Dawn Princess, Round NZ Cruise - Which Dinner Sitting

[BrianWH]

Hi, my wife and I are booked on the NZ Holiday cruise over Christmas on the Dawn Princess. We are currently set for Dinner at 7:30pm but I have a question. If we eat at 7:30pm we will miss the 8pm show. I understand that there are 2 theaters on the Dawn but I was expecting shows to be on at 8 and 10pm. Can someone comment on whether we will be missing a show every evening ?

 

Unfortunately the Danw does not seem to do Anytime Dining so we have to pisk 5:30 or 7:30.

 

Any thoughts ?

 

Thanks

Brian

[rkmw]

Hi, my wife and I are booked on the NZ Holiday cruise over Christmas on the Dawn Princess. We are currently set for Dinner at 7:30pm but I have a question. If we eat at 7:30pm we will miss the 8pm show. I understand that there are 2 theaters on the Dawn but I was expecting shows to be on at 8 and 10pm. Can someone comment on whether we will be missing a show every evening ?

 

Unfortunately the Danw does not seem to do Anytime Dining so we have to pisk 5:30 or 7:30.

 

Any thoughts ?

 

Thanks

Brian

 

Brian you wont miss the shows, they have shows on at 8 and 10pm and sometimes they have an early show in the Vista Lounge at 6.30 also so you might be able to see 2 shows but the times will be in the princess patter

[Aus Traveller]

Hi, my wife and I are booked on the NZ Holiday cruise over Christmas on the Dawn Princess. We are currently set for Dinner at 7:30pm but I have a question. If we eat at 7:30pm we will miss the 8pm show. I understand that there are 2 theaters on the Dawn but I was expecting shows to be on at 8 and 10pm. Can someone comment on whether we will be missing a show every evening ?

 

Unfortunately the Danw does not seem to do Anytime Dining so we have to pisk 5:30 or 7:30.

 

Any thoughts ?

 

Thanks

Brian

We count on dinner taking an hour and a quarter (or an hour and a half from when you walk in) so there is no way you could get to an 8pm show. The times of the shows are set by the Cruise Directors and are not always the same on every ship.

 

Whether you choose early or late dinner is a matter of personal preference. We like early dinner because otherwise by the time we finish (say 9pm) and go to a 10pm show it is getting very late. On the other hand, with the early dinner, the first course goes on the table a bit before 6pm. On some ships the early show has been at 7.15 and we have just been able to make it there in time. This gives an idea of how long dinner takes - yes, we are probably talking to our table mates but that is a major part of he fun. But if we want to go to a show, we have sometimes skipped the coffee and gone as soon as we finish our dessert. Another advantage of early dinner is that we can often go to a second show (in the Vista Lounge) after the early show in the Princess Theatre. Although, sometimes that isn't a good idea if the show is a repeat from the night before!

 

Depending on the Maitre 'd, often on the Australian Princess ships, the dinner sitting is "Anytime" (the same as lunch in the MDR) on port days where the departure is around early dinner time or later. I can't guarantee that this will happen on your cruise.

 

Try to work out what will suit you. From my experience, it is easy to swap from early dinner to late because the early dinner time slot is much more popular. Swapping the other way isn't easy.:)

 

If you like to have a leisurely drink before dinner, then late dinner might suit you best.

 

Another point to consider is your particular cruise. NZ cruises are port intensive. Check on departure times shown in your itinerary. If they show departure at 5pm you have to be on board BEFORE 4.30pm. There is plenty of time to be in the dining room for 5.30 dinner (that means by 5.45pm).

[Kiwi_cruiser]

Whether you choose early or late dinner is up to you and what time you eat at home.

 

For us we like late dinner, because then it means no rushing to get back to the ship (for the 5.30 dinner), if the ship is leaving the port at 6 - 7 pm, and also we get to enjoy sail away as well :), and also with the late dinner, you get to enjoy it more with out the late dinners waiting for your table!

 

If there are no shows after our dinner time, then we normal go to the early show and then have dinner after the show.

 

At home we normally don't have dinner till about 7 - 8 pm!

[Aus Traveller]

Sail away doesn't excite me much. I can name a handful of ports where it is worth watching - Sydney, Pago Pago, Vav'u, Dravuni Island. There are probably a few more I can't think of at the moment. :)

[Bizziecruzer]

We found the ports in NZ for sailaway were great! We were on the diamond and usually spend sailaway in one of the spas with a drink. Our preference is for late dinner, as mentioned earlier you don't have to rush for dinner, can have pre dinner drinks in one of he many bars, then dinner and then a show. You're on holidays - relax.

[Kiwi_cruiser]

We found the ports in NZ for sailaway were great!

 

Yes :), especially Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington, Picton, Akaroa and

Port Chalmers.

[kuldalai]

For some reason which remains a mystery Princess Australia will not address there is no Anytime Dining on the SUN Class ships (Sun, Dawn and Sea Princess) whilst under Australian management . Albeit there are two main dining rooms and when these ships were sailing elsewhere Princess (USA) offered Anytime Dining in one of the Main Dining rooms.

 

Oceania manage to handle Anytime Dining only with larger menus on similar and smaller sized ships , so why can't Princess ?