Really slooooow dining!

[Rick&Jeannie]

13 hours ago, DennisNV said:

...and then canceled our reservation at Rudy's because I just wasn't interested in another wasted evening.

If you've never tried The Catch...then you *really* missed a dining experience.  Dining is very subjective...but in our opinion it is supremely good!

 

[startedwithamouse]

5 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

On Diamond Princess around Japan late last year they didn't have the stupid parade, they had an event in the Atrium, about 10pm, where the galley and wait staff were acknowledged. Much better in my opinion.

Discovery has the parade in the Piazza too.

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, pompeii said:

Not in our experience on the Sapphire recently. We dined at 5:30 every night and it was very slow several evenings. We barely made it to the 7:30 shows.  Some dinners moved along and we were done by 6:45 or so. But others dragged between courses and it took almost two hours. We had a table for two, not sharing. And we generally order the same number of courses every night, so it wasn’t that either. 

Of course, it could be slow on any ship where the crew/cook staff is inexperienced. On the Enchanted we arrived at 5 PM and were always finished by 6:30 PM. We each order 2 appetizers every night, soup, salad, 1 main course & dessert with coffee- table for 2.

My husband was usually one of the first to arrive in the show lounge to save our favorite seats.

[SCX22]

7 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

On Diamond Princess around Japan late last year they didn't have the stupid parade, they had an event in the Atrium, about 10pm, where the galley and wait staff were acknowledged. Much better in my opinion.

 

On other ships, this is done during the day, usually towards the end of the cruise, where the galley/wait staff beg for 10s on the survey.  Afterwards, there's usually a line of special cakes (which happen to usually be dry as a desert) in the buffet as if they are bribing passengers for high scores on the survey.  So gauche, IMO.

[dmwnc1959]

The really slow dining experience is why I quit eating in the MDR. And I much prefer to eat solo. Really want to be in and out within an hour. I did check the ‘eat quick’ option in the new Princess app, so I how that works. 🥸

[cruisinsince75]

2 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

If you've never tried The Catch...then you *really* missed a dining experience.  Dining is very subjective...but in our opinion it is supremely good!

 

Quite the lesson on how to debone a fish.  We were on Seabourn in the Thomas Keller Grill last April and my wife had the dover sole.  Same presentation at the table, but with butchered results.  

[Ombud]

I choose fast dining on the app but the server doesn't see that entry. Fortunately I have to pre-order they know I want my smoothy and main dish at the same time, tea as soon as I get to the table around 6, eat fast (from years in govt service), and am out by 7. Haven't had an issue at Alfredos / Gigis / O'Malleys

 

But yeah, avoid Sabatinis 

[MLBFan24]

I was on Majestic in May 2023 (Alaska) and my family of 3 kept reserving the same dining room and requested same table/waiter every night. Quick service, could finish dinner in 1.25 hours. Very pleased.

 

However, for one night, we couldn't reserve the same dining room for the same time we wanted. So we reserved another dining room, which had a different waiter of course. Waiter was SLOOOOW. He liked to bring out dishes at the same time for EVERYONE in his area. Meaning my family of 3 was also waiting for other tables to finish their appetizers. This dining time occurred during the same time as a glacier viewing experience.

 

It was so slow, that after 45 minutes and only eating the appetizer, I excused myself and left. I wanted to view the glacier. The other 2 family members decided to stay for the entire dinner, but they said it was still slow throughout the meal. I missed out on the prime rib I ordered haha

 

 

Edited January 28 by MLBFan24

[HotRoot]

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Discovery has the parade in the Piazza too.

We had the parade in the dining room on Discovery the week of January 13.

[Lady Arwen]

50 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Of course, it could be slow on any ship where the crew/cook staff is inexperienced. On the Enchanted we arrived at 5 PM and were always finished by 6:30 PM. We each order 2 appetizers every night, soup, salad, 1 main course & dessert with coffee- table for 2.

My husband was usually one of the first to arrive in the show lounge to save our favorite seats.

Oh my goodness, you eat dinner at 5:00 pm?  I don’t even know what that would look like!  Is this a Florida senior thing?  I’ve heard about the early bird specials  that folks line up for.  I guess it applies to cruiseships, too.  Well, to each their own.  Does the MDR start serving dinner at 5:00?  

[Hlitner]

We were on a full Sky Princess (14 days this past December) and service was always fast (sometimes too fast) in the MDR.  When we dine in the alternative restaurants we usually tell the waiter to "take your time" as we prefer dining to fast food.  But 3 hours!  That is ridiculous for any cruise venue.

 

Hank

[Ombud]

6 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Oh my goodness, you eat dinner at 5:00 pm?  I don’t even know what that would look like!  Is this a Florida senior thing?  I’ve heard about the early bird specials  that folks line up for.  I guess it applies to cruiseships, too.  Well, to each their own.  Does the MDR start serving dinner at 5:00?  

I am also stuck eating early. I would prefer 6:30 or 7 but then I couldn't have an assigned table, or so I was told. So I settled on 6. Maybe thats why MissP22 has to eat at 5

[d9704011]

9 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Oh my goodness, you eat dinner at 5:00 pm?  I don’t even know what that would look like!  Is this a Florida senior thing?  I’ve heard about the early bird specials  that folks line up for.  I guess it applies to cruiseships, too.  Well, to each their own.  Does the MDR start serving dinner at 5:00?  

We were on Sky Princess over period 16-23 December.  We had a table for two at 5:40.  Typically, it took about 1h10m for dinner.  If you want to get a decent seat in Princess Theatre for the 7:30 show, you need to be there at least half an hour before showtime when the ship is at capacity.  If you don't care about the 7:30 show, plenty of other dining options open up.

[Lady Arwen]

4 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

We were on Sky Princess over period 16-23 December.  We had a table for two at 5:40.  Typically, it took about 1h10m for dinner.  If you want to get a decent seat in Princess Theatre for the 7:30 show, you need to be there at least half an hour before showtime when the ship is at capacity.  If you don't care about the 7:30 show, plenty of other dining options open up.

We prefer to have dinner at 7:30.  Not really interested in the show.  It’s so interesting to me how everybody has such different ideas on the best times to dine.  Cruising has something for all of us!

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Oh my goodness, you eat dinner at 5:00 pm?  I don’t even know what that would look like!  Is this a Florida senior thing?  I’ve heard about the early bird specials  that folks line up for.  I guess it applies to cruiseships, too.  Well, to each their own.  Does the MDR start serving dinner at 5:00?  

That's a little late for us, but we make do.

You would be surprised how many people are in line at that time.

[Lady Arwen]

10 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

That's a little late for us, but we make do.

You would be surprised how many people are in line at that time.

Any earlier and it’s called breakfast!  lol. 

[MissP22]

Just now, Lady Arwen said:

Any earlier and it’s called breakfast!  lol. 

Breakfast is between 4 and 5 AM after my walk.

[Lady Arwen]

1 minute ago, MissP22 said:

Breakfast is between 4 and 5 AM after my walk.

We’re usually up at 530 am, too.  We have a bunch of dogs to walk on the trails and then feed.   Then do it all again at 4:00 pm.   Wouldn’t change a thing.

 

I sincerely hope you enjoy your dinners, regardless of what time works for you.  

[startedwithamouse]

4 hours ago, HotRoot said:

We had the parade in the dining room on Discovery the week of January 13.

No, the Baked Alaska parade is in the dining rooms. 

 

I was commenting on the piazza parade, with all the chefs, bakers, waiters and bar staff from all venues, including 360. 

 

This was on the final night of your cruise, in the Piazza at 10:00 pm.  

[KreinKrunker]

10 hours ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

  Our last Crown Grill dinner took a total of 45-50 mins.! 

Kind of like going to Ponderosa.

[karatemom2]

6 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Oh my goodness, you eat dinner at 5:00 pm?  I don’t even know what that would look like!  Is this a Florida senior thing?  I’ve heard about the early bird specials  that folks line up for.  I guess it applies to cruiseships, too.  Well, to each their own.  Does the MDR start serving dinner at 5:00?  

We try to schedule our MDR reservations for 6 to 6:30 now, but there was a time when we were traveling as a family with kids that we regularly headed to the MDR between 5 to 5:30. It left us free to enjoy evening fun on the ship and for them to have time in the clubs if they wanted to participate in any of the planned activities. So definitely not just a senior thing. More just a personal preference I think. 

[IndyKid]

We did our first Princess cruise in December aboard the Caribbean Princess, we had excellent service no matter where we ate - buffet, MDR, Sabatini's, Crown Grill, etc.

 

My wife and I have decided that we definitely want to do our next trip with PCL, looking at a week aboard Ruby in October as a possibility. 

[MissP22]

8 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

We try to schedule our MDR reservations for 6 to 6:30 now, but there was a time when we were traveling as a family with kids that we regularly headed to the MDR between 5 to 5:30. It left us free to enjoy evening fun on the ship and for them to have time in the clubs if they wanted to participate in any of the planned activities. So definitely not just a senior thing. More just a personal preference I think. 

Choosing a dining time has more to do with what activities you want to do that particular night rather than what you do at home. It's impossible to schedule the main show plus a trivia game and them listen to some music in one of the lounges if you begin the night with dinner at 7 PM.

[Esprit]

22 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

 

We do enjoy a longer dining time.  We love to sit with our wine and savour each course and we still love to talk to each other.  We always tell our waitstaff that there’s no rush to get us out at a certain time.  We have a fast paced lifestyle at home so when on vacation we love to take our time and enjoy every minute.  Contrary to what many people think, old fashioned romance is still alive and well.

 

 

Hear hear!

We also adhere to the suggested dress code on formal nights. I get serious "Brownie" points for dressing up to compliment my wife's attire 🧐

[Lady Arwen]

1 minute ago, Esprit said:

Hear hear!

We also adhere to the suggested dress code on formal nights. I get serious "Brownie" points for dressing up to compliment my wife's attire 🧐

Sounds just like my British DH!  He also appreciates his brownie points. lol