MDR staffing question

[PumpkinPatches]

Good Morning! I am getting ready for my holiday cruise on the Silhouette, but my last Celebrity cruise was in 2016 so I have a question about MDR staffing since I know many cruise lines have made cutbacks since the pandemic.

 

I remember having a waiter and junior waiter in the MDR, plus there would be cocktail servers and a wine sommelier walking around taking care of drinks.

 

Is this still how the MDR works?

 

I am asking because I've upgraded to the premium drink package and am hoping to start with a glass of champagne and then enjoy a glass of wine with my main course.  I know from past cruises with Royal Caribbean, if the waiters are also in charge of drink service it can be really stressful for them and makes me feel guilty for even asking for a glass of wine. Plus even if you do ask, drink service can be really slow at best because they're serving multiple courses to many tables.

 

Any feedback or insight you fellow cruisers can share is much appreciated!

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by PumpkinPatches

[Jim_Iain]

Yes - that is still the way it works

 

[lydnsyd]

We were on the Silhouette in October & there was a waiter + assistant. there was also a wine waiter + a cocktail and general drinks server 

[CNSfromHI]

2 hours ago, PumpkinPatches said:

I remember having a waiter and junior waiter in the MDR, plus there would be cocktail servers and a wine sommelier walking around taking care of drinks.

 

Is this still how the MDR works?

 

Yes, this is still how the main dining room works. We've never experienced a problem ordering our next round of adult beverages, whether wine, spirits, etc. Always plenty of attentive servers around us.

 

Hope you enjoy the Silhouette and your upcoming cruise!

 

cjr

[Chrisclaire]

2 hours ago, PumpkinPatches said:

Good Morning! I am getting ready for my holiday cruise on the Silhouette, but my last Celebrity cruise was in 2016 so I have a question about MDR staffing since I know many cruise lines have made cutbacks since the pandemic.

 

I remember having a waiter and junior waiter in the MDR, plus there would be cocktail servers and a wine sommelier walking around taking care of drinks.

 

Is this still how the MDR works?

 

I am asking because I've upgraded to the premium drink package and am hoping to start with a glass of champagne and then enjoy a glass of wine with my main course.  I know from past cruises with Royal Caribbean, if the waiters are also in charge of drink service it can be really stressful for them and makes me feel guilty for even asking for a glass of wine. Plus even if you do ask, drink service can be really slow at best because they're serving multiple courses to many tables.

 

Any feedback or insight you fellow cruisers can share is much appreciated!

 

We were on Solstice 2 weeks ago and had great service in the MDR

We had a waiter, asst waiter & sommelier (never saw a cocktail server)

The sommelier was always busy serving us and other tables.

Hopefully your waiter will be as observant as ours and if your wine glass is empty he will call the sommelier 😊

Don't ever feel guilty!

A wee word of warning......we didn't drink Champagne at dinner but at the bar's they often pour Prosecco instead of Champagne!

Have a great cruise 😎 

[hcat]

you can order at a nearby bar and take it with you..in case of slow service in the mdr

[RedIguana]

I am a 2 glass of wine with dinner person. One of my few pet peeves is not having a glass when dinner is served (yeah, first world problems). Hence I always stop by Cellarmasters, Vines, whatever the wine bar is (getting old, sailed too many lines in the last few years) and bring a glass with me.

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, PumpkinPatches said:

Good Morning! I am getting ready for my holiday cruise on the Silhouette, but my last Celebrity cruise was in 2016 so I have a question about MDR staffing since I know many cruise lines have made cutbacks since the pandemic.

 

I remember having a waiter and junior waiter in the MDR, plus there would be cocktail servers and a wine sommelier walking around taking care of drinks.

 

Is this still how the MDR works?

 

I am asking because I've upgraded to the premium drink package and am hoping to start with a glass of champagne and then enjoy a glass of wine with my main course.  I know from past cruises with Royal Caribbean, if the waiters are also in charge of drink service it can be really stressful for them and makes me feel guilty for even asking for a glass of wine. Plus even if you do ask, drink service can be really slow at best because they're serving multiple courses to many tables.

 

Any feedback or insight you fellow cruisers can share is much appreciated!

 

The Senior Management on Silhouette addressed this and other issues in a Q and A held in the main theatre  - the ship is fully staffed and operating as normal/previously.

[someguyfl]

On my last two cruises, one in Aqua, other in Suites… the sommelier was very aggressive about trying to get me to order drinks on my drink package. I don’t personally drink alcohol much, and only had the package because it was thrown in with the package with WiFi and tips to the point that it didn’t make sense to not have it…

 

in any event, I’m not sure if it’s just significantly different in Blu/Luminae vs MDR, but I can’t imagine it being hard to get drinks. 
 

the sommelier gets paid per drink they pour on the beverage packages. It’s in their interest to serve as much as possible.