Apex dining?

[LadyBerard]

Booked for a cruise on the Apex.  We have 6 p.m. dining.  How does that work if there are 4 complimentary main dining rooms?

[Miaminice]

Fixed seating times don’t exist on E class anymore. It’s anytime dining for all. You can choose any one of the four dining rooms.

[Arizona Wildcat]

2 hours ago, LadyBerard said:

Booked for a cruise on the Apex.  We have 6 p.m. dining.  How does that work if there are 4 complimentary main dining rooms?

There are the MDRs plus OV.  You had a choice on the TA that just ended.  Book each night on the app and move from MDR to MDR or stay in one.

As said no fixed dining so need to sort.  OV has no reservations.  Understand the menus on the app on the last cruise were often either unavailable or incorrect.

You most likely do not actually have 6pm reservations.  Was easy to handle on board.  Hopeless before.

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, LadyBerard said:

Booked for a cruise on the Apex.  We have 6 p.m. dining.  How does that work if there are 4 complimentary main dining rooms?

Pick the dining room and time you want and show up. You can also request menus from the other 3 you aren't in and order from all 4 MDRs menus.

 

[jwlane]

4 hours ago, davekathy said:

Pick the dining room and time you want and show up. 

This.

[keesar]

We arrived at 6:30 at Normandie and were told to return in an hour.  It was filled up we were told.  There were no assigned times.  

[Jim_Iain]

I was just on Apex.   While I did not dine in MDR menu I asked the Maitre 'd how it worked.    I noticed that only one of the 4 restaurants had reservations available.   He said that many don't understand that you can get the same Featured items in the 4 Restaurants in any of them.    He indicates some people book up the reservations for the entire cruise.   He said all you have to do is show up and they will seat you shortly.    He further said the wait is usually no more than 5-10 minutes.   

 

This may have been the sales pitch and not what people have experienced.   I was amazed some nights when I passed by at 4:45 there was a line 40-50 deep waiting for them to open. 

[helen haywood]

I’ve seen those lines as well and thought…well, we’ll certainly be given a pager.  But the line was just a line to escort people to tables.  It moved incredibly fast.  Also, the hostess at any of the MDRs can check wait times at the other three.  As you can order the same food at all of them.  Just different decor and ambiance among them.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

I was just on Apex.   While I did not dine in MDR menu I asked the Maitre 'd how it worked.    I noticed that only one of the 4 restaurants had reservations available.   He said that many don't understand that you can get the same Featured items in the 4 Restaurants in any of them.    He indicates some people book up the reservations for the entire cruise.   He said all you have to do is show up and they will seat you shortly.    He further said the wait is usually no more than 5-10 minutes.   

 

This may have been the sales pitch and not what people have experienced.   I was amazed some nights when I passed by at 4:45 there was a line 40-50 deep waiting for them to open. 

We had the same table and 6 PM time every evening in the Cosmopolitan. The MD on the first day of the cruise was very accommodating with our requests for the entire cruise. His only request was we be at the MDR NLT 6 PM for the table to be held. The MD put our name, table number and time in the computer so the host would know. 

[hcat]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I was just on Apex.   While I did not dine in MDR menu I asked the Maitre 'd how it worked.    I noticed that only one of the 4 restaurants had reservations available.   He said that many don't understand that you can get the same Featured items in the 4 Restaurants in any of them.    He indicates some people book up the reservations for the entire cruise.   He said all you have to do is show up and they will seat you shortly.    He further said the wait is usually no more than 5-10 minutes.   

 

This may have been the sales pitch and not what people have experienced.   I was amazed some nights when I passed by at 4:45 there was a line 40-50 deep waiting for them to open. 

For a maitre d it may be mostly about the menu items,  but each dining room has its own ambiance and decor.  We preferred the 2 smaller ones on EDGE..Tuscan and Cyprus...more intimate, 

 

The others were nice and each had lovely decor  and art work, but seemed to have more long tables for 2 in a row..Unless you can get away from that, it is like summer camp. We pre book for all nights.4 mdr/ specialty.  If you have to make a change it is ok but at least   you have a res each night.

 

. Cosmo was where they served breakfast and lunch..so we preferred elsewhere for dinner other than 1 night...

...

[keesar]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I was just on Apex.   While I did not dine in MDR menu I asked the Maitre 'd how it worked.    I noticed that only one of the 4 restaurants had reservations available.   He said that many don't understand that you can get the same Featured items in the 4 Restaurants in any of them.    He indicates some people book up the reservations for the entire cruise.   He said all you have to do is show up and they will seat you shortly.    He further said the wait is usually no more than 5-10 minutes.   

 

This may have been the sales pitch and not what people have experienced.   I was amazed some nights when I passed by at 4:45 there was a line 40-50 deep waiting for them to open. 

It seems that you got the sales pitch.  You needed to be there by 6 pm or you would be asked to return around 7:30 pm.   Our cruise had about 3000 cruisers and most venues were packed.  As mentioned, lines began to form around 5:15 for the MDRs.  

[Dancing Shoes]

You do and you don't.  Expect a card in your room telling you which dining room to go to the First Night.  Get there about 5:30, for your "6 fixed time".  All 4 have the same menu, you can see it on the app or ask for other menus.  We stayed at the same one and had the same table.  Many people also had the same table. 

I know it is crazy that they say early or late for fixed times, because you kind of do......

[davekathy]

14 minutes ago, Dancing Shoes said:

You do and you don't.  Expect a card in your room telling you which dining room to go to the First Night.  Get there about 5:30, for your "6 fixed time".  All 4 have the same menu, you can see it on the app or ask for other menus.  We stayed at the same one and had the same table.  Many people also had the same table. 

I know it is crazy that they say early or late for fixed times, because you kind of do......

We never received a card in our stateroom with an assigned dining room or time. We requested the dining room, time and table location when we first boarded the ship. 

 

The menus are not exactly the same for each of the 4 dining rooms. Each had their own specialty items (American, Mediterranean/Greek, French and Italian) along with the same thing the other

restaurants offered. 

[Dancing Shoes]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

We never received a card in our stateroom with an assigned dining room or time. We requested the dining room, time and table location when we first boarded the ship.

When you booked your cruise what did your request?  When I booked I could ask for early, late, or anytime.  I chose early.  

I stand corrected, they do have their specialties, but you can pretty much get another dining room specialty where you are.  My husband kept ordering the short ribs from another MDR.

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by Dancing Shoes

[Crazy planning mom]

So, if I booked dining reservations on the app for my cruise next year, will they be honored?

[davekathy]

12 hours ago, Dancing Shoes said:

When you booked your cruise what did your request?  When I booked I could ask for early, late, or anytime.  I chose early.  

I stand corrected, they do have their specialties, but you can pretty much get another dining room specialty where you are.  My husband kept ordering the short ribs from another MDR.

 

Our cruise was March. I choose AT with 6:PM reservations when I first booked the cruise. When we boarded the ship to check out the dining and our reservations we were advised by the Maitre D  at that time the all 4 MDRs were now AT with no time reservations. Pick a dining room and show up. With all of that we still had the same table at 6 PM time every evening in the Cosmopolitan. The MD on the first day of the cruise was very accommodating with our requests for the entire cruise. His only request was we be at the MDR NLT 6 PM for the table to be held. The MD put our name, table number and time in the computer so the host would know when we arrived and printed out our ticket. 

 

That's what we did with the four different menus. 

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by davekathy

[davekathy]

55 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

So, if I booked dining reservations on the app for my cruise next year, will they be honored?

If the app lets you book reservations, I would do it. But based on our experience in March, no. When you first board the ship go to the MDR that is open and speak with the  Maitre D with your requests. Ours were honored. 

[kwokpot]

16 hours ago, Dancing Shoes said:

You do and you don't.  Expect a card in your room telling you which dining room to go to the First Night.  Get there about 5:30, for your "6 fixed time".

That's no longer how it's being done. There's no fixed early or late dining on any E-Class ship. This started last Fall. Having said that the MD's can assist in TRYING to get you the same time and staff in a particular Dining Room, but that's not guaranteed. 

[LadyBerard]

I guess I'll be visiting the Maitre'd in one of the main dining rooms as soon as possible when we board.  I hate waiting in lines to be seated for dining. Plus, we prefer to have the same waitstaff every night.  Now I guess we'll need to decide which main dining room we prefer to be in every evening for dinner.

 

[Miaminice]

1 hour ago, LadyBerard said:

I guess I'll be visiting the Maitre'd in one of the main dining rooms as soon as possible when we board.  I hate waiting in lines to be seated for dining. Plus, we prefer to have the same waitstaff every night.  Now I guess we'll need to decide which main dining room we prefer to be in every evening for dinner.

 

if you only dine in one you’ll miss out on a great feature of these ships - variety!

We love E class and love the choice of signature items in the different MDRs.

Our least favorite is Cosmopolitan - because it’s too normal.

 

My favorite is Normandie, DW loves Cyprus.

[LadyBerard]

21 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

if you only dine in one you’ll miss out on a great feature of these ships - variety!

We love E class and love the choice of signature items in the different MDRs.

Our least favorite is Cosmopolitan - because it’s too normal.

 

My favorite is Normandie, DW loves Cyprus.

What do you love about Normandi, and what does your wife love about Cyprus?  Those were the two I was considering.  Honestly, we just prefer to have the same waitstaff every evening.  I find that it makes dining go more smoothly when they learn our preferences.

[Miaminice]

23 minutes ago, LadyBerard said:

What do you love about Normandi, and what does your wife love about Cyprus?  Those were the two I was considering.  Honestly, we just prefer to have the same waitstaff every evening.  I find that it makes dining go more smoothly when they learn our preferences.

I absolutely love Normandie’s signature dishes - Baked Brie starter and Herb Crusted Entrecôte. I also like the design and decor. 
DW likes the dishes in Cyprus…

 

I agree that it’s nice to have the same waitstaff. But it’s also nice to have a different ambiance every night.

Edited May 8, 2023 by Miaminice