Why Are Set Dining Times (MDR) So Important To You?

[clo]

5 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Each to their own but I prefer Anytime as opposed to traditional as I like to eat when I am hungry especially when cruising.

I was about to write that I probably wouldn't go on a cruise that didn't have open dining but the destination would tempt me.

[dogs4fun]

21 hours ago, Warm Breezes said:

The only reason I would want traditional dining was if I was going with a group of friends and family so we could have a set time and place to meet for dinner.  Otherwise I prefer the flexibility of eating when, where, and with whom I prefer.  

Same here. Everyone is different, our internal body clocks are not the same - I arise very early, usually up by 4am. I don't eat at 4am but I certainly do not wish to eat at 10am as I have already been up and about for 6 hours. I rarely eat dinner after 5pm - sometimes have just a evening snack or dessert. There are, of course, special occasions where I do eat later into the evening but this is not a frequent thing.  I also do not overeat - I frequently see cruise guests eating huge amounts of food & wonder how they manage to consume so much. To each their own.

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, Warm Breezes said:

My normal routine is up by 6:00 to be to work by 7:30.  Breakfast is normally sometime during that time span.  On the weekends and on vacations my internal clock has me up almost always before 8:00.  Lunch at home is normally my main meal of the day with a light breakfast and supper.  So having a light breakfast before 7:30 means I am ready for lunch at 11:30 and dinner at 5:30 when I get home from work.  On vacations I normally eat a slightly larger breakfast a little later then I normally do with a light lunch around Noon- 1 pm and dinner at 6 pm.  I couldn't even imagine eating dinner later than 7:00.   Too each his own.

I do think it is a major cultural difference between Americans and Europeans.  When I've been working in the US, my US colleagues would often kindly ask me if I wanted to join them for dinner.  I'd say yes,  expecting to go back to my hotel and then meet up at 19:30 or so, but they would go straight to the restaurant from work,  so I'd be back in my hotel room by 19:00. Made for a long night alone!

Conversely,  working in Ireland, my Irish colleagues would ask if I wanted a quick drink after work. This normally meant 3 hours in the pub before going to the restaurant for dinner, followed by a nightcap or three! 

[dogs4fun]

40 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I do think it is a major cultural difference between Americans and Europeans.

I agree - it has been my observation that Europeans generally tend to eat later than those of us in the US. I also find that there is a major difference in the amount of time one spends consuming a meal in the US versus Europe. 

We attempt to abide by local customs when we travel - we are polite, we don't over tip if that is not the custom, we eat our meals at times defined by the area we are visiting (for example, we certainly don't expect dinner in Rome at 5pm) etc. However, on cruises, we appreciate the flexibility of eating when we want.

Edited January 23, 2020 by dogs4fun

[LuCruise]

15 hours ago, clo said:

What time do you eat at home? We're not late diners but usually 730ish.

We tend to eat 6 or 6:30pm at home (family with kids). MTD starting at 6:45pm isn't a big deal except that I imagine a lot of families would try for 6:45pm so probably hard to get.  And then we would want the 9pm show time and not the 10 or 11pm show time (meaning we would need to be seated in time to make the 9 pm show). So we'll stick with early traditional dining when we can.

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, LuCruise said:

MTD starting at 6:45pm isn't a big deal except that I imagine a lot of families would try for 6:45pm so probably hard to get.  

 

At least in our experience with RCI and Celebrity, their MTD is coordinated with the fixed dining seatings in terms of first and last meal service, which typically is 6:00 and 8:30. Service is continuous for flexible seatings between those times.  I've never seen it otherwise on those cruise lines.

 

Again referencing RCI and Celebrity as example, it is possible that times prior to 6:45 were not available - other than as a walk up wait list - based on reservations already booked and that was the first available open seating time.  But MTD would have started with the early seating time and not a separate, later time.

Edited January 23, 2020 by leaveitallbehind

[MicCanberra]

4 hours ago, clo said:

I was about to write that I probably wouldn't go on a cruise that didn't have open dining but the destination would tempt me.

I have done traditional when there was no choice, but it is not my preference.

[davekathy]

4 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I have done traditional when there was no choice, but it is not my preference.

I remember those days. TD is no longer our preference either. But we do make reservations for SD (Celebrity), MTD (RC). 

[clo]

7 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I have done traditional when there was no choice, but it is not my preference.

Yep. Twice on Hurtigruten, a 400 pax ship to Antarctica and a 100 pax ship on the Norwegian coast.I think they'd just about have to.

[iancal]

We are very flexible travelers.  IF we cannot get our first choice we can always work around it.   Far easier to go with the flow than make a big issue out of it.  It is only a meal after all.  We don't cruise to eat.

Edited January 23, 2020 by iancal

[K32682]

Among the improvements in cruising in the last two decades is abandoning the regimentation of set dining times where you are required to eat at a table with others.  5pm is a suitable dinner time for small children not grown ups.

 

 

[clo]

1 hour ago, K32682 said:

5pm is a suitable dinner time for small children not grown ups.

 

Our daughters and their husbands don't even get home from work til 530 or after. Dinner is aimed for 630.

[DarrenM]

I rarely ate With my kids when they were kids. 

 

They were home from school at 4. And had football or some other sport at 6. I usually got home around 5.30 to take them.

 

Traditional dining never existed in my world.

[MicCanberra]

37 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

I rarely ate With my kids when they were kids. 

 

They were home from school at 4. And had football or some other sport at 6. I usually got home around 5.30 to take them.

 

Traditional dining never existed in my world.

I would often be home after 7pm when the kids were small. They would be bathed and ready for bed .

[Joebucks]

I LOVE the 6PM fixed dining option, and will always select it

- My table is always ready. No waiting

- I am hungry by then

- The vast majority of ports I am back on the ship by 4:30. What else am I going to do with that time?

- It leaves us with the rest of the night open for activities

- We build a better relationship with the wait staff vs people you'll only see once

- You don't have to be forced to meet new table mates everyday with the same questions every day "where are you from" "what do you do" or sit there awkwardly. When it's with the same people, the conversation flows better.

- If you are traveling with a group, it can often be hard to come to a consensus, especially if there is no hard time.

 

I also don't know how people eat dinner every day at 8 PM unless you are staying up really late.

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

The vast majority of ports I am back on the ship by 4:30. What else am I going to do with that time?

Sitting in the sunshine, having a glass of something "refreshing" !Who wants to be sitting inside when the sun is out?

Edited January 24, 2020 by wowzz

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

When it's with the same people, the conversation flows better.

And after 17 or 18 days the conversation grinds to a halt !

[Zach1213]

34 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

- The vast majority of ports I am back on the ship by 4:30. What else am I going to do with that time?

 

 

 

[DarrenM]

16 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I would often be home after 7pm when the kids were small. They would be bathed and ready for bed .

Same. I am always amazed by the amount of people that seem to have perfect 2.4 children life style and have the time to have all of their meals at a set time.

 

I always assumed life was never that simple.

[Warm Breezes]

17 hours ago, DarrenM said:

I rarely ate With my kids when they were kids. 

 

They were home from school at 4. And had football or some other sport at 6. I usually got home around 5.30 to take them.

 

Traditional dining never existed in my world.

Same.  DD had dance practice 2-3 nights per week so she and I would get home between 7-9 most week nights while DS would have Soccer and Basketball most nights so on the nights she didn't have practice (and even some nights she did) I would be heading to the soccer fields or basketball courts to watch him play.  If we had a traditional dinner it would be on Sundays (excluding dance competition weekends).  Most of the time dinner was what you could find in the kitchen or what you could buy on the fly.  Which is why I normally ate a larger sit down lunch as my break from work during the day.  I'm so glad those days are done but I sure do miss them at the same time.

[DarrenM]

3 minutes ago, Warm Breezes said:

Same.  DD had dance practice 2-3 nights per week so she and I would get home between 7-9 most week nights while DS would have Soccer and Basketball most nights so on the nights she didn't have practice (and even some nights she did) I would be heading to the soccer fields or basketball courts to watch him play.  If we had a traditional dinner it would be on Sundays (excluding dance competition weekends).  Most of the time dinner was what you could find in the kitchen or what you could buy on the fly.  Which is why I normally ate a larger sit down lunch as my break from work during the day.  I'm so glad those days are done but I sure do miss them at the same time.

I am with you 100%. Miss them massively yet wouldnt want to do it again.

 

Even now Sunday lunch is the only meal we really eat together, and even that can be altered by something better happening.

 

We even had a period where my wife would be watching one son play soccer, whilst I would be off somewhere else watching the other one. And then in the summer it was golf, and my wife became a golf widow whilst I caddied for the younguns.

 

Mealtimes just got in the way of the fun things.

[leaveitallbehind]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I LOVE the 6PM fixed dining option, and will always select it

 

- My table is always ready. No waiting

With MTD and reservations based on that different days dining time preference, so is ours.  No waiting.

 

- I am hungry by then

Most of our MTD times are between 6:30 and 7:30, which suits us.  But 6:00 is also available as well, which we also select from time to time.  The difference is you can have flexibility with the time each day if preferred v locked into one time each night.

 

- The vast majority of ports I am back on the ship by 4:30. What else am I going to do with that time?

In our case, we spend time with friends in the loyalty lounges having cocktails before dinner.  Or just take a leisurely time getting ready for dinner and relaxing or doing other things on the ship before dinner.

 

- It leaves us with the rest of the night open for activities

Same with us as we coordinate dinner times with planned evening activities.

 

- We build a better relationship with the wait staff vs people you'll only see once

We typically request - and get - the same table and staff each night with MTD, and on nights in the MDR build those same relationships.  I will add that we also eat in the specialty restaurants quite a bit, so we are not in the MDR all week.  And on those nights we inform the maitre d in advance so they reschedule our time with other parties.

 

- You don't have to be forced to meet new table mates everyday with the same questions every day "where are you from"

"what do you do" or sit there awkwardly. When it's with the same people, the conversation flows better.

See above comments.

 

- If you are traveling with a group, it can often be hard to come to a consensus, especially if there is no hard time.

We frequently travel with 2-3 other couples when we cruise and don't have this issue as we all choose MTD and the specialty restaurants together with common reservations.  But that's just how it works for us.  Agree with your comments otherwise.

 

I also don't know how people eat dinner every day at 8 PM unless you are staying up really late.

Agree as well.  Although on our NYE cruise this year we did have a planned 8:30 NYE dinner at a specialty restaurant and then went to the NYE party afterwards.  Worked well that time, but only as it was a special circumstance.  (We also rested up before dinner).

 

Not challenging your choice as that is what works for you.  But want to clarify what may be some misconceptions in you comments indicating how it works for us in our experience.  Again not saying one is better than the other - only what works for us in comparison.

 

Enjoy our cruises!

Edited January 24, 2020 by leaveitallbehind

[LuCruise]

23 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

At least in our experience with RCI and Celebrity, their MTD is coordinated with the fixed dining seatings in terms of first and last meal service, which typically is 6:00 and 8:30. Service is continuous for flexible seatings between those times.  I've never seen it otherwise on those cruise lines.

 

Again referencing RCI and Celebrity as example, it is possible that times prior to 6:45 were not available - other than as a walk up wait list - based on reservations already booked and that was the first available open seating time.  But MTD would have started with the early seating time and not a separate, later time.

This is actually on Oasis.  We had My Time booked until I saw that the changed the start time of MTD to 6:45pm.  i tihnk this is new, and maybe just on Oasis class?  We switched to Traditional.

[cruisemom42]

3 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

- We build a better relationship with the wait staff vs people you'll only see once

 

I also don't know how people eat dinner every day at 8 PM unless you are staying up really late.

 

How much of a relationship does one need or want with the wait staff?  

 

I could understand this if one had strict dietary guidelines to be followed, or a special diet, but for most people?  I do not want my waiter to have a drink waiting for me, as I often drink different things depending on the dinner menu, on how I feel, on whether I've already been having a cocktail, etc.  I'm not particularly in a rush, so I don't need to have my meal expedited. I would hope, if I have a question about the menu, any waiter would be well versed to provide the needed answer.

 

Most wait staff these days seem to have so many tables to take care of that I feel guilty stopping one and having a conversation in the midst of his duties anyway....

 

Regarding dinner timing:  I work until 6pm (and sometimes later) and have a commute home that is more or less an hour. So -- there are many nights when I am eating at 8pm.

 

[Joebucks]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

Sitting in the sunshine, having a glass of something "refreshing" !Who wants to be sitting inside when the sun is out?

 

By this time, I've gotten a lot of sunshine and the fun is starting to die down and so is the sun. I'll usually lay down until about 5 or so. After that, it's time to kiss the sunshine goodbye until the following day.

 

4 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

 

 

 

Haha. While I enjoy a good drink, next to breakfast, this is the last time I day I want one. By this time, I've usually already had a few and a lot of sunshine. I need to recuperate with some water and make sure I'm in a good state to last the right of the night. I might have a glass of wine or so, but I don't like to drink a lot with dinner. Later in the night, I will probably resume again with a cocktail or so. I understand to many people, the entertainment is in loyalty lounges and drink packages, consuming as much as possible.

 

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

How much of a relationship does one need or want with the wait staff?  

 

I could understand this if one had strict dietary guidelines to be followed, or a special diet, but for most people?  I do not want my waiter to have a drink waiting for me, as I often drink different things depending on the dinner menu, on how I feel, on whether I've already been having a cocktail, etc.  I'm not particularly in a rush, so I don't need to have my meal expedited. I would hope, if I have a question about the menu, any waiter would be well versed to provide the needed answer.

 

Most wait staff these days seem to have so many tables to take care of that I feel guilty stopping one and having a conversation in the midst of his duties anyway....

 

Regarding dinner timing:  I work until 6pm (and sometimes later) and have a commute home that is more or less an hour. So -- there are many nights when I am eating at 8pm.

 

 

You know, if you would have told me on paper that this is something I would have enjoyed about dinner, I would have probably laughed and agreed with everything you just said. With that said, we have had a lot of fun with most of our wait staffs. We ever have pictures with some of our favorites. When you can look to a photo and it brings back memories and a smile to your face, it must count for something. We never got any such thing with a different server each night. And requesting a server is still too much waiting.

 

Everyone has their own opinion. I find 6pm to be super convenient and quite enjoyable