Main Dining Room Dinner Duration-Early Seating?

[Gatordad815]

We are a family of four thinking of traveling on Carnival Breeze next Spring Break. We will have 6PM early seating. I see the kids clubs will open at 7 and our kids will be eager to get there. Is it reasonable to think we could complete dinner in about an hour if we show up on time ready to order?

 

Any words of wisdom on getting through dinner relatively quickly? Would we be better off doing any time Dining and arriving at 5:45?  Any tips from experienced Carnival cruisers appreciated!

[mrpayroll]

Wife and I usually have a table for two and  have never been in and out in an hour. 

[riffatsea]

I don't think that anyone will guarantee that you are out of dinner in one hour but it is possible to do it.

You can see the menu ahead of time and so you can be prepared knowing what you want to order.

You will need to make sure you have your own table for 4 because if you are seated in traditional dining with other people then you will be waiting for the others to also get their meals.

If your children are older they may want to eat with their friends in the buffet on some nights.

OF course up to you if you want dinner to be family time!

I  hate thinking that you will be rushing every night just to get through your meal!

It doesn't sound like fun to me.

[Lee Cruiser]

50 minutes ago, Gatordad815 said:

We are a family of four thinking of traveling on Carnival Breeze next Spring Break. We will have 6PM early seating. I see the kids clubs will open at 7 and our kids will be eager to get there. Is it reasonable to think we could complete dinner in about an hour if we show up on time ready to order?

 

Any words of wisdom on getting through dinner relatively quickly? Would we be better off doing any time Dining and arriving at 5:45?  Any tips from experienced Carnival cruisers appreciated!

Very doubtful you will be able to be out of the dining room any night in just an hour.  Some nights it takes two hours.  That is the big reason we rarely eat in the dining room now.  We like family friendly comedy shows which usually start at 7:30.  You can usually only make those by eating the main course quickly and skipping dessert.  Showing up ready to order really doesn't matter at all as the staff has a routine and will be taking multiple orders before they actually send the orders to be filled.

Edited June 11, 2019 by Lee Cruiser

[purplephenom]

With a table for just your family, it’s possible. It may not be exactly an hour but should be close enough. Just let your wait staff know, but don’t get frustrated if it goes a little longer- they work hard. 

[PekingeseLady]

I've seen where the kids eat their meal with the parents. Then one of them runs them up stairs if they have to be signed in, then you come back and have dessert.  If they are old enough to sign themselves in, even better.

[teknoge3k]

On my last 5 cruises including the one week before last, we've been out of the MDR in 45 minutes or less every single time, including both elegant nights. We tell our wait staff on the first night that we don't want some long drawn out process. We're a family of 4 and usually order appetizer and desserts. 

[BENHANDEL]

On the Horizon last Christmas, it was about an hour every night. In the Imagination MDR at spring break, 90 minutes was a quick night. I could not figure out the difference?!? I really value a nightly sit down meal, but about an hour is perfect. Hoping Breeze next Christmas is another efficient meal, as my teens were getting pretty antsy by 90 minutes.

[PhillyFan33579]

25 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

As tekno said, if you tell your head waiter that you're looking to out quickly each night, he should help move the service along.  Just be warned that it certainly can take a couple of hours.  It really depends on the efficiency of your wait team and how many other tables they have (and how needy those other tables of guests are).

 

You mentioned what has the biggest impact on how long dinner will take...how many tables in your section are occupied. The more tables that are occupied, the longer it will take.  Even if you tell your waiter you are in a hurry, it might not be possible depending on how many tables are occupied in the wait staff’s area. 

[PlanoDebbie]

2 hours ago, Gatordad815 said:

We are a family of four thinking of traveling on Carnival Breeze next Spring Break. We will have 6PM early seating. I see the kids clubs will open at 7 and our kids will be eager to get there. Is it reasonable to think we could complete dinner in about an hour if we show up on time ready to order?

 

Any words of wisdom on getting through dinner relatively quickly? Would we be better off doing any time Dining and arriving at 5:45?  Any tips from experienced Carnival cruisers appreciated!

If you want to get in and out quickly, I would suggest you take a look at the menu on the Hub app or posted outside the MDR BEFORE you go there.  Arrive there early to get to your table quickly.  As soon as your waiter arrives with the menu, tell him/her that you are ready to order.  On our last Spring Break cruise in March, we were in no hurry to get through dinner, but we were generally done between 7:00 and 7:15 each night.  If you skip dessert, you'll get out quicker as well.  Just because the kids program opens up at 7:00, doesn't mean you have to be there right at that time.

 

[lennythenose]

You don’t mention your kids ages. With my teens their activities seem to start at 8 I think. We always have early dining and they can usually finish and make it to the activity. A few times they chose to skip dessert to go. 

 

When they were younger I remember them choosing to eat with the kids club a couple of times but usually ate with us. We never had to leave early and I don’t remember them missing anything important. The club may open at 7 but I don’t think they really start activities until later.