New cruisers question # 50089

[louva]

Someday I am going to stop asking questions.. But !! Not today :D

 

Question: What is the best time to set our Dinner time? I have it for 6:00pm now but I was thinking if we don't get back to the ship till 5:00 that doesn't give us much time to get ready and have appetizers in the room. I was thinking maybe I should change them till 7:00. We do like to eat early though. What do you guys think??? :rolleyes:

[Don P]

You've actually answered the question yourself. Early seating means getting back on board in time to shower and dress for dinner. Sometimes that affects your excursion but not often. You just feel rushed. We don't like to eat dinner when it's still daylight and depending on the time of year you are cruising it could still be light out when you're eating your dessert.

 

Someday I am going to stop asking questions.. But !! Not today :D

 

Question: What is the best time to set our Dinner time? I have it for 6:00pm now but I was thinking if we don't get back to the ship till 5:00 that doesn't give us much time to get ready and have appetizers in the room. I was thinking maybe I should change them till 7:00. We do like to eat early though. What do you guys think??? :rolleyes:

[sail7seas]

If you are sailing the Caribbean, you will be back aboard, most days, by 4:30 the latest as ships usually sailaway by 5 P.M.

 

You don't say what ship or where you are sailing.

 

Early dinner (6 P.M.) seems to be very popular but not with us. We prefer dinner at 8 P.M., traditional dining, fixed seating, HAL.

 

[LHT28]

ANSWER

Open dining, anytime, my time, freestyle or what every they call it on your cruiseline then you can just show up when you are hungry

Or if you are later for your set dining time slot go to the buffet, order room service

You will not go hungry

[lakeguy]

This won't happen often, you will usually be back on board in plenty of time. When it dose happen why not use the opportunity to try the buffet for dinner that night or if you know in advance that you will be running late, why not make reservations in a specilaty resturant for 7:00 or 8:00'

[paul929207]

The choice is up to you and your preference. Most ships have Tradtional Dining at two times, around 6pm and 8pm. For those who want more flexibility or who just don't like either time for TD, most ships also offer Anytime Dining (or some similar catchy name). With AD, you can eat whenever you want.

 

All three are great for some people. The thing is to find the one that is great for you. None of them are perfect.

[Twibbs]

We do early dining because we normally eat around 5:30 or 6. I just have to rinse off, towel off, run a comb through my hair, and get dressed most days. I don't do makeup or dry my hair, even if we get back to the ship at 5, we can both be ready for dinner by 5:30 if we want to (enough time to go get a drink and hang out in the atrium).

[louva]

Thanks for all the good Ideas! I think I am going to change it till 7:00. I hat having to rush. :p

[KC Gorilla]

Thanks for all the good Ideas! I think I am going to change it till 7:00. I hat having to rush. :p

There is not a 7:00 dining time unless you choose anytime dining. You can eat anytime between 6 and about 8:30 by just showing up or you can make a reservation. Also you will be sitting with different people each night unless you have a group who eats together or you get a table for two.

[paul929207]

Thanks for all the good Ideas! I think I am going to change it till 7:00. I hat having to rush. :p

Changing to 7pm would mean that you will be switching to Anytime Dining from Traditional. With AD, you show up anytime and are seated when a table is available (hopefully immediatedly).

[cruiseapril]

Anytime Dining works well for us. We generally call to reserve a time each day. Have never had to wait.

[wallie5446]

Someday I am going to stop asking questions.. But !! Not today :D

 

Question: What is the best time to set our Dinner time? I have it for 6:00pm now but I was thinking if we don't get back to the ship till 5:00 that doesn't give us much time to get ready and have appetizers in the room. I was thinking maybe I should change them till 7:00. We do like to eat early though. What do you guys think??? :rolleyes:

 

First of all, NEVER stop asking questions on CC, not even if the flame breathing dragons show up and comment! :rolleyes:

 

Visual aid dept;

 

The Captian slowly pushes his Lady away from the pier as he gracefully spins Her 360 deg, points Her into the slowly setting sun, which glissens across the deep blue water, and leaves the blinking lights of the city mixed in between the palm tree's and soft white sandy beach behind. And heads off to the next wonderful adventure filled island.

 

Catch my drift! We always dine at late seating!:D

[LHT28]

What's the best time to go to dinner?

 

We go when we are hungry ;)

 

We usually go before 7:30 because we are not late diners

[sail7seas]

Sometimes if you just show up without a reservation, you may have to wait for a table. I've heard of them giving beepers like in restaurants on land...... you know, they light or vibrate or whatever. :D

 

The most popular time would be 6:30 or 7:00 and, therefore, the most demand and possibility of wait.

 

[wallie5446]

One other thing to remember, the different shows are all aranged around the 2 'traditional' dinner seating times. On Royal we have had friends miss a good part of the shows the 1st couple of days due to the time they scheduled for dinner. Have no knowledge how it works on the other Cruise Lines.

[wallie5446]

louva,

If this is your 1st Celebrity cruise you are really going to enjoy! Celebrity is our line of choice.

[fleckle]

If you are doing open dining (aka anytime dining and other names) and want to see the show, you have more flexibility than with traditional dining because you can attend either the early show or the late show at your own convenience, or even attend part of each.

 

Be aware though that the theaters on some ships are much better designed than on other ships. On some ships, it is necessary to arrive at the theater long before show time to get a good seat and not be stuck behind a pole. Some ships provide insufficient theater seats, resulting in standing room only for those who do not arrive early.

 

On other ships, just about all the seats have good, unobstructed sight lines and seating is not a problem.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Someday I am going to stop asking questions.. But !! Not today :D

 

Question: What is the best time to set our Dinner time? I have it for 6:00pm now but I was thinking if we don't get back to the ship till 5:00 that doesn't give us much time to get ready and have appetizers in the room. I was thinking maybe I should change them till 7:00. We do like to eat early though. What do you guys think??? :rolleyes:

 

This won't happen often, you will usually be back on board in plenty of time. When it dose happen why not use the opportunity to try the buffet for dinner that night or if you know in advance that you will be running late, why not make reservations in a specilaty resturant for 7:00 or 8:00'

 

On most of our cruises, the time to be back on the ship has been by 5pm or even earlier. You can even come back earlier than the deadline or not even leave the ship in port (you'll find some passengers, especially those who have done that itinerary before, stay on board in some ports). We don't hesitate to go to the buffet at all.

 

Oh, and there's appetizers as a course in the main dining room at dinner.

[gerryl12]

We now prefer anytime dining as it leaves you so flexible. You can eat early one night, late the next or whenever you want. Very seldom have to wait more than a few minutes especially when going early 5:30 - 6.

[trish1c]

Question: What is the best time to set our Dinner time? I have it for 6:00pm now but I was thinking if we don't get back to the ship till 5:00 that doesn't give us much time to get ready and have appetizers in the room. I was thinking maybe I should change them till 7:00. We do like to eat early though. What do you guys think??? :rolleyes:

 

I think the best dinner time for you may be different from the best dinner time for others. We think late seating is too early.

Because you said you like to eat early, stay with the dining time you have. Changing your personal routine on vacation will probably detract from rather than enhance your experience.

[Wayfairers]

I think the best dinner time for you may be different from the best dinner time for others. We think late seating is too early.

Because you said you like to eat early, stay with the dining time you have. Changing your personal routine on vacation will probably detract from rather than enhance your experience.

 

I agree! I have eaten at early and late traditional and ATD and found that ATD works best for us due to the flexibility. When not cruising we eat dinner sometime between 4pm and 9pm, the actual time depends upon what we are doing that day so ATD most fits our normal eating habits.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You really should choose Anytime Dining.

 

This way you can eat early on days when you don't have a lot planned -- later when you know you won't be getting back to the ship right away.

 

You just show up when you are ready to eat.