HugoBoss344

@FionaMG Thank you! I think we just think of Loen as a lunch destination and just get there, have lunch, leave while enjoying the sights as we are in motion we should be ok based on your advice. Any experience dining in Norway? Lunch shouldn't be more than an hour I hope which means 3-4pm could be just some time to enjoy the views and then 4-5pm back to the ship (in case a shuttle is full or something). If it looks overly busy we can just hit the shuttle at 3pm and have a good two hours to return. Thanks for your thoughts!

Following this as I have some similar question: We are going into Olden and doing the 8:30am tour to the glacier through RCL's shore excursion agreement. It's to last 4 hours per the booking. We plan to, if time, freshen up on the ship. Then we will catch the shuttle to Loen to take the sky-lift and have lunch at 2pm. If lunch is a nice hour that gives us another hour and a half to walk around before trying to catch the shuttle back to the ship around 4:30-5pm for a 6pm ship departure. Does this sound to ambitious and we're pushing our luck? The shuttle/skylift to Loen is only supposed to be 30 min total so I feel we have a enough buffer. We are in our late 30s so don't have mobility issues and can run if needed lol. Thanks!

Ah! But you may have answered the question. They obviously didn’t do it on the upper level so maybe I just need to ask to sit on the level where the conga lines aren’t planned.

Ah ok. Now granted I've only been on two RC (2019 and 2022) and one Carnival (1994!!!!!!). We did not do MDR in 2022 but we did in 2019 and I'm sure it was one of later nights in the cruise that the napkins were going, but not the last one because we went to a specialty restaurant on our last night. I know a lot has changed since 2019. 1994 was in the 4th grade and I seem to remember conga nights every night but everything seems over the top when you're a 4th grader. For context: we are trying to save a bit of money by maybe only doing the 3-night dining package along with the MDR and could simply avoid MDR last night in that case. However, the unlimited dining is really such a deal and it's just two of us so we are very flexible on dining times, plus you get a deal on bottles of wines which gives us a reason to not get the unlimited booze package. Well, for now we will just avoid the last night in MDR or dine at 6:45!

Does anyone have tips on when to go and where to sit in the MDR on specific ships or all the ships in general so that one could avoid the part of the dinner when the music starts playing and the napkins start twirling and the conga lines start going? We, in the past, have done specialty dining or Windjammer for dinner and would like to give MDR another chance but the one time we went, the party and napkin twirling weren't our style.

Thanks @AshleyDillo Helpful to know but it may be all too complicated for one dinner. We want to stay relaxed and not overwhelm staff so I think we'll skip the group dinner and just see everyone at the bar for a toast.

Called RC in the meantime and it seems you need 8 cabins to be considered a group, otherwise they won't allow you to make a group reservation. Seems the only option is to get onboard and race to the reservation stand.

Hello, I know large group planning can be difficult on cruises, but it's my husband's 40th birthday and he has one request: group dinner on his birthday at Jamie's Italian. There are 13 of us on this cruise who would like to dine for his birthday. I suppose my first step is to call RC and see what they can do, but I thought I'd try here first to see what others have learned and what my expectations should be. Some additional points/questions: Some people will have the unlimited dining package, and some will have the three night, and some will have no dining package. Is this a nightmare for the staff? If people think it makes it easier on the staff, we could cover any cover charges or drinks not covered by packages, however keeping each cabin on their own would be ideal. We wouldn't mind splitting tables, but of course we'd rather all be together. We are very flexible on time and would do a really early dinner if it helped the staff keep their wits about them. Is it realistic that they could accommodate us before the sailing or do you think we'll have to wait to reserve when we get on ship? If RC won't let us reserve ahead of time and waiting until we get onboard is too dicey, I suppose the only other way to make it happen is to prebook and pay the covers on the app by adding all the different parties to the reservations, yeah? Then we'd be on the hook for 13 cover charges even though many have the unlimited thought, right? I've seen some info about large group dining in the MDR, but not in specialty places. I seem to recall a long time ago an email to RC for large group dinging, but I can't find that anymore. Very much appreciate the advice anyone can provide! HugoBoss