I was a server at our local Melting Pot many moons ago, and DH and I still enjoy going once a year for our anniversary
We've never encountered the $6 bottled water at ours. When we've asked for water to drink, we've always been brought a glass of ice water at no charge.
The cheese/chocolate portion is supposed to be different per number of people. There are 1-2 person sized bowls and 3-4 person sized bowls. Any party larger than that was always sat at a table with more than 1 burner IME, and thus ordered more than one cheese/chocolate. It's totally possible that servers sometimes grab the wrong sized bowl to make cheese in for a table, as ours were always stacked and stored all together, regardless of size, and you just had to pick through to find the correct sizes for your tables. The chocolate was always handed to us already melted by the kitchen staff, so IDK anything about sizes there, but you can always request more brownies, marshmallows, strawberries, etc. We never charged extra for extra dippers.
As other posters have mentioned, do not be scared to ask to sub one meat for another on an entree. We are not huge beef eaters, so we usually end up replacing most of the steak on whatever we order with extra shrimp and salmon. I don't believe we;ve ever been charged extra for that. Same goes for sauces, even if they aren't listed with the entree you order.
The menu does require quite a bit of explaining, and the meal can run quite long, so I would definitely plan for at least 2 hours or so (say if you were trying to make a movie after or something) just to spend in the restaurant. We always let our server know that we know what the deal is because I used to be in their shoes, so that cuts some of our time.
Anyway, have a great time, it's one of our favorite places to spend an evening enjoying one another's company
Oh, and if anyone is interested, make some of the MP cheddar cheese fondue at home:
* 1/2ish cup of Milwaukee's Best beer (heat almost to boiling in fondue pot)
* Add minced garlic and dry mustard powder to taste
* Add shredded cheddar + emanthaller (sp?) swiss mix to consistency with fork (IMPORTANT: toss to coat with a bit of AP flour beforehand)
* Finish with pepper and a splash or two of Worcestershire sauce