MDR etiquette

[BringMeTheHorizon]

We haven't been to the MDR in quite a while, but on our upcoming cruise we plan on going there every night, so here's my (silly, I presume) conundrum: I remember the waiters introduce themselves on the first night (you know, "Hello, my name is... I'll be your waiter"). Am I supposed to introduce myself and my family, as well? (As in, "Oh great I'm Ellie and this is... and...") I'm thinking, no... , but who knows, maybe that's the proper thing to do on a long cruise? I mean, we'll be seeing them every night for 12 nights..... :confused:

[Langley Cruisers]

On most of our cruises, the wait team has known and remembered our names - we did not introduce ourselves, but they had a list and confirmed "who was who", so to speak. :)

[BringMeTheHorizon]

Oh OK, that actually make sense. Thanks!

[zqvol]

Do you introduce yourself to your server in a land based restaurant after they tell you their name? The answer to my question is the answer to OP's question.

[BringMeTheHorizon]

Do you introduce yourself to your server in a land based restaurant after they tell you their name? The answer to my question is the answer to OP's question.

First of all, I don't appreciate your tone. Even if you find my question stupid and/or bizarre, there's no need to let me know exactly how stupid you think I am. A simple "I don't think that's necessary" would have sufficed.

Second of all, if you had read my initial message carefully, you would have seen that I wrote: "...maybe that's the proper thing to do on a long cruise?", (obviously) implying that this is not a regular server-customer situation. At least not in my opinion, seeing as in a regular "land based", as you call you, restaurant I'm there for one evening and that's it. Even if I'm a regular there, I'm not there every single night, whereas on a cruise I will be there every single night for 12 night, so I thought that maybe the polite thing to do would be to introduce myself, as they introduce themselves. That is all. I'm sorry if you find that reasoning idiotic.

[AmberCascades]

It's a different relationship than a one-off, land-based restaurant, so yes, I would introduce myself. Especially if I were seeing the same waiters every night. We do select dining, but because my husband is celiac, we try to stay with the same waitstaff. It's lovely when they greet you with "Good evening Miss [first name] and Mr. [first name]. Did you enjoy your day?" But we don't mind getting a little friendly with the crew. Some people like to keep them at a distance, and that's fine too, I guess.

[cb at sea]

It's totally up to you. There is no right or wrong.

[Grandma Dazzles]

I have found that when the waiters introduce themselves they have a note indicating who is at the table. They often kind of find a way of having you introduce yourself. I usually request a large traditional table for 10-12 people.

 

Waiters after introducing themselves will say something like - do I have John and Mary Smith, James Brown, Molly Grant, etc., thus confirming everyone is at the correct table and at the same time learning who is who. Also gives people a chance to introduce themselves to their new table mates.

 

Hope that helps. Enjoy your cruise. By the way, if they don't proceed like I outlined, I think it's perfectly normal and polite to introduce yourself. Never had a two-top, so maybe that would be the way to go with a two-top.

[navybankerteacher]

Do you introduce yourself to your server in a land based restaurant after they tell you their name? The answer to my question is the answer to OP's question.

 

Snotty, irrelevant response to a valid question: how often do you dine at the same table at the same land based restaurant night after night for a week or more?

[mjkacmom]

Snotty, irrelevant response to a valid question: how often do you dine at the same table at the same land based restaurant night after night for a week or more?

Actually, it made me laugh, because now I have it in my head that the next time my family goes out to eat, I think I’m going to introduce us all, just to embarrass my kids.

[navybankerteacher]

Actually, it made me laugh, because now I have it in my head that the next time my family goes out to eat, I think I’m going to introduce us all, just to embarrass my kids.

 

I like your thought patterns : always good to embarrass the kids.

[mjkacmom]

I like your thought patterns : always good to embarrass the kids.

And many times it’s not intentional!

[davekathy]

BringMeTheHorizon...We do along with introducing ourselves to our cabin attendant. We know they have their little cheat sheets but we still like the interaction. Plus we don't like to be called ma'am and sir.

[whogo]

Actually, it made me laugh, because now I have it in my head that the next time my family goes out to eat, I think I’m going to introduce us all, just to embarrass my kids.

I've done it and introduced my wife and kids.

 

 

Personally, I just want good service. I don't need to know the server's name, he doesn't need to know mine, especially with anytime dining and short staffing.

 

 

BringMeTheHorizon, introduce yourselves or don't, either is appropriate.

[sail7seas]

Imo,

[davekathy]

Imo,

please continue...

[tip]

...Personally, I just want good service. I don't need to know the server's name, he doesn't need to know mine...

 

Well-said!

[Nilbog]

zqvol had to do something to get ot nearly 20,000 posts. One way to do it is drive-by snarky posts. We've always introduced ourselves to our cabin steward. We don't, normally, in the MDR since we choose my/any time dining. But we find our wait staff usually knows who we are before they get to the table, so they do do their homework, even if they think they're only going to see you one night.

[Nilbog]

zqvol had to do something to get to nearly 20,000 posts. One way to do it is drive-by snarky posts. We've always introduced ourselves to our cabin steward. We don't, normally, in the MDR since we choose my/any time dining. But we find our wait staff usually knows who we are before they get to the table, so they do do their homework, even if they're only going to see you one night.

[GUT2407]

I do,on land or at sea. But they usually knw it anyway.

[voyager70]

I like your thought patterns : always good to embarrass the kids.

 

I like your thought patterns, quite nasty, judgemental with no sense of humor. Not.

[Floridiana]

We rarely have fixed dining, but when we do, the waiters know our names from a chart they must have been given at some point in time. I don't even remember if they introduced themselves by name. We'll see at our next long cruise when we have fixed dining.

[57redbird]

I think when you check in at the MDR podium & give your cabin number the little slip of paper that the person that shows you to your table has your surname on it & maybe gets passed to your wait staff....just a guess on my part.

[Hlitner]

We have done far more then 100 cruises (with many lines) and always find it just good manners to introduce ourselves to the cabin stewards and some other staff (like bar tenders). We have actually had the same cabin steward on more then one cruise (it has happened twice) and its always fun when they actually remember the prior cruise :). We usually will ask our steward about their home, family, etc.

 

As to the MDR (and other dining venues) things have changed over the years. If the OP has Fixed Dining where they will have the same waiter every evening then its also nice to introduce one's self and, if the waiter has time, ask about their home country, family, cruise background, etc. It is a small world and we have met waiters who knew other waiters and Officers with whom we were friends. But if the OP is dining in an Open Sitting situation, they will likely have many different waiters and becoming familiar might be difficult. I might add that we tend to dine late (or on the late sitting) when waiters (and other staff) are less rushed and often have time to socialize (especially towards the end of a meal). When you dine early, the waiters are under pressure to move everything along so that they can get their charges out of the MDR in time for the next group. While they will always try to be polite...they often do not have the luxury of extra time to chat for more then a few seconds.

 

Hank

[zqvol]

We haven't had a fixed dining time except on one CCL cruise almost 20 years ago. Every other cruise we have been on including a large number of some luxury lines and some mass market lines, we have had open seating. It is rare that we ever see the same servers twice during the cruise. Just like dining out at home. If you want to introduce yourselve to someone you are paying to take care of you, by all means do it, but we just want quality service not a personal relationship with a crew member.