Forget About Dress Code - This Isn't About That

[sail7seas]

I posted this on another forum and am interested in answers here. I wonder if it will vary 'type' of dining on various cruise lines.

 

 

Without any consideration for dress code, I am sensing the desires of many cruisers are varying in many degrees and in ways that don't involve dress. I think many of today's HAL cruisers are looking for different things in their cruises than the generation ahead of them and among the differences are where and how they wish to eat dinner.

 

Is it my imagination or is there a large percentage of HAL cruisers who do not go to the dining room for dinner because they (a) don't want to sit as long as it takes for the meal to be served (b) don't want to 'share' tables and won't risk not getting a table for themselves/their own group © don't want as big a meal as dinner in MDR ir (d) other reasons

 

Are you choosing to not have dinner in the Main Dining Room for reasons other than dress code?

 

[kazu]

Sorry to disappoint Sail, but the only nights we don't go to the MDR are the nights we are in the Pinnacle and if we have one really long excursion or are running tight for the next one - we will do room service - maybe once on a 20 day cruise. Other than that, we are in the MDR:)

[1of4]

I posted this on another forum and am interested in answers here. I wonder if it will vary 'type' of dining on various cruise lines.

 

 

We are the same as Kazu, we always eat in the dining room and have had family-only tables or, when it is just DH and I, been assigned to larger tables. Our preference is to eat in the MDR for dinner.

[eandj]

If the cruise is longer than a week, we choose variety on a couple nights and will use other venues.

 

OR...if there is a restaurnat at port we are interested in trying, might choose a larger late lunch there and skip the dinner in the mdr and rather just pick up something smaller.

 

Clothing guidelines never come into play when we stray.

[jtl513]

Very often (a) or (b) and sometimes ©. I'm not interested in meeting people and hate the small talk. :)

[IRL_Joanie]

Unfortunately for me, I have to choose D.

 

I cannot take the chance of eating in the Main Dining Room on any night (but even more pronounced on Formal Nights) because of my allergy to perfumes/Scents. If it were not for my allergy(s) I'd be in the MDR all dressed up:)

 

Hubby on the other hand loves to eat in the MDR, especially on Formal Nights.

 

Joanie

[hypercafe]

We use to always eat in the MDR until we started to cruise on NCL when they put so many ships in NYC. They do such a great job with the freestyle dinning I got so I do not like the MDR on other lines even when we chose anytime dinning. It just seems like a hassle between dressing, trying to get a table and then sitting through a slow dinner. We only use it a few times during the trip.

[rafinmd]

I'm another MDR person for dinner. Perhaps the lido if I have a late shore excursion. If I go the the Pinnacle it will be for LUNCH.

 

Roy

[sapete]

It was reasons A, B, and C and D (noise in the MDR) that had us in other venues during our cruise last May.

[jaguarstyper]

Is it my imagination or is there a large percentage of HAL cruisers who do not go to the dining room for dinner because they (a) don't want to sit as long as it takes for the meal to be served (b) don't want to 'share' tables and won't risk not getting a table for themselves/their own group © don't want as big a meal as dinner in MDR ir (d) other reasons

 

Are you choosing to not have dinner in the Main Dining Room for reasons other than dress code?

For me its (b) and (d).

As for (b), when I cruise, I am on vacation with my SO and maybe other family. My work routinely keeps me away from them, so when I am on vacation, I want to spend my time with them, and only with them, for the most part. I have shared a table with others in the past. Maybe is just bad luck, but almost every time we have been seated with obnoxious, overbearing know it alls. No thanks.

As for (d), I find the food in the dining room to be rather average. Not bad, but nothing special. I can eat average food every day and when I'm on vacation, I like dining to be something special. I also find the dining rooms to be terribly bustling and noisy and I like quiet dinners. Also, when on vacation, dinner is not something I do just to put fuel into my body. I prefer it to be an experience. I like dining, not just eating.

So, for me, its the Pinnacle Grill for its elegant, peaceful dining experience on most nights. And, it has nothing at all to do with the dress code.

[Ray in NH]

As has been previously stated, we usually enjoy our dinner time in the MDR. We will sometimes avail ourselves of the Specialty Dining venues, as a "something different" thing to do. In the MDR, we usually request a table for two, (late seating) since we enjoy the leisurely pace that a two-top affords, without unduly prolonging the meal for others who may wish to be somewhere else. We often use the "Open Seating" of breakfast and lunch for the opportunity of making new acquaintences and socializing.

I guess that makes us "different" from the majority, but not sure where it fits in OP's classifications.

Ray in NH

[DizzyDallasDi]

Option D.

 

I don't like having to eat at a specified time....way too regimented for me. :) I want to eat when I'm hungry, not force feed myself because the clock says it's dinner time.

[midwest 852]

A & B for me. Also the same problem as Joanie formal night is the worst some people bath in perfumes! Cannot even use the elevators on formal night.:rolleyes:

[OCruisers]

On HAL or any other cruise line we always have dinner in the either a Speciality Restaurant or the MDR.

 

We actually like to share a table with others. :)

 

LuLu

[Lady Chew]

We eat in the MDR most nights, including formal ... I like the general ambience, I like having a waiter, and I like the presentation & portion size & taste of the food. that's for dinner. Breakfast & lunch are eaten elsewhere.

if we've been on a late-arriving excursion or are tired or in a hurry we'll eat dinner in the Lido. Don't see a need to eat in the specialties, have only done so once, to escape a Master Chef dinner, because there was not one single thing on the menu that night that appealed to either of us.

We like a table with 4 or 5 other folks, enjoy getting to know others on the cruise. The two of us eat together every night when we're at home, we like a a little variety!

[luxurysailer]

We virtually always eat in the MDR and certainly don't eat elsewhere to avoid formal dress.

 

Ordinarily we travel with friends and have a table to ourselves, therefore avoiding the risk of dining with strangers with whom we may not be compatible. However, I must say that on those occasions when we've dined with strangers we've seldom had less than a genuinely enjoyable experience.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

We eat in the MDR or the Pinnacle every night on HAL. Although I like the Lido for breakfast and lunch, I do not care for it at dinner as that is one meal, at which I like to be served. On other cruiselines, we always eat in the MDR as I do not wish to pay for their Specialty Restaurants which are pricier than the PG IMO. Barbara

[3rdGenCunarder]

On HAL or any other cruise line we always have dinner in the either a Speciality Restaurant or the MDR.

 

We actually like to share a table with others. :)

 

LuLu

 

We like to share, too. I think most of the people who ask for a large table enjoy meeting others, and are good dinner companions. We've had many enjoyable dinners at large tables.

 

We go to the MDR unless we get back late from a tour and miss our time (we try to get early fixed time).

[CtheW0rld]

dinner in the dining room is the hilight of my evening.

[MrsMuir]

The MDR is a highlight of our entire day aboard ship. We have lucked out in almost all of our cruises when we ask for Late Dining for 6 or 8, and enjoy sharing our day with our new friends. We will dine at the Pinnacle once or twice on a voyage, but on some cruises we don't want to miss our table companions and have canceled our Pinnacle reservations if they can't be added.

 

Fortune shone on us on Volendam in April, when we had good companions, stellar service and good to excellent food in the MDR. It was a 23-day repositioning cruise, so perhaps the crew was chosen specially for a longer cruise (?) We skipped three MDR dinners: once when we were guests of friends in the Pinnacle and twice when I had some minor surgery on my leg (car accident just prior to the cruise) that evening. Count us as two votes for MDR loyalists.

 

On the other hand, we avoided the Lido because DH thought it was much too crowded -- and I've always preferred table service. The MDR was best for breakfast and lunch, though we rarely have both on a sea day. The Pinnacle is best for breakfast, but Suites are not in our budget these days.

 

Mrs M

[rucrazy]

We love MDR ... Love being served :D

[travelnap]

I would probably say A, C & D. I usually travel solo so I pefer the anytime dining so I can dine when I choose. I do enjoy the company in the MDR so I ask for a large table when I do dine there, but I also enjoy the Pinnacle or other specialty restaurants when they are available. I am not a big foodie so I am usually pretty easy to please no matter where I am dining. I cruise usually for the various ports and the relaxation and not for the dining or entertainment.

[Assateague Island Princes]

I guess I'm in the minority here, we are Lido fans. We almost NEVER eat in the MDR - mostly for reason (a) and partially for reason (d). I have better things to do than waste 2 to 2 1/2 hours in the MDR when I could be back out on deck scanning the sea for whales and enjoying the beautiful Alaskan scenery all around me (I've only cruised to Alaska - 4 times - and really have no desire to cruise anywhere else, thank you very much:D!).

 

I also much prefer the more laid back atmosphere and the wide selection of food choices in the Lido. Not having to dress up is just an added bonus. We enjoy fixing our own salad, seeing what each entree and side looks like rather than reading the menu's description, and we've just generally found that folks are more pleasant and friendly away from the sometimes stuffy atmosphere of the MDR. If we don't eat in the Lido, we will order room service or eat in the Cantelletto. With such a port intensive itinerary as Alaska, and after spending the day on shore making the most of the hours allotted, we are exhausted and just want to eat our meal, and retire to our "secret deck" to watch the world pass by, or head up to the Crow's Nest for a drink and some more whale watching. To each their own - everyone has an opinion on MDR vs. Lido - and not all of the reasons are dress code inspired.

[happy cruzer]

When the MDR is serving special food with a formal style we enjoy dressing and enjoying an excellent meal with wine in the MDR. When it is the same food that can be found in a buffet, just with table service not so much. I think that is one of the reasons folks decry the missing menu items that made the MDR special. But the times are changing and most cruiselines now seem to spend as much of the budget on other venues as the MDR.

[solocanadian]

Since I sail solo, MDR for me at fixed late, large table. Love the opportunity to meet new people since I am a "people person". Will attend Pinnacle for dinner at least once a week and a couple of times a week for lunch if the venue has windows.:)