Open Dining

[lethbridgeguy]

First time poster and cruiser sailing on Equinox in Feb. We have open dining. From what I understand we can dine at anytime. Just wondering what would be best time to go to avoid lineups and what is the latest that you can eat at mdr. Also it sounds like on first night of cruise that mdr is hectic. Would you have to reserve to dine at specialty restaurant on first night. Thanks

[marisr]

We just got off the Reflection today and from what I was told you can make reservations for select dining. we met a couple that had open dining and we just made reservations each night and got the same staff as we requested. We also did two speciality and it was pretty easy to get reservations. They gave a 20% discount when you done speciality on the first night.

 

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[helen haywood]

I think Select dining is anytime from 6 to 9:30. Not positive. How many are in your party? If you are a party of two you will have less wait than if you are a large party. We always go to the MDR around 7 and have never had to wait for a table....have had to wait a few minutes in the line to get to the hostess stand to be escorted to your table. The first night seems to take longer for your meal to be completed because the waiters are having to explain the menu (every night items versus ones that change daily) to people. Often hear people saying the specialty restaurants offer discounts for dining the first night so you could just book that on board.

[pcur]

I was told my an open dining head waiter on a RCCL ship that most people come on the hour and the half hour. He said the best times to avoid crowds were at the 15 and 45 minute times.

[TeaBag]

We have had no waits usually at 6 or 6:15. However, on our last cruise there were a lot of older people and there was a line-up at 6. We made a reservation each night for the next night as we left the MDR.

 

You are right about it being a zoo on the first night.

[still-learning]

First time poster and cruiser sailing on Equinox in Feb. We have open dining. From what I understand we can dine at anytime. Just wondering what would be best time to go to avoid lineups and what is the latest that you can eat at mdr. Also it sounds like on first night of cruise that mdr is hectic. Would you have to reserve to dine at specialty restaurant on first night. Thanks

 

Many have answered your question already so I want to add a welcome to Cruise Critic and congratulate you on your first post. I hope you enjoy Equinox as much as we do! :)

[lethbridgeguy]

Thanks for the advice and replies,. Great bunch of people on here. Super excited and cruising with wife and two kids 13 and 17. Hoping there is some more teenagers on cruise to keep them from getting bored.

[kenevenpar]

I can confirm that, at least on Reflection, the MDR was open for seating until 9:30. We went at 9:15 one evening and got one of the wonderful two tops along the rail. We made no reservations, and had no waits. This was our first experience with Select Dining, and it worked great (never thought I would say that:D)

[Northern Aurora]

I also want to welcome lethbridgeguy to Cruise Critic.

 

We were in select (anytime) dining two months ago on the Century. The first night we were very pleased with the waiter and his assistant so we noted their names. Every night we asked to be seated in their section. We had the best of both worlds -- a waiter and his assistant who knew our preferences and also the flexibility to dine at a time convenient for us.