Ordering all courses at once

[new2cruise]

I've read on this board that meals can take 2 hours to finish.  Is it possible to order all your courses at once to try to speed up the process?

[Kay S]

6 minutes ago, new2cruise said:

I've read on this board that meals can take 2 hours to finish.  Is it possible to order all your courses at once to try to speed up the process?

You can order at one times, but the dishes will still come out individually.  A better approach is to tell the server you want to hurry things along.   One advantage to having one dedicated wait staff (as in the old days of traditional dining) was that your waiters knew you and adjusted their service for you (and not having to tell a new one the same thing night after night as in the case now.)

[Buckeye10640]

13 minutes ago, new2cruise said:

I've read on this board that meals can take 2 hours to finish.  Is it possible to order all your courses at once to try to speed up the process?

Generally you do order all courses at once, except dessert. But they bring them one at a time. And if you (or someone at your table) orders multiples like 2 apps, 2 salads, its still one at a time. At a large table this can take forever (as we learned one cruise at a table with someone who liked to try everything!). I love my private  table for 2 these days. 

[david63]

52 minutes ago, new2cruise said:

I've read on this board that meals can take 2 hours to finish.  Is it possible to order all your courses at once to try to speed up the process?

Out of interest - what is the rush?

[Lady Arwen]

3 minutes ago, david63 said:

Out of interest - what is the rush?

We also like to take our time at dinner and not rush.  Two hours is fine for us, which includes our coffee and dessert.   We like to order dessert after dinner to see what happens to catch our eye at that moment.  Occasionally, we skip or share, it all depends on our mood.  My DH is British and this is normal dining time for him.  I think Americans prefer a faster pace.  

[wowzz]

Yup, totally agree that two hours is about right. If we have a two top we will often ask our waiter to pause for 15 or 20 minutes between courses, so that we are not rushed.

If you want to eat a meal in less than an hour, go to the buffet.

[Ombud]

I preorder and sometimes request that the appetizer (if asparagus) and main (when fettuccine) come together. Then I mixed the 2. 

 

And yes, I eat at 6pm and don't want to spend 2 hrs eating as I want to get to the shows or musicians. 

[new2cruise]

46 minutes ago, david63 said:

Out of interest - what is the rush?

I tried to get earlier seatings with no luck.  I'd like to go to the 7:30 show, but don't want to eat 8:30 afterwards.  

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, new2cruise said:

I tried to get earlier seatings with no luck.  I'd like to go to the 7:30 show, but don't want to eat 8:30 afterwards.  

Never been on a Princess ship with a 7:30 show. They are normally later than that.

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, Ombud said:

And yes, I eat at 6pm and don't want to spend 2 hrs eating as I want to get to the shows or musicians. 

We want to eat for two hours so as to avoid the shows and musicians! 

[Lady Arwen]

Just now, wowzz said:

We want to eat for two hours so as to avoid the shows and musicians! 

Indeed, the same with us.

[Sea Hag]

56 minutes ago, david63 said:

Out of interest - what is the rush?

My hubby has a bad back and can't comfortably sit in one place for long. I imagine a lot of people have this problem or another equally valid one.

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

My hubby has a bad back and can't comfortably sit in one place for long. I imagine a lot of people have this problem or another equally valid one.

I understand, but that is totally different to those people who just wish to eat and leave the MDR as quickly as possible,  for no medical reason at all. 

[Ombud]

15 minutes ago, wowzz said:

We want to eat for two hours so as to avoid the shows and musicians! 

 

16 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Never been on a Princess ship with a 7:30 show. They are normally later than that.

Yeah .... 1st show is at 7:30 but you're still at dinner which is why you didn't know 😂 (7:30 shows in UK,  Europe, Caribbean,  Asia, Japan, Aus<->NZ, and of course USA) 2nd show is significantly later ... I think 9:30 but I'm already listening to music somewhere. 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Ombud

[SCX22]

9 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Never been on a Princess ship with a 7:30 show. They are normally later than that.

 

20:00 and 22:00 evening shows in Princess Theatre are only on sailings out of Southampton where the British guests dominate.  Pretty much everywhere else Princess sails, shows are at 19:30 and 21:30.

 

Paul Chandler Burns announced this on The Wake Show our cruise on our 01/04/23 cruise on the Sky Princess.  For the 18/03/23 transatlantic cruise that was before ours, shows were at 19:30 and 21:30.  He changed show time beginning with our sailing to accommodate British preferences of dining late.

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

20:00 and 22:00 evening shows in Princess Theatre are only on sailings out of Southampton where the British guests dominate.  Pretty much everywhere else Princess sails, shows are at 19:30 and 21:30.

 

Paul Chandler Burns announced this on The Wake Show our cruise on our 01/04/23 cruise on the Sky Princess.  For the 18/03/23 transatlantic cruise that was before ours, shows were at 19:30 and 21:30.  He changed show time beginning with our sailing to accommodate British preferences of dining late.

I think you'll find that shows are at 20:00 and 22:00 or 22:15 on European sailings as well. That was the case last year on Regal in the Med. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by wowzz

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, Ombud said:

 

Yeah .... 1st show is at 7:30 but you're still at dinner which is why you didn't know 😂 (7:30 shows in UK,  Europe, Caribbean,  Asia, Japan, Aus<->NZ, and of course USA)

As @SCX22 states, you are wrong.

[SCX22]

If you have a good waiter that is well trained and willing to "run" for you, you can be in and out of the dining room in an hour.  Order everything at once and just tell them to bring it out as it's prepared by the galley.  You'll have a table full of plates, but you'll out of the MDR quickly.  Unfortunately this is a rare occurrence ever since the restart as there seems to be some sort of hold up--not sure if its from the galley, the expediting process, or the waiters being overwhelmed.

[Colorado Coasty]

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think you'll find that shows are at 20:00 and 20:15 on European sailings as well. That was the case last year on Regal in the Med. 

 

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think you'll find that shows are at 20:00 and 20:15 on European sailings as well. That was the case last year on Regal in the Med. 

Those are some quick shows.

[Ombud]

5 minutes ago, wowzz said:

As @SCX22 states, you are wrong.

Sorry. That's my experience.  

[Buckeye10640]

42 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I preorder and sometimes request that the appetizer (if asparagus) and main (when fettuccine) come together. Then I mixed the 2. 

 

And yes, I eat at 6pm and don't want to spend 2 hrs eating as I want to get to the shows or musicians. 

I agree with you. Dinner is not an 'event' for me.  A 2 hour+ dinner would be  painfully long. Let me eat and get on with my night. Which is why we do eat at Alfredos/Gigis or Marketplace Buffet about half the time. 

 

And I am going to remember that idea about adding the asparagus to the alfredo!

Edited May 5, 2023 by Buckeye10640

[wowzz]

5 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Sorry. That's my experience.  

I've sailed on three cruises on Princess in Europe in the last year, and no show started before 20:00.

When was the last time you sailed in Europe?

Edited May 5, 2023 by wowzz

[wowzz]

7 minutes ago, Colorado Coasty said:

Those are some quick shows.

Yes - sorry - you were quick off the mark ! Times have now been corrected! 

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

If you have a good waiter that is well trained and willing to "run" for you, you can be in and out of the dining room in an hour.  Order everything at once and just tell them to bring it out as it's prepared by the galley.  You'll have a table full of plates, but you'll out of the MDR quickly.  Unfortunately this is a rare occurrence ever since the restart as there seems to be some sort of hold up--not sure if its from the galley, the expediting process, or the waiters being overwhelmed.

But what is the fun in that ? Surely a meal is to be enjoyed in a relaxed manner, not shoved down your throat as quickly as possible. 

[SCX22]

Just now, wowzz said:

But what is the fun in that ? Surely a meal is to be enjoyed in a relaxed manner, not shoved down your throat as quickly as possible. 

 

For me, there's no need to sit down and savor mediocre hotel food.  It's just sustenance.  2 hours is just too long to sit and have dinner.  I rarely have dinners that long on land, and when I do, it's only for a special occasion.  I prefer the MDR for dinner because have a guaranteed seat.  At the times I like to eat, the buffet is usually chaotic and a mad house and scouting a seat can be problematic. 

 

I want to have fun somewhere else on the ship, not the MDR.  Again, that's just me.