Describe Lido for dinner on Westerdam or like ship

[bryanjaync]

Taking my parents on the westerdam Dec 6. On Celebrity they prefered the casual dining For Dinner to the MDR. Just wondering how the experience on Westerdam is, such as selection , quality, service, crowds, hours, atomsphere and of course quality.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Lido dining hours -- 5:30 - 8 PM on most ships.

Everything is buffet -- no trays -- you have to carry everything back to the table. There are helpers there -- but -- they can get pretty busy and you may have to wait for one to help you.

Have heard complaints about the warmers not keeping the food warm enough -- also have heard about some food getting mushy. We were invited to a Q & A -- and a couple of people made those comments.

[Copper10-8]

We used the the casual dining experience in Zaandam's Lido twice on our just completed cruise. Both nights there were approx. 40-50 other pax in there. On the first night, there were no white tableclothes and/or candles on the tables - on the 2nd, there were.

The menu is pretty much the same as that night's menu in the main di ning room (except usually two less choices). You walk by the buffet line and select what you want for your entree. The chef behind the counter will give it to you. You select a seat (ample available) and then go back for any salad/soup/rolls and drinks. No problems with the food not being warm/hot enough. Stewards will come by your table to see if you need any coffee and/or bar service. Overall, a very casual experience and a very nice alternative for the MDR!

[gregdude]

Basically same food, less formal, and much shorter dinning time. An excellent alternative to MDR on formal nights!!

[okspeedy]

Tables were very hard to find on the lido. As tables were vacated the staff was slow to clean them off. A couple pf times we did it ourselves just to have a place to sit. We opted to eat in the dining room or have room service.

It was also difficult to tell what was being servedin each line. They had sample plates madeup but you couldn't see them until you had worked your way up the line. If it wasn't what you wanted you had wasted all that time standing in line.

[bryanjaync]

Taking my parents on the westerdam Dec 6. On Celebrity they prefered the casual dining For Dinner to the MDR. Just wondering how the experience on Westerdam is, such as selection , quality, service, crowds, hours, atomsphere and of course quality.

[CowPrincess]

Depending on your cabins (if there's room), your parents may want to try room service, too You can order from the main dining room menu for delivery to your room at a specific time, but the order has to go in (IIRC) within 1/2 hour of the MDR opening for service.

[Mooguy]

Originally Posted by gregdude

Basically same food, less formal, and much shorter dinning time. An excellent alternative to MDR on formal nights!!

That's why we go to the Lido sometimes the MDR is so drug out I just about fall asleep.

[Mooguy]

We will be on the same cruise and will most likely use the Lio over the MDR a few times. The last RCCL cruise we were on was ate at the Lido every night but the first and it was great.

[RuthC]

I ate in the Lido four times on my recent 32-day Rotterdam cruise. Yup.

It was a very nice experience, although not nearly as nice as going to the dining room. The food was all served buffet style, and most of it was items also on the MDR menu. Even the chilled soups were available. The food was very good.
The downside was that there was little (if any) help carrying plates and such to the table, and I never did find a bar steward.

[Jemima]

We have enjoyed eating dinner in the lido on our last two cruises. The menu was the same or nearly the same as the MDR. Several years ago, items such as cold soups, lobster and vegetarian entrees weren't available. Now these are served in the lido.
We now prefer the lido for dinner. The advantages: eat when we want, eat at any available table, see the food before ordering, eat food in whatever order we wish, get courses as we want them or all at the same time if we wish, choose the sides for the entree, get beverages as needed, eat at our own speed, stay in our day clothes (if neat and suitable for lido dinner - usually jeans and a knit top).
We've found the food as good and as well prepared as the MDR, the other passengers generally pleasant and neatly dressed, and the choices actually better.

[chloepants]

We just finished cruising on the Westerdam and ate dinner in the Lido a couple of times. The nights we were there they had you line up in front of an employee with a computer monitor and you told them your soup and entree choices. They then had a steward carry your soup and lead you to your table. Your entree followed soon after. I think you had to get your own salad and dessert.

It was kind of weird - like a cross between buffet and sit-down served dinner. As mentioned above, you could see the menu but you couldn't see samples of the dishes until it was your turn to order, and they were a bit impatient if you took some time deciding. I'm not sure if it was something new they were trying or not (our first cruise) but I don't think it sped things up at all.

[Jemima]

We've experienced both ways of entree ordering. On our 2009 cruises we simply went to the entree section, selected our entree, added any sides we wanted and were handed the entree plate. We prefer this method. These cruises were on the Zaandam and the Eurodam. On earlier cruises we had to choose and entree from the person with the computer as described by Chloepants and the entree was brought to our table by a lido steward.

[twinkletoes4445]

We LOVED eating dinner in the Lido. We only ate in the dining room once, and ended up back at the Lido. At the main entrance to the Lido, the menu is posted, so you know what's being offered for dinner. As others have said, the Lido menu is pretty much the same with the exception of one or two items.

We never had a problem finding a table even though we dined at all different times during the 10 days we were on our cruise. There was always someone around to help us with our trays (I hear they don't have these anymore), and someone was always willing to get us a drink or a dessert. We had no complaints and plan on dining in the Lido on our next cruise.

If any of the crew from our Jan/Feb 2009 Noordam cruise are reading here ... a big "hello" to Fuji, Mucklis, Raul, Paolo, Reggie, Venus, Dianne, Evan, Georgie, Ari, Tri, Diana, Myla, Mo, Deby (from shore excursions who managed to keep and eye on me so I was always in the proper excursion line ) ... and to Tedi who kept the Lido going. Every single time we were in the Lido, we saw Tedi! We're going to be back on the Noordam again, and we're hoping some of you are still on Noordam.

[iancal]

The lukewarm food is cold by the time you get it to your table...

[pris993]

Interesting that number of folks prefer Lido to MDR. We have gotten to that place as well.

Only we have found that we are more than satisfied with just two meals a day, while cruising. Breakfast which we have in our cabin and a late lunch/dinner which we get from the Lido mid afternoon.

Then we simply shower and dress around dinner time but skip dinner and enjoy the entertainment on board.

We have decided in general the service in the MDR is slow, we don't eat all the courses, so find ourselves sitting waiting a long time. We end up drinking more wine and mindlessly eating bread between courses which we don't really want to do.

Skipping dinner we enjoy the shows and other entertainment on board when we wish and it is very relaxing.

[Copper10-8]

Originally Posted by iancal

The lukewarm food is cold by the time you get it to your table...

Well, you've gotta double-time it, Luke! Come on now!

[Alliea]

Originally Posted by bryanjaync

Taking my parents on the westerdam Dec 6. On Celebrity they prefered the casual dining For Dinner to the MDR. Just wondering how the experience on Westerdam is, such as selection , quality, service, crowds, hours, atomsphere and of course quality.

I loved it.. I can get tired of the dining room , and this was a nice change. Service was great, food wonderful..and we got to sit , and have a view of the water which was not the case in the dining room. We never had a hard time finding a table , and this was during prime time dining hours.

[hammybee]

Count me as another who enjoys dinner in the LIDO , from time to time.

Our service has always been gracious.

[twinkletoes4445]

Originally Posted by pris993

Interesting that number of folks prefer Lido to MDR. We have gotten to that place as well.

Only we have found that we are more than satisfied with just two meals a day, while cruising. Breakfast which we have in our cabin and a late lunch/dinner which we get from the Lido mid afternoon.

Then we simply shower and dress around dinner time but skip dinner and enjoy the entertainment on board.

We have decided in general the service in the MDR is slow, we don't eat all the courses, so find ourselves sitting waiting a long time. We end up drinking more wine and mindlessly eating bread between courses which we don't really want to do.

Skipping dinner we enjoy the shows and other entertainment on board when we wish and it is very relaxing.

This is exactly where we are in our lives. We really don't even have dinner at home these days. If we do, it's a very light dinner. I just love the flexibility of doing what we want, when we want.