Dinner Dining Options

[Chips401]

We are thinking about trying our first River cruise.  I have a question about dinner options.  Due to a medical condition I cannot eat in late evening and go to bed with a full stomach.  I was wondering at what time is dinner usually?  Are there any early dinner options?  Does one cruise line cater better than another to guests who are looking for dinner options?

[Canal archive]

Excellent question  what time would you class as late as far as I know most on board restaurants open for dinner at about 7pm  but if that’s to late have a word with the restaurant manger they may be able to do something for you. Good luck.

[pontac]

12 hours ago, Chips401 said:

We are thinking about trying our first River cruise.  I have a question about dinner options.  Due to a medical condition I cannot eat in late evening and go to bed with a full stomach.

7pm is usual, maybe adjusted by 15 or 30 minutes either way to allow for excursions that day.

 

But is that early or late for you? It would be ridiculously early for people used to Spanish restaurants, maybe late for people from the USA. What time do you usually eat dinner?

 

You don't have to eat all the courses, you can have two starters and skip the main course, skip starter & dessert, whatever you fancy. That's on a sitdown, waiter served restaurant meal. Some lines serve dinner as a buffet, some have cafes where you can have a lighter meal.

 

I've cruised with Viking and Scenic. I never felt bloated after a 3 course lunch or dinner, neither did I feel hungry. Others, though, augmented the served meals with snacks bought off boat and/or cookies and cakes available on board.

 

So really, whether you'll feel bloated at bedtime depends on what you eat and what time you go to bed. There's on board entertainment after dinner but after a long day's sightseeing and lots of fresh air we rarely stayed up late.

 

 

 

[CDNPolar]

I will add that although Viking do not technically do room service, if you needed to eat before the 7pm time frame, the dining manager might be able to put a tray together for you that you can take to your cabin.  From my experience they will not deliver it to the cabin, but in personal experience when I was under the weather and others that we have seen in similar circumstances have had trays prepared.  This has however always been during actual meal times.

 

The 7pm time is generally because most all excursions are back at the ship no later than 5pm or 6pm and then there is the port talk and lounge time before dinner.

 

There is also only one dining option on most all River lines so the dining option is generally only one seating.

[Daisi]

Avalon has a lighter dinner in the lounge - starts at 7:30, but it's served "tapas" style, where you have the same choices as you would get in the dining room, but are able to serve yourself. That would allow you to have a full course dinner, but you wouldn't have to wait for your fellow table guests to finish their course for you to get your next one. The lounge is usually cleared out by 8:30, as it's used for evening entertainment. Some other lines may have similar types.  

[CPT Trips]

I note that a couple posters suggest speaking with the dining manager to get an early tray for dinner. I must admit that I am skeptical about this actually happening. 
The line we cruise on preps and plates the appetizer and then cooks and plates the entree based on the orders during the soup course. Give that the kitchen staff need some time off mid day, I can’t imagine how they could get an entire meal for one or two people early. 
 

[Kristelle]

adding to above - when we were on our Scenic tour, one night DH wasn't feeling well and didnt want to come to dining room.

I rang about an hour before dinner and asked for room service, could he have dinner delivered to our room.

 

"No, so sorry, madam, the meals aren't ready yet"

 

which was fine, I actually didnt mean right then, I just meant when it is dinner time, please deliver to cabin, which they did.

 

But does confirm CPT trips' point above.

[CDNPolar]

11 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

I note that a couple posters suggest speaking with the dining manager to get an early tray for dinner. I must admit that I am skeptical about this actually happening. 
The line we cruise on preps and plates the appetizer and then cooks and plates the entree based on the orders during the soup course. Give that the kitchen staff need some time off mid day, I can’t imagine how they could get an entire meal for one or two people early. 
 

 

You are very right about this, and I am one of the posters that suggested this.  I can see that with one dining time/seating that it is about prep time and when things are ready.

 

I would think that they would accommodate a try at meal time, but you would have to pick it up.  That however is not going to accommodate the members desire to eat earlier...

[Kristelle]

Either you collect the tray or it is delivered to your room - depending on whether the cruise line does room service.

 

But as you say,  if it is still at same time as everyone else this doesn't really address OP's issue.

[Canal archive]

The challenge is what is late for some is early for others and unless we know what is late for our questioner than we can only offer suggestions. I just hope some of them work.

[Daisi]

@Canal archive I fully agree. We usually eat breakfast at about 7:00, then dinner at 4:30, no lunch. On the cruise, we do take lunch as 7:30 is a long way away. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, Daisi said:

@Canal archive I fully agree. We usually eat breakfast at about 7:00, then dinner at 4:30, no lunch. On the cruise, we do take lunch as 7:30 is a long way away. 

I too usually only eat two meals a day – but on cruises I get so much more exercise that even with three meals and a huge amount of wine the weight gain is minimal (and the enjoyment is 'priceless' 😅)

[Rebel54]

I was watching a series of videos on Scenic (Specifically the Scenic Opal) and the travel agent indicated that the suites included all day room service with some sort of menu.  This might be an option. This is the video I was watching:  https://youtu.be/E2hQW6PTqnY?si=W2H7Sfy-VtxyVK4W

 

[Canal archive]

This has been my understanding but apart from the occasional snack or breakfast I’ve never put it to the test.

[Rebel54]

22 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

This has been my understanding but apart from the occasional snack or breakfast I’ve never put it to the test.

I'd like to try Scenic one day.  Their difficult website turns me off however 😞

[Chips401]

Thanks everyone but it seems like River cruising may not happen for us.  I have GERDs and delayed stomach motility issue which means I have to eat before 7:00.  We love cruising on the big ships and hoped we could try river cruising but alas it is probably not meant to be.

[Canal archive]

Chips401 why don’t you or get a TA to contact different river cruise companies to ask the question? Could it be that non have encountered this before! Could you be the start of something just think one company has introduced a cruise for sufferers of Celiac disease, everything is possible. I for one have never been aware of your condition, now I am and I bet through these boards so are others. Just try a gentle pushing you just may start an avalanche.

[Rebel54]

13 hours ago, Chips401 said:

Thanks everyone but it seems like River cruising may not happen for us.  I have GERDs and delayed stomach motility issue which means I have to eat before 7:00.  We love cruising on the big ships and hoped we could try river cruising but alas it is probably not meant to be.

Did you look into Scenic?  If they offer all day room service, you should be able to eat earlier.

[Chips401]

7 minutes ago, Rebel54 said:

Did you look into Scenic?  If they offer all day room service, you should be able to eat earlier.

I did ask about this but from what I am hearing due to excursions it is difficult to provide food so early in the evening.  My only other thought it is eat ashore or bring something ashore if the ship is still docked.

[Daisi]

58 minutes ago, Chips401 said:

I did ask about this but from what I am hearing due to excursions it is difficult to provide food so early in the evening.  My only other thought it is eat ashore or bring something ashore if the ship is still docked.

 

You are more than welcome to bring food and or drinks aboard, however there are the odd days when you are sailing and not getting docked until later. All lines probably will provide the same answer as Scenic, as afternoon tours don't usually end until 4 - 4:30, so that is when they will start preparing dinner. Unfortunately, the kitchens are pretty small, so making a meal for a couple of guests early, isn't the easiest. As someone said contact a TA and maybe they will be able to contact the various lines for you to see if someone could accommodate you. Hopefully you will find something.

[Rebel54]

2 hours ago, Chips401 said:

I did ask about this but from what I am hearing due to excursions it is difficult to provide food so early in the evening.  My only other thought it is eat ashore or bring something ashore if the ship is still docked.

Well that is a shame.  Sorry.

[Kristelle]

9 hours ago, Rebel54 said:

Did you look into Scenic?  If they offer all day room service, you should be able to eat earlier.

 

As mentioned by myself upthread - I did have an experience with this on Scenic - and yes they provide room service - but they couldn't provide dinner until dinners were ready - ie room service but no earlier than everyone else in the dining room

 

You could possibly get sandwiches or suchlike any time - I didnt ever try that - but would seem a shame to miss all the nice meals to do that every evening.

[Daisi]

@Kristelle, same with Avalon, they have an afternoon tea at 4:00 every day, with sandwiches and cake, but part of the cruise experience is the meals, so missing them daily would be a let down.