MDR mealtimes

[davwen81]

We’re new to HAL and are on our first cruise with them in August on NIEUW Statendam.  We have booked all the speciality restaurants we’d like, but how do mealtimes in the MDR work. Can you go at the same time every night or are they like other cruise lines with early, late sittings.
any recommendations for speciality restaurants we’d be interested in too. 
Many thanks for any help. 

[robotpony]

You can chose early, late seating, or dine-any-time. You can make your selection when booking the cruise or through your TA, and it may be possible to do so after embarking (I've heard mixed results on this).

 

We enjoy each of the restaurants depending on our mood, including the MDR and Lido. Pinnacle, Rudy's, and Tamarind are usually great. Canaletto's can be great, and we sometimes treat ourselves to Nami sushi on embarkation day. The Pizzas and Burgers by the Lido pool can be good too, and we try not to miss the Dutch Cafe that has a few very unique dishes (fries and peanut sauce!).

[momcesa]

3 hours ago, davwen81 said:

We’re new to HAL and are on our first cruise with them in August on NIEUW Statendam.  We have booked all the speciality restaurants we’d like, but how do mealtimes in the MDR work. Can you go at the same time every night or are they like other cruise lines with early, late sittings.
any recommendations for speciality restaurants we’d be interested in too. 
Many thanks for any help. 

We were on Zaandam in Sept and had chosen anytime dining. The fist night we went in at about 7. We loved the location and our waiter. After the second night we asked it we could eat there for the rest of the trip and were able to do that.

[Colorado Klutch]

4 hours ago, robotpony said:

You can chose early, late seating, or dine-any-time. You can make your selection when booking the cruise or through your TA, and it may be possible to do so after embarking (I've heard mixed results on this).

I just booked and I don't see anything for selecting a dining time. Really disappointed with the HAL web site. Wondering if that's on purpose to promote travel agents. 

[sunviking90]

36 minutes ago, Colorado Klutch said:

I just booked and I don't see anything for selecting a dining time. Really disappointed with the HAL web site. Wondering if that's on purpose to promote travel agents. 

They did have this capability for a while last year, but it has disappeared.