Ok to be late for dinner?

[silkhair1]

That is why I do not like to eat/share a table with others. Being late is just plain rude. If you know are going to be late, just eat elsewhere. Don't mess up the timing of your table.

[Sevencruiser]

This is Cruise Critic at it's best. People being kind, and passing on past experiences so that others can have the best cruise experience possible.:)

[bethaniesmom]

we do late dining too so as not to have to rush between boarding/excursions, etc to be on time for dinner. we have had to wait for people who were late before, ten minutes late is about the limit, more than that I would say eat somewhere else because it really messes with the flow of things for the staff. have a great trip!

 

Beverly

[CruisingAgain]

Even if you have your own table you may be holding up other diners. On one cruise we were a table of 4 and the waiter also had another table of 4 that showed up 20 minutes late every night. He took our orders but brought out all the dinners at the same time. So we sat there waiting and waiting for dinner every night. We skipped dessert a few nights to make the shows.

 

Please consider how your "it's okay to be 15 minutes late" affects other people and please be more considerate.

[MissDiva1]

Thank god for anytime dining........

[sbnuggie]

I just switched to Your Time dining thanks to your insight. On the Dream in November, 3 out of 4 of our port times end at 6. We were originally going to do early dining but I don't want to cut our days at port short but I don't want to throw off the staff if boarding takes forever. Thank you for this consideration!

 

If we didn't have kids and a group of 10 we would do anytime dining in a heartbeat....the best program, but with kids, you gotta get em fed or they have a nasty habit of turning into little devils ;). Wife and I were on two cruises with anytime dining without the kiddo's and it was awesome, my advice with anytime dining is if you find a good wait staff, request them everynight, even if you have to wait a little extra longer, we found that anytime dining service can be spotty and varies ship to ship but the constant was if you found a wait team in one section that was good, keep going back to that section...

 

 

To the OP, one other thing I forgot, if you miss the bridge during sail away, you can get up early in the morning on the sail home and see it in the dawn/early morning. I did that as well, I took video though and don't have it posted anywhere to showcase it, but it was me and 3 other people on the very top deck at approx 5am or so, stark contrast to the mass of people on the first night, you're so close you can touch it. Makes for great video and it was so peacful being up that early. Another option if you're a morning person.

[pnjkeith]

We are sailing on the Legend in July and are looking forward to going under the Skyline Bridge. I've read where the ship goes under the bridge around 6:00 pm. The problem is we have early seating for dinner. Would it be a problem if we showed up about 15 min. late for dinner?

 

 

Very rude to all involved. Eat on lido set outside and enjoy the view

[GlendaleCruiser]

If we are going on a long excursion and I think we might be 5-10 minutes late I will tell the waiter the night before. If we are late we skip the starter and pick up where he is serving at the time (heaven knows we will get enough to eat).

 

If I am more than 15 minutes late I go to the buffet.

[bonnys]

We are sailing on the Legend in July and are looking forward to going under the Skyline Bridge. I've read where the ship goes under the bridge around 6:00 pm. The problem is we have early seating for dinner. Would it be a problem if we showed up about 15 min. late for dinner?

 

We were on the Legend last week and had the same issue. We stayed on deck to watch the bridge then went down to the dining room about 15 minutes late. I asked the hostess if it was ok and we were told yes just as 10-15 other people were walking in. Both the hostess and our wait team said the first night it is expected that people will be late. We ordered right away and ate the appetizers quickly enough that we were on track by the time our entree's were served. We also made sure that we were very prompt for the rest of the cruise because I can't stand being late.

[Alliezona09]

I have been on 6 Carnival cruises and not once has the waiter made us wait for our table mates who were late to dinner~ we got our menus and when we put them down we had our order taken whether or not the others were there or not~

[GlendaleCruiser]

Back in the early days of cruising they would shut the dining room doors after 15 minutes. I wish they would go back to that practice. The first night things do run slower, but not 15 minutes slower, and there are no guarantees you will leave port on time.

 

 

I wish they would, too. It was much calmer when people were no longer streaming in............

[alligirl78]

If we didn't have kids and a group of 10 we would do anytime dining in a heartbeat....the best program, but with kids, you gotta get em fed or they have a nasty habit of turning into little devils ;). Wife and I were on two cruises with anytime dining without the kiddo's and it was awesome, my advice with anytime dining is if you find a good wait staff, request them everynight, even if you have to wait a little extra longer, we found that anytime dining service can be spotty and varies ship to ship but the constant was if you found a wait team in one section that was good, keep going back to that section...

 

 

To the OP, one other thing I forgot, if you miss the bridge during sail away, you can get up early in the morning on the sail home and see it in the dawn/early morning. I did that as well, I took video though and don't have it posted anywhere to showcase it, but it was me and 3 other people on the very top deck at approx 5am or so, stark contrast to the mass of people on the first night, you're so close you can touch it. Makes for great video and it was so peacful being up that early. Another option if you're a morning person.

 

I have 2 kids and it's just us 3 sailing this time. They'll be 7 & 10 by the time we sail so they are old enough to not have meltdowns and have some patience. We found late dining to be a little too late for us last time. I've been wary about Your Time after hearing stories of people waiting forever but early is too early and late is too late so, we'll give it a shot. There's always pizza and room service ;-) And lord knows my 2 boys would be just fine with pizza and PBnJ and I love the room service tuna sammies...so yummy...

[MissDiva1]

I have 2 kids and it's just us 3 sailing this time. They'll be 7 & 10 by the time we sail so they are old enough to not have meltdowns and have some patience. We found late dining to be a little too late for us last time. I've been wary about Your Time after hearing stories of people waiting forever but early is too early and late is too late so, we'll give it a shot. There's always pizza and room service ;-) And lord knows my 2 boys would be just fine with pizza and PBnJ and I love the room service tuna sammies...so yummy...

 

We have had your time dining since it was implemented.....this is the first time I have ever heard that people had to wait forever.......odd...I would think it would work great for families with children..........

[Cruise-Crazy]

Sounds like a good excuse to book the steakhouse to me. :D

[Pee-ah]

Most reservations when you make them are for a set time.. and good for 15 minutes after to allow for tardy people ... then they are swiped...:D

[H82seaUgo]

That is why I do not like to eat/share a table with others. Being late is just plain rude. If you know are going to be late, just eat elsewhere. Don't mess up the timing of your table.

 

that would only make sense if you had your own waier and busboy.

[elcuchio24]

With Anytime Dining, I am yet to be late. Always RIGHT on time.

[BeccaBecca1713]

I agree with the excellent suggestion of others to book Steakhouse for the 1st night. Make a later reservation, enjoy the bridge, then go eat and get a comp bottle of wine (all first-night Steakhouse reservations get a free bottle of wine). It's a win-win!:D

[zqvol]

We are sailing on the Legend in July and are looking forward to going under the Skyline Bridge. I've read where the ship goes under the bridge around 6:00 pm. The problem is we have early seating for dinner. Would it be a problem if we showed up about 15 min. late for dinner?

 

Two points for you from someone who has sailed Legend three times. First it is never appropriate to be late for dinner, but even more importantly you will not get to the bridge before 6:20. If the bridge is important (I think it is was overblown, the ship misses it by at least 10 feet) eat at the buffet that night.

[katiel53]

It is generally considered rude and inconsiderate to be more than 10-15 minutes late, as you will throw off the timing of service to your tablemates.

 

I totally agree with you. We were on Dream 4/2-4/16 and the second week, two sisters showed up every night at least half an hour late. The waiter had the others at the table wait to place their order and when the "primadonnas" showed up, they took time to say why they were late, carry on a conversation and then finally look at their menu. This was at early seating and it was very difficult for the waiter, but they didn't care nor did they show up the last night.

 

At some point, the MaitreD' will close the doors to the MDR.

 

That used to be the case, but on Carnival it just doesn't happen.

 

Every cruise we've been on, dinner has been pushed back about 15-30 mins. on the 1st night.You really shouldn't be late.

 

Wow, you must be cruising on your own personal cruise line as in our 75 plus cruises, this doesn't happen.

 

I know the waiters etc. get upset as it throws off the whole dinner service. No one, especially the Maitre D', who should tell people they are late and go somewhere else, will do that because they are afraid of not getting their tip. I just wonder how the people showing up so late would feel if they were having a dinner party at home and everyone showed up after the food was ready. Be considerate and that includes being on time.

[halos]

(I think it is was overblown, the ship misses it by at least 10 feet).

 

Seriously...

late for dinner, just to see the ship go under the bridge??

I guess I just don't get excited over things like that........

 

Carnival has anytime dining for people who don't like to be tied to a specific dining time for a reason. Coming late for a seating is just poor etiquette.

jmo.

The steak house idea for that first night was a vey good one.

[sherilyn70]

We had a table of 8, one of the couples was always 15-30 minutes late. We were already eating our starters and almost up to main courses before they'd get there. Thankfully our server never made us wait for them. I could tell he worked harder to get them caught up and they were always up to dessert by the time we were ready. This was on the Victory in February.

 

I personally found it disrespectful to the rest of us at the table and to the wait staff. If it's just one night you might want to just warn the server or the Maitre'd so they now to start without you.

[klmorg]

With Anytime Dining, I am yet to be late. Always RIGHT on time.

 

Yep... yet another reason why I LOVE anytime dining!!!