How Long is Dinner in the MDR?

[famofsix]

How long should I plan on for dinner in the MDR?

[dln929]

We're always there at least an hour, most times an hour and a half. And if we want to get to a show, we tell our waiters when we are seated and they help us pace our way through dinner so we're not late.

[war_eagle99]

Can depend on whether you have table mates as well since they like to bring dinners out at the same time. My wife and I have had some pretty quick dinners when it was just the two of us.

[gcvt]

It can depend on a lot of factors like night, menu, ship location, show schedule, etc. Lobster night took us two hours on Freedom recently. It was a lovely dinner :)

[DonnaK]

For us, it's almost always 75 minutes. If we have a show to make, we let the wait team know ahead of time that we need to be out in an hour (or whatever), and they accomodate us. However, most of the time, we wish the dinner would last longer.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

We are just the opposite. For us the MDR dinner is entirely too long. If there are several people at the table, dinner can take close to two hours. If there are just two of us, we can hurry the waiters along. Even then, we often skip dessert if we are trying to make it to an early show.

[wyndstormhuntress]

Dinner length can also be affected by how many dishes you or your table mates order. We usually get two appetizers and an entree (sometimes we share an second entree between the two of us). Waiters bring out the appetizers one at a time, though the entrees all come out at once.

 

I've tried asking a waiter to bring out both appetizers at once, but that hasn't worked out for me.

[BillOh]

How long should I plan on for dinner in the MDR?

 

I've read your replies. I'll add, are you in first seating or second? On first seating they have to get you out for the next seating. We usually take second seating and can be out in an hour usually, but frequently with good tablemates we are there longer, but by choice.

[Bakincakes]

Alot depends upon your waitstaff and the pax at their other tables.

 

Our last Freedom cruise was terrible.We were one of the last tables out every night. Service was slow and the table next to us waltzed in at least 20 minutes late every night making the already slow waitstaff move even slower.:( Couple that with the fact that the food was meh...it made for a disappointing MDR experience for everyone at our table.

[sg1phileshipper]

Like being said before, it depends on the waiters, table mates, etc

 

Last year we had fast table mates and fast waiters, took us around 75 minutes. We had a table of four and seven. First year on the Radiance, table of 7 and it took us nearly two hours, since not everyone was a fast menu chooser. First night can be a bit more hectic though. Have a nice cruise

 

Cindy

[srlafleur]

Except if I have somewhere to be, I find dinner goes too fast. I prefer a much slower pace for "fine" dining. This isn't McD's or even Crapplebees. I don't want my salad arriving until after I've completely finished my appetizer, nor my entree to arrive just as I've put the last forkful of salad in my mouth. I prefer to finish a course, put down the silverware, have a few sips of wine, let the plates from the last course be cleared and then bring the next course. If we have a few moments to chat about how good the previous course was, so much the better.

We rush, rush, rush so much in "real" life, that it's nice on vacation to take time to savor and breathe.

[famofsix]

I've read your replies. I'll add, are you in first seating or second? On first seating they have to get you out for the next seating. We usually take second seating and can be out in an hour usually, but frequently with good tablemates we are there longer, but by choice.

 

We have MTD, and we will likely have our own table as there are six of us.

[famofsix]

Thanks everyone for your replies so far! I should have mentioned that we have MTD and will be on FOS.

 

Will we order our appetizers and entrees right away and then they'll bring a dessert menu at the end?

 

The kids usually decide what they want pretty quickly, but we have some food allergies, so the wait-staff has to check on things which takes some extra time.

 

I think I'll make sure our reservations are for at least two hours before the start of the show that evening. Then if it takes us 1 1/2 hours for dinner, we'll have 15 minutes to get the the theater with our reserved seating. If dinner is running longer, we'll have to skip dessert, and if it's shorter, we'll have a little extra time to before the show.

[LESLIEKURZ]

My damn food allergy pushes ours to 2 hours but you can do it from 1-1 1/2 hours if your table mates behave themselves and everything goes smoothly. Oh... and it's not singing waiter night.

[cb at sea]

Yes...you'll order your "main" courses, then you'll be brought a dessert menu.

[famofsix]

My damn food allergy pushes ours to 2 hours but you can do it from 1-1 1/2 hours if your table mates behave themselves and everything goes smoothly. Oh... and it's not singing waiter night.

 

What is your allergy? I have one daughter who is allergic to eggs, on who is allergic to peanuts, and one who is allergic to tree nuts and peanuts. It gets a little confusing. My son can eat anything he wants.

 

We sailed with Disney a couple of years ago, and they were awesome with allergies. How is RCCL?

[famofsix]

Yes...you'll order your "main" courses, then you'll be brought a dessert menu.

 

Good, then we can see where we're at on time before we order dessert.

[Jimnbigd]

Good, then we can see where we're at on time before we order dessert.

Sometimes I skip MDR dessert and go later to Cafe Promenade (voyager class or higher ships) for dessert and decaf coffee.

Of course if you ever find yourself in a real time crunch, you can eat in the Windjammer buffet. I hear it is really nice at dinner.

[famofsix]

Sometimes I skip MDR dessert and go later to Cafe Promenade (voyager class or higher ships) for dessert and decaf coffee.

Of course if you ever find yourself in a real time crunch, you can eat in the Windjammer buffet. I hear it is really nice at dinner.

 

The Windjammer isn't a great option for us with the kids' allergies. It's hard to know what the ingredients are in everything, and there are more chances for cross-contamination.

 

I think we'll end up stopping by the Cafe Promenade later whether we have dessert in the MDR or not. :)

[janetz]

How long should I plan on for dinner in the MDR?

 

 

I would say just over an hour. :D

[ebhs79]

I've never cruised before, so I might not be the BEST authority...... but my son has food allergies too. It was suggested to us that we do traditional dining, so that the wait staff would recognize my son and become familiar with his food allergies. So - that's what we'll be doing in 3 weeks on the Oasis!

[LESLIEKURZ]

What is your allergy? I have one daughter who is allergic to eggs, on who is allergic to peanuts, and one who is allergic to tree nuts and peanuts. It gets a little confusing. My son can eat anything he wants.

 

We sailed with Disney a couple of years ago, and they were awesome with allergies. How is RCCL?

 

I am allergic to onions, shallots, scallion, chives and leeks... the oil of those things in particular. RCCL handles allergies very well though not as well as Disney. You'll have to be very careful in the Windjammer but there is always someone available to direct you as to what is safe and what isn't. Also you will want to make sure to go online and contact the special needs dept. before you arrive so that your MDR waitstaff is informed. They will bring you MDR menus the night before so items that aren't safe can be altered as needed. FYI the first night sucks a bit since you don't get a chance to pre pick your food but that's life.

[famofsix]

I am allergic to onions, shallots, scallion, chives and leeks... the oil of those things in particular. RCCL handles allergies very well though not as well as Disney. You'll have to be very careful in the Windjammer but there is always someone available to direct you as to what is safe and what isn't. Also you will want to make sure to go online and contact the special needs dept. before you arrive so that your MDR waitstaff is informed. They will bring you MDR menus the night before so items that aren't safe can be altered as needed. FYI the first night sucks a bit since you don't get a chance to pre pick your food but that's life.

 

Thanks so much! I'll definitely contact special needs. We don't plan on eating in the Windjammer much....probably just breakfast on mornings where we don't have time to eat in the MDR.

[BillOh]

Alot depends upon your waitstaff and the pax at their other tables.

 

Our last Freedom cruise was terrible.We were one of the last tables out every night. Service was slow and the table next to us waltzed in at least 20 minutes late every night making the already slow waitstaff move even slower.:( Couple that with the fact that the food was meh...it made for a disappointing MDR experience for everyone at our table.

 

This is an excellent point. It can be somewhat luck of the draw, I've had great service while seeing someone at the next table getting to didn't get quite as lucky. The OP's name implied a family of 6. If you are all at one table and the only ones at your table, you can help yourselves out by arriving early. The waiter's pick up on their diner's habits and if your all seated and ready to go early, they notice and will take care of you first.

[JGORD7]

Except if I have somewhere to be, I find dinner goes too fast. I prefer a much slower pace for "fine" dining. This isn't McD's or even Crapplebees. I don't want my salad arriving until after I've completely finished my appetizer, nor my entree to arrive just as I've put the last forkful of salad in my mouth. I prefer to finish a course, put down the silverware, have a few sips of wine, let the plates from the last course be cleared and then bring the next course. If we have a few moments to chat about how good the previous course was, so much the better.

We rush, rush, rush so much in "real" life, that it's nice on vacation to take time to savor and breathe.

I like the way you think! lol So true about that...we are to often in too big of a rush to stop & enjoy what life has to offer