How long does it take to have dinner in the main dining room?

[Pduaime]

We will be on the Joy.   Is one hour enough time for dinner in the main dining room?   If I have a 7:00 reservation for the show, can I go to dinner at 5:30 and be sure of getting out of there in time to get to the theater by 6:45.  I thought I read that show reservations are only held until 15 minutes before show time.    The theater is on the same deck as the main dining room but at the other end of the ship. 

[Paul Bogle]

You can tell your server you have a show to attend. They try to do their best. In our experience dinner in the complimentary dining rooms seem to always take around 90 minutes. You do have the option of getting up and leaving when you need to but that doesn't make for the best dining experience.

 

Others may have had different experiences.

[BirdTravels]

90-120 for dinner. You can ask for faster service, but the server can not control the galley. And hundreds of orders go in when the MDR opens. 

[hladygirl]

Never had more than an hour for dinner in MDR but that has been on the smaller ships. That is why I like the smaller ships like spirit, Dawn and Gem. No lines. No waits and faster service.

[bonvoyagie]

I have only been on the smaller ships too - I usually figure on 60 -90 min for dinner.

[Pduaime]

is anyone familiar with the Joy that would know if service in Taste or Savor might be faster than the main dining room?  

[Paul Bogle]

7 hours ago, Pduaime said:

is anyone familiar with the Joy that would know if service in Taste or Savor might be faster than the main dining room?  

 

It doesn't make any difference which of the three you choose to dine in other than any possible wait to be seated. Once you are seated the food all comes from the same galley.

[newmexicoNita]

Normally we figure an hour to an hour and 1/2. As some have mentioned you can let them know you have a show reservation and the wait staff will try and rush your meal up. 

[RedwingHockeyFan]

I would just go to dinner earlier, like 5pm.  If you get hungry again after the show just grab a snack in the buffet or at the Local.

[hallux]

We had no trouble making a 7:30 show on the Bliss (including sitting before the standby line opened) when getting to Taste or Savor between 5 and 5:30.  Definitely let your server know.  While they can't control some aspects of the meal (time from ordering food to delivery of the food) other aspects they CAN control and can save some time. 

 

One thing you can also do is walk by earlier in the day and preview the menu so you know what you want when you sit down.  The menus are posted in display cases between the bar and the elevators.  Doing this allows you to order almost right away.

[Pduaime]

Thanks all,   If we run short on time, we can always skip dessert.🙁  I would think if we dine just the two of us, rather than a group, it might be a bit faster too.  68 days to go !!

[mugtech]

Or you can go to the buffet.

[bkrickles1]

I've only done this once and it was on the Escape in July, 2018.

We had 2 activities/shows back to back one evening and we wanted to get good seating at the first one and my group of 6 was concerned that the overly long dinner would mess us up, so we went to Taste and only ordered appetizers.

It ended up being one of our favorite nights and fun meals.

The 6 of us must have ordered 15 apps or more and shared everything. We ordered dessert when they brought us our apps and we were on our way in under 45 minutes.

Not very traditional but hey we were on vacation and we always have fun!

54 days till Encore!

[Pduaime]

That's a great idea.   Thx. 

[steelersfan4ever]

too long!!

[hallux]

1 hour ago, steelersfan4ever said:

too long!!

If we're talking about the Manhattan Room, 2 of my 3 experiences on the Bliss will support that statement.  Last sailing I ate dinners exclusively in Taste, Savor, or specialty restaurants and things moved along as expected.

Edited November 26, 2019 by hallux

[VicRock]

I don't know about the Joy, but we just got back from a cruise on the Escape.  We had over 5000 passengers (we asked for the count) & ate most meals around 5:30 in the MDR Savor.   I don't believe it ever took more than 45 minutes.  The longest would be the last night & might have been 1 hour.

[TxMark]

Just off the Noro Joy, Just go early and enjoy your dinner. They were serving dinner in the Manhattan  at 4:30

instead of the scheduled open at 5:00.

[harz99]

22 hours ago, Pduaime said:

Thanks all,   If we run short on time, we can always skip dessert.🙁  I would think if we dine just the two of us, rather than a group, it might be a bit faster too.  68 days to go !!

That, exactly what I would do if required - a little less on the waistline won't matter once in a while...

[DinaS]

On the Escape last month, the dining times for dinner in the Main dining room were all over the place.  Sometimes we would be out in about an hour, and once it took over two hours.  Lunch was the same - less than an hour, or 90+ minutes. 

 

It also seemed to have nothing to do with the number of people eating - it was more to do with the servers and the fact that they looked frazzled and then disappeared for long periods of time.

 

Tell your server you have a show to catch, and if you are getting close, just get up and leave.  Hit the buffet or O'Sheehan's later if you are hungry.  We ended up doing that once, and it was fine.