Sneaking in right before Dining Room Closing Time

[KDCXO82]

If the dining room says that it is open until 10pm, does that mean you can be seated up until 10pm or that you have to be finished eating by 10pm? I don't plan on doing this often but one of the nights that I booked Burn the Floor for 7:30pm, I would want to be able to eat dinner afterward without cutting it too close. Thanks! 

[shof515]

after 10pm, they do not let people in

[victory2020]

As a former server, if you walk in just before closing - order quickly & don't linger over drinks, dinner, coffee.

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, KDCXO82 said:

If the dining room says that it is open until 10pm, does that mean you can be seated up until 10pm or that you have to be finished eating by 10pm? I don't plan on doing this often but one of the nights that I booked Burn the Floor for 7:30pm, I would want to be able to eat dinner afterward without cutting it too close. Thanks! 

 

Why do you call it "sneaking in"?  Are you planning to try to get in AFTER regular hours?

Otherwise, if you arrive during open hours, you are arriving during open hours.

 

However, as suggested above, it would be good not to linger unnecessarily.

In most cases, you wouldn't be the only one there; others would be in various stages of their own dining (assuming there isn't some odd reason why no one had arrived in the previous, say, 45 or 60 minutes, etc., but only prior to that).

 

And as with any restaurant, arriving at the tail end might mean that a few items are not available, although that wouldn't be predictable.

 

And you'd probably be finishing up while some of the last waitstaff - those for your area - are indeed "waiting" for you to finish, before they can finish *their* work.

 

In a case like you describe, where a show is letting out just prior to the closing hour (assuming it really *does* allow folks to get to the restaurant prior to the closing hour!) there might be a lot of people doing the same thing, and the staff may be used to it.  Or not...

 

GC

[zqvol]

4 hours ago, KDCXO82 said:

If the dining room says that it is open until 10pm, does that mean you can be seated up until 10pm or that you have to be finished eating by 10pm? I don't plan on doing this often but one of the nights that I booked Burn the Floor for 7:30pm, I would want to be able to eat dinner afterward without cutting it too close. Thanks! 

 

You will have plenty of time after the show. They will seat you in one of the dining rooms up until 10. One or two of the MDRs may close earlier, but they all have the same menu.

[lyannea]

It’s always my preference to show up 20 minutes before closing on larger ships- service is not as drawn out, service is quicker and food still tastes very good. 

[havanadaydreaming]

O'Sheehans is always an option after a show, they're open 24/7. 

 

I'm very leery of going anywhere right before closing time even if folks are welcoming and adamant it's no big deal.   As a former bartender I knew I was in for late nights closing and it didn't bother me at all, but I also had the power to say drink em up and get em out ...I gots to lock up. And I got tipped so I had financial skin in the game for latecomers. 

 

the restaurant folk on the ships seem to work awfully hard and seem to have long hours.   I couldn't keep them longer if it wasn't necessary and I didn't have other options. 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, KDCXO82 said:

If the dining room says that it is open until 10pm, does that mean you can be seated up until 10pm or that you have to be finished eating by 10pm? I don't plan on doing this often but one of the nights that I booked Burn the Floor for 7:30pm, I would want to be able to eat dinner afterward without cutting it too close. Thanks! 

The show will let out at 8:20 and you can be seated at Taste/Savor by 8:30. 

Edited December 28, 2018 by BirdTravels

[Vyhanek]

If you are going to the main show of the evening, it would be expected that some guests would be eating dinner after the show!   

 

I'm sure there will be several groups that haven't eaten before the 7:30 show.    Actually to have eaten before the 7:30 show means they would need to be eating at 5:15, 5:30 at the latest.    Service in the Main Dining Rooms can get paralyzed and dinner can easily take 2 hours!     So waiting until after the show should be a common occurrence and they should be ready for guests after the show.    

[tallnthensome]

Serving staff LOVE when people come in the last second so they can't go to bed after working 16 hours a day 7 days a week . 

[lyannea]

8 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

Serving staff LOVE when people come in the last second so they can't go to bed after working 16 hours a day 7 days a week . 

 

I had 2 different servers ask me to request their section, as a late “arriver” - one at lunch and one at dinner. - I arrive 20-30 mins before closing and get seated right away.

I was comped a glass of wine more than once ( I thought maybe they felt sorry because I was a solo older person?)

Anyway. I’d already looked and decided on what I wanted to eat beforehand.

Both servers tried to convince me to take desert at the end of the meal, when I was too stuffed to eat more, which I didn’t.

 

Many couldn’t or wouldn’t work  those long hours day after day, agreed. 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Vyhanek said:

If you are going to the main show of the evening, it would be expected that some guests would be eating dinner after the show!   

 

I'm sure there will be several groups that haven't eaten before the 7:30 show.    Actually to have eaten before the 7:30 show means they would need to be eating at 5:15, 5:30 at the latest.    Service in the Main Dining Rooms can get paralyzed and dinner can easily take 2 hours!     So waiting until after the show should be a common occurrence and they should be ready for guests after the show.    

The theater holds 800 of the 4500 passengers on board. So, there are 3700 passengers who are not at the show. 

 

If you tell your server of your time constraints up front, they will ALWAYS get you out on time for a show. 

 

Dining rooma (MDR and specialty) don’t open until 5:30. No 5:15 Dining other than O’Sheehan and the buffet. 

[hladygirl]

Our last two cruises on the Dawn the main dining rooms and specialty restaurants opened at 5 pm. They used to open at 5:30pm.

[KDCXO82]

Thank you everyone! I definitely do not plan to be going right at 10 when a place closes, however, I knew that a lot times dinner takes 2 hours and I wasn't sure if that meant we had to be there around 8 or so. As a former server as well, I want to be very respectful of the waitstaff's time.