two hour dining

[Delipha]

I have read that the MDR dinners can take 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Is this due to creating ambiance or just the time it takes? Is it possible to ask the waiter to keep things on the fast side? Would this be rude?

I am not talking about rushing because we have an event- just that we get restless with long drawn out meals.

[Keith1010]

Yes you can ask to go faster. If you are dining by yourselves it is much easier to do that.

If you are dining with others then that would be a bit rude and more complicated for the wait staff team.

 

When we are by ourselves we have found that things can move along at the pace you prefer. Just mention to the wait staff that you would like to be out by x time. Also the number of courses you order can lengthen or shorten your time in the dining room.

 

Keith

[CruiserBruce]

I agree with Keith. It is about ambiance, and "traditional" dining with separate course serving.

 

The wait staff will adjust some to your preferences. However, if you are at a large group table, and the entire table isn't your family/friends, they will probably go with tradition. So the solution is to get a table sized to your group size- a table for two if you are a couple. Then the wait staff can adjust easier. That is what we do.

Edited April 3, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[paul929207]

If you are eating with others, the waiter will pace the courses to keep everyone together. So the length of the meal will depend on how many courses people order and how quickly they eat. If one person orders every course (or worse multiples of some or all courses), this will slow the table down. Normally no one is served the main course until everyone is ready for it.

[kitty9]

For you, traditional dining should not be your choice. That's when you are assigned a set time and the same table for dinner every night. What you should have is freestyle, or select or open seating or whatever it is called on the cruise line you're on, where you have dinner at whatever time you want and you're not assigned the same table. You also need a table for two, rather than a larger table.

 

But to be honest, dining on a cruise ship is a lot different than at a land based restaurant. Even though it might take 90 minutes, it really doesn't seem that long as there's so much going on and the time just speeds by. But, if you're already assigned to traditional dining, and you don't have a table for two, it would most definitely be rude to ask the waiter to speed things up. These guys are serving many tables and a lot of their job is based on timing. Not only that, but the wait staff may also be constrained by the cooks in the galley, as what goes on there is also timed. A waiter may not be able to speed things up a lot because of what's going on in the galley.

[beachbum53]

Some people on a cruise look at dinner time as a social event, and enjoy talking about what they did that day, where they went and what they saw while in port. If you have traditional dining, and are seated with 6 or 8 other people, dinner can easily last 1 1/2 to 2 hours. On the other hand, if you prefer to just sit down, eat, have a glass of wine and/or a cup of coffee, and not spend a lot of time in the MDR, then choose Any Time Dining. When not dining with others, it's easier to set your own pace, and easily cut your time in the dining room to almost half.

[Delipha]

Thank you all. We do have MTD, so that sounds like it is a plus here. We will request a table for just us so we don't inconvenience anyone else.

[Keith1010]

Sounds like you have a good plan.

 

Keith

[JWUC]

There are some variables. A small table works. Also depends on how busy the dining room is. On our last Baltic Cruise, we were on a table for 6 in first dining. The rest of the table never showed up and more than half the tables for our waiter/assistant waiter were empty. We got great service and were usually out of the dining room in a little more than an hour - with several courses and dessert served.

[Floridiana]

There is always the buffet/cafeteria alternative.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Floridiana

[obnurse]

Delphia: Don't expect MTD to be faster. That's certainly not been our recent experience. We've been doing MTD since 2003 and it has changed a lot since that time. It used to be true restaurant style seating. You show up, you get seated then or when a table is available. It moved along a little faster and we rarely waited, and if we did, it wasn't more than 15 minutes. Now, on our recent cruise (Celebrity Equinox) if we wanted to eat in the dining room, we had to make a reservation. Either between 5:30-6:00 or very late. If we showed up without a reservation we were turned away. No option to wait. So, at 5:30 there was a huge crowd waiting to be seated and at 8:00 there was a huge crowd waiting. The only difference is that you don't have to dine at the same table every night and you don't have the same tablemates every night. The dinner took about 2 hours every night. If you dine with the same wait staff every night, you MAY get faster service if you mention to them that you'd like a little faster dining experience.

[beachbum53]

There is always the buffet/cafeteria alternative.

 

And room service, even though the menu is very limited. However, you could spread a blanket out and have your own private little picnic.;)

[marshhawk]

When we started doing anytime dining with Carnival, we would show up any time between the dining start time for the first seating, up to the end of the second seating, and we were sat. There was a specific area that was held for anytime dining. Easy. But apparently it was too easy, so on our last two cruises, Carnival would take our name and cabin number, give us a pager, and tell us to sit, wait, or wander, the buzzer would go off when a table was ready. On our last cruise, we waited every single night 15-35 minutes. I'm one of those diabetics that say I need food, I need food! Then! NOW! So back to assigned time, (on our b2b-wont work for us in Alaska, we want to eat in too many ports) when I can say, ok, if I'm hungry at 4, just get something at 4 and be done with it, dinner will be at 8.

 

We chose late dining, because I usually don't get to eat until 9 each night. I will let you know how this goes.:)

 

have a great cruise.

[spookwife]

I have read that the MDR dinners can take 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Is this due to creating ambiance or just the time it takes? Is it possible to ask the waiter to keep things on the fast side? Would this be rude?

I am not talking about rushing because we have an event- just that we get restless with long drawn out meals.

 

if you are the ONLY people at your table you can ask, keeping in mind that they will have many other tables and they tend to want to have every table on the same course at a time. if you are not the only people then no you cannot as the table is served together.

 

if you are not on Traditional dining, and are seated alone you can indicate you want the pause between courses to be minimal.

[gymbomb]

If you are eating with others, the waiter will pace the courses to keep everyone together. So the length of the meal will depend on how many courses people order and how quickly they eat. If one person orders every course (or worse multiples of some or all courses), this will slow the table down. Normally no one is served the main course until everyone is ready for it.

 

 

 

This is the thing I hate most about sharing a table! I usually order 2-3 courses and really hate sitting around while other people eat 4-6 courses.

[anthonyy7]

This is the thing I hate most about sharing a table! I usually order 2-3 courses and really hate sitting around while other people eat 4-6 courses.

 

This is the main reason I don't like sharing. Even with a table for two the time it takes to eat is 90 min sometimes. We do anytime dining however rarely eat in MDR due to the time it takes

[cb at sea]

If you are at a table alone, it won't take that long... but dining is a social thing..don't rush it!

 

Dining with others is fun..we enjoy it!

[mamkmm2]

I think everyone has their own preferred style. I know people that inhale the food off of their plate and I know people who chew their food for a long time before swallowing and then chase it with a few sips of their beverage before going for the next bite.

 

For a first cruise I would give many of the various opportunities a try ... two top table, group, buffet, room service. Find out which one suits you best and then tailor that one as closely as you can. Then just stay flexible because ... well because life happens and sometimes it happens and you're pleasantly surprised by the unexpected.

 

One of the reasons why the cruise lines are more varied in their eating opportunities than they were in the past is because their clientele has been changing. Once upon a time any-time dining would have been unthinkable, showing up to dinner in anything less that extremely formal would have been a horrible faux pax. Nowadays not so much though you still have a few die hards and that's fine too.

 

I wouldn't sweat it all that much, you'll find your groove. And it might even change from cruise to cruise and from cruise line to cruise line. It's all good as long as you try and keep your eye on the positives.

[gymbomb]

If you are at a table alone, it won't take that long... but dining is a social thing..don't rush it!

 

Dining with others is fun..we enjoy it!

 

We don't cruise to meet new people, we cruise to enjoy time away together as a family. As such, we want to be social with our family, and there are more fun/comfortable places for us to do that on a cruise ship than in a dining room :) We certainly don't rush through dinner. We order what we want, eat it at a comfortable speed, and talk while doing so. But that only takes us about an hour unless we have to wait a long time for service or food.

 

This is the great thing about most cruise ships -- different options to meet the styles of different people! I will say that I wish we had asked for our own table with anytime dining the first time we sailed Princess. The second time we did and enjoyed it (and therefore ate in the main dining room) much more.

[serene56]

Even if the waiters were rushing your food-- do not expet this meal to be done like in 30 minutes

 

Kitchen puts food out in order

Appetizers soups salads etc

 

Its not a drawn out meal. As soon as the waiter sees that you are done with one course-- he shold be clearing the plates to make room for the next course.

 

Do enjoy the ambiance of the dining room and each other

[obnurse]

An hour to an hour and 15 minutes is more than enough for a leisurely dinner.