Anthem MTD

[LeeW]

Our experience on Anthem with 5:30 reservation in June was a short line first night and none the rest. Once the hostess recognized you she will wave you through (assuming you want the same waiters each night, which we did). By the way, dining room seldom opens at 5:30. On formal nights it was 4:45 and 5:00 on other nights so you can certainly come early with kids. We ate in Americon Icon, left from hostess stations. Probably half the groups around us ate at the same table each night.

 

Tip: If the kids like squashed pennies there is a machine just inside the dining room. No cost to use, and if you don't have pennies a lot of waiters carry some around. Like most machines it has four patterns. I seem to recall our patterns were Americon Icon, Anthem, iFly and Northstar.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Question... I know Silk and American Icon Grill are the two used for MTD. But do you select which one when you make your reservations through the planner? Or do you just go to the one you want at the time you made the reservation?

 

I'm pondering the Anthem over my Spring Break but am confused by how MTD works on a ship where there are 2 dining rooms used for it.

[Clarea]

Question... I know Silk and American Icon Grill are the two used for MTD. But do you select which one when you make your reservations through the planner? Or do you just go to the one you want at the time you made the reservation?

 

I'm pondering the Anthem over my Spring Break but am confused by how MTD works on a ship where there are 2 dining rooms used for it.

No, the ship selects which dining room you will use.

[Geoff and Stuart]

We are booked on Harmony in Novemver and our 7.30 mtd time states at your leisure, I emailed C&A and they have confirmed our 7.30 booking. We also have Oasis booked for next year and we booked the same 7.30 mtd time but that states the 7.30 time in the planner. Its not very consistent!

 

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[bangzoom6877]

Question... I know Silk and American Icon Grill are the two used for MTD. But do you select which one when you make your reservations through the planner? Or do you just go to the one you want at the time you made the reservation?

 

I'm pondering the Anthem over my Spring Break but am confused by how MTD works on a ship where there are 2 dining rooms used for it.

When is your spring break? My husband and I teach in NYC and our break is from Good Friday through the week immediately following Easter. We are going on the April 20, 2019 sailing on Anthem.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

When is your spring break? My husband and I teach in NYC and our break is from Good Friday through the week immediately following Easter. We are going on the April 20, 2019 sailing on Anthem.

 

That's mine too. District 75 teacher. :) I'm still VERY iffy on it. I'm a Disney Cruise Line girl and have been generally ok with RCCL's Radiance Class. I'm not sure about the huge ones - and I didn't have the best experience food-wise on Jewel this summer in Europe. I'm gluten-free and found the new menus pretty limiting and my head server less than knowledgable about things (like faro which he tried to insist was safe (it's not)) and it taking me complaining on the mid-cruise survey to make me feel like I could ask for what I wanted and they'd try to make it happen (whereas 2 year prior on the Brilliance my server (not even the head waiter) made it clear from the moment I was seated and he came over to greet me that if I didn't see anything on the menu we could come up with something.

 

That quick Lyft ride over to Jersey sure does make it tempting though.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

No, the ship selects which dining room you will use.

 

So when do you find that out? And if you prefer the looks of one more than the other, can you have that added as a request?

[Tatka]

No, the ship selects which dining room you will use.

You can ask to be seated in any of them. You just need to ask when entering

They might want to put you to one, but it isn't set in stone. We are in both.

[Biker19]

So when do you find that out?

The default venue depends on whether you have reservation (Silk) or not (Icon), but as mentioned above you can ask for one or the other. You could even go to deck 3.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

The default venue depends on whether you have reservation or not, but as mentioned above you can ask for one or the other. You could even go to deck 3.

 

I thought 2 were for fixed dining and 2 were for MTD?

[Biker19]

I thought 2 were for fixed dining and 2 were for MTD?

Yes, but within MTD, the default is Silk for those with reservation and Icon for those without. If there's space in Chic or Grande (used for traditional), they could seat MTD folks there as well.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Yes, but within MTD, the default is Silk for those with reservation and Icon for those without. If there's space in Chic or Grande (used for traditional), they could seat MTD folks there as well.

 

Ah, got it! Excellent if I decide to give the cruise a shot as in looking at the pictures of the MDRs I was most wanting Silk.

[bangzoom6877]

That's mine too. District 75 teacher. :) I'm still VERY iffy on it. I'm a Disney Cruise Line girl and have been generally ok with RCCL's Radiance Class. I'm not sure about the huge ones - and I didn't have the best experience food-wise on Jewel this summer in Europe. I'm gluten-free and found the new menus pretty limiting and my head server less than knowledgable about things (like faro which he tried to insist was safe (it's not)) and it taking me complaining on the mid-cruise survey to make me feel like I could ask for what I wanted and they'd try to make it happen (whereas 2 year prior on the Brilliance my server (not even the head waiter) made it clear from the moment I was seated and he came over to greet me that if I didn't see anything on the menu we could come up with something.

 

That quick Lyft ride over to Jersey sure does make it tempting though.

 

I completely understand and can relate because of an experience with NCL and my son’s food allergies. We had cruised with them quite a few times and they were good with my son’s food allergies once he was diagnosed with them, but 3 years ago on the Breakaway, it wasn’t good. The first day the head waiter told me they couldn’t accommodate him at lunch (they had lunch on embarkation day in the MDR) because it was only the first day and very busy. Another day at a lunch buffet, a chef came out to speak to us about what was safe. He assured us that all the desserts were tree nut free. It turned out that one of the cakes had almond paste in it, and a different chef came running over to us to warn us. Thankfully my son wasn’t up to dessert yet but that was scary and could have ended terribly. I went to guest services and told them I didn’t want anything, but I wanted them to be aware this was going on so that another family wouldn’t have to go through worse. They advised me to email NCL when I returned home, so I did. I got a cold and callous response that almost seemed like an auto reply, stating that my email was forwarded to the proper department. I waited and waited and heard nothing from them. I emailed back and heard nothing.

 

I told this story about the Breakaway because my whole family thought that the crew couldn’t handle the crowd on that ship. It just felt like they overloaded the ship with lots of tiny cabins (smaller than usual on NCL), to cram in more people. It always felt extremely crowded no matter where we went. My parents were with us on that cruise, and they went on Anthem OTS this past February. They too were nervous to be on such a large ship again, but they said that this ship was designed much better and the crew was amazing. They said it never felt crowded no matter where they went, and they ate in the Windjammer during peak lunchtime quite a bit! They loved it so much that they’re returning in February on Anthem again. My husband and I are going on Anthem for spring break without the kids, who will stay with my parents for the week.

[Tatka]

Anthem is a nice ship much more suited to sail out of Northeast than any NCL ships. But it gets pretty crowded at certain times and in some places. Imho Royal Esplanade has not the best design to handle such crowds, wait for MTD often reminds me of NCL lines. Pool areas are better than on Breakaway class. Overall Anthem is a better quality ship.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I completely understand and can relate because of an experience with NCL and my son’s food allergies. We had cruised with them quite a few times and they were good with my son’s food allergies once he was diagnosed with them, but 3 years ago on the Breakaway, it wasn’t good. The first day the head waiter told me they couldn’t accommodate him at lunch (they had lunch on embarkation day in the MDR) because it was only the first day and very busy. Another day at a lunch buffet, a chef came out to speak to us about what was safe. He assured us that all the desserts were tree nut free. It turned out that one of the cakes had almond paste in it, and a different chef came running over to us to warn us. Thankfully my son wasn’t up to dessert yet but that was scary and could have ended terribly. I went to guest services and told them I didn’t want anything, but I wanted them to be aware this was going on so that another family wouldn’t have to go through worse. They advised me to email NCL when I returned home, so I did. I got a cold and callous response that almost seemed like an auto reply, stating that my email was forwarded to the proper department. I waited and waited and heard nothing from them. I emailed back and heard nothing.

 

I told this story about the Breakaway because my whole family thought that the crew couldn’t handle the crowd on that ship. It just felt like they overloaded the ship with lots of tiny cabins (smaller than usual on NCL), to cram in more people. It always felt extremely crowded no matter where we went. My parents were with us on that cruise, and they went on Anthem OTS this past February. They too were nervous to be on such a large ship again, but they said that this ship was designed much better and the crew was amazing. They said it never felt crowded no matter where they went, and they ate in the Windjammer during peak lunchtime quite a bit! They loved it so much that they’re returning in February on Anthem again. My husband and I are going on Anthem for spring break without the kids, who will stay with my parents for the week.

 

Thank you for confirming my intuition about NCL. I have always suspected that their "freestyle cruising" thing and allergies or dietary needs did not fit well together.

 

I'm not sure about Anthem yet...gotta crunch numbers after my Feb break plans (which will be Orlando-based no matter what as I've got my air tickets on points for that timeframe already purchased. It'll either be a night at Disney and a 4night cruise on the Wonder or 5 nights at Disney.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I completely understand and can relate because of an experience with NCL and my son’s food allergies. We had cruised with them quite a few times and they were good with my son’s food allergies once he was diagnosed with them, but 3 years ago on the Breakaway, it wasn’t good. The first day the head waiter told me they couldn’t accommodate him at lunch (they had lunch on embarkation day in the MDR) because it was only the first day and very busy. Another day at a lunch buffet, a chef came out to speak to us about what was safe. He assured us that all the desserts were tree nut free. It turned out that one of the cakes had almond paste in it, and a different chef came running over to us to warn us. Thankfully my son wasn’t up to dessert yet but that was scary and could have ended terribly. I went to guest services and told them I didn’t want anything, but I wanted them to be aware this was going on so that another family wouldn’t have to go through worse. They advised me to email NCL when I returned home, so I did. I got a cold and callous response that almost seemed like an auto reply, stating that my email was forwarded to the proper department. I waited and waited and heard nothing from them. I emailed back and heard nothing.

 

I told this story about the Breakaway because my whole family thought that the crew couldn’t handle the crowd on that ship. It just felt like they overloaded the ship with lots of tiny cabins (smaller than usual on NCL), to cram in more people. It always felt extremely crowded no matter where we went. My parents were with us on that cruise, and they went on Anthem OTS this past February. They too were nervous to be on such a large ship again, but they said that this ship was designed much better and the crew was amazing. They said it never felt crowded no matter where they went, and they ate in the Windjammer during peak lunchtime quite a bit! They loved it so much that they’re returning in February on Anthem again. My husband and I are going on Anthem for spring break without the kids, who will stay with my parents for the week.

 

I have tentatively booked the 4/20 cruise. It's a refundable deposit, so I've got time to rethink it. LOL. But I'm cautiously excited.

[bangzoom6877]

I have tentatively booked the 4/20 cruise. It's a refundable deposit, so I've got time to rethink it. LOL. But I'm cautiously excited.

 

Sounds good! Hope to see you onboard!

[SJNB]

Have anyone else’s MTD reservations disappeared from their calendar? The option to reserve MTD is also missing from my cruise planners and my order history of making the reservations is gone.