MDR Reservations/Anytime Dining

[SeaCapt]

16 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I think they are much earlier than that.  I think early is at 5 ior 5:15 now and main around 7:30.

That would be a new change, then. We took 4 cruises last year. N Statendam in Carib, Koningsdam in Alaska and Zaandam in Canada, were all 8pm Main Seating. Rotterdam in Carib was 7:45pm main seating.  We've got 24 days on N Statendam in northern Europe upcoming in July, 8pm Main seating.

Edited February 26, 2023 by SeaCapt

[Florida_gal_50]

5 minutes ago, SeaCapt said:

That would be a new change, then. We took 4 cruises last year, N Statendam in Carib, Rotterdam in Carib, Koningsdam in Alaska and Zaandam in Canada, all were 8pm Main Seating. We've got 24 days on N Statendam in northern Europe upcoming in July, 8pm Main seating.

Yes this has been recent for sure.  I’ve read several posts saying that the times have changed.  I’m going to message a friend that just got off the Rotterdam.  Hopefully they will get back to me quickly. 
 

@Crew Newswere you one of the people that mentioned the traditional dining times changing?  Thanks.

Edited February 26, 2023 by Florida_gal_50

[Florida_gal_50]

Just heard back from my friend that was on the Rotterdam for 30 plus days and just disembarked yesterday.  Early dining was at 5:15.  He was not sure but he thought late was still at 8.  He also mentioned that open dining seemed to function well.  It was not the disaster that it was when we were both on the koningsdam in November. 

[Crew News]

4 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yes this has been recent for sure.  I’ve read several posts saying that the times have changed.  I’m going to message a friend that just got off the Rotterdam.  Hopefully they will get back to me quickly. 
 

@Crew Newswere you one of the people that mentioned the traditional dining times changing?  Thanks.

A review of my archived When & Where brochures and stateroom keys shows that the early dining time in the Caribbean changed in 2018 from 5:30 PM to 5:15 PM on my cruise.  In 2019, early dining went to 5:00 PM on the Koningsdam.  On the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2021 Caribbean, early dining was 5:30 PM but the next month a board the Nieuw Statendam early dining was 5:00 PM. Early dining on the Rotterdam in Dec 2022 was 5:15 PM.

 

It appears that the Pinnacle-class ships use the earlier 5:00-5:15 PM early dining in the Caribbean and the others use 5:30 PM. 

[lissie]

4 minutes ago, Crew News said:

A review of my archived When & Where brochures and stateroom keys shows that the early dining time in the Caribbean changed in 2018 from 5:30 PM to 5:15 PM on my cruise.  In 2019, early dining went to 5:00 PM on the Koningsdam.  On the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2021 Caribbean, early dining was 5:30 PM but the next month a board the Nieuw Statendam early dining was 5:00 PM. Early dining on the Rotterdam in Dec 2022 was 5:15 PM.

 

It appears that the Pinnacle-class ships use the earlier 5:00-5:15 PM early dining in the Caribbean and the others use 5:30 PM. 

Is this an American thing eating so early? I've not eaten before 6pm since I was about 10!  I guess we'll be doing late sitting or anytime dining. We are cruising Greenland and Iceland and many of the ports we don't leave until 7pm so I guess no one will be do early sitting 

[Crew News]

1 minute ago, lissie said:

Is this an American thing eating so early? I've not eaten before 6pm since I was about 10!  I guess we'll be doing late sitting or anytime dining. We are cruising Greenland and Iceland and many of the ports we don't leave until 7pm so I guess no one will be do early sitting 

I don't know anybody that likes eating at 5:00-5:15 PM while onboard.  Late eating in my case is not good when bedtime follows shortly thereafter. In the Caribbean, I prefer the Pinnacle-class ships and Club Orange that lets me eat around 6:00 PM. 

[Florida_gal_50]

19 minutes ago, Crew News said:

A review of my archived When & Where brochures and stateroom keys shows that the early dining time in the Caribbean changed in 2018 from 5:30 PM to 5:15 PM on my cruise.  In 2019, early dining went to 5:00 PM on the Koningsdam.  On the Nieuw Amsterdam in 2021 Caribbean, early dining was 5:30 PM but the next month a board the Nieuw Statendam early dining was 5:00 PM. Early dining on the Rotterdam in Dec 2022 was 5:15 PM.

 

It appears that the Pinnacle-class ships use the earlier 5:00-5:15 PM early dining in the Caribbean and the others use 5:30 PM. 

Thank you for all that information.  Much appreciated.  It’s been ages since traditional has been at 5:45 to my recollection BUT I’ve cruised mostly on the pinnacle ships since around 2018.

[Florida_gal_50]

6 minutes ago, Crew News said:

I don't know anybody that likes eating at 5:00-5:15 PM while onboard.  Late eating in my case is not good when bedtime follows shortly thereafter. In the Caribbean, I prefer the Pinnacle-class ships and Club Orange that lets me eat around 6:00 PM. 

Yup, that’s my sweet spot at 6.  
 

When I’m at home and working at eat around 5, sometimes earlier if I’m doing the cooking.  I get up at 4am weekdays so 5 pm is like midnight 😛.

[Crew News]

3 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yup, that’s my sweet spot at 6.  
 

When I’m at home and working at eat around 5, sometimes earlier if I’m doing the cooking.  I get up at 4am weekdays so 5 pm is like midnight 😛.

That is also the sweet spot in Club Orange.  My experience is that I see pagers being issued around 6:45 PM.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 minutes ago, Crew News said:

That is also the sweet spot in Club Orange.  My experience is that I see pagers being issued around 6:45 PM.

It was nuts on the koningsdam.  I took the last table at 5:40 as I recall.  It was embarkation day for the thanksgiving cruise so that may have come into play.

[cruisemom42]

52 minutes ago, lissie said:

Is this an American thing eating so early? I've not eaten before 6pm since I was about 10!  I guess we'll be doing late sitting or anytime dining. We are cruising Greenland and Iceland and many of the ports we don't leave until 7pm so I guess no one will be do early sitting 

 

I like a dining time around 7:30 usually -- half an hour either way is usually fine. 

 

There are a lot of jokes in the USA about seniors and "early bird" dinners. Seems to be a thing particularly in Florida. 

[regan3]

Might have to use anytime dining if those are the dining times as on some port days all aboard time isn't until 6 or 7. Unless others have had a different experience?

[Marelaine]

2 hours ago, lissie said:

Is this an American thing eating so early? I've not eaten before 6pm since I was about 10!  I guess we'll be doing late sitting or anytime dining. We are cruising Greenland and Iceland and many of the ports we don't leave until 7pm so I guess no one will be do early sitting 

Yes, we get too hungry for dinner at eight.  🙂

Six o'clock dinner is our preference. It's a good thing that we are all different. The MDR can't accommodate all passengers at the same time.

 

[lissie]

6 minutes ago, Marelaine said:

Yes, we get too hungry for dinner at eight.  🙂

Six o'clock dinner is our preference. It's a good thing that we are all different. The MDR can't accommodate all passengers at the same time.

 

If I eat too early - I get hungry again later in the evening - late sitting on Cunard was 8:30 or 8:15 which was fine by us - particularly if afternoon tea had happened! 

[Marelaine]

3 hours ago, lissie said:

If I eat too early - I get hungry again later in the evening - late sitting on Cunard was 8:30 or 8:15 which was fine by us - particularly if afternoon tea had happened! 

Oh dear, I forgot about afternoon tea. When we indulge in tea, we skip dinner. I look forward to that treat.

 

[Crew News]

12 minutes ago, Marelaine said:

Oh dear, I forgot about afternoon tea. When we indulge in tea, we skip dinner. I look forward to that treat.

 

and Neptune Suites appetizers each afternoon.

[regan3]

How far in advance of a cruise can you typically make dining reservations for the MDR?

 

I'm assuming when we make the reservation you can request a table for two?

[Native Floridian 26]

35 minutes ago, regan3 said:

How far in advance of a cruise can you typically make dining reservations for the MDR?

 

I'm assuming when we make the reservation you can request a table for two?

I believe for Anytime Dining, you can't reserve until you are on board.

[Hlitner]

I smiled when I saw Cruisemom's post.  We are now aboard the Westerdam (cruising in Asia) and have absolutely no problem with MDR seating.  DW and I normally go to dinner about 7:30, but tonight went at 7:15.  We go to the "No Reservation" line and tell them we like to share (have only fun tables on this cruise).  We are seated within a couple of minutes and do notice folks with reservations waiting (we assume they want 2 tops).  The thing about HAL is that many folks (mostly fellow Americans) want to dine early (tea time) before 7.  Some of them complain about lines and queues.  But by 7:15 there are usually no queues or waiting and the waiters are more relaxed since they know they do not have to deal with any later diners.  Almost all of our tablemates have been from the UK or Australia, where folks also prefer to dine after the sun sets :).  We have noticed that many folks at 2 tops are in and out of the MDR relatively fast.  Our shared tables (which have varied from 4 to 10 persons) are quite slow because we all have a lot of fun and are not in a rush.  

 

No right or wrong, but simply what folks like on ships.  For us, MDR dinners have always been a social highlight and we have made many friends (over 50+ years of cruising) by simply sharing tables and enjoying our tablemates.  

 

Hank

[Mary229]

56 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

sets :).  We have noticed that many folks at 2 tops are in and out of the MDR relatively fast.

That appears to be what many people want.  I have noticed a lot of complaints on these boards about lengthy dining times.  We share at breakfast and lunch and do notice most of our dining partners want rapid service.  For our evening meal we simply tell our waitstaff we want relaxed service.  If we had a need to finish early we would tell them at arrival and order fewer courses - with the state of HAL entertainment there were very few evenings we felt the need to rush😉