Boy has HAL slipped

[SwissMyst]

Huh?

I'm not surprised to see the complaints about Open/AYW Dining -

I won't cruise HAL unless I can have my choice of fixed seating, and I've never been unhappy with the service as a result.

 

We tried AYW the first night of our first HAL cruise and immediately went over to fixed dining and have been happy with it ever since. It did take a long time to get things on that first AYW night, and it just seemed like it was going to have built in problems with this arrangement. That is when we decided to switch back to fixed. There was more a sense of the waiters roaming around rather than serving us directly with AYW simply because they were having to juggle a variety of dining times all over their area.

 

There seemed to be no sense of routine for them which allowed for systematic follow-up at certain times during the meal. Some wanted water glasses filled during the meal, others wanted coffee after the meal etc, rather than being aware of services that were appropriate at certain times during a normal meal setting. Small things, but there is a sense of flow in the fixed dining areas due to the more similar timing of all the courses.

 

The fixed dining we had on a prior brand (luxury) ship was okay but only if you were there right immediately at the start and got your orders in right away. If you waited even a few minutes into the window time to get seated, we watched people sit for hours only getting their first courses when we were finally leaving. It did increase their bar bills we noticed.

 

Consequently we always are prompt when arriving for our fixed dinner time on HAL and it has always been an extremely efficient operation as a result.

 

For us it works and feels the most predictable way to have the waiters get to know us and vice versa, to get to recognize the passengers around you and to delightfully know you will be spending the next hour or so with lovely care and attention.

 

I am glad it works so well for those who do prefer AYW, but the occasional glitches and hang-up that also seem to come with this choice are also understandable. I am glad HAL is making the option available but I also hope they never eliminate fixed dining too.

[RTanner]

When we were on Noordam in 2006 there was some mention of this new policy but I can remember no one taking the option. I thought that HAL then realized what a fiasco it would become and it woud soon disappear. I guess that I was wrong?

 

Speaking only for ourselves, it saddens me to see HAL going to this non-traditional dining concept. The first time we experienced it was on another cruise line and the one which proudly boasts of this style of dining. It was horrible. In fact, even though their advertised prices beat any of the other cruise lines, their itineraries outstanding and their service personnel are among the friendliest in the industry, we will probably never cruise with them again simply because of their dining policies and food quality.

 

The food in MDR was noticeably down graded and on a couple nights marginal at best. We decided that this was all a ploy to drive people to one of their five or six speciality restaurants in order to get a cruise-class meal.

 

We missed the orderliness of the traditional seating, the camaraderie of regular table mates, the quality of the meals and maybe above all, the general feeling that we were dining somewhere special and not at a restaurant chain operation. If we wanted to eat at Chili's, Appleby's or TGI Fridays, we'd vacation other than on a cruise ship.

[kalliekae]

The food in MDR was noticeably down graded and on a couple nights marginal at best. We decided that this was all a ploy to drive people to one of their five or six speciality restaurants in order to get a cruise-class meal.

 

We missed the orderliness of the traditional seating, the camaraderie of regular table mates, the quality of the meals and maybe above all, the general feeling that we were dining somewhere special and not at a restaurant chain operation.

 

We agree with RTanner. On our Noordam cruise last year, we signed up for the AYW dining and left the main dining room after 2 nights. We had lousy service and the food simply wasn't up to previous HAL standards so we decided we may as well eat in the Lido at night. When we booked our upcoming cruise, we were told that only AYW dining was available even though we booked over a year in advance. Go figure! We realize that HAL has to make cuts in service and standards in today's economy; but it is still sad that our experience was not up to previous HAL standards. It won't keep us from sailing HAL and we will try the dining room again on the Nieuw Amsterdam and hope for better results.

[sevenseasnomad]

I can see advantages and disadvantages to both styles of dining. Personally we prefer main seating. Regardless of which style you choose (or is chosen for you by HAL), things can go wrong. Little mistakes can negatively impact a dining experience that should be an occasion.

 

DH could not get coffee served with his entre on Maasdam. (We were seated at a table for 2.) He asked for it when he ordered, told the waiter he loved coffee and to keep the cup full. Poor DH never got a cup of coffee at all. After the second night, he spoke to the next in the chain-of-command. Following evening when no coffee arrived, he complained to the next in the chain-of-command. Next night, same thing. Same response from hubby. By the 8th night, when he still had not gotten any coffee with his meal or with dessert, he gave up. The last evening (#10) he got up and filled his own cup! Then refilled it twice before the waiter offered!

 

Since this was the ONLY complaint we had on that cruise, we chalked it up to a shortage of coffee beans in the kitchen. Or maybe they had spoken to the last cruise line we were on and were informed just how much coffee DH can consume. (I know, people, it's not that good for him, and I fuss at him to no avail.) But, on that previous 7-night cruise, he tipped the waiter an extra $25 for keeping his coffee cup refilled at dinner.

 

Having said all that, I was trying to make the point that with the thousands of meals prepared daily, I'm amazed at how well the dining operation works the majority of the time.

[Boytjie]

We were on a charter on the Eurodam in February and they offered both flexibile dining and a variation of traditional dining (two fixed times but with open seating). We opted for flexible dining. On the first night we noticed waiters in the MDR dressed differently from the rest of the waiters; we found out later from the Chief Culinary Officer that they were from the Canaletto restaurant. They monitor the serving areas and when they see issues they will reassign staff. In this case with the charter they could not rely on regular dining patterns and noticed that not many people were eating in Canaletto so they made adjustments.

 

I did not notice a big difference between flexible dining a few months after they started it on HAL compared to the traditional dining we had on the Amsterdam six months earlier. On the last night on the Eurodam we switched to the late sitting to join friends that were celebrating a birthday and the service was comparable to what we had in flexible dining.

[LILynn]

We were on the Oosterdam this past September for a 12 day med cruise. We had ATD and we loved it. This itineray was very port intensive and it was so nice to be able to go to the dining room whenever we wanted. We met so many nice people which was another benefit of ATD. Yes, the service was not as personal since the waiters did not know us, but they tried to make sure we had a lovely dinner each night. I would never go back to fixed seating again if I was on a port intensive cruise.

[rozndon]

My husband and I loved the As You Wish dining. We could eat whenever we felt like eating without worrying about being there at a specific time. I could care less if the waiter knows my name and remembers it from day to day. Each dinner was different and interesting. The first time, we ate at a table for 2, but the other nights, we just took a chance and sat with others and it was different people every night. Sometimes, we met a couple and we went down to the dining room with them and either requested a table for 4 or invited another couple or 2 to eat with us. Every meal was fun and different. I don't understand why people need to have things exactly the same night after night with the same table mates, waiter, etc. We thought it was much more fun the way we did it.