Arriving late at Dining Room?

[lisastep]

Hi All

 

Am hoping you experienced travellers can help me with my question.

 

Only 2 weeks to go now until our Navigator of the Seas Cruise around the Med with two children!

 

We are booked into the early dinner sitting at 6.15, and wondered if you are required to attend at that specific time? The reason I ask is that we have an 8 month old, and he is usually ready to go to bed at around 6.30 p.m., so would really like to give him his last bottle and put him to sleep in the pushchair and wheel him fast asleep into the dining room, so that DH, other son and myself can eat dinner peacefully!! We have a private table, so it's not that others will be waiting for us to join. I would imagine we would then be in the dining room at about 6.45 for us to start our dinner. Is this acceptable?

 

I know it can be a long dinner, but for us and our 4.5 year old I can see us wanting to eat a bit quicker and get it over with sooner, so that we can go and do other things in the evening before he gets too tired.

 

Any input would be great....esp from those with young families!!

 

Thanks

 

Lisa

[wakelover]

I believe that first seating is split again into 2 start times (dont quote me on this though but it was on our last Med cruise on Brilliance) so check you Compass when you get on board and maybe ask if you could do the later "first" sitting.

 

We would love to see you on the roll call for this cruise. We are a nice bunch and have a good thread going....follow the link if you are interested in saying hello. Most of us are from the UK.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=9893094#post9893094

 

Sorry I cant help more with your question but I'm sure someone will have better info than me.

 

See you soon.....:D

 

PS: Also, if you have your own table you could just tell your waiter that you will be a few minutes late....

PPS: You may want to check the location of your table too as soon as you get on board...just in case the buggy blocks a walk way etc for the waiters. You dont want to have to keep moving it every 5 mins for them to get by.

[cruisinfanatic]

Even though you have your own table, the other tables your waiter is waiting on will be affected. Your waiter will have extra trips to make and thus slower service for everyone. It's best to be there when your dinner time is.

[TEXASMUNK]

Don't forget your little one will be making an adjustment to time zones, just like you.

If you can 'adjust" just enough to make the first seating time, it will make life much easier on you and on your wait staff.

[Rala]

One other thing to consider-are you absolutely positive that you have a "private" table? Table size can be requested, but it is not an "etched-in-stone" guarantee that you will be assigned the table you have requested.

 

I agree with the above poster who said that a little flexability on your part will be a good thing. The fact that you asked your question shows you are a considerate cruiser. Have a wonderful cruise with your family!

[HookLine&Sinker]

I agree with the others that it is most considerate to all concerned if you keep to your 6:30 seating time. Even though you have a table for just your family it would still affect your waiters and the other tables he is serving.

 

But don't forget that if you have a night where your little one is having trouble falling asleep or something you can always dine at the Windjammer. Hubby can run in and let your waiter know you won't be there that night so they won't hold the other tables up waiting for you and you can go to the Windjammer at whatever time works best for you and your family. The Windjammer has a nice set up for dinner, different from lunch and breakfast.

 

Don't worry too much about it ahead of time as you will have plenty of options. Travelling with little ones can be so unpredictable at times so maybe you can just play it by ear each night. Don't let it stress you out and make sure you have a good time!

[ollienbertsmum]

Lisa

 

I know travelling with young children you have to be fairly flexible - mine are now at the age when we are late because everyone spends to long in the bathroom and with hair irons :eek:

 

The windjammer is a very good option, but also don't forget that you are probably travelling across a time zone. I think that you must live in the UK, and here in the Med it is an hour later, so if you stick to the baby's bedtime, he will go to sleep 5.45 pm max and then you can get ready in peace. OK so he will be up a bit early in the morning, but you and hubby can take it in turns and you can always nap by the pool in the afternoon on days when you don't have trips - or you will all be having early nights.

[dolfansam]

Hi All

 

Am hoping you experienced travellers can help me with my question.

 

Only 2 weeks to go now until our Navigator of the Seas Cruise around the Med with two children!

 

We are booked into the early dinner sitting at 6.15, and wondered if you are required to attend at that specific time? The reason I ask is that we have an 8 month old, and he is usually ready to go to bed at around 6.30 p.m., so would really like to give him his last bottle and put him to sleep in the pushchair and wheel him fast asleep into the dining room, so that DH, other son and myself can eat dinner peacefully!! We have a private table, so it's not that others will be waiting for us to join. I would imagine we would then be in the dining room at about 6.45 for us to start our dinner. Is this acceptable?

 

I know it can be a long dinner, but for us and our 4.5 year old I can see us wanting to eat a bit quicker and get it over with sooner, so that we can go and do other things in the evening before he gets too tired.

 

Any input would be great....esp from those with young families!!

 

Thanks

 

Lisa

 

We traveled with an almost 3 year old, a 6 year old and a 9 year old on a cruise. You will not have to worry about a thing with the 4 1/2 year old. He will be entertained watching everything going on. You will not have to do anything. The waiters will just short of hand feed the child for you. You should have seen the face on the waiter when the 3-year-old ordered Lobster on seafood night. It was priceless. He also looked so cute in his tuxedo. He wore it both nights and somehow kept it clean. His picture in front of the grand staircase garnered so much attention that the photographer asked if he could keep it on the display as he had never seen a picture stop so many people in their tracks.

[HurricaneSally]

Every cruise I have been on had a sign on the dining room door that there was no admittance for dinner later than 15 minutes of dining start time.

[ollienbertsmum]

15 minutes and you are too late - Thats good to know - you miss the time, then you have to make other plans for the dinner - and you know that there are alternatives - even room service (although I have only used it for breakfast).

[wakelover]

We traveled with an almost 3 year old, a 6 year old and a 9 year old on a cruise. You will not have to worry about a thing with the 4 1/2 year old. He will be entertained watching everything going on. You will not have to do anything. The waiters will just short of hand feed the child for you. You should have seen the face on the waiter when the 3-year-old ordered Lobster on seafood night. It was priceless. He also looked so cute in his tuxedo. He wore it both nights and somehow kept it clean. His picture in front of the grand staircase garnered so much attention that the photographer asked if he could keep it on the display as he had never seen a picture stop so many people in their tracks.

That's the cutest thing...:)

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Every cruise I have been on had a sign on the dining room door that there was no admittance for dinner later than 15 minutes of dining start time.

 

I was about to post the same thing Sally.

I believe it is rude to show up late, it throws everything off schedule, especially rude if this occurs every night. I don't appreciate waiting for any other table mates to show up and neither does your waiter! ;)

 

***

[leoandhugh]

to summarize: you be flexible and adhere to the schedule. To be late even if you have the table just for your family is inconsiderate and rude because by impacting on your waiters and servers, you are impacting the other tables upon which they wait. Kitchens on ships are not "short order"; courses are set to come out at certain times during dinner. If you are 30 minutes late, the wait staff has to special order for you as your first course in the kitchen has already been replaced on the serving areas with soup and salad. and so it goes. So this is your opportunity to see just how flexible your young children are; they roll with the punches better than we adults, and we tend to forget that.:)

[elleluv]

Every cruise I have been on had a sign on the dining room door that there was no admittance for dinner later than 15 minutes of dining start time.

 

 

I haven't ever seen one of those signs, but that is our personal rule of thumb.... If we aren't going to be able to be there within 15 minutes of our dinner time, we let our waiter know and eat somewhere else...

[threeofus]

Thus the reason many people like personal choice dining on Princess and Freestyle on NCL.

Don't flame me - I like RCL - just don't like the inflexible dinner schedule.

[julieanne]

Hi All

 

Am hoping you experienced travellers can help me with my question.

 

Only 2 weeks to go now until our Navigator of the Seas Cruise around the Med with two children!

 

We are booked into the early dinner sitting at 6.15, and wondered if you are required to attend at that specific time? The reason I ask is that we have an 8 month old, and he is usually ready to go to bed at around 6.30 p.m., so would really like to give him his last bottle and put him to sleep in the pushchair and wheel him fast asleep into the dining room, so that DH, other son and myself can eat dinner peacefully!! We have a private table, so it's not that others will be waiting for us to join. I would imagine we would then be in the dining room at about 6.45 for us to start our dinner. Is this acceptable?

 

I know it can be a long dinner, but for us and our 4.5 year old I can see us wanting to eat a bit quicker and get it over with sooner, so that we can go and do other things in the evening before he gets too tired.

 

Any input would be great....esp from those with young families!!

 

Thanks

 

Lisa

You also impact the 2nd seating as the waiters have to get the table ready for the last seating. Although many will serve you if you arrive late, our last trip we had diners that were turned away for being late to the dining room.

It is absolutely unacceptable to be 1/2 hour late to the dining room. The wait staff works over 12 hours per day and they must be exhautsed when their day ends! :o

[Mikew0805]

Hi All

 

Am hoping you experienced travellers can help me with my question.

 

Only 2 weeks to go now until our Navigator of the Seas Cruise around the Med with two children!

 

We are booked into the early dinner sitting at 6.15, and wondered if you are required to attend at that specific time? The reason I ask is that we have an 8 month old, and he is usually ready to go to bed at around 6.30 p.m., so would really like to give him his last bottle and put him to sleep in the pushchair and wheel him fast asleep into the dining room, so that DH, other son and myself can eat dinner peacefully!! We have a private table, so it's not that others will be waiting for us to join. I would imagine we would then be in the dining room at about 6.45 for us to start our dinner. Is this acceptable?

 

I know it can be a long dinner, but for us and our 4.5 year old I can see us wanting to eat a bit quicker and get it over with sooner, so that we can go and do other things in the evening before he gets too tired.

 

Any input would be great....esp from those with young families!!

 

Thanks

 

Lisa

 

How about just go to the dining room, and ask your waiter if it will be a problem. If he/she says that it won't.. then you are fine.

[Rala]

Mike, if you were the waiter basically working for tips what would you say? If it was going to be a problem, I doubt the waiter would say so. They will say whatever they think you want to hear if it will keep them in your good graces. If I were the waiter, I would do exactly the same thing. JMO

[bplazo]

I agree, your server is not going to tell you that you are being a problem when you show up late for dinner. If we knew we were not going to be on time we made other arrangements and let the server know this.

[vator90]

We have encountered something similar to your situation. What we did was ask if we could order our drinks and apetizers for the next night before leaving the dining room. They would bring us a menu and let my DW arrange her apetizer, salad and drink before hand. Also, if the older one will be going to A/O you can arrange their food ahead of time as well, usually. That way, we did not hold up any of our fellow diners and service flowed as normal. One side note, if you are not going to attend dinner in the dining room, let them know before hand so they arent bringing out food and you wont be there. Hope this helps.

[threeofus]

We have encountered something similar to your situation. What we did was ask if we could order our drinks and apetizers for the next night before leaving the dining room. They would bring us a menu and let my DW arrange her apetizer, salad and drink before hand. Also, if the older one will be going to A/O you can arrange their food ahead of time as well, usually. That way, we did not hold up any of our fellow diners and service flowed as normal. One side note, if you are not going to attend dinner in the dining room, let them know before hand so they arent bringing out food and you wont be there. Hope this helps.

 

Now THAT is a great idea.

You're not holding anyone up! I can't find any fault with that.

That's what these boards are for...people helping people.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I agree with the others that say it's not right to show up late. At least you wouldn't have others at your table waiting for you, but they have assigned times for a reason. It's so the next seating isn't messed up.

 

If you have to do this anyway, do what the others suggested and explain the situation to your server when he's not busy & stressed out. See what kind of a solution he comes up with and go with that.

[shancan911]

To run with Vator's idea...Why not send DH and DS along if you're having trouble getting the little one down. They could get started, and DH should know what to order you, when the two of you make it down there, your food (hopefully only apps and salad) and everyone should be happy:confused:

[Mikew0805]

Mike, if you were the waiter basically working for tips what would you say? If it was going to be a problem, I doubt the waiter would say so. They will say whatever they think you want to hear if it will keep them in your good graces. If I were the waiter, I would do exactly the same thing. JMO

 

That is a very good point Rala, I would probably say the same thing too. However, I don't think it is right for us to say that being 15 minutes late to the dining room each evening will throw everyone from the other guests, the waiters, and the kitchen off the mark... we don't know this for sure.

 

The reason I say is.. When we were on the Splendour, I inadvertently booked a spa appointment at 7pm one day, and 6pm the next. I told our waitress that I would skip the dessert & coffee since I needed to leave by 6:55, and that I would not be there the next day as I didn't think it would be out on time.

 

She said... I will pick up your courses early and you can eat your full meal before you leave. Also, she showed me a menu for the next day and asked if I knew what I wanted and she would make sure it was ready, so that I could show up late, and not have to eat at the Windjammer. This worked great!

 

Well as far as what everyone is saying here is that I should have eaten in the Windjammer or cancel my appointments, rather than take the advice of my waitress. I'm glad I took her advice, and it caused no disruption to the other passengers in the dining room.

 

So it's not a hard fast rule, that showing up late is going to be disrespectful to other people. I posted earlier because if I had not said anything to my waitress, then I would have made decisions not knowing all the information. Maybe that could help the OP as well. :)

 

-Mike