The M.D.R. (a few questions, please...)

[VegasFella]

I'm learning more and more about dining -- the options, and such.  May I ask a few questions related to the MDR?  My questions will be as they relate to eating dinner in the MDR.  In addition, thank you in advance for your replies!  Again, I'm new (never cruised before) and my aspirations are to, one day, be on one of the MEGA class ships of the RC!

1)  The MTD = "My Time Dining", I think I have this correct? 

2)  The term/abbreviation for "set" dining times has another word/phrase/abbreviation? 

3)  The set times for dinner are 5:30pm & 8:00pm from what I have read so far?  This means that I have EITHER chose "early" / "late" when I have booked my cruise?

Again, I have never been on a cruise ship --- so, please bare with me if my questions seem weird.  And/or if they have already been covered!

4)  Okay, suppose I have chosen "late" as my dining preference... At the MDR, are you generally "expected" to be on time?  Also, if you arrive at the entrance to the MDR, do you just "go" to your table and sit down?  Or, are you taken there by a staff-member?  What if you arrive at 7:36pm... can you sit at your table at that time --- or, is it expected that you wait until 8pm.  By the way, when I ask this ... it's not for the purpose of BEGINNING TO EAT at 7:36 .... it's more of you just want to sit down & relax a little bit before the meal.  My guess is (like I said, I'm new... just speculating, lol) that it could be difficult??  because the "early" eaters may still be at THE TABLE?

5)  I have read where some tables are 4, 6, 10, 12 persons and such.  I have seen several photos of the various MDR's.  Are most tables round?

6)  Okay, when you're in a group table, does the waiter start off by asking "what will you have to drink?"... or, is your entire order taken? (apps, drinks, entrée, desserts).  

7)  Again, with the group table... is there a general "flow" of the meal?  Meaning... is the wait staff likely to wait until each person has finished their appetizer before bringing entrees out?  Some people eat slower (or faster) than others, lol.  In addition, is it generally an hour?  hour and a half for dinner?  Or, am I way off?

8)  Okay, the MTD customers ... with this, they may show up to the MDR at anytime they wish?  And, they will be seated (when there is space available)?  Also, is it correct to assume that a MTD customer may be at 7 different tables (for dinner) on 7 different nights?  Also, If my usual table-mates are out doing a Specialty Restaurant on the 3rd night -- then the empty chairs -- will be filled with MTD customers?  Or, no? 

9)  What is the elbow-room like (stop laughing!!!!) like at the tables?  Have you had situations where a fellow cruise has had their rib-cage against yours?  Just asking.

10)  I have read that the "late" seating is better, on account of it feels less "hurried" to get people in / get people out.  True?  A myth?

AGAIN -- THANK YOU for the information!   If some of my questions did not make sense, let me know.   :)

 

[TheHobbys]

Welcome aboard - have you booked your first cruise yet?    If not, shame on you - lol   Ok, i'll start out doing my best to answer, but there will be more 'seasoned' cruisers out there that will help chime in. 

1) Yes, MTD is my time dining  (MDR = main dining room)

2) Set is the start times for those rounds of dinners in the MDR - so, this gives roughly 2 hours or so for the first group to eat and tables be reset for the late round of guests

3) Yes - pick either the early / late.  this will really depend on what else you plan on doing during your cruise.  Some prefer to eat early so they are available for any shows or activities later that evening.  but, really personal preference.

4) Yes, you are expected to be on time.  If for some reason you will not be able to make it at your time, just let the MDR know you will be late or not coming one night.  When you get there, you'll be escorted to your table.  If your table is available when you arrive early, you may be able to go ahead and be seated.

5) tables will depend on the ship and how many diners there are.  most appear to be round, but there are some square (for 2 people) and some rectangles for larger groups.

6) most of the time, you'll get drinks - apps - main course - desert.  depending on your group and how fast they are wanting to progress through the meal, depends when your waiter will bring each section.  if you are a frequent diner and you get to know your wait staff, they will start to learn what you like to drink and possibly have it waiting on your or be ready to put your order in.

7) flow really depends on the table and people.  if, someone has a show to get to, they may be able to get their entree first in order to eat quick and get to the show/activity while the others hang out and enjoy the meal.  

8 ) MTD will also need to let the MDR know when they would like to eat.  in some cases, they can show up and IF there is an available table, they may be able to get seated - but, really depends on the cruise / diners / availability / etc.

9) elbow room   ha  I'm sure they can adjust the chairs slightly if you need a little more.  depends on where your table is at and if they can 'scoot' people around.

10) early or late, really depends on the diners.  a late seating may end up missing a show, unless there is an earlier time.  the 'early' diners should be able to eat / leave within a potential 2 - 2 1/2 hour limit.  the only 'hurry' you might encounter is if you are eating early and there is another party that might be waiting to eat at that table for the later seating.

There are lots of good posts / answers in this forum to help you get more information.  And by all means, there's no really weird questions that won't be answered    just doesn't mean you might not get a sarcastic answer - lol ... but, everyone here is here to help get everyone informed.

[hayley_bopp]

If you choose traditional dining, doors to the restaurant will be closed until they have everything set up ready for your seating. If you want to get a drink before dinner, head to one of the bars near to the restaurant (although those nearest tend to get busy with people waiting for the doors to open). Apparently they close the doors at a set time too but we always saw people coming in after the published time. 

You don't need to let the dining room know if you're not going to be at your sitting. However, if you have traditional dining and are sat at a larger table and know tbe day before that you're not going to be in the MDR the next night, it's polite to let the waiter know so they're not waiting for you to arrive before taking everyone's order. 

If you're in traditional, people who've opted for MTD won't be sat at your table in my experience. 

When ordering, you will order drinks as you sit down. Then the waiter will take your order for all three courses. They will wait until everyone at the table has finished until they clear the plates and bring out the next course. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

1.  Yes, you are correct

2.  Most people generally refer to the “set” time dining arrangement as “traditional” dining but “set time” is perfectly acceptable.

3.  Traditional dining schedules vary slightly by ship and/or region but generally fall into the 5:00-6:00 and 7:00-8:00 ranges.

4.  It is considered bad manners to be more than 15 minutes late to your seating.  The servers try and serve the guests their courses together and being late really throws the timing of the meal off, not to mention that you are holding others up from getting their meal on time.  Will you be admitted to the dining room if you are more than 15 minutes late ?  On some ships yes, and some ships close the dining room doors after a certain period of time and will not let you in.  If you are following accepted norms, you would expect to notify the maitre d’ if you are not going to be at dinner at your assigned time. That way, you will not hold everyone else up while they wait for you.  This is the primary reason that we prefer My Time Dining (MTD) b/c I do not want to interrupt anyone’s meal but also do not want to have to adhere to a timetable when I am on vacation.

5.  Most of the 6+ tables are round but they do have a few long tables for larger parties.  Also, you CAN request a table for 2 even in the traditional dining setting.  I am a terrible “small talker” so I never enjoy making conversation with strangers.  We have never enjoyed the big, shared table concept.

6.  I haven’t been to a traditional dining meal in many years so I don’t know have suffered the same fate as the MDR but I suspect that the days of the “drink” waiters is long gone.  These days, the regular waiters take your entire order, including your entire meal + dessert.  Not sure if they take your drink order first or not. They probably do.

7.  Yes.  Generally 1-1.5 hours but you can advise your server that you have a need to “hurry” and they will try and accommodate your request.  But in general, they like to keep everyone on the same course.

8.  Yes, any time during normal operating hours and you will be seated as space becomes available. You can ask for a specific table and/or waiter but you may have a bit of a wait and sometimes it’s just not possible.

9.  There is usually plenty of room unless you try and squeeze more than the setting normally holds. 

10.  

[VegasFella]

2 hours ago, hayley_bopp said:

Then the waiter will take your order for all three courses. They will wait until everyone at the table has finished until they clear the plates and bring out the next course. 

Okay, I can (generally) understand and agree with the concept, that a flow of food/courses takes place.  Scenario:  It's a table of 6.  The 6 persons are 3 couples (3 couples that, do not know one another prior to sailing).  One of the persons is an especially slow eater.  Maybe he takes 27 minutes to eat his soup?  The other persons are more EAGER to "move it along".  So, you're saying that entrees will not come, until the previous items are consumed?  Just asking. 

Sorry if my follow-up is a bit too wordy.  Another thing is.. myself, I often will eat half my salad, and put it aside & enjoy the remainder of it with my entrée. 

I guess I just want to fit in ... and be "fairly" normal.

[VegasFella]

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

1.  Yes, you are correct

2.  Most people generally refer to the “set” time dining arrangement as “traditional” dining but “set time” is perfectly acceptable.

3.  Traditional dining schedules vary slightly by ship and/or region but generally fall into the 5:00-6:00 and 7:00-8:00 ranges.

4.  It is considered bad manners to be more than 15 minutes late to your seating.  The servers try and serve the guests their courses together and being late really throws the timing of the meal off, not to mention that you are holding others up from getting their meal on time.  Will you be admitted to the dining room if you are more than 15 minutes late ?  On some ships yes, and some ships close the dining room doors after a certain period of time and will not let you in.  If you are following accepted norms, you would expect to notify the maitre d’ if you are not going to be at dinner at your assigned time. That way, you will not hold everyone else up while they wait for you.  This is the primary reason that we prefer My Time Dining (MTD) b/c I do not want to interrupt anyone’s meal but also do not want to have to adhere to a timetable when I am on vacation.

5.  Most of the 6+ tables are round but they do have a few long tables for larger parties.  Also, you CAN request a table for 2 even in the traditional dining setting.  I am a terrible “small talker” so I never enjoy making conversation with strangers.  We have never enjoyed the big, shared table concept.

6.  I haven’t been to a traditional dining meal in many years so I don’t know have suffered the same fate as the MDR but I suspect that the days of the “drink” waiters is long gone.  These days, the regular waiters take your entire order, including your entire meal + dessert.  Not sure if they take your drink order first or not. They probably do.

7.  Yes.  Generally 1-1.5 hours but you can advise your server that you have a need to “hurry” and they will try and accommodate your request.  But in general, they like to keep everyone on the sMe course.

8.  Yes, any time during normal operating hours and you will be seated as space becomes available. You can ask for a specific table and/or waiter but you may have a bit of a wait and sometimes it’s just not possible.

9.  There is usually plenty of room unless you try and squeeze more than the setting normally holds. 

10.  

Great information.  Thank you! 

[VegasFella]

2 hours ago, TheHobbys said:

6) most of the time, you'll get drinks - apps - main course - desert.  depending on your group and how fast they are wanting to progress through the meal, depends when your waiter will bring each section.  if you are a frequent diner and you get to know your wait staff, they will start to learn what you like to drink and possibly have it waiting on your or be ready to put your order in.

Wow... I like the sound of that!  I am imagining (now, in my mind) that my Waiter knows me more and more.  ALWAYS ample butter nearby with the rolls.  Yum.

[melski94]

Many of the questions have been answered but I'll expand on #8 MTD.  There are several decks of the MDR.  Typically traditional is on 2 decks and MTD is on its own deck/restaurant.  Your sea pass card will tell you which restaurant and deck you've been assigned. 

You can make a reservation in the cruise planner before your cruise.  We like to make reservations at 6:30 every night and on every cruise we've had the same wait staff and table.  The only time we don't have the same wait staff and table is if we make our reservation much later due to an activity.  We like having the same wait staff and table as it makes service much easier as they get to know you but I don't like the traditional dining times as they are too early or too late for my family.  We have no problem seeing shows for the most part.  With MTD, you are more likely to sit at a table with your own party as many people with MTD hate the traditional dining of sitting with strangers.  

You can chose to not make reservations with MTD but then it is like a land restaurant and you may need to wait for a table to be ready.  The first night is a bit crazy with long lines as everyone is trying to figure out the tables, etc but after that it moves very quickly.    

[TheHobbys]

1 hour ago, VegasFella said:

Wow... I like the sound of that!  I am imagining (now, in my mind) that my Waiter knows me more and more.  ALWAYS ample butter nearby with the rolls.  Yum.

Careful - you make friends with you waiter and you could be 'swimming' in butter and 'rolling' in rolls - hahaha  - oh yeah, treat your wait staff good and they'll take damn good care of you 

[WAAAYTOOO]

3 hours ago, VegasFella said:

Great information.  Thank you! 

[hayley_bopp]

9 hours ago, VegasFella said:

One of the persons is an especially slow eater.  Maybe he takes 27 minutes to eat his soup?  The other persons are more EAGER to "move it along".  So, you're saying that entrees will not come, until the previous items are consumed?  Just asking. 

Sorry if my follow-up is a bit too wordy.  Another thing is.. myself, I often will eat half my salad, and put it aside & enjoy the remainder of it with my entrée. 

I guess I just want to fit in ... and be "fairly" normal.

I haven't had experience of slow eating table mates so not sure on that point. 

Regarding you're salad, just eat half, put it to one side (they'll assume you're finished) and then ask them not to clear it when they clear everyone else's appetisers. 

Don't worry about 'fitting in' - it's your cruise, do it your way

[JLMoran]

20 hours ago, VegasFella said:

Scenario:  It's a table of 6.  The 6 persons are 3 couples (3 couples that, do not know one another prior to sailing).  One of the persons is an especially slow eater.

Yeah, my bad. Sorry about that. 

Seriously, I'm known in my family for being a slow eater and I'm almost always the last one done. Sometimes by a significant margin, though most of the time it's within a few minutes. I can tell you from our time at a 6-seat table (my family of four plus two other guests we became good friends with), the waiters bring out the courses as soon as they're ready in the kitchen. If you're still working on the prior course, you have the option of continuing to work on it, putting it to the side to resume it later, or letting the water know you're fine with them clearing it away right then and there.

Oh, and if you are a lobster eater, you'll be asked the night before the second formal night how many lobster tails you would like to have. Don't be afraid to start off conservatively and see how much more room you have. I haven't yet eaten at lobster night without having at least two additional tails unexpectedly plopped down in front of me after finishing off the first two or three. Seems they always have a surplus that they are happy to serve to anyone they see is really enjoying it!

On 5/12/2019 at 12:14 PM, VegasFella said:

9)  What is the elbow-room like (stop laughing!!!!) like at the tables?  Have you had situations where a fellow cruise has had their rib-cage against yours?  Just asking.

Elbow room was absolutely fine at our 6-seat table on Freedom of the Seas, where we had the late seating traditional dining. Same when I'd have breakfast in the MDR, whether I was seated at a 6-seat, 8-seat, or 10-seat table. But on Anthem of the Seas, when my wife and I had breakfast in the MDR one morning, the 2-seat tables (only option at the time) were all very tightly packed and you had to be a bit careful not to bump your neighbor at the next table.

I would guess that ships with traditional dining rooms spanning 3 decks are generally going to be fine with spacing between tables, whether it's traditional or MTD. But ships like Quantum / Anthem or Oasis / Allure that have four separate dining rooms seem to have them more tightly arranged.

On 5/12/2019 at 12:14 PM, VegasFella said:

10)  I have read that the "late" seating is better, on account of it feels less "hurried" to get people in / get people out.  True?  A myth?

I'm one of those who feel that the late seating is better, just based on personal experience with late seating vs very different reports here from those who did early seating. Late seating dinner was always very relaxed and I didn't get the impression the staff were frantically trying to keep up.

[WAAAYTOOO]

7 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

 the 2-seat tables (only option at the time) were all very tightly packed

Yes.  I meant to comment on this before but got rushed into completing my post (was trying to play bingo and blog at the same time !!).

If you decide that you want a table for 2, I HIGHLY recommend that you specify that you do NOT want one of the 2-tops that are lined up next to each other.  While they are technically 2-tops, you might as well be sitting with the 4 people adjacent to you (2 on the left and 2 on the right) they are THAT close together.  I always tell them that I want a PRIVATE 2-top.  They are few and far between but they do exist.  They are usually along the wall somewhere or next to the balcony overlooking the dining room below.

The trick is in knowing what you want and asking for it.  This comes with experience.

[JennyB]

I always have 2 cents...so here they are...

Yes, MTD=My Time Dining.  MDR=Main Dining Room.

I  have seen "set time" and "traditional" used interchangeably...Those are the 2 "set times" in the MDR, usually 5:30 and 8:00, but from what I understand that can vary a bit depending on ship and/or region, like @WAAAYTOOO said.

You would be expected to be "on time"...I would say, like others have said, that if you think you'll be late an evening or two, you might consider MTD.  That lets you choose your time each evening.  The Main Dining Room (traditional times) and the My Time Dining are on separate decks...so someone from MTD won't be "in your seat" when you get there (and vise versa).  And yes, you CAN walk up to the MTD room like at a "regular" land-based restaurant, but you might have a short wait like you would at home.  For me personally...we choose MTD and then usually choose somewhere between 6-6:45 for our dinner.  We have only ever been at a table with our friends/family who are cruising with us.  It would be courteous to let your tablemates/server know if you will not be joining them one night, so they aren't waiting on you to place orders. 

We have traveled with just the two of us at a small rectangular  2-person table, it was a bit cramped, but not uncomfortable.  We sat at a round 4-top with our friends and we all had enough room on the table for all our plates/tableware and elbow room.  We sat at a round 6-person table when we traveled with my brother and SIL and my parents for their 50th anny.  Each time, we chose MTD and each time we sat at the same table with the same servers each evening.  

Just my opinion, but I enjoy taking a long time for dinner, dressed a bit nicer than throughout the rest of the day, having people wait on me AND having time to chat with my family and friends at a leisurely pace and not feel like I am stuffing myself to hurry and leave. 

Also, like @WAAAYTOOO I do not enjoy small talk.  I am on vacation to relax and spend time with the person/people I am traveling with.  Sitting at a table with strangers AND eating in front of them is NOT my idea of a good time.  So, MTD it is! 

[WAAAYTOOO]

6 hours ago, JennyB said:

IAlso, like @WAAAYTOOO I do not enjoy small talk.  I am on vacation to relax and spend time with the person/people I am traveling with.  Sitting at a table with strangers AND eating in front of them is NOT my idea of a good time.  So, MTD it is! 

I'm sure I will come across as a grump and social reprobate (which may or may not actually be the case !!) but I don't even really enjoy "chit-chat" with the waiters.  I know that they are just trying to be pleasant but I really do NOT want to discuss how my day went, whether or not I got off the ship and how lovely or sucky the weather is !  Just bring me the menu and let me order my food.  There are a very few exceptions for cases where I am acquainted with the waiter in some way (Yogi and Booboo (twin bothers from India) from Grandeur, for instance) but I really don't want to chat about my day....am I a terrible person ?

[Pima1988]

@WAAAYTOOO  No you are not a terrible person.  We say hi to the wait staff give our drink orders and start talking to each other....hint hint to the staff we prefer to be left alone.