Night #1 MDR experience

[mjgep0316]

DW and I have only been on two cruises so far, both on RCI. We enjoy dining in the MDR, but have found that the first night can be quite rocky. On our last cruise we had an MTD reservation yet still waited 45 minutes to be seated, and we were suite guests. Then, service took two hours. Honestly, I am not complaining, because any time spent on a ship is better than not being on one. Thanks to suggestions on these boards from folks like Max's Mom (Hi Jane! We haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, but hope to someday), we are now leaning towards a specialty restaurant on night #1. I know the folks in the MDR work their butts off and we try to tip accordingly because the rest of the nights seem fine. My question is this...has your experience been similar or are mine isolated cases/exceptions?

[Clarea]

We also had an unusual experience with the MDR on night one, last week on Oasis. We were a party of 5, and had confirmed a table for 8 pre-cruise. When we got to the MDR, our table was for 4. The headwater just stuck an additional chair at the table. Service was very slow, we waited about 15 minutes for dessert menus, and just gave up and left, since we had a show coming up.

[nelblu]

Never had a problem in the MDR. However, over the last 7 cruises we've asked for a table for 2.

[brillohead]

I've never noticed a difference on the first night...

[willing292]

We find the first night very unorganized. You'd think it was a first cruise for everyone, passengers, waiter, etc.

[Desertbelle]

Maybe, on one or two occasions, things have been slightly slower and a bit disorganized, but the majority of the time no problems at all.

[SheehanDJ]

In our experience it's seems to be table size dependent. The larger the table the more a mess it is. This seems to hold true unless it is a couples orientated table, which seem to go just as smooth as smaller or tables for two.

 

The best night #1 table we have ever had was a 10 seat full of couples (this was also the best MDR experience we have ever had). The worst night #1 was us, and a larger group. Night #2 wasn't much better, things had calmed down by night #3. It wasn't RCCL's fault it was definitely the group (there were 12-100 of them, couldn't really tell as most nights there were a lot of different faces but all still part of the same group).

 

We prefer large tables as you can usually find someone interesting to talk to. Smaller tables if you get a bad draw on table mates it can lessen the cruise experience. We had one cruise where we ordered our food, ate it as fast as we could, then took our desert to go. (Yes, I know we could have asked to switch, but we really did like the waiters and overall it really wasn't that big a deal as we spent the rest of the cruise and even to this day, talking smack about them).

 

We never request tables for two, we see and talk to each other everyday for the past 20+ years.

[George C]

We always eat in MDR on 1st night and its a little slow, but not a problem, last cruise we were supposed to have table for 2 and we were at a table for 8, they called us next day to say we could have our table for 2, but we had a nice group so we just stayed at same table.

[alwaysflyin]

On pretty much every RC cruise. The first night is kind of a mess, and it takes a very long time to be served. Other nights are smooth and crisp.

[Paulette3028]

In our experience it's seems to be table size dependent. The larger the table the more a mess it is. This seems to hold true unless it is a couples orientated table, which seem to go just as smooth as smaller or tables for two.

 

The best night #1 table we have ever had was a 10 seat full of couples (this was also the best MDR experience we have ever had). The worst night #1 was us, and a larger group. Night #2 wasn't much better, things had calmed down by night #3. It wasn't RCCL's fault it was definitely the group (there were 12-100 of them, couldn't really tell as most nights there were a lot of different faces but all still part of the same group).

 

We prefer large tables as you can usually find someone interesting to talk to. Smaller tables if you get a bad draw on table mates it can lessen the cruise experience. We had one cruise where we ordered our food, ate it as fast as we could, then took our desert to go. (Yes, I know we could have asked to switch, but we really did like the waiters and overall it really wasn't that big a deal as we spent the rest of the cruise and even to this day, talking smack about them).

 

We never request tables for two, we see and talk to each other everyday for the past 20+ years.

 

DH and I always want a large table (8-10 preferably) since we can have dinner with each other at home each night. We like the ability to meet tablemates and have delightful conversations. With a table size of 8-10, the first night could be a little slow, because no one knows if everyone is going to show up or not....so typically the wait staff tries to delay taking orders to see if everyone arrives. We let the wait staff and our table mates know if we are not going to be joining them for dinner because we are going to be having dinner elsewhere on the ship on any subsequent night. We believe that is just being considerate.

[GUT2407]

Not a problem I've ever had, and can't see why it should be so, same kitchen staff same waitstaff same procedures.

 

The only possibility I can think of is it was because passengers didn't show up on time.

[kalliekae]

We had such a negative experience in the MDR on our 2013 Oasis cruise that we will only eat there once on our upcoming November cruise. Very disorganized, rude waiters, wrong orders for our table, and no drink refills were just a few of the problems we encountered. It's just not worth it so we'll be eating in the specialty restaurants especially on the first night.

[mjgep0316]

It's very interesting to read about the varied experiences everyone has had. Do you think the size of the ship/number of passengers being served factors into it as well? Or perhaps the kitchens on the newer, larger ships are better equipped to handle the crowds?