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Dinner Question

cruisin1982

By cruisin1982,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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cruisin1982

cruisin1982

Posted
Posted

Does anyone know how long the dinners are. I heard that they are +2.5 hours. We are set for the late seating but don't want to get done with dinner at 11:00 and won't be able to enjoy the night time entertainment. Thanks for your help.

 

Mike

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2muchcc

2muchcc

Posted
Posted

It also depends how fast you eat! Not just you, but your whole table. It would be quite frustrating if your table had 2 groups and the speeds were very different. Or else if one group ordered 3 dishes of all 5 courses, whilst the other group just wanted one dish per course.

If the worst comes to the worst, you can excuse always yourself and get down from the table when you want.

We had a table adjacent to ours who wolfed down their food and were done well before we had finished our main course.

The wait staff will go at the pace of your table. They will not keep you longer than necessary, as they have had a long day too.

Enjoy your cruise ...

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pholter

pholter

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If you are having a great time with your tablemates and enjoying wine with your courses as well as possibly double entrees and/or appetizers, then you might be closer to 2 hours. One and 1/2 hours is about the norm. though. They allow 30 minutes between seatings to reset the dining room if I'm not mistaken.

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hammsz

hammsz

Posted
Posted

You get there when you want leave when you want. You can eat good and be gone in less than an hour, or you can really enjoy dinner and get outta there in 1.5-2 hours. You could forgo the appetizer and go straight to salad, meal, dessert. You are the boss. They cater to YOU. Do as you please. Dinner was my favorite part of the cruise, they lost money on me.

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lynnber

lynnber

Posted
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For the large production shows, they always give time for you to get to it after each dinner seating. You may not get the best seat, but you'll certainly get there in time. Most of the other nighttime entertainment is pretty much ongoing.

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happy cruzin

happy cruzin

Posted
Posted
Well, not exactly.;)

You should arrive on time, at your scheduled time, not whenever you choose.

 

I agree with Cotton on this one. Nothing like being held up by people who arrive late and then expect to be catered to :eek: .

 

On our Legend cruise there was a couple who showed up late - 45 minutes to an hour after the seating time. Although they were not at our table we did share waitstaff. Gary and his assistant did the best that they could - but their tardiness did effect our service.

 

There is a rhythm to serving multiple tables. When you arrive late or try to rush through it will effect that rhythm. Please consider your table mates and waitstaff - they will also be effected by your choice.

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Cotton

Cotton

Posted
Posted
I agree with Cotton on this one. Nothing like being held up by people who arrive late and then expect to be catered to :eek: .

 

On our Legend cruise there was a couple who showed up late - 45 minutes to an hour after the seating time. Their tardiness did effect our service.

 

That is beyond rude.:rolleyes: On two cruises, I've been seated near the entrance to the dining room. I have seen Maitre d' close the doors, and politely refuse entrance to those who were even 20 minutes late. Hooray for those Maitre d' !

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SATXLady

SATXLady

Posted
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I agree with Cotton on this one. Nothing like being held up by people who arrive late and then expect to be catered to :eek: .

 

On our Legend cruise there was a couple who showed up late - 45 minutes to an hour after the seating time. Although they were not at our table we did share waitstaff. Gary and his assistant did the best that they could - but their tardiness did effect our service.

 

There is a rhythm to serving multiple tables. When you arrive late or try to rush through it will effect that rhythm. Please consider your table mates and waitstaff - they will also be effected by your choice.

 

I agree with you as well. Unfortunately, from reading these boards, I've learned that there are a fair number of people who don't give a rat's patooie if they inconvenience others as long as they get what they want because they are on vacation and feel intitled to do what they want when they want and all others be damned. (Actually, I already knew that from experience even before reading these boards but it's been reinforced here.)

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happy cruzin

happy cruzin

Posted
Posted
That is beyond rude.:rolleyes: On two cruises, I've been seated near the entrance to the dining room. I have seen Maitre d' close the doors, and politely refuse entrance to those who were even 20 minutes late. Hooray for those Maitre d' !

 

I'm not sure that it really matters but we were seated upstairs. I suppose it is possible that they came in the upper entrance and bypassed the Maitre d' :eek: all together- but I do not know for sure.

 

I always thought that they politely turned people away after a reasonable amount of time. So DH and I were shocked when this couple was allowed to come a go in when it was convenient for them. Go figure...:cool:

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racyguy14619

racyguy14619

Posted
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There are certain courtesies that are expected of everyone in life and on a cruise -- like showing up ON TIME for your dinner seating, and dressing up for formal nights. You can get what you want without inconveniencing others if you make half an effort to not be a jerk and try to make a reasonable attempt to "follow the rules".

 

Years ago, my first wife and I (not on a cruise) had dinner with friends who insisted upon ordering and finishing their salads before they would even consider looking at the dinner menu. It was one of the longest and most excrutiating dinners of my life, and I heavily tipped our waiter for having to put up with our friends. Life is much easier if you make an effort to "go with the flow", and don't try to turn things upside-down all of the time.

 

Thankfully, I'm a duck -- it just rolls off of me :rolleyes:

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cruisin1982

cruisin1982

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Thankl you for the the great info. I didn't mean to cause any hard feelings between any of you. I wished my TA had provided us with more details. I knew about the seatings just didn't know it could be as long.

 

Thank you

Mike

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annabelle722

annabelle722

Posted
Posted

My DH and I were on the Celebration 2/24/07 and had a great time! We went to the dining room the first 3 nights(8:00).Three out of 5, not too bad for DH to agree to. We had a table for 8 but only 4 of us showed while we were there. I'm usually very shy but we talked and laughed and had such a good time, we didn't think about time. We still got to do most of what we wanted.:D

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Cotton

Cotton

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Posted

Pete's correct. If you're there at your appointed time, even though there may be a little crowd, once the doors are opened it takes about 2-3 minutes to get to your table. If you get there 15-20 minutes late, you may have to dine elsewhere, as the Maitre d' will close the doors.:)

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dms_cruisers04

dms_cruisers04

Posted
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I read on here if you arrive right on time (8:00) you will wait in line to get in, but if you arrive at 8:15 you usually can walk right in. Is this accurate?? TY in advance.

If you arrive to dinner early, then you will usually have to wait since the doors are usually not opened til just before the dining time.

But even then it's nothing major, since everyone already has a seat waiting for them.

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