When You are Seated in the Dining Room........

[sail7seas]

When you are seated at your table in the Main Dining Room each evening do you really look at the table or does the table setting blend into the 'background' for you?

 

I so enjoy seeing the tables set so beautifully, I know immediately if the flowers have been changed since the night before, (traditional assigned seating) I used to see right away if the HAL Logo on the gold and white plates (no longer in regular use) was not exactly centered when the steward put the plate down....... I notice the flatware and is it lined up neatly and appropriately.

 

Do you notice or is all fine by you whatever way as long as you have your knife, fork and plate? :D

[ninkb]

I do appreciate how nice the table looks, but don't check for different flowers, or slightly ajar place settings.

 

For me, HAL is a true "retreat". I don't have to cook, or clean, or make a bed, or . . . I simply enjoy the service that all the staff provides, and enjoy my day on the ship.

 

If I don't look for problems, my day will not be ruined. Otherwise, I'll keep looking until I find one! :D

[sail7seas]

Oh my goodness, I hope it didn't sound like I am looking for something wrong at the table. Quite the opposite.... I am admiring how lovely the starched white tablecloth, the flowers, the polished silver and sparkling stemware looks. I don't mean any criticism.

 

[Two@Sea]

I don't mind if everything isn't "just so" but I do notice, and appreciate, the table settings.

[Keith Rita]

Yes, we notice! A nice table setting just adds to the ambiance. Table settings for the formal nights are especially nice--on most ships!

[Homala]

I notice, but I think it's mostly because I'm a little "obsessive/compulsive." Even in not so fine restaurants, I tend to move things around so that logos are properly aligned and such. My DH just shakes his head and laughs at me. It's nice to go to the fine restaurants - and the HAL MDR - where things are already properly arranged and looking so beautiful.

[May4]

Count me as one who notices and loves the sparkles. When the silver and glassware catch the light, the whole room gets shiny.

 

I like to touch the edges of the tablecloth and to adjust the silverware every so slightly. I set the HAL logo straight if I get a chance.

 

Soon the wine steward comes around with the selection for that evening. I think the red color of the wine in the glass makes the table look even nicer.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes -- I do check out the table.

I was the one a few years ago who started a thread about less silverware on the tables.

I also have noticed that flowers are not changed until the next cruise. One set of flowers per cruise.

Also I have noticed that in the cabins the flowers are changed about halfway through the cruise -- in other words -- you start off with the flowers from the previous cruise and then about 4 or 5 days into your cruise the flowers are changed. At least -- that is what has been happening on our cruises the last couple of years.

[sail7seas]

I love the stewards still bring me a fish knife. :)

Not many restaruants do that anymore.

 

[erewhon]

Yes, we always notice, sometimes will adjust the cutlery.

Yes, I always know and appreciate when the flowers have been changed, and when the silver has been cleaned.

 

I always appreciate a well set table.

 

The dining room always looks so lovely.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I love the stewards still bring me a fish knife. :)

Not many restaruants do that anymore.

 

 

DH eats a lot of fish -- but does not always get a fish knife.

A couple of times he keeps saying that we should pack one in the locked luggage just for him.

[spacepotatoes]

I notice, but I think it's mostly because I'm a little "obsessive/compulsive." Even in not so fine restaurants, I tend to move things around so that logos are properly aligned and such. My DH just shakes his head and laughs at me. It's nice to go to the fine restaurants - and the HAL MDR - where things are already properly arranged and looking so beautiful.

 

I am the same way! My DH laughs at me and my "rules". I notice things like whether the flowers are real or fake, and the alignment of things. Unless something is really off, like something is not clean or the flowers are wilted, none of it bothers me. I just notice it.

[ASIWISH]

... there is no better feeling. Like someone did it just for you....

[sail7seas]

DH eats a lot of fish -- but does not always get a fish knife.

 

A couple of times he keeps saying that we should pack one in the locked luggage just for him.

 

 

We seem to have 'all the luck'. :)

 

He should not have to but seeing he does not have luck getting a fish knife, when he places his order with the steward, he could 'remind' the steward to bring him one. I might do that once and then expect the steward to remember to bring me one on subsequent nights when I again order fish.

[jhannah]

I notice, but not overly so. It's always so lovely. I did notice on our Maasdam cruise last month that our stewards seemed to get the HAL logo top center almost every time when placing the plates.

[erewhon]

We seem to have 'all the luck'. :)

 

He should not have to but seeing he does not have luck getting a fish knife, when he places his order with the steward, he could 'remind' the steward to bring him one. I might do that once and then expect the steward to remember to bring me one on subsequent nights when I again order fish.

 

I always order fish several times during our cruises, but did not see a fish knife during our last cruise.

Had wondered if they had been removed as part of the "cutbacks".

This upcoming cruise I will take your advice when placing my meal order.

[Typhoon1]

It is always beautiful.

[RuthC]

Oh, the memories of learning how to set a proper table, all those decades ago. The crisp Irish linen tablecloth, French Limoges china, crystal stemware, and sterling flatware. I have admired a well-set table ever since.

Of course I notice the table when I sit down in a HAL dining room! :) I love when everything looks perfect, which it usually does. And I always, always, always notice if the steward takes care to place the HAL logo dead center. I think how he was well-trained.

[the2ofus]

I definitely do notice, just for the pleasure of seeing a well-set table. In my neck of the woods it is fancy dining if there's a cloth on the table, never mind having more than one fork or spoon, so when I am on a cruise I DO notice. I also notice the special touches like the fish knife, the waiter who de-bones the fish so skillfully, the waiter who removes the lobster tail meat from the shell. It makes me feel special that someone would do that for me. At the same time, I am in awe of a skill I haven't mastered.

[sail7seas]

I love this thread. :) I think it's fun reading how people really appreciate the efforts of those hard working, wonderful HAL dining stewards, dining supervisors and Dining Room Managers.

 

Of course, the same can be said for cabin stewards, bar staff and all the Officers, Crew and Staff on all the ships.

 

[fann1sh]

My family are antiquers. I went to my first auction while still in the womb, and began collecting silverware place pieces when I was 8. :eek:

 

My parents became professional dealers in retirement, and I was their "tableware" buyer - porcelain and pottery, place and serving silver, crystal + glassware, linens.

 

When I sat down to my first HAL table setting, I knew I'd found my cruising home. Even though there are fewer place pieces now than back then, the porcelain is still classic, the linens crisp, and the tables are set with attention to detail and obvious pride.

 

And that still means a lot to me.

[Nor'Eastah]

I notice. I appreciate. And I photograph :)

 

I use this photo for reference every Thanksgiving when setting the table

 

 

And I too love the look of the colors of the wine (and fruit) against the white table cloth.

 

The attention to detail on HAL ships is what keeps us coming back.

[RuthC]

Looks like someone is confusing a well-dressed table with a dress code thread. ;)

[LadyShiva]

I notice. I appreciate. And I photograph :)

 

I use this photo for reference every Thanksgiving when setting the table

 

 

I'm stealing this picture for my husband. We have a running joke where I intentionally set the table "wrong" and he silently goes along behind me to set it right. ;) The humorous bit (to me) is evidently someone mischievous like me must have set up the spoon to the right of the plate... *grin* I'm sure this picture will give him conniptions!

[nothriver]

I do notice the beatuifully set table, as I sit as far away as possible, holding tightly onto my youngest child, praying the steward will promply remove some of the glassware...

 

Embarassingly, I had never heard of a fish knife until reading this thread. I even have one, but never knew what it was. Thanks for teaching me something today!