WJ, Restaurants, MTD - a choice?

[Patty00]

Even though we had "My Time" dinning on our last cruise, we saw sooooooooo many empty tables and chairs. Guess where they were???? WJ!!! So, why doesn't RC give guests a choice for evening dinner in the WJ? We could hardly find a seat in the WJ for sushi prior to our My Time seating. I feel sorry for those folks who request a large table for dinner and no one shows up! My suggestion would be to have a phone number in the Compass on Day 1 to opt out of early/late dinning in the MDR! Release your table assignment to others who may want your table/time! Enjoy the WJ, but don't let the waiter assume you are coming each night! Or on the reservation....restaurants/WJ!! What do you think?

[esanders64]

I like the idea of somehow notifying the MDR of cases where you aren't planning to make your seating regularly. My wife and I usually only eat in the MDR for 2 or 3 evenings over a 7 night cruise. We have often felt bad about abandoning our tablemates, so we got in the habit of tactly telling them on the first night that we wouldn't be back every night. We wanted them to understand that our dinner plans weren't due to any personal problems with the people at the table.

 

We opted in for My Time Dining once it was made available a few years ago. We like that option because we can then have dinner wherever we want without thinking that other people in the MDR are expecting us.

 

And what is our favorite place for dinner? The Windjammer!

[Royal_Cruiser]

Even though we had "My Time" dinning on our last cruise, we saw sooooooooo many empty tables and chairs. Guess where they were???? WJ!!! So, why doesn't RC give guests a choice for evening dinner in the WJ? We could hardly find a seat in the WJ for sushi prior to our My Time seating. I feel sorry for those folks who request a large table for dinner and no one shows up! My suggestion would be to have a phone number in the Compass on Day 1 to opt out of early/late dinning in the MDR! Release your table assignment to others who may want your table/time! Enjoy the WJ, but don't let the waiter assume you are coming each night! Or on the reservation....restaurants/WJ!! What do you think?

 

I like this idea. On my Nov 2009 cruise, I booked it the day prior to sailing, and I decided rather than pack dinner clothes like normal, I was just going to stay casual the whole cruise. I chose to eat in the WJ each night for dinner. When I got on board, I let the Maitre d' know that I wouldn't be joining them for dinner in the MDR at all. He appreciated my letting him know. I like your idea of having some organized way of letting them know for other situations like what you've described. Seems it would benefit everybody.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

We book a table for two in the MDR so we don't have to feel that others are expecting us for dinner every night. We usually eat in the MDR only a few nights each cruise. There have been cruises in which we didn't eat in the MDR at all, although that wasn't our intention at the start.

 

I like the OP's idea of releasing one's table assignment at the start of a cruise so others can sit there if they wish, especially if it is a table for more than two.

[steveru621]

Even though we had "My Time" dinning on our last cruise, we saw sooooooooo many empty tables and chairs. Guess where they were???? WJ!!! So, why doesn't RC give guests a choice for evening dinner in the WJ? We could hardly find a seat in the WJ for sushi prior to our My Time seating. I feel sorry for those folks who request a large table for dinner and no one shows up! My suggestion would be to have a phone number in the Compass on Day 1 to opt out of early/late dinning in the MDR! Release your table assignment to others who may want your table/time! Enjoy the WJ, but don't let the waiter assume you are coming each night! Or on the reservation....restaurants/WJ!! What do you think?

 

That's a great suggestion. We like late seating with a table for 8-10 and we are always disappointed when it turns into a table for 2 or 4. It's not anyones fault really, we understand there are choices,