MDR Seating Assignment Question

[thetone]

I checked the forum but did not see a thread on this topic. How does RCI select your table partners for traditional MDR? Do they go by age, geographic region, is it completely random? My wife and I have been paired with couples our age, much older couples, and even a family with kids. Just wondering if anyone knows how those assignments are arrived at.

 

Cheers.

 

Sent from my 0PJA2 using Forums mobile app

[RocketMan275]

Probably almost random. RCI only has the information you provided when you booked the cruise. That isn't enough information to be very sophisticated in seating assignments.

I suspect they first make assignments for those who have linked their reservations. Then they just fill in the tables with the objective of finding a place for as many as possible. Native language might be a factor but they could only guess at that.

[Florida_cruisers]

We always request the largest table we can get. One year we got a table with several people on our roll call. It was the best dining experience we’ve ever had!

[cb at sea]

If you're a "couple", you will be seated with other "couples"....if you're a family, you will be seated with other families... It's not geographic or by age,....but if you're "easy to get along with", you'll have a great time! Our best table ever was with an older couple and a younger British couple...what fun we had!

It's really up to YOU, and how you deal with others. We are easy to get along with...we aren't picky or stuck-up...and we like to have fun.

You can request to be seated by yourself....we've seen couples alone.

[Junebug08]

Can you request a table for two? If so do you do it ahead or when you board?

[Zach1213]

Can you request a table for two? If so do you do it ahead or when you board?

 

I must admit I'm fairly new to this, but doing my time dining as a couple who has zero desire to meet new people, we have had 100% success rate of sitting alone!

[dadofjessie]

Can you request a table for two? If so do you do it ahead or when you board?

 

On some of our cruises we have requested a table for two and we got it. Other times when we have traveled with the family we got the size of the table appropriate to our group. We have never had a problem. One time we asked for a table for two and we were seated at a table for 10. We asked to change to a table for two and our wish was granted. No problem.

[GBM]

A couple cruises ago (so that's 5 years for us), we wanted to change dining time from late to early. When we first got on the ship, we went to the dining room and requested the early time. We also requested to be at a larger table, as we enjoy meeting other people. They put the 2 of us with 9 others at a table for 10 (2 families traveling together), and we had a great time. I think all our other cruises they've put us with other couples, as someone else above said. I think they're glad to make changes if they can do so reasonably.

[Clarea]

Can you request a table for two? If so do you do it ahead or when you board?

If you are in traditional dining, make the request to rcldining@rccl.com about 3 weeks before the cruise.

 

If you are in My Time Dining, make the request when you show up for dinner.

[purplegrapefruit]

We got put at a table for 2 on our recent 9 night cruise, which we didn't want. We like sitting with other couples. When we asked to be seated with people, they put us with a family with toddlers and a baby. No thanks. We were also surrounded by huge group tables of extended families. Finally we were moved to a qureter table on deck 4. No table mates but at least we were out of the chaos. We couldn't believe there were no other couples we could be seated with, but there seemed to be a high number of large groups on this sailing. Possibly all the couples chose my time dining. At least pur waiters in the new section were excellent and made us feel welcome, but we missed the dinner conversation. We will email our wishes next time as Bob suggested as this is not our first experience with poor seating

[mlbcruiser]

I had a bit of anxiety before our first cruise many yrs. ago, concerned about having to sit with people we didn't know. It was only a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas many yrs. ago. Well, we got so lucky and were seated with 4 other really fun people. From then on we have ALWAYS wanted to sit with others.

 

We once requested a large table on Carnival and ended up at a table for 2. Luckily we had helped arrange a meet & greet (this was in the days when ONLY RCCL had the Meet & Mingle registration on this site) shortly after sailaway and met several other people at that. We noticed one of the couples we'd met there sitting at a table for 2 a couple of tables over. My dh had already spoken to the maitre'd prior to seeing them about being moved to a larger table the next night. So we went over to the other couple and just asked if they preferred a table for 2. They said no, they had actually asked for a large table! They had also spoken to someone to ask if they could be moved but were told no. Another 3 people who we met at the M&G were seated a ways away so we all chatted at the end of dinner. My dh talked to the maître'd again and we were all seated together for the rest of the cruise. That ended up working out very, very well because we all live in 3 separate states, never knew each other before, stay in touch, and have cruised together several times since! If you ever get a table assignment and don't click with your table mates, just ask to be moved. The first time we ever moved, we actually had our children with us over an Easter weekend. We were seated with a nice family - 1 baby about 18 mos.old and a little boy maybe 3 - ? The baby cried and cried at dinner, and again the next day at breakfast. We didn't want to hurt their feelings so actually switched dining times and when we saw them on the ship we told them we had decided the other time worked better for our 5 yr. old.

 

Those of you who wind up being seated with people you don't enjoy talking to or vice versa, don't suffer and ruin your dinners! Ask discretely to be moved and if you get grief - insist on it! There are always others asking to be moved so you might be told to wait until the next evening and they will see, but the cruise line really does want you to enjoy your cruise and you will almost certainly get moved.

[mcatmcat]

I believe it is random, I always request a table for 2 if going with gf or 4 or 6 depending on who else from my family or friends join us on the ship. Something that always gets my attention is why people when are not on vacation and go to a restaurant with a love one or friend choose a table based on his party but when are in a cruise they want to seat in the biggest table ever.- that strange -

[cruzgryphon]

As a solo cruiser I know there is some logic to the seating. For solo travellers they will try and seat you with other people travelling alone - who tend to be a little older than me which is fine. In talking to the maitre'd one of the things they do is seat solo travelers with say a couple of people in the same cabin with different last names is things like two people. They also look at language spoken.

[WisconsinFan]

We have lately been traveling with groups of 8 or more, so we always have our own larger table. One time however our family of four with two younger boys at the time ( one was 8 or 9 and the other 13 or 14) were seated with two older couples. So, the idea that they work hard to pair you with people are similar doesn't always work.

 

The look on their faces almost immediately said "Oh no!" and it was obvious. I am glad that they did give our family a chance without changing tables right away. Our boys made us proud with how they held a conversation with the other couples and by the end of the cruise I think the other couples enjoyed hearing about what the kids took advantage of on the cruise.