? on dining times

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dck12ga

Guest
We will be sailing on the Miracle 2/11/07, my parents have cruised before and told me to ask for early dining. I talked to our travel agent and she told me that there are only 2 nights that you have to worry about the time of dinner, and that is your formal nights. She said that the rest of the days you can eat anywhere and any time we want, and with whom ever you want. I asked if it was in the dining room and she said yes?? Are my parents wrong?? It would not be the first time. I hope I am explaining this so you know what I am saying?!?! It kind os scares me about our travel agent if she is wrong?? Thank you for any info you can give me!
 
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Sweetpea29488

Guest
On all the cruises that we've been on you had a dining time for each night if you ate in the formal dining room. You can eat at the causal dining when you want but you have an assigned time for the formal dining rooms not just on formal night. The only time you may have open seating in the formal dining room is if you are in a port until late in the night to early morn.
 
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dck12ga

Guest
OK, we will be at sea only 2 nights and the rest of the nights we will be in port until 4 PM, 4:30 PM and 6 PM and 6 PM. so do they not have dinner in the formal dining rooms those nights that we are a port? so maybe she is right?? I am sooo confused, I am glad we have over a year for this cruise, maybe I will know what I am doing by then!! Thank you!!
 
C

Cruizer

Guest
The Spirit class ships, of which the Miracle is one, has one dinning room (two floors, but only one room) and two SET dinner times, an early seating and a late seating. The only open seating is in the buffet. In short, your parents are correct and your TA is wrong. See the review below ...

Dining

The Bacchus Dining Room, named for the Greek god of wine (justly done up in purple hues with grape motifs on the ceiling and walls) is the main restaurant for dinner and probably the only room on the ship that struck me as too visually "loud." I was surprised that there is only one dining room on Spirit-class ships (while Carnival Valor and even the older Celebration feature two main restaurants), but at two decks high, Bacchus comfortably accommodates all passengers in two seatings, the earlier at 5:45 and the later at 8:15.

Tip: With nearly half of the ship's capacity heading to dinner in one place at one time, a line of people forms that eventually grows so long it snakes into the Metropolis Lounge. If you don't want to feel herded, grab a seat and a drink, and mosey on in after the crowd has dispersed.
 
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dck12ga

Guest
The previous poster said that the only time you may have open dining in the formal dining room is when you are in port late in the night. So could there be open dining in the formal dining room because we are in port until 6 PM on two nights(early dining is at 5:45PM) So would they have people eating in the formal dining room while still at a port??
 
C

Cruizer

Guest
When she said late at night, I believe she is taking about after 10:00pm. When a ship is in port that late, the ship counts on many people being out at dinner time, so the ship might then go to open seating. But late at night means late (not 6:00pm).

What MIGHT happen if the ship is in port until 6:00pm is dinner time will be moved back a little (from 5:45pm to 6:00pm).
 
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jcarroll

Guest
I was on the Miracle in Jan. 05. They have changed the port times since then. But the later departures should not affect the dining times. There is a problem getting early dinner, we had late, wanted early and had booked in March. The demand for early is much greater than the supply. Your travel agent should be able to assist in this. If you are booked for '07, this should not be a problem. And early is at 5:45. For each of the ports you should be back on the ship by that time. Formal nights would probably not be Costa Maya or Cozumel.

Hope this helps.
 
C

Cruizer

Guest
Jcarroll is correct. I forgot, you have to be on board 30 minutes before the ship leaves. Since you have to be on board at 5:30pm, there is no need to push the 5:45pm dinner back.
 
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lizardstew

Guest
This is the exact reason why I don't like early seating!!! You have to rush back to the ship to get ready for dinner, cutting into your port time. We always do late dining, and then we have time for a nap before dinner! :grin
 
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dck12ga

Guest
Thank you for your help! But now it kind of scares me, did I picked the wrong TA?!?!
 
C

Cruizer

Guest
Your TA may simply be confusing this ship with another ship. That said, your concern is the first thought that crossed my mind when I first read this.
 
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Sweetpea29488

Guest
What I meant with my earlier post was when we were in Cozumel our ship didn't leave until 12 midnight so that is why they had open seating that night. Sorry if I confused you.
 
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JSCruiser

Guest
We had the early seating on our Valor cruise last Feb. and did not like it. Two of the excursions we booked through Carnival did not get us back to the ship in time to get ready and get to the dining room. Next time we will request the later seating. We had late seating on our three other cruises and it just seemed as though we were much less rushed to get to dinner. Also, if we ate in the dining room every night on the Valor (which we did not) we would have missed being out on deck while leaving Belize. We would have missed one of the most gorgeous sunsets I have ever seen. It was definitely "To end another day" worthy.
 
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Sweetpea29488

Guest
We've had the early seating on all of our cruises and liked it. We tend to get up early and catch the first tours in the morning and like being back on the ship early. We've never had a problem with it. Each person has to decide what they would like best. We like early and others like late. Just look at what you might be doing at the ports of call and see what fits you the best. We are use to eating early and then like having alot of time to explore the ship at night. We also go to bed kind of early, around 11:00-12:00, and like to have some time after dinner to do some of the ship activities. You'll have fun no matter what time you choose. Have fun.
 
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Cori

Guest
Plus, if you eat at the early seating, you have that much more room later for the late-night buffets!! :)
 
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serene56

Guest
I tried late and early. I prefer early. Eating dinner at 8pm and not getting done til after 10 was too much. Couldnt eat at the midnight buffet. Trying to sleep with all that rich foods... arghhh.

Its all preference. You wont miss anything doing dinner at either time. Taking late seating on the Miracle you have ot see the shows before dinner.

Early seating allows you to do dinner...then get to the shows..

On the Miracle you have to sit at your assigned table. You cant pick and chose when and where you want to eat in the formal dining room.
 
C

canner

Guest
I did early on my first cruise and while I can not compare it to late, I know that I really enjoyed the early as I had lots of time during the evening to enjoy the shows and just wonder around the ship ... as far as being hurried with port excursions, we take the early ones so that we have time to relax after and just enjoy the port and the ship ...

Some cruise for the ports and some for the ship ... I guess if you cruise for the ports then the early eating may make things a bit rushed ... but it just really depends on the individual and their preferences ...

Candy
 
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BlueChef

Guest
dck12 - Remember that when you request a dining time, it's just that....a request. You won't actually know your dining time until you receive your Sail & Sign card when boarding. If you decide you'd rather have a different time, see the Maitre d' soon after boarding and ask for a change.

Your agent may be confused - in several areas.
The Miracle has only one dining room, only two dining times. Most Carnival ships have two dining rooms and four dining times.
All Carnival ships have assigned dining for the formal dining rooms. Only the Lido Deck buffet area has open seating for every meal.

You have lots of time to plan and learn about your cruise. Planning is half the fun!
 
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Cori

Guest
A slight clarification to BlueChef-- when DH and I sailed on the Miracle last fall, if you chose to eat in the main dining room for breakfast or lunch, you didn't necessarily eat at your assigned table, BUT you didn't have choice of tables, either. We ate breakfast one morning in Bacchus, and they sat us at a table for 6, with two other couples who had already begun eating. It felt very awkward, especially since everyone was at different stages of their meal-- kind-of hard/rude to try and strike up a conversation with someone while you're waiting for your own food when their mouth is full, you know? Plus, the menu was the exact same as in the Lido buffet (and the same quality-- that is, mediocre). Needless to say, we only had that one non-dinner meal in Bacchus, for a variety of reasons.
 
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BlueChef

Guest
You're correct, Cori. I meant to say that the assigned dining is for the evening meal. Most Carnival ships seem to have gone to open seating at lunch and breakfast in the formal dining room. I liked it much better when I went to my assigned table for all three meals in the dining room. Alas, things change with time.LOL
 
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