Late for Dinner?

[5521544]

We are sailing out of San Juan in September and scheduled to leave port at 8:30pm the same time as our dining time. Do they delay the late seating dinner till 8:45 or so for sail away? If not will it be ok for us to be late to dinner 10 or 15 minutes? I'm such a punctual person just the thought of being late stresses me out, LOL!!

 

Thanks!

[cb at sea]

Usually, on sailaway day, dinner IS moved to a later time....10 mins. late is pushing it....by then, the rest of the table will have ordered their 1st course. There's no reason to be late...I'm with you! Just be on time!

[5521544]

Thanks! I'm hoping they will push it to 10 or 15 minutes later. Also, forgot to mention we are suppose to be a table for 2 so we wont have any other dinner guests at our table, not sure if this matters in regards to being late.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I have seen guests seated as much as half an hour late and even later in Royal Caribbean dining rooms. I remember one group, an entire family, that came in thirty or forty minutes late every single night! In fact, I have never seen a guest turned away for showing up too late. Maybe other cruise lines do that, but not Royal Caribbean.

 

It is harder from a standpoint of courtesy when you are seated with other people. They might be miffed, but sometimes it can't be avoided. You could tell them the night before, you may be late and please don't wait for your arrival to order and eat.

 

Another choice might be to eat in the Windjammer that night or order room service or eat in any other restaurant on board.

[yogimax]

I've seen one group come in 45 minutes late every night. This is terrible for the waiters. RCCL should really close the MDR doors after 30 minutes.

 

Like you, we are punctual, but coming in late the first night by ten minutes is not a problem.

[cruiseguy1016]

We are sailing out of San Juan in September and scheduled to leave port at 8:30pm the same time as our dining time. Do they delay the late seating dinner till 8:45 or so for sail away? If not will it be ok for us to be late to dinner 10 or 15 minutes? I'm such a punctual person just the thought of being late stresses me out, LOL!!

 

Thanks!

 

We have sailed on both Adventure and Serenade out of San Juan and here's what we have experienced on both ships. On the first night, early dining is at 6:00, muster drill is at 8:00, sail away is 8:30 and late dinner is at 8:45. After the first night, late seating will be 8:30.

[phoenix1181]

I've seen one group come in 45 minutes late every night. This is terrible for the waiters. RCCL should really close the MDR doors after 30 minutes.

 

Like you, we are punctual, but coming in late the first night by ten minutes is not a problem.

 

In the early 90's, they closed the doors 5 minutes after the scheduled dining time & you weren't allowed in. That left you with room service because back then, there were no specialty restaurants & dinner was not served in the Windjammer.

[CruisinAgain2Soon]

Thanks! I'm hoping they will push it to 10 or 15 minutes later. Also, forgot to mention we are suppose to be a table for 2 so we wont have any other dinner guests at our table, not sure if this matters in regards to being late.

Even though you may be alone at your table, being late will affect all the tables your waiter has. Don't be late if you don't have to be.

[temple1]

I think CruiseGuy has given a knowledgeable answer to the OP's question. Everyone else was giving an opinion about late arrivals in the dining room. ;)

[negc]

We have sailed on both Adventure and Serenade out of San Juan and here's what we have experienced on both ships. On the first night, early dining is at 6:00, muster drill is at 8:00, sail away is 8:30 and late dinner is at 8:45. After the first night, late seating will be 8:30.

There always seems to be one such group on most every cruise and it is very inconsiderate of the wait staff IMO. I can remember when they used to close the doors fifteen minutes after the seating started and often wish that they would return to that practice. With all of the dining options now available, it would not be a serious inconvenience to passengers if they enforced a specific time limit, after which diners would not be admitted to the dining room.:)

[Jimnbigd]

Another option is to eat in the Lido buffet the first night. I hear it is better at dinner than at lunch.

I wonder if the Lido has prime rib the first night like the MDR does.

[BillOh]

I've seen one group come in 45 minutes late every night. This is terrible for the waiters. RCCL should really close the MDR doors after 30 minutes.

 

Like you, we are punctual, but coming in late the first night by ten minutes is not a problem.

 

We are also the punctual type. On our 7 day Allure cruise I managed to schedule everything with regard to shows ahead of time. There was only one close situation where Chicago ended at the time our dinner started. I told the waiter ahead of time and he said "no problem" and thanked us for letting him know. Of course we were at a table for 4 that the other couple never came back after night 1. (I thought I was nice to them :o )

[English_in_Spain]

In the early 90's, they closed the doors 5 minutes after the scheduled dining time & you weren't allowed in. That left you with room service because back then, there were no specialty restaurants & dinner was not served in the Windjammer.

 

 

I remember those days - perhaps 15 minutes late - you were not allowed to enter the dining room.

 

Also, in those days, if you were not wearing the required clothes (formal, smart casual etc) you were turned away.

 

I think that if the cruise lines tried that now there would be a riot. Also, there is far more competition between lines these days.

 

I liked the old, formal, cruising but perhaps things move on (unfortunately) and a more casual cruising style is the norm.

[SusieV]

I think it's quite rude to be late for dinner, especially since there are so many other options available. Even if you are seated alone, waitstaff takes everyone's orders all at once and brings everyone's courses all at once. If you are late then the waiter has to make a special trip (at least one) for you. That's just a lot of extra work for the staff.

 

If you want to be somewhere else during the beginning of dinner, I would recommend dining elsewhere that evening.

[dadatsea]

I've seen one group come in 45 minutes late every night. This is terrible for the waiters. RCCL should really close the MDR doors after 30 minutes.

 

Like you, we are punctual, but coming in late the first night by ten minutes is not a problem.

MY DW & I have sailed out of San Juan many times and it is a fact of life that in this market lateness to dining is rampant. We commented to the head waiter and he said they could not close the doors as so many would opt for the Windjammer and the waiters wouldnt get their tips so RCI adapts to this market due to the culture. We have noted that SJU is the worst but not exclusive anymore as the cruise industry is so competitive that they do not want to aleinate any one to the annoyance of those of us that ARE punctual. I wish RCI would enforce their own guidelines but that is another thread. Those who will ignore dress codes and dining times will and RCI doesnt have the spine or will to enforce the obvious.;)

[EVALUATOR]

In the early 90's, they closed the doors 5 minutes after the scheduled dining time & you weren't allowed in. That left you with room service because back then, there were no specialty restaurants & dinner was not served in the Windjammer.

 

In 2009 we were on cruises where RCI gave a half hour window for the start of dinner.

 

If I had been locked out after 5 minutes...:mad::mad::mad:

 

If RCI said dinner started from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. then there is nothing wrong or rude if showing up at 6:25 p.m.

[negc]

MY DW & I have sailed out of San Juan many times and it is a fact of life that in this market lateness to dining is rampant. We commented to the head waiter and he said they could not close the doors as so many would opt for the Windjammer and the waiters wouldnt get their tips so RCI adapts to this market due to the culture. We have noted that SJU is the worst but not exclusive anymore as the cruise industry is so competitive that they do not want to aleinate any one to the annoyance of those of us that ARE punctual. I wish RCI would enforce their own guidelines but that is another thread. Those who will ignore dress codes and dining times will and RCI doesnt have the spine or will to enforce the obvious.;)

 

The usual solution to the situation where the traditional dining times for the majority of guests are later than the customary schedule, is to adjust the ship's dining schedule. It is quite common in Europe and in Latin America and other locations for the locals to eat dinner at a later hour than we in the US are accustomed to. It is certainly a much better solution than keeping to an earlier and unrealistic schedule when they know that a large percentage of guests will show up thirty or forty five minutes late.

Before we indict RCI for its failure to enforce its policies, however, we need to acknowledge that this is a common complaint about most if not all of the mass market lines, and all of them are only acknowledging that they get more complaints than support when they attempt to enforce the rules.

[5521544]

I think CruiseGuy has given a knowledgeable answer to the OP's question. Everyone else was giving an opinion about late arrivals in the dining room. ;)

 

Exactly, Temple 1! I didn't realize this was going to be such a "hot"topic!!

Thanks Cruise Guy for the information. Glad to know they delay dinner till 8:45pm due to sail away!! Thanks a bunch!!

 

Myself and DH are always on time for dinner...usually early and we would never even think about being as late as some posters have mentioned. I just wanted to know how they work sail away around dinner!!:)

[yogimax]

 

We commented to the head waiter and he said they could not close the doors as so many would opt for the Windjammer and the waiters wouldnt get their tips

 

 

And that is precisely why RCCL should automatically add the tips to the Sea Pass account!

[Texmike]

We've been on 6 previous Royal Carribean cruises.

 

We always have the late 8:30 p.m. dining and usually show up early when they first open the dining room doors-

 

We were usually the first ones at our table.

 

Some of our table mates were no later than 15 minutes late