What was your longest wait with no dining reservations?

[katiel53]

Last summer on Allure, we waited in line over 25 minutes to just get to the hostess. We then waited in a holding area for another 15 minutes, but during that wait we were served champagne. It was the 2nd formal night and I think many people were having several servings of lobster so it took a lot longer than normal.

 

We also went to the MDR the last night of the cruise and there was no wait. Both times we went about 6:15-6:30. We didn't make reservations in advance because we had a 5 night dining package and weren't sure when/if we would eat in the dining room.

 

The line for reservations on the 2nd formal night was long and slow moving also.

[tortoisegirl]

On Explorer in September they had two lines, but there was no distinction between reservations or not, very odd, and that doesn't seem to be the norm from what I've read here. We had early ish reservations, 6pm or so. At that time we never had to wait (besides in line), and I saw very few people being asked to wait after getting to the front of the line (they had a very small waiting/seating area). Longest wait in line for us was the first night, maybe 25 minutes. The other nights it probably averaged 10 minutes.

 

We were never given the option to dine with others, always just given a table for 2, and it was in the same area each time, although we had 1 waiter ~ 5 nights and a different one ~ 2 nights. I agree to consider making reservations due to having a large party, but you can always dine at a different time if that doesn't work, just be prepared to wait. Dining early will probably help reduce waiting time though.