Dinner time what do you choose

[jonj]

We have My Time Dine on our next cruise on the Odyssey. What time do you recommend having dinner to get the most out of the evening activities and shows? I know we should reserve in advance and wanted to get some input from the experts. Thank you 

[Ashland]

If we decide to eat in the MTD venue we usually just go when they open (we don't do reservations)..especially when there's just two of us to get a table for two.

[jonj]

Thanks

 

[Oceansaway17]

anything but LATE like 8:30.  I like My time and I like buffets and early main.

 

Never understood why anyone would eat a large meal at 8-9pm.  oh well just my thoughts.

Actually on my last couple of cruises, I ate large lunches and then did appetizers at dinner.

[neverbeenhere]

8:30 dinner is fine when you plan to be up partying until 2am.  Everyone does cruising differently. 
 

 

[jonj]

Nevrbeenhere, very true, I was mostly curious about not missing the main shows if you didn't want to catch the 10pm one. Not sure my husband would make it until 10pm, LOL, he is an early riser. 

[woneill63]

We always eat at the 8 or 8:30 time slot.  This fits perfectly with our daily schedule and I don't think we would ever choose the early dining time.  If we want to see a show we go to the early one and then have our dinner.  

[LilBlackDress]

Everyone is different... Since you have MTD. Once you get on the ship, book your shows, then book dinner 2 hours before the show or 15/20 minutes after the show 

[Karma5]

We usually eat early so we can do some of the entertainment...

[njkruzer]

We like late so we're not rushed on a port day. Come back, grab a cop of tea, take a shower watch the ship depart from our balcony.   Just take it easy.

[AustinCruise]

And you can guess at it prior…. And adjust as the trip proceeds. 

[poocher]

14 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

8:30 dinner is fine when you plan to be up partying until 2am.  Everyone does cruising differently. 
 

 

And when you sleep it off til noon, 8pm is basically a late lunch!!😄

[loman]

Tend to keep the same as a home schedule and eat around 6 pm

[Cigar King]

I also prefer eating around 6.  I also like to eat again around 8.  Then a nice snack before bed.  😉

[George C]

We always eat late 8 or 8:30

[lenquixote66]

If we are dining by ourselves it is 5 or 5:30.If we are with a group it has usually been 8 or 8:30.

[davekathy]

MTD, reservations for 6:00, table for two. 

[Sunshine3601]

We usually do 530 or 6 pm then we have the rest of the night for entertainment and casino.

[WindinmySails]

I set 7 for my time dining.  Hope it doesn't interfere with watching shows.

[Junkhouse]

Anything but between 6-7:30.  A lot of shows start at that time or a little after.  We used to do MTD but we stopped because we missed some shows because we were dinning in the "doughnut".  We like 8 pm because we are not rushed on port days and it seems more relaxed and quicker service. On our last cruise MTD and early/late sittings were on the same floor. They always had our table open and we sometimes got to the table as early at 7:30.

[cruiselvr04]

We have always done second seating.  It has given us more time after a day in port,  time in the lounge before dinner and meshed with most of the show schedules.  Since covid we’ve been home more and have been eating earlier.  So we are trying MTD for the next 4 cruises.  We still want to make the shows and the DH will not wait for more then 10 minutes to be seated so we will see how it goes.  Even pre covid we didn’t go anywhere that didn’t take reservations as waiting for more then 30 minutes to be seated to us just seems like a waste of time.  

We did try early one cruise.  Wow that’s early when you need to shower and dress.  We had to really rush on port days and cut short deck time on sea days so I don’t think that’s reasonable for us.  6:30 or 7 sounds better but we will see what time the shows are.

[RKHOOKER]

8-8:30PM.

Works well for us.  Usually back on the ship by 5PM, time for a snack, cocktail & swim or nap by pool.  Then back to cabin for shower & or nap, then head out for a pre dinner drink 30 mins before dinner.  Then grab 10PM show after dinner.  Finally, finish night off at casino or nightclub/bar.  In bed by midnight ready for next port day or 3AM if it’s a sea day!

[jonj]

13 hours ago, Junkhouse said:

Anything but between 6-7:30.  A lot of shows start at that time or a little after.  We used to do MTD but we stopped because we missed some shows because we were dinning in the "doughnut".  We like 8 pm because we are not rushed on port days and it seems more relaxed and quicker service. On our last cruise MTD and early/late sittings were on the same floor. They always had our table open and we sometimes got to the table as early at 7:30.

Thanks, that was our fear. We like to eat about 7pm but looking at current compasses 7-8pm was when a lot of the things we like to see were happening other than if a show had two times.  

[coffeebean]

On 10/29/2021 at 11:34 PM, woneill63 said:

We always eat at the 8 or 8:30 time slot.  This fits perfectly with our daily schedule and I don't think we would ever choose the early dining time.  If we want to see a show we go to the early one and then have our dinner.  

That is what we do because we love the shows and go to a show every evening. If we ate before the show, we would we would wind up nodding off during the show.

[CaroleC]

15 hours ago, RKHOOKER said:

8-8:30PM.

Works well for us.  Usually back on the ship by 5PM, time for a snack, cocktail & swim or nap by pool.  Then back to cabin for shower & or nap, then head out for a pre dinner drink 30 mins before dinner.  Then grab 10PM show after dinner.  Finally, finish night off at casino or nightclub/bar.  In bed by midnight ready for next port day or 3AM if it’s a sea day!

Yep that’s almost exactly the same as we do except for the 03:00 bedtime. I’ve usually had enough by about midnight, DH may stay in the casino for another hour or so if he’s on a winning streak 😁