How strict are dining room times?

[Host Kewlguy]

The latest we have shown up for dinner was about 30 minutes late. Since we had a table for two no one was negatively affected by it.

[Osnab]

[quote name='alwalaska']Thanks. We did request a table for 2 since we are celebrating being able to get away alone. ;) But, we probably won't make our decision until we know what the menus are (meaning - we probably won't know the night before). What is the easiest way to inform people we aren't coming?

Thanks again.[/QUOTE]

You wrote "we probably won't know the night before" but the menus for the following day are posted the night before, are they not?

You will probably see your waiter working the dining room for breakfast & can let him/her know, or if you don't want to go to that much trouble, you can slip a note under the door that "table # ___" won't be there....or you can swing by when people are standing in line and tell the maitre d' at that time.

Hope you enjoy your getaway time! ;)
Felicia

[Nancyquilts]

Ann - I'd like to have your waiter who accommodated everyone's wishes as to the length of time for dinner. There's nothing wrong in finishing earlier, if possible, and then doing what you want to do. Finishing earlier isn't the same as arriving late. Nancy

[alwalaska]

[quote name='Osnab']You wrote "we probably won't know the night before" but the menus for the following day are posted the night before, are they not?

You will probably see your waiter working the dining room for breakfast & can let him/her know, or if you don't want to go to that much trouble, you can slip a note under the door that "table # ___" won't be there....or you can swing by when people are standing in line and tell the maitre d' at that time.

Hope you enjoy your getaway time! ;)
Felicia[/quote]

Thanks Felicia and I hope you are correct about the menus. Princess did not post them until part of the way through the day and I read one RCI post where someone said the dinner menus were not posted until after lunch.

I am a planner so I would love to have the menus now. :)

[sea-cruise]

It's good that you asked this question because some pax just don't know and would like find out....
DH & I were seated with other CC members aboard the Explorer recently and the first night 2 chairs were empty. Finally a mother and daughter showed up over an hour late. Our head waiter came over and explained that they couldn't possibly be served so late because the galley was in the process of serving desserts. I think he offered to seat them during the late-seating dinner.
They had no idea how choreographed the galley has to run.

[Creeks]

[quote name='kewlguy']The latest we have shown up for dinner was about 30 minutes late. Since we had a table for two no one was negatively affected by it.[/quote]

Your waiter and assistant waiter were affected by it,
as they had to make double trips for each of the courses.
In turn, this may have affected their serving their other tables,
and made the service at their other tables not as competent
as it might have been.

There is a carefully timed schedule that the waiters have
to get all of those courses to the diners within the time they
have, before clearing the tables from the first seating and
being ready to serve the second seating.

If there are numerous late comers to the first serving,
the diining room is not opened on time for the second
seating, and the second seating must either be rushed
through their meals, or be late for the shows.

I appreciate the dining rooms that close the doors within
15 minutes of the stated dining times. We had a couple
come very late to dinner one night, and the waiters had
to tell them there were no dinners to be had (second seating,
and the kitchen was well into their cleanup).

Courtesy to your waiters and fellow diners is always appreciated.

[itstimetogo]

Thanks for asking the question. We went on a 3 day cruise once before, but this is our first 7 day, and that means many more trips to the dining room. My husband would probably prefer an all-inclusive because he is such a free spirit. i envy that at times, as I am an over-planner. We alternate vacation styles to make us both happy. I never care what other people do, and never let their behaviors control whether I enjoy anything. I do feel badly for the servers if everyone arriving at a different time causes them more work, but unfortunately it is a management issue. Maybe they need a server's union! :D LOL! Anyway, being the planner that I am, I'll nag my husband to the dining room on time every night, so all of you can rest at ease (you know who you are ;) )

[sea-cruise]

No need to nag him during vacation...;) Seriously though, you could eat at the Windjammer, or you could try one of the cruiselines that have the "open seating" and go anytime. (I haven't taken the time to read all the previous threads so maybe that was already mentioned)...have a great cruise!!

[whogo]

A good topic of conversation with your tablemates on the first night would be the difficult job the waiters have and how the punctuality of cruisers affects them. Also discuss whether to keep the same seats at the table every night or switch.

[Osnab]

[quote name='BobBeaSea']
Having said the above, we really have to give cruisers new to cruising and/or traditional dining a bit of a break. They just don't know the drill.

This is just another area where I don't think the lines do a good job of making sure passengers "get the drill". It certainly isn't up to me and I wouldn't dare tell others what the drill is.[/QUOTE]


Bob, no offense please, but if people are told they are dining at a specific time, there should be no "break" given because they've never cruised or have never used traditional dining. If they make a reservation at a land restaurant, common sense says show up at the time they made.

I do believe in giving newbies to cruising a break in some areas....but geez, why should they be given a break because they can't be on time? They're not new (hopefully) to telling time and being polite.

Felicia

[Osnab]

[quote name='alwalaska']When we were on our Disney cruise, the very first night our waiter stated that he would be more than happy to speed up or slow down our dining according to our wishes.

Since we are not 2 1/2 hour dinner people typically and we had somewhere we wanted to be, on the 3rd night we asked if he could please make our dinner go faster. They did a wonderful job accomodating us, but I still felt a little awkward since we were eating dessert while the others at the table were still eating dinner. We then got up and left before they were finished.

Did we do something wrong by taking him up on his offer?[/QUOTE]

Cruises are appealing to me because I get so much personal attention, even as a single traveler, and whatever you want (for the most part!) you can get. So even if your waiter hadn't said he'd be able to speed up or slow down, if that's what you wanted, then by all means, ask for it!

I personally don't like to linger too long after dessert is done, but I know what you mean about eating dessert when everyone else is still on their entree!

One night I just wasn't hungry and in the spirit of Trying-To-Eat-Right (on a cruise, no less! Foolish me!) I told the waiter I wanted to skip the entree and just have a 2nd salad when everyone else was eating their entrees. I felt very odd. But again, you do what makes you happy on your cruise!
Felicia

[Alexis]

[quote name='Creeks']Your waiter and assistant waiter were affected by it,
as they had to make double trips for each of the courses.
In turn, this may have affected their serving their other tables,
and made the service at their other tables not as competent
as it might have been.

There is a carefully timed schedule that the waiters have
to get all of those courses to the diners within the time they
have, before clearing the tables from the first seating and
being ready to serve the second seating.

If there are numerous late comers to the first serving,
the diining room is not opened on time for the second
seating, and the second seating must either be rushed
through their meals, or be late for the shows.

I appreciate the dining rooms that close the doors within
15 minutes of the stated dining times. We had a couple
come very late to dinner one night, and the waiters had
to tell them there were no dinners to be had (second seating,
and the kitchen was well into their cleanup).

Courtesy to your waiters and fellow diners is always appreciated.[/quote]

Very well written Creeks. ;)
Lateness does not belong in the "It's my cruise and I will do what I want category".
Peoples lateness to the dining room effects everyone from the other passengers to the chefs in the kitchen and right on down to the second seating passengers.
Anyone who plans on being late should eat in the Windjammer.:rolleyes:

[Osnab]

[quote name='dennbr9']NO, BEST BET IS BE ON TIME!

You really disrupt the meal of everyone at your table, and effect the service of all the other tables your waiter has to cover.

A few minutes is not a big deal, 10-15+ is.[/QUOTE]

If you are late for Bingo and you bought a ticket, no one says "Let's make everyone else wait while we find Cabin 2202. They bought a ticket and they're not here yet." That would be silly.

It always kills me when 90% of the entire ship ends up making it to the mandatory drill on day one, and there are always stragglers that are over 15 mins late. So everyone else has to stand in the hot sun, crowded up against strangers, bored to death, just because 10% of the people couldn't tell time or just plain didn't care.
Felicia

[BobBeaSea]

[quote name='Osnab']Bob, no offense please, but if people are told they are dining at a specific time, there should be no "break" given because they've never cruised or have never used traditional dining. If they make a reservation at a land restaurant, common sense says show up at the time they made.

I do believe in giving newbies to cruising a break in some areas....but geez, why should they be given a break because they can't be on time? They're not new (hopefully) to telling time and being polite.

Felicia[/QUOTE]

No offense taken :). If I am a newbie to cruising and don't know the drill, I read the Compass for the 1st day and it says: Main Seating 6:00 pm & Second Seating 8:30 pm. Now if I am used to resorts and we are on Main Seating I'm thinking-OK, our dinner time is between 6-8:30, let's go down around 7:15 or so. In other words, how in the heck are they supposed to know they have to be there at 6:00 pm? You know, it would be a good idea for RCI to explain this in the "Welcome Aboard" brochure that is in your cabin along with the Day 1 Compass. This Welcome Aboard brochure has a very nice FAQ section but the timeliness issue of the dining room is not mentioned. Nowhere in this brochure or the Day 1 Compass does it state or stress being on time.

As for being polite, there is a good chance they won't even know they are dining with strangers :)

[Alexis]

[quote name='BobBeaSea']No offense taken :). If I am a newbie to cruising and don't know the drill, I read the Compass for the 1st day and it says: Main Seating 6:00 pm & Second Seating 8:30 pm. Now if I am used to resorts and we are on Main Seating I'm thinking-OK, our dinner time is between 6-8:30, let's go down around 7:15 or so. In other words, how in the heck are they supposed to know they have to be there at 6:00 pm? You know, it would be a good idea for RCI to explain this in the "Welcome Aboard" brochure that is in your cabin along with the Day 1 Compass. This Welcome Aboard brochure has a very nice FAQ section but the timeliness issue of the dining room is not mentioned. Nowhere in this brochure or the Day 1 Compass does it state or stress being on time.

As for being polite, there is a good chance they won't even know they are dining with strangers :)[/quote]

The first night is a lot more lenient. Maybe on the first night that is possible to "not know". ;)
After that, no one can be that naive on a cruise unless they deliberately want to be. I call that selective reading/listening.:D
After the first night, there is no excuse. ;)

[Osnab]

[quote name='whogo']A good topic of conversation with your tablemates on the first night would be the difficult job the waiters have and how the punctuality of cruisers affects them. Also discuss whether to keep the same seats at the table every night or switch.[/QUOTE]

Oh Whogo, I LOVE these ideas! I do get tired of the same old "Where ya from?" and "How is the weather there?" although they are good conversation starters. (This is why I don't care for the Anytime Dining, because I got tired of these same questions 7 nights in a row with different people.)

And by bringing up the difficult nature of the job, you are kindly pointing out that it's only polite and proper to be on time.

And I also like the idea of switching seats because it seems that there have been times that someone has the primo view and someone else doesn't; therefore, switching is fair to everyone.

Great ideas!!
Felicia

[Osnab]

[quote name='BobBeaSea']No offense taken :). If I am a newbie to cruising and don't know the drill, I read the Compass for the 1st day and it says: Main Seating 6:00 pm & Second Seating 8:30 pm. Now if I am used to resorts and we are on Main Seating I'm thinking-OK, our dinner time is between 6-8:30, let's go down around 7:15 or so. [/QUOTE]

Excellent point, Bob. I do wonder how many people really go down "late" because they truly didn't understand. It'd be an interesting survey. We could poll everyone who was ever late and ask "Were you unsure about your time? Or were you just rude and selfish?" LOL

I am always punctual, and like to feel I'm usually polite; however, I will say once I didn't show up for dinner because I was winning at 3 Card Poker and wasn't about to leave! THAT was pretty rude, I'm sure, but honestly I didn't even think that it would have inconvenienced others. I figured it out later, but the damage had been done.

I think it's the people who are consistently 15+ mins late that are selfish.
Felicia

[kingsgirl]

[quote name='Don Haynes']And if you don't tip, most likely Royal Caribbean will follow the other cruise lines and implement the dreaded automatic surcharge. When it comes to the point where no one tips, or most don't, just to keep their employees Royal Caribbean will be forced to implement the automatic tip, or have no employees.[/quote]


Or they could increase their wages, and everyone could stop harping on the tipping issue.

I've never had a reason not to tip any staff, but by golly, if you suck, you get nothing. (just ignore this comment if you disagree, just a sore spot for me!)

BTW - this is a good topic. I haven't ever missed the dining room (only been on one cruise and we were expected to be there with the family ;) ) but I would never really thought about the reprecussions of missing and not telling anyone. Probably b/c my only cruise was with a large amount of ppl and they would know and would tell the waiter I guess.

Good point though! Not something that I would have probably thought about before this thread.

[xamsx]

[quote name='dennbr9']They should have eaten at the Buffet.

Very Rude![/quote]


They were actually very charming people - and newlyweds! We [i]assumed[/i] that's why they were late. ;):)

[cruisin from florida]

[quote name='BobBeaSea']No offense taken :). If I am a newbie to cruising and don't know the drill, I read the Compass for the 1st day and it says: Main Seating 6:00 pm & Second Seating 8:30 pm. Now if I am used to resorts and we are on Main Seating I'm thinking-OK, our dinner time is between 6-8:30, let's go down around 7:15 or so. In other words, how in the heck are they supposed to know they have to be there at 6:00 pm? You know, it would be a good idea for RCI to explain this in the "Welcome Aboard" brochure that is in your cabin along with the Day 1 Compass. This Welcome Aboard brochure has a very nice FAQ section but the timeliness issue of the dining room is not mentioned. Nowhere in this brochure or the Day 1 Compass does it state or stress being on time.

As for being polite, there is a good chance they won't even know they are dining with strangers :)[/QUOTE]

I was thinking the exact same thing! Someone BRAND NEW to cruising could certainly think that main seating at 6:00 and second at 8:30 means that is when the dining room opens for those seatings. I cringe when someone who is TRYING to become well-informed by trying to clarify this on this board is told that she should just pick a later seating if she is going to arrive at 6:15, or that she must be someone who is always late if she's even asking....

It is amazing to me that the same people who complain that folks don't know how to behave on a cruise ship jump all over those who are trying to learn on the CC board.

For many, cruising is a totally new vacation experience. I want to thank the OP for asking the question and the many posters who answered her in the spirit of helpfulness.

[disneygirl8]

[quote name='mheeren']I was thinking the exact same thing! Someone BRAND NEW to cruising could certainly think that main seating at 6:00 and second at 8:30 means that is when the dining room opens for those seatings. I cringe when someone who is TRYING to become well-informed by trying to clarify this on this board is told that she should just pick a later seating if she is going to arrive at 6:15, or that she must be someone who is always late if she's even asking....

It is amazing to me that the same people who complain that folks don't know how to behave on a cruise ship jump all over those who are trying to learn on the CC board.

For many, cruising is a totally new vacation experience. I want to thank the OP for asking the question and the many posters who answered her in the spirit of helpfulness.[/quote]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
I agree completely and couldn't have said it better myself! I really didn't know the answer because I have never been on a cruise - THAT is why I asked the question!! I am trying to learn the rules so that I can do the right thing! These posters who jump all over those of us asking innocent questions really need to take some kind of anger management classes! ;)

[cruisenfever]

I have been following this topic and have now just gotten out a Daily Planner (which is page 3 of the Daily Compass) that we received on our last cruise on Radiance. It clearly states

6:00 pm-----------Main Seating, Cascades Dining Room-----Decks 4, 5
8:30 pm-----------Seating, Cascades Dining Room----------Decks 4, 5
6:30-9:00 pm------Casual Dining, Windjammer Cafe

Now, if I were a first time cruiser I would look at my SeaPass Card, that I am given once I have checked in at the pier, to see if I had Main Seating/Second Seating (though you should know this well before you sail as you are asked that question when you initially book a cruise). I would then check my Daily Planner (page 3 of The Daily Compass) that is waiting for me on my bed and check to see exactly what time my dining time is.

The way it is listed in the Daily Planner clearly shows that there are two different dining times. It does not indicate that dinner is served between 6:00 and 8:30. That's why there is Main Seating and Second Seating. It really can't be explained any simpler than it is.

If I still had no idea what my dining time was I would go to Guest Relations.

[manuelstar]

One more reason to start with Anytime/Personal Choice Dining from 6pm to 10 pm on one floor of the main dining room at least on the Voyager and Freedom class ships for those people who don`t want to have a fixed schedule but still want to enjoy the dining room and not the windjammer.

[Osnab]

[quote name='mheeren']I was thinking the exact same thing! Someone BRAND NEW to cruising could certainly think that main seating at 6:00 and second at 8:30 means that is when the dining room opens for those seatings. I cringe when someone who is TRYING to become well-informed by trying to clarify this on this board is told that she should just pick a later seating if she is going to arrive at 6:15, or that she must be someone who is always late if she's even asking....[/QUOTE]

I pulled out an old activities listing and it says 6:15pm Main Seating Dinner and under that it says 8:30pm Late Seating Dinner. I don't see how it can be construed as you can come between 6:15pm andn 8:30pm, but that's just me.
I agree that the OP was blasted by some, merely by asking a question. I think the people who blasted her were assuming she was saying she was going to be late, period, when that's not what she meant at all.
Felicia

[whogo]

[quote name='manuelstar']One more reason to start with Anytime/Personal Choice Dining from 6pm to 10 pm on one floor of the main dining room at least on the Voyager and Freedom class ships for those people who don`t want to have a fixed schedule but still want to enjoy the dining room and not the windjammer.[/quote]Or just shut the doors to those that are late.