Peak Time MDR

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It's 4 PM right now here in Florida and we're finished with our dinner.

On the ship 5 to 6 PM is late for us but we adjust. 

But, the sun is out, the band is playing, the cocktails are cold, the ship is just leaving port !

Why go inside to eat dinner ?

Shouldn't holidays be all about being different !

[sonomaphil]

It will also hinge on the demographic of the cruise.  Full transit Panama Canal the MDR's were ghosts towns by 7PM. Longer cruises skew older and those folks eat earlier. 

[MissP22]

31 minutes ago, wowzz said:

But, the sun is out, the band is playing, the cocktails are cold, the ship is just leaving port !

Why go inside to eat dinner ?

Shouldn't holidays be all about being different !

You obviously haven't seen the crowds of people eating early so they can get to the first show. We can only take so much sun, loud music and crowds of people.

[wowzz]

9 hours ago, MissP22 said:

You obviously haven't seen the crowds of people eating early so they can get to the first show. We can only take so much sun, loud music and crowds of people.

I appreciate that crowds of people eat early. That is good news for us, is that the public decks are then relatively empty and quiet so extremely pleasant.

We stay on our balcony during the day, do no problems with crowds or noise.

And I have no wish to travel thousands of miles, and  then eat early just to watch a 40 minute show of variable quality.

The shows are a very, very minor part of our cruise experience.

Edited March 22, 2023 by wowzz

[Jadn13]

That’s why cruises are nice, you have options and it’s not a one size fits all. 
I’m on team eat early so I can keep my same table and serving team. 

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Jadn13 said:

That’s why cruises are nice, you have options and it’s not a one size fits all. 
I’m on team eat early so I can keep my same table and serving team. 

We all have our druthers .

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, Jadn13 said:

I’m on team eat early so I can keep my same table and serving team. 

 

I'm not weighing in on the early v. late debate, but I did want to point out that getting the same table and servers is not a function of eating early.  On our last cruise we dined at 7:30 and achieved the same result.  At some point people are going to come to the realization that DMW is very similar to TD with "seatings".  There is a 5:00-6:00 "seating" where early diners fill the dining room and occupy their tables until 6:30-7:30.  Then the tables get reset and a second wave gets seated around 7:15-8:00.  Early seating and late seating.  And this means that people who arrive between 6:15-7:00 are often stuck in a line waiting for an early table to empty out.  But in the end, the dining experience at 7:30 is very much the same as it is at 5:30, only two hours later.  Getting the same table and servers is not hard to achieve.  Everyone within eyeshot of us had the same table for the whole cruise.  Our area of the MDR looked just like TD.  Saw the same people at the same tables night after night. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by JimmyVWine

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

I'm not weighing in on the early v. late debate, but I did want to point out that getting the same table and servers is not a function of eating early.  On our last cruise we dined at 7:30 and achieved the same result.  At some point people are going to come to the realization that DMW is very similar to TD with "seatings".  There is a 5:00-6:00 "seating" where early diners fill the dining room and occupy their tables until 6:30-7:30.  Then the tables get reset and a second wave gets seated around 7:15-8:00.  Early seating and late seating.  And this means that people who arrive between 6:15-7:00 are often stuck in a line waiting for an early table to empty out.  But in the end, the dining experience at 7:30 is very much the same as it is at 5:30, only two hours later.  Getting the same table and servers is not hard to achieve.  Everyone within eyeshot of us had the same table for the whole cruise.  Our area of the MDR looked just like TD.  Saw the same people at the same tables night after night. 

It doesn't work like this if you're unable to make reservations in the same dining room at the same time every night.

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

I'm not weighing in on the early v. late debate, but I did want to point out that getting the same table and servers is not a function of eating early.  On our last cruise we dined at 7:30 and achieved the same result.  At some point people are going to come to the realization that DMW is very similar to TD with "seatings".  There is a 5:00-6:00 "seating" where early diners fill the dining room and occupy their tables until 6:30-7:30.  Then the tables get reset and a second wave gets seated around 7:15-8:00.  Early seating and late seating.  And this means that people who arrive between 6:15-7:00 are often stuck in a line waiting for an early table to empty out.  But in the end, the dining experience at 7:30 is very much the same as it is at 5:30, only two hours later.  Getting the same table and servers is not hard to achieve.  Everyone within eyeshot of us had the same table for the whole cruise.  Our area of the MDR looked just like TD.  Saw the same people at the same tables night after night. 

On the Ruby, Royal and Discovery, we were definitely able to get the same table every night .. and as you mentioned, next to the same groups of people every night.  
Once, we went to lunch on embarkation day on the Royal and the waiter told us the table we were assigned for the evenings.  Our reservations were at either 6:00 or 6:20.  
Another few times, on the Ruby, we were also told on day one, that if we liked our table, it would be saved for us every night, whether two or four of us showed up.  
 

There is usually a mad rush at the dining rooms on day one but seems to calm down as the cruise goes on.  Even if you are scheduled for a different dining room on some nights, they seem to be able to work some magic.  I think the key is to establish a relationship with the hostess on the first night and let them know if you liked your table and wait team!  And also, notify the, when you are not going to be there for dinner.  
 

My issues before Dine My Way is that we found it impossible to get in between 6:00 and 6:30 PM. People that were assigned to traditional dining didn’t like their table set up for dining time so, would use the anytime dining room.  It just made a mess of everything.  There was one night they said they wouldn’t be able to seat us until after 7:30 .. way too late for us.  It was our anniversary and wanted our own table but it couldn’t be done.  That sold me on the DMW … I’ve always been able to get a table at the time we like to eat. 
 

[JimmyVWine]

5 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

It doesn't work like this if you're unable to make reservations in the same dining room at the same time every night.

I don't really see that discussed here as being an issue.  Seems pretty easy to do.  I suppose those who are late to the game might miss out, but you rarely see people post here that they couldn't make a same-time reservation, and people here are known to complain about every little nit.  Yet this is hardly ever mentioned.  

[DallasGuy75219]

2 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I don't really see that discussed here as being an issue.  Seems pretty easy to do.  I suppose those who are late to the game might miss out, but you rarely see people post here that they couldn't make a same-time reservation, and people here are known to complain about every little nit.  Yet this is hardly ever mentioned.  

Not everyone thinks about making dining reservations months in advance.  It's happened to me every cruise under DMW when I tried to make reservations a week or two before the cruise.  Just because I didn't complain about it here doesn't mean it didn't happen.

 

It's happened to me enough that I've already made reservations for my June Island cruise so I can get the same time in the same dining room each night.

[JimmyVWine]

14 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Not everyone thinks about making dining reservations months in advance.  It's happened to me every cruise under DMW when I tried to make reservations a week or two before the cruise.  Just because I didn't complain about it here doesn't mean it didn't happen.

 

It's happened to me enough that I've already made reservations for my June Island cruise so I can get the same time in the same dining room each night.

 

So in essence, you just made my point.  As long as one is diligent, it is easy to do.  And to the people for whom this is an important feature of the cruise, there is little reason not to be diligent, unless one books a "Drop and Go" cruise, at which point, you get what you get.

[DallasGuy75219]

15 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

So in essence, you just made my point.

No I didn't. 

 

The whole point of DMW is to turn tables over more than twice a night (as in traditional dining times) so the cruise lines don't have to build and staff MDRs to serve half the ship simultaneously (i.e., traditional dining).  There is not enough capacity to give everyone a standing reservation for prime time dining at the same time in the same dining room at their table preference (private or shared) each night. 

 

Some people are going to get stuck with random reservations that others canceled, late reservations (e.g., 8:20 or 8:40), or not their table preference if they want a reservation, or otherwise wait in the No Reservations line.

[JimmyVWine]

7 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

There is not enough capacity to give everyone a standing reservation for prime time dining at the same time in the same dining room at their table preference (private or shared) each night. 

There doesn't have to be.  Not everyone on the ship desires that result.  Some prefer spontaneity and many prefer the buffet.  Others eat at specialty restaurants and some order room service.  But there does seem to be the ability to accommodate most everyone who desires this feature as evidenced by the fact that you never see anyone post here that they tried to achieve this result sufficiently far in advance of their cruise and got shut out. You did indeed make my point by revealing that by waiting until a few weeks before one cruise you failed to secure a reserved time, and when you tried well in advance, you succeeded.  The system works.  Just not for people who wait until the last minute, relatively speaking. 

[SargassoPirate]

On 3/20/2023 at 12:50 PM, MissP22 said:

It all depends on what you enjoyment is during a cruise. If you don't care about a decent seat for any of the shows or other entertainment then showing up at the DR door at 7 PM or wait for the late show at 9 PM and it'll suit some people just fine.

They don't care if it does take over 2 hours to finish dinner. 

We prefer to see an early show followed by some game shows so it means early dinner between 5 & 6 PM. 

You'll be amazed at the number of people eating dinner as we leave the DR at 6:20 or so. 

Lots of people are "sheeple" and follow the flock and regimented patterns.  Once I discovered what the patterns were on cruise ships, it was easy to break away from the herd and find more relaxation and enjoyment, and I can still manage to find something to eat, a quiet shady spot to read, and a wee dram with some not over-amplified music in the evening.  

 

 

 

[RNRcruisers]

On 3/22/2023 at 8:28 AM, JimmyVWine said:

 

I'm not weighing in on the early v. late debate, but I did want to point out that getting the same table and servers is not a function of eating early.  On our last cruise we dined at 7:30 and achieved the same result.  At some point people are going to come to the realization that DMW is very similar to TD with "seatings".  There is a 5:00-6:00 "seating" where early diners fill the dining room and occupy their tables until 6:30-7:30.  Then the tables get reset and a second wave gets seated around 7:15-8:00.  Early seating and late seating.  And this means that people who arrive between 6:15-7:00 are often stuck in a line waiting for an early table to empty out.  But in the end, the dining experience at 7:30 is very much the same as it is at 5:30, only two hours later.  Getting the same table and servers is not hard to achieve.  Everyone within eyeshot of us had the same table for the whole cruise.  Our area of the MDR looked just like TD.  Saw the same people at the same tables night after night. 

 

Except it doesn't always work that way. On our 10 day cruise we were able to get the same table and waiter about four times. The rest we were out of luck. This was also at 7:30.

 

[DallasGuy75219]

14 minutes ago, RNRcruisers said:

 

Except it doesn't always work that way. On our 10 day cruise we were able to get the same table and waiter about four times. The rest we were out of luck. This was also at 7:30.

 

 

On 3/22/2023 at 9:05 AM, DallasGuy75219 said:

It doesn't work like this if you're unable to make reservations in the same dining room at the same time every night.

@RNRcruisers He can't comprehend that Princess doesn't have the dining room capacity (particularly on newer ships) or staffing to give everyone a reserved table at their preferred time and in their preferred MDR with the same servers for the entire cruise.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, RNRcruisers said:

 

Except it doesn't always work that way. On our 10 day cruise we were able to get the same table and waiter about four times. The rest we were out of luck. This was also at 7:30.

 

Another reason to eat at 5 PM. Same table, same waiter- no crowds.

[JimmyVWine]

37 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

 

@RNRcruisers He can't comprehend that Princess doesn't have the dining room capacity (particularly on newer ships) or staffing to give everyone a reserved table at their preferred time and in their preferred MDR with the same servers for the entire cruise.

Regal is sailing with the same number of passengers and the same number of dining staff today as it did in December, 2019 when TD was an option.  If Princess had the ability to make TD operate then, it has the capacity to have DMW function on pretty much the same basis now.  All you have to do is look at the early dining situation to see that this bears out.  Under TD, there was a 5:30 seating.  The staff seated and served as many people as they could accommodate at that time. Let's say that the number was 400 people.  Under DMW, that EXACT same number of people could use the app and make reservations for 5:30-6:00 and there would be the ability to seat them.  The numbers are the numbers.  Whether those people desire the same table each night is unknowable, but if everyone did, there is no reason why they could not be accommodated.  And if they don't want the same table each night, then the 400 people play musical chairs, but they all get a seat.  There are no reports here to suggest that the dining patterns of cruisers has changed.  400 people are going to show up to dine early so that they can make the shows and performances around the ship.  And the first 400 people who use the app to make that reservation will win the game.  And if only 300 people do that, then the winners are those 300 people plus the first 100 who show up in the "No Reservations" line.  The MDRs are not half full.  Especially at 6:00.  They are filled pretty much to capacity.  The issue isn't with the dining room.  It is with the people who aren't playing the game to win.

 

 

[caribill]

19 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

I don't really see that discussed here as being an issue.  Seems pretty easy to do.  I suppose those who are late to the game might miss out, but you rarely see people post here that they couldn't make a same-time reservation, and people here are known to complain about every little nit.  Yet this is hardly ever mentioned.  

OK, I'll mention it.

 

Four months before a cruise I was unable to get an overall reservation for the time I wanted, which dining room did not matter.

 

On the phone with a Medallion helper, was able to book 33 individual reservations for the 33 days in one of the dining rooms.

 

Posts on other threads have said that an overall request makes it easy to get the same table and waitstaff, but individual reservations for each evening does not.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

 The issue isn't with the dining room.  It is with the people who aren't playing the game to win.

 

 

It shouldn't be a game to win.

 

With Traditional Dining you could book a cruise at the last minute and usually still get the same table with the same waitstaff for the entire cruise with times coordinated with Princess theater performances.

 

What DMW does is force everyone into Anytime Dining. Some who liked traditional get lucky and can have the same experience. Many cannot. And one must guess way in advance of a cruise what time the Princess Theater shows will be scheduled.

 

And the true spirit of Anytime Dining is not to force one into a pre-determined fixed time to dine, but, based on daily activities, how hungry someone is and other factors decide each day while on the cruise what time to go to the dining room.

 

Now some people benefit from DMW because, for example, they like to dine at 7:00 every evening and that was not a TD time, so they had to line up each evening at 7 and hope space was available. Now they can pre-reserve that time every evening and hope when they do show up at 7 there is an available table. Those who choose on a daily basis while on the ship when to dine can show up when they want each evening and also hope a table is available, just like in the past.

[RNRcruisers]

On 3/22/2023 at 4:53 PM, JimmyVWine said:

There doesn't have to be.  Not everyone on the ship desires that result.  Some prefer spontaneity and many prefer the buffet.  Others eat at specialty restaurants and some order room service.  But there does seem to be the ability to accommodate most everyone who desires this feature as evidenced by the fact that you never see anyone post here that they tried to achieve this result sufficiently far in advance of their cruise and got shut out. You did indeed make my point by revealing that by waiting until a few weeks before one cruise you failed to secure a reserved time, and when you tried well in advance, you succeeded.  The system works.  Just not for people who wait until the last minute, relatively speaking. 

 

We had reservations months before but still were not able to get the same table, same waiters. It is NOT always working the same as traditional dining did. Just because it worked for you does not mean it is working for all.

[JimmyVWine]

2 minutes ago, RNRcruisers said:

We had reservations months before but still were not able to get the same table, same waiters.

 

But were you able to reserve a table each night at the same time?  That is the issue.

[MissP22]

21 minutes ago, RNRcruisers said:

 

We had reservations months before but still were not able to get the same table, same waiters. It is NOT always working the same as traditional dining did. Just because it worked for you does not mean it is working for all.

Unfortunately unless you dine early or very late it doesn't appear that you'll be able to have the same wait staff. Their new DMW system seems to be designed for their convenience and not what some customers would like.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

Regal is sailing with the same number of passengers and the same number of dining staff today as it did in December, 2019 when TD was an option.  If Princess had the ability to make TD operate then, it has the capacity to have DMW function on pretty much the same basis now.  All you have to do is look at the early dining situation to see that this bears out.  Under TD, there was a 5:30 seating.  The staff seated and served as many people as they could accommodate at that time. Let's say that the number was 400 people.  Under DMW, that EXACT same number of people could use the app and make reservations for 5:30-6:00 and there would be the ability to seat them. 

 

The difference is that under TD, nobody who wanted AT would be assigned to the TD dining room pre-cruise. One could book a cruise at the very last moment and still usually get TD.

 

With DMW, even if you book months in advance, when you try to replicate the TD experience by requesting a specific time in a bulk request at 5:30 or 6:00 (vs. a day by day request) there often is no such reservation available because DMW reservations at various times have not left the time you want available for the entire cruise anymore.

 

So if, per your example, those 400 people tried to book their dining time at 5:30-6:00 several weeks before the cruise (for example at final payment time when many people first become eligible to make reservations), people with Anytime Dining wishes will have filled many of those time slots.

 

Now if you are elite and book your cruise the day bookings for the cruise open, you can make your dining reservation then and get the time you want for the entire cruise.