Dining questions

The last cruise we took was on the VOS in May 2003. My husband & I spent most of our days exploring the islands & taking excursions, so by the time we got back to the ship, we were exhausted. The first two nights we dined in the dining room, and were seated at a table with a Russian couple who's English wasn't so good, and 4 gay men. The gay men did not bother us, but we could tell they felt a little awkard, in turn making the rest of us feel awkard. There was not much conversation going on at all, which was very unlike cruises we'd taken in the past.

The 2nd night dining, there was some sudden mixup with our table (that we still can't figure out), and the 4 gay men were moved. I'm assuming they asked to be moved, but can't be certain. Anyways, the headwaiter came to our table & said he'd send a gift to our cabin, because of the delay in our meal. We weren't really upset about the delay, but thought it was a nice gesture. When we got back to our room that evening, nothing had been delivered.

The rest of the nights we decided to eat at the Windjammer & Portifino. We decided to eat at the Windjammer, because it's just more convenient when you're tired & you don't want to dress up, and Portifino's because we wanted to give it a try. We ended up eating at Portifino's twice, because it was so darn good!

The first night we did not eat in the dining room, the head waiter called our cabin to find out why we didn't show up. My husband said we'd eaten in Windjammer because we were tired. My husband also mentioned the "gift" had not been delivered, and the headwaiter said he'd be sending a nice bottle of wine. We never got anything.

The 3rd night the head waiter called again wanting to know why we didn't show up, and once again my husband told him we'd chose another dining option. He subsequently called the 4th night, and after that I guess gave up. We did not answer the phone the 4th night, because we were frankly a little tired of it & were urked at the fact that he did not uphold his promise to send wine. It became the principal of the whole thing.

What I don't understand is this.. if RCCL is giving you quite a number of dining choices now, then why is the headwaiter calling everynight to harass you about eating in the dining room? I can see calling the first night to make sure we were not unhappy with anything, but almost every night for the week? Makes you wonder what his motive was. I personally think maybe he was worried he wouldn't get a tip, if we didn't show up. We also had a headwaiter on another ship (Monarch) who didn't show any interest in us until the night before tips were to be handed out. Needless to say, neither of them got a tip.

My husband & I have reserved another cruise in May of next year on the NOS, and I'm wondering if this is going to happen again. Has anyone else had this happen? I'm also wondering if you do not choose to dine in the dining room, then are you still expected to pay all the waiter's for the rest of the week as well? I think if RCCL is offering all these dining options, then they shouldn't base their waiter's pay on tips. We ended up tipping the waiters in the dining room for the nights we ate there, and the guys in the Windjammer & our waiter in Portifino for the remainder of the nights (plus is cabin steward). They were all great & provided excellent customer service, but I am not tipping people for service I didn't receive.

The dining room staff is rated on the service they deliver and some of them are paranoid that they are in fact doing a good job. The Maitre'd may have wanted his tip but it might also look funny to his boss that an entire table of people is missing. He might be assuming that you were not happy with the service and you therefore decided to eat elsewhere as opposed to eating elsewhere because you were too tired to go to the dining room. We did back to back cruises on the Jewel last year and our waiter the first week was marginal at best. He tried really hard but was not up to the task. We ate in the Windjammer a couple of nights and when he saw us the next day he was paranoid that we had dined upstairs because of something he had done when in fact we just didn't feel like having a big sit down dinner. The following week we had a different waiter and we found out that our previous waiter had been demoted to assistant waiter. I guess he knew he was on thin ice and was therefore paranoid about his performance.

As for tipping, the money you tip is not just for service in the dining room at dinner time. Your assigned waiter and assistant waiter also serve you in either the buffet or the Windjammer at breakfast and lunch. You may not sit at their table at breakfast or lunch but look around and you will see them working in the dining room or buffet. In theory, your tip covers their service at all meals, not just dinner time. I can understand that if you never ate dinner in the dining room it would seem to make little sense to tip the staff, but the theory says......

When I read what you wrote I was impressed that the waiter called your cabin and asked you why. I never heard that before thought it was a nice touch that you were missed, regardless of the tip situation. Now not sending you your wine when they told you they would is a different story it seems they did not follow through which is bad.

We are going on our cruise in January and have decided we would eat in both speciality restaurants during our cruise. You are correct there are many choices to dine on the ship. All in all to me it was a nice touch that you were called

Did you want to eat with others? or Do you prefer to eat by yourselves? if you want to eat by yourself, make sure when you book your cruise whoever books it tells them you want a table for two. but also make sure that this is accomodated on the first day before dinner. We had it noted and it was not right....they did make it right however. We loved the alone time. We could take as long or as little time as we needed. But if you want to be seated with people, you have may have to be at their mercy. I hope you wrote a letter. If you want also, you can have the full menu in your cabin if you choose. They will send anything on the dinner menu. We did that years ago on one trip. We were late getting back from Carlos n Charlies.

dizzy205: I'm happy that you were able to get the table for two you wanted, but please be aware that ALL dining requests are exactly that--requests. It's not that it was not "right"; it was that your initial request wasn't accommodated. That they were able to make the change for you is terrific, but that is not always the case. Sometimes changes cannot be done, especially with tables for two, which are fairly popular and in high demand.

beachchick

Yeah that is true. I have requested tables for 2 each time I have cruised...and only got it once on my honeymoon. We had to wait an hour in a line in dining room upon boarding to get the request as well... so it is definitely just a request and if you get it you are very lucky. Its definitely worth a try though.

Perhaps he was calling as, if you weren't going to use your table for dinner, he had some people on a wait list that would have loved to have had it.

We skip the dining room for dinner at least once a cruise, sometimes more. We have never been called and asked why we werent there. I think once would be a nice gesture, after that I would feel like you did. :(

Bobbie

I'd say calling once was sufficient enough for us to think he cared enough to call, but he did this for like 3-4 days. It got very annoying. It made us feel like we were being monitored, and couldn't dine elsewhere. We enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of Portofino (we dined there twice) & personalized service much more than we did in the dining room with hundreds of people. We also hit the island grill when we were too tired to get dressed up to eat.

DH and I always choose to eat atleast once at Portifino's and we always sign up 2x just in case, something like your situtation arises...we don't like table mates or waiter. When we've missed dinner our waiter has never called room, am surprised your was so aggressive in that manner. You can choose to dine where you wish, but I would tip atleast for the nights you dine in dining room. Even it's only once. Sounds to me he was wanting his tip as well, not relly concerned about ya'll or the wine would have shown up. :)

We did tip for the nights we dined in the dining room, however we didn't tip the headwaiter. My husband actually tipped our waiter in Portifino & then found the guys that waited on us in the island grill everyday & tipped them. They were pretty shocked, but we felt they deserved it!

I guess you could have informed the headwaiter that you wouldn't be at dinner, to have stopped his calls! Tipping the headwaiter is strictly your choice!

Since we're on the subject of dining and tipping, I figured this would be a good thread to pose this question:

I was looking at copies of the Cruise Compass newsletter from a recent previous cruise of the Brilliance (same one we will be on in April), and noticed it says that for dining in Chops Grille and Portifino "guests 13 years and older are welcome".

I realize they have this policy so guests can enjoy dining without having to put up with a bunch of screaming, unruly children. But I was wondering how strict this policy is, as I have an 11.5 year old son (who is very well mannered and mature for his age). Would he be able to dine with us there?

Also, what is the tipping policy for these specialty restaurants if you have already paid for "pre-tipping" as part of your cruise package. Is your server in Chops / Portifino covered by the pre-tipping, or is that just for the main dining staff?

I was looking at copies of the Cruise Compass newsletter from a recent previous cruise of the Brilliance (same one we will be on in April), and noticed it says that for dining in Chops Grille and Portifino "guests 13 years and older are welcome".

 

I realize they have this policy so guests can enjoy dining without having to put up with a bunch of screaming, unruly children. But I was wondering how strict this policy is, as I have an 11.5 year old son (who is very well mannered and mature for his age). Would he be able to dine with us there?

It seems pretty clear what the policy is. Regardless of how well behaved your son is he is under 13 and therefore should not enter the specialty dining areas. If they make and exception for your son they will have to make an exception for another and another until it gets to the point that their policy has no teeth. Sorry but you should really follow policy for the next year and a half. Your son will develop an understanding for rules if you set an example for him to follow.

It seems pretty clear what the policy is. Regardless of how well behaved your son is he is under 13 and therefore should not enter the specialty dining areas. If they make and exception for your son they will have to make an exception for another and another until it gets to the point that their policy has no teeth. Sorry but you should really follow policy for the next year and a half. Your son will develop an understanding for rules if you set an example for him to follow.

I don't recall asking for your personal opinion or advice on parenting, so kindly take your "morals and convictions" somewhere else and let those who wish to answer my question do so.

I have read here that on some sailing on some ships with specialty restaurants, younger children were allowed if you had an early reservation. You could ask about this after you are on the ship. Enjoy your cruise!

I have read here that on some sailing on some ships with specialty restaurants, younger children were allowed if you had an early reservation. You could ask about this after you are on the ship. Enjoy your cruise!

I took my 11 year old daughter to Portofino's on NOS in 2004. No one asked any questions or gave us any trouble. Of course, she was dressed nicely and was well behaved and was "close" to the age requested. My guess is that if the kids showed up in bathing suits and were causing a disturbance, the ship would play the age card. Otherwise, nobody seems to care.

I didn't quite see the sermon part of the response, but, I agree, wait until he reaches the age of 13...think of it as something to look forward to.

My children are in the same boat - no pun intended.