Table for 2?

[4gomez]

CRUISESOMEMORE

I'd appreciate the advice. mrjmastro@hotmail.com

Joe

[RareBird]

we always request a table for two and NEVER go it :( now, for the next cruise, we're going to be 'platinum', so maybe this will get us some extra privilidges.

 

When trying to get to matre'd right after boarding, I was always met with a stern "NO", telling me the dining room is fully booked :(

 

i'm always extremely dissapointed. I want RCI to fully integrate anytime dining option for '08 so I can finally get a small table (even if I have to wait).

[RareBird]

What cabin you are in or how frequently you cruise this line has NOTHING to do with how you are treated on a cruise!

If you want a 2-top, request it, then check once you've boarded. If you didn't get it, request again.

 

flat out not true.

 

you have a concierge to take care of your requests - they will get things done for diamond/suite cruisers.

 

you have pre-cruise services for platinum and above - you'll be pushed in front of the line.

 

Unfortunately, because tables for two are very popular, they're taken up quickly.

 

I was also told that the earlier you book, the earlier you get into the 'line' for a table for two.

[Host Kewlguy]

flat out not true.

 

you have a concierge to take care of your requests - they will get things done for diamond/suite cruisers.

 

Some will and some won't. Not all Concierge's are created equal.

[TSCOTT]

We have been accommodated with a table for two on 2 prior occasions with Celebrity. We had a balcony cabin both times and simply made the request at the time that we booked our cruise. Celebrity has also accommodated us with table for 4 when requested. We’re sailing on Voyager next May and have again requested a table for 2. I hope that our luck will continue.

[pcur]

I'm a litle puzzled by this thread, and all the "secret handshake" type of stuff being mentioned.

 

It's no secret procedure or anything like that, IMO.

 

Here's what I know and do:

 

First of all, RCCL doesn't have a convenient booking for tables for two, and that's part of the problem. My TA explained it to me a few years ago. She says that Celebrity actually has a dining category for 2, while RCCL's smallest is 4. So, when you book RCCL you have to request in the "special request" or "notes" area of the booking that you want a table for 2.

 

Dining assignments are moved around a lot prior to sailing as cabins are canceled, dining arrangements changed, waiting lists updated, etc. About 2 weeks before the cruise, ask your TA to email the dining coordinator at RCCL, and confirm you want a table for 2.

 

Then, (here's the not-so-secret procedure part) when you get on board, go to the dining room and check your table. If it's not a table for 2 (and because of all I've written above, it probably won't be; they almost always get ours wrong), then ask WHEN and WHERE the maitre 'd is taking dining room change requests. It's usually at 1 PM either in the dining room or a conference room. Don't let the snotty assistant maitre 'd scare you off when you first go in the dining room. It's the head guy that does the assignments around 1 PM the first day.

 

You show up early if you can, give the person assisting your name, and sit down. When your name is called, you go up to the maitre 'd WITH YOUR SEAPASS CARD, and hand it to him.

 

Smiles, smiles, nicey-nicey. No complaining that someone screwed up, etc. Just "oh, my, we requested a table for 2, but we seem to be assigned to a table for 12". DON'T BE PICKY about the location, except not next to the kitchen. Tables for 2 are not always a little tiny preset table somewhere. We've had them literally "made" for us. Once they put a table almost under the stairway. It was cool: private, quiet, and we could watch the whole dining room from our "cubby".

 

We have never tipped the maitre 'd for this. It's not a special request. It's actually a glitch in RCCL's booking process, but we're all going to be nice and not complain about that; we're just going to nicely ask that it be corrected. It's assumed that because it was part of the original booking that golly-gee-whiz, you can't imagine what happened, but he will fix it, right?

 

Thank you, BIG smile, shake hands.

 

Now, if it's really a problem, then they may have to spend a night or two getting it right, but if you talk to your head waiter about the status of your request, he will check, and you will communicate nicely that it's REALLY important to you. Besides that, your head waiter is earning HIS tip by following up for you.

 

 

We have never been refused, we book mid-price cabins to lower priced cabins, we don't tip the maitre 'd. We've had a table for 2 for about 10 years now.

[RareBird]

pcur - thank you :) it's refreshing to see other cc members posting actual experiences in how to get a coveted table.

 

On our last cruise we tried to get to matre'd - but this 'henchmen' shoo'd us away. I guess we should have sit down (others were sitting down, why didn't I think of doing it then??) and wait to be called and discuss it.

[pcur]

pcur - thank you :) it's refreshing to see other cc members posting actual experiences in how to get a coveted table.

 

On our last cruise we tried to get to matre'd - but this 'henchmen' shoo'd us away. I guess we should have sit down (others were sitting down, why didn't I think of doing it then??) and wait to be called and discuss it.

 

Give the henchmen your name or ask if there is a waiting list. Tell him just that you want to change your dining arrangements and wish to discuss it with the maitre 'd. I am always as nice, polite and INSISTENT as I can be.

[Host Kewlguy]

Give the henchmen your name or ask if there is a waiting list. Tell him just that you want to change your dining arrangements and wish to discuss it with the maitre 'd. I am always as nice, polite and INSISTENT as I can be.

 

We've had no luck at all getting a table for two on any of our Celebrity cruises. We always make the same request when we book the cruise as well as when we board the ship but no luck so far. Maybe now that we're "Elite" loyalty status our luck will change. Will let you know in two months.

[GarysGirl]

For our honeymoon on Voyager of the Seas, it was extremely important to me that we get a table for two, and our travel agent assured us that this would not be a problem. However, when we got on the ship and went to check our seating assignment, we were assigned to a table for six!

 

Call me antisocial, but I didn't want to be stuck making small talk with strangers every night of our honeymoon. So, we went to the maitre'd at the appointed time, explained that it was our honeymoon, and asked to be reassigned to a table for two. The maitre'd told us (rather snottily, actually) that there were over 200 honeymooning couples on this ship and only six tables for two, and there wasn't much chance of us getting our table.

 

However, he did reluctantly agree to take our information. Up to this point, we had not shown him our seapass cards, so he didn't know that we were platinum level. We were both in our early twenties at at the time, so he may have thought that we weren't "important" customers. We didn't give him a tip and we left thinking we wouldn't get the table, but we got our table for two that night at dinner! I definitely think being platinum had EVERYTHING to do with it.

[Little Elm]

So, this is our first cruise with just 2 people. (2nd cruise ever). Do you know your table size before you board the ship?

[Host Kewlguy]

So, this is our first cruise with just 2 people. (2nd cruise ever). Do you know your table size before you board the ship?

 

Your dining room table number will be written on your sea pass card. We always check our table assignment immediately after we board the ship and make any necessary changes.

[critterchick]

Thanks everyone. Our TA did put a request in for a table for two (it was actually her idea), so hopefully we will get it. I will check right when we get on board (Monarch) and if we are seated with others, see about getting that changed. Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

You'll have a better chance at a table for 2 on Monarch if you have late seating, too, as main seating is usually booked solid IME. Also, the 2-top tables are in what I (and some other CCers) consider to be an undesirable location - they are against a wall as you enter the dining room, so one of you will have his (;) ) back to the dining room. We had luck getting a 2-top after boarding and the headwaiter on duty (it's not the Maitre d' who makes the changes on the first day) gave us a table for 4 but blocked off the other two seats.

 

Good luck, and happy cruising!

[orknot2be]

hi, there.. same here we wanted table for two.[ and we got it ] if you send me your email i can more or less tell you how you can guarantee you get table for 2 once you board..

 

I would appreciate any helpful information as well. orknot2be@aol.com

Thanks.

[iTinKso]

hi, there.. same here we wanted table for two.[ and we got it ] if you send me your email i can more or less tell you how you can guarantee you get table for 2 once you board..

 

I to would appreciate your information! Thanks!! itinkso@hotmail.com

[dutchess43]

hi, there.. same here we wanted table for two.[ and we got it ] if you send me your email i can more or less tell you how you can guarantee you get table for 2 once you board..

Please add me to yur list of emails dutchess43@hotmail.com thanks.

[Mickeylee]

Originally Posted by CRUISESOMEMORE

hi, there.. same here we wanted table for two.[ and we got it ] if you send me your email i can more or less tell you how you can guarantee you get table for 2 once you board..

 

Please send me the info also. My email is leevue50@yahoo.com

 

Thanks!