Dining question

schatje · May 19, 2005

If you have a concern about starting on time so you can go to a show etc. try asking everyone that comes the first night how long you are wait. If you get the question out on the table right away then others will know where everyone stands and you should beable to relax the rest of the cruise. We did it the last cruise and the group decided that they would wait 10 min. before they start. No hard feelings if someone came late and they had to wait while some of us were already eating. We were all able to just go with the flow. I hope this helps.

Mary from Wisconsin

schatje · May 19, 2005

If you have a concern about starting on time so you can go to a show etc. try asking everyone that comes the first night how long you are wait. If you get the question out on the table right away then others will know where everyone stands and you should beable to relax the rest of the cruise. We did it the last cruise and the group decided that they would wait 10 min. before they start. No hard feelings if someone came late and they had to wait while some of us were already eating. We were all able to just go with the flow. I hope this helps.

Mary from Wisconsin

GottaCruz · May 20, 2005

Mary,

I think that's a very diplomatic way of handling the situation. I agree, it's great to get the topic out in the open . I think I'll try that on our next cruise. Thanks for the suggestion., since getting seats for the show is important to us. Cheryl :smiley:

ABoatNerd · June 10, 2005

Hello Cruise Crazies:

Re: Dining Time and Protocol

Some individuals may take offence with the following, so you are pre warned!

Basic principle which applies to all - be in the dining room at 6:15 with 5 minutes to spare. If not, dining proceeds without you and you will not be allowed to inconvience others if you arrive late.

Second, if the ship offers other food offerings, then one should presume that tablemates might not show - and therefore, no one should wait for anyone. Therefore, it should not be necessary to pre advise anyone of your intentions for the following day.

What many threads like this are REALLY addressing is the issue of increasing rudeness (arriving late, not dressing appropriately for the night etc)/ What about that do people not understand? This is not dining on land where a traffic accident could delay you. It should be very easy to arrive in the dining room on time (except for those selfish individuals who think protocols apply to everyone else - SEE BELOW).

For example:

My husband and I do not tolerate any dining table mates arriving late. We commence our dining experience whether people are there or not.

Our last cruise on Millenium required a hard line approach with the dining staff and 2 table mates. 2 table mates were very late for the first 2 nights (40 and 42 minutes late) which greatly affected the rest of us and created stress for the waiter.

I put an end to that. My husband and I advised the dining room staff to assign the individuals to a different table and I personally told the individuals that they were denied access to my table due to their rudeness.

The staff and specific individuals were agast (of course), but no one walks over me, particularly when I follow the stated and published protocol. The dining staff were useless, hobbled by political correctness to avoid offending a customer.

The dining table service and enjoyment was greatly enhanced thereafter. And the inevitable complements to me from my table mates and folks from adjacent tables followed.

There you go!

ABoatNerd

Suzila · June 10, 2005

"I put an end to that. My husband and I advised the dining room staff to assign the individuals to a different table and I personally told the individuals that they were denied access to my table due to their rudeness."

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I don't allow people to walk all over me either, but, while I may have asked the dining staff to re-assign the people to another table, I would never have confronted the couple who were the problem, face to face.

You never know who you're dealing with and the last thing I want to do on my vacation is get into it with anyone. I don't want to have to watch my back and worry about whether these people may want to get back at me.

Yes, I agree those people are rude for showing up so late, but the waiter should have given it 15 minutes and started to serve the rest of you. 45 minutes wait is ridiculous. When we had that happen to our table, we all agreed the waiter should start without the couple who showed up late.

And, a talk with the maitre'd is probably warranted in that situation, not a confrontation with the late couple.

JMHO, Sue