formal night / anytime dining reservations Rotterdam

OH NO - a dress code thread!

We frequently cruise Celebrity where formal night has morphed into casual chic - whatever that means. But my husband has been wearing a suit coat and then a polo shirt. Will that work on HAL (Rotterdam NE/Canada sail)?

Also we have found that anytime dining can be a bit of a cr*p shoot but on a recent Princess cruise we were able to make reservations by calling the main desk every morning at 8:00am. I've also read that on HAL you can chat with the maitre d on the first day and make reservations. There are only 2 of us - we can share but we don't like to stand around waiting for more than 5 or 10 minutes - we like to dine around 7. Thanks for any info you can share!

Suit coat or dress shirt and tie are recommended as Gala night attire for men. Flexibility has become the norm.

I have never had any luck with calling for reservations in the dining room. On our cruise in June in Alaska we wanted a set table for 2 for dinner and were told by the maitre d if we were there by 5:15 we could just walk in and sit at "our" table. That's what we did. Sometimes when we walked out around 6:30/7:00 people would be waiting to be seated. Being from California the early time was fine and better than having to check in and wait to be seated each evening plus we always had the same servers which we also prefer. Make friends with the maitre d early in the cruise and he may work with you. Even fixed dining does not offer a 7:00 time frame. We found that the two of us with the same servers could finish a meal in about 1 1/2 hours which opened up a table for the time you are hoping for! Good luck.

Because of dietary requirements we ask if we can have the same table and server for supper every night.

We have been able to make up to the first 3 nights of reservations with a staff member in person by doing it right after we board. They are stationed around the ship. After that we are okay with being flexible since back on board times vary by port. Not great but usually not a long wait and I request near a window and any size table.

Shirt and tie definitely okay as gala on HAL. Very few tuxes, more sport jackets and just shirt and tie. Three HAL cruises past 8 months and similar in Europe and Australia/New Zealand.

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We had an assigned table at the early seating. Many days we did excursions off the ship and got back too late for our assigned time. Walked into MDR and got seated right away every night, never any wait at all