Dining Primer!

[RCBound]

Hello,

New to cruising, been on this board all morning researching! Great, great board!

 

But I'm a little confused on dining.

 

We have My Time Dining on Independence.

 

What is the difference between Windjammer and MDR, what is MDR?

Are there more than one MDR?

 

There appears to be a more strict dress code in MDR.

 

What if we pay the upcharge and book one meal in the specialty without kids? Are the PP gratuities included there?

 

Thanks in advance for your help! Sorry question seems so basic. BTW, I am a planner type and my large family is not so anything I garner will be shared! :-)

[cb at sea]

The dress code is the same, whether you do traditional dining or My Time Dining (MTD). MDR is the Main Dining Room.

There are several different names for each level of the dining room, but in each, the menu and dress code are the same. The different names are to make it easy for you to find, I guess!

 

MTD means you can go at anytime during the dining hours....you aren't locked into a specific time or table....however all MTDing takes place in one specific area of the dining room.

 

Your prepaid tips cover your cabin attendant, waiter, ass't waiter and head waiter.

 

The fee for Specialty Dining includes the tip....its up to you if you wish to tip additionally.

[jletsgo]

Welcome to CC......MDR is main dining room vs Windjammer which is buffet...both venues included in your cruise price. MDR is a sit down dining room with full waiter service. Personally I have always eaten in the MDR everynight and have always had great meals....food is very subjective on these boards, but for me I have never had a complaint. Windjammer is a nice bufffet choice for breakfast and lunch....Have not eaten dinner there but many have and yes, its a more informal dining setting. Dress in MDR is casual - no shorts or tank tops - but a nice pair of dockers for men and nice slacks, dresses for women are acceptable. I have never dined in any of the specialty restauants so can't help you there. Enjoy your cruise !!

[RCBound]

Thank you...so there could be more than one MDR on the ship?

 

There seems to be several restaurants, Romeo and Juliet and MacBeth but they are both MDR's?

 

Thank you so much!!

[ggo85]

Some folks prefer Windjammer for dinner because it is very casual every night and also much quicker b/c it's a buffet. Ship's officers may dine there, often with their families.

 

You'll find that some of the Windjammer food is the same served in the MDR for the same meal -- and some things are different. Kids may (or may not :)) enjoy eating in Windjammer because they can pick & choose after seeing the food, take what they want, have a few more options, etc.

 

If you do traditional seating in the MDR, you'll eat at 6 (first seating) or 8:30 (second seating) each night and sit at the same table (FYI, on some ships the traditional dining times vary slightly from above). My Time Dining allows you to choose the time you eat each night and your tablemates will vary each night. Today, most RCCL ships either dedicate a dining room to MTD or a floor/area of one or more dining rooms to it -- the approach depends on the ship. Many ships have more than one dining room -- as noted, they may dedicate one to MDR and one to traditional or may dedicate floors or areas of one or more dining rooms to each.

 

Traditional dining is "simpler" in that you eat at the same time at the same table with the same people each night. MTD gives you more flexibility (say, for example, you want to eat at 7 each night or want to eat at different times each night) but requires you to make reservations for each night or just show up (which may involve a short wait). Your prepaid gratuities cover dining wherever you choose to eat.

 

For speciality restaurants, you'll need to reserve in advance. You can do so on line, which is the best way to get the restaurant and date/time you want. You can also do so on the ship but availability will likely be more limited. Remember, you can always cancel if you change your mind, so there's no real downside in reserving early. Usually, the first night of the cruise the specialty restaurants are not crowded; the last couple of nights, they are usually packed. Another "slow" time is a night the ship is in port all night, for those ships that do this. Gratuity is included in the "cover charge"-- service is usually excellent so you may wish to tip extra, but it's not required. Most of the specialty restaurants have tables directly overlooking the water -- if you want one of those, book an earlier time (i.e., 6 or 6:30).

 

BTW, if you do traditional dining and decide to try a specialty restaurant or opt to eat in the Windjammer one night, it's common courtesy to tell your MDR waiters that you won't be dining that with them that evening. That way, they aren't waiting for you to show up.:)

[reallyitsmema]

Thank you...so there could be more than one MDR on the ship?

 

There seems to be several restaurants, Romeo and Juliet and MacBeth but they are both MDR's?

 

Thank you so much!!

There is one MDR on the ship but it is on multiple decks. Each level just has a different name.

[Clarea]

Thank you...so there could be more than one MDR on the ship?

 

There seems to be several restaurants, Romeo and Juliet and MacBeth but they are both MDR's?

 

Thank you so much!!

One multi deck dining room, but they give the decks different names.

[OCruisers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

 

Very glad you are asking these questions!

We were sitting a bar with a couple to told us they were having a good cruise but hated having to have dinner at the buffet every night.

They had My Time Dining and thought that meant the Buffet ... and were very happy when we explained it to them.

 

Poster above had answered your questions. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any others.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[killtheump]

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

 

Very glad you are asking these questions!

We were sitting a bar with a couple to told us they were having a good cruise but hated having to have dinner at the buffet every night.

They had My Time Dining and thought that meant the Buffet ... and were very happy when we explained it to them.

 

Poster above had answered your questions. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any others.

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

Very glad to see someone asking questions like this. We also had a couple on our last cruise tell us the same thing. We had them meet us at the MDR at 7:15 and we dined we them the rest of the cruise. I remember our first cruise we had no idea what to expect and just winged it. We flew in the day of the cruise got on board about 45 min. before final boarding and could not understand why our luggage was not in our room until 10:00 that night. We did not bring any carry-on to the ship so we just wandered around until it was time to eat. We saw a sign at the MDR that said no shorts so I thought we could not eat there because all we had was what we were wearing. Finally we were told it was ok on the first night. Still don't think we found everything on The Enchantment of the Seas. By our 2nd cruise I found Cruise Critic! Now it is much easier to plan!

[emeraldcity]

You mentioned that you have a large family. If you are cruising with a group I understand that it can involve a longer wait for My Time Dining if you don't have reservations nightly, so you might want to research that a bit. I'll be doing my first large family group cruise next April on the Liberty, so I'm not an expert on the subject, but I've been trying to absorb the intricacies of MTD in the posts I've read.