Ordering all courses at once

[memoak]

21 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.

With all those plates the cold items will get warm and the hot items will cool off. This happens when you order room service in a full suite or when on Covid isolation also

[Shmoo here]

2 hours ago, Kay S said:

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.)

Are you saying you don't get the same servers every night?  It's be a while since we were on Princess, but we've always had the same servers for dinner every night.

[SCX22]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

With all those plates the cold items will get warm and the hot items will cool off. This happens when you order room service in a full suite or when on Covid isolation also

 

The only real hot food on Princess ships are the sandwiches from the International Cafe because they heated them up on demand in front of you.  The food in the MDR is always served warm/lukewarm/cold, never piping hot.  At least, I've never received anything piping hot.  Really disappointed in the French Onion Soup, especially, because this is supposed to burn the roof of you mouth when it is served.  Most times, it's just lukewarm and only if you stir it to distribute the heat.

[startedwithamouse]

2 hours 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?

We order all courses at the same time, including dessert.  They bring them one after another, without delay, and we're done with dinner in just under an hour, with the exception of embarkation night.  

[CruizinSusan70]

5 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Are you saying you don't get the same servers every night?  It's be a while since we were on Princess, but we've always had the same servers for dinner every night.

If you have early or late set time dining, then you will have the same wait staff and table each evening.  If you have YTD, then you may or may not have the same wait staff or even the same table.  You can request the same staff but it's not always guaranteed.

[Shmoo here]

Just now, CruizinSusan70 said:

If you have early or late set time dining, then you will have the same wait staff and table each evening.  If you have YTD, then you may or may not have the same wait staff or even the same table.  You can request the same staff but it's not always guaranteed.

OK, thanks.  It sounded like that wasn't an option any more.

[CruizinSusan70]

We prefer to be in and out of the MDR in 60-75 minutes.  The two hour dinner of 20+ years ago might be the preferred method of those on the other side of the pond, but not us. 

Back in the day your choices after dinner was 1 show, the casino, maybe a single music venue and maybe two bars to grab a drink.  Nowadays the larger modern ships have many more choices post dinner so we would prefer to be done in just over an hour instead of spending two hours in the MDR.  That extra hour can be spent more productively in our opinion out and about instead of dwelling over a prolonged dessert and an extra cup of coffee or two.

[Ombud]

36 minutes ago, wowzz said:

41 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?

I haven't sailed there since 2-September-2022 so things may have indeed changed. 

[Momma Mojito]

3 hours 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?

[Momma Mojito]

We started to ask for a table for two that way we can enjoy our dinner and not take two hours to finish our dinner

[rjack22]

The first show was at 7:30 on our Sky Princess cruise in February.  It was a Caribbean cruise.  But you really need to get there early.   We tried to be there at 7:00 so that does make it hard to dine in the MDR before the show.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

If you have early or late set time dining, then you will have the same wait staff and table each evening.  If you have YTD, then you may or may not have the same wait staff or even the same table.  You can request the same staff but it's not always guaranteed.

There is no more traditional early or late sitting. 

[Ombud]

5 hours 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?

Bottom line: you can control the speed of service. 

[brisalta]

4 hours 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.

 

Ask for a table by the wall with a bench seat so your husband can recline on the bench.

[brisalta]

4 hours 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.

 

In the past a number of the waiters were from Ukraine. I suspect the war in Ukraine has halted the employment of Ukrainians of military age.

[Kay S]

4 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

Are you saying you don't get the same servers every night?  It's be a while since we were on Princess, but we've always had the same servers for dinner every night.

DMW and the app make it next to impossible to get the same waiters every night. Princess post-covid is very different from the Princess we knew.

Edited May 6, 2023 by Kay S

[Kay S]

3 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

OK, thanks.  It sounded like that wasn't an option any more.

It isn't an option anymore.

[cruzsnooze]

4 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

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.

Yours is why cruising is for everyone and anyone, do things at the pace comfortable for you. 

[Shmoo here]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

There is no more traditional early or late sitting. 

Well, that's a bummer.  

[Guest ldtr]

6 hours ago, wowzz said:

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

On the Regal Princess on a British Isles cruise. Showtimes are 7:30 and 9:30. On the transatlantic they were 7:15 and 9:15.

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, Kay S said:

DMW and the app make it next to impossible to get the same waiters every night. Princess post-covid is very different from the Princess we knew.

That's strange, I have been on 8 Princess cruises since restart. Have made reservation at same time each night. Have had same table for 2 and waiters on each of the 8. Key is on first night ask as you are leaving the dining room to keep the same table.

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

Bottom line: you can control the speed of service. 

Yes and no. If you are seated in an area with some large tables and they are full things can get very slow, even if you are at a table for 2 and have asked for quicker service.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

Getting back to you question, we have been on two more recent Princess cruises.  Our group were always finished with dinner in the MDR in less than two hours.  We didn't ask for speedy service.  If we had, I think an hour would be reasonable.  And, we would not need a funnel.     

If you eat early when the dining room opens, you can usually dine very quickly. At that time not all tables are full and staff is pretty quick. About an hour to 1:15. As the tables in your staffs area fill, things slow down.

[wowzz]

6 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

If you have early or late set time dining, then you will have the same wait staff and table each evening.  If you have YTD, then you may or may not have the same wait staff or even the same table.  You can request the same staff but it's not always guaranteed.

That system disappeared a couple of years ago. Set dining times are no more. You can, however,  use the app to reserve a table at the same time in the same MDR every night. However,  that will not necessarily be with the same wait staff or at the same table.

Anecdotal evidence is that when on board you may  be able to ask to have the same table every night - this is more likely if you are prepared to eat in the late afternoon, as soon as the MDR opens.

We normally eat around 20:00. We have rarely had the same table or staff. I can understand that having the same staff is useful if you have particular allergies or requirements  - we have neither,  and couldn't care less who serves us, or where. 

Edited May 6, 2023 by wowzz

[caribill]

7 hours 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.

 

 

2 hours ago, ldtr said:

On the Regal Princess on.. the transatlantic they were 7:15 and 9:15.

 

And that leads to what was a big benefit of the dearly departed traditional dining with fixed times that were coordinated with the times for evening shows.

 

You did not have to reserve a time months in advance of a cruise having to guess what time the shows might be as DMW requires. If you wait until close to embarkation when you find out what the actual show times will be, the dining times you would want will likely no longer be available.