Would you like to eat in the M.D.R. in half the time.

[roysue]

Our party of 4 enjoys taking in the evening entertainment. We were finding that the dinner was running longer than we wanted and interfering with out whole evening plan. What we discovered was sharing this information with our MDR server made a huge difference. We still have plenty of time to enjoy our dinner but find that we are getting more time for the rest of the evening.

[navybankerteacher]

[quote name='luddite']There is a difference between dining and gittin' fed.
That might be heresy to some........[/QUOTE]

Of course, with any time dining, served quickly, it would be possible to live the dream outlined by OP on another thread - who eats two MDR dinners after numerous other meals, and before later eatings: three MDR dinners per evening- now that would really be getting your money's worth.

[luddite]

[quote name='navybankerteacher']Of course, with any time dining, served quickly, it would be possible to live the dream outlined by OP on another thread - who eats two MDR dinners after numerous other meals, and before later eatings: three MDR dinners per evening- now that would really be getting your money's worth.[/quote]

Hey now. I've seen people at the hog trough....errrr....buffet, with a plate piled eight inches high with food from every station. I guess that the walk back to the food line would just be too much exercise for one body.

I just cannot fathom eating like that. And I weigh too much.
I'm thinking that the fellows who want to eat in a hurry are from the generation raised on go-food in front of a TV.

[Karysa]

[quote name='luddite']Hey now. I've seen people at the hog trough....errrr....buffet, with a plate piled eight inches high with food from every station. I guess that the walk back to the food line would just be too much exercise for one body.

I just cannot fathom eating like that. And I weigh too much.
I'm thinking that the fellows who want to eat in a hurry are from the generation raised on go-food in front of a TV.[/QUOTE]

Not me. Family meals at the table. Not 1 1/2-2 hrs though. Everyday meals are 1/2 an hour. MDR to me are like everyday meals that I don't have to cook or clean up after. :)

[luddite]

[quote name='Karysa']Not me. Family meals at the table. Not 1 1/2-2 hrs though. Everyday meals are 1/2 an hour. MDR to me are like everyday meals that I don't have to cook or clean up after. :)[/quote]

I consider it a dinner date. So does my wife.
Occasionally we get a meal that is better than what we cook......but.....
well, that's another story.

[jocap]

No, we're no longer interested in the big tables nor the set hours, and even freedom dining can be a noisy experience. We like to be able to eat when we want, but this year we tried a cruise line which expected you to BOOK your freedom time- we lasted one night! That's no use to us....we eat little, and rarely any puddings, so this last cruise became one of grazing whenever we wanted.

[Mytime2014]

[quote name='jocap']No, we're no longer interested in the big tables nor the set hours, and even freedom dining can be a noisy experience. We like to be able to eat when we want, but this year we tried a cruise line which expected you to BOOK your freedom time- we lasted one night! That's no use to us....we eat little, and rarely any puddings, so this last cruise became one of grazing whenever we wanted.[/quote]


the idea of the big table/strangers/extended meal is something I didn't think about before coming to CC. My friend has cruised and she likes that, so I just went along. I'm hoping we have friendly tablemates who like to chat a little but get on with the meal...otherwise, we will have to revisit the plan! If I were sailing alone [next time maybe] I would definitely not take a fixed time.

[jocap]

[quote name='Mytime2014']the idea of the big table/strangers/extended meal is something I didn't think about before coming to CC. My friend has cruised and she likes that, so I just went along. I'm hoping we have friendly tablemates who like to chat a little but get on with the meal...otherwise, we will have to revisit the plan! If I were sailing alone [next time maybe] I would definitely not take a fixed time.[/QUOTE]
You'll probably enjoy the experience, for the sheer novelty- we certainly did on our first cruise! :cool:
Remember, though, that you don't have to eat there every night....we were 1/2 way through a fortnight's cruise before we discovered that the buffet also provided dinners....:rolleyes:
Also, our lives at home are all about people -often in need- and we sometimes want a break from that at sea, so building new relationships over the dining table isn't for us on our holiday.
Enjoy your cruise! :)

[DonnaK]

NO!

We've never had a dinner that lasted 2-3 hours. Generally, from start to finish it's 75-90 minutes. We like the relaxed pace, and time to digest food between courses.

Where are you all rushing off to anyway?

[navybankerteacher]

[quote name='DonnaK']NO!

We've never had a dinner that lasted 2-3 hours. Generally, from start to finish it's 75-90 minutes. We like the relaxed pace, and time to digest food between courses.

Where are you all rushing off to anyway?[/QUOTE]

Exactly - cruising is meant, among other things, to be a change of pace. Someone else cooks your meals, makes your beds, provides a different view from your window every day. Why try to make it as much like home as possible?

[Karysa]

[quote name='DonnaK']NO!

We've never had a dinner that lasted 2-3 hours. Generally, from start to finish it's 75-90 minutes. We like the relaxed pace, and time to digest food between courses.

Where are you all rushing off to anyway?[/QUOTE]

I have never had a big table of 8-10 people from start to finish in 75 minutes. I found 90 minutes to be the quickest.

After a quiet dinner for 2 in an hour we go and dance to one of the live bands. we don't get a chance to do that often at home so we try to get some dancing in each night on our cruises.

[obnurse]

We would absolutely like the MDR meal to go along a little faster, maybe an hour or slightly more. We make the most of every day, get to the dining room 6:30 ish and at a 2 hour pace, we miss the show. Sometimes we opt for the buffet just to save time. We really enjoy the MDR experience but dragging it out to 2 hrs doesn't make it better for us.