Not Showing Up for Dinner

[57eric]

My wife and I use traditional dining.  Occasionally, we don’t make it to dinner for one reason or another.  When we know the evening before, we always inform our dinner companions and/or the wait staff so they know not to look for us the next night.  However, more often we do not know we’re going to miss until later.

What are our options for notifying the dining room?  I know we could get our tablemates’ cabin numbers and leave messages, but this would not be my preference.  Or am I overthinking this?

Thanks.

[Cruiser_1977]

I called the dine line from my room and let them know that way.

[Tak8]

You may be overthinking it.  When I know the night before I let the wait staff know.  I don't worry about it for last minute changes.

[Musky Ike]

Thank you for thinking of your tablemates. Many do not, one of the reasons we switched to anytime.

[jhannah]

I appreciate your courtesy toward your table mates and servers. I agree that a phone call will be fine once you know you won't be attending.

 

Alternately, you might announce to your table early in the cruise that if you're not there five minutes after the scheduled time to just go ahead.

[mizLORInj]

32 minutes ago, jhannah said:

 

Alternately, you might announce to your table early in the cruise that if you're not there five minutes after the scheduled time to just go ahead.

 

Yes!   This!       We don't do assigned dining on any cruise line anymore, but even when we did, there were nights when we just didn't feel like going to the dining room.   If we had tablemates (and it wasn't just our own group at the table) we told them we did not plan to eat there every night and not to wait for us.   

 

 

[MissP22]

Having to wait for others at a traditional table is one of the main reasons why we switched to anytime dining years ago. 

It caused us to be late for many of the shows due to waiting around for people who dined elsewhere & never said a word the night before. 

[thinfool]

Let the floggings begin!

 

Seriously, we sit down at our assigned table, wait politely for 10 minutes max...then ask the waiter to take our order and start the process.

If someone comes late, that is their business...they can order late, eat late, have appetizers while everyone else has dessert.

Edited February 13, 2020 by thinfool

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, thinfool said:

Let the floggings begin!

 

Seriously, we sit down at our assigned table, wait politely for 10 minutes max...then ask the waiter to take our order and start the process.

If someone comes late, that is their business...they can order late, eat late, have appetizers while everyone else has dessert.

The only problem with that scenario is that you were on time & having to wait 10 minutes for the others to show up.

If they do show up 20 or 30 minutes late the waiter will delay the whole table until the latecomers catch up.

[CruisinCouple2010]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

The only problem with that scenario is that you were on time & having to wait 10 minutes for the others to show up.

If they do show up 20 or 30 minutes late the waiter will delay the whole table until the latecomers catch up.

 

Agree with this statement. They hold the main course until they catch up.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

The only problem with that scenario is that you were on time & having to wait 10 minutes for the others to show up.

If they do show up 20 or 30 minutes late the waiter will delay the whole table until the latecomers catch up.

 

23 minutes ago, CruisinCouple2010 said:

 

Agree with this statement. They hold the main course until they catch up.

Have not sat at a table with cruisers I don't know for a long time, but I would simply inform the waiter and the other folks there that my wife and I wish to eat pretty much on time and just bring our food and don't do the hold-up for late-comers.  Don't know any other reasonable way around it because people don't always inform, or forget, or change minds, or are just late back from port, etc.  If you want to eat and be gone for a show or other activity, I don't see why that needs to be ruined. 

 

If I showed up late, I would feel bad if people were waiting for me.  I would apologize and suggest they just keep going at their own pace.  What is wrong with that?  

[MISTER 67]

We always request a table for 2 usually for fixed dining. We are usually the first to arrive and are sticklers on being on time so instead of waiting around for dinner mates we are usually done with dinner between 60 and 90 minutes, that way we can make early shows in the main theater or wherever else we have to be. 

One other thing, I wish the lines would adhere to the rule about closing the doors 15 minutes after the dining room opens, we have seen people coming in to the dining room as much as 40 minute late, very unfair to the waiter and his assistant.

Edited February 13, 2020 by MISTER 67

[Katwoman007]

This is why I need a table for 2. lol It is also because when there is a lot of noise, I really do not hear well and I don't want to come off rude if I cannot hear my tablemates 😞 Plus with my dietary issues, it is just odd picking out things the night before as it is. We went to TD every night last cruise because I felt odd NOT going if we decided to do something else. lol We plan on missing a few nights (as the menus seem to be about the same lol) but will try to give a heads up when that happens, just not sure about if it happens last minute, you know?

[Katwoman007]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

We always request a table for 2 usually for fixed dining. We are usually the first to arrive and are sticklers on being on time so instead of waiting around for dinner mates we are usually done with dinner between 60 and 90 minutes, that way we can make early shows in the main theater or wherever else we have to be. 

One other thing, I wish the lines would adhere to the rule about closing the doors 15 minutes after the dining room opens, we have seen people coming in to the dining room as much as 40 minute late, very unfair to the waiter and his assistant.

We had the early seating come in LATE, so that forced us to a different table. There was almost going to be an issue, because one person said that we were going to have to WAIT for OUR table to be open. Lucky the Head Waiter KNEW us (special diet so he saw us every night lol) and sat us asap with a great waiter. But hot dang.. come ON TIME 😛

 

[casofilia]

Table for 2 in Traditional!!

[CruisinCouple2010]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 

Have not sat at a table with cruisers I don't know for a long time, but I would simply inform the waiter and the other folks there that my wife and I wish to eat pretty much on time and just bring our food and don't do the hold-up for late-comers.  Don't know any other reasonable way around it because people don't always inform, or forget, or change minds, or are just late back from port, etc.  If you want to eat and be gone for a show or other activity, I don't see why that needs to be ruined. 

 

If I showed up late, I would feel bad if people were waiting for me.  I would apologize and suggest they just keep going at their own pace.  What is wrong with that?  

We now only use anytime dining. It’s so much easier.

[MissP22]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

If I showed up late, I would feel bad if people were waiting for me.  I would apologize and suggest they just keep going at their own pace.  What is wrong with that?  

Nothing, except that we avoid the whole situation by using a table for 2. There are alway new cruisers who just don't understand the concept of arriving on time. 

We also haven't done TD in many, many years and have never been late to get good seating in the show lounge. 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, CruisinCouple2010 said:

We now only use anytime dining. It’s so much easier.

 

41 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Nothing, except that we avoid the whole situation by using a table for 2. There are alway new cruisers who just don't understand the concept of arriving on time. 

We also haven't done TD in many, many years and have never been late to get good seating in the show lounge. 

Right.  We often cruise with our best friends and we get a 4-top.  If cruising alone, we get a 2-top.  I like TD ... no waiting.  Get the early time I like.

[Cruise Raider]

I would make a point of always notifying the head waiter or maitre'd that you will not be attending ... even if it is 5 minutes before your start time.  They will take someone from the line, if there is one, in the Anytime Dining room and place them at your table.  
If you are in port late one evening, most of the dining rooms turn into Anytime Dining anyway ... But, for all other times, the courteous thing to do is to let someone know you are not going to make it to your table for dinner that evening.  

[OzKiwiJJ]

6 hours ago, MissP22 said:

The only problem with that scenario is that you were on time & having to wait 10 minutes for the others to show up.

If they do show up 20 or 30 minutes late the waiter will delay the whole table until the latecomers catch up.

Not necessarily. We were on a cruise a few years ago where one couple at our table of eight were consistently 20-30 minutes late. After a few nights there was one night where the rest of us wanted to go to the show. We advised our waiters of this and they served our courses promptly. The tardy couple were almost offended that we hadn't waited for them. The waiters fitted in their meal as best they could, taking into account they had other tables to serve. We finished our desserts and excused ourselves just as the tardy couple's mains were served. The look on their faces was priceless. They did start arriving in a more timely manner after that but, even so, were always the last to the table.

[MissP22]

11 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Not necessarily. We were on a cruise a few years ago where one couple at our table of eight were consistently 20-30 minutes late. After a few nights there was one night where the rest of us wanted to go to the show. We advised our waiters of this and they served our courses promptly. The tardy couple were almost offended that we hadn't waited for them. The waiters fitted in their meal as best they could, taking into account they had other tables to serve. We finished our desserts and excused ourselves just as the tardy couple's mains were served. The look on their faces was priceless. They did start arriving in a more timely manner after that but, even so, were always the last to the table.

You definitely have more patience than myself. 

After many years of having the same thing happen we just gave up on trying to train the newbies how the system is suppose to work.

 

[geoherb]

I gave up on traditional dining on the cruises where I'm solo because I don't care to dine alone as I did two times on my southbound Alaskan cruise last summer. One couple had a good excuse: the husband had the flu. The other couple just showed up when they felt like it. I even saw them one afternoon and they didn't think to mention they would be skipping dinner in the dining room. I only saw the single woman twice. She did alert us the first night that she had reservations for the specialty restaurant the last night.

 

When I sail with DH, we may miss one dinner to eat in a specialty restaurant or to have the Ultimate Balcony Dinner or Chef's Table. We never plan to miss more than one meal in the dining room. I don't like it when people treat traditional dining as a backup plan. We had a family on one cruise who only ate with us twice. They should have selected anytime dining. It's selfish to book a table and not use it more than half the cruise.

[Nic6318]

14 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Nothing, except that we avoid the whole situation by using a table for 2. There are alway new cruisers who just don't understand the concept of arriving on time. 

We also haven't done TD in many, many years and have never been late to get good seating in the show lounge. 

 

Hi

 

I don't buy the concept of these individuals just being new cruisers who just don't understand the concept. Very often they are well seasoned travelers who are just plain rude. They know better, probably their mother's told them, but if it doesn't impact them, they just don't care.

 

Historically this was easily discouraged by having an understanding that the MDR doors closed after 15 min. Nowadays, with little interest in any type of confrontation with clients, this is rarely done. If you find yourself impacted by these type of people, you need to address the maître d' (right away). He/she knows it's their job. They either will deal with you and find you another more suitable table, or deal with the offenders. It becomes very hard for them to try to brush you off. If they try, just explain that you will not be satisfied unless the matter is resolved. If necessary escalate the discussion later that evening. One thing to remember, everybody has a boss. If a person isn't doing their job, you can complain. It's easy enough for them, they just have to move someone. Whether it's you or someone else. It's not rocket science. 

[susancruzs]

I sail solo, prefer early TD, large table, so far I've never been alone, been cruising for 35 years.  I take longer cruises, maybe this is why I've not had issues.  On my 30 day So. Amer. cruise, we did have a couple who was there some of the time but they told us upfront don't wait.  With the change in dining times, I've had to come in late after being ashore, but I warn them ahead of time.  I would never come later than 10-15 mins. though. 

 

I love traditional, don't want to be thrown in with people who know each other, or have been dining together every night.  Any time isn't something I want to do, I hope Princess always keeps traditional.

[Tucker in Texas]

On 2/13/2020 at 10:08 AM, Musky Ike said:

Thank you for thinking of your tablemates. Many do not, one of the reasons we switched to anytime.

Not only do they not show, there are tables practically empty, particularly at the early seating,  when those of us in anytime are standing in line as anytime dining rooms are full. On the Star last month, they did open the traditional dining room for anytime after 7:30 when they got a handle on how many empty seats they had and would not be filled as it was past time for the traditional diners to show up.  They can't do that with the early traditional seating as, by the time they figured out the no show seats, it would not be able to get people served and out of there for the second traditional seating.