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So 6 of us are cruising April of 2019 on LOS.  I found out a few weeks ago that my brother and his wife are going to be joining us which is awesome.    If we all have MTD, would it be possible to get a table for 8 ?  

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Similar question was recently discussed on the below thread. Consensus seemed to be that with groups of 8 or more, it's really better to go with traditional dining rather than MTD. Partly for table availability, partly because you can just tell everyone in your group "this is dinner time every day, so plan to meet then" rather than having the daily discussion (or argument) about what time to meet up.

 

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43 minutes ago, Todd W said:

So 6 of us are cruising April of 2019 on LOS.  I found out a few weeks ago that my brother and his wife are going to be joining us which is awesome.    If we all have MTD, would it be possible to get a table for 8 ?  

I agree with @JLMoran that choosing a traditional dining time might be better than MTD.  We had 8 people in 4 cabins on Oasis a few years ago. All the reservations were linked.  We had a table for 8 at the first dinner seating.

 

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If you want MTD then don't worry about it. The 5:30 is way too early for us to eat as we feel we miss too much in the afternoon to get ready so I always make 6:15 reservations. Just be there at least 15 minutes early the first night! I think you will be fine with MTD with 8.  There are quite a few large round tables but they will join two 4 top tables together too.  If you can link the reservation in the cruise planner and then make one reservation for everyone.

We normally travel with 6 but last cruise on Harmony we had 7.  I made MTD reservations and verified everything upon boarding.  They told me when I checked in for the evening to go to another desk that dealt with seating large parties.  We were in an dining area where we were the smallest dining party for the week....many parties of 12+.  Never had a problem. 

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Thanks for the feedback everyone.   Our group, myself included, really doesn't like to tied down to any specific time for dining which is why we would like to keep MTD.    Good to know that it sounds like they could potentially accommodate a party of 8.       As we get closer, does anyone see a benefit in reaching out to the ship ahead of time or probably just easiest to handle once on board?     

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I linked all of my travel mates and reserved dinner for my time dining at 6:15. So far there are 5 of us. My plan is to check with RC before trip. We all decided on a time (6:15 though I'm not thrilled, I like a late dinner for my vacations) so that saved a lot of heartache. We assume we may have 3 or 4 extra people on some nights  - we will call ahead of time those nights.

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Are you sure that you all want to eat together every night ?  As an organizer of many group cruises, I have found that this is worse than herding cats.  Inevitably, one or more of our group will always have something else to do when it's time to eat.  For my own sanity, I have ceased trying to organize meals for everyone.  Dan and I decide when we want to eat, let everyone know of our plans and if they want to come along, great.  If not, I don't push it.  I will usually try and organize at least ONE group meal but there is no way I will EVER try and corral everyone anymore.  It is like trying to wrestle a pig.  You end up frustrated and on your face in a pile of sh*t and the pig just squeals with delight and scampers away.

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@WAAAYTOOO   Thanks for your feedback!   I've indirectly become the planner for our cruises over the past few years because of my compulsive traits that i have.  Love doing all the research and what-not before hand (multiple files, spreadsheets and pdf's starting as far out as 2 yrs when i typically book lol).   As you mentioned, i can very easily see myself getting all worked up trying to keep dining times scheduled organized.  I'm obsessively VERY prompt for any and all plans.  If you aren't early, you're late.   It's a curse.    My wife's family is pretty much the exact opposite but it's really my own issues which i acknowledge so i try not to take it out on anyone else.       I'm sure eating together won't happen every night albeit we would love to have the opportunity to dine together in the MDR if the stars align.     I realize now, probably the best thing to do is play it by ear.       On a different note,  would there be any issue with Chops or Giovanni's being able to accommodate a party of 8 if I try to make reservations when we first board?   I've never been in either with more than 4 people.

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1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Are you sure that you all want to eat together every night ?  As an organizer of many group cruises, I have found that this is worse than herding cats.  Inevitably, one or more of our group will always have something else to do when it's time to eat.  For my own sanity, I have ceased trying to organize meals for everyone.  Dan and I decide when we want to eat, let everyone know of our plans and if they want to come along, great.  If not, I don't push it.  I will usually try and organize at least ONE group meal but there is no way I will EVER try and corral everyone anymore.  It is like trying to wrestle a pig.  You end up frustrated and on your face in a pile of sh*t and the pig just squeals with delight and scampers away.

I have adopted this approach in regards to many social activities now .... this is what I am doing, if you would like to join us ... great love to spend the time with you. No I am not open to going to Disney the following weekend instead, no I am not open to going to a different restaurant, no I am not open to eating at 6.45 instead of 6.30 .... the plan is the plan, comply or move on :)

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11 minutes ago, Todd W said:

On a different note,  would there be any issue with Chops or Giovanni's being able to accommodate a party of 8 if I try to make reservations when we first board?   I've never been in either with more than 4 people.

The number of people itself won't be a problem. They should be able to accommodate 8 people without a problem.  The harder issue will likely be availability so in THIS case, I strongly recommend that you DO pre-arrange this.  Last year we had a party of 10 in Giovanni's and they just pushed tables together for us....but we had made those arrangements well in advance and had to schedule around their availability to accommodate all of us.

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13 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

The number of people itself won't be a problem. They should be able to accommodate 8 people without a problem.  The harder issue will likely be availability so in THIS case, I strongly recommend that you DO pre-arrange this.  Last year we had a party of 10 in Giovanni's and they just pushed tables together for us....but we had made those arrangements well in advance and had to schedule around their availability to accommodate all of us.

great point.    i'll see if i can get everyone to agree to at least one specialty dinner and then get i'll reach out to try and reserve that.   thanks!

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Been there and done that 1 time.  Perhaps 1 time to many.   All of the previous posts are CORRECT.  You all need a break and hopefully the specialty dinner is one that everyone likes the menu choice as well.  YES book it early.   It is really nice of you trying to organize this as I was the one doing it 6 years ago and it can be frustrating.   Hope all goes well.   

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I also have MTD, and there are 7 of us traveling together.  I made reservations via the cruse planner for the days I know we will eat in the dining room - will that serve as advance notice, or do I also need to let someone in the dinning room know before hand that there are 7 of us?   

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5 minutes ago, MomOnTheRun said:

I also have MTD, and there are 7 of us traveling together.  I made reservations via the cruse planner for the days I know we will eat in the dining room - will that serve as advance notice, or do I also need to let someone in the dinning room know before hand that there are 7 of us?   

When you made the MTD reservations did you make them for all 7 of you (linked reservations) ?  If so, then you're good and don't need to do anything except perhaps mention it to the maitre'd on the night before the first group meal.  If you did NOT make the reservation for everyone then you will definitely need to speak with the restaurant at some point BEFORE everyone shows up to eat to make sure that they are expecting all of you.  It never hurts just to pop by the restaurant early in the cruise and make sure that they have the reservations booked to your satisfaction.  7 is not a huge group and eventually they would get a table prepared for everyone but it will be much easier (and quicker) for everyone if they are expecting your group and have made arrangements beforehand.

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1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

When you made the MTD reservations did you make them for all 7 of you (linked reservations) ?  If so, then you're good and don't need to do anything except perhaps mention it to the maitre'd on the night before the first group meal.  If you did NOT make the reservation for everyone then you will definitely need to speak with the restaurant at some point BEFORE everyone shows up to eat to make sure that they are expecting all of you.  It never hurts just to pop by the restaurant early in the cruise and make sure that they have the reservations booked to your satisfaction.  7 is not a huge group and eventually they would get a table prepared for everyone but it will be much easier (and quicker) for everyone if they are expecting your group and have made arrangements beforehand.

I did make reservations for all of us together, and when I look at the reservation now it does list all of us.   I do think you have the right idea and I'll drop by the restaurant just to check in.  Given how many issues I had, a little human interaction might be a good thing.  Thanks for the feedback!

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On 5/16/2018 at 6:10 PM, Dawn T. said:

I agree with @JLMoran that choosing a traditional dining time might be better than MTD.  We had 8 people in 4 cabins on Oasis a few years ago. All the reservations were linked.  We had a table for 8 at the first dinner seating.

 

We had 8 last summer on the Oasis and we were all linked at sat at the same table MDR.

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