Main Seating MDR

If I am doing the main seating which starts I believe at 5:45 pm at what time do I need to be in the MDR before I am turned away?

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Main Seating is the late fixed dining -- it can start at 8 or 8:15 or 7:45 depending on the itinerary.

Early Fixed seating can be at 5:30 or 5:45 -- and one time I saw some one mention that they had to be in the dining room for the 5:15 seating.

No matter what time you have, you should arrive no later than 15 minutes after your assigned time.

If I am doing the main seating which starts I believe at 5:45 pm at what time do I need to be in the MDR before I am turned away?

 

 

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I do not understand your question of the motive for your question. If it says 5:45, why wouldn't you be there at 5:45? It doesn't say "about 5:45 or whenever time you want to come" does it.

DON

This is an issue where one should give some consideration to fellow passengers and the staff. If you want to book Fixed Seating, then you should be heading to your table at the scheduled time (or within a very few minutes). This is especially important if you are sharing a table with others, who would have to sit and wait until "her or his highness" decided to grace the table with their presence. If you are at a 2-top, arriving a few minutes late (perhaps up to 15 min) is not such an awful thing...but keep in mind that the staff needs to handle a later serving where there are likely other cruisers scheduled to use your same table.

For those of us who hate to have a fixed schedule, HAL does offer Open Dining (we do this on all of our cruises) where you can show-up when you please (within the operating hours). On the Voyage of the Vikings cruise we met a couple who was sharing an early Fixed Dining table with 2 other couples. One of the couples had a habit of arriving 15 - 30 minutes late (every night). After a few days the other 2 couples asked to be changed to Open Dining because they were fed up with always waiting for the tardy couple....who quickly found themselves alone at a table for 6. They are probably still wondering what happened to their table mates.

Hank

This is an issue where one should give some consideration to fellow passengers and the staff. If you want to book Fixed Seating, then you should be heading to your table at the scheduled time (or within a very few minutes). This is especially important if you are sharing a table with others, who would have to sit and wait until "her or his highness" decided to grace the table with their presence. If you are at a 2-top, arriving a few minutes late (perhaps up to 15 min) is not such an awful thing...but keep in mind that the staff needs to handle a later serving where there are likely other cruisers scheduled to use your same table.

 

For those of us who hate to have a fixed schedule, HAL does offer Open Dining (we do this on all of our cruises) where you can show-up when you please (within the operating hours). On the Voyage of the Vikings cruise we met a couple who was sharing an early Fixed Dining table with 2 other couples. One of the couples had a habit of arriving 15 - 30 minutes late (every night). After a few days the other 2 couples asked to be changed to Open Dining because they were fed up with always waiting for the tardy couple....who quickly found themselves alone at a table for 6. They are probably still wondering what happened to their table mates.

 

Hank

15-30 minutes late is too much IMO, especially if it happens consistantly. The 2 other couples could have just moved to another table instead of going to Open (seen this happen more than once).

15-30 minutes late is too much IMO, especially if it happens consistantly. The 2 other couples could have just moved to another table instead of going to Open (seen this happen more than once).

Ahhh, as a famous news guy once said here is the "rest of the story." The VOV cruise is always full and a majority of the passengers want to dine before the sun goes down (typical of most HAL cruises). So the early Fixed Dining was completely full and their only options were to move to the later fixed seating or Open Dining.

And by the way, this is a good time to rant about HAL Open Sitting versus our recent (last week) experience on the Regal Princess. On HAL, when you go to Open Sitting the guy working the desk at the door asks for your cabin number, puts it in his laptop computer (to verify that you should be in Open Sitting) and then spends time trying to find an open table (using his computer). But many times, his computer is not up to the minute on open tables so he sometimes must send somebody (or go himself) to look for open tables. Meanwhile, folks wait in line. Once he finds the appropriate table (which can even take time if the dining room is empty...because they are concerned about which waiters get the work load) he prints out a small slip of paper with the cruisers name and table assignment which he then gives to an associate (when they show-up) who take you to your table. Meanwhile, the line gets longer and longer as this process can take several minutes for each cruiser. When we were on the Regal Princess we simply walked to the MDR door, were greeted by the Maitre d who immediately walked us to a table. There were no lines, no delays, and we could even interact with the Maitre d (while walking through the MDR and ask for a specific table.

For whatever reason, HAL complicates this seating procedure which just slows down the operation. Princess could care less about your name or cabin number because they no longer keep track of Open Sitting diners. A Maitre D explained that they do not see a reason. If a fixed sitting diner wants to sneak into Open Sitting....it is fine with Princess as they are there to please the cruiser and not act like traffic cops (this is a quote from the Maitre d). But HAL has their silly procedures which helps create unnecessary delays. Perhaps HAL should send one of their staff over to Princess (a sister company) to take a look at their procedure.

Hank

Meanwhile, the line gets longer and longer as this process can take several minutes for each cruiser.

We always do Open seating (giving us the most flexible dining options) and I don't believe we've ever had more than a 10 minute wait, which we just see as a chance to meet and chat with our line neighbours ;).

dh

I read these posts about fixed seating/MDR/HAL and find myself wondering how this works?

Last December (2016, 14 day South America) our TA (traveling with us) had a devil of a time getting the dining staff to assign us a table/time for a group of 10. It finally happened, but it took a lot of effort. (seating time was 6 pm) It really seemed there was no traditional dining available on the ship.

A year or two earlier we were on a shorter cruise and it seemed that all that was available was 'walk up' seating. Always available, only we had to tell the M'D if we wanted a 2 top or to be seated with others.

Have I missed something?

I read these posts about fixed seating/MDR/HAL and find myself wondering how this works?

Last December (2016, 14 day South America) our TA (traveling with us) had a devil of a time getting the dining staff to assign us a table/time for a group of 10. It finally happened, but it took a lot of effort. (seating time was 6 pm) It really seemed there was no traditional dining available on the ship.

 

A year or two earlier we were on a shorter cruise and it seemed that all that was available was 'walk up' seating. Always available, only we had to tell the M'D if we wanted a 2 top or to be seated with others.

 

Have I missed something?

Likely your problem was due to a 6 PM time. HAL's early fixed dining is normally, 5:15 or 5:30 PM, so you would have to have used Open seating.

How it works is kind of simple, but has its quirks. There are only 2 Fixed Dining times and the area of the dining room reserved for Fixed is limited. Since a majority of HAL passengers want to dine during daylight, there is always high demand for the early Fixed Sitting and its often totally full. For those that prefer the late sitting (HAL calls this Main,,,,which makes no sense) there is usually not a problem since the later sitting is not normally full. Open sitting also has a limited number of tables and many HAL cruisers go to Open while the sun shines...which means very early (by 5:30). So by 5:45 the Open sitting area is often full. And to complicate matters, some Open seating diners make reservations because they want a set time (why not just do Fixed dining) or a specific table/waiter. The result of all this is that there is often some congestion (and waiting) during the busiest times which on HAL seems to be from 5:30 to about 7:15. Those of us who dine after 7:15 seldom have a problem getting a table. As one other poster said, they seldom wait more then 10 minutes....but we think that even a 10 minute wait (when the dining room is at least half empty) makes no sense (and is now avoided on Princess). On the Rotterdam, one evening DW and I showed up about 8 (Open Seating) and there not not another soul in sight. The MDR was about 3/4 empty (most passengers where probably in bed). We stood at the entrance for about 5 minutes until the Maitre d finally walked over and got to work on his computer. After 5 minutes of him clicking and looking at the screen and he said "excuse me" and went off to find a table in the very empty dining room. 5 minutes later he returned and again went back to his computer and finally printed out his little slip of paper. But then we waited a few more minutes until one of the assistants came over to take that little slip of paper and guide us to our table in a section of the MDR that was completely empty. The Maitre 'd was very polite and actually apologized for the delay (at this point it was about 15 min) and I asked him why it took more then a minute to seat us in a near empty dining room. He just shrugged his shoulders and had no answer.

Hank

And to complicate matters, some Open seating diners make reservations because they want a set time (why not just do Fixed dining) ...

A HAL Maitre'd once told us he would love to see reservations eliminated from the Open dining option. They just complicate things and can lead to further delays (especially when folks request a specific table and or waiter. We have been on some HAL cruises where they have refused any Open Sitting reservations for peak hours...and also seen this on another cruise line. On Celebrity we will often walk to the no-reservation line, offer to share, and be immediately seated while those in the reservation line continue to wait. DW and I are "queue adverse" and have developed our own "queue avoidance" strategies for each cruise line :). We sometimes think that certain cruisers really love waiting in slow/long lines.....because we see them doing it all the time...be it the Lido (at peak time), MDR, for games, etc. For us, its almost become a fun game to try and avoid queues. On the Rotterdam a friend complained about the lines in the Lido at lunch. I asked her what time she went to the Lido and she told us noon....every day. I suggested she wait until around 12:45 (when there are usually no lines) but she then responded that she liked to go to lunch at noon. Ok, so be it. But its all about choices.

Hank

We have been on some HAL cruises where they have refused any Open Sitting reservations for peak hours...

My issue is my diabetes. I am insulin dependent and must eat at certain times 5:30 too early 6:15 right on mark. I need to take short insulin right before I eat. Open dining doesn’t work. I can be in the MDR on time but really can’t start eating. Don’t eat much in appetizer dept, so that helps basically one main entree a sugar free dessert. I am always finished within an hour. I much rather come in 15 minutes late if not so be. I also have special diet so they usually get my order out last since it is preordered.

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PamRose228

You must have what HAL calls "Early Dining".

15 minutes late is fine. I would talk to the DRM or the Assistant DRM for your area and let him or her know you will be showing up 15 minutes late and why. HAL is very good with this type of thing and I would not worry. They know you have special orders so they will understand the situation.

Have a great cruise!

Please do not subject your tablemates to your being more than 2 or 3 minutes late to dinner.

This post may have been entered by voice recognition. Please excuse any typographical errors.

Please do not subject your tablemates to your being more than 2 or 3 minutes late to dinner.

 

This post may have been entered by voice recognition. Please excuse any typographical errors.

Agreed. We are always on our way to the MDR when we had Fixed Dinning by the stated time. Only 1 time have I been late and I had a pretty good excuse. I had just won the Cruise End Jackpot Bingo and had to deal with the front desk to get my $$$. So I sent DW ahead and told her to have her and the table order and I would be along once I was done. I was probably 15 minutes late and arrived as the appetizers were being served.

A HAL Maitre'd once told us he would love to see reservations eliminated from the Open dining option. They just complicate things and can lead to further delays (especially when folks request a specific table and or waiter. We have been on some HAL cruises where they have refused any Open Sitting reservations for peak hours...and also seen this on another cruise line. On Celebrity we will often walk to the no-reservation line, offer to share, and be immediately seated while those in the reservation line continue to wait. DW and I are "queue adverse" and have developed our own "queue avoidance" strategies for each cruise line :). We sometimes think that certain cruisers really love waiting in slow/long lines.....because we see them doing it all the time...be it the Lido (at peak time), MDR, for games, etc. For us, its almost become a fun game to try and avoid queues. On the Rotterdam a friend complained about the lines in the Lido at lunch. I asked her what time she went to the Lido and she told us noon....every day. I suggested she wait until around 12:45 (when there are usually no lines) but she then responded that she liked to go to lunch at noon. Ok, so be it. But its all about choices.

 

Hank

We had travelling companions who dine in Open Dining on the P'dam every night with a reservation for 6:30 (or whatever the last time was). They had the same table, same waiters for the entire cruise.

The dining room asst manager was happy to do it. (the term maitre d' has been gone for a while now on HAL ships although I do prefer it ;) ) We spoke to him many times (we had Main Fixed dining).

Our friends arrived prompty every day and gave notice if they were doing specialty dining and would be absent.

He was happy to accommodate and, actually when we arrived on the Westerdam we had a call in our stateroom as he was the Manager on that ship and remembered our table preference and wanted to show us available tables.

I think you just hit a grumpy curmudgeon. ;)

I don't do lines well, like you, so we just go when it suits and the Pinnacle for lunch solves a lot of it ;)

We had travelling companions who dine in Open Dining on the P'dam every night with a reservation for 6:30 (or whatever the last time was). They had the same table, same waiters for the entire cruise.

 

The dining room asst manager was happy to do it. (the term maitre d' has been gone for a while now on HAL ships although I do prefer it ;) ) We spoke to him many times (we had Main Fixed dining).

 

Our friends arrived prompty every day and gave notice if they were doing specialty dining and would be absent.

 

He was happy to accommodate and, actually when we arrived on the Westerdam we had a call in our stateroom as he was the Manager on that ship and remembered our table preference and wanted to show us available tables.

 

I think you just hit a grumpy curmudgeon. ;)

 

I don't do lines well, like you, so we just go when it suits and the Pinnacle for lunch solves a lot of it ;)

We had a grumpy head waiter on our last cruise and he would not assign us the table we wanted, even though it was around 5:30 pm in Open.

We are not sailing until next June and was only offered the anytime option when we booked a few weeks ago. When I contacted customer services yesterday I was told that the late seating "It is closed off for this sailing"

Whatever that means - maybe a huge party booking - hope not......

PamRose228

 

You must have what HAL calls "Early Dining".

 

15 minutes late is fine. I would talk to the DRM or the Assistant DRM for your area and let him or her know you will be showing up 15 minutes late and why. HAL is very good with this type of thing and I would not worry. They know you have special orders so they will understand the situation.

 

Have a great cruise!

Absent special circumstances 15 minutes late seems incredibly rude to table mates and serving staff, to me.

I opted for open seating at the recommendation of my personal cruise consultant on my 14-day Alaska cruise in September, and it worked out great. I just showed up when I got hungry (usually around 5:15 or 5:30pm each day), indicated I was willing to share a table and was on my way to a table within 60 seconds. I had to give my cabin # only the first couple of times; after that, they greeted me by name as I approached and printed out the ticket by the time I reached the kiosk.

There was a group of us “open seating” folks, about 20 or 30 in number, who apparently kept a similar schedule as we ended up at tables with familiar faces most evenings. Mornings, too, for breakfast. I’ve opted for open seating on my next HAL cruise: Voyage of the Vikings next summer. I’m hoping it works out the same way.

We are not sailing until next June and was only offered the anytime option when we booked a few weeks ago. When I contacted customer services yesterday I was told that the late seating "It is closed off for this sailing"

Whatever that means - maybe a huge party booking - hope not......

I'd recommend that you try again for the dining time you prefer in January or February. It's been my experience that sometimes, for whatever reason, booking far in advance of sailing may only result in being "waitlisted" for my preferred second seating. After a few weeks/months, my travel agent is able to obtain my desired dining time.

Absent special circumstances 15 minutes late seems incredibly rude to table mates and serving staff, to me.

Agree 100%.