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How much do you use the MDR?


mcoler18

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@JLMoran  We have never missed a late show, and never had to rush through dinner.   I think the only times we kinda had to rush was on Adventure for the Ice Skating show and We Will Rock You on Anthem, but we still got there @15 mins. prior to the shows.    We have this down to a system now.  we always get a balcony. 

We go to the WJ at 6 and make 2 plates.  With every cruise I have seen the WJ get busier and busier at dinner.

Our 1st plate is meats, cheeses, bread, etc like an anti-pasti salad.to nosh on our balcony while the sun sets and we get ready for dinner. It holds us over until the late seating.  We than either go for drinks or the early shows.  Shows last 45 mins.  Thus, the 7 pm show is over by 8, and many ships actually keep their doors closed for traditional.  IOWS, even if you have a late traditional seating, no need to rush to be there at 7:50 bc the doors will be closed until 8 on the dot.

The 2nd plate is snacks for late night, such as, desserts in a cup, cookies, and also, their salads,  fried chicken, or Mongolian stir fry, etc anything that we can eat cold (to fit in the mini-fridge aka cooler place it in their small bowls).  We prefer this than eating pizza or their limited sandwiches, every night.  

@whenismynextcruise  I get your point about being over crowded in the MDR.  I have found it that way for MTD.  I also find that compared to traditional seating that it appears they seem to have those tables right smack on top of each other, whereas, in the traditional dining rooms, they are roomier.

Again, my belief that with all of the specialty options plus, MTD the traditional dining room is used less now. Caveat I have never done the 5:30 traditional so I don't know how crowded it is for that seating.  We have never asked for a window table, but luckily for us 90% of the time that is what we have always been given.  

I would say the late seating regarding occupancy has been basically the equivalent of eating in the MDR for lunch on sea days.  Lots of open tables around you.  I have found the specialties are much more crowded now than the MDR, but than again the specialties are smaller in size, so I think that is why it might feel more crowded to me.  That and we do specialty, we usually do a 6:30 or 7 pm reservation, which is peak time.

I am not anti-specialty.  Heck, I will pay for it for just 1 item on the menu that you can't get elsewhere on the ship.  IE Goat cheese salad in Chops.  The bread tray in Giovannis with their roasted garlic.  Spicy shrimp tempura roll in Izumi.  The world in Wonderland. 

I do agree that it is a personal desire when it comes down to it and also a wallet issue.  I am someone with a budget.  If upgrading to a better cabin, or doing a unique (expensive) 1x in a lifetime excursion means that I have to forego specialty I would in a heartbeat.  Heck if it came down to the Chefs table or 3 nights specialty, Chef's table wins hands down.  

Than again like we both are saying it comes down to your personal desires, and I think RCL is doing a good job at trying to offer everyone different options for eating preferences.   Want to try Chops, but not buy the dining package, than you can just do the lunch.  Want sushi, but not the dining package you can do the sushi class for 1 (they allow extra people to come after the class and share what you have made).  Want a long meal paired with wines than you have Chefs.  

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Only cruised once so far but we did every night at MDR. I could not reason to pay so much extra for specialty dining when there is outstanding food with excellent service included (= I have already paid for it!).

I have our next cruise booked and I did book "the key", which include first day lunch at Chops grille. Of course we are going to try that (because it is included or as a matter of fact I have already paid of). This might be an eyeopener for specialty dining... ... or not well see it then.

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I will agree that the specialty restaurants are getting more and more crowded.  I am not happy with the way they are shoving 2 tops so close to each now, just like they do in the MDR.  I won’t sit at one of those if they try and put us there.  I’m not sure where you go once the specialties start looking and sounding like the MDR.

I put this in my last post cruise survey (not that I think they will read it).

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@FManke  I think a little bit of both.

They are making it cost efficient to do 3 nights ($69 for our cruise), use a travel agent and they gift you a specialty and now you have 4 nights for a total of 70 pp out of pocket.  Pretty cheap.  The problem is that certain restaurants are always going to get more people.  Not everyone wants a dininng experience like Wonderland,  or sushi, so if they have 5 specialty restaurants and 2 are not to your liking, you will go to the remaining 3 or 4.  

The MDR traditional is impo becoming less popular because of MTD.  With MTD passengers are feeling like they are not getting that "special" attention, so on the next cruise, why not spend that $$ on the 3 night dinner, afterall we have been to the Bahamas so much, that we have no desire to get off the ship, which saves them excursion costs.  To me the same would be true for NE cruises, you really don't need to buy an excursion for Halifax or Portland if you have done it before.

Now add in The Key.  So many people are buying it, that they are getting to experience it and like a balcony it is hard to not book that again.

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18 minutes ago, Pima1988 said:

With MTD passengers are feeling like they are not getting that "special" attention

I'm sorry, but with MTD why should passengers expect any "special" attention? Like I noted above, if you're doing MTD it's because you want the dining hour that you and every other person expects as "normal". So you're no longer booking dining in a special place, you're booking at the local Applebees / Olive Garden / cheap chain restaurant of your choice that always gets packed in the standard dinner rush time. No one expects fantastic service at one of those places during the dinner rush, why should they expect it in the MDR of a cruise ship during MTD hours?

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19 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

I'm sorry, but with MTD why should passengers expect any "special" attention? Like I noted above, if you're doing MTD it's because you want the dining hour that you and every other person expects as "normal". So you're no longer booking dining in a special place, you're booking at the local Applebees / Olive Garden / cheap chain restaurant of your choice that always gets packed in the standard dinner rush time. No one expects fantastic service at one of those places during the dinner rush, why should they expect it in the MDR of a cruise ship during MTD hours?

For ourselves, we didn't choose the MTD to eat with the "standard dinner rush" we chose it for flexibility to eat when we wanted. Be it 5pm or 8pm, or anywhere in between. It doesn't make it any more "special" just because you choose not to eat at a set time. And being that the dining rooms are different, I don't know how one form of seating affects the other? I shouldn't expect less attention because I choose to eat when I want.

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19 hours ago, JLMoran said:

nd then the late traditional shift comes along.

Fewer people want this slot. It's a late time to eat for a lot of people; they don't necessarily want to see the earlier show; the late seating doesn't finish up in time for other performances they want to catch, like the adults-only comedian slot; they'd rather have a quick bite in the Windjammer at that point; etc.

So things naturally slow down, and the staff actually gets to breathe again. Attentiveness returns, food gets prepared better, and the people in this time slot just generally find it a great overall experience.

What do you all think? Sounds about right, or am I missing something?

Yeah, I dont do late dinner because it conflicts with pretty much every show.  You have to pretty much not care about shows to do the late dining option.  If you could do a late MTD, maybe that would work for certain nights depending on your schedule, but to commit to it EVERY night?

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10 minutes ago, FManke said:

For ourselves, we didn't choose the MTD to eat with the "standard dinner rush" we chose it for flexibility to eat when we wanted. Be it 5pm or 8pm, or anywhere in between. 

Sorry, should have said "the majority" or another term instead of "you". I still stand by my statement, though; I do believe the vast majority choose MTD because they want to eat when they're used to eating at home. And that's naturally going to lead to an hour or 90 minutes that is just insane and makes any kind of attentive service impossible for everyone. Those who don't 

And full disclosure -- when my wife and I got to enjoy CK last October on Anthem, guess what time we ended up booking every night? Yup, 6:30 PM, right when we're used to eating dinner at home! Only time we changed it was the night we saw Spectra, when we booked for 6:00 instead so that we didn't have to rush our meal. I was honestly stunned when CK was empty all but the last night, even allowing for the fact far fewer cabins can eat dinner there relative to the rest of the ship.

Just now, Constantino said:

Yeah, I dont do late dinner because it conflicts with pretty much every show.  You have to pretty much not care about shows to do the late dining option.  If you could do a late MTD, maybe that would work for certain nights depending on your schedule, but to commit to it EVERY night?

Usually the "standard" theater shows are done twice to accommodate the two traditional dining times -- earlier show for the late dinner seating, later show for the early seating. But yes, the Broadway shows and comedians and other specialty acts are either one show time or a time that conflicts with late dining. I almost have one on my upcoming Athem sailing, where We Will Rock You starts at 6:30 PM and won't finish until about 8:30, right when our late seating begins. Thankfully that's close enough that I'll just let our wait staff know we'll be a few minutes late that night.

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28 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

Sorry, should have said "the majority" or another term instead of "you". I still stand by my statement, though; I do believe the vast majority choose MTD because they want to eat when they're used to eating at home. And that's naturally going to lead to an hour or 90 minutes that is just insane and makes any kind of attentive service impossible for everyone. Those who don't 

And full disclosure -- when my wife and I got to enjoy CK last October on Anthem, guess what time we ended up booking every night? Yup, 6:30 PM, right when we're used to eating dinner at home! Only time we changed it was the night we saw Spectra, when we booked for 6:00 instead so that we didn't have to rush our meal. I was honestly stunned when CK was empty all but the last night, even allowing for the fact far fewer cabins can eat dinner there relative to the rest of the ship.

Usually the "standard" theater shows are done twice to accommodate the two traditional dining times -- earlier show for the late dinner seating, later show for the early seating. But yes, the Broadway shows and comedians and other specialty acts are either one show time or a time that conflicts with late dining. I almost have one on my upcoming Athem sailing, where We Will Rock You starts at 6:30 PM and won't finish until about 8:30, right when our late seating begins. Thankfully that's close enough that I'll just let our wait staff know we'll be a few minutes late that night.

Ah, I dont often think of eating after the show.  Which would be fine for cruise days, with all the breakfast and lunch, eating at 8:30 would probably be a relief.  but port days, often returning half starved, its nice to get cleaned up and straight to a meal.

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We eat in the MDR every morning for breakfast and every evening for dinner. I only eat in Windjammer or Sorrentos for lunch and snacks. Personally, I don't love serving "myself" at a buffet when I am on vacation and enjoy having a waiter for breakfast. At dinner in the MDR, I enjoy having the same table and servers every night. They always get to know you, develop a rapport and remember my drink order by the 2nd/3rd day! The food is always really good and you can order more than one entree/appetizer/dessert if you want it or just can't decide. I can't justify spending extra on dining when the MDR experience is perfect for me.. I did pay ONCE on Indy because they had a Playmakers where we watched a football game and we were in the mood for wings (LOL).

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When my wife and I started cruising, we only eaten at the MDR for dinner.  Now, we are going to the MDR less.  Not because of food quality/service.  More because the Windjammer is just more convenient.  We prefer a quick meal and go about the rest of the evening.  My favourite offering at the Windjammer is the oxtail curry. Mongolian Grill night is also up there on the list. 

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2 hours ago, Pima1988 said:

@FManke  I think a little bit of both.

They are making it cost efficient to do 3 nights ($69 for our cruise), use a travel agent and they gift you a specialty and now you have 4 nights for a total of 70 pp out of pocket.  Pretty cheap. 

That is outrageously expensive. 

It should not cost more than $10 per person. I can get 2 for $20 any day of the week all over the place. There is no way I will ever pay that much extra when I have already paid over $1k for the cruise which includes food.

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@Jolly Ogre.  In essence you are talking 23 pp per meal upgrade.   The dinner at Chops is on the equivalent level impo as Capitol Grill or Ruth Chris, where you would be paying a couple hundred for a couple before drinks, tips and taxes.  

I think this is also why the specialties are becoming more popular.    It  can be seen as a way to have that high level steak house for less than eating at Outback Steakhouse.  Same is true for Giovannis/Janies regarding Italian food and going to Olive Garden.  Or Hooked vs Red Lobster.

For some, they see this as just part of the excursion package.  That is how I see it.  For some, like me, we don't gamble, and don't buy anything from the shops on the ship, been to Nassau enough that I don't do excursions anymore, Bermuda I will pay for a taxi to take me to Horseshoe instead of RCL.  So what does that leave me to spend my OBC (always buy the DBP)   If I have 100 pp OBC, I can get the 3 night for free, and still have money left.  Our TA comped us 1 specialty and in the end 150 pp OBC.  That meant we got the 3 night,  + Chef with maybe $5 pp out of pocket for aa total of 4 nights, add in the TA comp and we had 5 nights.  

It is a personal decision.  Mine had nothing to do with the quality of the food.  Mine has to do with the fact that we have done the big ticket, check the box 1x excursions (swim with dolphins,  parasailing,  catamaran, etc) so now we do this instead.

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2 hours ago, Pima1988 said:

@Jolly Ogre.  In essence you are talking 23 pp per meal upgrade.   The dinner at Chops is on the equivalent level impo as Capitol Grill or Ruth Chris, where you would be paying a couple hundred for a couple before drinks, tips and taxes.  

I think this is also why the specialties are becoming more popular.    It  can be seen as a way to have that high level steak house for less than eating at Outback Steakhouse.  Same is true for Giovannis/Janies regarding Italian food and going to Olive Garden.  Or Hooked vs Red Lobster.

For some, they see this as just part of the excursion package.  That is how I see it.  For some, like me, we don't gamble, and don't buy anything from the shops on the ship, been to Nassau enough that I don't do excursions anymore, Bermuda I will pay for a taxi to take me to Horseshoe instead of RCL.  So what does that leave me to spend my OBC (always buy the DBP)   If I have 100 pp OBC, I can get the 3 night for free, and still have money left.  Our TA comped us 1 specialty and in the end 150 pp OBC.  That meant we got the 3 night,  + Chef with maybe $5 pp out of pocket for aa total of 4 nights, add in the TA comp and we had 5 nights.  

It is a personal decision.  Mine had nothing to do with the quality of the food.  Mine has to do with the fact that we have done the big ticket, check the box 1x excursions (swim with dolphins,  parasailing,  catamaran, etc) so now we do this instead.

I could see maybe paying the $23 if it was for both me and my wife but not per person and that would be for only 1 night as a splurge. 

I would never pay $100 on a meal ever. Outback we had 2 for $24 last November, but I only had to pay for just that one night not 3-4 times.

OBC the most I have ever gotten was $25 per person. That does not go far on a cruise.

I have gone but only when it was comp by the TA.

I dont do any big ticket items at all. The cruise is the big ticket item that I save for 2 yrs to be able to go on.

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On 9/12/2019 at 9:22 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

I will agree that the specialty restaurants are getting more and more crowded.  I am not happy with the way they are shoving 2 tops so close to each now, just like they do in the MDR.  I won’t sit at one of those if they try and put us there.  I’m not sure where you go once the specialties start looking and sounding like the MDR.

I put this in my last post cruise survey (not that I think they will read it).

Next choice is room service on the balcony! This is particularly nice in port. We have been able to upgrade ourselves to the mini-suites when available and that gives us plenty of room to have a quiet dinner for 2 out there! We can eat at our own pace and enjoy our time before heading out to do whatever we have plans for that night.

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We generally eat dinner in the MDR but sometimes we don't have time from getting back in from a port or if we embark at the beginning of the cruise and its during dinner time (we always get early dinner) I'd rather watch the ship leave/sailaway so we will go to windjammer.    We don't partake in specialty extra charge dining.   I'm sure its good but theres always plenty of food, way more than we can eat at the regular venues.   We have learned to appreciate the MDR breakfast though....much less chaotic and crowded than windjammer at certain hours in the morning.

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Almost never. Admittedly, we've only done a few cruises on Royal Caribbean, but I've always been underwhelmed by the MDR - food and atmosphere alike. We'll either pay extra for a specialty restaurant, or just chill in the buffet. Occasionally will do room service on our balcony, but that's rare and usually just breakfast.

 

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On 9/12/2019 at 12:19 PM, Pima1988 said:

@Jolly Ogre.  In essence you are talking 23 pp per meal upgrade.   The dinner at Chops is on the equivalent level impo as Capitol Grill or Ruth Chris, where you would be paying a couple hundred for a couple before drinks, tips and taxes. 

I have to completely disagree with you on this. I like Chops...I have always been pleasantly surprised with how good my steak is. But, I get to Capital Grille at least 6x yearly and Chops is definitely not the quality of steak as Capital Grille, nor is the cooking temp as consistent.

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I like the experience of the MDR, I like eating with a bunch of other people to socialize and enjoy that "classic cruising" experience.  But that's me.  I'm totally fine with the food, I can try things that I normally wouldnt try and its like going out and being all fancy.   

That said, I also do love some specialty dining.  Chops, Wonderland, Izumi, love them.  Now my hub doesnt like sushi or even most asian food.  So one night we do a "go your own way" food night.  I go to Izumi and he goes wherever he wants to (I suspect the windjammer, this is normally something that we enjoy separately and I go on and on about the food and the ambiance and he just talks about the food so I have difficulty figuring out where he went unless he's raving about pasta)  Sometimes though he'll join me at Izumi so I can try something additional and he'll just enjoy a drink, while I stuff my face with sushi and then I'll accompany him whenever he wants and I'll have dessert, and he'll have his fill.  

I think the next Oasis sailing I go on I'm going to try the UDP eating around the ship thing I've wanted to do.  One course at each specialty restaurant and maybe include the MDR and the WJ into the equation.  I'm actually unsure if I can eat that much food, but to me that's like a shore excursion, going on a food tour right on the ship!

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