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Dining Room Table Online Pre-Assignment

travelplus

By travelplus,
in Royal Caribbean International

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travelplus

travelplus

Posted
Posted (edited)

Problem:

 

Tired cruisers arrive onboard and are asked to go downstairs to the dining room to see their table selection and speak with the busy Maitre"D who is getting the ship ready for the first dinner onboard to change their table assignments.

 

 

Solution:

 

For Crown and Anchor Members and Cruise Critic Members open up pre-assigned dining online where we can pre-select our table location 30 days prior to sailing. With our language preference stored we could see who else speaks our language, who is members of Cruise Critic and who are Crown and Anchor Members who share the same interests.

 

For My Time Dining guests can log on from their stateroom and make a reservation like they do on OpenTable or if they know they would like to dine at pretty much the same time can pre reserve their location 30 days as well. For the rest they can select the time and location of where they would like to sit.

 

The same can go for the Specialty Restaurants. All a guest would have to do is swipe their SeaPass card and be seated.

 

The Royal Policy can be at 30 days before sailing all Table Numbers must be set in stone so the diners can pre reserve seats. If a diner forgot to pre reserve seats then they will automatically be assigned a table.

 

For those with special needs after contacting the special needs department the tables set aside for this group will be released after the special needs department releases the tables like airlines do with premium seats.

 

If you are a Top Tier Crown and Anchor Member you get your section released. Any tables that cannot be selected or are not available are grayed out.

 

For those with food allergies or who require a Kosher Meal can be seated in a separate area.

 

If a Family wants to split up they could assign their kids at tables for kids their own age providing they can sit independently. Royal could have counselors from the Teen Club and Kids club sit at these tables so the adults can have their time and not be worried about their kids.

 

I e-mailed Mr. Goldstein my comments about this and would love to hear your opinion on this.

 

The Maitre D can now focus on getting the dining room ready for the first night and not wasting time with seating assignments. Kiosks could be placed near the dining room and guests can check on the Kiosk and change their request providing the table opens up. After the first night the system closes so the waiters can learn who their guests are and any other special moves must be done by the Mautre D or Headwaiter

 

Guests can even enter what they like to eat during the table pre assignment process and any special requests like Birthday Celebration, Food Sensitivities such as not too much salt etc so the Head Chef can cater to the Demographics of the Cruise.

Edited by travelplus
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macruisefan

macruisefan

Posted
Posted

Opened up to cruise critic members? What do you think this place is? Why would a company like RCI show special favor to the small segment that posts here?

 

 

Overall, this sounds like a bunch of work and hassle. The cruise line doesn't need to spend that kind of time and money. And as far as people around here go, they love to obsess over every trivial detail already. Why suddenly give them something else to perseverate over?

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nelblu

nelblu

Posted
Posted

I make the same recommendations on each survey. Seating in the MDR should be like airlines who allow seat selections. I've been disappointed so many times with the table locations and table mates that I now request a table for 2 for a table # that I'm familiar with, 50 days prior to our cruise, by e-mailing rccl dining. I get an immediate response with confirmation--it has worked fine for us.

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johnstoc13

johnstoc13

Posted
Posted

Some good ideas here, but I don't see it ever happening. With thousands of people on board, I just think there would be too many requests and problems. It's a miracle they please as many as they do with all of the requests that must come through.

 

However, a kiosk allowing cruisers to check their table assignment would be a home run. Even integrating this into the ship wide touch screens would be helpful. And requests for smaller/larger tables, windows, early/late, etc could be made too. That line at the dining room first day is usually dreadful.

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louv2000

louv2000

Posted
Posted

I've never gone ahead to scope out my table, nor asked for a change once we've been assigned. I'm there for a couple hours a day to eat. I don't get this obsession with location? can someone explain? maybe I'm missing something?

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3CatsInMA

3CatsInMA

Posted
Posted

I always email rcl dining a few weeks prior to confirm our table size preference, and have never been disappointed. Seems like it can't get much easier than that.:)

 

Besides, I would rather have RCI's IT department working on the main website so maybe someday it will be work better than healthcare.gov;)

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  • 3 weeks later...
spookwife

spookwife

Posted
Posted
Problem:

 

Tired cruisers arrive onboard and are asked to go downstairs to the dining room to see their table selection and speak with the busy Maitre"D who is getting the ship ready for the first dinner onboard to change their table assignments.

 

 

Solution:

 

For Crown and Anchor Members and Cruise Critic Members open up pre-assigned dining online where we can pre-select our table location 30 days prior to sailing. With our language preference stored we could see who else speaks our language, who is members of Cruise Critic and who are Crown and Anchor Members who share the same interests. why? CC members aren't that special. and quite frankly the rest is none of my tablemates beeswax. I could care less about your C& status or what cabin you are in. as for interests, if you cannot politely carry on a conversation about a topic I have no interest is having one with you, regardless of whether or not you agree with my opinions. I'd much rather hear something interesting about a topic I know little to nothing about the spend the time in a mutual admiration society gathering. and I really have no preference as to location of the table.

 

For My Time Dining guests can log on from their stateroom and make a reservation like they do on OpenTable or if they know they would like to dine at pretty much the same time can pre reserve their location 30 days as well. For the rest they can select the time and location of where they would like to sit. Umm I have pre reserved a set dining time..and further out than 30 days.

 

The same can go for the Specialty Restaurants. All a guest would have to do is swipe their SeaPass card and be seated. Ditto, I pr reserved at least one restaurant prior to boarding. and ooh ahh it's not that much time or effort to schedule even the day of.

 

The Royal Policy can be at 30 days before sailing all Table Numbers must be set in stone so the diners can pre reserve seats. If a diner forgot to pre reserve seats then they will automatically be assigned a table. and what happens when the computers go down or there are several people vying for the same table at the same time and it gets overbooked? and are you going to recode the website to show the layouts/plans of the DR? and then deal with the crap once on board and you find that Table 34 by the window on the website is actually now 6 feet to the left to accommodate the fact that Table 32 and 30 got squished together to accommodate a large party? every day on one cruise my table, same number and same wait staff was literally in a different spot.

 

For those with special needs after contacting the special needs department the tables set aside for this group will be released after the special needs department releases the tables like airlines do with premium seats. what special needs? a wheelchair? nearly any table can be made accessible with a little rearranging. most DRs cannot accommodate an ECV at all.

 

If you are a Top Tier Crown and Anchor Member you get your section released. Any tables that cannot be selected or are not available are grayed out. *** are you talking about here?

 

For those with food allergies or who require a Kosher Meal can be seated in a separate area. Not only is this BS it's discriminatory on so many levels and what about those people without issues that want to sit with their friends or family?!

 

If a Family wants to split up they could assign their kids at tables for kids their own age providing they can sit independently. Royal could have counselors from the Teen Club and Kids club sit at these tables so the adults can have their time and not be worried about their kids. now you are just getting ridiculous.

 

I e-mailed Mr. Goldstein my comments about this and would love to hear your opinion on this.

 

The Maitre D can now focus on getting the dining room ready for the first night and not wasting time with seating assignments. Kiosks could be placed near the dining room and guests can check on the Kiosk and change their request providing the table opens up. After the first night the system closes so the waiters can learn who their guests are and any other special moves must be done by the Mautre D or Headwaiter

 

Guests can even enter what they like to eat during the table pre assignment process and any special requests like Birthday Celebration, Food Sensitivities such as not too much salt etc so the Head Chef can cater to the Demographics of the Cruise.

 

My opinion is you are either very much wanting stir the pot or are so self absorbed that you think your ideas are Nobel Prize worthy.

 

there is nothing wrong with the system as it stands and there is no need to mess with it. in fact implementing your suggestions would make it far more complicated than it already is.

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Jiffymom

Jiffymom

Posted
Posted

We have a group of 16. We would like to reserve MTD the first two nights at 7 pm

I know we can not get a table big enough for all but two tables of 8 is fine next two each other.

So we did send a email to the email above with our request.

A very curt reply came back saying you must make arrangements when you arrive on the ship.

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niksmom630 "Live from...." Rare

niksmom630

Posted
Posted
We have a group of 16. We would like to reserve MTD the first two nights at 7 pm

I know we can not get a table big enough for all but two tables of 8 is fine next two each other.

So we did send a email to the email above with our request.

A very curt reply came back saying you must make arrangements when you arrive on the ship.

 

Hmmm....MTD may be different. I have never tried to secure any special requests for MTD, as we always have traditional dining times, but my experience has been they will attempt to accommodate your request. I have done this several times over the last two years. Always got an e-mail with a table assignment, including the names of the guests with linked reservations.

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SilkySal

SilkySal

Posted
Posted
Hmmm....MTD may be different. I have never tried to secure any special requests for MTD, as we always have traditional dining times, but my experience has been they will attempt to accommodate your request. I have done this several times over the last two years. Always got an e-mail with a table assignment, including the names of the guests with linked reservations.

 

We had MTD on the Freedom for a group of 12. We had preserved our MTD dining time for the entire week, then went to DR immediately upon boarding to request we all sit together. They accommodated our request but had to add a smaller table to the larger one in order to seat all 12 guests, as the large tables for MTD would only seat 10 guests, so it looks like you may need to visit the DR upon boarding and have tables put together for you. You can, however, select a specific time for all of you on-line, and then ask them to seat you all together once you board. You can also link your reservations together on your on-line reservation but will need all of the confirmation numbers to do that. Just my opinion; good luck!;)

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DEIx15x8

DEIx15x8

Posted
Posted

I've always sent an email ahead of time and had every request fulfilled down to the smallest detail. They do a great job when they know you want something a certain way, and if you double check upon boarding you can verify it. The MDR does not always have a standard setup. They are constantly moving and changing table layouts between sailings and even seatings (though they try to avoid that). They could not possibly create a layout to know that table 401 is the private table for 2 you requested, because they may have goofed and have it combined with others to seat 6 and by default it's normally used with one other table to seat 4.

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Ireland Cruiser

Ireland Cruiser

Posted
Posted

I am planning our first cruise on liberty for may, can i ask where would you recommend a lovely place to reserve for dining (2 people) and what time would be best, many thanks x

 

 

I make the same recommendations on each survey. Seating in the MDR should be like airlines who allow seat selections. I've been disappointed so many times with the table locations and table mates that I now request a table for 2 for a table # that I'm familiar with, 50 days prior to our cruise, by e-mailing rccl dining. I get an immediate response with confirmation--it has worked fine for us.
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Jen731

Jen731

Posted
Posted
Problem:

 

Tired cruisers arrive onboard and are asked to go downstairs to the dining room to see their table selection and speak with the busy Maitre"D who is getting the ship ready for the first dinner onboard to change their table assignments.

 

 

I would tend to agree. I don't think it's a good use of anyone's time to spend the first day worrying about seating. Me, I really couldn't care less where I sit, but I'm going to be traveling with a large group, so I'm sure we will have to make the trek down the first day to hunt for the Maitre'D... Who really has better things to do, I'm sure!!

 

My dad is a nervous traveler and gets worked up about stupid things like seating, so it is worth it to spend the time getting it worked out so he will focus his nervous energy on something else. Being able to see our table online and see that all the reservations are worked out would be nice. But as a mom of 3 young kids, it's such a treat to not have to cook and to be served for a week that I could sit on the floor and be happy.

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Ireland Cruiser

Ireland Cruiser

Posted
Posted

Thank you, I can totally clueless to all this planning as i have never arranged a cruise before, so just want to make sure that i have everything planned, and any advice is greatly appreciated. x

 

 

 

 

 

 

Problem:

 

Tired cruisers arrive onboard and are asked to go downstairs to the dining room to see their table selection and speak with the busy Maitre"D who is getting the ship ready for the first dinner onboard to change their table assignments.

 

I would tend to agree. I don't think it's a good use of anyone's time to spend the first day worrying about seating. Me, I really couldn't care less where I sit, but I'm going to be traveling with a large group, so I'm sure we will have to make the trek down the first day to hunt for the Maitre'D... Who really has better things to do, I'm sure!!

 

My dad is a nervous traveler and gets worked up about stupid things like seating, so it is worth it to spend the time getting it worked out so he will focus his nervous energy on something else. Being able to see our table online and see that all the reservations are worked out would be nice. But as a mom of 3 young kids, it's such a treat to not have to cook and to be served for a week that I could sit on the floor and be happy.

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