Table for two in MDR?

[pcrum]

Hi:

 

What are people's experiences with getting a table for 2 in the MDR for dinner?  Our travel agent requested it for us, but of course, it's not guaranteed.  We booked the Fantastica package for a 3-night cruise on Divina departing Sept. 1.  Our last cruise was on NCL, so we never had to worry about sharing a table.  Is there a way to e-mail the maitre'd ahead of time?

 

Thank you!

[styles27]

As soon as you board go to the MDR and speak to them about your request. 

[LatinaInTexas]

I can tell you my experience from last week's sailing on the Seashore. I had read on here that even though we were only 2 we would prob be assigned to sit with others and to go to the MDR upon boarding to request a table for 2.

Right after boarding we went to the dining room shown on our card and also saw we were assigned 5:15 dining time, this was with Fantastica. We asked to speak to the maitre d and were told to come back 15 minutes before dining time, then as we walked away she changed it to 30 minutes. She did check our table and told us it was for 6 people.

We went back 45 minutes before dinner and this time the maitre d was there but said he couldn't help us until muster was over to come back then.

So once muster was over we went back yet again, it was close to 5 by now.

We get there and the dining room doors are closed and there is a semi formed group/line of 20 people waiting for the same thing. We wait and wait and then they open the doors a bit after 5 for the people to go in for dinner. And we wait and the line hasn't moved one bit.

At about 5:15 a guy comes over and said if we follow him there is another line. No one wants to leave their spot but I decide to follow him. We just walk a few feet and there is a hallway with just 3 people in line. 3 unhappy people after talking to whoever is behind a counter. He isn't able to do anything for them and one guy gets very belligerent and loud.

When is my turn I ask for a table for 2 and a different time for dinner 5:15 is so early. He types and looks and tells me everything is full and there are pages of names on a waiting list for a different time. I'm curious how there are pages full of names when I had tried 3 times to speak to someone and gotten no where and that's what I said to him. That I did what I was told and now your telling me there's nothing you can do?

He went back to typing and now miraculously he has one table left for 2 to give me but no time change 🤔I decide to quit while I am ahead and make do with eating so early.

I hope someone will answer with the secret of how to getting changes done without the hassle I went thru.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 come back after muster.

[JT1962]

I emailed mscexistingreservations@msccruisesusa.com

 with my table request for my October cruise and they said they would pass it on to the appropriate person, but could not guarantee the request could be honored. I will find out when I board as to whether it worked or not.

 

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by JT1962

[morpheusofthesea]

This probably does not help very much. But we had very pleasant experience while on board the Seashore last month. We had already eaten our dinner in the YC restaurant and planned to see a show in Le Cabaret Rouge. In order to get to LCR one must pass by 5th Avenue Restaurant and Manhattan Restaurant. We got to the LCR to find the show cancelled, unexpectedly. So we had nothing to do, so I suggested we  have a second dessert in the 5th Avenue Restaurant. The hostess was very pleasant. We asked first if it would be alright to just have dessert as we had already had dinner elsewhere. She asked for our cabin number and proceeded to seat us at a table for 6 with others. We asked for a table for two as there were many to be seen and were seated. We can only attribute this different scenario to being in the YC. It appears YC has its advantages all over the ship.

[SirWolf]

3 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

This probably does not help very much. But we had very pleasant experience while on board the Seashore last month. We had already eaten our dinner in the YC restaurant and planned to see a show in Le Cabaret Rouge. In order to get to LCR one must pass by 5th Avenue Restaurant and Manhattan Restaurant. We got to the LCR to find the show cancelled, unexpectedly. So we had nothing to do, so I suggested we  have a second dessert in the 5th Avenue Restaurant. The hostess was very pleasant. We asked first if it would be alright to just have dessert as we had already had dinner elsewhere. She asked for our cabin number and proceeded to seat us at a table for 6 with others. We asked for a table for two as there were many to be seen and were seated. We can only attribute this different scenario to being in the YC. It appears YC has its advantages all over the ship.

5th Avenue Restaurant is the dining room for Aurea Experience “My Choice Dining”.

We usually sail in Yacht Club but choose Aurea in July for a last-minute cruise. We didn’t had to ask for a table for 2. There was no table assignment, we were seated every night at a table for 2.

[SandyOutToSea]

I have this same question.  Does anyone have a recent successful experience with changing to a Table for 2?

[Native Floridian 26]

On every cruise we've ever been on, we have gone to see the maitre d on embarkation day with our request for a table for 2, and it has always been granted. Sometimes it took until the second night, but it still happened.

[Hlitner]

I will offer a general observation based on nearly 50 years of cruise experience.  MSC is essentially a large ship mass market budget line.  Many folks book MSC because the line offers an amazing value.  Expecting to get a 2 top on such a line can be difficult unless you are in the Yacht Club and perhaps Aurea.  There are only a limited number of 2 tops in the various MDRs and limited space does limit the options.  
 

All you can do is make the request and continue to be persistent and hope to get lucky.  As ships get closer to capacity, such requests become more difficult to be granted.  
 

There are cruise lines that can always a accommodate 2 top requests, but they are generally luxury lines or high category ship within a ship like the YC, HAVEN Suites on NCL, etc.  If you want to be treated like a prima donna you may need to pay the high prices.  
 

Hank

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

I will offer a general observation based on nearly 50 years of cruise experience.  MSC is essentially a large ship mass market budget line.  Many folks book MSC because the line offers an amazing value.  Expecting to get a 2 top on such a line can be difficult unless you are in the Yacht Club and perhaps Aurea.  There are only a limited number of 2 tops in the various MDRs and limited space does limit the options.  
 

All you can do is make the request and continue to be persistent and hope to get lucky.  As ships get closer to capacity, such requests become more difficult to be granted.  
 

There are cruise lines that can always a accommodate 2 top requests, but they are generally luxury lines or high category ship within a ship like the YC, HAVEN Suites on NCL, etc.  If you want to be treated like a prima donna you may need to pay the high prices.  
 

Hank

I'll have to strongly disagree with your assessment about obtaining a table for 2 alone for dinner on mass market Cruiselines. We cruise Carnival,Royal, Celebrity, NCL, Princess,MSC and never have any problems getting a table just for the 2 of us. If there aren't anymore 2 tables we are always seated at a four table.  98 cruises under my belt and never been an issue once all the cruiselines followed NCL's game changing lead with their Freestyle dining option. 

[Native Floridian 26]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I will offer a general observation based on nearly 50 years of cruise experience.  MSC is essentially a large ship mass market budget line.  Many folks book MSC because the line offers an amazing value.  Expecting to get a 2 top on such a line can be difficult unless you are in the Yacht Club and perhaps Aurea.  There are only a limited number of 2 tops in the various MDRs and limited space does limit the options.  
 

All you can do is make the request and continue to be persistent and hope to get lucky.  As ships get closer to capacity, such requests become more difficult to be granted.  
 

There are cruise lines that can always a accommodate 2 top requests, but they are generally luxury lines or high category ship within a ship like the YC, HAVEN Suites on NCL, etc.  If you want to be treated like a prima donna you may need to pay the high prices.  
 

Hank

Disagree also after 34 cruises on mass market lines NCL, Carnival, Princess, MSC, etc.  Have always had table for 2 for dinner in main dining room.  Sometimes there are many 2 tops in a row, but there is separation.  The key is visiting the maitre d right when you get on.

Edited September 8, 2022 by Native Floridian 26

[Morgsmom]

On 8/26/2022 at 6:00 PM, LatinaInTexas said:

I can tell you my experience from last week's sailing on the Seashore. I had read on here that even though we were only 2 we would prob be assigned to sit with others and to go to the MDR upon boarding to request a table for 2.

Right after boarding we went to the dining room shown on our card and also saw we were assigned 5:15 dining time, this was with Fantastica. We asked to speak to the maitre d and were told to come back 15 minutes before dining time, then as we walked away she changed it to 30 minutes. 

So a couple of things here, as Fantastica you presumably CHOSE early dining. That, unfortunately is 5:15 or 5:30.   

Second, there is a time listed in the daily planner where the Maitre D' is IN THE DINING room precisely to review dining assignments.  This is usually from about 2:30 - 3:30 or so.  It is NEVER 15-30 minutes before dining because that window of opportunity has sailed (pardon the pun).  At that time you can see where your assigned table is located, how large it is, how many at the table, etc and then you can request to change based on whatever your desire is.  

 

I agree that as ships become more full the opportunity for a 2 top is dwindling, so you must be flexible with either time or location (lousy table with no view right near kitchen ddoor but it seats 2).  Getting an oceanview two top at 7pm facing the sunset (etc etc) is not going to magically happen.

 

The problem is that you were told the wrong thing about when to request a change.  As others have said it is usually solved the 2nd night, so you can go to the buffet or specialty dining the first night (which is ALWAYS empty and you will be doted on).  

[1kaper]

17 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I'll have to strongly disagree with your assessment about obtaining a table for 2 alone for dinner on mass market Cruiselines. We cruise Carnival,Royal, Celebrity, NCL, Princess,MSC and never have any problems getting a table just for the 2 of us. If there aren't anymore 2 tables we are always seated at a four table.  98 cruises under my belt and never been an issue once all the cruiselines followed NCL's game changing lead with their Freestyle dining option. 

i haven’t sailed as much but also my experience. 
 

i booked with a friend in May. I originally ally picked late dining but my friend wanted early. We switched it on the phone. But then we got an upgrade offer and took it. I’ve seen where other people had their dining time changed after an upgrade. Anyway our final documents had us late dining. 
 

We went to the dining room almost immediately after boarding and were able to see someone. They switched us to early dining no problem. And gave us a table for 2. It was actually a table for 6 but just us seated there. We were also sailing during the time when the ships weren’t near full capacity so take that for what it’s worth. 

[LatinaInTexas]

8 hours ago, Morgsmom said:

So a couple of things here, as Fantastica you presumably CHOSE early dining. That, unfortunately is 5:15 or 5:30.   

Second, there is a time listed in the daily planner where the Maitre D' is IN THE DINING room precisely to review dining assignments.  This is usually from about 2:30 - 3:30 or so.  It is NEVER 15-30 minutes before dining because that window of opportunity has sailed (pardon the pun).  At that time you can see where your assigned table is located, how large it is, how many at the table, etc and then you can request to change based on whatever your desire is.  

 

I agree that as ships become more full the opportunity for a 2 top is dwindling, so you must be flexible with either time or location (lousy table with no view right near kitchen ddoor but it seats 2).  Getting an oceanview two top at 7pm facing the sunset (etc etc) is not going to magically happen.

 

The problem is that you were told the wrong thing about when to request a change.  As others have said it is usually solved the 2nd night, so you can go to the buffet or specialty dining the first night (which is ALWAYS empty and you will be doted on).  

I went twice to the dining room before going the last time 45 minutes before dinner. The first time I was told to come back 30 minutes before dinner. The second time I went I spoke to the maitre d and he also again told me to come back later. Not much I can do when being repeatedly turned away.

Also while I did ask for early dining it was based on me being told when I booked that there were 3 early dining times, 5:15, 6:15, and 7:15.

Obviously now I know that when you sail on a ship of over 5000 the opportunity to make changes is slim to none based on the pages of requests for time changes the maitre d showed me. 

[Warm Breezes]

On 9/7/2022 at 10:43 PM, Hlitner said:

I will offer a general observation based on nearly 50 years of cruise experience.  MSC is essentially a large ship mass market budget line.  Many folks book MSC because the line offers an amazing value.  Expecting to get a 2 top on such a line can be difficult unless you are in the Yacht Club and perhaps Aurea.  There are only a limited number of 2 tops in the various MDRs and limited space does limit the options.  
 

All you can do is make the request and continue to be persistent and hope to get lucky.  As ships get closer to capacity, such requests become more difficult to be granted.  
 

There are cruise lines that can always a accommodate 2 top requests, but they are generally luxury lines or high category ship within a ship like the YC, HAVEN Suites on NCL, etc.  If you want to be treated like a prima donna you may need to pay the high prices.  
 

Hank

Before the advent of Anytime Dining (on Carnival and Princess) and Freestyle Dining (on NCL) I would have agreed with you.  However, times have changed.  My husband and I have been on 22 cruises (Disney, Princess, Carnival, and NCL) and 10 of them (after 2013) have been with just the 2 of us (on Princess, Carnival, and NCL).   On all of our couple only cruises we have had no problem getting tables for 2.  We were not on luxury lines or in a higher category within a ship...we did not need to pay the high prices to get these tables. 

 

This is our first MSC  cruise.  We are not in YC or Aurea, we got a Fantastica Cabin with early dining,  so I know we will not have the flexibility of having anytime dining on MSC.  My hope is that we will be able to meet with the Maitre'd after boarding in order to get a table for 2 if we are not assigned one initially.  If we can't then we will probably not be eating our meals in the MDR since we are uncomfortable dining with strangers. We prefer not spending our vacation time trying to make small talk with people we don't know.  We wouldn't do that on a land vacation and we don't want to do it on a cruise either.  Just our preference and since it is a free cruise we will make do with eating in other venues if the Maitre'd can't accommodate our request.

[8420PR]

I think Fantasia class ships (i.e. MSC Divina) are set up with very few tables for two, so there is a high chance to be disappointed if you are wanting to sit alone as a couple.   We always asked and were never successful in just sitting by ourselves (before the pandemic).   There are some great tables in the aft restaurant by the window, but I have no idea how they are allocated.

 

On Seaside class ships (i.e. Seashore) there are a lot more tables for two, and we were always allocated one - though we still go and check on the first day to make sure.  The tables are closer together (compared to fantasia class ships) so it is not such a private dining experience, but the different tables mean conversation becomes optional instead of compulsory.  

 

We sometimes like to eat the Italian way (starter, pasta, main and then dessert) and other times the greedy way (4 starters, 2 main, 2 desserts) - I sometimes feel guilty when we are sitting with others as they either have to wait for us or also order multiple dishes.  

[murph1031]

Just home from weekend cruise on DIvina. We had early dining. Our boarding time was 1.30, but we got on board around 11.45. when we boarded we went to the black crab dining room. The maitre'd was there. We asked what size our table was and he said it was a table of 6, we wanted a table for 2. He told us none available, but he could put us on the wait list and told us to ask for him when we arrived for dinner. We had early dining, 6pm we asked also if anything later was available, we said we could move to a 8.30 time, but that was to late for us, so we stuck with the 6pm. 

   Not after all that we viewed the dinner menu each night and ended up eating the buffet every night. This was our second time sailing MSC, last time was on the Seaside. The selection of food offerings on this cruise was very limited. Food was good, but not very varied. 

[Warm Breezes]

On 9/9/2022 at 11:34 PM, Warm Breezes said:

Before the advent of Anytime Dining (on Carnival and Princess) and Freestyle Dining (on NCL) I would have agreed with you.  However, times have changed.  My husband and I have been on 22 cruises (Disney, Princess, Carnival, and NCL) and 10 of them (after 2013) have been with just the 2 of us (on Princess, Carnival, and NCL).   On all of our couple only cruises we have had no problem getting tables for 2.  We were not on luxury lines or in a higher category within a ship...we did not need to pay the high prices to get these tables. 

 

This is our first MSC  cruise.  We are not in YC or Aurea, we got a Fantastica Cabin with early dining,  so I know we will not have the flexibility of having anytime dining on MSC.  My hope is that we will be able to meet with the Maitre'd after boarding in order to get a table for 2 if we are not assigned one initially.  If we can't then we will probably not be eating our meals in the MDR since we are uncomfortable dining with strangers. We prefer not spending our vacation time trying to make small talk with people we don't know.  We wouldn't do that on a land vacation and we don't want to do it on a cruise either.  Just our preference and since it is a free cruise we will make do with eating in other venues if the Maitre'd can't accommodate our request.

Just a follow up on this.  We were on our cruise Oct 2-9 on MSC Divina.  We went to the MDR upon boarding and found our table was a table for 6.  We met with the Maitre'd and he was able to get us a table for 2.  No problem.

[GA Dave]

I had a table for one this weekend in the Panarama MDR on Meraviglia during a sold-out cruise.  Should be no problem for two.

 

[Native Floridian 26]

We're back from our 7 night Armonia Mediterreanean/Greece cruise.  I can say we were successful at getting a very nice table for 2 in the early seating beginning the 2nd night.  We talked to the supervisor at the dining room upon boarding and they said to ask them after dinner the first night.  We sat at the table for 8 they assigned to us on the first night. 

 

After that dinner they said to come back the second night and ask again.  We did and they gave us a perfect table for 2 on the window in the very back.  I think the section was for Aurea guests (we're Bella), but they gave it to us anyway.

 

However, they would NOT seat you at a table for 2 for breakfast or lunch in the MDR.  We asked a couple times and they would have nothing of it.  

[perakcruiser]

23 minutes ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

I think the section was for Aurea guests (we're Bella), but they gave it to us anyway.

Aurea have their own restaurant on Arminia with (at least before COVID) a more exciting menu. 

[styles27]

On 8/26/2022 at 6:06 PM, JT1962 said:

I emailed mscexistingreservations@msccruisesusa.com

 with my table request for my October cruise and they said they would pass it on to the appropriate person, but could not guarantee the request could be honored. I will find out when I board as to whether it worked or not.

 

 

Did you have luck sending an email to that address? It looks like a website with the .com ending 

[JT1962]

Yes, they got the email. They were unable to provide a table for two.