Who refills my wine at dinner?

[Wink87]

During dinner in the MDR who keeps my wine glass full? Is it the waiter or the assistant waiter? I want to request this on night one with a cash incentive!

 

 

[Jam0610]

Either one. You order wine by the glass or bottle. Each glass is served to your table. Bottle is left in ice bucket if white, or on the table if you request. Server will ask if you would like your glass refilled.

 

[cruisegirl1]

It is the responsibility of the assistant, waiter.

 

Are you speaking of  constantly ordering a glass of wine  or someone to pour the wine from the bottle to your glass?  Last week on Mariner if no one was nearby, I simply picked up the bottle and poured wine in the glass. If the assistant waiter, or even a head, waiter was nearby, they rushed over to pick up the bottle 

 

The only cash inventive you need, is your sea pass card if you are intending to buy one drink after another. Staff will be more than happy to accommodate you. 

 

m

Edited May 14, 2023 by cruisegirl1

[neverbeenhere]

Might be the section head waiter or any other staff member going by your table. 

[Wink87]

5 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

It is the responsibility of the assistant, waiter.

 

Are you speaking of  constantly ordering a glass of wine  or someone to pour the wine from the bottle to your glass?  Last week on Mariner if no one was nearby, I simply picked up the bottle and poured wine in the glass. If the assistant waiter, or even a head, waiter was nearby, they rushed over to pick up the bottle 

 

The only cash inventive you need, is your sea pass card if you are intending to buy one drink after another. Staff will be more than happy to accommodate you. 

 

m

Ty for this. Yes, I am speaking of ordering a glass of wine, not a bottle. As busy as staff can be, I am hoping a pre-emptive tip will help them to keep an eye on my glass. I always tip the wait staff (assigned dining so same folks every night) on the last night of the cruise but would like to have my wine person keep an eye on my glass!

[c-leg5]

25 minutes ago, Wink87 said:

Ty for this. Yes, I am speaking of ordering a glass of wine, not a bottle. As busy as staff can be, I am hoping a pre-emptive tip will help them to keep an eye on my glass. I always tip the wait staff (assigned dining so same folks every night) on the last night of the cruise but would like to have my wine person keep an eye on my glass!

If you want that many glasses of wine you would be better off buying a bottle UNLESS, you are only using vouchers or you want a different type of wine with each course.

 

If you want a new glass there will inevitably be a delay. I like mine refilled while I still have food in front of me.

[Billy Baltic]

58 minutes ago, Wink87 said:

would like to have my wine person keep an eye on my glass!

I’d take no chances that the glass might run dry. Bring a dedicated butler with you. 

[babyblue78]

3 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

If you want that many glasses of wine you would be better off buying a bottle UNLESS, you are only using vouchers or you want a different type of wine with each course.

 

If you want a new glass there will inevitably be a delay. I like mine refilled while I still have food in front of me.

OP likely has DBP which would cover wine by the glass and not by the bottle…

[c-leg5]

1 minute ago, babyblue78 said:

OP likely has DBP which would cover wine by the glass and not by the bottle…

That’s certainly another possibility - in which case I think you would need to play “tag” with a second glass. My experience of receiving drinks in the MDR has not been particularly swift. I like to drink my wine with my food. I wouldn’t want It to arrive after I had finished.

[Marie51]

On my last cruise the assistant waiter kept glasses of wine coming with no cash incentive given ahead of time. I only tip on the last night and I’ve always had wonderful service.

[c-leg5]

9 minutes ago, Marie51 said:

On my last cruise the assistant waiter kept glasses of wine coming with no cash incentive given ahead of time. I only tip on the last night and I’ve always had wonderful service.

Did you have DBP?

 

I think it is probably more a matter of communicating what you want and expect rather than cash incentive.
 

Some people are satisfied with one glass, others want/expect refills but unless you express this the waiter isn’t going to know.

Edited May 15, 2023 by c-leg5

[Marie51]

42 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Did you have DBP?

 

I think it is probably more a matter of communicating what you want and expect rather than cash incentive.
 

Some people are satisfied with one glass, others want/expect refills but unless you express this the waiter isn’t going to know.

Yes I had the beverage package, maybe the assistant waiter just sensed that I wanted my glass refilled or maybe he was just especially attentive.

 

[sowhat]

The question is, who keeps emptying  my glass of wine????

[Mapleleafforever]

I just spent a week dining in CK and I always had a glass of wine in front of me, sometimes 2. CK for the win.....not sure if I can go back to the MDR now. 

[cruisegirl1]

OP - if you have the beverage package, the server will likely need your sea pass card to bring you another drink. Plus, they will want to check with you in order to determine what drink you prefer.   Have the card handy  to offer it to the staff when you see your glass is low.  They may not know you want another drink, especially if you are at the end of the meal.     They want to provide good service but are not mind readers. 

[moposh]

Assistant waiter does the beverages.

[BND]

On EN, we ordered from the asst waiter but it was delivered by a bar server who served a lot of tables.

[Jasukkie]

The assistant waiter service has really fallen off in my experience. Perhaps a lot of new staff, language barrier, less training? Coffee service after dessert is my pet peeve. I want my coffee with my dessert. I'm increasingly sold on specialty restaurants where the service doesn't miss a beat.

[jmac99]

with the new menus, the overall service is much quicker so I had to basically order 2 at the start otherwise the second glass would come with dessert

[sunlover12]

We ordered a bottle of white wine in the MDR on Wonder. Someone poured our first glass, then set the bottle in an ice bucket off to the side, out of reach.  No one ever came back to pour during the rest of the dinner.  You either have to get their attention or get up and pour it yourself. A good waiter or wine steward would never let this happen. 

 

It was never clear to me whose duty it was to take the wine order. On some of the other cruise lines, the wine steward wears a different color vest. I agree with Jasukkie that drinks service in the MDR has a lot to be desired.  

[moposh]

I had good drink service on the Explorer.  I just got lemonade and water, but it was refilled frequently.  People at nearby tables got wine and it seemed to be refilled per their request.  I was very happy with MDR service.  As anything, it will vary.

[luckyinpa]

On 5/14/2023 at 5:43 PM, cruisegirl1 said:

  Last week on Mariner if no one was nearby, I simply picked up the bottle and poured wine in the glass.

 

one of the best posts i  ever read on here🛳️

[Joseph2018Baltic]

IF by the glass, tell the waiter, you want more than one glass, and please bring a second one, shortly after the food arrives.  If you mean a bottle do it yourself, if no one is nearby.  As far as tips are concerned, you pay 18% so no need to tip extra.  The wine will exist with or without a tip extra.

[cruiseboy89130]

On 5/15/2023 at 4:12 PM, sunlover12 said:

No one ever came back to pour during the rest of the dinner.  

That is the norm with the new service level 🙄

[cruiseboy89130]

On 5/15/2023 at 4:22 PM, moposh said:

I had good drink service on the Explorer.  I just got lemonade and water, but it was refilled frequently.  People at nearby tables got wine and it seemed to be refilled per their request.  I was very happy with MDR service.  As anything, it will vary.

That was how many years ago?