Time taken for evening meal.

[melgirl]

Just curious. I have read quite a lot of posts re dining - the complaint I don't understand is that the meal took too long. Why do people want to always leave the dining room quickly? Personally, I don't enjoy having three courses brought too quickly - it doesn't give a chance to digest the food, nor to enjoy conversations with my table companions.

[caribsun]

I'm with you, I enjoy a slower pace dining experience. Good food, good wine and great conversation. :)

[Roxymax]

On a cruise, We enjoy taking time out for a meal. But I can remember a few times when we did not during those times one or the other was not feeling well, or we got back from Port later in the evening. At that point room service was the answer.

 

For the teenagers, well sometimes they will skip the dining room for another venue to be with their newly formed social circle.....

 

At home sometimes we all eat on a separate schedules due to sports, school, work, volunteer work, church, or fitness activities. To each his/ her own.....

[skynight]

Just curious. I have read quite a lot of posts re dining - the complaint I don't understand is that the meal took too long. Why do people want to always leave the dining room quickly? Personally, I don't enjoy having three courses brought too quickly - it doesn't give a chance to digest the food, nor to enjoy conversations with my table companions.

A normal time for dinner is between 90 mins. and 2 hours. Larger tables normally take a little longer. Tables for two shorter. Tables for 6 and 8 are just about right. Sometimes the service is slow and people have to leave to get to the theater for the show, or some other activity they don't want to miss. I've come across others that don't wish to sit too long for fear they will overeat, they leave after the main dish and skip dessert. For some dinner isn't an event not to be missed, it's just another activity, not unimportant, but also not important. Others view dinner as the most important activity of the day. What we have done is skip the MDR on evenings where we have another activity we want to do that may conflict with dinning. So, maybe this provides some insights into your rhetorical question of why. There is no real answer.

[derdejoh]

I'm with OP about enjoying a leisurely dinner and chatting with tablemates. But to answer your question, I think some people just have different priorities. Some want to run off and see one of the early shows (the later shows can sometimes be more crowded). Others want to hurry up to catch a movie on MUTS. Others just might not like eating with other people but got stuck at a larger table than they would have preferred. I also think a lot of folks just aren't used to a 1.5-2 hour dining experience.

[golfb4cruzing]

90 minute meal would drive me crazy. 60 minutes tops and table for two. That's why we don't usually do the MDR. We have hectic schedules and are there to enjoy each other.

[eldridchapman]

Will it annoy other cruisers or the waiter if we have a "delayed" dinner?

 

My usual dinner is at 7pm, but the 3 options were 5.15pm,5.45pm and 8pm. 8pm is too late, so I picked 5.45pm but Im thinking of having a delayed start to the 1st course until around 6.15-6.30pm.. wonder if thats fine :confused:

[rjack22]

If you are doing traditional you really need to be there on time. You will hold up your fellow tablemates not to mentioning inconveniencing your wait staff. Don't do it. It sounds to me like you would be better off in Anytime dining when you can go whatever time you want.

Edited May 22, 2014 by rjack22

[IECalCruiser]

Will it annoy other cruisers or the waiter if we have a "delayed" dinner?

 

 

 

My usual dinner is at 7pm, but the 3 options were 5.15pm,5.45pm and 8pm. 8pm is too late, so I picked 5.45pm but Im thinking of having a delayed start to the 1st course until around 6.15-6.30pm.. wonder if thats fine :confused:

As rjack22 posted, not really if you have Traditional Dining, unless you are at a table for two. At larger tables, everyone is served every course at the same time. You would be holding up others at your table by requesting a delayed start. Anytime Dining might not work well either because most table will be filled by 6:00 and you would need to wait for tables to empty.

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

You can dine as fast or slow as you wish.

[nbc]

On the Emerald - this past September - we had a table for 2 in the MDR. Generally, it took us about an hour and a half to an hour 45 min to have a wonderful, nicely paced dinner with wine, appetizers, entrees and more than sometimes, dessert. We would start about 6pm and always be finished by 7:30 - 7:45pm at the latest

[nbc]

Sorry...got cut off..

as there was a later seating for 8:15pm

[eldridchapman]

If you are doing traditional you really need to be there on time. You will hold up your fellow tablemates not to mentioning inconveniencing your wait staff. Don't do it. It sounds to me like you would be better off in Anytime dining when you can go whatever time you want.

 

Yea, i heard about people holding up their tablemates by arriving late. Actually we'll be in a party of 5 and prefer to dine with ourselves. Will the maitre'D accept a request for dedicated table of 6 for 5 pax?

 

Dont worry, what i meant was arriving on time at 5.45pm, but not ordering anything or asking the 1st course to start half an hour onwards to have a late dining start :)

Edited May 22, 2014 by eldridchapman

[Colo Cruiser]

Sorry...got cut off..

as there was a later seating for 8:15pm

 

You can edit your post for 10 minutes. ;)

[AKman2495]

We too enjoy the slower pace of the MDR dinners. Especially if the table mates are interesting and a good conversation gets going.

 

Two hours is not too long for us.

[Pam in CA]

My usual dinner is at 7pm, but the 3 options were 5.15pm,5.45pm and 8pm. 8pm is too late, so I picked 5.45pm but Im thinking of having a delayed start to the 1st course until around 6.15-6.30pm.. wonder if thats fine :confused:

Not "fine." :( If you arrive late for your assigned time, your tablemates will be kept waiting for 15-20 minutes for you to show up. If they order before you arrive, they'll be kept waiting between courses for you to catch up. If you're at a table for two, having tables on different course schedules means the tables in your waitstaff's area will have very slow service as they go back to the kitchen and wait on line for courses the other tables have already been served. It throws everything off completely.

[IECalCruiser]

Not "fine." :( If you arrive late for your assigned time, your tablemates will be kept waiting for 15-20 minutes for you to show up. If they order before you arrive, they'll be kept waiting between courses for you to catch up. If you're at a table for two, having tables on different course schedules means the tables in your waitstaff's area will have very slow service as they go back to the kitchen and wait on line for courses the other tables have already been served. It throws everything off completely.

Pam does bring up an interesting point that in TD it is most efficient if all tables are on the same course at the same time, even if you only have your group of five alone at a table you could be affecting the timing and service at the other tables. You will probably be in a different time zone on your cruise so just got with the flow :)

 

 

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[freetocruise]

Dont worry, what i meant was arriving on time at 5.45pm, but not ordering anything or asking the 1st course to start half an hour onwards to have a late dining start :)

 

I'm not sure this is workable. If you are seated in the traditional dining room and not in an Anytime dining room, the servers will need to have you done and out in a timely fashion so they can set up for the second seating. By starting to eat late, you will have less time to eat and your servers will be rushed to get ready for the next group.

 

It might be doable if your assigned dining time is in the anytime dining room. But why bother sitting at a table for half an hour waiting for your first course when you can choose anytime dining and eat when you wish? It would also free up an assigned table for someone who wants traditional assigned dining at 5:45.

[OCruisers]

Normally, between 60 & 90 minutes in the MDR.

Longer in specialty restaurants.

LuLu

[Colo Cruiser]

I would say 90 plus. :eek:

[koolforkatz]

It seems no matter what cruise we've been on, we are invariably one of the last to leave the dining room. We enjoy leisurely dinners and always seem to luck out with table mates and great conversations. Our evening meals are usually are least 2 hours.

[Shogun]

Hi All

An important part of any cruise for us is our table mates

As such have moved a few times to join tables were we all speak the same language or were they turn up

As such 90 minutes to two hours is fine for a nice meal and good conversation

 

Yours Shogun

 

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[hubofhockey]

We do anytime dining. If it's just my wife and I, we're there 60-70 minutes. If we go with other couples, it's people we know on the ship or people we have met and it's more social and 90-100 minutes. Sometimes, we're just tired after a long port day and not talkative. Sometimes we try to get out quicker to catch a show. The great thing about anytime dining is the the flexibility.

[USNUZULOOSE]

The last cruise we were on our table had a good laugh every evening. The table over from us had about 8 or so. We sat down and these folks were already being served. I don't think they even ate all the courses. But they were in and out in about an hour.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I'm not sure this is workable. If you are seated in the traditional dining room and not in an Anytime dining room, the servers will need to have you done and out in a timely fashion so they can set up for the second seating. By starting to eat late, you will have less time to eat and your servers will be rushed to get ready for the next group.

 

It might be doable if your assigned dining time is in the anytime dining room. But why bother sitting at a table for half an hour waiting for your first course when you can choose anytime dining and eat when you wish? It would also free up an assigned table for someone who wants traditional assigned dining at 5:45.

 

I was thinking this too. Besides possibly throwing off your waitstaff if they're trying to get the same kind of course out at the same time (among all the tables they're working), you can be cutting down the time they have to get your table ready for the next party who sits there, unless everyone at your table intends to just eat one or two courses each night.

 

One complaint my hubby had during our one experience with anytime dining, is that he felt the waitstaff seemed to be rushing the service a couple of meals. At other times, we did get seated with passengers who had already placed their order so service seemed very awkward because either people's courses were delayed or people were on different courses.