Do you go to the dining room every evening?

[Peggy Sue]

Our first 10 day cruise is coming up next month (yea!) Documents state 3 formal, 2 informal and 5 casual dress for the dining room. We have no problem dressing for dinner, but just curious if you all go to the dining room ever night on cruises longer than 7 days?? I know many of you cruise from much longer than 14 or even 21 days..do you get tired of the same dining venue?

We're thinking of having one dinner in our suite and perhaps another in the Lido. Maybe on the 2 informal nights to cut down on the number of jackets DH has to pack!!

If we do dine in the lido on an informal night, do we follow the same dining room dress code, or is normal casual dining room attire OK?

Also, if decide to dine in the Pinnacle Grill on the first evening, is the normal dining room casual attire acceptable, or is a jacket required for men?

Thanks!

Peggy Sue

[dakrewser]

The lido is always casual, the Pinnacle observes the same dress code as the dining room (although it does tend to be a bit more formal, but that's not required).

We'll eat in the dining room most nights. If we're really, really cranky from a hard day's "excursing" then we'll eat in the cabin.

[DFD1]

We usually eat in the Pinnacle two nights on a 10 day cruise...in the lido if we have been ashore all day and are zapped and don't want to spend a long time with dnner. Otherwise, in the dining room. Rarely, if ever, have we had dinner in our stateroom.

[Krazy Kruizers]

No way do we eat in the main dining every night.

Even on a 7 day cruise (we usually do back-to-backs) - we eat at the Pinnacle at leats 2 times each week.

We have never had a dinner in our suite - just not our style.

Even on a casual dress night, we still dress up when we dine at the Pinnacle.

[debblue]

i eat in the dining each night i enjoy dressing up and seeing all my fellow passengers doing the same,i can usually find something on the menu each night and enjoy the conversation with my table mates.it may be the only tme i see them on the cruise!!!!!

[CruisinNana]

We eat in the Pinnacle at least once. On our last cruise, we ate a huge lobster lunch about 3:00 in the afternoon and we were not interested in going to dinner so we ordered dinner in the cabin, and it was very good. There were 4 of us in our party, and we enjoyed eating on the balcony. Otherwise, we eat in the dining room.
Dee

[gizmo]

We do 10 day cruises and eat in the dining room every night. Our last cruise was 13 days and one night I asked Mr.Gizmo if he would like to relax in the cabin and order room service. He preferred the dining room so off we went to the dining room.

We never had dinner in the Pinnacle or the Lido.

[ron46936]

We almost always eat in the dining room every evening unless there are special circumstances. We enjoy the socializing as much as the food.

[the2ofus]

We enjoy eating in the dining room each night. We look forward to the menu and to trying new and different things. On our upcoming Westerdam cruise we will be trying the Pinnacle Grill for the first time.

[localady]

We will generally eat in the Pinnacle or in the main dining room.

On our July B2B in Alaska though, we were unable to get the time we preferred the 2nd week and found ourselves eatting in the Lido a few times so we could enjoy the absolutely spectacular scenery of cruising the Inside Passage! We found the Lido to be a good alternative for a quick dinner in a more casual environment. I could see using this option a few times on the Prinsendam next summer with it's port intensiveness and beautiful long evenings.:)
That said, we will probably eat in the dining room most nights on our Panama Canal cruise in December as we are going with friends.:)

[Ziggy7]

Our first 10 day cruise is coming up next month (yea!) Documents state 3 formal, 2 informal and 5 casual dress for the dining room. We have no problem dressing for dinner, but just curious if you all go to the dining room ever night on cruises longer than 7 days?? I know many of you cruise from much longer than 14 or even 21 days..do you get tired of the same dining venue?

We're thinking of having one dinner in our suite and perhaps another in the Lido. Maybe on the 2 informal nights to cut down on the number of jackets DH has to pack!!

If we do dine in the lido on an informal night, do we follow the same dining room dress code, or is normal casual dining room attire OK?

Also, if decide to dine in the Pinnacle Grill on the first evening, is the normal dining room casual attire acceptable, or is a jacket required for men?

Thanks!

Peggy Sue
Peggy Sue, take it one day at a time, go look at the menu posted outside of the dinningroom each day and then decide, its your cruise so I say do it the way you want to, try it all! Go for it :) We did and we were never sorry we did :)

[RuthC]

In 251 dinners on HAL (most after the introduction of alternate venues) I've missed the dining room three times:
A long time ago in Alaska my husband and I ate in the Lido---can't remember why.
After a long day in St. Petersburg I barely had time for a quick bite before going off to the Folkloric show so I ate in the Lido.
And on my last cruise I was invited to join longtimecruiser and her mother in the Pinnacle. (Thanks Evelyn ;) )

I'm perfectly o.k. eating breakfast and lunch buffet style, and on my own. But dinner! No! I want the comraderie of tablemates who become familiar over the cruise (usually 21+ days). It's so very nice to have people with whom to share the details of the day. And, oh yeah: I want to be waited on hand and foot and treated like a queen! Ahhh, service!

Nope. Can't say I ever get tired of it.

[bepsf]

I want to be waited on hand and foot and treated like a queen! Ahhh, service!
I'm with you, Ruth!!!
;)

[lka1012]

The one time I did not go to the Dining Room was when I met a cyber-friend in one of the ports. We were in port until mid-night and she met me at the docks when she got off work. She walked me all over the area near the port and by the time I got back to the ship, I was just in time for dinner, but too pooped to move from my cabin.

[Cruiseoften]

No way do we eat in the main dining every night.


Is it a crime to eat in the main dining room each night? I don't think you intended that! :)

Adding together our cruises, we've each spent more than a year on board HAL ships. Since the introduction of alternative dining, I doubt we've chosen to 'dine out' more than a few times. Seldom, if ever, have we had cabin service for dinner - DH is much too fussy about everying being piping hot.

We've been fortunate with table companions and always look forward to sharing the days activities with them and frequently enjoy after dinner coffee in the Explorers Lounge - to us it's part of the cruise experience.

[Acrusa]

We will generally eat in the Pinnacle or in the main dining room.

On our July B2B in Alaska though, we were unable to get the time we preferred the 2nd week and found ourselves eatting in the Lido a few times so we could enjoy the absolutely spectacular scenery of cruising the Inside Passage! We found the Lido to be a good alternative for a quick dinner in a more casual environment. I could see using this option a few times on the Prinsendam next summer with it's port intensiveness and beautiful long evenings.:)
That said, we will probably eat in the dining room most nights on our Panama Canal cruise in December as we are going with friends.:)

Lacalady
The dinning room on the Prinsendam is spectacular,Its smaller but alittle more intamite,If you like a large table for 8,I would suggest you request Table # 111 against the big picture window.

[localady]

Lacalady
The dinning room on the Prinsendam is spectacular,Its smaller but alittle more intamite,If you like a large table for 8,I would suggest you request Table # 111 against the big picture window.
Acruser- Thanks for the recommendation! We will request it, that would be lovely:)

[SHayesShip]

We usually eat in the dining room each night except for maybe 1 or 2 times in a 10 day or longer cruise. Like others, I do like the Pinnacle Grill.