Why is Early Dining the preferred time slot?

[MicCanberra]

4 hours ago, Warm Breezes said:

I personally prefer Anytime.  Then we can go when we can go on our schedule....which can easily vary day by day.

Exactly the reason why we like it, port days are usually different to sea days. I wouldn't want to be rushing back to the ship early so I can get ready for dinner at 5.30 with no time for pre dinner drinks.

[Zach1213]

On 3/5/2019 at 9:14 AM, Warm Breezes said:

I personally prefer Anytime.  Then we can go when we can go on our schedule....which can easily vary day by day.

 

Anytime (which still means going to the MDR which I dislike), buffet, or reservations at specialty restaurants is my choice. The strict times + mediocrity of traditional dining room seating is an absolute turn off to me. Shows are just about the least appealing thing on a cruise to me, so I don't really care to eat dinner early just to make it to them.

[Hlitner]

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 9:14 AM, Warm Breezes said:

I personally prefer Anytime.  Then we can go when we can go on our schedule....which can easily vary day by day.

I have often wondered (and posted the issue) about whether so much reliance on social media and smart phones has spurned a generation (or 2) of people who lack some of the basic social skills that enhance face to face contacts.  Just looking at cruises can put this in perspective.  When we started cruising in the 70s (and our parents relayed similar info on the 50s and 60s) just about every ship had 2 sitting dining with assigned tables.  2 Tops barely existed and the norm was to sit at large tables where you had the same waiters and tablemates for every dinner.  People knew how to socialize, make new friends, and dinner was generally thought of as the main social event of the day.  On some ships they did not even offer any alternative such as buffets.....at dinner time.

 

Now roll forward to the current day.  Many cruisers no longer are comfortable sharing a table, preferring to maintain their privacy with a 2 top.  Others do not enjoy the idea of sitting down to a long dinner (we used to call this dining) and prefer a quick grab and go buffet.  On CC we see plenty of cruisers explaining that they do not like to talk with strangers (and some ask questions like "what do we talk about?").   DW and I have dined in some fine restaurants (on land) where we have observed mostly younger folks (we are seniors) spending a good part of their time texting (while eating) rather then socializing.  We have seen young couples constantly texting at dinner (without ever talking) and sometimes wondered if they were texting each other :).  

 

In our own home, DW and I have long observed a simple rule which is to not text or even have a phone at the dinner table.  The only exception is when it involves hearing from Grandchildren :).   If the phone rings (or vibrates) during dinner we generally let it go to voice mail.  For us, dinner is about relaxing, chatting, and socializing.  What do you think?

 

Hank

[pacruise804]

The tides might be turning some.  I've seen groups put the phones in the center of the table so no one is tempted to use them, or a basket to place phones in at youth functions for our children.  Sometimes I think we need the baskets for adult functions too 😉 

 

We generally prefer sitting with others and enjoy the shared conversation, but there are evenings we prefer to just have each other for company.

[lenquixote66]

We take our cell phones on cruises but put them in the safe on day one and do not take them out till we are off the ship when the cruise is over. We do not use the internet on the cruise.

We prefer sitting by ourselves for dinner but we do share a table for lunch and dinner and have made many friends since we began cruising in 1973.

 

I do not believe that we ever saw anyone texting at a table.

[Warm Breezes]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I have often wondered (and posted the issue) about whether so much reliance on social media and smart phones has spurned a generation (or 2) of people who lack some of the basic social skills that enhance face to face contacts.  Just looking at cruises can put this in perspective.  When we started cruising in the 70s (and our parents relayed similar info on the 50s and 60s) just about every ship had 2 sitting dining with assigned tables.  2 Tops barely existed and the norm was to sit at large tables where you had the same waiters and tablemates for every dinner.  People knew how to socialize, make new friends, and dinner was generally thought of as the main social event of the day.  On some ships they did not even offer any alternative such as buffets.....at dinner time.

 

Now roll forward to the current day.  Many cruisers no longer are comfortable sharing a table, preferring to maintain their privacy with a 2 top.  Others do not enjoy the idea of sitting down to a long dinner (we used to call this dining) and prefer a quick grab and go buffet.  On CC we see plenty of cruisers explaining that they do not like to talk with strangers (and some ask questions like "what do we talk about?").   DW and I have dined in some fine restaurants (on land) where we have observed mostly younger folks (we are seniors) spending a good part of their time texting (while eating) rather then socializing.  We have seen young couples constantly texting at dinner (without ever talking) and sometimes wondered if they were texting each other :).  

 

In our own home, DW and I have long observed a simple rule which is to not text or even have a phone at the dinner table.  The only exception is when it involves hearing from Grandchildren :).   If the phone rings (or vibrates) during dinner we generally let it go to voice mail.  For us, dinner is about relaxing, chatting, and socializing.  What do you think?

 

Hank

While we do not like to have our meals with people we do not know, we also do not fit your assumptions above.  DH and I are both 52.  We have been on 18 cruises.  Our first 3 cruises were with friend and extended family so we filled up our table all by ourselves.  Our 4th cruise we were placed a table with 2 other couples.  We were in our late 30's at the time with a 8 and 10 year old.  We were seated with a young couple on their honeymoon and an older retired couple.  We had absolutely nothing in common.  My kids were extremely shy around people they didn't know and my husband would rather go to the dentist (which he absolutely hates) then sit down and have a meal with strangers.  This was before we even owned cell phones.  If the cruise line's hadn't started coming out with anytime or freestyle dining after that cruise, I think I would have had a hard time convincing the 3 of them to continue cruising.  We have only done Freestyle and Anytime since then and absolutely love it.

 

Sitting with strangers during our meal does not add pleasure to our vacation.  Spending time as family or just with my DH does.  Having said that both DH and I worked full time jobs.  My DD was a competitive dancer and DS played Soccer and Basketball.  We were an extremely busy family.  We really did (and do) enjoy spending our vacation with each other.  It is our time to reconnect with each other away from the hectic real world.  Cell phones have nothing to do with it.  In fact DH and I still own cheap Trac phones.  It's all we need.  Plus our phones always get shut off and put in the safe when we cruise.  We even had a hotel restaurant owner say how nice it was to see a family hang out together like we were when the kids were teenagers and we had ordered pizza and were playing cards at our hotel post cruise one year.  This was just part of our vacation rituals, hanging out together, doing things together, and yes even eating together....and having a blast doing it.

 

My kids are now 22 and 25.  My son lives 16 hours away from us and my daughter is finishing up her degree while living at home.  I have a cruise booked for us all in May.  I am just praying we can all go.  DH and I had to cancel our last planned cruise last December because my mother suffered a major stroke 2 weeks before.  We just got her moved to an assisted living center from a nursing center yesterday.  I keep praying that she will improve enough, and doesn't have any set backs, before we leave.  My DS has a remote possibility that he may need to cancel because of his job.  He is a Sports Writer and one of his teams has a chance of making the finals during our cruise.  In which case he will need to cover them since he works for a small paper with an extremely small staff.  It is possible he won't know until 2 weeks before the cruise.  As always we booked Anytime dining and I couldn't be happier about that because if we can all get on that ship, I am planning on spending every moment I can with my family and not have to share that time at dinner with complete strangers. 

 

You can call us anti-social all you want, but vacations for us is all about the family.  We all socialize with other people enough during our regular daily life.  My Daughter is a Professional Dancer for a basketball team.  She has to do publicity events and talk to strangers a lot.  My son has to interview strangers all the time for his job.  They have learned social skills but vacation time is our time to be social with each other.  To each his own.  I am just happy the cruise lines give us this opportunity to cruise the way we prefer to cruise.

[lenquixote66]

Going slightly off topic but I was extremely shy as a kid but had the opportunity to play semi-pro basketball for 2 years. In that capacity you have to communicate with the press and the fans if you want to succeed.

I have no problem talking to strangers on a cruise and as I previously said we almost always sit with people at breakfast and lunch who we did not previously know and usually have enjoyable conversations.

For dinner we will share a table with friends   but if we do not  know anyone on the ship we prefer a table for 2.

[Bonnie J.]

My husband and are a young 75 years old and do not like early dining at all! Early eating, was spring, because we wanted to cruise with my cousin and this is what they said they had to have. It is just too early for us. We usually eat around 6:30pm at home but on a cruise waiting till 8:15 is no problem. There is always things to do to keep us busy and we do not want to go to bed at 10PM! Still, good things happening, good music, dancing, shows, etc. after 8:15 dinner. (I have been known to go to the buffet when they open at 6pm and get cheese, crackers -by soup- to have with before dinner drinks. Or, usually, 1st night fried shrimp on the buffet!)

[MicCanberra]

3 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

The tides might be turning some.  I've seen groups put the phones in the center of the table so no one is tempted to use them, or a basket to place phones in at youth functions for our children.  Sometimes I think we need the baskets for adult functions too 😉 

 

We generally prefer sitting with others and enjoy the shared conversation, but there are evenings we prefer to just have each other for company.

I have seen some movies where this concept is used long with if a phone rings it is answered on speaker  at the table or the text is read out. It had mixed results for the people around the table but it was an entertaining film.

[pacruise804]

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

We take our cell phones on cruises but put them in the safe on day one and do not take them out till we are off the ship when the cruise is over. We do not use the internet on the cruise.

We prefer sitting by ourselves for dinner but we do share a table for lunch and dinner and have made many friends since we began cruising in 1973.

 

I do not believe that we ever saw anyone texting at a table.

 

Hank's post was observing texting in restaurants on land, not on the ship. 

 

We put our phones in airplane mode and don't text on the ship, but I do carry my phone for pictures, a flash light (needed that once at a specialty restaurant to see the menu 😉 ), and the ship app.

 

Warm Breezes - I hope your family is able to have a great vacation 🙂 So far my husband and I have only cruised together, but this summer we will take our teens on their first cruise.  We will likely stick to a table just for our family (I don't know if anytime even sits parties of 4 with others).  When we take DH parents on a cruise for their 50th anniversary we will likely have traditional dining, but still just sit with each other then too.  I apologize if I came across as judgemental.

[MicCanberra]

26 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

 

Hank's post was observing texting in restaurants on land, not on the ship. 

 

We put our phones in airplane mode and don't text on the ship, but I do carry my phone for pictures, a flash light (needed that once at a specialty restaurant to see the menu 😉 ), and the ship app.

 

Warm Breezes - I hope your family is able to have a great vacation 🙂 So far my husband and I have only cruised together, but this summer we will take our teens on their first cruise.  We will likely stick to a table just for our family (I don't know if anytime even sits parties of 4 with others).  When we take DH parents on a cruise for their 50th anniversary we will likely have traditional dining, but still just sit with each other then too.  I apologize if I came across as judgemental.

Yes they do, the maitre de will always try and fill a shared table to minimise lines and waiting times.

[pacruise804]

Thanks,  our experience with NCL was they wouldn't seat the 2 of us with anyone else (we showered each night before dinner - promise 😉 ), but CCL and RCL often would.  I wasn't sure for larger parties.  

 

We will leave it up to our daughter, since it's for her graduation.

[K32682]

On 3/1/2019 at 1:02 PM, ProgRockCruiser said:

But I honestly felt that by selecting the Early Dining it was like I was admitting I was with the early-bird special "older" crowd at Crackerbarrel.

 

Lol.  There is certainly that old timer feeling when you eat dinner at 5:30.  It's also when families with children tend to eat.  In the era when cruise companies were more rigid about dining we tried both and preferred the late sitting. Now that companies have introduced more options and relieved us of fixed times and the dreaded table companion lottery our choice is anytime dining, table for two.  We cruise to visit interesting places, enjoy our time together and have no particular need to expand our already quite satisfactory social circle.  

[Misself]

I'm definitely prefer the late sitting if on 'traditional' dining.   If it's a lovely warm day I want to sit outside until the sun goes in, then go and get ready for dinner.  I can't imagine getting all dressed up at 5.30, i'm normally still on my sunbed 😉   .  I also like to have a pre-dinner cocktail before going to eat around 8.   If i'm with my friends, we really like to enjoy a leisurely dinner, so we we will often sit around the table until 10 until it's time to go and see the late show if we want.     But for us, the dining experience is a BIG part of our enjoyment and not too worried about doing other evening activities.  Although if there is a quiz we can normally catch this before dinner.

 

 

[dreadpirate3]

Another Orlando resident here.

 

We cruise on Royal, and have only had set dining once. I love to dine  between 7 and 8, and I like having My Time Dining with the same servers and table. We have found it pays to make plans for the next night when checking in with the Maitre'D. This time, we'll have our son and his friend with us, so a table for four will be very nice for dinner each night.

 

We don't mind sitting with others at breakfast and lunch, and find we do plenty of socializing on the ship.

 

At home, we rarely eat dinner before 7, even though we are out of the house before 7 AM on work days. I'm glad the lines offer traditional and flexible dining times for people like me.

[MicCanberra]

I like to dine as well, sometimes I prefer our own company and other times we like to share. But we prefer to eat when we want to on that particular day rather than the early or late seatings. That said, it is never before 7pm.