Question on main dining room...

[Mountaineer0313]

So, we have always sailed with Royal Caribbean, which has a good variety of specialty dining. We have never eaten in the main dining room on any of our cruises. There doesn't seem to be as much of a selection in specialty restaurants on Millennium. My question is, will they seat you with other people at the same table? I know we can go when we get on the ship and see where our table is and request changes, but I just want to see if maybe I should reserve Tuscan grill for every night now and be done with it?

[Algebralovr]

I enjoy the main dining room.  If you are in a suite, Luminae is essentially a specialty restaurant every night.  
 

I would look at the menus online before making a decision.  I would not plan to eat in Tuscan nightly, that would be boring. 

[Loracpin2]

27 minutes ago, Mountaineer0313 said:

So, we have always sailed with Royal Caribbean, which has a good variety of specialty dining. We have never eaten in the main dining room on any of our cruises. There doesn't seem to be as much of a selection in specialty restaurants on Millennium. My question is, will they seat you with other people at the same table? I know we can go when we get on the ship and see where our table is and request changes, but I just want to see if maybe I should reserve Tuscan grill for every night now and be done with it?

If you choose Select Dining instead of Ealry or Late seating you can make reservation for two for specific times each eveing.  If you also choose make reservations for two in the Specialty restaurants, you will sit alone. 

[Mountaineer0313]

3 hours ago, Algebralovr said:

I enjoy the main dining room.  If you are in a suite, Luminae is essentially a specialty restaurant every night.  
 

I would look at the menus online before making a decision.  I would not plan to eat in Tuscan nightly, that would be boring. 

We’re not picky eaters. Just the one time we chose to try a main dining room, we were seated about 12 inches from another table on each side of us. That was my husbands first cruise and after that he said he was never doing another one. I finally convinced him after we went to Alaska and didn’t eat in the main dining room at all. But Millennium just doesn’t have the specialty options were used to. Hoping we can get there and request a decent table. 

[jelayne]

If you chose Select Dining ( anytime dining) you will not be seated with others unless you want to join a shared table.  
We haven’t done traditional dining in years so I don’t know how that works theses days.

[neverlaysup]

4 hours ago, Mountaineer0313 said:

So, we have always sailed with Royal Caribbean, which has a good variety of specialty dining. We have never eaten in the main dining room on any of our cruises. There doesn't seem to be as much of a selection in specialty restaurants on Millennium. My question is, will they seat you with other people at the same table? I know we can go when we get on the ship and see where our table is and request changes, but I just want to see if maybe I should reserve Tuscan grill for every night now and be done with it?

My DW has some anxiety issues and I always ask to be seated away from others or in the corner/wall for less traffic. We have never had a problem with others dining that close based on our requests. With fewer people sailing right now, it is pretty easy to get a table of separation if you want one. Feel free to try Tuscan if you want but the MDR is pretty good and Tuscan is not worth the money for an entire cruise. 

[Algebralovr]

We have had good luck requesting a table away from people.  They will occasionally even give a couple a 4 top if that is all that is available.  

[Mountaineer0313]

2 hours ago, neverlaysup said:

My DW has some anxiety issues and I always ask to be seated away from others or in the corner/wall for less traffic. We have never had a problem with others dining that close based on our requests. With fewer people sailing right now, it is pretty easy to get a table of separation if you want one. Feel free to try Tuscan if you want but the MDR is pretty good and Tuscan is not worth the money for an entire cruise. 

we have Tuscan for two nights. It just ducks because on Royal, they have enough specialty dining to get us through the whole cruise. 

[upwarduk]

6 hours ago, neverlaysup said:

With fewer people sailing right now, it is pretty easy to get a table of separation if you want one.

Some ships are now sailing at 100% capacity.

[bye-seaya]

I do think going straight to the MD once onboard to get in line to check with the Maitre D your table location and see if your DH will be happy with it. The. Maybe give it a try the first night. 

I’m a “what if person” so in addition to going to see the Maitre D, I would also book Tuscan just in case the MD options can’t meet our expectations. And if they do & if we are happy with the MD seating - then I’d keep a couple of the Tuscan reservations and cancel the rest. But that’s just me. 😀

[Mountaineer0313]

4 hours ago, bye-seaya said:

I do think going straight to the MD once onboard to get in line to check with the Maitre D your table location and see if your DH will be happy with it. The. Maybe give it a try the first night. 

I’m a “what if person” so in addition to going to see the Maitre D, I would also book Tuscan just in case the MD options can’t meet our expectations. And if they do & if we are happy with the MD seating - then I’d keep a couple of the Tuscan reservations and cancel the rest. But that’s just me. 😀

 

Yep, we have Tuscan already booked for 2 nights, and I definitely want to see where the table is, because I have no issues eating in main dining as long as we're not side by side with other tables.

[39august]

For future reference, Reflection has 5 specialty dining options. 

[jelayne]

13 hours ago, Mountaineer0313 said:

we have Tuscan for two nights. It just ducks because on Royal, they have enough specialty dining to get us through the whole cruise. 

 Unfortunately the smaller M Class ships only have  3 specialty restaurants.  You might want to book Le Petit Chef for 1 night.  

[Mountaineer0313]

11 minutes ago, 39august said:

For future reference, Reflection has 5 specialty dining options. 

 

We stick with Alaska and other cold weather spots. Though it looks like Reflection does sail Ireland and Iceland maybe? That could be fun.

[39august]

Actually, it's six on Reflection.

[davekathy]

I was surprised to see Tuscan, Cyprus and Normandie are considered complimentary restaurants on our Apex cruise. 

[NantahalaCruiser]

21 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I was surprised to see Tuscan, Cyprus and Normandie are considered complimentary restaurants on our Apex cruise. 

The three that you mentioned, along with the Cosmopolitan, are the four standard Main Dining Rooms - with different decor but mostly the same menu.

[davekathy]

6 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

The three that you mentioned, along with the Cosmopolitan, are the four standard Main Dining Rooms - with different decor but mostly the same menu.

Yep. We have the Cosmopolitan reserved for all nights, SD. I realize that, just commenting (surprised) as on M&S class ships Tuscan is considered a specialty dining venue. 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

19 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Yep. We have the Cosmopolitan reserved for all nights, SD. I realize that, just commenting (surprised) as on M&S class ships Tuscan is considered a specialty dining venue. 

 

Different Tuscan. That is Tuscan GRILLE. On Edge class the MDR Tuscan is just called Tuscan. No Grille.

Edited August 30, 2022 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[davekathy]

5 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

Different Tuscan. That is Tuscan GRILLE. On Edge class the MDR Tuscan is just called Tuscan. No Grille.

Grazie. I was wondering about that. 

[LMaxwell]

You can request tables away from others.  I do understand it's a bit strange when they put you at a private table 10 inches away from another party.  Not fond of that myself.  

[neverlaysup]

On 8/29/2022 at 11:47 PM, upwarduk said:

Some ships are now sailing at 100% capacity.

The only ship that I have seen consistent 80% or more number on is Silhouette out of the UK, the others, not so much. Either way, I am sure the Maitre D can find them a table to their liking.

[Cruiser6270]

On 8/31/2022 at 3:41 PM, LMaxwell said:

You can request tables away from others.  I do understand it's a bit strange when they put you at a private table 10 inches away from another party.  Not fond of that myself.  

It's tricky to have quiet dinner in the MDR unless you manage to get one of the few tables that are set on their own which we've found are invariably snaffled by the same folk each evening. It's not just MDR where privacy can be at a premium.

 

I recall once on an Az cruise booking a specialist restaurant for my wife and I as a little treat. We made the effort to dress up for the evening, looking forward to a quiet dinner for 2 but found ourselves outnumbered by those (from suites) who clearly used the venue as their canteen and persistently tried to engage us in conversation. No amount of hinting would deter them 🙂

 

We quickly learned you have to be quite clear to the Maitre D what you are looking for. 

[wallyh4184]

Millennium does have a few table for 2 not near other diners, we had one on our 8-5 cruise