mjgep0316 Posted September 19, 2015 #1 Share Posted September 19, 2015 DW and I have only been on two cruises so far, both on RCI. We enjoy dining in the MDR, but have found that the first night can be quite rocky. On our last cruise we had an MTD reservation yet still waited 45 minutes to be seated, and we were suite guests. Then, service took two hours. Honestly, I am not complaining, because any time spent on a ship is better than not being on one. Thanks to suggestions on these boards from folks like Max's Mom (Hi Jane! We haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, but hope to someday), we are now leaning towards a specialty restaurant on night #1. I know the folks in the MDR work their butts off and we try to tip accordingly because the rest of the nights seem fine. My question is this...has your experience been similar or are mine isolated cases/exceptions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted September 19, 2015 #2 Share Posted September 19, 2015 We also had an unusual experience with the MDR on night one, last week on Oasis. We were a party of 5, and had confirmed a table for 8 pre-cruise. When we got to the MDR, our table was for 4. The headwater just stuck an additional chair at the table. Service was very slow, we waited about 15 minutes for dessert menus, and just gave up and left, since we had a show coming up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelblu Posted September 19, 2015 #3 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Never had a problem in the MDR. However, over the last 7 cruises we've asked for a table for 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brillohead Posted September 19, 2015 #4 Share Posted September 19, 2015 I've never noticed a difference on the first night... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willing292 Posted September 19, 2015 #5 Share Posted September 19, 2015 We find the first night very unorganized. You'd think it was a first cruise for everyone, passengers, waiter, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertbelle Posted September 19, 2015 #6 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Maybe, on one or two occasions, things have been slightly slower and a bit disorganized, but the majority of the time no problems at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheehanDJ Posted September 19, 2015 #7 Share Posted September 19, 2015 In our experience it's seems to be table size dependent. The larger the table the more a mess it is. This seems to hold true unless it is a couples orientated table, which seem to go just as smooth as smaller or tables for two. The best night #1 table we have ever had was a 10 seat full of couples (this was also the best MDR experience we have ever had). The worst night #1 was us, and a larger group. Night #2 wasn't much better, things had calmed down by night #3. It wasn't RCCL's fault it was definitely the group (there were 12-100 of them, couldn't really tell as most nights there were a lot of different faces but all still part of the same group). We prefer large tables as you can usually find someone interesting to talk to. Smaller tables if you get a bad draw on table mates it can lessen the cruise experience. We had one cruise where we ordered our food, ate it as fast as we could, then took our desert to go. (Yes, I know we could have asked to switch, but we really did like the waiters and overall it really wasn't that big a deal as we spent the rest of the cruise and even to this day, talking smack about them). We never request tables for two, we see and talk to each other everyday for the past 20+ years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted September 19, 2015 #8 Share Posted September 19, 2015 We always eat in MDR on 1st night and its a little slow, but not a problem, last cruise we were supposed to have table for 2 and we were at a table for 8, they called us next day to say we could have our table for 2, but we had a nice group so we just stayed at same table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwaysflyin Posted September 19, 2015 #9 Share Posted September 19, 2015 On pretty much every RC cruise. The first night is kind of a mess, and it takes a very long time to be served. Other nights are smooth and crisp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulette3028 Posted September 19, 2015 #10 Share Posted September 19, 2015 In our experience it's seems to be table size dependent. The larger the table the more a mess it is. This seems to hold true unless it is a couples orientated table, which seem to go just as smooth as smaller or tables for two. The best night #1 table we have ever had was a 10 seat full of couples (this was also the best MDR experience we have ever had). The worst night #1 was us, and a larger group. Night #2 wasn't much better, things had calmed down by night #3. It wasn't RCCL's fault it was definitely the group (there were 12-100 of them, couldn't really tell as most nights there were a lot of different faces but all still part of the same group). We prefer large tables as you can usually find someone interesting to talk to. Smaller tables if you get a bad draw on table mates it can lessen the cruise experience. We had one cruise where we ordered our food, ate it as fast as we could, then took our desert to go. (Yes, I know we could have asked to switch, but we really did like the waiters and overall it really wasn't that big a deal as we spent the rest of the cruise and even to this day, talking smack about them). We never request tables for two, we see and talk to each other everyday for the past 20+ years. DH and I always want a large table (8-10 preferably) since we can have dinner with each other at home each night. We like the ability to meet tablemates and have delightful conversations. With a table size of 8-10, the first night could be a little slow, because no one knows if everyone is going to show up or not....so typically the wait staff tries to delay taking orders to see if everyone arrives. We let the wait staff and our table mates know if we are not going to be joining them for dinner because we are going to be having dinner elsewhere on the ship on any subsequent night. We believe that is just being considerate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted September 19, 2015 #11 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Not a problem I've ever had, and can't see why it should be so, same kitchen staff same waitstaff same procedures. The only possibility I can think of is it was because passengers didn't show up on time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalliekae Posted September 19, 2015 #12 Share Posted September 19, 2015 We had such a negative experience in the MDR on our 2013 Oasis cruise that we will only eat there once on our upcoming November cruise. Very disorganized, rude waiters, wrong orders for our table, and no drink refills were just a few of the problems we encountered. It's just not worth it so we'll be eating in the specialty restaurants especially on the first night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjgep0316 Posted September 20, 2015 Author #13 Share Posted September 20, 2015 It's very interesting to read about the varied experiences everyone has had. Do you think the size of the ship/number of passengers being served factors into it as well? Or perhaps the kitchens on the newer, larger ships are better equipped to handle the crowds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now