Poor dinning room location

[Tonyspad]

Well yes I do think that my table location should be eliminated. Forgetting about the cost of these cruises, would a cruiseline executive seat his family at a table that was next to the slop sink at Animators Palate?? Or better than that would you sit your own family next to the kitchen doors that kept flying open at Tritons. That is what we endured. Come on there is no excuse, just plain old poor planning.

 

[QueenTrident]

Sometimes I wonder if we should be more forceful. Not only did we have the bad seating for our regular rotation, but we were next to the dining station/garbage area at Palos too. I had about 10 half eaten dinner plates lined up behind me.

Oh well. I just figure that it's our luck to get into these types of situations and never think to try and fix them. Next time, maybe I will.

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Then what is the solution?

Should Disney start assigning table numbers in advance?

Eliminate tables from the dining room, making less passenger spaces available on the cruise? Have a waiting list for when a 'desirable' table opens up?

I'm sure Disney would welcome suggestions, as their 'not being fair' is their intent. And yes, 'be more forceful.' How? What would be an effective way?

Were the tables on all three dining rotations disastrous for everyone who's complaining about how horrible their dining experience was? Then if it was, you have a valid complaint. But what would have been the solution, especially if the restuarant was full?

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I, personally, would think the solution would have been to not have the problem in the first place. Ofcourse NOW that's not an option- but honestly, why didn't DCL think about this? Did they really think ANYONE would enjoy paying for a cruise and end up in sorry seating areas for the duration of their trip for every dinner??? It'd be one thing if your tables rotated during your cruise- but the bad table for every dinner? That's inexcusable.
And then to find out they have bad tables for people to sit at -at Palo also???
ugh
This so better not happen to me. Because like you said, I'm not sure how they would "rectify" the problem (that THEY caused by having such tables in the first place) if the cruise was full and/or all other tables were taken. They would definitely hear from me and think about those servers too.... you have to know that SOME people sitting in those bad table areas are going to end up being so ticked off about the situation that they take it out on the servers by less tips or attitude with them/etc. I doubt anyone here did such a thing- but I'm sure there are people out there that would. I'd hate to be a server for those tables.

 

[mmouse37]

We had Table 46 on the Magic and it was a table for 6 in a nice location in all three dining rooms. In Lumiere's it was against the back of the serving station but did not bother us at all.

MJ

 

[Princess49]

Mickey Hugger, I don't think that wanting to be 100% satisfied is unrealistic. I certainly don't EXPECT to be dissapointed, and perhaps that's the difference between me & some of the people that had this problem. If you go in saying "there's no way it will be 100% perfect" then there's not even a chance!!
Now don't get me wrong, little things don't bother me, but if there is something that I am upset enough about to remember I am going to say something. I definately have more patience on vacation than I do in NY, but at the same time, my time on vacation is limited & I want it to be as perfect as possible. I'll say one thing, I have yet to throw a fit in WDW, but I have thrown ROYAL fits in NY when something is awful, especially if I feel that the people that should be taking care of it are not handling it in the best way possible. I am a firm believer that if you pay for a service, you should recieve it. Some people think it is unheard of to send a dinner back at a restaurant, if MY dinner isn't what I think it should be, I'm sending it back to the kitchen, and some people think that is obnoxious, but I am a pastry chef and if I served something that was not perfect I would want to know so that I could correct it & make it up to the customer. I am paying more than most cruise lines for DCL & our main reason is that it's Disney, you expect a certain quality from disney & that's why I don't mind paying more. I hope I don't sound obnoxious, but that truly how I feel!!!! HAPPY SAILING!!!

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Whew!

Whatever.

I hope all of you who had miserable dining experiences have better luck next time.

 

[AKB]

Maybe DCL could renumber the tables so that a table number wouldn't be bad in each restaurant. If one table out of three was in a less than desirable place, the other two tables could make up for it. Just an idea.

 

[The4OfUs]

The problem is that there will always be someone that has something to "dislike" about a table. As a former hostess at TGI Fridays, I would set folks according to the rotation, so all servers got their fair cut, but EVERY day I'd have at least 5 tables who refused to sit where I went to put them. "Oh no, we'll sit THERE thank you." Fine, do that and get bad service because that particular server is already overwhelmed.

If they didn't set up the restaurant in a certain way, with serving stations scattered throughout, there'd be delays in your service. What should they do, put them in the kitchen, so the servers are in there more and can't see you when you need them? Or maybe assign the tables based on how much $$ you spent on the stateroom? Or have all the serving stations line the walls, so it's like we're sitting in a cafeteria or institution?

Restaurant design is an art and they do try to take it into account to come to a balance between efficiency and atmosphere.

I guess the only thing I agree with is the comment that maybe the tables should rotate, so that if I'm at crappy table 10 the first night, I get awesome table 60 the next night...share the wealth, share the misery?

Otherwise, it's setting unfair expectations to say that everyone should demand better tables, because as the other poster said, SOMEONE has to sit there. They don't do these things to make people miserable, there's a rhyme and reason to the setup, even if it doesn't make complete sense, right?

 

[Mickeyhugger]

Very well said the40of us!

 

[CheapMom]

Can you request a table through reservations? If so, what would be a good one to ask for??

 

[twhipple]

We had a great table location on our first cruise (69) and a horrible location on the second. My complaint was that there is always a bad location in each room (or more than one) but the same table number shouldn't have a bad location in every dining room. I don't recall our table number, but in Lumieres we were behind a wait stand by the window in the front, in Parrot Cay and AP we were by the kitchen door. I did complain, along with our table mates, that we loved our waitstaff but the table locations were horrible. We were told that the locations depend on the waitstaff. Those that didn't get as good of reviews were in the less desirable locations. After we voiced our concerns, we asked for more creme brulee on Thursday night (since we all were seaksick the first night) and we got it.

 

[The4OfUs]

Originally posted by twhipple
We were told that the locations depend on the waitstaff. Those that didn't get as good of reviews were in the less desirable locations.

I keep thinking about this (I had read it somewhere else as well) and it makes no sense to me whatsoever. OK, say a serving team doesn't get all "excellents" on their guest comment card - so now we'll throw them in the section of the restaurant where the tables are less desirable, thereby making the guests complain more, thereby making it HARDER for these serving teams that were already apparently having a hard time pleasing the guests to do a better job? Where's the logic behind that, is this a trial by fire sort of thing?

Maybe I have a totally different take on the whole restaurant/dining out thing because DH is a chef, owns his own very busy catering business, and has been in 'the business' going on two and a half decades at this point, but that seems stupid to me. It's not like they KNOW ahead of time that the people who are assigned to those tables are going to tip any less or cause more problems, right? So why does your work assignment change based on guest reviews....and if a serving team encountered problems last time, why deliberately place them in the *ahem* "bad" section, instead of adjusting it the other way to help them refine their skills on people who would have less reason to be distracted by their "bad" location and could instead focus on the wonderful meal? *shrug* I guess I just don't get that.

We had table 63. In Lumiere's it was literally the first table you passed on your right as you walked in. I hated that location. It meant constant traffic and jostling in the start of the dining experience, and constant distractions as people came and went. In Parrot Cay we were midway into the restaurant, and that was a nice location other than the fact that floor is so dang slippery that walking that far in heels was scary *grin*, and at Animator's Palate we were up near where the head waiters made the salads and such. I bet many people would consider this a "good" table, but it didn't match my personal preferences in the restaurants. BUT, dinners were amazing, our servers were incredible, so I put aside my "location" issues and enjoyed. *grin* And any way I cut it, sitting at any table on board ship is better than the majority of the locations I have eaten at, because after all it's a magical vacation, right?

 

[BethC1952]

I guess I must be the odd one out. I don't really care where the table is (as long as it's inside the restaurant LOL). I care much more about the quality of the food and the service, and the overall dining experience.

In my three cruises, I've been at what most would consider a bad location the first time, a great location the second time, and I didn't even notice the location the third time. What I do remember is the service...each time it was wonderful, and the food...again, each cruise and each meal was wonderful.

Beth

 

[Dreamer04]

Hi all. Last week, on the Magic, we were assigned table 6. It was behind a serving station in AP for sure, but I don't recall where it was for Parrot Cay or Lumiere's. There were 6 of us and we sat with a mom ( HI JO!) and her 7 yr old DD (HI MARISSA!). Our daughters hit it off and Jo hit it off with everyone.

The conversation was so good, our servers so fabulous that I didn't notice anything else! Now that's a great location!!

Edited-I just thought of something. Some resturants have a special ambience where location is important. I was so involved with what was going on at our table, I didn't notice much else. The waiters parading around was cool, we just stood up-which I would have done anyway.

Also, our table was noisy-between my DM being hard of hearing, my DD 6 having a meltdown and me, DS and Jo, laughing--well, you can imagine. DH just wathced everything-lol

 

[abitjaded]

Yes, table 36 stinks. Been there, did that. Was very clear on our next cruise to make sure we did not have that location again. (We did not, and had outstanding servers who made up for any location short-fall.) We stayed in that location the first time because we felt sorry for our servers. This was first seating, our servers' station was only half full, and less so as the cruise progressed. There was no one in their second seating. They were upset, although they tried mightily to hide it. I detailed all this in an old trip report, and in letters to DCL. I had hoped that when the Magic went into dry dock they would have rectified this table number. Nope. The table location reeks in ALL the restaurants. I cannot, still, figure out why, with all the talent of the Disney Imagineers, something cannot be done about this. I feel for the OP, know EXACTLY how he felt.

Carla