Dining Dilemma

We are traveling with 11 people so it doesn't appear we are eligible for MTD. We have people from the east coast to the west coast so 6:00 seems really early and 8:30 too late. Any options I'm not thinking of for MDR dining?

If we go with late dining can we see the shows before hand?

Thank you for your insight.

Eligible? Sorry, can you elaborate? Did they say it was full?

And yes, early diners can go to the show after dinner, and second seating goes before dinner. My Time Dining guests can go to either show.

If I'm reading the requirements correctly MTD is limited to groups of 10 or less so we are just over the limit.

Do you know what times the shows take place? If we can figure out MTD I need to know what time to book dinner.

Thank you.

How about you be six and five?

I am sure that you can be separated for a couple of hours without harm

JC

Shows are usually at 7 pm and 9 pm.

How about you be six and five?... I am sure that you can be separated for a couple of hours without harm

Well, perhaps they could simply ask to be seated next to each other. They don't have to be all the way separated. :)

We would prefer not to go the separate table route. It is a family reunion with 7 adults and 4 kids (grandmother, 3 sons, 3 wives and 4 grandchildren). Meal times are especially important to my MIL because it is the one time we all relax and chat for an extended period. It gives her the illusion we are a civilized family ;)

Due to MIL age my guess is this trip will be the first and last trip with the whole family so I would like to figure it out if at all possible.

Well, perhaps they could simply ask to be seated next to each other. They don't have to be all the way separated. :)

True. I would think that being together is important, but in reality when the family gets large it is never practical for everyone to be at the same table. We are a relatively small family, but still when we do thanksgiving at my house and there is 15 people, we are not able to all sit together. So, we have a big kids and a little kids table. Plus, there is no reason that the group has to be specifically defined every night, so two tables next to each other, then the groups at the tables changing every night. Sounds like a winning plan to me.

JC

Two tables - 1 for kids and one for adults. See who orders the most desserts each night.

We would prefer not to go the separate table route. It is a family reunion with 7 adults and 4 kids (grandmother, 3 sons, 3 wives and 4 grandchildren). Meal times are especially important to my MIL because it is the one time we all relax and chat for an extended period. It gives her the illusion we are a civilized family ;)....

Sounds amazing and I know you will all have a great time. :) The practical thing is, though, that you can't all talk with each other when the table is that big. We have sat at large tables in the dining room and realistically you can only chat with those one and two people away from you - within earshot.

Anyway - my suggestion would be to stop by the MTD desk when you board and explain the situation. They may make an exception and then this whole conversation and your concern are a moot point. ;) Let's hope so.

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Two tables - 1 for kids and one for adults. See who orders the most desserts each night.

Oh, no. Please never do that. Terrible for the waitstaff and fellow diners.

With your size I think a set dinning time with a set waiter etc is best. Not knowing the age of the children either, but I know mine and my grands do better with consistency.

It will be easier to make sure you do have time to see the shows if you commit to one or the other. Just select the set time the majority of you feel is best.

With your size I think a set dinning time with a set waiter etc is best. Not knowing the age of the children either, but I know mine and my grands do better with consistency.

 

It will be easier to make sure you do have time to see the shows if you commit to one or the other. Just select the set time the majority of you feel is best.

I think this is a good idea, if it's still possible to get into traditional fixed dining.

With your size I think a set dinning time with a set waiter etc is best. Not knowing the age of the children either, but I know mine and my grands do better with consistency.

 

It will be easier to make sure you do have time to see the shows if you commit to one or the other. Just select the set time the majority of you feel is best.

Yes, this is exactly what I am looking for! Is it possible to schedule a time like 7:00 every night? If so, can you walk me through how to do it? We aren't traveling for 16 months so I'm hoping we still have options.

I apologize for all the questions, but we have only cruised once before and it was on DCL where there is no flexibility with dining times.

We are traveling with 11 people so it doesn't appear we are eligible for MTD. We have people from the east coast to the west coast so 6:00 seems really early and 8:30 too late. Any options I'm not thinking of for MDR dining?

 

If we go with late dining can we see the shows before hand?

 

Thank you for your insight.

You don't say what ship. If Oasis class MTD is your best bet for shows. We are also a party of 11. 6 Adults and 5 kids age 7-12. We are going to use MTD so we can arrange show schedules that the kids can attend. So we have some dinners reserved at 5:30 and others as late as 8:45. We'll all eat together for first night and Formal night, plus a couple others. On a few nights we'll feed the kids early, go to the show, then send the kid back to the kids program while the adults have dinner.

Anyway, I ran into the same "10 person" limit. So I reserved dining times for 10, then went back on and reserved the same times for the last person. So all 11 have the same dining times reserved. When I board I am going to the Dining Room and talking to the Maitre d'. They can make up tables for as many as 12. I am hoping that we can, with some warning, accomplish that. We could easily just add a chair to a table for 10 since the kids aren't that big. So, that's the option we're trying. Not expecting it to go smoothly, and would have much rather booked Traditional Dining, but 5:00 is WAY too early and 8:00 conflicts with many shows. So... we'll see how it goes.

Our scenario sounds almost identical to yours. My guess is that the kids won't join us every night for dinner because they will be exhausted, especially on excursion days. The kids will be 8-13.

We are sailing on the Symphony out of Miami on Nov 17, 2018. It's so far in advance showtime information isn't available yet.

Did you just wait until the show times were available before booking dinne times?

Our show times showed up first before MTD times showed up so yes, we were able to make our dinner reservations based on show times we reserved.

We had our TA link our reservations for the early seating. We had two tables next to each other and would switch seats each evening.

Of course your group can be together in MTD! They have larger tables or 2 tables together...whatever works for you. If you do get MTD, it's best for large groups like yours to have reservations, as, like in ANY restaurant, larger parties are harder to seat.

Of course your group can be together in MTD! They have larger tables or 2 tables together...whatever works for you. If you do get MTD, it's best for large groups like yours to have reservations, as, like in ANY restaurant, larger parties are harder to seat.

Did you find a way to get around the 10 person limit? We would definitely make reservations.

6:00 might seem early but by the time you are all settled and starting to eat it could be 6:30, just for your appetizers, this is a three course meal and I presume you will all be chatting and catching up. I would take 6:00, knowing it will be a long meal. If you go at say 7:00, it will be harder to catch some of the shows by the time you're all done eating.

6:00 might seem early but by the time you are all settled and starting to eat it could be 6:30, just for your appetizers, this is a three course meal and I presume you will all be chatting and catching up. I would take 6:00, knowing it will be a long meal. If you go at say 7:00, it will be harder to catch some of the shows by the time you're all done eating.

Totally agree with the above post. Unless the rules (ie. no more than 10 for MTD) have changed recently, I would ask for, even INSIST upon a ROUND table. We had a group your size and similar configuration (kids and adults), and this worked perfectly for us. Everyone could see everyone else and conversation was easy. Hope you have a wonderful family cruise!:D