do it again.

[rummenroman]

We have always had the same wait staff, even during the roll out of MTD on the Serenade back in '09. We have been given the option of having the same wait staff on the Mariner, and we choose to wait the extra few minutes for that to happen.

 

On my first cruise back in '04 there was a bar server that came around each night. But I'm sure they have cut back on that with all the cuts around the industry. We now just ask either the waiter or assistant waiter for our drinks and it always comes to us.

 

The staff in the dining room will always bend over backwards to ensure you are well taken care of. If you have any request just ask, and they will make sure it happens for you!

[ehfl]

We've never been offered bar drinks in the dining room on any cruise, but neither have they refused the request.

 

When they said "what would you like to drink" and you responded with your order, did they actually refuse? It's not clear what you meant by were not "offered" bar drinks. They usually just ask you what you would like to drink period...it's pretty much up to you to be specific about the request.

[steve ch]

It was chaotic on the Serenade in January. We had the same table and wait staff each night, but three adjacent tables for two (ours was in the middle) had three different sets of servers, with everyone getting in each others way. That needs to be sorted out.

[Starry Eyes]

I generally like MTD. But I agree on some ships, those with reservations line up together with those without; it is hard to tell if reservations even help.

 

sometimes we get the same waiters. Other times their tables are full and we get a different set of waiters.

 

Since having the same set of waiters and having them get to know your pre dinner drink preferences are important, why not stick with traditional dining?

[smoosh21]

We have tried in twice in the past and didn't like it either time. We haven't tried it in about 4 years or so. We really liked having the same waiter each night - with MTD we had a different one every night. Also, never ONCE we were offed drinks from the bar. Not a big deal for me - but my mom will be with us on this trip (Thanksgiving, Independence of the Seas) and it will be an issue for her. We made reservations for every night but some nights it seemed those without reservations got seated much faster than us. Any input is welcome!

 

TIA

 

Kathy

 

I only started doing MTD a year ago. Since then I have done it 3 times. I now like it better. On all three cruises we were placed with the same wait staff every night, even when eating at different times. I thought that the staff we got was as good if not better than staff we have had in the past. I like the fact that dinner moves along a little more quickly than with traditional set seating

In terms of reservations or not, we never waited more than 5 minutes, but we also never sat in a party bigger than 4, usually 2.

[drpickles]

We just got off Oasis on Saturday. We did MTD for our party of 5, generally eating around 8:15. We had reservations some nights, and other nights just walked in. Our wait for a table was about the same either way, 5-10 minutes. We only ate in the dining room 4 times, and twice had the same table and waiters. We had no problem getting bar drinks (we had the premium alcohol package), although sometimes it took a little while for the drink to get to our table. Overall, we were impressed with how organized and efficient the service was.

[cathy1227]

We used MTD for the first time on our Oasis cruise in October. We didn't make reservations, as we liked the idea of "winging it" and going to dinner when we wanted to. We didn't have to wait very long and were very willing to join other people who were also waiting. While we kind of missed having the same waitstaff each night, we did enjoy doing the MDT, as we met some great people during those dinners. As for the drinks, we just asked for our drinks when the waiter first approached us. We are sailing on Allure this month & are doing MTD again. Enjoy your cruise :D

[Peeker28]

If you just indicate that you want the same waiter every night, they will do it. We've ended up at MTD on both our cruises, we had the same waiters every night.

How do you request the same waiter? We are doing MTD in June on the Oasis and I would like to have the same wait staff

[Clarea]

How do you request the same waiter? We are doing MTD in June on the Oasis and I would like to have the same wait staff

Just tell the crew member at the MTD desk in front of the dining room entrance.

[hazeleyez3]

We've had MTD on three cruises. They automatically sat us with the same waitstaff each night. We had to tell them we didn't want the same waiter

[TinkBellaMom]

I have no point of reference because on our first cruise last April we did MTD. We asked for the same servers each night because we really liked them. We would make reservations after dinner for the next night. Several times we changed our minds, either we were really hungry or decided to wait until later and it was no problem at all.

We had Milton and Anthony on the Oasis. Cruising on the O in a few weeks and we plan on asking for them again.

[onefishtwofish]

We have always been late dining and for the first time over spring break (on another line though..) tried the MTD and loved it!! My folks did it on Allure in November and loved it, so when we got back from our spring break cruise, called and were able to get the MTD! Never thought we'd like it, but loved it! :D

[jellyfish39]

We have tried MTD a number of times - if you book for the same time each day it is a lot easier to get the same table/wait staff.

On our first MTD - we sat at the same table each night at 7pm

On our most recent cruise on Oasis we booked different times to accommodate show bookings (which also need to be reserved on Oasis)and found ourselves moving around between tables although we did have 4 nights out of the 7 with the same wait staff.

I think the wait staff like having the same people too - they get to know you better and so have the chance to give better service - which also translates into higher tips

[JimAOk1945]

We prefer MTD at a two top and so far have not had any problems. We go to the MDR on the first day of the cruise when the Maitre d is available. We ask to walk through the diningroom to see where the two tops are located.

 

Then, we choose the one we like best and reserve it for the same time every night. If we know we will be running late, we let him know and adjust the time accordingly.

 

We've done this on every cruise and it has always worked well for us.

 

Happy Cruising everyone.