Dinner time and sail away

[blitzerlove]

Does HAL delay main dining room dinner for sail away? Our ship is scheduled to sail at 8:00 and I believe that is the same time as dinner.

[LiveLifeLoud]

Does HAL delay main dining room dinner for sail away? Our ship is scheduled to sail at 8:00 and I believe that is the same time as dinner.

Great question! I am wondering this also.

 

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[SilvertoGold]

HAL will change the times slightly to accommodate a late Muster Drill, but in 40 HAL cruises I've never seen them change the dining times.

[TAD2005]

I doubt it. When sailaways are scheduled for 17:00, they never alter the early dining time, so I would not expect them to do anything for the late seating either. There is too much in the background going on with crew scheduling, food preparation, show times, and that all hinges on the 2nd seating dining starting at 20:00 and most people finishing around 21:15 or 21:30. They certainly would not push the 22:00 show in the Main Stage back an hour due to dining being pushed back.

[jtl513]

No. Not embarkation day nor any port day.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have been on late departure times and HAL did not change the dining times.

Maybe you should consider eating in the Lido on departure day if you want to be outside for sail away.

[TAD2005]

We have been on late departure times and HAL did not change the dining times.

 

Maybe you should consider eating in the Lido on departure day if you want to be outside for sail away.

 

Be careful not showing up for your assigned table if you have a specific fixed dining table assigned, like a 2-top or 4-top next to a window. On the first night of a cruise, if you don't show, they may give it to someone else on the wait list. Best way to avoid a problem is to visit the matre'd after boarding and let him know that due to an 8:00pm sailaway, you will be dining in the Lido but you will use your table reservation the next night.

[rafinmd]

What I tend to do when sailing time conflicts with sailaway is get an entree in the Lido and join my tablemates later for coffee and desert. If it's a regular port day I'll give a heads up the day before; I'll check in briefly at seating time if possible on embarkation day.

 

Roy

[SilvertoGold]

Be careful not showing up for your assigned table if you have a specific fixed dining table assigned, like a 2-top or 4-top next to a window. On the first night of a cruise, if you don't show, they may give it to someone else on the wait list. Best way to avoid a problem is to visit the matre'd after boarding and let him know that due to an 8:00pm sailaway, you will be dining in the Lido but you will use your table reservation the next night.

 

The MDR will not pull a table out from under pax if it has been assigned in fixed dining. If you don't show within a certain time, maybe 15 -20 minutes, they can use it for seating pax from Open dining.

 

The last thing the DR Manager or his assistant DR managers want on embarkation night is a bunch of pax milling around to tell him they won't be there that night. They've got enough to do without that.

 

It is common not to have a full house the first night, all that unpacking, pax tired from a travel day......

Edited January 30, 2017 by SilvertoGold

[blitzerlove]

Thanks every one for the information. You gave me some things to think about!

[ellieanne]

No, I have never known them to delay dining times for sail-away.

 

On several occasions when I've had early dinner and wanted to see sail-away, I went to dinner as scheduled, ordered my meal, and told the waiter I wanted to see a bit a sail-away so I'd be back in time to get my entree & dessert. I've never had an issue doing that, though to be polite, and as not to hold up the meal service, I only order an entree & dessert. They are fairly understanding if you let them you know what you're doing. Can't hurt to give it a try.

[summersigh]

On the Zuiderdam we had a table for 8.

2 of our tablemates didn't show until night 3 - their spaces were held without them contacting anyone. Don't know if that's SOP but that's what happened:)

[SilvertoGold]

On the Zuiderdam we had a table for 8.

2 of our tablemates didn't show until night 3 - their spaces were held without them contacting anyone. Don't know if that's SOP but that's what happened:)

 

It is.

If a pax is assigned to a table (fixed seating), the MDR keeps the seats for them. We've been next to a table for two where the pax showed up for 10 evening straight and then just stopped coming for the remaining 11. A few different couples were seated at this table after about 8:20 pm a few evenings, overflow seating form Open, we were told.