Forget About Dress Code - This Isn't About That

[Shebba]

Dh and I prefer and enjoy the MDR for most meals--breakfast, lunch, dinner. Occasionally, we will eat in Lido and of course enjoy some nights in the Pinnacle. We rarely go out to eat when at home, so it's a treat for us to have a nice sit down meal in the MDR. We've never experienced a problem when we ask for a table for two, but also enjoy sitting with others, meeting new people.

 

We will be on the longest cruise ever for us soon, so we MAY venture out a little more, but I suspect most of our meals will be in the MDR.

[Shebba]

 

Wish we could go there tonight!:)

 

I'm with you on that one, alias!! :D

[chinocam]

We have spent 5 weeks on HAL this year (soon to be 8). We ate in the MDR all but 2 nights. One was in Lahaina when we had been ashore all day and got back late and had room service on the verandah. The other was one evening in Alaska when we dined in the PG. We'll soon be on for 3 weeks and have no plans to dine anywhere but the MDR. We always choose late fixed, table for 2, except the one week we traveled with another couple, then it was table for 4. And we always dress for dinner. almost always have breakfast and lunch at the Lido.

[kyriecat]

I enjoy eating in the dining room and prefer to share a large table. I like a leisurely meal with good conversation. I prefer to be served rather than fetching my own food. It seems like with more dining venues available and some people's reticence to share a table or dislike of dressing in anything other than shorts & tees, fewer people are choosing to eat in the dining room.

 

For my next cruise, we probably won't dine in the MDR very often for reason D - our itinerary.

 

We have a couple of overnight ports and three ports where we don't leave until after 7 PM. For those nights, we like to take the opportunity to try local cuisine and won't dine onboard. There are also a couple of specialty restaurants onboard that sound appealing so we will probably dine in those for at least a couple of nights. We have a port-intensive cruise so there may be a night or two that we feel like room service or grabbing something quick from the buffet. Since we wouldn't be dining in the MDR for at least half the cruise this time, we are forgoing our usual fixed late seating and using open seating. It's disappointing to me since I would love to dine with others, get to know them, and discuss their port experiences versus ours, but it's inappropriate to select a fixed table assignment then not show up for most evenings. I've had that happen to me so I won't do it to others.

[mamaofami]

We usually eat in the main dining room unless we're in Pinnacle or Caneletto. We usually have early fixed dinner at 5:45, but hated it on Veendam when they moved dinner up to 5:15. That was ridiculous.

 

I too am allergic to perfume and never wear it, but haven't really found it a problem in the MDR.

 

Lately, we have found service in the MDR lacking. I wish they would add more stewards and make the job easier for them and make dining more enjoyable for us cruisers.

[Viesczy]

Sail,

A) If we're not in the MDR it is typically due to timing issues that something is going on that MDR's total meal time will encroach on or we're @ the PG.

 

Personally I think that the MDR is a great experience and one that shouldn't be missed.

 

Derek

[lindaler]

We look forward to the MDR. It is one of our reasons for choosing HAL. I also do the MDR for breakfast as I don't like people in the morning until I have enough coffee so I don't have to fight the people in lines in the lido.

[kcscrapper]

While I enjoy the main dining room, I don't enjoy how long it takes. I sometimes feel that the "MDR experience" is all too pretentious since the quality of the food, the ambiance, the service just don't support the tedium of the process.

[earljr]

While I enjoy the main dining room, I don't enjoy how long it takes. I sometimes feel that the "MDR experience" is all too pretentious since the quality of the food, the ambiance, the service just don't support the tedium of the process.

 

Well stated, I agree

[cmaygar]

We prefer eating in the upscale dining room and completely skip the MDR. We don't mind getting dressed up and enjoy the quiet elegance of the Pinnacle and Tamarind (on the HAL ships that offer this). The MDR food isn't bad, but it's generally rushed service and very noisy.

[Lady Chew]

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.

 

I agree, I don't get "dressing" the chairs at all! They look better when they're naked! Especially when the covers are as wrinkled & messy looking as they have been for every HAL formal night I've been to, on Statendam, Prinsendam & Noordam.

[mr green]

I agree, I don't get "dressing" the chairs at all! They look better when they're naked! Especially when the covers are as wrinkled & messy looking as they have been for every HAL formal night I've been to, on Statendam, Prinsendam & Noordam.

 

Is it possible that the chairs are 'dressed' so that our 'better garments' do not get soiled by the chairs?

Just a thought.

 

john

[Cindy]

On HAL or any other cruise line we always have dinner in the either a Speciality Restaurant or the MDR.

 

We actually like to share a table with others. :)

 

LuLu

 

We're the same...we almost always eat in the MDR or a specialty restaurant. I don't recall ever eating dinner in the buffet on any ship, and we do our best to avoid it for breakfast and lunch too!:)

We also like to sit at a large table. Since it's just the two of us, we enjoy meeting people and seeing friendly faces around the ship.

[lindaler]

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

 

As another poster pointed out, perfume is one of the reasons we go for two or four at a table. DH is very allergic, and convincing a table of six that it is much better to smell your food then your table mates is hard so we just enjoy the meal and the service and don't fight with those who don't understand that a 60 minute sneezing fit is not worth dinning at a larger table.

[Lady Chew]

Is it possible that the chairs are 'dressed' so that our 'better garments' do not get soiled by the chairs?

Just a thought.

 

john

 

If the chairs are that dirty ... yuck! ... then it's time for new chairs!! I don't want any of my garments to get soiled

[beauwalker]

Ditto!

[pris993]

Really depends on the cruise. We dress up regardless where we eat. If service and food are very good in the MDR we go, we often order off menu. If we find it so so, we may have a late lunch on our balcony from items we pick up at the buffet on some days, then skip dinner. Other nights we may go to the specialty restaurants a couple of times. We always get a table for 2 in the MDR. Then we are free to do whatever we please.

[arewethereyet]

While I enjoy the main dining room, I don't enjoy how long it takes. I sometimes feel that the "MDR experience" is all too pretentious since the quality of the food, the ambiance, the service just don't support the tedium of the process.

I agree with this. We always get open seating (table for 2) because we can get through a meal in a reasonable time. The last time we had fixed seating and larger table, it was all I could do to sit through the tedious process. And, while that is not the reason we go to the specialty restaurants, it is an additional benefit to eating at them.

[scamper]

On my last cruise, I had dinner in the MDR, I believe, twice. Two dinners in Pinnacle (one day I will take all my dinners there), one in Tamarind, one in the lido, and one in Canaletto. Never had a bad meal on HAL anywhere.

[HALFans]

We prefer dinners in the MDR and generally have Late Seating with a table for two.

 

It's our 'relax alone together and enjoy a great meal' time - which is kind of special for us on cruises. No cooking, no toting food to the table, no TV, no screaming kids. It's like going to a fine restaurant every night. :)

 

Formal night is either in the MDR or one of the upgrade restaurants. We appreciate the dress code!

 

We save the lido for lunches, and breakfast about 1/2 the time.