MDR fixed time

[Kathyfromstl]

I have an early fixed time for the MDR. I plan to make it there on time each night, but things happen. If I miss my time can I still enjoy dining in the MDR through anytime dining?

 

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[Essiesmom]

No. Although you can ask. Only once were we late back from an excursion. We went to Anytime, and they looked and said we could go to our regular table, as noone else had been seated there. But you have an assigned seat at an assigned time. Anytime is the assigned dining venue for those who wish to be flexible. If you miss your time, there is always the buffet. EM

[Homosassa]

If you know that you will be returning late from a ship's shore excursion that will make you late for the early traditional sitting, talk to your waiter the night before that port.

 

They are aware of port times for late departing ports and excursions and will probably have a plan in place for those on ship shore excursions.

[jtl513]

They may allow it, but in fairness to those who have Open seating you should not occupy their space while leaving yours idle. Please choose the Lido, or room service, or possibly see if the Canaletto or Pinnacle Grill can accomodate you.

.

Edited February 7, 2016 by jtl513

[POA1]

Definitely tell your waiter in advance. There might be room in his section for late seating. Or, as people have mentioned, you can also eat in the Lido.

 

A specialty dining reservation for a later time is also an option, as is room service. You can order room service from the full dinner menu on Holland America, but only if you are ordering during regular dinner hours. If you want to go the room service route, get the menu from your waiter the night before.

 

Finally, if you are dining at a table with other guests, let them know if you are not going to be there. That way, they won't be waiting for you to arrive and they can order right away.

[cruz chic]

Please don't do this. Would you enjoy me sitting at your table when you wanted to use it? I did traditional for many years. I made sure I was back on time or I ate elsewhere. It's busy enough in open as it is without people using it as a alternative. Why not consider moving to open?

[DaveOKC]

Please don't do this. Would you enjoy me sitting at your table when you wanted to use it? I did traditional for many years. I made sure I was back on time or I ate elsewhere. It's busy enough in open as it is without people using it as a alternative. Why not consider moving to open?

 

I agree. While I do like traditional fixed, when we are on a cruise that we feel we will not be able to make the fixed time more than once (like for specialty dining, late port nights, dining in our cabin, etc.), we book Open seating. We do this to be fair to the others at the fixed time table. Maybe we are too sensitive, but its how we would like to be treated if others at our table were absent alot.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Definitely tell your waiter in advance. There might be room in his section for late seating. Or, as people have mentioned, you can also eat in the Lido.

 

A specialty dining reservation for a later time is also an option, as is room service. You can order room service from the full dinner menu on Holland America, but only if you are ordering during regular dinner hours. If you want to go the room service route, get the menu from your waiter the night before.

 

Finally, if you are dining at a table with other guests, let them know if you are not going to be there. That way, they won't be waiting for you to arrive and they can order right away.

 

 

Only problem with this -- you are to call in your dinner order during the first hour that the dining room is open. And if OP is on a tour -- they may not be able to do that.

[cruz chic]

I agree. While I do like traditional fixed, when we are on a cruise that we feel we will not be able to make the fixed time more than once (like for specialty dining, late port nights, dining in our cabin, etc.), we book Open seating. We do this to be fair to the others at the fixed time table. Maybe we are too sensitive, but its how we would like to be treated if others at our table were absent alot.

 

I'm like that too. I'd rather be sensitive then a me me person :). Part if the reason I went from traditional to open is that many of the tablemates I had treating the dining time as a suggestion and showed up whenever they felt like it.

Edited February 7, 2016 by cruz chic

[cb at sea]

If you can't keep track of time, then you shouldn't do a "fixed" time dining. Period.

[kazu]

I agree. While I do like traditional fixed, when we are on a cruise that we feel we will not be able to make the fixed time more than once (like for specialty dining, late port nights, dining in our cabin, etc.), we book Open seating. We do this to be fair to the others at the fixed time table. Maybe we are too sensitive, but its how we would like to be treated if others at our table were absent alot.

 

I'm a bit confused by this post Dave:confused:

 

We do fixed dining and always book specialty dinings, cellar master or chef's table if available. Are you saying we should be doing open dining???? We always let our waiter, wine steward and table mates (if applicable) know. Mostly we do tables of two now, but nevertheless, I don't think that should make a significant difference and I do think we are quite polite;) We have a 33 day cruise and I have no desire to move to open dining at this stage of the game.

[Essiesmom]

I'm a bit confused by this post Dave:confused:

 

We do fixed dining and always book specialty dinings, cellar master or chef's table if available. Are you saying we should be doing open dining???? We always let our waiter, wine steward and table mates (if applicable) know. Mostly we do tables of two now, but nevertheless, I don't think that should make a significant difference and I do think we are quite polite;) We have a 33 day cruise and I have no desire to move to open dining at this stage of the game.

 

Maybe. Think about your tablemates. We are people who like fixed dining, getting to know a large table full of people, and our wait staff. But lately it seems people use specialty dining, or other venues, often without telling us ahead. But even if they do, we have been left with a half full table, or less many nights. Which defeats our purpose for being there. EM

[lahlah57]

Once we make our reservations at various places for dinners I will print up a schedule of our dinner plans for our 2 week cruise to give to our dinner mates so they will know where we are. I am so glad breakfast and lunch is not fixed. What a debacle!

Better yet.....anytime dining is the better idea that way explanations are not necessary. Yes I will talk to my agent and change. Anytime dining at a large table would give opportunity to meet someone different every night w/o being tied to the same group. Yes....anytime dining is better:D

[Kathyfromstl]

Thanks for everyone's advice. I think I'll switch to a table for 2 so we don't inconvenience anyone else when we use our specialty dining that was part of our package.

 

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[lahlah57]

Thanks for everyone's advice. I think I'll switch to a table for 2 so we don't inconvenience anyone else when we use our specialty dining that was part of our package.

 

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Good idea because who knows where one will be on every night of a cruise. I would hate to have to explain every time I decide to be impulsive and do what I want or just be "in" for the evening. This is what traveling should be about.

[kazu]

Maybe. Think about your tablemates. We are people who like fixed dining, getting to know a large table full of people, and our wait staff. But lately it seems people use specialty dining, or other venues, often without telling us ahead. But even if they do, we have been left with a half full table, or less many nights. Which defeats our purpose for being there. EM

 

 

I think you didn't read my post completely?

 

We always let our table mates know as well as our waiters, I think most do some specialty dining ;)

 

In any case we have requested another table for two like the last few cruises we have been on so it has no effect on tablemates.

 

On our Prinsendam cruise all of our table was courteous and let the others know when they had alternate dining plans. No big deal at all - at least not for any of us

[Crew News]

Good idea because who knows where one will be on every night of a cruise. I would hate to have to explain every time I decide to be impulsive and do what I want or just be "in" for the evening. This is what traveling should be about.

 

We always book a table for two. On those nights that we will not be there, we inform our waiters so that the table can be used by those on Anytime Dining.

 

Our waiters have also had no problem saving our table-for-two up to 45 minutes when we let them know that planned excursions will not get us back to the ship at our Fixed Dining Time. It must be noted that when in port during the dinner hours many passengers skip the MDR so late arrival is not a problem. In Juneau last year, Fixed Dining was perhaps only 25% filled.

[DaveOKC]

I'm a bit confused by this post Dave:confused:

 

We do fixed dining and always book specialty dinings, cellar master or chef's table if available. Are you saying we should be doing open dining???? We always let our waiter, wine steward and table mates (if applicable) know. Mostly we do tables of two now, but nevertheless, I don't think that should make a significant difference and I do think we are quite polite;) We have a 33 day cruise and I have no desire to move to open dining at this stage of the game.

 

To clarify what I meant - when we know we will be missing a number (not just 1 or 2) nights, we go with Open dining. That way we are not leaving our table mates alone (if they wanted to be alone they likely would have booked a table for 2) for most of the nights. Of course on longer cruises, more missing nights are expected.

 

Again, this is just how we feel about it - we likely are overly sensitive, but since it is not a big inconvenience for us to do so, we just elect Open. I am not telling others what to do, but rather just reporting what we do - to each his/her own.

Edited February 7, 2016 by DaveOKC

[Lizzie68]

Once we make our reservations at various places for dinners I will print up a schedule of our dinner plans for our 2 week cruise to give to our dinner mates so they will know where we are. I am so glad breakfast and lunch is not fixed. What a debacle!

Better yet.....anytime dining is the better idea that way explanations are not necessary. Yes I will talk to my agent and change. Anytime dining at a large table would give opportunity to meet someone different every night w/o being tied to the same group. Yes....anytime dining is better:D

 

It's not really a debacle on board the ship - rules here are not rules there,:D Just use courtesy, that's all. Whether we are on a larger table, or a 2-top (our preference) we always tell our server and tablemates (if applicable) on the first night that if we are not there within 5 minutes of dining time, we will not be there at all. If we know we are going to be dining elsewhere, of course we mention it the evening before. Relax!

[kazu]

To clarify what I meant - when we know we will be missing a number (not just 1 or 2) nights, we go with Open dining. That way we are not leaving our table mates alone (if they wanted to be alone they likely would have booked a table for 2) for most of the nights. Of course on longer cruises, more missing nights are expected.

 

Again, this is just how we feel about it - we likely are overly sensitive, but since it is not a big inconvenience for us to do so, we just elect Open. I am not telling others what to do, but rather just reporting what we do - to each his/her own.

 

 

Thanks :). No worries. :)

[lahlah57]

It's not really a debacle on board the ship - rules here are not rules there,:D Just use courtesy, that's all. Whether we are on a larger table, or a 2-top (our preference) we always tell our server and tablemates (if applicable) on the first night that if we are not there within 5 minutes of dining time, we will not be there at all. If we know we are going to be dining elsewhere, of course we mention it the evening before. Relax!

 

Agreed.....stated to tablemates the first nite about the 5 minute rule should be the absolute minimum. Afterall there are far too many options aboard ship.;)

[dakrewser]

Once we make our reservations at various places for dinners I will print up a schedule of our dinner plans for our 2 week cruise to give to our dinner mates so they will know where we are. I am so glad breakfast and lunch is not fixed. What a debacle!

Better yet.....anytime dining is the better idea that way explanations are not necessary. Yes I will talk to my agent and change. Anytime dining at a large table would give opportunity to meet someone different every night w/o being tied to the same group. Yes....anytime dining is better:D

(bolding added)

 

I can't think of anything more boring than an endless round of "where are you from?", "Do you cruise often?", "what's your cabin like?", "why did you pick this cruise/ship/line?"

 

It's dinner, not an interview for an opinion poll.

[cruz chic]

So it's all about you and what you expect, eh? What about those who wish to explore specialty dining on one night, did they need to get your permission?

 

Yes, it is polite to let your steward and table mates know if you won't be coming to your fixed time on a particular night, but that's no reason to frown on those who do eat in a different venue occasionally.

 

The poster said no such thing. Why even make it about that. When I did traditional there were people around me that showed up once in seven days. Traditional is generally the most sought after so if you are never going to show up why hold that position? To me that is quite rude.

[cruz chic]

(bolding added)

 

I can't think of anything more boring than an endless round of "where are you from?", "Do you cruise often?", "what's your cabin like?", "why did you pick this cruise/ship/line?"

 

It's dinner, not an interview for an opinion poll.

 

I can think of equally bad things about traditional. I've had people making out at the table, showing up late for dinner every night because it's "to early" or because they were taking pictures etc. I've never been asked what is my cabin like or why I picked this ship in all my open dining experiences. I guess I'm lucky. Give me open any day. At least there is less chance of seeing someone I don't like again.

[dakrewser]

The poster said no such thing. Why even make it about that. When I did traditional there were people around me that showed up once in seven days. Traditional is generally the most sought after so if you are never going to show up why hold that position? To me that is quite rude.

 

No, that isn't what the poster said. They said that if their table mates go to a specialty restaurant it "defeats our purpose for being there". Sure sounds like "it's all about me. Never mind what you like".

 

To re-emphasize what I said, "it is polite to let your steward and table mates know if you won't be coming to your fixed time on a particular night," which I'm sure you will agree with. But that's not what the poster I was responding to had said.