If MDR was open for embarkation lunch would you go there?

[mcd2745]

Most people answered the very simple question with a yes or no. you came in and used a broad brush to try to insult people while not answering the question either way because you didn't understand. I then explained the question again in child like terms so you could not possible misunderstand. that's not being argumentative. Maybe in the future if you don't like a topic don't lob a hand grenade in to see what happens?

 

 

Ahhh, but I did answer the question with a simple yes or no. Through the proper channel - in the poll. No need to answer again in a comment. And (unlike you) I never tried to insult anyone, not even close. Simply made an observation that was hardly a "hand grenade"...unless you are incredibly thin-skinned.

[mcas]

Thank you for posting this. We are going on the Liberty over Thanksgiving and had no idea that the MDR was not open on embarkation day.

 

We have cruised Princess and NCL in the past and they both have the MDR open the first day for lunch.

 

I will make sure to eat a nice breakfast and avoid the buffet crowds. :) We are traveling with our small children for the first time so we don't need the added stress of trying to get a table for 5 in buffet!

 

To answer the question asked, we would definitely eat in the MDR if it was available.

[LMaxwell]

Ahhh, but I did answer the question with a simple yes or no. Through the proper channel - in the poll. No need to answer again in a comment. And (unlike you) I never tried to insult anyone, not even close. Simply made an observation that was hardly a "hand grenade"...unless you are incredibly thin-skinned.

 

Yes, I can clearly see you are not the type to attempt an insult. Enjoy the pool.

[tlatrice]

Ahhh, but I did answer the question with a simple yes or no. Through the proper channel - in the poll. No need to answer again in a comment. And (unlike you) I never tried to insult anyone, not even close. Simply made an observation that was hardly a "hand grenade"...unless you are incredibly thin-skinned.

 

Worried they won't get enough to eat over the next several days?

 

This isn't an observation. It's condescending at best. You have no idea how long some (probably most) people have to travel to get to the port. Not everyone can fly in the day before and get a hotel near the port. And not everyone lives in driving distance of the port.

 

If I were to fly in the day of my cruise, the first flight out is at 7am. Which means I'd have to leave my house at between 4:30 and 5am to get to the airport in time. That flight lands in Orlando at 10am. Then I'd have to go through baggage claim, and take a 45 minute shuttle ride to the port. Even if I ate breakfast before I left home, it would be somewhere between noon and 1pm before I got on board. Yeah, I'd be ravenous. I'd want to eat. NOW, please. :p

[vestamark]

Would definitely eat at the MDR if available. In fact up until this thread I assumed that RCCL did offer MDR on embarkation day. We cruised on Princess this summer out of Seattle and had a great lunch that day.

Much like MCAS above we will have our children with us in December and the Windjammer may be a bit too crowded for us to enjoy. Plus I really don't like buffets that much if I can avoid them. Not sure what we'll do now.

Oh well, if that is the worst news I get then we should have a great cruise!

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[mcd2745]

This isn't an observation. It's condescending at best.

 

 

Wow...like oil & water...tongue-in-cheek remarks and the uber-sensitive CC community clearly do not mix.

 

 

 

You have no idea how long some (probably most) people have to travel to get to the port. Not everyone can fly in the day before and get a hotel near the port. And not everyone lives in driving distance of the port.

 

 

That's just it. For all the people on board, it varies greatly how they've all arrived. So, given that variation, it's interesting that such a majority would then follow the same pattern after boarding.

[critterchick]

I agree.....it is a people watching event for us after we have settled into our table with our food. The amazement on cruisers faces ranges from 'wow -- look at all there is' (maybe they have never been on a cruise before) to "oh - is that all there is" (maybe they have been on many other cruises and disappointed in what they see) and everything in between. The family groups looking to find others in there party....and all the rest just getting ready for their vacation.

 

I am always amazed at the amount of luggage people walk on board with, and how they manage with it....we board with a little back pack that has essentials and a bathing suit....so we can enjoy the pool deck that afternoon fully expecting our luggage to arrive before we need to dress for dinner.

 

We board with a 22" rollerbag and a tote that usually contain everything we will need for the trip. Instead of trying to take it all over the place, we time our arrival to coincide with the rooms being open so we can drop our bags and head to a late lunch somewhere. The advantages to the late lunch is that there's a lull in the WJ as people head to their cabins once they're open and, since we dine late in the evening, we aren't faced wtih 7 hours of starvation.;)

 

Wow...like oil & water...tongue-in-cheek remarks and the uber-sensitive CC community clearly do not mix.

 

You're catching on.;)

 

That's just it. For all the people on board, it varies greatly how they've all arrived. So, given that variation, it's interesting that such a majority would then follow the same pattern after boarding.

 

They may all have arrived at different times, but I would wager that most Americans have breakfast well before 9:00, so being hungry again 3-4 hours later is par for the course. Just sayin'.

 

I couldn't vote from my iPad, but we would head to the MDR for lunch if it were open on boarding day. We don't go there often, but on Princess it's a nice start to the cruise - the menu is limited (and if they have a group of TAs or a lot of Bon Voyage Experience guests it's even more limited), but it's relaxing and quite good. And on Princess the cabins are open when you board, so we go a little earlier, get mostly unpacked and then get to the MDR around 1:00 (they close at 1:30). There's plenty of time for people watching later in the cruise.

[CaribbeanCrush]

That's just it. For all the people on board, it varies greatly how they've all arrived. So, given that variation, it's interesting that such a majority would then follow the same pattern after boarding.

 

We have been fortunate enough to be able to fly in a day or two before the cruise. We usually get up early, workout and have breakfast at the hotel. We aren't usually in a rush to get on board, but on several occasions we have boarded before our cabin was ready. Quite frankly there isn't much to do if you don't care to hang out at the pool and you know the layout of the ship. We like to get a bite to eat before the adult beverages start and our long wait for late seating in the MDR, even with lunch I'm usually more than ready for dinner by then. But, I would guess that a fair amount of cruiser either avoid the WJ or don't know that it's available on the boarding day... We honestly didn't know about it 'til our 3rd cruise. :)

[phoenix1181]

I'd love it but only if I could be seated with my party only & not forced to eat with strangers. I love that about NCL & hate Royal's "Open Seating" concept........

[Paulette3028]

Thank you for posting this. We are going on the Liberty over Thanksgiving and had no idea that the MDR was not open on embarkation day.

 

We have cruised Princess and NCL in the past and they both have the MDR open the first day for lunch.

 

I will make sure to eat a nice breakfast and avoid the buffet crowds. :) We are traveling with our small children for the first time so we don't need the added stress of trying to get a table for 5 in buffet!

 

To answer the question asked, we would definitely eat in the MDR if it was available.

 

Just so you know, Liberty has several options open for lunch in the Royal Promenade, so you don't have to go to the WJ. You have Cafe Promenade and Sorrentos as two such options.

[BND]

Yes we would because even though we eat breakfast at the hotel (or home if sailing from Baltimore) before we board, we also have late dining so going almost 12 hours isn't my idea of fun.

Edited September 15, 2015 by BND

[TheInnocentAge]

Though I voted "No", meaning I would not personally go there for lunch, I am in favor of as many lunch options as possible so that it lessens the crowds at the other locations.

[davekathy]

I'd love it but only if I could be seated with my party only & not forced to eat with strangers. I love that about NCL & hate Royal's "Open Seating" concept........

 

We always request a table for two in the MDR no matter what meal we are eating and receive it with no problems.

[phoenix1181]

We always request a table for two in the MDR no matter what meal we are eating and receive it with no problems.

 

We do also & have always been accommodated however, except in the evening, we're always very aware that we're disrupting the flow of things.

[davekathy]

We do also & have always been accommodated however, except in the evening, we're always very aware that we're disrupting the flow of things.

 

We've never experienced the problem in the evening as we always do early traditional dining. Are you talking about My Time Dining? We've never done MTD so I can't comment on it.

[jes Scott]

We've never experienced the problem in the evening as we always do early traditional dining. Are you talking about My Time Dining? We've never done MTD so I can't comment on it.

 

 

Mtd does have lots of table for 2 options. The "2's" have lines of tables that are pretty close so not much in the way of privacy, but when we were dining sometimes tables talked amongst themselves, sometimes not. Seems to depend on the personalities. Worked very well for us!

[Paulette3028]

Mtd does have lots of table for 2 options. The "2's" have lines of tables that are pretty close so not much in the way of privacy, but when we were dining sometimes tables talked amongst themselves, sometimes not. Seems to depend on the personalities. Worked very well for us!

 

We have never done MTD, but when we have had a table for 2 (which we now prefer not to have) even for early seating it seemed very rude to talk to the people at the table next to us, and the seating was incredible close.

 

Now we reach out to rcldining@rccl.com and request a table for 8-10 during Early Seating to have tablemates that expect to have conversation with each other.

[davy jones]

Mtd does have lots of table for 2 options. The "2's" have lines of tables that are pretty close so not much in the way of privacy, but when we were dining sometimes tables talked amongst themselves, sometimes not. Seems to depend on the personalities. Worked very well for us!

 

We do MTD and always have a table for 2 at dinner. There are ample 2 tops in the MTD section, but many are only inches apart. At breakfast and lunch, the MDR (on my sailings) uses the traditional dining section, which has few 2 tops. If you want to be seated right away, you end up at a large table with others. You can have a considerable wait for 2 top at breakfast or lunch.

[phoenix1181]

We've never experienced the problem in the evening as we always do early traditional dining. Are you talking about My Time Dining? We've never done MTD so I can't comment on it.

 

Looks like I didn't explain myself very well. We never have a problem in the evening with MTD. Breakfast & lunch are the issue.

 

When I ask for a table for two, the looks between the staff very clearly indicate dissatisfaction. We're always asked to step off to the side & are left standing there for several minutes while they seat others. Eventually, someone will seat us at a table that has been open & available since we entered the dining room. We've both come to consider the wait our punishment for being unwilling to participate in the open seating concept.

 

The tables for two in the MTD area are very close together & there frequently is conversation between tables. We're not unsociable & we enjoy conversing with other cruisers but we prefer it to be our choice, not have it forced on us.

[depplep]

As we live close to the ports we don't typically look for food upon embarkation. Usually head to the dining room to check out seat assignments after our first beer. Then either check out the ship or hit the pub for another beer. Before muster we usually kill off a few ham and cheese croissants at Cafe Promenade. The first trip to WJ is usually the next morning for breakfast.

[pspercy]

Not having the MDR open on a B2B on RCCL cruise on "turnaround day" wasn't good for those "In Transit".

 

The only B2B we've been on had a special lunch for those continuing on, even had printed menu:D

[Philly Steve]

As others have said, I like the idea of a "civilized" lunch in the MDR but there are fewer places to stow your carry on bags.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Philly Steve

[UK Cruiser2]

As others have said, I like the idea of a "civilized" lunch in the MDR but there are fewer places to stow your carry on bags.

 

Totally agree. The WJ even at breakfast time at sea is like a cattle market:(

[bigque]

No! The WJ has become a boarding day tradition for me! I love being a part of that 1st day WJ hustle & bustle and also first time people watching, it's not just about the food! I would' miss it. It is part of my cruise experience! :cool: