NOt eating in dining room

Hi all.

I read these boards a lot. quite a few people mention NOT eating in the MDR. Can I ask why?? What are some reasons you have for not eating there.

Just curious.

The MDR is one of the highlights of my cruise! I would never NOT eat in the dining room

lots of people dont like to eat in dining room because it takes a couple of hours and they would rather in at lido or get burger, pizza and lay by pool. not me.

Hi all.

I read these boards a lot. quite a few people mention NOT eating in the MDR. Can I ask why?? What are some reasons you have for not eating there.

Just curious.

for me it takes too long. If I eat in the buffet I am in and out in 30-40 minutes not 90.

Don't like sitting there for 15 minutes in between each course and then receiving a lukewarm entree.

Not the waitstaffs fault but CCL's for making them take care of so many tables

Bill

Because it isn't Mickey D's? Don't worry, pretty soon it just might be!

If I'm not in the MDR for the dinner meal, I'll be enjoying a specialty restaurant.

The MDR is one of the highlights of my cruise! I would never NOT eat in the dining room

Me too!! :D I eat breakfast/lunch/dinner there when possible, and very very rarely eat at the buffet at all.

But I guess to each their own. Maybe for some people food or MDR experience is not that important to them. Everyone is different, for example I rarely get off in a port, I like to stay on board and go to the Spa and enjoy the empty ships - others think that is crazy and might feel like I am missing out on something.

Like others have said many times, your cruise is what you make it - pick and choose the things that are important to you.

Same here, Its part of what we pay for. We would never miss a night on purpose. I rather get table service and relax with family time. MDR has a few extra things on menu also and not exposed to 1000 hands and such..LOL

Edit- We do ATD and get in and out as fast or slow as we like 95% the time..We just ask server to rush pace or slow pace depending on our plans. Never had issue getting out in 40-45 min when wanted or 90 minutes when we asked to space meal items out.

Out of all of our cruises we have only missed the dining room twice, once to go to steak house, the other we were exhausted from our excursions. But our guys would rather not go, they suffer through for us. They are on vacay and don't want to dress up.

I think lots of folks don't like the idea of being assigned to share a table with strangers. Simple as that.

Some of my reasons are the same as Bill's.

I cruise solo, and I like to control my food portions. I don't like to waste food, and after a couple of appetizers and a salad, I'm usually full if I eat in MDR. I usually choose "anytime", so I have the choice to go to MDR or not. My last few times with an assigned seating have been bad, so I will stick with anytime, but more often than not, I grab something light in the evening.

And the waiting thing..I like to eat and be on my way.

And sometimes, it's a noise factor. Rather than losing my hearing as I get older, I have hyper-sensitive hearing to certain sounds..Maybe I just need to drink a little more...LOL

Out of all of our cruises we have only missed the dining room twice, once to go to steak house, the other we were exhausted from our excursions. But our guys would rather not go, they suffer through for us. They are on vacay and don't want to dress up.

Putting on a pair of shorts and a polo must be torture.:p

Bill

Traditional MDR dining is one of my favorite aspects of cruising...having "your" table each night, served by the same staff (who will often know your preferences by night 2). We might miss one or two dinners in the MDR -due to schedule conflicts or dining in specialty venues.

I think lots of folks don't like the idea of being assigned to share a table with strangers. Simple as that.

Interestingly enough, that's one of the reasons I do like the MDR. To me, it's always fun meeting new people and sharing their experiences of the day with them at dinner.

Most nights the buffet has a lot of the items that are on the MDR menu, but not all. However, on the night that they have braised lamb shank in the MDR they have roast leg of lamb at the buffet and it's being sliced as you order it. Similarly, on prime rib night they are slicing it to order on the buffet and you don't have to wait 10 minutes for someone to find the horseradish or the fixings for the baked potato.

Of late the Your Time Dining has gotten really crowded and the wait gets longer, we will see what kind of mood we're in and then pick the option that suits us best for that evening.

Because eating banquet food that's worse than fast food or chain restaurants like chilis,outback ect.., you also have waiters dancing and jumping on tables. No thanks, the MDR on Carnival makes MCD's look like a 5 star restaurant.;)

We've cruised with friends who never go to the dining room because they are very casual and don't want to dress up.

My parents were on a New England/Canada cruise last year with a lot of long port excursions and were just too tired at night to change and sit through a long dinner.

I rarely miss a chance to eat dinner in the MDR because I enjoy the food. But on one of our cruises, we had a very noisy table and were seated with two older ladies who complained the whole meal. We didn't feel like having to yell or listen to complaining so we didn't bother going back. (This was a short cruise. If it had been a long cruise, I would have requested a different table.)

We like Any Time Dining because it solves a lot of the problems of incompatible tablemates and long, long dinners.

It justifies them to remove all the tips and bounce the cabin steward a fiver..

Sound? The sound on the Lido is worse than the sound in the dining room. I think people don't want to stop their informal day, to spruce up a little, to go eat, and then change back down for the rest of the night. If I didn't dress for dinner, I might never change clothes. But I like being waited on, so I dress up and off I go. but I do admit to liking the anytime dining more than the selected dining time.

for me it takes too long. If I eat in the buffet I am in and out in 30-40 minutes not 90.

 

Don't like sitting there for 15 minutes in between each course and then receiving a lukewarm entree.

 

 

 

Bill

Same here. For us it's not all about the food.

We do eat in the dining room most night however I am one of them that does not like to dress up. I have to dress up everyday at work and I just don't like dress clothes. We eat in there because the food is better. I am glad they have relaxed the dress code a bit though.

Pick a nice window seat table. No waiting for this course or that. No dancing waiters. No one offended that weren't dressed up.

Vacation to us is not about schedules, we like to float about as we choose. The other venues allow us lots of freedom.

Eating in the dining room was always one of the highlights of my cruise. We don't get to eat out often and I really like being treated like a guest at a fancy restaurant. Unfortunately now I am confined to a wheelchair & with so many tables, chairs, guests,and other obstacles it has become exceptionally difficult to make my way thru the room to get to a table. We sometimes go for breakfast or lunch when the crowds are light but dinner is tough. I can always find something on the buffet so I don't miss any meals.

Lots of families with younger children, especially those on family reunion or group cruises will eat dinner on the Lido. It's easier to select food, less crowded and thus opportunity to sit together or near each other,which may not be possible in the MDR unless bookings are linked and many large party cruisers are aware they can link bookings. It also allows the children a bit more freedom in roamiing around or being antsy like children are instead of having to be still for an extended period of time.

An additional reason to eat dinner on the Lido is when the MDR menu isn't really appealing. The Lido buffets/ delis/grills/pizza, et. al., will provide a somewhat extended list of offerings.

We've cruised with friends who never go to the dining room because they are very casual and don't want to dress up.

 

My parents were on a New England/Canada cruise last year with a lot of long port excursions and were just too tired at night to change and sit through a long dinner.

 

I rarely miss a chance to eat dinner in the MDR because I enjoy the food. But on one of our cruises, we had a very noisy table and were seated with two older ladies who complained the whole meal. We didn't feel like having to yell or listen to complaining so we didn't bother going back. (This was a short cruise. If it had been a long cruise, I would have requested a different table.)

 

We like Any Time Dining because it solves a lot of the problems of incompatible tablemates and long, long dinners.

Sound? The sound on the Lido is worse than the sound in the dining room. I think people don't want to stop their informal day, to spruce up a little, to go eat, and then change back down for the rest of the night. If I didn't dress for dinner, I might never change clothes. But I like being waited on, so I dress up and off I go. but I do admit to liking the anytime dining more than the selected dining time.

Not sure what being very casual or dressing up has to do with eating in the dining room:confused:

Bill

We try to eat in the MDR for most breakfasts and always dinner. The buffet is fine for quick lunches or breakfast. Wouldn't want the cafeteria feel for dinner, but that's just us. I can see doing it after a long day in port.