Temp. in Dining Room...Why so uncomfortable? What can be done?

[silverado44]

I feel the temperature in the MDR to be acceptable. I would like it to actually be a few degrees cooler. At my work, we keep the temperature at 67 degrees. Perfect.

[Cigar Dude]

I am always freezing--I mean ALWAYS. Unless it's above 85, I'm cold. I have never ever ever felt cold in the dining room. It's always consistently comfortable to me. I never feel the need to wear a sweater or more layers. It's the strangest thing. Maybe the fact that there are a lot of people in the dining room gives me the perception that it should be warmer than it is? I don't know.

 

 

Well, there you have it. This conclusively proves there is no need to raise the temperature in the dining room! :D

[45014]

Yes, more clothing can be added, but it kind of ruins the atmosphere if you are a woman and have to wear heavy pants, socks, shoes, and a sweatshirt to dine. I prefer to wear something that I can feel I look nice in and is seasonally appropriate. It would be kind of funny if a lot of people did that sometime. On other threads about dining room attire, many say they don't care what others think about their level of dressiness. I guess in order for those of us who are cold to be comfortable we should just dress warmly and look like fools. I just don't want to do that. I like dressing nicely but I am never comfortable and it disappoints me when I am so cold.

 

Really! It is never THAT cold. Take a nice sweater or shawl that can be worn with everything. I, personally don't feel like a fool just because I have a sweater or shawl on.

Just plan on wearing long sleeved dresses or tops.

[poptart]

I think part of your issue is very similar to mine. Whenever I spend a day in the nice warm sun, in the evening I am FREEZING. But to that effect I think I would rather dress a little warmer or take a sweater with me to dinner then have the serving staff sweating into my food.

 

My thoughts exactly. DH is always just right, I always freeze in MDR and theater. No problem, I just bring a sweater :D

 

I also wear a sweater all day at work--I'm cold most others are just right.

[Wolfie48]

Hi Folks,

I don't know about you but I am so tired of trying to enjoy a nice meal and being so cold (even with a sweater on) that I can't wait to get out.:eek: It really hampers my enjoyment of the dining experience which I feel is a big part of cruising. I realize that there are wait staff who are moving around and working hard, but ultimately it is the paying customer whose comfort should be a priority. I have had this porblem on most of our cruises and I have read many comments by other posters about this problem as well.

I realize also that cruise companies want to move people out of the dining room as quickly as possible,which is probably why thay do it, but it is very difficult to enjoy a meal when all you can think about is how cold you are.

Anyone have any suggestions about what we, the paying customers, can do to change this?

 

Laurie

 

I'm sorry you are uncomfortable but my DW who is always cold has never complained about the dinning room temp. You just can't make everyone happy when it comes to personal comfort. Maybe room service is the answer? :)

[Crusin6]

I love it cold in the DR but I can understand the issue on both sides. The one thing that is of concern to me would be that if they raised the temp they would go to high and with all the folks dining it could get very stuffy. There is a modern diner here in town that apparantly does not vent the dining area very well and it is obvious as soon as you enter. to me it smells off and a bit dirty, even though the diner is clean and spacious...just stuffy. I venture to guess that this is what would happen on the ship if the temp were upped.

As a matter of fact I would even bet on it.

[zqvol]

Hi Folks,

I don't know about you but I am so tired of trying to enjoy a nice meal and being so cold (even with a sweater on) that I can't wait to get out.:eek: It really hampers my enjoyment of the dining experience which I feel is a big part of cruising. I realize that there are wait staff who are moving around and working hard, but ultimately it is the paying customer whose comfort should be a priority. I have had this porblem on most of our cruises and I have read many comments by other posters about this problem as well.

I realize also that cruise companies want to move people out of the dining room as quickly as possible,which is probably why thay do it, but it is very difficult to enjoy a meal when all you can think about is how cold you are.

Anyone have any suggestions about what we, the paying customers, can do to change this?

 

Laurie

 

I find the dining room to be too warm and I wish that they could make it cooler. I think a lot of it has to do with what you are used to at home.

[dkalnas]

Carnival keeps it cold so passengers will think twice about wearing shorts to the Dining Room. :)

[Wolfie48]

Carnival keeps it cold so passengers will think twice about wearing shorts to the Dining Room. :)

 

It's not working.....:D

[Anyislandwilldo]

To make matters even worse, I am always 15 degrees colder than the average person and my BF is 15 degrees warmer than the average person. So I am use to putting on layers all the time in the car, in the house, in the resteraunt, etc. It just seems so strange to me that men wear the suits when they are normally warmer than the women and women wear sleeveless gowns or blouses when they are typically colder than the men. It seems so backwards.

[BlueC5Kitten]

Yes, more clothing can be added, but it kind of ruins the atmosphere if you are a woman and have to wear heavy pants, socks, shoes, and a sweatshirt to dine. I prefer to wear something that I can feel I look nice in and is seasonally appropriate.

 

A long sleeved sweater dress looks just as elegant and appropriate in the main dining room as a strapless or sleeveless "little black dress" in my opinion. It all depends on how you accessorize! You don't have to wear heavy pants, socks and heavy shoes or a sweatshirt. If you dress the sweater dress with flesh-tone tights (so you don't look bundled for dinner) and boots, the dress looks just as nice as something relatively cooler with all the warmth of wearing a sweater and long pants.

 

I guess in order for those of us who are cold to be comfortable we should just dress warmly and look like fools. I just don't want to do that. I like dressing nicely but I am never comfortable and it disappoints me when I am so cold.

 

Incidentally, who says those who dress warmly look like fools!!!???!!! If you are in an enclosed space, and you have no say regarding the temperature of the room (such as the situation described in the MDR of a ship), the best way to counter your inability to change the air temperature is to change your body temperature by dressing more warmly...so long as it is appropriate for the dining room, I don't think folks care much what you wear.

 

Another thing you might try, as was suggested earlier, was to start dinner with a warm beverage...hot coffee or hot tea. Personally, I also find that if I walk to the dining room briskly, and take the stairs instead of elevators, I am usually plenty warm by the time I arrive. And if you arrive too early, then you are stuck in the throng of people awaiting the opening of the dining room, which can get quite stuffy, in some of those stairways, as well.

 

Vigorous exercise has also shown to be linked to circulation effects and average external body temperature. Make sure you have a fun-filled and active day in port (or on the ship), that will help too. Unless you have respiratory or circulatory issues, or a disease such as Raynaud's which makes increasing your body's external temperature difficult, that is another recommendation. You will have increased your body temperature and boosted your metabolism making you that much more hungry!

[Wolfie48]

To make matters even worse, I am always 15 degrees colder than the average person and my BF is 15 degrees warmer than the average person. So I am use to putting on layers all the time in the car, in the house, in the resteraunt, etc. It just seems so strange to me that men wear the suits when they are normally warmer than the women and women wear sleeveless gowns or blouses when they are typically colder than the men. It seems so backwards.

 

It does seem backwards, but you wouldn't want to see me in a sleeveless gown. :eek:

[finoky]

... that's a tough call... mostly because how people feel temperature is so different.

 

I thrive in the cold... my wife hates the cold... We feel the cold differently...

 

If they raised the temperature, you'd hear the opposite complaint... so... what do you do about it?

 

Sounds exactly like us!

[mrsbean1990]

Haven't cruised yet, but I'd rather be cold than hot, and I'd prefer my waitstaff not to be sweating. :D

[mrsbean1990]

Carnival keeps it cold so passengers will think twice about wearing shorts to the Dining Room. :)

 

That won't deter my husband. :D

[martek]

I am one of those who needs it cool to be comfortable. I find the rooms to be too warm for my taste! To each his own, at least you can add more clothes to be comfortable, not so with me!!! :)

[cruisinmeme]

IMO the heat may have a downside rather than the cool, so they go with that. it's like a hospital, they don't keep it freezing just to tic people off and pay a big electric bill... germs thrive in the heat. so maybe having a super large group of people crammed up in the dining room with the temp roasting and baking at lease 70% of the people is not the answer. my mother is 83 yrs old and freezes at 80 degree's. my 37 yr old daughter barely cover's herself from her boobs to just below her butt, so she freeze's. maybe i am heartless but are these really good reason's for cranking the heat up.

i may be wrong but if they tried heating it up i think more people would complain that the other way around.

[elliebelle]

Seems to me that the majority feel the dinning room temp is just fine where it is and I personally agree...

 

I wear a nice shawl or sweater .. which comes in handy for a walk on the deck after dinner anyway..

 

Leave that thermometer just where it is thank you !!!

[T. Advisor King]

As a few people have already noted, it seems common that men are more often warmer than women. That is also my experience. And as a couple people have mentioned, fashion generally errs on the side of less covering for women (e.g., sleeveless dresses, open-toed shoes or sandals) and more covering for men (long sleeve shirts, pants, socks and shoes). The result, unfortunately, is that the women who are typically colder will find the dining room too cold. I'm sure there are just as many men who actually find it too hot.

 

To the original poster, one thing you might try (if you haven't done so already) next time is, when you're on a ship with a two-floor dining room, ask for a table on the upper floor. Heat rises, so the upper deck seating may be warmer. However, you may want to have a quick look at how their air is being circulated. If the cold A/C air is pumped down from ducting/vents in the ceiling, then the upper floors may actually be colder. Either way, it is worth considering.

[bguppies]

There's an assumption being made here that everyone thinks this is a "problem," but I'm not one of them. I've always been quite comfortable in the dining rooms, theaters, etc. Yes, they are kept on the too-cool side, rather than the too-warm side. But those who are too warm can only take OFF so much, while those who are too cool can always put ON something heavier.

Exactly....

 

Much easier for the half of the people who are too cold to add a layer than the other half to remove a layer of clothing.

 

Besides it is probably only a minority who the cold bothers anyway. (25% or less each sailing)

 

Bill

[Cigar Dude]

Carnival is in business to make money, so turn the air to 60 degrees in the dining room. That way more people will drink to warm up. :D