pullen0 Posted December 4, 2016 #1 Share Posted December 4, 2016 With talk of 5 courses, etc, how long does a traditional MDR dinner take? An hour? Hour and a half? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcoy Posted December 5, 2016 #2 Share Posted December 5, 2016 This depends on ship and how many at the table. When I traveled solo I could have a 5 course meal in less than 30 minutes. At a table of 6, it could take 90 minutes. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCruisers Posted December 5, 2016 #3 Share Posted December 5, 2016 About an hour and a half ... sometimes less, very seldom more. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leaveitallbehind Posted December 5, 2016 #4 Share Posted December 5, 2016 About an hour and a half ... sometimes less, very seldom more. :) Agree. And the one thing that can add time is if you are sharing a table with others (which is typical) and your table mates are late, the servers may wait until they arrive to start service. It is always courteous to be on time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted December 5, 2016 #5 Share Posted December 5, 2016 No ship has 5 courses anymore. You will have 3...and unless you're at a large table, or have a waiter who is serving you AND a large table, you can do it in about an hour. But...what's your rush? You're on vacation! Sit, talk, and enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheezedr Posted December 5, 2016 #6 Share Posted December 5, 2016 No ship has 5 courses anymore. You will have 3...and unless you're at a large table, or have a waiter who is serving you AND a large table, you can do it in about an hour. But...what's your rush? You're on vacation! Sit, talk, and enjoy! I'll split the difference and suggest 4 courses soup/salad, appetizer, main, dessert. Obviously it varies with your table mates and your choices, but 90'minutes with a good group to share stories with is not uncommon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekathy Posted December 5, 2016 #7 Share Posted December 5, 2016 With talk of 5 courses, etc, how long does a traditional MDR dinner take? An hour? Hour and a half? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Depending on your table size but usually 1.5 hours for the five course evening meal. Appetizers Soup Salad Entree Dessert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pullen0 Posted December 5, 2016 Author #8 Share Posted December 5, 2016 (edited) No ship has 5 courses anymore. You will have 3...and unless you're at a large table, or have a waiter who is serving you AND a large table, you can do it in about an hour. But...what's your rush? You're on vacation! Sit, talk, and enjoy! After an hour, I'll be more interested in counting the number of doors on the ship. It doesn't take me 2 hours to watch 60 minutes so I'm not interested in watching someone else's food spoil while they take forever to eat it. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Edited December 5, 2016 by pullen0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruising cockroach Posted December 5, 2016 #9 Share Posted December 5, 2016 One can make it a 6-course dinner: Insert cheese course between the main plate and dessert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoncom Posted December 5, 2016 #10 Share Posted December 5, 2016 If you wish to dine quickly, book a table for two(or number in your party),or anytime dining, dine early, telling wait staff you wish quick service. Also, you may not want every available course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pullen0 Posted December 5, 2016 Author #11 Share Posted December 5, 2016 If you wish to dine quickly, book a table for two(or number in your party),or anytime dining, dine early, telling wait staff you wish quick service. Also, you may not want every available course. I've got any time dining but in another thread, a poster mentioned still sharing tables with any time. I know I don't have to but I became curious of how long a typical seating was. All but 1 of my days are port days and a minimum of 8:00-5:00pm. I'll be up at 6:00am and don't want to spend what few available hours I have sitting at a table forever. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsrdsrdsr Posted December 5, 2016 #12 Share Posted December 5, 2016 (edited) No ship has 5 courses anymore. You will have 3...and unless you're at a large table, or have a waiter who is serving you AND a large table, you can do it in about an hour. But...what's your rush? You're on vacation! Sit, talk, and enjoy! Clearly the Marco Polo has changed its menu since July. No ships at all, you say? :) You can get a pretty good guide from the length of time between sittings, if there are two sittings. Take the difference in start times and knock off half an hour. (Doesn't work for flexible dining.) Edited December 5, 2016 by dsrdsrdsr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoncom Posted December 5, 2016 #13 Share Posted December 5, 2016 (edited) Insist that you get a deuce when you arrive at MDR. Should be no problem on any line. If turned down ask for Maitre D who is in charge of any dining problems. Edited December 5, 2016 by zoncom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mom says Posted December 5, 2016 #14 Share Posted December 5, 2016 No ship has 5 courses anymore. You will have 3...and unless you're at a large table, or have a waiter who is serving you AND a large table, you can do it in about an hour. But...what's your rush? You're on vacation! Sit, talk, and enjoy! That is a rather sweeping over generalization. And inaccurate. If you prefer only 3 courses, then certainly you can order only 3. If you prefer 4 or 5 (or even 6), the server will not refuse. We have found that traditional seating dinners, especially with larger tables, tend to run closer to 1.5 hours. If you don't care to dine; if you just want to eat your food and move on, then I'd suggest a table for only your party, either in traditional or anytime dining . Or hit the buffet. You can get in, scarf down your food and be out in under an hour. We prefer to dine at dinner. To enjoy each course without being rushed, to engage in interesting conversation, and relax amongst convivial table mates. That's usually 1.5 hours. Closer to 2 if the company is particularly good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybankerteacher Posted December 5, 2016 #15 Share Posted December 5, 2016 No ship has 5 courses anymore. You will have 3...and unless you're at a large table, or have a waiter who is serving you AND a large table, you can do it in about an hour. But...what's your rush? You're on vacation! Sit, talk, and enjoy! HAL offers: A) Choice of appetizers B) At least two soups C) Usually two or more salads D) Choice of several main courses E) Choice of dessert - possibly followed by a cheese plate That makes five, possibly six. No one has to order all - but they are there. I believe the same applies on Celebrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davekathy Posted December 5, 2016 #16 Share Posted December 5, 2016 (edited) HAL offers: A) Choice of appetizers B) At least two soups C) Usually two or more salads D) Choice of several main courses E) Choice of dessert - possibly followed by a cheese plate That makes five, possibly six. No one has to order all - but they are there. I believe the same applies on Celebrity. Correct, both Celebrity and Royal. Edited December 5, 2016 by davekathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookwife Posted December 5, 2016 #17 Share Posted December 5, 2016 With talk of 5 courses, etc, how long does a traditional MDR dinner take? An hour? Hour and a half? Sent from my iPhone using Forums If it is just your party, you control the speed, but you do need to let your wait staff know how quickly you want them to circle back and present the next course. If there are others, the staff will wait until the person arrives before taking orders and once food starts coming, waits until the last person finishes a course before the next one is brought out. Get a couple of talkers, and it can drag out. We generally eat alone and only order 3 courses and can be done in 45 minutes, as long as they are not overworked with too many other tables that they cannot keep to our eating speed. Since they get all their tables at once food wise, we have had to wait while everyone else got their second course even though we never ordered one. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookwife Posted December 5, 2016 #18 Share Posted December 5, 2016 No ship has 5 courses anymore. You will have 3...and unless you're at a large table, or have a waiter who is serving you AND a large table, you can do it in about an hour. But...what's your rush? You're on vacation! Sit, talk, and enjoy! Umm no. 5 courses listed is still standard. And most people order all five Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyboy Posted December 5, 2016 #19 Share Posted December 5, 2016 It takes us an hour, including coffee and dessert. Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieN Posted December 5, 2016 #20 Share Posted December 5, 2016 (edited) Correct, both Celebrity and Royal. So does Carnival. But the appetizers, soups and salads are lumped together. Making it look like there's less choice. We've eaten in an hour when it's just us, more than two because we've ended up at a great table. Edited December 5, 2016 by SadieN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaveDiving Posted December 5, 2016 #21 Share Posted December 5, 2016 After an hour, I'll be more interested in counting the number of doors on the ship. It doesn't take me 2 hours to watch 60 minutes so I'm not interested in watching someone else's food spoil while they take forever to eat it. I sugest strongly, that you plan on S..L..O..W..I..N..G.... D..O..W..N. You will enjoy your cruise significantly more. Scott & Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ithaca gal Posted December 5, 2016 #22 Share Posted December 5, 2016 We just came home from a two week cruise on the Eurodam. There were six of us dining during the first week, late seating. It took at least an hour and a half most nights. For the second week, there were four of us and we moved to a different table in the dining room. On the first night, we informed the servers that we wanted to be out in time for the 9:30 show and we were finished in a little over an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pullen0 Posted December 5, 2016 Author #23 Share Posted December 5, 2016 I sugest strongly, that you plan on S..L..O..W..I..N..G.... D..O..W..N. You will enjoy your cruise significantly more. Scott & Karen I'm way too ADHD to sit at a table for an hour and a half when I'd be spending a majority of the time waiting on everyone else to finish their courses. Some of you guys need to go to infantry basic training where you get 4 minutes to eat. LOL Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted December 5, 2016 #24 Share Posted December 5, 2016 With talk of 5 courses, etc, how long does a traditional MDR dinner take? An hour? Hour and a half? Sent from my iPhone using Forums I would allow 2 hours for a nice dinner with 5 courses, if only two people it may be done in 1.5 hours and may go out to 2.5 or 3 hours if you are at a table of 8 or ten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted December 5, 2016 #25 Share Posted December 5, 2016 No ship has 5 courses anymore. You will have 3...and unless you're at a large table, or have a waiter who is serving you AND a large table, you can do it in about an hour. But...what's your rush? You're on vacation! Sit, talk, and enjoy! I cannot agree, I haven't been on a ship or cruise line yet that only offers 3 courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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