Dining and Disembarkation

[Big Al B.]

We're booked onto an October 2007 Southern Caribbean on the Noordam. We've been on HAL twice before, but I have a couple of questions that I don't remember.

 

We have early lower level dining at a table of 8. There will probably be some nights when we will choose not to eat in the dining room for one reason or the other. To me, it would be good manners and form to let our companions know this so they don't wait. Is there a way I could transmit this knowledge somehow?

 

Also, at disembarkation, do you still have to find a common area to wait? We're taking a post cruise hotel stay from HAL.

[mushroom]

I cannot speak for the Noordam in the Caribbean, but I was on the Noordam in the Mediterranean and can tell you about that. We were able to wait in our stateroom until our "color" was called. You just tune into channel 44 on your TV and all announcements are made regarding getting off the ship. About the dining, we were "early lower" but it has morphed into a leisure thing. We never knew who would be there and who would not...and no one ever came at the same time. You could show up anytime between 5:30 and 6:00 pm. Since we all knew each other anyway, we were always aware of who would be there and who would not. It would be polite, however, to let your companions know in advance if you would not be there for dinner.

[doone]

On Holland America you are able to wait in your cabins for your color to be called for disembarkation.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When we used to sit at a larger table for dinner, and chose to eat at the Pinnacle, we would always make a point to tell our table mates and our waitstaff, if we knew ahead of time, that we wouldn't be dining with them the next evening.

 

If was a last minutes decision, then DH would stop by the dining room and inform the waitstaff and have them relay the message to our table mates.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Really do love HAL's new policy that we can stay in our cabins until our number is called for disembarkation. Only 1 time we couldn't so that - this past June on the Statendam when the ship was in Code Red and they wanted everyout of the cabins so that they could start to disinfect the ship as soon as possible.

[Randyk47]

We too really like being able to stay in our cabin until our color is called. Last two HAL cruises we've actually had a very relaxed morning getting up, finishing the last of our carry off packing, a nice breakfast, and then some last minute review of our schedule for that day while waiting in our cabin. I can remember being "herded" off to lounges, etc., on previous HAL and Celebrity cruises and much prefer being given those last few minutes to muse over the great cruise we just finished.

 

As for dinner....only a few times have we not gone to our table for dinner every night. On those occasions, like eating at a restuarant in the port city, we've told our tablemates and wait staff we'd probably not be there the next evening. Part of that comes from years ago on the Ryndam when they'd have our drinks actually waiting for us when we arrived at the table. Haven't had that service in a bit but it did get us in the habit of making sure they knew we'd might not be showing up so that they'd not get the drinks ready ahead of time.