Eating Away from the Main Dining Room

[surgie]

If we choose to eat at a specialty restaurant, order room service or eat at the Windjammer, are we required to notify our waiter or tablemates? I hate to be rude and keep everyone waiting, but on the other hand, if we decide room service at the last minute, I don't want to trudge down to the dining room to tell everyone. What have others done?

[emerald777]

If you know the night before, then it would be very nice of you to let your waiter know you won't be there the next night. But if it's a spur of the moment decision, then no, you don't need to notify them.

[Brandylee]

We were just on the Serenade for an 11 night cruise - Honolulu to Vancouver (wonderful cruise), and we knew before hand that we would not be going to the dining room every night. We told our table mates and also our waiter that we would not be in the dining room for sure on formal nights and possibly other nights as well. (We have to dress up at home so much we just wanted a casual cruise.)

 

We also told them we were 'on-time' people and if we weren't there right at 6:30 to go ahead without us. It worked quite well, except the Waiter did try to pressure us into only eating in the dining room. We were quite sure that the reason for this was that he was worried about his tip. But we figured this was our long awaited cruise, we pre-tipped the day we got there, and we were going to do what we wanted to do.

 

All in all it was a fabulous cruise.

 

Brandy

[98Charlie]

on the other hand, if we decide room service at the last minute

 

If this is the case: 2 words - Tele - phone.

 

Call the dining room and let them know. Even if the message doesn't get relayed properly, you have fulfilled any social obligation :)

[Merion_Mom]

On our last cruise, the first day was also my daughter's 18th birthday, and I made reservations at Portofino's the instant we stepped on board. We dropped by the dining room right at the beginning of our assigned seating, found our table, and walked over and introduced ourselves to our tablemates and our waiters. We told them that we were headed to Portofino's for dinner for a birthday celebration, but looked forward to dining with them the following night.

 

On the last night, they all said how shocked and impressed they were that we had done that in the beginning!

 

Carol

[Folgy]

I would be impressed too :) Very thoughtful of you and your family.

[lvcruiser]

Carol - your tablemates being shocked and impressed says a lot about the general lack of manners that has pervaded today's society. Most people don't even know that what you did was simply good manners and a show of respect for others involved and something that would have been expected 40 or 50 years ago. Kudos to you and your family for being one of the few left that actually still believe in respecting others to that degree.

[bUU]

I think it isn't generally-known, to first-time cruisers, the manner in which the dining room arrangements are structured. Indeed, even folks who have cruised before, but only NCL, have no way of knowing that there is any social obligation whatsoever with respect to the dining room. If we hadn't found these boards, we wouldn't know that we'd have had assigned seats and a consistent waiter from night-to-night.

 

It should also be noted that while veteran cruisers should know about the standard dining room arrangements, they may elect not to participate. After all, it is their cruise, and the alternative dining options are offered deliberately, to allow folks to choose not to participate.

 

I believe "respecting others" includes respecting the fact that folks may not know, and respecting the fact that folks may have chosen not to participate.