What time is early dining? 5:15pm ....hmmm

[seapad]

Even though we're Diamond+ and have cruised numerous times with Royal, this is our 1st time doing a transatlantic next year on the Odyssey. We've always preferred main dining room early dining, just so we don't have to stress about making reservations, or standing in line. Plus we love to have the same wait person, and get to know him/her. 

We are surprised to see that the 'scheduled' early dining for this cruise is 5:15pm......is this the norm for transatlantic cruise? 5:15p, seems a bit too early. Or will this time change to a more realistic hour later? 

 

Thanks in advance. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

so was ours, but the dining staff said that as long as we showed up before 6 pm, we were ok. We usually showed up between 5:45 and 6.

 

Can you do MTD? I make reservations online long in advance (but we couldn't do MTD with an unvaxxed child on our last cruise).

[seapad]

1 minute ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

so was ours, but the dining staff said that as long as we showed up before 6 pm, we were ok. We usually showed up between 5:45 and 6.

 

Can you do MTD? I make reservations online long in advance (but we couldn't do MTD with an unvaxxed child on our last cruise).

Good to know, yes 5:45 ish and 6 works! Even though the cruise is several months out, the online booking system starts all of the dining times every day from 7 pm. Not sure if they are blocking the earlier hours for onboard. Weired. 

 

[davekathy]

12 minutes ago, seapad said:

Even though we're Diamond+ and have cruised numerous times with Royal, this is our 1st time doing a transatlantic next year on the Odyssey. We've always preferred main dining room early dining, just so we don't have to stress about making reservations, or standing in line. Plus we love to have the same wait person, and get to know him/her. 

We are surprised to see that the 'scheduled' early dining for this cruise is 5:15pm......is this the norm for transatlantic cruise? 5:15p, seems a bit too early. Or will this time change to a more realistic hour later? 

 

Thanks in advance. 

When you first board the ship, go to the MDR and ask. Your transatlantic cruise on the Odyssey may be different. 

[Jimbo]

10 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

so was ours, but the dining staff said that as long as we showed up before 6 pm, we were ok. We usually showed up between 5:45 and 6.

 

Can you do MTD? I make reservations online long in advance (but we couldn't do MTD with an unvaxxed child on our last cruise).

That wouldn't be very nice for the wait staff or if others are sitting at your table to be that late arriving. It throws off the whole dinner.

[John&LaLa]

3 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

That wouldn't be very nice for the wait staff or if others are sitting at your table to be that late arriving. It throws off the whole dinner.

 

Some folks don't get it.

 

[John&LaLa]

21 minutes ago, seapad said:

Even though we're Diamond+ and have cruised numerous times with Royal, this is our 1st time doing a transatlantic next year on the Odyssey. We've always preferred main dining room early dining, just so we don't have to stress about making reservations, or standing in line. Plus we love to have the same wait person, and get to know him/her. 

We are surprised to see that the 'scheduled' early dining for this cruise is 5:15pm......is this the norm for transatlantic cruise? 5:15p, seems a bit too early. Or will this time change to a more realistic hour later? 

 

Thanks in advance. 

 

Change to MTD

[Jimbo]

4 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Some folks don't get it.

 

+1

[Itchy&Scratchy]

16 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

That wouldn't be very nice for the wait staff or if others are sitting at your table to be that late arriving. It throws off the whole dinner.

we were not sharing a table with anyone else. We were a group of 5 at a 6 person table in an unvaxxed dining room. There was no sharing tables with other unvaxxed strangers at this time.

[Jimbo]

Just now, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we were not sharing a table with anyone else. We were a group of 5 at a 6 person table in an unvaxxed dining room. There was no sharing tables with other unvaxxed strangers at this time.

no matter, 5:15pm dinner time, no later then 15 minutes late. 5:45pm or 6pm unacceptable.

 

Transatlantic, has a lot of older passengers that like to eat early, that is probably why first seating starts at 5:15pm

[Coralc]

Don't forget you will lose an hour a day if you are going eastbound.  So that 5:15 will feel later and later for eating. Or maybe I have that backwards, and you spring forward. 

Edited December 22, 2021 by Coralc

[Jimbo]

1 minute ago, Coralc said:

Don't forget you will lose an hour a day if you are going eastbound.  So that 5:15 will feel later and later for eating. 

I think I rather lose 2 or 3 hours all in one day on the crossing.

[John&LaLa]

7 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we were not sharing a table with anyone else. We were a group of 5 at a 6 person table in an unvaxxed dining room. There was no sharing tables with other unvaxxed strangers at this time.

 

FWIW, this isn't MTD, the kitchen works more efficient when most folks are eating the same course at relatively the same time. 45 minutes late us unacceptable.

 

In my extensive travels😉, I've seen them turn people away. Saw it on Oasis earlier this month. They were an hour late

[d9704011]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

I think I rather lose 2 or 3 hours all in one day on the crossing.

Yeah, but it'll still be only a couple hours after gorging on the afternoon snacks!

[John&LaLa]

6 minutes ago, Coralc said:

Don't forget you will lose an hour a day if you are going eastbound.  So that 5:15 will feel later and later for eating. Or maybe I have that backwards, and you spring forward. 

 

Those eastbound TA's have very short lunches

[Coralc]

4 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I think I rather lose 2 or 3 hours all in one day on the crossing.

It is like 5 days in a row. We were westbound and they set the clocks back an hour every day. So maybe 5:15 would feel earlier and earlier on an eastbound?  I confuse myself sometimes with time changes. 

[Jimbo]

8 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Yeah, but it'll still be only a couple hours after gorging on the afternoon snacks!

I would change the time in the morning at 7am to 10am, so when everyone gets up at 7am they go to Windjammer at at 10am for Brunch.

 

Do that on 2 mornings of the crossing 2 days apart.

Edited December 22, 2021 by Jimbo

[time4u2go]

45 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

That wouldn't be very nice for the wait staff or if others are sitting at your table to be that late arriving. It throws off the whole dinner.

I'm thinking the same thing.

[gatour]

36 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I think I rather lose 2 or 3 hours all in one day on the crossing.

 

There is actually a 5 hour time difference between the east coast of the US and England.

 

So if you are going eastbound,  If you wake up at 8am eastern time  partway during the cruise and they adjusted the clocks over night it is now 1pm ship time (UK time)

[Sunshine3601]

Our last sailing we did traditional dining was set for 5:30 and was asked if we could arrive 15 minutes early.  

We did some nights but not days we were at port.

[cruisinfanatic]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we were not sharing a table with anyone else. We were a group of 5 at a 6 person table in an unvaxxed dining room. There was no sharing tables with other unvaxxed strangers at this time.

Just as bad. Waiters have to drop what they're doing at the tables that showed on time and wait on you. Very inappropriate

[Itchy&Scratchy]

13 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

FWIW, this isn't MTD, the kitchen works more efficient when most folks are eating the same course at relatively the same time. 45 minutes late us unacceptable.

 

In my extensive travels😉, I've seen them turn people away. Saw it on Oasis earlier this month. They were an hour late

Please understand that we wouldn't have done it if the STAFF hadn't told us that it would be fine and I quote "as long as you come before 6 pm." We were not the only ones showing up at that time by far.

 

Second, we don't want to have dinner at 5 pm. Nor can some of us eat at 8 pm and later. We always do MTD around 6:30-7, but this time we literally found out we couldn't do MTD because of our child right before the cruise. Oh, and we couldn't eat at the Solarium bistro either, even though I made reservations for 6:30 every day. Vaxxed only.

[mek]

We did one E bound TA where the time change was at noon, so suddenly it was 1pm and it really screwed up dinner - I never was hungry enough for our early dinner on those days.

[sellwingri]

I’m on Allure over New Years Eve and early seating is at 5:15.  Strange but we’ll deal with it.

[Jimbo]

3 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Please understand that we wouldn't have done it if the STAFF hadn't told us that it would be fine and I quote "as long as you come before 6 pm." We were not the only ones showing up at that time by far.

 

 

Staff isn't going to tell you "NO" on mostly anything on a cruise ship you ask them.

It's what they say when you walk away is their real answer.  lol

Edited December 22, 2021 by Jimbo