Why is Night 1 in MDR Always a Disaster?

[LuCruise]

Thanks for all the responses. They all make sense.

 

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[Cuizer2]

I keep hearing how the first night in the main dining room is awful, with long waits and very unorganized. They have a "first night" every single week so why all the chaos? How much longer should we plan to wait? First night we have a reservation via My Time at 6:15pm and a show at 9pm so am hoping this timing is ok.

 

I've been on twelve Royal Caribbean cruises and I always book late seating. I never have any problems. I booked Anytime dining on Princess and there were long lines. From then on we just ate an hour later and never had any lines.

 

The problem on the first night is EVERYONE wants to eat at the same time. Once the passengers figure out this is not a good idea, the passengers rearrange their eating habits and things go smoothly.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Cuizer2

[MichaelCMTX]

I've never experienced any meal on a ship were the bad outweighed the good, but in 90 cruises I can't think of one where the first night was not more disorganized than the following nights ..

 

Even with our far shorter list of cruises, we have to agree with both of your assessments.

 

100 percent agree. We always get the 8:30 seating for TWO reasons. The staff is by FAR less stressed and waaaaay less children. :eek:

 

And we've noticed the CL tends to get a lot more roomy after first seating. ;)

 

We finally decided a couple trips ago to capitalize on that little extra discount for booking Specialty Dining on Embarkation Day.

[goldgirl2]

On Navigator in December our waiter actually forgot to put in our food order on the first night. When we and the head waiter realized this we walked out and never went back to the MDR for the rest of our cruise.

 

 

Wow. The waiter is a very hard working human and he made a mistake. I'm sure the waiter was glad you never went back. I will assume you have never made a mistake or forgotten anything.

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

Maybe a good idea to go the Windjammer on the first night.....

[davekathy]

I've never had a problem with traditional second seating. We find our table ahead of time and then when it's time for dinner we sit and eat. Simple.

 

That's always been our experience for early traditional and what we do. We only do two tops so that might have something to do with it.

[retird]

I keep reading comments on here. Don't remember if it's limited to the Oasis class where they are dealing with more people or if the first night is bad on all/most ships the first night.

 

Please don't believe everything you read on here. Have you experienced it yourself?

[Oak Hill Cruisers]

All this fuss over food that's barely on par with typical hotel awards banquet fare.

[IndyKid]

100 percent agree. We always get the 8:30 seating for TWO reasons. The staff is by FAR less stressed and waaaaay less children. :eek:

 

Hadn't really thought about it, but I agree about the later seating time being possibly better in many respects, including the 2 mentioned here.

 

We were told by our TA that only the 8:30 PM seating was available for our April 17th trip on the Allure when we booked it last summer. At first I was disappointed that we couldn't dine earlier, but it may well be a blessing in disguise.

 

I don't recall having any problems with the first night on Radiance last year, but it's a much smaller boat than most.

[LMaxwell]

I keep hearing how the first night in the main dining room is awful, with long waits and very unorganized. They have a "first night" every single week so why all the chaos? How much longer should we plan to wait? First night we have a reservation via My Time at 6:15pm and a show at 9pm so am hoping this timing is ok.

That's a great question. I wish I knew an answer. I don't get it.

[IndyKid]

All this fuss over food that's barely on par with typical hotel awards banquet fare.

 

I'm a newbie to this cruising thing, this April will be only my second time, so I don't have anything to compare it to. I thought the food in the MDR on the Radiance was great, but then again I've never been what you'd consider a foodie anyway.

 

I see you've sailed many times, including with Cunard on the QE2, to which I'm sure Royal Caribbean can't hold a candle to.

 

What do you (or anyone else on CC) find lacking about the dinner fare on RCL? And how does it compare to other lines that charge a similar fare?

Edited February 25, 2016 by IndyKid

[cruisingsince94]

We have done nearly 2 dozen RCI cruises and here is my viewpoint. The only times we have seen it be a bit chaotic is when there is a significant crew changeover. It takes time for the new wait staff to fit in with an experienced waiter or assistant as neither really knows what to expect. Being brand new and suddenly thrust into serving multiple tables at the same time, is bound to be difficult at first.

Guests also can throw off the timing if some of them show up say 15-20 minutes into the service. While trying to get out the appetizers and salads for those orders already placed, they now have to get menus and get orders for those who arrived later. It creates more trips for them to the kitchen and simply slows down service. Ideally, they want to be able to get all the orders at the same time so that they can bring out the courses at the same time. Never happens that way. Larger tables always seems to me to take longer getting through a service. We always have had a table for two and are out in under two hours.

[LuCruise]

Please don't believe everything you read on here. Have you experienced it yourself?

 

Not yet...in 6 weeks we will.

 

It's not scaring us away from the MDR as we plan on eating there every night including the first night, and I've coordinated the shows accordingly. We quite like having the sit down meal and don't see a reason to pay extra for specialty. Was just wondering from the comments that I've read.

Edited February 25, 2016 by LuCruise

[runawaysoul]

I wouldn't call Day 1 in the MDR a disaster. It's just chaotic. People trying to find their seats, change their seating locations, what have you. Hardly a cause for concern IMO. After that, it's pretty smooth. I've always had a pleasant experience in the MDR.

[goldgirl2]

Why do so many people feel the need to change seating assignments? You're all getting the same food on the same ship. Does it really matter where your table is located? Do people think they are superior to others if they are in what they consider a "better" location in the dining room?? What's all the fuss about? OP don't listen to the people that are complaining. MDR is great, food is delicious, the staff are excellent. I think if people had more of an attitude of appreciation for the hard working staff they would complain less. What if that was your son/brother that was working in the ship?? Would you like it if the guests didn't want to tip him because he made a mistake?? Or ranted about him because he was not perfect? Let's treat everyone with respect. Like I tell my kids......you're not better then anyone else and no one else is better then you. Whether your diamond++++++ or gold your all the same. If a staff member is not doing their job to the best of their ability kindly inform their superior and enjoy life!

[runawaysoul]

I've personally never changed - but from my experience, some people change to be with that new friend they met on here, roll call, meet & mingle, etc. For every person that moves, there's someone else moving to your old seat.

 

Why do so many people feel the need to change seating assignments? You're all getting the same food on the same ship. Does it really matter where your table is located? Do people think they are superior to others if they are in what they consider a "better" location in the dining room?? What's all the fuss about? OP don't listen to the people that are complaining. MDR is great, food is delicious, the staff are excellent. I think if people had more of an attitude of appreciation for the hard working staff they would complain less. What if that was your son/brother that was working in the ship?? Would you like it if the guests didn't want to tip him because he made a mistake?? Or ranted about him because he was not perfect? Let's treat everyone with respect. Like I tell my kids......you're not better then anyone else and no one else is better then you. Whether your diamond++++++ or gold your all the same. If a staff member is not doing their job to the best of their ability kindly inform their superior and enjoy life!

[LuCruise]

Why do so many people feel the need to change seating assignments? You're all getting the same food on the same ship. Does it really matter where your table is located? Do people think they are superior to others if they are in what they consider a "better" location in the dining room?? What's all the fuss about? OP don't listen to the people that are complaining. MDR is great, food is delicious, the staff are excellent. I think if people had more of an attitude of appreciation for the hard working staff they would complain less. What if that was your son/brother that was working in the ship?? Would you like it if the guests didn't want to tip him because he made a mistake?? Or ranted about him because he was not perfect? Let's treat everyone with respect. Like I tell my kids......you're not better then anyone else and no one else is better then you. Whether your diamond++++++ or gold your all the same. If a staff member is not doing their job to the best of their ability kindly inform their superior and enjoy life!

 

Food is subjective. I've been on 2 Royal cruises in the past and thought the food and service were great (mind you, the most recent one was almost 15 years ago). I'm really not worried, and recognize that the servers have a tons of people they are looking after. We're pretty easy going and don't expect issues. Again, my post was simply from reading various posts over the past while. (We've been patiently waiting for our cruise for over a year and so I've read many posts in that time..lol)

Edited February 25, 2016 by LuCruise

[Clarea]

Why do so many people feel the need to change seating assignments? You're all getting the same food on the same ship. Does it really matter where your table is located?...

Some have mobility challenges and don't want to walk far into the dining room. Some want to be near a window. Some want to be in the center to see the crew singing. Some want to be near the sides to minimize sound level. I'm sure they are many other reasons.

[Keith1010]

It is always like that at the start of the cruise.

 

People getting acquainted with others at their table.

 

Introductions by the wait staff.

 

Keith

[Clarea]

On the other hand, I've had many cruises where the first night works very smoothly.

[Desert Cruizers]

We started cruising back in 2002 and get to enjoy one about every couple years. The first tip we received from our friends who cruised a lot, was to start with no expectations and go with the flow. This is probably why we don't get upset easily over little things. Our first nights in main dining have always gone well, only once have we asked to be moved. The first night may appear less organized as the wait staff are learning what we like.

[Clarea]

We started cruising back in 2002 and get to enjoy one about every couple years. The first tip we received from our friends who cruised a lot, was to start with no expectations and go with the flow. This is probably why we don't get upset easily over little things. Our first nights in main dining have always gone well, only once have we asked to be moved. The first night may appear less organized as the wait staff are learning what we like.

Good advice.:)

[knittinggirl]

They have some backlog, because each group must be shown to their tables.

 

We've eat in specialty on night one a few times, and it's very special and relaxing. Nice and quiet, out of San Franscisco, we got to sail right under the Golden Gate Bridge, into dusk and see the blue hour as we cruised by.

[impatientlywaiting]

Not yet...in 6 weeks we will.

 

It's not scaring us away from the MDR as we plan on eating there every night including the first night, and I've coordinated the shows accordingly. We quite like having the sit down meal and don't see a reason to pay extra for specialty. Was just wondering from the comments that I've read.

 

You will love MTD. We had 6:45 on our cruise on Jewel in September and it was the perfect time. Our previous 7 cruises we hadn't eaten in the dining room (only the Windjammer) and decided to go back to the dining room and do MTD. That first night was going to be the deciding factor if we would stay in the dining room or not. Needless to say, we stayed. We had a wonderful meal and wonderful waiters and totally enjoyed our evening meals the entire cruise! We also don't see the need to pay extra for specialty restaurants. We pay enough for the cruise which includes our meals.

Edited February 25, 2016 by impatientlywaiting

[Desert Cruizers]

Bob, they were good teachers.:) I offered the same advice to our daughter and husbands sister when they joined us on their first cruise two years ago. Our one cruise where we had a problem with our dinner guests ( 2nd cruise), her husband complained about everything to the fork being crooked or he was asked to many times if he wanted pepper on his salad.:D We stuck with them only because his wife was a very pleasant to be with. I guess it would have to be a major glitch for us to really complain about something.:)

 

Gay