MDR table request

[CanHardlyWait]

How far in advance should I email a request for a table for 2?

[WAAAYTOOO]

I wouldn't try and contact them more than 2 weeks ahead of time...

[WAAAYTOOO]

6 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I wouldn't try and contact them more than 2 weeks ahead of time...

The truth is, I probably wouldn't even worry about contacting them ahead of time.  My recent experience is that they have pretty much abandoned the "group seating" concept as a default arrangement.  Yes, you can still request group seating but I think they have realized that most people really don't enjoy sitting with strangers and prefer private (or what they try and pass as private) dining.

If you just go to the MDR on boarding day, you can pretty much request your table.  It's kind of important to go to the MDR on the first night so that you can "claim" your table.  If you are doing MTD it's certainly not a guarantee that you will get that same table every night (especially if you miss a night or 2 due to specialty dining or for whatever reason) but they really do an excellent job of trying to accommodate your individual requests.  I have been amazed at how consistently they have put us either in the exact same table we request on the first night OR at least put us with the same servers.

Best of luck !!  Don't worry.  You WILL get a table for 2 if you ask for that.  Where that table is located is a bit more of a toss-up unless you go and scout the dining room yourself and pick out a nice table for yourself !

[MaryCS62]

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

The truth is, I probably wouldn't even worry about contacting them ahead of time.  My recent experience is that they have pretty much abandoned the "group seating" concept as a default arrangement.  Yes, you can still request group seating but I think they have realized that most people really don't enjoy sitting with strangers and prefer private (or what they try and pass as private) dining.

If you just go to the MDR on boarding day, you can pretty much request your table.  It's kind of important to go to the MDR on the first night so that you can "claim" your table.  If you are doing MTD it's certainly not a guarantee that you will get that same table every night (especially if you miss a night or 2 due to specialty dining or for whatever reason) but they really do an excellent job of trying to accommodate your individual requests.  I have been amazed at how consistently they have put us either in the exact same table we request on the first night OR at least put us with the same servers.

Best of luck !!  Don't worry.  You WILL get a table for 2 if you ask for that.  Where that table is located is a big more of a toss-up unless you go and scout the dining room yourself and pick out a nice table for yourself !

Funny - our 2nd night of MTD on Anthem, they tried to stick us in an awful spot, and I flat out refused it.  They finally found a better table (I requested near the windows), but it was still a bad night - very slow service (maybe because it was first formal night & pretty crowded).  The next night, they asked if we wanted the same table as the night before, we said yes, thinking we would get the window table, and they brought us to the one I had refused.  No again, they found us a better table near the windows.  Next night - same thing. This time I asked which one it was, it was STILL the bad table, and again, got a better one.  The last night, I said what table number we wanted, and got one close by.  

Next cruise, we're doing set time dining, and going to talk to them first thing to see if we can get a good table.

 

 

[Ampurp85]

@WAAAYTOOO I wonder if they are only doing groups for singles now. I have traditional dining for my cruise on the 17th and assumed I would be placed at a large table since I am solo.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

@WAAAYTOOO I wonder if they are only doing groups for singles now. I have traditional dining for my cruise on the 17th and assumed I would be placed at a large table since I am solo.

I don’t know.  That’s a good question. I guess that will be up to the individual.  I know you don’t feel this way, but some people might feel strange eating alone so maybe they would place singles together by default unless the person asks to be seated alone.  Let us know what happens in your case.

[B&S]

On 4/6/2023 at 10:02 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

The truth is, I probably wouldn't even worry about contacting them ahead of time.  My recent experience is that they have pretty much abandoned the "group seating" concept as a default arrangement.  Yes, you can still request group seating but I think they have realized that most people really don't enjoy sitting with strangers and prefer private (or what they try and pass as private) dining.

If you just go to the MDR on boarding day, you can pretty much request your table.  It's kind of important to go to the MDR on the first night so that you can "claim" your table.  If you are doing MTD it's certainly not a guarantee that you will get that same table every night (especially if you miss a night or 2 due to specialty dining or for whatever reason) but they really do an excellent job of trying to accommodate your individual requests.  I have been amazed at how consistently they have put us either in the exact same table we request on the first night OR at least put us with the same servers.

Best of luck !!  Don't worry.  You WILL get a table for 2 if you ask for that.  Where that table is located is a bit more of a toss-up unless you go and scout the dining room yourself and pick out a nice table for yourself !

Depends on the ship.  We just got off the Radiance of the Seas in Galveston and almost all were "shared" tables.