What if you miss your dinner time?

[AnthonyD]

If you're scheduled for 1st seating and you miss your time for any reason can you just show up later and asked to be seated with the second seating. Thanks.

[lil nemo]

I would guess u are SOL!

Hit the buffets or specialty dining! or order room service.

I suppose u could just show up and see if they'd seat u but, that would take some balls??? and i don't know if you'd have much luck??

We were late because we watched the sunset one night, and they weren't all that thrilled!!! about 20 minutes after 6:00p

and service was crap! but, hey we figured our fault!

[LLSullie]

If you're scheduled for 1st seating and you miss your time for any reason can you just show up later and asked to be seated with the second seating. Thanks.

 

Unfortunately we are chronically late for everything, ugh teenagers ... we were about 30 minutes late to every seating (6:30) and had no problem having a nice dinner with great service.

 

If you are really late and wish to change to the late seating, you can request to be put on the waitlist ... however this does not mean that you will be seated at 8.

[parrotthead]

I (personally) would not "just show up" at late seating...this is why they have "open seating" at lunch and 'assigned' seating times at dinner...I bet your table mates would not be thrilled if you show up late either...It keeps the whole table waiting if you are late...unless it is only your family or traveling companions at your table, Id opt for alt dining if you know your going to be more than say 15 minutes after seating time...JMO

[LAKaye]

There is a very large difference between the problem of being late for your dinner time and the idea of attending the late sitting when you are assigned to the early dinner time.

 

Being late for dinner puts the waitstaff off its routine and timing, which is a bad thing. It is rude and sloppy to come to dinner late because of how it affects the staff and possibly others at your table who may feel that they ought to wait for you to finish your meal. (Allowing one's children to routinely be late for dinner only serves to show them that this is acceptable behavior.)

 

Now, entering the second seating for dinner one evening as a solution to an unusual problem that occured will happen according to how elegantly you deal with it. Politely seeking out the maitre'd and asking him just this once to seat you for dinner will work. I've been on dozens of cruises, always choosing late seating, and there are always a pair of seats here or there unfilled. It will be a very good thing if you come to this second seating with three tip envelopes in hand---one for the maitre'd, one for the waiter, and one for the assistant waiter.

[parrotthead]

There is a very large difference between the problem of being late for your dinner time and the idea of attending the late sitting when you are assigned to the early dinner time.

 

Being late for dinner puts the waitstaff off its routine and timing, which is a bad thing. It is rude and sloppy to come to dinner late because of how it affects the staff and possibly others at your table who may feel that they ought to wait for you to finish your meal. (Allowing one's children to routinely be late for dinner only serves to show them that this is acceptable behavior.)

 

Now, entering the second seating for dinner one evening as a solution to an unusual problem that occured will happen according to how elegantly you deal with it. Politely seeking out the maitre'd and asking him just this once to seat you for dinner will work. I've been on dozens of cruises, always choosing late seating, and there are always a pair of seats here or there unfilled. It will be a very good thing if you come to this second seating with three tip envelopes in hand---one for the maitre'd, one for the waiter, and one for the assistant waiter.

I think this is a very good suggestion...if it is a onetime situation, I can see where this would be a good compromise...

[Home.Brew]

Unfortunately we are chronically late for everything, ugh teenagers ... we were about 30 minutes late to every seating (6:30) and had no problem having a nice dinner with great service.

 

You need to think about your tablemates. We have been at tables before where a couple would always show up late and we just had to sit and wait for them. After this happened the first 3 nights, on the 4th the rest of the table decided to just start without them.

[Travelgrrl]

Also, it probably goes without saying that there will be people sitting at 'your' table during late seating - you would likely be sitting somewhere else, if they even seated you.

 

Then, if you were at a different table, then all of sudden someone else's waiter is now waiting on you (and presumably you're not tipping them, even though they're waiting on you for the night)...

[piercetc4]

i was late 3 times on our last cruise- we just went to the windjammer and ate there- great food and did not cause a problem at our scheduled dinner seating-there is always johnny rockets and room service- i would bet the specialty rest. like portofino and chops would be full but you could try there too-

[bancytu]

We went on a shore excursion in Cozumel that ran late. We let our waiter know the night before that we may show up a little late to dinner. He said he had no problem. We did not get to pick and appetizer though, just the main course and desert. We were a rushed but he was happy to accommodate us.

[cb at sea]

Just don't be late. You have all day to get ready for a scheduled dinner! On days you know you won't be dining, let the waitstaff know. It's only polite to them and your tablemates! We always look forward to dinner with our new friends, so being on time has never been a problem!

[CruiseExplore06]

While on a Voyager Cruise last year a table next to ours had a family of 5 at least an hour late (every night) and the service for them was behind. Then, they complained about the service and I was able to tell the sevice people were about to yell at them. The Dinning Room Staff DO NOT like people being late if they don't have to be because it's hard for them to get what they want later while chefs are working on other things for those on time.

[BearySweet2Cruise]

eat in the windjammer if you are gonna be late.. bad manners and very rude to show up late.

[cruisePRN]

I wish they would close the dining rooms 15 minutes after the assigned hour so late comers couldn't enter. If you can't get to dinner in the main dining room within that 15 minutes don't come at all, it's disruptive to your table mates.

[judyjbest]

We always have late dining. A couple of different times on different ships, we've had couples come to our table to ask if they could sit in the vacant seats. In those instances, we had had vacant seats all week, so we said yes. But, I think they stood back to see which tables were full before choosing a table to approach. Didn't seem to bother the servers at all! But, I think the more polite approach would be to approach the maitre' d, as LAKilian recommends, to be seated at their discretion, but I truly doubt you'll be turned down. There are always seats available for those who are polite in both manners and appearance. Have fun on your cruise!

[BallFour4]

If you're scheduled for 1st seating and you miss your time for any reason can you just show up later and asked to be seated with the second seating. Thanks.

 

Easy answer; YES!

 

We've done it before, and had little or no problem. Mass market cruises have a greater number than you'd imagine not show up for dinner each evening, and we've watched people come in and wait for the dinner to start at late seating and then be shown to a vacant table.

 

You might wait a bit and you might consider a cash tip, but I'd not let missing early sitting dinner force me to miss a lobster.

 

Just my opinion.

[wrp96]

We went on a shore excursion in Cozumel that ran late. We let our waiter know the night before that we may show up a little late to dinner. He said he had no problem. We did not get to pick and appetizer though, just the main course and desert. We were a rushed but he was happy to accommodate us.

 

Thank you for being polite enough to give the waiter notice. That way he could plan so it didn't disrupt other people's meals as well.

[Schplinky]

We would let our tablemates know if we were planning to skip a meal so they wouldn't wait a few minutes so the waiter didn't have to take orders twice. We would not wait more than 10 minutes for folks who were consistently late but I also think that folks who claim their children are the reason they're always late should leave their kids behind and be ontime themselves. Modelling polite behaviour is the best way to teach it.

[katiel53]

I agree with Schplinky's thinking. It is very rude to show up late for dinner. On Celebrity ships the dining room closes 15 minutes after the time assigned for dinner. I think RCI should do the same. On Brilliance last month, there were at least 2 couples who showed up half an hour late every night. That was totally rude. It does upset the routine of the waiters and is also very inconsiderate of your table mates. We would always tell our waiter if we weren't going to be at the table the next night.

 

As for being late because of teenagers, I think if they were left behind a few times, they would learn to be on time. The real world doesn't wait for them to show up. I think it's a very poor example to allow that kind of behavior, but then again it's JMHO.

 

If you are going to miss your assigned dinner for a good reason, I agree that tipping the maitre d' and waitstaff is the way to go or else go to the Windjammer. Good luck and I do hope your kids learn how to be on time.

[suet]

I also wish they would close the doors after a certain amount of time. After all, half the fun of going on a cruise is the elegant dinner and all the extra attention we get from everyone. My children who started cruising at 9 and 12 always dined with us whether we were at a large table or small. They are now 16 and 18 and love to dress up and interact with the staff as well as our table mates. They have always been well behaved and carried on nice conversations with everyone. My son who is 16 now has always had a way about him that makes the waiter and the assistant waiter have a great time.

 

This has always been our rule that, the kids can do their thing during the day, but they are always at port with us and ALWAYS at dinner.

 

Sue

[Cajun Gal]

We are just off the Rhapsody and had the early seating. On Wednesday we are the first couple to get to our table of 8 and there is an elderly couple sitting in our seats. We politely informed them that, perhaps, they were seated at the wrong table. They answered "NO" they had been sitting at that table every night but at the late seating. They decided that the late seating was too late for them so they moved to the early seating. We just asked the head waiter to explain to them that they couldn't just move to the early because other people were assigned to that table. They just didn't understand. He found a couple of empty seats for them and they enjoyed the rest of their cruise eating early. The Rhapsody staff is just the best.

[Cruising89143]

IMHO it is rude to show up late for dinner. If you miss dinner then eat upstairs in the Windjammer for that night. I agree that they should close the doors fifteen minutes after dinner starts. I don't think some guests think about how much of a strain it puts on the wait staff when you are late.

[time4u2go]

On a related note, on one of our cruises, we noticed at a nearby table that there was one man that ate INCREDIBLY slow. He showed up on time, but he just took a LONG time to eat each course. The first couple of nights, everybody at the table (several couples) just waited for him to finish each course, but after that, it seemed like everybody else just went on ahead while he was still a few courses behind! Not much you can do about this, I guess.

[Iamthesea]

My 25 year old daughter was late one night on our last cruise. When the waitress came over to take our order, she asked if she should wait. We said "no" and went ahead and gave our orders. DD showed up in time to give hers, but had she not, I was going to order something for her and too bad if she didn't like it! :D

 

We have seen passengers being turned away at the Celebrity doors, both for being late and wearing inappropriate clothing.

 

Don't forget that when you are late, you are not only being rude to your tablemates. The other passengers in your servers station get put behind, also.

 

If you are late to dinner, just go eat in the buffet. RCCL does not have "Anytime Dining" hours.;)

 

I am a really slow eater, but did not think that I may be holding others up. I'll have to keep a check on that next cruise.

[vickiw0318]

I can't remember why we were skipping a late seating dinner last January, but we did. DH went by early to tell Luis, our waiter. Luis was so appreciative that we'd let him know that he asked DH if we were planning to eat and then put in an order for all four courses of that night's dinner and had them sent to our cabin.