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No more tablecloths in the MDR??

gardn198

By gardn198,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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Cushing985

Cushing985

Posted
Posted
I was reading a review for the Carnival Fascination cruise I'm taking next Feb and the poster mentioned that there were no tablecloths in the MDR anymore for the "American Table" new menu or something. Umm what?! Is this true? If so that's very disappointing...

 

Did you enjoy your nap? There have been at least a hundred threads about this with much gnashing of teeth and threats to leave Carnival for good. You would have thought the world as we know it was coming to an end. I especially enjoyed the posts where people reported near drowning because of the condensation on the table from the water glasses.

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moonvine

moonvine

Posted
Posted
Wow, I have to say - I am extremely disappointed. Is this a permanent change? Can we complain to Carnival? I want to dress up each night and enjoy my dining experience - if you want simple and easy go to the lido deck. Very, very disappointed.

 

You can complain to them, and I intend to after my cruise, but I think it will probably be in vain. I'm going to be checking out other lines for sure. My gold "benefits" are now a bottle of water, a free drink coupon and a ship pin. Not hard to walk away from.

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Rinalouise

Rinalouise

Posted
Posted

Wow! Didn't know they took the table cloths off the tables in the mdr for Carnival USA... another difference between America and Australia... we (well from what I've seen on all my Australian carnival cruises) keep them on all the time!

 

If you love your tablecloths come to Australia for a cruise! Lol [emoji23]

 

 

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moonvine

moonvine

Posted
Posted
ah, the tablecloth thread, version 2.

 

Like most others, I don't see what the big deal is. I can't think of any land based restaurants that use tablecloths. In fact, the only time in my life I've ever eaten on a tablecloth is at my wife's parents house on Christmas Day. That's it. I guess older people like them because that's what they had "back in the day" but this is 2017, times are changing. I suppose they could have them as an option, and allow people to have a table cloth on their table on a request basis, and just charge those people a cleaning fee for those table cloths.

 

Great idea. Then they can offer a choice of plastic cutlery and upcharge you if you want "real" silverware. You can have a choice between paper plates and real plates, paper plates will not break when they slide off the table into the floor because there is no tablecloth. $1 extra for the real plates! Likewise with the cups, they can upcharge you if you want glass instead of Dixie cups. $5 per day per person per room for non disposable cutlery, cups, plates and napkins. Think I have found their next profit stream.

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moonvine

moonvine

Posted
Posted
I could name dozens of top restaurants in NYC that don't use tablecloths but the one of the most expensive restaurants (Masa) does not use tablecloths. dinner there is between $400 - $800 per person...

 

there are many many many restaurants that dont use tablecloths that are elegant, expensive and does not distract from a fantastic dining experience

 

I'm assuming these are stationary restaurants and not ones on a moving cruise ship where stuff is getting tossed onto the floor because there's no tablecloth there to stop it?

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auntieshoes

auntieshoes

Posted
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We just got off of the Miracle last Saturday and enjoyed dinner in the MDR every night of our 7 on the ship.

 

This was my third Carnival cruise, although the others were about 8 and 10 years ago, so I don't remember any details about the MDR on those vacations.

 

I can tell you that I don't remember if we had tablecloths on the Miracle last week or not. I think we didn't because I do remember a few water drops on the table that I wiped away with my napkin, but our experience was not dampened one bit by the presence or absence of linens.

 

We approached every dinner as an adventure -

We had fun seeing what state's bread plate we got every night, and wondering which rolls would be offered. And one in our group was vegan and he got a kick out of the surprises they made for him.

 

Our food was fine and the service was alright until we got to be served by Danilo and Juno. They were so smooth and attentive that we asked for them at brunch and dinner.

 

I can't compare the AT menu to any others, but really I only had mediocre food one night. As I said, it was fine the rest of the nights.

 

I think it's sad that people are trying to find the negative in these changes rather than looking for the newness in each trip. Not everyone can afford 1 cruise, much less to go often enough to split hairs about tablecloths.

 

I hope that some of you can read this and perhaps be more grateful for what you got rather than what you didn't. If not, spend your money elsewhere.

 

 

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gfsmith

gfsmith

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As I see it, this is a result of passenger demand. Why dress the tables when the diners want to show up for dinner in jeans, shorts, and baseball hats?

 

Personally i could care less what anybody is wearing, but i do agree that the hats should be taken off while dining. But i certainly wouldnt let it affect my dinner. Life is to short to worry about what other people are doing. I could definetly do without the singing waiters LOL

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bUU

bUU

Posted
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I never eat on a bare table- I use a plate;). (But I suppose you could ask the wait staff for an extra napkin to put under your plate.)

I think it would be cool for trenchers to come back in style. :)

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HawkIVette

HawkIVette

Posted
Posted
I'm assuming these are stationary restaurants and not ones on a moving cruise ship where stuff is getting tossed onto the floor because there's no tablecloth there to stop it?

Tossed on the floor? I will be going on my 18th cruise in 2 weeks and I have never had a plate or dish slide off the table yet.

If your dishes are sliding off the table, you have more problems than a tablecloth. I would be wearing your life jacket to dinner.

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HawkIVette

HawkIVette

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Well HawkIVette many of us have. Past December we got some weather and for a couple of hours everything and everyone were bouncing pretty well. Made for an entertaing dinner service.

Yeah, but that has nothing to do with tableclothes. I bet more than dishes were sliding around. Next, you'll want carpet on the Lido deck so the deck chairs don't slide.

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bUU

bUU

Posted
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Bring your own table cloth.

Ha! I can imagine some very irate passenger arriving at the main dining room with a coverlet from their cabin in tow and proceeding to cover their table with it. :D

 

 

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

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sparks1093 Great Review Rare

sparks1093

Posted
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Yeah, but that has nothing to do with tableclothes. I bet more than dishes were sliding around. Next, you'll want carpet on the Lido deck so the deck chairs don't slide.

 

Wetting the table cloth (or putting a wet napkin under your plate/glass) is an old sailor's trick for keeping things from sliding off the table when it's rough. Sometimes if it's too rough even super glue won't do the trick:eek:.

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nhsails

nhsails

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Posted
Yeah, but that has nothing to do with tableclothes. I bet more than dishes were sliding around. Next, you'll want carpet on the Lido deck so the deck chairs don't slide.

Actually the cloths did help. Most of glasses held up better than most of guests😉

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