Forget About Dress Code - This Isn't About That

[Opinions]

It seems for us Open seating has eliminated some of the reasons mentioned for avoiding the MDR...We have always been able to get a table for two...It seems like the dinning time is shorter than with the larger tables...And of course if one desires a smaller meal just order less.

[fleckle]

For us, it just depends.

 

 

Sometimes we are not in the mood for a long, drawn out dinner in the noisy, crowded dining room, or not very hungry.

 

 

Sometimes we feel sociable and want to share a large table with others.

Sometimes we only want a nice quiet dinner by ourselves.

 

 

One of our favorite cruise dinners of all was lobster dinner on the balcony at sunset, watching the humpbacks while cruising through Icy Strait in Alaska.

If we need to choose between watching whales or eating dinner, we will choose the whales every time, so this was an ideal way to have both.

[tomc]

I have breakfast and supper in the MDR, lunch in the Lido for reasons which escape me at the moment.

 

I like to dress up for supper on HAL and be waited on at a lengthy meal. I arrange to eat alone AYW at a table for two as I am a notorious loner and a lousy conversationalist.

[aliaschief]

With the exception of specialty restaurants and other special dining events we enjoy the MDR. Always prefer fixed, upper, late dining.

 

Wish we could go there tonight!:)

[hammybee]

We did not dine in the MDR on our last 7 day HAL cruise.

 

It was the Lido ( outside), dining ashore or PG for us and it had nothing to do with attire.

 

We prefer not to spend 2-3 hours a night in the MDR on 7 day cruises. We make exceptions for the PG.

[kakalina]

After our first few cruises DH decided that he did not like the MDR. For him, it's too noisy, too busy, too long.

 

So we comprimised and I eat in the MDR on formal nights; all other nights we dine together in the Lido or a specialty restaurant. This works well for us. It might not work so well for others.

[sail7seas]

Really interesting answers. Thanks so much for sharing. It's something I've been wondering about.

 

[sail7seas]

Sorry to disappoint Sail, but the only nights we don't go to the MDR are the nights we are in the Pinnacle and if we have one really long excursion or are running tight for the next one - we will do room service - maybe once on a 20 day cruise. Other than that, we are in the MDR:)

 

 

I'm so interested why you think you are disappointing me? :confused:

 

Not at all.

I have no pre-conceptions about anyone in general and certainly no one in specific.

 

No, I'm Not disappointed. :D :)

 

[Crusin Kelly]

OK - I will weigh-in here (pun intended)

 

We like the MDR - service and better than average food. We typically eat there. Once, maybe twice, depending on length and options, the specialty places are fun. QSINE on Celebrity is not to be missed ! Lido is fine for lunch and breakfast... have never done dinner in the cabin

 

As for Tables for a bunch of folks... we have always asked for table for 2 or 4. It's not that we dont like people, just don't really care for the one-ups-manship in comparing stories... once we were a table for 2 with another table for 2 right next to us... almost a 4 top.. .that was nice, we didn't feel we HAD to converse all dinner with them... but we could look over and talk. First trip we were at an 8 top. 6 were in the medical industry (all nurses) and we were not... did not enjoy that at all... SO I guess it depends on the luck of the draw... we choose now to get tables for 2 to avoid the luck.

 

Dressing up - hey, wear the jacket, and tie if necessary... it won't kill us.

 

Last trip - did the late dinner.... with hordourves and pre-dinner drink listening to jazz, a slow leasurely dinner, then a show and maybe some late night dancing ... pretty nice evening... then tomorrow... the same again... like a vacation !

[PathfinderEss]

We don't eat in the MDR anymore. I think the food is fine, but the service has suffered with the cut backs. The stewards are great but there is just so much they can do. We prefer to eat in the Pinnacle. Love the food, service, the ambience and being '4' star makes the price right.

I have found that I can eat their for 14 nights and never have any main dish twice. If you get tired of that food you can always order off the MDR menu.

[penk99]

On the last 10 day we ate in the Canaletto probably 5 times. I think our group just REALLY likes Italian food! :) The rest in the dining room and once we ordered room service. I like the MDR and we didn't have any noticeable service problems.

 

I think that for our group of 5, it took a LONG time for dinner in the MDR. Some nights that's OK, but others you just want to get a bite to eat and then relax for the evening. The food quality was quite good, in my opinion, in all of the venues. We are all "relatively" young in our group of five - ages range from 29 to 44. Our decisions had NOTHING to do with dress code.

[iancal]

We find that the MDR has changed. First of quality of the food went down, then the service was cut, and cut again. Now Hal has made yet another cut in the number of wine stewards.

 

All this adds up to an elongated dinner. We have no interest in a 2 hour dinner where the service is mediocre and the food is anything from mediocre to very good. We find that after an hour or so we really start to notice the noise in the MDR-especially when we have to wait, wait, wait and wait some more simply to get a cup of coffee.

 

It is no longer similar to dining in a restaurant at home. Not saying that it is not good, but the ambiance, the service, and even the quality of the food just is not the same.

[innlady1]

As has been previously stated, we usually enjoy our dinner time in the MDR. We will sometimes avail ourselves of the Specialty Dining venues, as a "something different" thing to do. In the MDR, we usually request a table for two, (late seating) since we enjoy the leisurely pace that a two-top affords, without unduly prolonging the meal for others who may wish to be somewhere else. We often use the "Open Seating" of breakfast and lunch for the opportunity of making new acquaintences and socializing.

 

I guess that makes us "different" from the majority, but not sure where it fits in OP's classifications.

 

Ray in NH

 

We fall into that category. On our Veendam cruise, we were thrilled that, with a two top, we were out of the MDR within the hour. It seems the larger the table, the longer the wait. On the other hand, enjoy meeting folks at lunch at a larger table. Breakfast, too. We do go to Pinnacle and have also done Canaletto...but mainly it's the MDR.

[NMLady]

Unless we are dining in a specialty restaurant we always eat in the MDR.

We choose 'anytime dining' and we almost always choose to share a table with others.

We don't consider that the meal is too long for a true dining experience.

[uppitycats]

We eat in the MDR unless it's the Pinnacle. We tried the italian restaurant, didn't like it.

 

We ask for a table for 2, or occasionally will share, and have never waited more than 5 minutes to be seated. As for dress -- we don't do "formal", but do get dressed for dinner (husband in a suit jacket, and tie on formal nights, but not on others; me in silk pants/blouse or equivalent). We never were in the MDR longer than 2 hours, more usually 1 to 1-1/2 hours. We think of eating there (or in the Pinnacle) more along the lines of "fine dining". We're not big "fast food" eaters; enjoy the leisurely pace, atmosphere, conversation time.

 

I really dislike the LIDO, with the possible exception of the occasional lunch, and sometimes a snack. For breakfast we did "room service" on our first HAL cruise for me; husband went to MDR for breakfast a few mornings.

[kazu]

I'm so interested why you think you are disappointing me? :confused:

 

Not at all.

I have no pre-conceptions about anyone in general and certainly no one in specific.

 

No, I'm Not disappointed. :D :)

 

 

Just the question that was asked ;) Pondering it some more - wondering if it depends upon where your destinations are? I can see some people opting for the Lido on an Alaska cruise or if they were at the beach all day on a Caribbean then at the Lido (although we never did).

 

we primarily do European cruises/South America/wherever. There people enjoy going to dinner in a leisurely fashion - most tables were full every night (unless they were dining in port) - perhaps it's not as much a sign of the times as of the ports? Just a wild and crazy thought.

 

One nice thing I have noticed on the Med and European cruises is that the perfume has toned down considerably:)

[RonJoan]

We consider fixed dining in the MDR with a table for 6 or 8 to be one of the important highlights of any cruise. Getting to really know a set of table mates over an entire cruise has often resulted in lasting friends well after the cruise has ended. Comparing notes each evening on the day's activities can be so interesting! We try to reach an early agreement with our table-mates to sit at different places each night to avoid falling into a seating "pattern". Those who seek a table for two have never been understood by us. They can do that at home!

 

Dress code is never a factor.

 

RonJoan

[tjcletsgo]

I guess I'm in the minority here, we are Lido fans. We almost NEVER eat in the MDR - mostly for reason (a) and partially for reason (d). I have better things to do than waste 2 to 2 1/2 hours in the MDR when I could be back out on deck scanning the sea for whales and enjoying the beautiful Alaskan scenery all around me (I've only cruised to Alaska - 4 times - and really have no desire to cruise anywhere else, thank you very much:D!).

 

I also much prefer the more laid back atmosphere and the wide selection of food choices in the Lido. Not having to dress up is just an added bonus. We enjoy fixing our own salad, seeing what each entree and side looks like rather than reading the menu's description, and we've just generally found that folks are more pleasant and friendly away from the sometimes stuffy atmosphere of the MDR. If we don't eat in the Lido, we will order room service or eat in the Cantelletto. With such a port intensive itinerary as Alaska, and after spending the day on shore making the most of the hours allotted, we are exhausted and just want to eat our meal, and retire to our "secret deck" to watch the world pass by, or head up to the Crow's Nest for a drink and some more whale watching. To each their own - everyone has an opinion on MDR vs. Lido - and not all of the reasons are dress code inspired.

 

I agree! The purpose of a cruise ship is to get me from point A to point B. 2 1/2 hours in the MDR is excruciating! We would rather eat in Pinnacle or room service, in our jammies having a leisurely dinner. If it's formal night, all the better with my corsage pinned to my jammie top;)

[tangerinebunny]

Going back to the original question, I think that if HAL wants to woo younger cruisers, a more relaxed dining experience may be part of the solution.

 

We eat in the MDR and the Pinnacle most nights, but at some point we tire of the formality and have dinner on the veranda or in our robes.

 

I'm not a Lido fan. But Room Service is a fine thing.

[localady]

Generally we will dine in the Main dining room, we have had no problem getting a table for 2 (unless we are traveling with friends).

This next cruise I suspect we may use the Lido or room service at times, 20 intense port days pretty much guarantees it. There may be nights when we are not even back on board until after our seating in the MDR.

[hal lover]

I posted this on another forum and am interested in answers here. I wonder if it will vary 'type' of dining on various cruise lines.

 

 

For us it falls under A & C. We still go to the main dining room but not as often as we once did. Sometimes it seems that dinner there takes far too long. We are early to bed people so often a light bite in the Lido and on to the show suits us fine.

Another thing, the baggage fees for carrying those beautiful gown's and such has gone up far too much. If we drive to port we do a lot more dressing up (which I like).

[RuthC]

Perhaps you're right, Sail, and it is a generational thing. I've been cruising for several decades, learned the ropes under the "old school", and always enjoyed it. I still do.

There are a few reasons why I will miss dining in the main dining room, but they all come under your heading of "other".

I always like a dinner or two in the Pinnacle, or the Tamarind if I am on a ship that has one. For I don't know how many cruises I have made it a point to dine in the Pinnacle when it's time for the Master Chef's Dinner, and have learned it's best to continue that practice under the International Master Chef's Dinner, too.

I've been known to eat in the Lido when I have to be up long before the crack of dawn for a shore excursion. Somehow finishing dinner at 10:00, then having breakfast at 5:00 (yes, it happened) does not work. I also ate in the Lido once when I got back to the ship after my dinner seating.

And then there was the time I returned to the ship after my seating AND after the Lido had closed. Room Service came to the rescue. But "rescue" it was, as I love to clean up nicely and join my tablemates for good food & good company.

[sail7seas]

I think Kazu and Ruth both made some great points.

Generational and destination/location.

 

For the slow and lazy, sun and fun itineraries, the reasons for not using the MDR would primarily be dress code IMO..... sure there are some exceptions.

 

For the port intensive cruises in Europe, South America etc, we do come back to the ship tired and perhaps rushed so casual dinner makes sense. Though personally I cannot recall our ever missing dinner in the MDR despite long days in Rome, Venice, Naples, Athens, Malaga, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Dover etc etc etc

 

Interesting.

 

 

 

 

<snip>

 

 

One nice thing I have noticed on the Med and European cruises is that the perfume has toned down considerably

 

 

And, I agree, Kazu, :) about the perfume. I hardly wear much of it anymore on the ships. I know it bothers so many people so I do without it rather than risk making someone uncomfortable.

 

[ellieanne]

Sometimes I skip the main dining room because we ate ashore, either a late lunch or dinner when we have late sail-aways or overnights. On warm weather itineraries, I prefer to eat a large meal at lunch and no so much at dinner. The stewards worry if all I order for dinner is chilled soup and ice cream -- even though that's all I want, so I skip some main dining room meals on those itineraries.

 

I prefer to skip the main dining room on formal nights not because of the human's dress code but because of the CHAIR's dress code. I despise dressed chairs. I honestly feel the person who first convinced banquet/dining room managers that putting clothes on chairs was a good idea should be publicly flogged.

[OneStrangeGuy]

We sailed on HAL two years ago, on a trip through the panama canal. We greatly preferred the Lido dining room for several reasons.

The primary reason for me was that being a somewhat picky eater, I could see the food and know what I was getting, rather than depend on some fancy description. Then again, I could mix and match (I'll have the beef, with the turkey dressing) rather than depending uppon a pre-packaged dinner. Finally, we got to select who we sat with rather than being assigned to a table of strangers. Finally, there was almost never a wait, just grab a plate, and cut in line. :-)