Waiting for a table

[Marronnier]

I understand that if you turn up to the MDR without a reservation you may have to wait for a table. Previously you would either stand in line or be given a pager. How does it work now with the Medallion app? Can you return to a bar for a drink and be 'paged' via the app or must you wait in line?

Thanks for any information you can offer.

 

[MissP22]

I haven't seen any pagers like they use on the Enchanted  like other ships. Since the ships aren't sailing at full capacity yet maybe they're not necessary. 

There even going to shut down one of the three DR's next  cruise. 

[Marronnier]

Thank you.

[Marronnier]

I'd be interested to know if anyone with recent experience knows if the dining rooms are using pagers or the app to let guests know their table is ready.

[MissP22]

haven’t seen any lately. 

[PacnGoNow]

2 hours ago, Marronnier said:

I'd be interested to know if anyone with recent experience knows if the dining rooms are using pagers or the app to let guests know their table is ready.

Didn’t see any on the CB Feb 6-Mar 19.

However, once the ship was 75% full, it got hectic and long lines even early, for those without reservations. 
They closed one DR the first month for crew meals. Then, last 2 weeks they were 60-75% full so they opened the Aft DR for dinner and the crew went back to their own dining area. BUT…they closed another DR and used it only for Club Class.  So, we again only had 2 MDR’s

even though it was really crowded.

Seems as though there was a lot of experimentation.

I found it very noisy and hectic for the crew, seating those who wanted TD and those anytime dining with reservations and those without, to be very hectic for the DR manager and head waiters.  Was not a very relaxing experience. I sure wish they would go back to a dedicated MDR for TD.  

Complaints from Club Class guests seem to work, as they had their own huge DR at the Island DR for dinner. 
 

 

[Thrak]

Sigh... I don't mind heading to Vines to wait for a table but I really dislike standing in a line - especially with COVID in the mix. Ah, well. We will see how things go and, if we have to wait in a line, we will make the best of it.

[PacnGoNow]

26 minutes ago, Thrak said:

Sigh... I don't mind heading to Vines to wait for a table but I really dislike standing in a line - especially with COVID in the mix. Ah, well. We will see how things go and, if we have to wait in a line, we will make the best of it.

I'd suggest make a reservation for a time and DR on the app or call the Dine line from your cabin.  There will be two lines, one with reservations and one without.

Early is best.  By 600-630 it was really crowded.  Or, late was good after 8 pm.

Depends on the cruise.  Europeans tend to like the later dining times.

[Thrak]

6 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I'd suggest make a reservation for a time and DR on the app or call the Dine line from your cabin.  There will be two lines, one with reservations and one without.

Early is best.  By 600-630 it was really crowded.  Or, late was good after 8 pm.

Depends on the cruise.  Europeans tend to like the later dining times.

 

I'll wait until we are on the ship and see how things go. I can always make a reservation on the app if things are funky. I just have zero interest in pre-booking - especially after reading all the post about how the reservations get moved around, tables aren't "set" like they promised, etc. It seems that, as usual, the marketing people have promised lots of stuff that the programming people haven't been able to deliver. Any time someone from "marketing" opens their mouths I pretty much discount most of what they promise. Sadly, in this case, the programming people seem to be equally incompetent.

[Cuedon]

Currently for the Majestic: I haven't seen use of alerts/pagers for the MDR.

 

On the other hand, I haven't waited more than a few minutes when showing up at my reservation time. (Though I do have a specific maitre'd who seems to go out of his way to ignore me. -_-)

 

No issues with bookings either, though I has a terrible time MAKING the bookings... Contradictory info from some of the Medallion staff suggests that parts of the app may have been broken on their end. 

[JF - retired RRT]

How could they use the Medallion to notify you that your table is ready? AFAIK, the Medallion doesn't "chirp" and the phone app notifications are silent.

[Mike45LC]

Recent shipmates told me that they were eating every night at the buffet, Alfredos and/or the International because the wait for the Main Dining Room was too crazy.  I was Club Class, which worked very well.

[Marelaine]

We only had to wait in line on the first night. The line long, but the wait wasn't long enough to get a drink. We sailed at half capacity.