I suppose that the Mauretania Restaurant couldn't promise to give passengers their usual table for breakfast because breakfast was single seating -- so you would be bound to find some members of both seatings at the same table if everyone tried to sit where they had been placed...
Some days they would close of the centre section using chairs thereby reducing the seating capacity. When l was on the Captains Table, it was always in the no go section for breakfast. But personally for me l really enjoyed meeting and mixing with new people. Some truly wonderful friendships have been formed by that little phrase, "Do you mind if l join you..." never was it refused .
Regarding breakfast, having the lido,Mauretania, Room Service and Pavilion, consider the logistics, How many will go where, and at what time? and what will they order. On a much smaller scale it might surprise you.
Where l work we can have when full 85 bums on seats, so to speak. For breakfast you would imagine everyone will come down so you think 85 full breakfasts between 8-10am In reality its very different. If its been a wedding night you might only get 20 or so down in the first hour, 10 might have full cooked and 5 limited cooked and 5 might not have anything cooked, which leave the other 65. 40 of which will come down in the last hour of service most of them have partied hard the night before and what value for money to that can be 35 full cooked and some might not finish everything. The few remaining again only might want something light. The remaining 25 well a lot wont show at all believe it or not, throw in a couple of room service orders (which is the last thing you need during a busy service) and there are always the few who straggle down after close of service. The next day might be a completely different run.
Consider the demographics on a cruise. Sailing days might be quite leisurely where as port days the passengers need to get ashore quickly and hence the lido might be busier than normal. For me it was always interesting to just sit back and observe the work in progress.But to the average passenger its just breakfast.
The one thing l didn't like, was the in port breakfast with the limited menu, designed more for the staff than the guests, And if you were on a back to back cruise it made no difference you still only had that choice. There was the odd times the waiters sometimes tried to pressure you into placing your order the night before, to save time, and working in the hotel industry l can see & appreciate why they did this,I didn't like it But always went along with it and tried to encourage the table to go for it as well, if only to make it a bit easier on the staff.
Having to do two sittings as well for disembarkation breakfasts, it was is quite an achievement to serve in the limited time allowed, and re set the tables. But by then the staff had their tips and the poor passengers were faced with that awful situation of the last goodbyes to the table guests and that dreaded disembarkation, which no matter how many cruises you did, l always choked at the goodbyes, in fact had they allowed room service, l would be tempted to have that option as the easy way out of what is usually a roller coaster of emotions during breakfast..well it was for me anyway.
