Set dining time

[grapau27]

Thanks everyone. I requested a table for 2 so I will just play it by ear and if it looks like we are going to be more than 5 minutes late we will just skip the MDR. This is for only one night and I am sure that night is very unorganized anyway.

If you have a table for 2 you will be okay as you are not holding anyone else up and you will be served quicker anyway because you are not waiting for others to finish.

When you get on the ship it is worth checking with restaurant manager which table you have and ask him for a table for 2.

 

43 cruises and counting.

[spookwife]

I won't be very late, maybe no more than 20 mins for first night only. Just enough to pass the beach and wave bye and then dinner. [emoji51]

 

 

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20 minutes is unacceptable. No more than ten.

 

Alternatively, you should skip at least one course so that the wait staff will not be disrupted. They are not just serving your table and it's just better for them to serve the same course to everyone. Especially true for early dining

 

 

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[tjsttng]

20 minutes is unacceptable. No more than ten.

 

Alternatively, you should skip at least one course so that the wait staff will not be disrupted. They are not just serving your table and it's just better for them to serve the same course to everyone. Especially true for early dining

 

 

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I asked my dad about it cause I never experience 5:30 sail away and 5:30 dinner at the same time. Normally it is 4:30 and always on time except one that was out of my control. My dad said it is ok for the first night to be a little late because of the sail away. It is special and I have first time cruiser with me and would want to experience a little. My dad told me that they may change the time for dinner for first day because of sail away. I just wait and see or ask someone who already sail it before. Honestly, I am always on time but shocked and first time to see sail away and dinner at the same time.

 

 

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[telecruiser]

How is it better to just not show up? Wait staff, and possibly table mates, are then left hanging, to guess if you are late or not coming. Staff just being polite or not, in asking the next night, they were still left hanging.

 

I said a few minutes late is fine. In all our cruises, I've never seen the servers hesitate to begin normal service after just a few minutes. They don't seem to be bothered in the least that there are some empty chairs. It's when they are all done taking the orders and then the stragglers show up, that I can visibly detect irritation and flow interruption among the servers. As I said, this is my observation. And as others have mentioned, many people do specialty choices or Windjammer or something else.

[telecruiser]

Agreed - even if you advise the waiter and s/he says it's fine, they really don't mean it and it's terribly rude. They have a routine to follow. If you come in that late, they need to drop whatever they are doing to get your order and your food and get you out of there in time to set up for the next seating, thus interrupting the service to all the other tables for which they are responsible. Just because others might do it doesn't make it any more right.

 

This.

[vacationlover_mn]

We try to not be late... However, we've also never thought to tell anyone if we had other plans the first night. Never really thought about it, but now I will make sure we do that- we don't want to be rude :)

[hdowney]

I would never leave my tablemates or my waitstaff hanging. If I was going to be delayed, or eat in another venue on a given night, and new in advance I'd inform them the night before. If it was a snap day decision I'd go to the dining room and inform the waitstaff, and ask them to politely give my apologies to my tablemates and let them know I'd be returning tomorrow.

 

It's only manners

[grapau27]

I would never leave my tablemates or my waitstaff hanging. If I was going to be delayed, or eat in another venue on a given night, and new in advance I'd inform them the night before. If it was a snap day decision I'd go to the dining room and inform the waitstaff, and ask them to politely give my apologies to my tablemates and let them know I'd be returning tomorrow.

 

It's only manners

We always do MTD as you are not tied to a time or table.

 

43 cruises and counting.

[DrD]

On our recent Oasis cruise I had our time confused and we were 15 minutes late for dinner the first 3 nights. They didn't bat an eye. I felt kind of embarrassed when I found out, I finally noticed that everyone seemed to be getting their appetizers way before we did. I wish they had said something the first night. He got a good extra tip from me and a 10/10.

 

So on that ship at that time with that waiter 15 minutes was fine.

 

We didn't have any table mates or I'd have found out the first night I'm sure.