Dining Time for 1st & Last Day

[scorchestra]

First time cruiser, so excuse the simple questions. I was wondering what time we are usually allowed to board if our sail away time is 4:30pm? What is the earliest we can board? Can we have lunch on board and if so, what time would that most likely be?

 

I've made our dinner reservation on that 1st day at 6:30pm. I figured that would be a good enough time to see the sail away then grab a drink and head to dinner and maybe catch a 9:00pm show after.

 

Are shows always at 7:00pm and 9:00pm?

 

I'm thinking of sticking to a 6:30pm dinner. Is that an award time since the 6:00 group will already be in. We are on the select dining plan.

 

Last day: what time do we have to leave the ship? Can we have breakfast? If so, what time?

 

Thanks!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

First time cruiser, so excuse the simple questions. I was wondering what time we are usually allowed to board if our sail away time is 4:30pm? What is the earliest we can board? Can we have lunch on board and if so, what time would that most likely be?

 

I've made our dinner reservation on that 1st day at 6:30pm. I figured that would be a good enough time to see the sail away then grab a drink and head to dinner and maybe catch a 9:00pm show after.

 

Are shows always at 7:00pm and 9:00pm?

 

I'm thinking of sticking to a 6:30pm dinner. Is that an award time since the 6:00 group will already be in. We are on the select dining plan.

 

Last day: what time do we have to leave the ship? Can we have breakfast? If so, what time?

 

Thanks!

 

Boarding will start around 11:00. At some ports they give a suggested boarding time based on you cabin location. This info will be in your E-docs and they do not always enforce it if you show up earlier or later. Lunch is available onboard at the buffet, pool grill, aqua spa café, & Bistro on 5 for a $10 pp fee. If you are in a suite, Luminae will also serve lunch on the day of embarkation and on sea days. In addition to these areas, the Main dining room is also open for lunch on sea days.

 

6:30 is a good time for dinner, show times might vary by 15-30 minutes but you will have time to finish dinner and attend the late show.

 

You will have time for breakfast on the last day at buffet or MDR. We don't stay on board too long that day but I think they aim for everyone to be off by 9:00, 10:00 at the very latest and that might be pushing it.

 

Enjoy your 1st cruise.

[SeaThruU]

The

[az_tchr]

First time cruiser, so excuse the simple questions. I was wondering what time we are usually allowed to board if our sail away time is 4:30pm? What is the earliest we can board? Can we have lunch on board and if so, what time would that most likely be?

 

 

You can always have lunch on board. No idea what port but would guess around 10:30 to 11:00 if you do not mind longer checkin lines.

 

I've made our dinner reservation on that 1st day at 6:30pm. I figured that would be a good enough time to see the sail away then grab a drink and head to dinner and maybe catch a 9:00pm show after.

 

Yes

 

Are shows always at 7:00pm and 9:00pm?

 

No. The time varies and Captains toast night for example moves show times back on most cruises

 

I'm thinking of sticking to a 6:30pm dinner. Is that an award time since the 6:00 group will already be in. We are on the select dining plan.

 

No idea what an award time means, but 6:30 is quite early so no lines in Select usually then. 7-8 is more crowded

 

Last day: what time do we have to leave the ship? Can we have breakfast? If so, what time?

 

Breakfast is served starting at 6am so you can eat on board. Again do not know where your cruise ends but by 9am they are trying to get you off as the crew needs to ready things for the next cruise.

 

Thanks!

 

happy cruising and enjoy your vacation.

[SeaThruU]

The select dining room is usually on the second floor of the main dining room and so you check in for dinner on that floor. That way you don't the assigned diners to schedule around. Also, the first night is very casual as some people don't have their luggage in time to change clothes.

[scorchestra]

I had a typo, I meant to say “ awkward" time not “ ward" time. Is 6:30pm an awkward time? Or should I change to 6:00pm. What time is the Captain’s Toast usually? We are on an Alaska Cruise leaving from Vancouver to Seward.

 

Counting the days!

[Hlitner]

Show times can vary considerably on "Evening Chic" (previously formal) evenings but we are not sure how this is being handled by each specific ship. Previously, they would have shows on those formal night at 8 and 10 or even 10:30. But the recent move to "Evening Chic" leaves one wondering what else will change. On our last Celebrity cruise (December) one Maitre'd kept muttering, "can't wait to see what passengers consider "chic." As he did this his eyes would roll :). For some we suspect chic means cut-offs, wife beater shirt, and turned around baseball cap.

 

Hank

[eandj]

You can board the ship earlier than getting into your room. Your room will not be open to drop off your carry ons , jackets etc until 1 or later. So make your way for lunch and/or explore the ship. But keep your carry ons manageable. It's pretty bumper car-ish with folks carrying back packs and rollers where ever they are roaming. Those CAN be delivered to your room with your large bags. But you won't see them until all the luggage is delivered. often close to 5:00.

 

The dress code is generally followed on first and last nights. You might see a handful of folks in shorts for Carib cruises claiming they hadn't received their bags before dinner. It's actually pretty rare. But on those two nights, you won't be stopped trying to enter the MDR with shorts.

Edited February 16, 2016 by eandj

[irishgal1970]

You can board the ship earlier than getting into your room. Your room will not be open to drop off your carry ons , jackets etc until 1 or later. So make your way for lunch and/or explore the ship. But keep your carry ons manageable. It's pretty bumper car-ish with folks carrying back packs and rollers where ever they are roaming. Those CAN be delivered to your room with your large bags. But you won't see them until all the luggage is delivered. often close to 5:00.

 

The dress code is generally followed on first and last nights. You might see a handful of folks in shorts for Carib cruises claiming they hadn't received their bags before dinner. It's actually pretty rare. But on those two nights, you won't be stopped trying to enter the MDR with shorts.

 

Knowing that it's a possibility, on our most recent cruise my boarding day attire was a casual cotton skirt and a nice t-shirt. I stuck a scarf in my bag. When our bags didn't show up in time for dinner, I threw the scarf on and felt good to go for the first night.