Do shows remain time-consistent on different sailing of the same ship (same lengths also)

[Happytime22]

Wondering if I look at sailings of Symphony now (I'll be taking a 9-Day so will look for similar) will that be reasonably accurate for an 8/24 sailing?

[firefly333]

Sometimes but often show times change from week to week. I havent had 2 weeks in a row with the same times.

[Happytime22]

Darn....trying to plan Dinner times!!!!

[FionaMG]

I think that 9-night sailing is a one-off that happens every August on whatever ship is doing the southern itinerary out of NJ so it's going to difficult to get a reliable comparison especially this far out.

Symphony is currently on her way across the Atlantic so there's no point at all in looking at the current schedule.

Then she'll be doing a 6-night/8-night rotation so the 8-night may give you some idea but still very unreliable. 😕

 

[Happytime22]

thks

[TripsYouMustDo]

My recommendation is to get "early dining" as opposed to "flexible" if you can, because "flexible" seating starts fairly late (e.g. 6:30pm on my last sailing). 

 

If you cannot get fixed time early dining (5pm on my last sailing), you may be able to head to the dining room around 5:20pm (about 15-20 minutes after the early dining time), and at that time you know who's "no-show" and can seat you. I had success with that every day on my last Allure of the Seas sailing.

 

I wanted to be able to catch two shows each night (7:30pm and 9:30pm on that sailing) and the only way of doing that (and getting good seats) was to go to the early dining.

 

Also, tell your waiter that you are going to a show, and don't tell them a show time but tell them at what time you want to leave the restaurant. On most Royal ships I'd recommend getting to the theater before the doors open (45 minutes before showtime) to get a choice of seats (though pinnacles/suites often reserve front row, at least the did on my last sailing, nothing you can do). 

 

If your waiter is slow brining your meals, ask for a different server next time. The exception is first night of the cruise, seems like every single person cause to MDR and service is very slow.

 

Oh yeah, if you are doing specialty dining none of that advice applies of course, just try to get a reservation as early as you can.

Edited November 5, 2023 by TripsYouMustDo