buffet closed from 8 pm - 11 pm on all HAL ships?

[3rdGenCunarder]

On HAL? I've never been asked for my cabin number, although if you head to the Pinnacle Grille for breakfast they may ask to see your room key..

 

I thought they always ask for your cabin number at the MDR for open sitting at dinner. They ask for your cabin, print out a little receipt, and give it to he waiter so he knows what table you've just been assigned. I don't think we've ever shown our key at Pinnacle for breakfast, but they do ask for cabin number and/or name.

[GUT2407]

Is it just the threads I happen to open, or is virtually any topic on this forum potential fodder for various other complaints?

 

 

That's the norm.

[cruz chic]

I don't have that metabolism, but we're very active on vacation, so I rarely gain weight on a cruise. Plus I'm strange in that I can control myself very well at the buffet and find I can make better choices there than the MDR for breakfast and lunch. Lots of fruit and an egg or omelet at breakfast, salad lunch and I eat whatever I want for dinner and a snack. I stay away from Dive in and the taco bar. If I don't see fries or chips and salsa, I don't think about wanting them. It isn't really willpower, it's just eating the way I do at home.

 

In fact, I'm going to have a cookie now. :D

 

I'm not a fan of the lido, taco bar or dive in. I like the MDR for portion control. I do love chips and salsa but I manage to stay away from them. Have a cookie for me!

[cruz chic]

I thought they always ask for your cabin number at the MDR for open sitting at dinner. They ask for your cabin, print out a little receipt, and give it to he waiter so he knows what table you've just been assigned. I don't think we've ever shown our key at Pinnacle for breakfast, but they do ask for cabin number and/or name.

 

Any time you go to the MDR for open dining, breakfast and lunch they ask for your cabin number.

[Fouremco]

I thought they always ask for your cabin number at the MDR for open sitting at dinner. They ask for your cabin, print out a little receipt, and give it to he waiter so he knows what table you've just been assigned. I don't think we've ever shown our key at Pinnacle for breakfast, but they do ask for cabin number and/or name.

 

Any time you go to the MDR for open dining, breakfast and lunch they ask for your cabin number.

That's my experience too. Conversely, I've never seen anyone being asked for a room number in the Lido as someone suggested previously.

Edited October 2, 2015 by Fouremco

[sherilyn70]

We only tried room service once. We didn't have a good experience with it. In addition to them not getting the order correct it took almost an hour to get and it wasn't very cancer stomach friendly. I do better with small snacking meals throughout the day instead of full meals.

[Cqis]

I like a late snack also. I usually take a plate of something to the room and hope that the room steward does not throw it away ( I try to put it in the top draw). I don't like to use room service for a snack either.

I returned from a Carnival cruise Sept.19,2015. Comedy show started at 10:00, and another comedian at 11:00 p.m Band in some places stopped at 1:00 am. The Lido had a crowd at 1:00. I left at about 1:30 so don't know after that.

They has pizza, sweets, hot dogs, deli sandwiches and a few other snacks and drinks. Granted this was a much younger crowd.

Looing forward to my next cruise (10/17/2015) on HAL.

[Cruising-along]

That's my experience too. Conversely, I've never seen anyone being asked for a room number in the Lido as someone suggested previously.

 

It happened on at least one of our cruises, but it's been awhile and hasn't happened again. Maybe just something they did on that cruise for some reason.

[POA1]

I looked over our daily programs (On Location) dating back to 2012. The "late night" snack was pretty consistently 10:30 - 11:30 unless there was a late port stop, in which case the hours were adjusted accordingly. Some stations stayed open until midnight or 12:30. (On the Nieuw Amsterdam last year, pizza was open that late. It might seem like a good idea, but the last thing I need is access to midnight pizza or calzones. A small bowl of saltines and a few cubes of cheese would have made for more responsible snacking.)

Edited October 2, 2015 by POA1

[Stratheden]

We usually take some cheese, fruit and crackers back to our room in case we need a late night snack. We really don't need to eat after a large dinner. We don't at home so try not to when we are cruising. ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We do not eat late night snacks.

Never did.

For those that want something to eat late at night, there is room service.

Or do what others do, earlier in the day, pick up some cookies, cheese, crackers, etc. and take it back to your cabin.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I was just looking over a few of the On Locations that I have left.

Some ships the late night snacks in the Lido was 10:30 - 11:30 while on others it was from 11 - Midnight.

No where could I find the hours for the ice cream hours.

[take us away]

I agree. A cup of tea or a glass of milk and a cookie after the show is all I want. I hate doing room service for such a small snack.

 

You can often get a cookie at the ice cream station in the Lido or Explorer's Café after a show but it is ship dependent.

[take us away]

On previous cruises, we were asked for our room number whenever we dined, at the MDR, Lido, or at one of the special times by the pool. Is there a problem if one wants to eat twice, like a light early snack at the Lido and then a later meal at the MDR?

 

DD

 

No problem eating 2 or 3 times for a meal. Think they ask cabin numbers as a way to survey who is using which venue for dinner. They sometimes ask for your cabin number for lunch in the MDR and when I asked about that, they did say it was for survey purposes.

[cruz chic]

No problem eating 2 or 3 times for a meal. Think they ask cabin numbers as a way to survey who is using which venue for dinner. They sometimes ask for your cabin number for lunch in the MDR and when I asked about that, they did say it was for survey purposes.

 

I've been asked on every cruise on Hal. Why would they only ask sometimes?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Whenever we have gone to the dining room for lunch, we were always asked our cabin number.

We had one cruise when we chose to eat in the dining room for breakfast and again we were asked our cabin number each morning.

[sunsetbeachgal]

This is one of our biggest complaints about sailing on HAL. Not enough to keep us away, but it is something we keep in mind. There are other parts of the day that also have gaps.

 

 

Agree with you, one of the things we prefer about Princess is the hours the buffet is open, not scaled back.

[avian777]

Although I cannot speak for your experience, I have reviewed my collection of On Locations (over five years) and I have discovered that food availability varied from cruise to cruise:

 

1. Late snacks are 10:30 - 11:30 PM on most of our cruises. The Zuiderdam late snack was 11:00 - midnight.

2. The Lido hours differ from ship to ship with most having three-hour windows for the buffet.

3. Extended Lido hours until 9:00 PM are in effect on evenings while in port.

4. The Noordam and Nieuw Amsterdam have pizze and pasta with just pizza on the latter from 11:35 AM until midnight.

5. My experience is that desserts, ice cream, and cookies are available from 11:25 AM until 11:30 PM.

6. The Explorations Cafe is open from 7:00 AM until 10:00 PM for desserts/sandwiches.

7. Room Service is available 24/7.

 

... my On Locations show that food is generally available from 7:00 AM until midnight somewhere on board. It is important to check your On Location to plan your next-cay dining options.

 

Thank you for this very informative post - always good to get the info directly from the source. Smooth sailing.

[TiogaCruiser]

That's my experience too. Conversely, I've never seen anyone being asked for a room number in the Lido as someone suggested previously.

 

I've found that is the norm in the Lido. I cannot speak for my March 2015 cruise, because I did all MDR (where they did take cabin numbers at open check in). I've heard others say tracking dinner dining is used to distribute HSC.

[dakrewser]

I thought they always ask for your cabin number at the MDR for open sitting at dinner. They ask for your cabin, print out a little receipt, and give it to he waiter so he knows what table you've just been assigned. I don't think we've ever shown our key at Pinnacle for breakfast, but they do ask for cabin number and/or name.

 

We never do open seating, so that may explain. And, I assume, the person who I was replying to never uses fixed seating.

[dakrewser]

Any time you go to the MDR for open dining, breakfast and lunch they ask for your cabin number.

 

I rarely go to the MDR for breakfast or lunch, but what possible use is it to request your cabin number???

[cxc362]

Two questions:

 

1) Does the Dive In also close during this period of time (as it's technically part of the Lido dining)?

 

2) How does the Dive In operate for dinner on port days?

[Aquahound]

This is one of our biggest complaints about sailing on HAL. Not enough to keep us away, but it is something we keep in mind. There are other parts of the day that also have gaps.

 

I agree. The buffet hours was one of my biggest complaints about my HAL cruises.

[Lizzie68]

While it's true it's hard to go hungry on a cruise, I must admit I would love something like RCI has with the Cafe Promenade, which is open 24 hours, and has tasty and healthy snacks, good coffee and teas, and is a pleasant facility.

[POA1]

Two questions:

 

1) Does the Dive In also close during this period of time (as it's technically part of the Lido dining)?

 

2) How does the Dive In operate for dinner on port days?

The Dive In was open 11:30-5:00 most every day. The exception was embarkation day, when it closed for the safety drill. It's on the Lido Deck, but not inside the Lido. I wouldn't consider it to be part of the Lido. It is listed separately in the daily program, and it keeps its own hours.