Windjammer/MDR questions

Hi, I'm going on my first ever cruise on 14th feb 2016 on board the explorer of the seas.

I have learnt a lot from these boards but there are a few questions I have regarding the dining.

With the windjammer, is it open all day? Or are there set times it's open for breakfast lunch, dinner? If so what are these times.

Also with the main dining room, I know they have set times or any time dining for dinner, but what about breakfast and lunch? Or is it closed for both, or open set times? If so what times.

I have my time dining, and I was wondering, can I turn up at any time I want or do I choose one of the options they have (like the 6:30pm dining or the 8:30pm dining) do I have to turn up at those times, or could I just turn up at like 7:30pm if I wanted to?

Thanks in advance for any insight I'm given, it's really the only thing I'm confused about as I've searched all the boards and haven't seen anything with these answers

With regard to Windjammer times and MDR breakfast times, these vary daily by itinerary. You will receive the Cruise Compass (daily schedule) every evening, and the restaurant operating hours for the next day will be listed there.

You can show up anytime during dinner operating hours for My Time Dining.

Okay, thank you. Very helpful :)

Hi, I'm going on my first ever cruise on 14th feb 2016 on board the explorer of the seas.

I have learnt a lot from these boards but there are a few questions I have regarding the dining.

 

With the windjammer, is it open all day? Or are there set times it's open for breakfast lunch, dinner? If so what are these times. no. it will close down between each meal service . hours will vary and are posted both in the daily compass plus on the interactive screens throughout the ship.

 

Also with the main dining room, I know they have set times or any time dining for dinner, but what about breakfast and lunch? Or is it closed for both, or open set times? If so what times. breakfast daily, lunch ONLY on sea days. again, hours vary and will be posted. they are on the short side( maybe 2 hours)

 

I have my time dining, and I was wondering, can I turn up at any time I want or do I choose one of the options they have (like the 6:30pm dining if the 8:30pm dining) do I have to turn up at those times, or could I just turn up at like 7:30pm if I wanted to?either or. 99% of the time you can show up whenever and have little to no wait. or you can make a reservation( same time every night, different time, hell we would make it for 5 the night before then at 5 the next night call up and move it to 730 cuz we were too busy having fun)

Thanks in advance for any insight I'm given, it's really the only thing I'm confused about as I've searched all the boards and haven't seen anything with these answers

in addition to the MDR and Buffet there will also be other venues to grab a snack, some open 24/7 or near enough. plus room service of course.

Amandah, while Clarea is correct that you may show up at any time if you have My Time Dining, you will probably have at least a 20 minute wait to be seated. My suggestion to you is to pre book nightly dining times.

Since you are new to cruising you may want to look at a Cruise Compass online (make sure you get a compass that is your itinerary) to get an idea of what happens in the evening so you can make an intelligent decision on dining times. Also, you can pre book your evening shows to coordinate with your dining times. This helps greatly.

Hope this was helpful.

Where am I able to find a cruise compass online?

Still have a while before we go so don't know the shows or things yet, on the RC website only things I am able to book yet are shore excursions, spa treatments and I think there is one wine tasting

Amandah, I forgot to add that you are NOT locked into the times that you reserve on line. If for some reason while onboard you need to change dining times you may do so. However, again, you may have to wait a while to get into the dining room.

Amandah, while Clarea is correct that you may show up at any time if you have My Time Dining, you will probably have at least a 20 minute wait to be seated. My suggestion to you is to pre book nightly dining times.

I would definitely agree with this. In past cruises, we'd make reservations around 6:00 to 6:30 but often showed up whenever we were ready. They could typically accommodate us within a few minutes. On our recent Freedom cruise, we could only get reservations at 5:30 or 7:30 (or later) and they had a much harder time seating us earlier. I got the sense that all tables were now booked with My Time Dining reservations, and that they were sort of forcing you into either an early MTD seating or a late MTD seating given the lack of reservations in between. You could only be seated at a time other than your reservation if someone else cancelled or didn't show up. Ships are all very different so this might be limited to Freedom.

Thanks, I'll take that into consideration.

Is it possible to book it on board, each day? Like say around lunch time, book dinner?

I'm sure we will be eating at the windjammer a bit cos my daughter is so fussy, so I like the option of being able to just quickly grab her something else, if she refuses to eat.

Btw my name is Amanda lol, the H is for my last name, but without the H the name was taken :p

I would definitely book a reservation ahead of time for every night, so that you have one if needed. You can then (try to) change your reservation onboard as needed, or just show up at a different time and wait. I tried changing my reservation one day but there was nothing available earlier than the 7:30 reservation that I already had. We showed up around 6:00 and the only option was for our family of 4 to sit with 2 other couples at an 8 top (which was a really good experience by the way). Again, your mileage may vary.

Where am I able to find a cruise compass online? ...

Explorer has never sailed the itinerary you have booked, so there's no Cruise Compass.

Where am I able to find a cruise compass online?

Still have a while before we go so don't know the shows or things yet, on the RC website only things I am able to book yet are shore excursions, spa treatments and I think there is one wine tasting

You do not require any reservations for shows onboard Explorer.

You should be able to pre-book your MTD prior to boarding online or you can book daily onboard the ship. Technically you do not need any reservations, you could just rock up and wait for a table but it is better with a reservation. If you are into evening show, ideally you want to schedule your dinner either before or after the show.

Windjammer opens for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Opening times could be different daily and it does close for around 30-45mins between each seating.

MDR opens for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Lunch in the MDR is only available on sea days. Again opening times varies and breakfast closes much earlier than Windjammer.

We did MTD on our last cruise and booked online before departure. We based our meal times on what we were planning on doing that day. So if we knew we were going to be later back to the ship, we booked later. First night we booked early due to expected jet lag! I had forgotten the booking time one night and we were early - they seated us anyway though I had to endure a cold attitude from the maitre d as a result!

MDR is open for breakfast every day and lunch only on sea days. You don't reserve for that - just turn up.

On my reservation it says

Dinner seating: My time dining, no waiting lists

That just means you are confirmed for MTD, and you aren't on any waiting lists for scheduled time dining.

Hi, I'm going on my first ever cruise on 14th feb 2016 on board the explorer of the seas.

I have learnt a lot from these boards but there are a few questions I have regarding the dining.

 

With the windjammer, is it open all day? Or are there set times it's open for breakfast lunch, dinner? If so what are these times.

 

Also with the main dining room, I know they have set times or any time dining for dinner, but what about breakfast and lunch? Or is it closed for both, or open set times? If so what times.

 

I have my time dining, and I was wondering, can I turn up at any time I want or do I choose one of the options they have (like the 6:30pm dining or the 8:30pm dining) do I have to turn up at those times, or could I just turn up at like 7:30pm if I wanted to?

Thanks in advance for any insight I'm given, it's really the only thing I'm confused about as I've searched all the boards and haven't seen anything with these answers

Amanda, past experience on the Explorer is going to be less helpful to you than, perhaps, other ships in other places.

The Explorer has never sailed from Australia before, and has never sailed with primarily Australians on board. (this is a presumption, I know, but one that I am fairly confident of ;) )

In general, though, once the Windjammer opens in the morning for early breakfast, it stays open until late afternoon. (the staff just segues from one meal into the next, closing off just one side then reopening with the next meal) (The Windjammer is two-sided, serving-wise) It then closes for about an hour to get ready for dinner. It then closes after dinner (usually around 9:30) and does not re-open until the following morning.

And making reservations for My Time Dining? How easy it is to MAKE reservations and CHANGE reservations or WAIT for a table on the actual evening..........is a function of who else is on board. Some cruises, it's very easy to just walk up to the podium and say, "Party of 4" and be seated instantly. On others, you are told that it is going to be a very long wait. It depends on your fellow cruisers.

That is the reason that others are telling you to make reservations on the website as soon as you can, because you can always change them later.

As for entertainment..............if you really want to see the shows, just book your MTD reservations close to the fixed/traditional dining times. That's how the entertainment schedule is set: to accommodate those times.

:)

Thanks, didn't know the explorer hadn't sailed from Australia before, my friend who I am going with did the same itinerary a year or two ago but on a different ship.

Just a warning. We just got off Serenade and had MTD. Never again. They really seemed to be unable to pull this off. The people doing the seating could not seem to determine which tables were open and service was horrid.

Where am I able to find a cruise compass online?

Still have a while before we go so don't know the shows or things yet, on the RC website only things I am able to book yet are shore excursions, spa treatments and I think there is one wine tasting

Hi Amanda,

Have a look on the Australia/New Zealand Cruisers board. You might find a Cruise Compass for a similar itinery sailed by Voyager of the Seas (sister ship to Explorer of the Seas).

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Thanks, I'll have a look :)

Thanks, I'll have a look :)

You're welcome!

If you want to know anything else, let me know.

What itinery are you doing?

Couldn't find anything using search

Sailing Itinerary

14-FebSydney, Australia

15-FebCruising

16-FebCruising

17-FebIsle Of Pines, New Caledonia

18-FebNouméa, New Caledonia

19-FebLifou, Loyalty Island

20-FebMystery Island, Vanuatu

21-FebCruising

22-FebCruising

23-FebCruising

24-FebSydney, Australia

Have only been to Nouméa, New Caledonia from that list! Loved it!

If you dont have any luck with finding the info you're looking for, I'll see if we've still got the Cruise Compasses from our NZ, Fiju and Nouméa, New Caledonia cruise. Cant guarantee that we still have them as we moved house last year.

My friends went to the same places on their last cruise, they really enjoyed Isle of pines.

Looked at pictures and all the places look absolutely beautiful, really looking forward to it.

This might be of some help ....

http://cruiseclues.com/activities.htm