Ordering all courses at once

[SCX22]

21 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

 

And that leads to what was a big benefit of the dearly departed traditional dining with fixed times that were coordinated with the times for evening shows.

 

You did not have to reserve a time months in advance of a cruise having to guess what time the shows might be as DMW requires. If you wait until close to embarkation when you find out what the actual show times will be, the dining times you would want will likely no longer be available.

 

Kinda sorta.  If you know you want to go to the first show, make a reservation for between 17:00 and 17:30, and you'll be out of the dining room, hopefully, with enough time to walk to the theater and get seats.  If the shows start later than you anticipated once JourneyView populates for your voyage, i.e. Sky Princess from Southampton with later shows, then you have a) time do something else to kill time or b) get to the theater extra early to get good seats. You really can't reserve a dining time any later than 17:30 if you expect to make it to the first show time at a regularly paced meal in the MDR.

 

The problem is the pacing of the dinner by the waiters.  They know the show times; they sometimes cannot pace the meal--whether it's their fault, the galley's, or your tablemates eating slow--to get you out before the show.

[MissP22]

11 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

For me, there's no need to sit down and savor mediocre hotel food.  It's just sustenance.  2 hours is just too long to sit and have dinner.  I rarely have dinners that long on land, and when I do, it's only for a special occasion.  I prefer the MDR for dinner because have a guaranteed seat.  At the times I like to eat, the buffet is usually chaotic and a mad house and scouting a seat can be problematic. 

 

I want to have fun somewhere else on the ship, not the MDR.  Again, that's just me.

We're like you and just like a leisurely dinner, but not 2 hours. Those 2 hour dinners are just waisted time sitting there waiting for the next course. 

Oh btw, the shows for US based cruises always begin at 7:30 and 9:30 with a few exceptions. Starting a 2 hour dinner any later then 5:30 means attending a late performance or missing something else you may want to attend. 

[Torfamm]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

I think you'll find that shows are at 20:00 and 22:00 or 22:15 on European sailings as well. That was the case last year on Regal in the Med. 

Those are the times for the Enchanted in the Mediterranean this summer

[wowzz]

23 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

Those are the times for the Enchanted in the Mediterranean this summer

Thanks for the confirmation. Proves the point that shows are not always at 19:30. 

[CruizinSusan70]

7 hours ago, wowzz said:

That system disappeared a couple of years ago. Set dining times are no more. You can, however,  use the app to reserve a table at the same time in the same MDR every night. However,  that will not necessarily be with the same wait staff or at the same table.

Anecdotal evidence is that when on board you may  be able to ask to have the same table every night - this is more likely if you are prepared to eat in the late afternoon, as soon as the MDR opens.

We normally eat around 20:00. We have rarely had the same table or staff. I can understand that having the same staff is useful if you have particular allergies or requirements  - we have neither,  and couldn't care less who serves us, or where. 

We cruised on the Discovery for 14 days in April of 2022.  We ate in the MDR for 12 of those nights and arrived around 545.  We were usually out just before 700 most nights so we were able to catch the 730 show if it interested us.  Then we spent most of the night at Good Spirits.  Had the same wait staff for every meal and sat at the same two top.  Obviously it was because we ate so early compared to having dinner at 8:00.

Having sailed on Celebrity, RCI and Carnival besides Princess, I had just mistakenly assumed that the old two seating method was still an option on Princess.

[CruizinSusan70]

6 hours ago, SCX22 said:

You really can't reserve a dining time any later than 17:30 if you expect to make it to the first show time at a regularly paced meal in the MDR.

We were on a 14 day B2B on the Discovery in April of 2022.  Had 545 reservations and was out most nights by 700 for the 730 show.  We sat at the same two top with the same servers.

[wowzz]

7 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

We were on a 14 day B2B on the Discovery in April of 2022.  Had 545 reservations and was out most nights by 700 for the 730 show.  We sat at the same two top with the same servers.

By eating so early, you have a good chance of having the same table every night. 

We would still be out on deck having a drink at that sort of time !

[Sea Hag]

11 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Ask for a table by the wall with a bench seat so your husband can recline on the bench.

Thanks for the suggestion, but we've tried that and he's worse off in on a bench seat than a pull-up chair. He's fine if we can move things along, but two hour dinners are just out for us. 

[Lady Arwen]

17 minutes ago, wowzz said:

By eating so early, you have a good chance of having the same table every night. 

We would still be out on deck having a drink at that sort of time !

At 6:30 we’re having our pre dinner cocktails.  We never eat dinner before 7pm, even at home.  Our preference is 7:30 - 8:00.

[CruizinSusan70]

33 minutes ago, wowzz said:

By eating so early, you have a good chance of having the same table every night. 

We would still be out on deck having a drink at that sort of time !

That was our preferred method back in the day.  Happy hour at the bars and 815 late sitting dinner.  But as the years progress and the ships offer more choices, we decided to eat a bit earlier and then take advantage of options post dinner.  Whether that be sitting at Good Spirits, listening to music or whatever.  We can now start these choices at 700 by eating at 545 instead of 1000 by eating at 815.   There is no right or wrong choice, it's just personal preference.

[wowzz]

26 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

That was our preferred method back in the day.  Happy hour at the bars and 815 late sitting dinner.  But as the years progress and the ships offer more choices, we decided to eat a bit earlier and then take advantage of options post dinner.  Whether that be sitting at Good Spirits, listening to music or whatever.  We can now start these choices at 700 by eating at 545 instead of 1000 by eating at 815.   There is no right or wrong choice, it's just personal preference.

Absolutely  - we just like to make full use of the afternoon and eat later. No right or wrong to either aporoach.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said:

At 6:30 we’re having our pre dinner cocktails.  We never eat dinner before 7pm, even at home.  Our preference is 7:30 - 8:00.

We are the same home or cruising dinner is generally 7:30-8:00.  We don’t do the big shows too often and stay up listening to music or playing in the casino later in the evening

[Torfamm]

18 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

OK, thanks.  It sounded like that wasn't an option any more.

There is no more early and late traditional dining. You can make reservations at whatever restaurant you choose for each evening if you want to. If you like, you can book the same MDR at the same time every night but you are not guaranteed the same table every day. You can make that request once onboard and they can often arrange it.

[Shmoo here]

7 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

There is no more early and late traditional dining. You can make reservations at whatever restaurant you choose for each evening if you want to. If you like, you can book the same MDR at the same time every night but you are not guaranteed the same table every day. You can make that request once onboard and they can often arrange it.

So we have to do more work for our cruise than in the past.  I loved traditional dining because it was already set up, and I didn't have to make sure I had a reservation set up every day.  That and the shared table.  Do you still share with others?  And would they be the same people every night?  I'm thinking - not.  

 

I'm not fond of meeting new people every day.  It's enough of a challenge for my brain to remember the names of the 4-6 people we sit with the first night.

 

Not to mention, having to tell my service team EVERY NIGHT what I want to drink, when I want that drink, and them knowing what my likes/dislikes are.

 

 

Edited May 6, 2023 by Shmoo here

[Torfamm]

4 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

So we have to do more work for our cruise than in the past.  I loved traditional dining because it was already set up, and I didn't have to make sure I had a reservation set up every day.  That and the shared table.  Do you still share with others?  And would they be the same people every night?  I'm thinking - not.  

The only way to eat with the same people each night is if you arrange it with them. With multiple MDR’s, specialty restaurants, the buffet, and other options available, I think the number of people who eat in one MDR at the same time each evening may be relatively low. It’s much different than in the past when the only place to eat dinner on a ship was the single MDR

[Shmoo here]

1 minute ago, Torfamm said:

The only way to eat with the same people each night is if you arrange it with them. With multiple MDR’s, specialty restaurants, the buffet, and other options available, I think the number of people who eat in one MDR at the same time each evening may be relatively low. It’s much different than in the past when the only place to eat dinner on a ship was the single MDR

We've only cruised since 2008 and we've had traditional dining on every cruise.  Most of those ships had more than one dining room.  There seemed to be plenty of people sharing the dining room with us during those meals.  

 

I can't believe that we're the only people who prefer it.

[BamaVol]

20 hours ago, wowzz said:

I understand, but that is totally different to those people who just wish to eat and leave the MDR as quickly as possible,  for no medical reason at all. 

As long as we’re not sharing a table, I don’t care how much or how little time it takes you to finish dining. Or your reason for doing so.

[Torfamm]

6 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

We've only cruised since 2008 and we've had traditional dining on every cruise.  Most of those ships had more than one dining room.  There seemed to be plenty of people sharing the dining room with us during those meals.  

 

I can't believe that we're the only people who prefer it.

Of course you aren’t. Lots of people miss it. I think it’s just harder to manage than it used to be.

[SCX22]

5 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

We were on a 14 day B2B on the Discovery in April of 2022.  Had 545 reservations and was out most nights by 700 for the 730 show.  We sat at the same two top with the same servers.

 

The ships are cruising at capacity now.  Far too often, there is a 15 to 30 minute wait to get seated even with a reservation.  So 17:30 or earlier is the sweet spot if you want to get to the first show time.  The wait times taper off as the night progresses.

 

That's the one thing about traditional fixed dining I miss--you never had to wait for your table; it was always ready and waiting for you when you got to the dining room.

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

We've only cruised since 2008 and we've had traditional dining on every cruise.  Most of those ships had more than one dining room.  There seemed to be plenty of people sharing the dining room with us during those meals.  

 

I can't believe that we're the only people who prefer it.

Not the only people, but apparently overall demand is for more flexible dining. Out of the US focused main stream cruise lines about the only one that still has traditional fixed dining is HAL. Princess had traditional and anytime, like HAL does now. They changed in accordance with demand just as their competition already has.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, SCX22 said:

 

The ships are cruising at capacity now.  Far too often, there is a 15 to 30 minute wait to get seated even with a reservation.  So 17:30 or earlier is the sweet spot if you want to get to the first show time.  The wait times taper off as the night progresses.

 

That's the one thing about traditional fixed dining I miss--you never had to wait for your table; it was always ready and waiting for you when you got to the dining room.

I have never waited 5 minues, let alone 15 to 30 minutes to be seated with a reservation. After the first night or 2 have usually just been able to  walk directly to my table. this is on 8 cruises si ce the restart.

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, SCX22 said:

The ships are cruising at capacity now.  Far too often, there is a 15 to 30 minute wait to get seated even with a reservation.  So 17:30 or earlier is the sweet spot if you want to get to the first show time.  The wait times taper off as the night progresses.

Never waited that long. And in Europe,  peak dining times are a lot later than in the US.

[CruizinSusan70]

9 hours ago, Torfamm said:

Of course you aren’t. Lots of people miss it. I think it’s just harder to manage than it used to be.

Not really.  It's still an option on Celebrity, Carnival, MSC and Royal.  NCL of course hasn't done it for years.

[Shmoo here]

1 minute ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Not really.  It's still an option on Celebrity, Carnival, MSC and Royal.  NCL of course hasn't done it for years.

Holland America and Disney also seem to be able to manage it.

[CruizinSusan70]

8 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

The ships are cruising at capacity now.  Far too often, there is a 15 to 30 minute wait to get seated even with a reservation.  So 17:30 or earlier is the sweet spot if you want to get to the first show time.  The wait times taper off as the night progresses.

 

That's the one thing about traditional fixed dining I miss--you never had to wait for your table; it was always ready and waiting for you when you got to the dining room.

Never had to wait at all last April and the Discovery was pretty close to full capacity.  We'll see how it is on the Majestic in a few weeks.  Have 540 reserved for 12/14 nights.