Lido lovers...

[sppunk]

We love making friends, but do not enjoy dining with anyone else really.

 

We much rather hang with new friends sharing drinks at a bar, seeing a show together, playing cards, etc.

 

We are big fans of HAL's room service allowing full dinner. We can offer what we want, how many, eat on out balcony and relax completely.

[sunviking90]

I thought it was just us who got to the point of "I don't care where you are from, how many kids you have, what you do for a living, or any of your medical conditions....." If DH and I are traveling alone, we are happy to dine alone, breakfast alone, go ashore alone........

 

Sure, if we meet people along the way that we enjoy, it's nice to have a drink with them, chat when you run into them etc but if we don't come with friends, we plan to dine at 'our' table.

 

 

No it's not just you! I thought it was just us! We like the open dining for that very reason. We like to dine with just ourselves and we always are able to get a table for 2 ( or 4 if our son is with us). When I am on vacation I really dont want to be asked about what I do for a living - I'm trying to get away from it!

 

We have met some great people on our cruises during trivia, etc, but I prefer to dine with my loved ones only.

[Randyk47]

The Lido Café is fine....for maybe breakfast and certainly lunch but it's not our "cup of tea" for dinner. We enjoy the Main Dining Room and have, since our very first cruise in 1993, always taken the fixed late sitting. We have made great friends that way and just finished an 18-day Med land and cruise combination with a couple we met just a year ago on the Maasdam who were our table mates. Granted I think the MDR has quite frankly slipped over the years and maybe isn't the grand dining experience it once was but it's still very nice. I fully understand the option and desires of others so I'm not saying it's wrong, it's just not right for us. :)

[jtl513]

Thanks for confirming our assumption! We decided to give it a try because we had read several people giving similar feedback and thought we had a decent shot if we went early, which is when we prefer --

The Assistant Manager overheard us tell our waiter as we were leving the first night that we would ask for the same table again, and he told us he'd "take care of it." At first he put us down for 5 nights at 5:15, and at that point asked if we'd like to stay there. We said "sure", and that was that for the next 6 nights. Actually, except for the table for four that I mentioned before, all of the tables around us had the same people every night.

[sapper1]

Actually I rather like the Lido for breakfast. We go fairly early and it is nice to see the ship coming to life in the morning. There is an energy there that you don't get in the dining room in the morning. Plus the people watching is better there.

I like fresh waffles and the ones in the dining room are not hot off the griddle.

 

At noon I only want a salad that I put together for myself and the Lido works well for that.

 

However, in the evening, I like to dress and have a civilized meal in elegant surroundings. We have always done fixed dining but this time we have told ourselves that we may opt out of fixed after a night or two and just see how we make out for the rest of the cruise in Anytime dining. . If we have a repeat of a dinner companion who treats the staff as badly as the guy on our last cruise did, we will be gone after the first night. It still makes me cringe to think about it.

[KCGranny]

We especially appreciate the Lido on Formal nights -- also like having HOT coffee which we can always have in the Lido. While we have met some lovely people on cruises, most often it's been in other areas of the ship rather than when dining in the MDR.

[RuthC]

Too when I left for the Lido, I halved my auto tip, to a month of service I would never use. so there is 11 bucks a day why to eat in the Lido as well.

The stewards in the Lido also earn part of the Hotel Service Charge that you took away. They set the tables for dinner, and clean them up after you walk away. They make sure there are dishes and flatware by the dessert stations.

You can see them working all over the Lido, if you look.

[Tricia724]

A few years back, on one of our longer cruises we ate in the Lido a couple of nights and I considered it a 'dismal' experience. But last year on our South Pacific cruise on Westerdam, we ate in the Lido several times and I enjoyed it. I thought the staff made a very nice effort to change the atmosphere from a cafeteria to a pleasant, relaxed restaurant-type meal.

 

We were hard core traditionalists and until a couple of years ago always chose fixed seating. But lately we have been choosing open and have found that we enjoy the flexibility of dining at different times, sitting with different people in the dining room, or choosing to eat at our convenience.....whether ashore, in the dining room, at the grill on deck, or in the Lido.

 

A funny thing....on a recent cruise we were seated at a table in the dining room with a woman who told us she was dining alone because her traveling companion (a female friend) was eating at "the buffet." Her friend was just overwhelmed with the many choices and couldn't get enough of it. She ate every meal there. The lady seated with us enjoyed the dining room, so they went separate ways.

 

Obviously, cruising is just not a "one size fits all" experience.

[andyandsue]

We always eat at the buffet, maybe one night in the MDR while at sea. Easier with the kids and a hectic schedule in port that doesn't always allow us time to stop and "get ready" for dinner in the MDR. We can stop in at our convenience, everyone gets what they want, how much they want, when they want. Kids are done and off they go, DH and I finish up and meet them. then it's off to our next adventure!

[tip]

Obviously, cruising is just not a "one size fits all" experience.

 

Point well taken. Sadly there are some who want everyone to fit into whatever their size is!;)

[Cruiseman123456789]

Hi,

 

Can you take food from the Lido and enjoy them in your room on the balcony?

 

If this is allowed, what do you do with the plates afterwards?

 

This would be another nice option :)

 

Cruiseman

[ariawoman]

Hi,

 

Can you take food from the Lido and enjoy them in your room on the balcony?

 

If this is allowed, what do you do with the plates afterwards?

 

This would be another nice option :)

 

Cruiseman

 

You can certainly take food basically anywhere you want. Well, ok you probably wouldnt' want to take it to a show but if you want to go to your cabin, up on deck, whatever, you can!

 

You can leave the plates in your cabin to be taken the next day, or put them in the hallways and the stewards will get them, no problem.

 

Now, in the thread topic - when I sailed HAL my major issue with the Lido was it's hours. I think it closed at 8 or 830 for dinner, and for me, that was too early. I wish they were open as late as the MDR for full dinner. yes, they had snacks and whatnot, but if we got in late from port and wanted to eat a "real meal" but later after we could chill out, refresh and go back out, we didn't always have time on HAL. I found the lido equivalent on X to be open longer/better hours.

 

I know the hours differ per ship/area of the world. i wonder if i'd like the hours better in another area besides Europe.

 

Overall, I do like to go to the MDR and meet people (we always did the anytime/nonfixed whatever it's called) and find that in the lido we didnt meet folks.

 

To each their own, I guess. I like a mix of both but we do tend to have more MDR nights than Lido nights.

 

Man, I want to be on a cruise right now....

[erewhon]

Hi,

 

Can you take food from the Lido and enjoy them in your room on the balcony?

 

If this is allowed, what do you do with the plates afterwards?

 

This would be another nice option :)

 

Cruiseman

 

We have taken food from the Lido to eat on our balcony, for instance during the days we travelled through the Panama Canal.

It was very easy to return the plates and cutlery to the Lido.

[billyelliot]

We have always chosen fixed seating late for all our cruises apart from one when we tried anytime. Up to now we have been lucky, and had wonderful table mates from around the world. I do enjoy listening to what people do for a living, some jobs are fascinating. I also like to hear and share holiday experiances ( this is how I came to book Alaska)

Our experiance with anytime wasn't our cup of tea. The 'Hello my name is...... And where do you come from..... Every night really did bore me.

I must admit I do become a little worried on the 1st night wondering who we will sit with. Don't know what I would do if I didn't like them :eek:.........

[RuthC]

You can leave the plates in your cabin to be taken the next day, or put them in the hallways and the stewards will get them, no problem.

Certainly you can leave the plates in your cabin; you could even return the dirties to the Lido yourself, if you want them out of the room.

 

But to suggest that you put them in the passageway is a very poor idea. First, the ship is moving, and things out there can get tossed and broken. No one needs to try to walk through that dirty mess.

More importantly, when you leave things in the passageway you block the space that a wheelchair requires to pass by. That makes an unnecessary problem for someone else.

[Mary Ellen]

You can leave the plates in your cabin to be taken the next day, or put them in the hallways and the stewards will get them, no problem.

NO. Leaving dishes in the hall IS a problem. When one orders room service there is a card letting you know that you should call room service for pick up and not to leave the tray/dishes in the hall. This is a safety concern. Dirty dishes should either be given to your cabin steward, left in the cabin, or you can trot them back up to the Lido.

[innlady1]

 

You can leave the plates in your cabin to be taken the next day, or put them in the hallways and the stewards will get them, no problem.

 

 

As the previous two posters have said, you cannot leave the tray with dishes from Room Service in the hall. There is always a card on your tray upon delivery staying that...and asking you to call 72 (I believe) for tray pick-up.

[3rdGenCunarder]

We have always chosen fixed seating late for all our cruises apart from one when we tried anytime. Up to now we have been lucky, and had wonderful table mates from around the world. I do enjoy listening to what people do for a living, some jobs are fascinating. I also like to hear and share holiday experiances ( this is how I came to book Alaska)

Our experiance with anytime wasn't our cup of tea. The 'Hello my name is...... And where do you come from..... Every night really did bore me.

I must admit I do become a little worried on the 1st night wondering who we will sit with. Don't know what I would do if I didn't like them :eek:.........

 

I agree with you about having the first night discussion every night. If you didn't like the people you were seated with, you could try to ask to be moved to a different table.

 

In all of our cruises, we have never had to change tables--and we have sat a table for two only once. We have brought our own table companions with us on some cruises, but we've met many wonderful people when we were traveling on our own. I'm still in touch with people we met on our first cruise to Norway in '96. Even people who wouldn't become lifelong friends were pleasant enough. Well, there was one obnoxious snob, but I had fun writing about her in my journal, so I found entertainment in what could have been annoyance.

[Hawaiidan]

The Lido on my last cruise stayed open for the dinner menu till 9pm, then they reopened at 930to 1030 with an international feature, Aisian, German, Spanish, Italina..

They would post what their international feature would be. Their Italina features were better than Canaletto. and that stupid cotton candy ( who thought of that genius idea) The German was excellent too.

 

As to who you sit with, for the past 4 cruises our tablemates have been, well not a very plesant lot to draw to. We this started the Lido experience.

Too, people which we did meet and interact with during the cruise would many times join us or we them. It happened more and more frequently as the cruise went on.

As far as tips in the Lido.. I have never had someone set my table or serve me anything and we pretty much bus our own stuff, which is never much and get our own refills 99% of the time.

I tip for specific service not out of guilt or habit.

I dont tip at at Jack In the box either..

[RuthC]

As far as tips in the Lido.. I have never had someone set my table or serve me anything and we pretty much bus our own stuff, which is never much and get our own refills 99% of the time.

Really? You put your tablecloth and candle on the table? Fill the salt/pepper shakers, sweetener containers? Wrap the flatware in a napkin and put it on the table? Set the glassware that is on the tables at dinnertime?

Then, when you've finished eating, you take all your dirty dishes to the backrooms so they can be washed? And clear off the tablecloth and candle?

You're one in a million.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I agree - please don't leave your dishes in the hallway. Besides the safety hazard and the problem for those in wheelchairs or scooters being able to safely pass by,I find it disgusting to see dishes in the hallway plus the smell is overwhelming sometimes because when the cabin stewards are off duty, they don't get picked up right away.

[ariawoman]

Ok ok, calm down about the dishes in the hallway thing. I saw them when on my cruise and figured that's what HAL did. Chill folks, it didn't need 5 responses of the same answer.

 

Don't put them in the hallway.

 

I didn't use room service after the 1 time they screwed up my order twice, so I always ate outside of the cabin. I didn't tend to bring anything back from the lido to the room except a drink so the glasses I just left in the bathroom in the morning so they would see them and remove them.

[TheCalicoCat]

i've eaten in the lido after returning from some 13-hour shore excursions after 7:00, or when i have to get up for a shore excursion at 4:30 tomorrow. It was fine for those times.

 

but when it comes to dinner on a cruise ship, i prefer to "dine" rather than "eat". I want to be waited on, served properly, and enjoy my table companions. I don't want to work for it.

 

ditto!

[kakalina]

Hawaiidan: I have a bone to pick with you! :mad: For years now we've enjoyed the Lido at our leisure and desire. No more!! :(

 

All the secrets are out and the place will be so dang crowded it will be like backstage at a Stones concert. Thanks a lot my friend. :D

[innlady1]

We've enjoyed the Lido at dinner once or twice on each cruise...when we've just been too tired to dress for the MDR and sit through a 1 1/2 to 2 hour dinner...and it's been lovely. Linens and candles on the table, etc...very relaxing and enjoyable. Same menu as the MDR as well.