Dining Service on NCL - Please be honest

[M&MCruisin]

A question to readers/cruisers of NCL: I was on Spirit in July and just got off the Jewel. I found that on both occassions there were long waits in the 6:30 to 7:30 zone at the major, free restaurants. Most annoyingly there were actually long waits to just get the beeper to wait even more. Is this common fleet wide? I was on Crown and Dawn just a few years ago and this was not the case, even with freestyle. Can folks weigh in with their own experiences?

 

I have only been on the Pearl and that was in March of 2007 on a 10 day cruise. I did not wait one time the entire week for any restaurant. I made a reservation each morning for that night and dined about the same time you are referring. I ate LaCucina's (free when I was on board), Cagney's twice, Mambos (free) twice, ate in each of the main dining rooms one time and I ate in the buffet once. Im missing a day somewhere...cant remember where I ate.

[oz cleopatra]

At any rate, the only place we encountered a little slower service was Le Bistro. The serving crew that evening more than made up for the lags.....friendliest group we encountered!:D

 

It did make me think of one other thing though...we lived in Europe for several years and went back to visit friends a few years ago. Dining there is an event...it's a time to enjoy the food, the conversation and the people you are with. For the most part, you will almost have to ask for the check, especially true in France where even when people were lined outside the door of a neighborhood bistro, we were never just kicked out because we had completed our meal. I was told one time by my German doctor that Americans just rush everything....could it be really that we have forgotten what it is like to enjoy those in our company?

 

BINGO!!! I was about to say the same thing. I am from Australia where the European way of life is very common regarding dinner. We used to take hours at dinner and still do here. 5 hours at the Four Seasons once!! I had lunch in Texas with family and they would be getting the check while I was still eating!!!:eek: Sit back, people. Relax, chat with your party and ENJOY. Sip your wine and watch the world go by. Don't just eat- DINE. My husband and I have a little joke about Americans- they are always in a hurry to do nothing!!:D

[momofmeg]

I also get so frustrated when people post that the service is slow in the dining room. Any good restaurant worth it's salt takes 2 to 3 hours to serve a complete meal, appetizer to dessert. It is supposed to be a leisurely, enjoyable experience to be savored, letting each course settle. It also means that you can eat more (ha-ha). If you want fast, that is what the buffet is for. We love lingering over our food and catching up with our companions on how the day went and what are the plans for tomorrow. We just ate the other night at a restaurant by the river, arriving at 6:30PM and leaving at 9PM. Slow down and smell the roses! Bigred

 

Every cruiseline I have been on takes an hour and a half in the main dinning room and over 2 hours for the specialty restaurant.

[elron]

they are always in a hurry to do nothing!!:D

Is that like, speeding on the highway to go nowhere?

[oz cleopatra]

Is that like, speeding on the highway to go nowhere?

 

YES! Exactly....:) I love the ones that roar around you just so they can hit that red light that much faster. Yeah, burn through 5 dollars worth of gas for the privilege.:rolleyes:

[elron]

YES! Exactly....:) I love the ones that roar around you just so they can hit that red light that much faster. Yeah, burn through 5 dollars worth of gas for the privilege.:rolleyes:

YEP! Some people!

[tiggerfan616]

I cant remember waiting more the 15min to be seated, and that was at Tzars on the Jewel in Jan. Because of our hectic home schedule we are used to eating late when not cruising, usually between 7 and 8. Unless I get lucky and my MIL cooks then they are ready for dinner at 4:30, lol.

 

We always ate and had plenty of time for the show, some nights even enough for a drink and a little walk around the deck. I must admit that I am one of those fast eaters cant help it, being in the military you usually had 10-15mins for a meal, some habits are hard to break.

[Billy31]

Never had to wait and the service was excellent on the Dawn.

[hawaiilvr]

On the Spirit in July, we had wait times in Windows once - the final night around 6:00. We waited about 20 minutes - they gave us a pager. The dinner service was great. Dinner took about 1 1/2 hours. The Garden Room was always busier, and we had to wait a couple of times - about 15 minutes each time, but it was immediately after the ship left port each time about 8:00 PM. Service in the Garden Room was more prompt, but it was very busy and I think they were trying to get is through dinner more quickly to acommodate the rest of the patrons.

[fivegirl]

The post was to find out if this is now a fleetwide situation on NCL for some reason. It did not occur on two previous NCL sailings, but this summer it was constant. For me I do not want to spend up to an hour each night waiting for dinner. If that is the case, I would prefer to go back to fixed seating.

[Host Kewlguy]

A question to readers/cruisers of NCL: I was on Spirit in July and just got off the Jewel. I found that on both occassions there were long waits in the 6:30 to 7:30 zone at the major, free restaurants. Most annoyingly there were actually long waits to just get the beeper to wait even more. Is this common fleet wide? I was on Crown and Dawn just a few years ago and this was not the case, even with freestyle. Can folks weigh in with their own experiences?

 

We avoid eating at peak dining times and never had to wait once on the Dawn this past week. "Freestyle Cruising" isn't that difficult to figure out once you've done it a couple of times. We always made a reservation for every restaurant we dined in and never encountered any problems. Now it will be an adjustment going back to the set dining times again on the traditional cruise lines.

[ute_fan]

The post was to find out if this is now a fleetwide situation on NCL for some reason. It did not occur on two previous NCL sailings, but this summer it was constant. For me I do not want to spend up to an hour each night waiting for dinner. If that is the case, I would prefer to go back to fixed seating.

 

Even though we experienced problems with waiting on our recent Dawn cruise, I don't think I'd go as far as saying it's a fleetwide situation. I've got some CC friends who cruised on the Dawn 2 or 3 weeks after we did, and they didn't experience any of the same issues. Why we did, I'll never know, but I will sympathize with you and say that some weeks there may be problems.

[daldog]

Interesting. We just off the Star two days ago - once we were seated, if anything I would have said the meals in the dining rooms were fast - almost too fast for me. I would barely have my spoon/fork down from my app and my dinner plate would be there. I personally like a minute or two in between and there was none! We were only a party of two though.

 

We ate during prime time, and we only waited once to get in and in was only a matter of a few minutes.

[terrymtex01]

BINGO!!! I was about to say the same thing. I am from Australia where the European way of life is very common regarding dinner. We used to take hours at dinner and still do here. 5 hours at the Four Seasons once!! I had lunch in Texas with family and they would be getting the check while I was still eating!!!:eek: Sit back, people. Relax, chat with your party and ENJOY. Sip your wine and watch the world go by. Don't just eat- DINE. My husband and I have a little joke about Americans- they are always in a hurry to do nothing!!:D

 

You have no idea how much I wanted to be offended by this, but just couldn't be. I don't know about all Texans, but it is true for us for sure. We always have our credit card out waiting for the server before we have finished our dinner. I can't speak for other Texans, but I can tell you why we do it. Both of us were raised where you eat your dinner, then you move to a more comfortable room after dinner for dessert and/or coffee. So when we are done eating, it is very uncomfortable for us to sit in the dining chairs. We are ready for our wonderful sofa's, etc. Does not matter if we are eating out or what.

 

It also reminded me of something I found very amusing when I worked for a company a few years back. That company's headquarters is in Seattle, WA. Home of Starbucks. I had some co-workers fly to Dallas once for some meetings and they asked me to take them to Starbucks. They literally could not believe their eyes when they saw our Starbucks have drive through windows. They kept asking me did we not realize the whole point of Starbucks was to sit down, enjoy your coffee and relax? I told them no.. not for Texans. The point of Starbucks for us was to have the added burst of energy to making it from one of our oil wells to the next oil well on our 5000 acre ranches.. LOL..After all, that is how we are all here in Texas.. right?? heheheheh

[Host Kewlguy]

BINGO!!! I was about to say the same thing. I am from Australia where the European way of life is very common regarding dinner. We used to take hours at dinner and still do here. 5 hours at the Four Seasons once!! I had lunch in Texas with family and they would be getting the check while I was still eating!!!:eek: Sit back, people. Relax, chat with your party and ENJOY. Sip your wine and watch the world go by. Don't just eat- DINE. My husband and I have a little joke about Americans- they are always in a hurry to do nothing!!:D

 

When I'm on vacation I've got better things to do than sit in a dining room for 3+ hours talking about nothing. We eat our dinner and leave usually within an hour or so. There are so many other activities to do rather than to sit on my butt and eat for hours on end. Think of all the time you waste eating while you could be sightseeing and experiencing the country you're visiting.

[CanadianTwosome]

I haven't read the thread, I'm just going to answer the question... and I promise to be honest!! (why would anyone not be?)

 

On our last two NCL cruises - one on the Dream, which has only one main dining room and two specialties, and one on the Star, the longest wait we had for any meal was about fifteen minutes, and none of our meals were particularly long. We also loved all the food.

 

We travel during off-peak times and eat early. That should be taken into account when considering our experience. :)

[oz cleopatra]

When I'm on vacation I've got better things to do than sit in a dining room for 3+ hours talking about nothing. We eat our dinner and leave usually within an hour or so. There are so many other activities to do rather than to sit on my butt and eat for hours on end. Think of all the time you waste eating while you could be sightseeing and experiencing the country you're visiting.

 

 

I am so sorry for you that you have nothing to offer a conversation. And uh, we are talking about CRUISING- not traveling and visiting countries persay in the typical sense. And it's nighttime when you eat anyway. Sightseeing is usually done during the day in any case. And I might be going out a on a limb here:rolleyes: but would you believe some people find the point of a cruise IS to sit back, relax and enjoy the company of loved ones. I suggest for you a Contiki Tour. That way you can freely gallop away- ten countries in seven days with no time to breathe. Enjoy!!:D

[oz cleopatra]

You have no idea how much I wanted to be offended by this, but just couldn't be. I don't know about all Texans, but it is true for us for sure. We always have our credit card out waiting for the server before we have finished our dinner. I can't speak for other Texans, but I can tell you why we do it. Both of us were raised where you eat your dinner, then you move to a more comfortable room after dinner for dessert and/or coffee. So when we are done eating, it is very uncomfortable for us to sit in the dining chairs. We are ready for our wonderful sofa's, etc. Does not matter if we are eating out or what.

 

It also reminded me of something I found very amusing when I worked for a company a few years back. That company's headquarters is in Seattle, WA. Home of Starbucks. I had some co-workers fly to Dallas once for some meetings and they asked me to take them to Starbucks. They literally could not believe their eyes when they saw our Starbucks have drive through windows. They kept asking me did we not realize the whole point of Starbucks was to sit down, enjoy your coffee and relax? I told them no.. not for Texans. The point of Starbucks for us was to have the added burst of energy to making it from one of our oil wells to the next oil well on our 5000 acre ranches.. LOL..After all, that is how we are all here in Texas.. right?? heheheheh

 

 

FUNNY! :D I suggest wine for all texans, then. Make you relax a bit!!! Sheesh!!!;)

[ute_fan]

I find all the comments about dining times interesting, and how long everyone thinks dinner should take. I'm pretty sure, however, that wasn't what was bothering the OP. It was the amount of time that it was taking to get IN the restaurant so that she could start her dinner hour (or two).

[sottovoce]

On our last two NCL cruises - one on the Dream, which has only one main dining room and two specialties...

Unless NCL converted one of Dream's two main dining rooms recently, she has in fact TWO main dining rooms: Seven Seas midship and Terraces aft, both on deck 9. The Italian dining room is above Terraces on deck 11 (it shows in deck plans as "Sun Terrace") and Le Bistro is between Seven Seas and Terraces on deck 9.

 

Not that it matters anymore as Dream is leaving the NCL fleet.

[CanadianTwosome]

Unless NCL converted one of Dream's two main dining rooms recently, she has in fact TWO main dining rooms: Seven Seas midship and Terraces aft, both on deck 9. The Italian dining room is above Terraces on deck 11 (it shows in deck plans as "Sun Terrace") and Le Bistro is between Seven Seas and Terraces on deck 9.

 

Not that it matters anymore as Dream is leaving the NCL fleet.

 

Oops! My bad!! We didn't ever eat there, so I completely forgot it existed!!

[oz cleopatra]

I find all the comments about dining times interesting, and how long everyone thinks dinner should take. I'm pretty sure, however, that wasn't what was bothering the OP. It was the amount of time that it was taking to get IN the restaurant so that she could start her dinner hour (or two).

 

Thread hijacking on the internet? Never!!!!:D

[Griller]

I wouldn't have cared about the slow service on Jewel recently if the food had been hot when it was served to us. But it was usually cold or just warm.

 

Never had a long line to get into the main dining room.

 

The specialty restaurants are mostly not as good as they used to be, but there are far fewer diners in them now, not surprising.

 

IMHO there is nothing special about an NCL cruise now, its just run of the mill plain ordinary.

 

Its Denny's at sea I guess is the closest I could come.

[NJ04SS]

On the Dawn, the seating was prompt, the food service was not long, but wasn't like a fast food joint either. I actually enjoyed it, they gave you enough time to eat and didn't rush you, but they weren't slow by far. We sat basically during those times if not a little earlier.....

[M&MCruisin]

Getting in to the restaurants... Im not sure that we can really pin point that it is a fleet wide phenomenom. Each cruise has different set of people who desire different things. Maybe the OP's last 2 cruises just happened to have a large amount of people that preferred to eat at the same time and the same restaurants. It's the luck of the draw almost. For us, which I have already mentioned, we didnt wait not even a minute to be seated for an entire 10 day cruise. We sailed in March out of FL to the Southern Caribbean.

 

Its kind of like voting yesterday...my darn line was huge (H-L) and everyone else's line was short...it wasnt the precincts fault...its all those people that HAD to get up the same time I did with the same darn last names...:eek: Plus, I guess its my husbands fault for giving me this darn name:D

 

Same principal...cant control who comes to eat when. Ive been lucky so far!