MDR apparel on non formal nights - when you've just returned from 8.5 hour shore excursion

[inkling808]

We are on the Jewel of the Seas out of Amsterdam in July.  Some of our excursions return to the ship at or shortly before dinner.  (We're early schedule and it says 5:30). On other cruises we've seen the dinner time moved later to accommodate the excursion schedule.  If this is not done is it alright to just walk on board and head straight to the MDR and hopefully we're within the 15 minute grace period and have not lost our seats.  We would be wearing jeans, etc. whatever was appropriate for the excursion.   Thanks much.

[jbrinkm]

We usually let our waiter and the head waiter know that we'd still like to come to dinner on those rare occasions when an excursion is going to delay us for our dining time by a few minutes, and ask if it would be ok so they don't give the table away too early. MTD often isn't starting until 6:45pm and we found that dinner went much faster with the new menus so it would probably be ok but just check with the staff to make sure the night before. It would help if you preview the menus and know what you want to order right off the bat. The table next to us often showed up at 5:30pm or even 5:40pm when our dinner was scheduled at 5:15pm and they were still allowed to come - we probably would have been uncomfortable being that late.

 

You may have people yelling at you on here, saying it is rude to come "late" but IMO that is between you and the wait staff and the only concern would be if you are holding up the table for MTD. I would not have said that under the old menus, but the new ones definitely streamline things. If you can order and eat quickly and be out around the time you would have for a slightly earlier, more leisurely dinner, then no harm done. Our lobster night was a port day and the entire dining room came late for early dining since people wanted to dress up and there was a huge security line to get back onto the ship.

 

On non-formal nights, there isn't much of a dress code. I think just no bathing suits and no tank tops? Jeans would be fine, I'm sure. 

[poocher]

Or you could use the buffet those nights.

[Husky1987]

33 minutes ago, inkling808 said:

If this is not done is it alright to just walk on board and head straight to the MDR

 

Yes.

[LibertyBella]

I hate it when there is a short window to get back from an excursion to go to dinner, but we will usually plan on being fifteen minutes late maximum at the restaurant if we really have to!

 

The worst was two years ago when it was formal night on Cunard QM2 for 4th of July--our excursion return was more than an hour late!  We ran to the cabin, ripped off our clothes, threw on the gown and tuxedo, and even stopped for a formal photo before dinner.

 

We cut it super close (fifteen-twenty minutes late) as the waiters were taking orders, but that was the way the day went.  At least we had a reserved spot every night so there was not an issue with "losing" the reservation.

 

We would never pass up eating in the dining room (no buffet dinners), and we try to change if at all possible.  But yes, on a more casual cruise where I thought I might be late for dinner, I would go directly there, but perhaps wear something a bit nicer during the day.

[bucfan2]

9 hours ago, LibertyBella said:

I hate it when there is a short window to get back from an excursion to go to dinner, but we will usually plan on being fifteen minutes late maximum at the restaurant if we really have to!

 

We cut it super close (fifteen-twenty minutes late) as the waiters were taking orders, but that was the way the day went. 

Thus why there is a late dining, MTD, buffet, and other options.

 

15-20 min late (maybe draw the line at 30-40 min late?).  Not like the early dining crew has anything else to do for the evening.  At least choose to sit at a larger table so others can appreciate the experience as well.  

 

And mention to the head waiter that you've had a long day, need a shower and change of clothes, and would appreciate prompt service.

Edited June 8, 2023 by bucfan2

[lovesthebeach2]

On the occasional days that we have an excursion that returns around dinner time, we have found that the WJ is much easier than rushing to get to the MDR. Usually we come back tired and sometimes in need of a shower and full day excursions sometimes include lunch so we’re not starving. And although some may not agree, the MDR selections haven’t been any better than what’s available in the WJ on our past few cruises.

And we always let our servers know the day before that we probably won’t be there, in courtesy to them.

[Longstockingpippi1]

13 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

We usually let our waiter and the head waiter know that we'd still like to come to dinner on those rare occasions when an excursion is going to delay us for our dining time by a few minutes, and ask if it would be ok so they don't give the table away too early. MTD often isn't starting until 6:45pm and we found that dinner went much faster with the new menus so it would probably be ok but just check with the staff to make sure the night before. It would help if you preview the menus and know what you want to order right off the bat. The table next to us often showed up at 5:30pm or even 5:40pm when our dinner was scheduled at 5:15pm and they were still allowed to come - we probably would have been uncomfortable being that late.

 

You may have people yelling at you on here, saying it is rude to come "late" but IMO that is between you and the wait staff and the only concern would be if you are holding up the table for MTD. I would not have said that under the old menus, but the new ones definitely streamline things. If you can order and eat quickly and be out around the time you would have for a slightly earlier, more leisurely dinner, then no harm done. Our lobster night was a port day and the entire dining room came late for early dining since people wanted to dress up and there was a huge security line to get back onto the ship.

 

On non-formal nights, there isn't much of a dress code. I think just no bathing suits and no tank tops? Jeans would be fine, I'm sure. 

No, it’s not just between you and the waiter, as you said it affects all those that dine after you. Ahh, the “ me “ generation. 

[Longstockingpippi1]

2 hours ago, bucfan2 said:

Thus why there is a late dining, MTD, buffet, and other options.

 

15-20 min late (maybe draw the line at 30-40 min late?).  Not like the early dining crew has anything else to do for the evening.  At least choose to sit at a larger table so others can appreciate the experience as well.  

 

And mention to the head waiter that you've had a long day, need a shower and change of clothes, and would appreciate prompt service.

Exactly 

[sgmn]

13 minutes ago, Longstockingpippi1 said:

No, it’s not just between you and the waiter, as you said it affects all those that dine after you. Ahh, the “ me “ generation. 

Also can  affect the other tables your waiter has. Last month on Symphony there was a very large table of same family members. They drifted in at various times, over 45 min sometimes and our poor waiter struggled to look after us adequately as well as them. 

Though I don't think 15 min late would be a problem 

Edited June 8, 2023 by sgmn

[lovesthebeach2]

19 minutes ago, sgmn said:

Also can  affect the other tables your waiter has. Last month on Symphony there was a very large table of same family members. They drifted in at various times, over 45 min sometimes and our poor waiter struggled to look after us adequately as well as them. 

Though I don't think 15 min late would be a problem 

That’s too much entitlement by that group that now that affects other tables other than theirs.

[gerif]

42 minutes ago, Longstockingpippi1 said:

No, it’s not just between you and the waiter, as you said it affects all those that dine after you. Ahh, the “ me “ generation. 

Exactly. And, of course, the poor waiter is going to tell you that it’s not a problem. They rely on tips you know. 

[dianajo67]

Our head waiter on explorer during a post-covid b2b said that tables are not given away to MTD until 30 minutes past early dining time, ie. 6pm.   Although MTD technically starts at 645pm, it’s actually possible to get an earlier seating than that if you are willing to show up earlier and wait to see if early diners are no-shows.

[orville99]

3 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

On the occasional days that we have an excursion that returns around dinner time, we have found that the WJ is much easier than rushing to get to the MDR.

On our Panama Canal cruise in February, we barely got back from our partial transit excursion before the WJ closed, so trying to impose ourselves on the MDR staff by coming in that late would have been out of the question.

[lovesthebeach2]

22 minutes ago, orville99 said:

On our Panama Canal cruise in February, we barely got back from our partial transit excursion before the WJ closed, so trying to impose ourselves on the MDR staff by coming in that late would have been out of the question.

We were on that same tour and there was no way we would have gone to the MDR. We needed to shower! I told our servers the night before that we wouldn’t be there, so they weren’t waiting for us.

[orville99]

1 minute ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

We were on that same tour and there was no way we would have gone to the MDR. We needed to shower! I told our servers the night before that we wouldn’t be there, so they weren’t waiting for us.

Same with us. All we wanted to do was shower and crawl into bed, but the lunch they served on the tour wasn't enough to keep a squirrel alive, so we scrambled to shower and get something at the WJ before we completely collapsed.😇

[lovesthebeach2]

6 minutes ago, orville99 said:

Same with us. All we wanted to do was shower and crawl into bed, but the lunch they served on the tour wasn't enough to keep a squirrel alive, so we scrambled to shower and get something at the WJ before we completely collapsed.😇

We were starving, (yes the lunch was so bad) so we ran up to WJ, ate, stopped for 2 glasses of wine for each, and carried them up to our cabin, showered, and never left the room again that night. 😴
 

[Morecruisesplz]

On 6/7/2023 at 5:40 PM, inkling808 said:

We are on the Jewel of the Seas out of Amsterdam in July.  Some of our excursions return to the ship at or shortly before dinner.  (We're early schedule and it says 5:30). On other cruises we've seen the dinner time moved later to accommodate the excursion schedule.  If this is not done is it alright to just walk on board and head straight to the MDR and hopefully we're within the 15 minute grace period and have not lost our seats.  We would be wearing jeans, etc. whatever was appropriate for the excursion.   Thanks much.

Shower please.