Getting to the Traditional Dining Room from a forward Lido cabin?

We have forward Lido cabins booked on both the Caribbean and the Crown next year. We also have 6:00pm Traditional Dining on both cruises, which (unless I'm mistaken) will be in the aft dining room. After looking at the deck plans, it looks like the best route (least crowded & fresh air) is:

Take the forward bank of elevators down to Deck 7.

Go outside to the Promenade deck.

Walk to the back of the ship and re-enter at the aft staircase.

Walk down one flight of stairs to the aft dining room.

Sound right?

Why don't you just walk the length of the Lido to the Aft elevators at the back of the buffet and take it all the way down...

Why don't you just walk the length of the Lido to the Aft elevators at the back of the buffet and take it all the way down...

I thought of that too. :)

But I also thought that the other way might be more pleasant, maybe?

I have always gone to Deck 7 and across on Grand Class ships.

I have a cabin on Lido and hope to have traditional dining on my next cruise (waitlisted #21 with a month to go).

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On the Coral Princess - both dining rooms are accessible off of the atrium.

On the Coral Princess - both dining rooms are accessible off of the atrium.

Ooops.... I meant the Crown. I've corrected it in my first post.

I love Lido forward, so for me just to walk through the buffet to the aft, is wide open and fresh air.

We have forward Lido cabins booked on both the Caribbean and the Crown next year. We also have 6:00pm Traditional Dining on both cruises, which (unless I'm mistaken) will be in the aft dining room. After looking at the deck plans, it looks like the best route (least crowded & fresh air) is:

 

Take the forward bank of elevators down to Deck 7.

Go outside to the Promenade deck.

Walk to the back of the ship and re-enter at the aft staircase.

Walk down one flight of stairs to the aft dining room.

 

Sound right?

That sounds like a plan to me. The aft elevators especially at dinner time are so crowded and busy. Your plan would be better in my opinion. On our last cruise on the aft elevators people were getting on going up then back down again. I would do the forward elevators.

Yeah, but any elevator bank you get from the Lido, you are the first one on, then get off on the floor that you like. It won't matter how crowded it gets, because you are already on.

We have forward Lido cabins booked on both the Caribbean and the Crown next year. We also have 6:00pm Traditional Dining on both cruises, which (unless I'm mistaken) will be in the aft dining room. After looking at the deck plans, it looks like the best route (least crowded & fresh air) is:

 

Take the forward bank of elevators down to Deck 7.

Go outside to the Promenade deck.

Walk to the back of the ship and re-enter at the aft staircase.

Walk down one flight of stairs to the aft dining room.

 

Sound right?

That would work. If the weather is bad, you can walk from forward to aft inside on deck 7.

We have forward Lido cabins booked on both the Caribbean and the Crown next year. We also have 6:00pm Traditional Dining on both cruises, which (unless I'm mistaken) will be in the aft dining room. After looking at the deck plans, it looks like the best route (least crowded & fresh air) is:

 

Take the forward bank of elevators down to Deck 7.

Go outside to the Promenade deck.

Walk to the back of the ship and re-enter at the aft staircase.

Walk down one flight of stairs to the aft dining room.

 

Sound right?

The problem is caused by the Galleys blocking the direct route on the Deck where the restaurant is situated. The only access to the restaurant is via the Aft elevators/stairs bank.

To me it all depends on how bad the weather and how crowded infrastructure decks are likely to be at the time as to which deck to use as a transition forward to aft when starting from the Lido Deck.

The main transition deck choices are, Lido Deck (outdoors weather? and pools splashing about further along busy with buffet diners), Promenade Deck (inside full of people milling about - Outside weather?), Accommodation Decks.

I always use Accommodation Decks in bad weather. Starting in Lido Cabins area walk down one deck then along the cabins corridor to Aft elevators. Getting in an empty one is relatively easy here as all the buffet diners who filled it on the way up have got out a deck above you and they are coming down empty generally. You get in first to an empty descending elevator to take you all the way down to the restaurant while it gradually completely fills up and many cannot get in.

Best route on a nice weather day is Promenade Deck outside as you describe.

Regards John

I like to change my route around

I like to change my route around

Oh yes, for security you have got to do this.

Lol John

Any route that gets you there will do. Aft elevators will crowd up probably stopping on every deck. You probably will have better luck with forward elevators, no dining rooms there. The promenade could be windy with doors difficult to open. Personally I would stay inside. Don't be surprised if your dining time is actually 5:45 or 5:30.

You may also find that your traditional dining is not in the aft dining room on deck 6. It may be in the deck 6 mid-ship dining room. This dining room is also used for traditional dining for the first seating. After that it opens up to anytime dining. If that is the case you just need to get to deck 6 mid-ship by either the stairs, or forward and mid-ship elevators.

Personally I would stay inside. Don't be surprised if your dining time is actually 5:45 or 5:30.

You are on a cruise in the ocean - I want to be outside as much as possible. Nothing like strolling down the promenade deck when it is empty.

Walk straight back through the horizon court, look into the buffet, notice a couple of interesting items, grab a plate, accidentally end up not going to the MDR. Oops!

I always use Accommodation Decks in bad weather. Starting in Lido Cabins area walk down one deck then along the cabins corridor to Aft elevators. Getting in an empty one is relatively easy here as all the buffet diners who filled it on the way up have got out a deck above you and they are coming down empty generally.

One of the OP's cruises is on the Caribbean Princess. On that ship only two of the four aft elevators go down to deck 6. Be sure to get on one of those two unless you want to go to deck 7 and then walk down a flight.

We did the OP route. But stayed indoors and used elevator due to one of our party using walker with mobility issues

Depending on your dining time you may well be in the Midship dining room which changes things a bit. However, you could always drop down a deck to Rivera and take the passenger corridor all the way aft. You come out at the Terrace pool and there is a short flight of stairs up to the back entrance of the buffet. Just a thought... (My wife loves that aft pool and often used that route to get from our Lido balcony all the way aft to that pool.) While it isn't a fresh air route, it is fast and there is almost never anybody using the hallway during the day. Just be courteous to anybody you may meet but, like I said, it's pretty much deserted during the day.