HAL considering no longer offering set seatings at dinner

[POA1]

Since there's traditional seating, which some people like - and open seating, which some people prefer - why in the world do some of you want to force everyone into open? I don't see the traditional dining people trying to do away with open seating. We tried open seating one week with Cruz Chic last November. We managed to have the same dining and wining stewards the whole time. The servers were excellent. And, (Cruz Chic) correct me if I'm wrong, but we had pretty much the same table, or at least the same section every night.

 

However, my wife and I much prefer late fixed dining. We would avoid open seating at all costs. It's just a preference thing.

[cruz chic]

Since there's traditional seating, which some people like - and open seating, which some people prefer - why in the world do some of you want to force everyone into open? I don't see the traditional dining people trying to do away with open seating. We tried open seating one week with Cruz Chic last November. We managed to have the same dining and wining stewards the whole time. The servers were excellent. And, (Cruz Chic) correct me if I'm wrong, but we had pretty much the same table, or at least the same section every night.

 

However, my wife and I much prefer late fixed dining. We would avoid open seating at all costs. It's just a preference thing.

 

Yup, as far as it remember we did have the same table. I think I may have moved around a bit more the second week within the same section. I remember when open came into being. I was the biggest complainer about it but I have come to really like open. That said, I think both open and traditional have a place. I think this is nothing but a misunderstanding on the part of the OP and felt that Lisa's explanation in this thread is a logical reason for why this is happening.

[ski ww]

We are also part of the crowd that prefer late fixed dining. During sea days it's nice not to rush to dinner, we enjoy listening to the classical music each night. On port days it's nice if you come back from a busy day doing excursions & are tired, to rest a bit before dinner. We also enjoy our same table mates each night to catch up on what everybody was doing all day. We tried open dining on one of our cruises & did not enjoy the experience.

Allan

[CowPrincess]

zackiedawg said:

 

I like the overall atmosphere of having the same people at my table, all of whom often become friends or contacts after the cruise,

 

I completely agree. For us, a good dinner table group is a highlight of our cruise

[DaveOKC]

I have mixed feelings about Open vs Fixed.

 

On one hand, I like the set time and the same guests and stewards every night. We have met some wonderful people this way and some we still keep up with.

 

On the other hand, I like the flexibility of Open - get to dinner whenever it suits us (especially useful when we have a late port day). Plus we like the option of deciding to dine in our cabin (selecting off the main dining menu) on nice days or to opt for a specialty dining venue, without having to feel guilty of not showing up for dinner and have the rest waiting on us. Further, we have also met some very nice people at Open dining, some of who we ended up dining with for several dinners during the cruise. And, if you meet someone during the cruise who you want to dine with, it is easy to set up if you (both) have Open.

[George C]

Hal is no longer my 1st choice when booking cruises, if this happens, I would no longer consider them when planning cruises ( same as I no longer consider NCL)

[TylerRose]

Our paperwork states we are confirmed early seating for our voyage.

[Stakeout]

as far as 'As You Wish' anytime dining thruout.. it's going to happen sooner than later the way things look to us... the new HAL administration is really churning things up to make an extra buck lead by someone who has no idea of how the cruise industry operates or for that matter had never been on a cruise ship before.. 'wherry wherry scary' ..they probably promoted the clown who came up with the idea on how to ruin the Veendam and Rotterdam by adding extra cabins and getting rid of the aft pool..

 

call me a dinosaur as we still prefer early fixed seating as we always know our tablemates..us ..always table for two .. we take no chances and after 60 HAL cruises we still enjoy it like that.. same for the smaller ships which will be gone and only a memory in the next couple of years-- I hope not sooner.. I don't like change.. I will never like change.. if it ain't broke leave it the heck alone...

 

ahhh now I feel much better :) :) :)

[RuthC]

I never thought I'd be among those who liked Freestyle but I surprised myself by really enjoying going from one restaurant to another on Dawn. We dined in the Italian, French, Steakhouse, MDR........ We had reservations at varying times and I really liked it. We were seated promptly on arrival and the variety was good. :)

Do you think you would feel the same way, though, had you sailed alone?

[rkacruiser]

zackiedawg said:

 

 

 

I completely agree. For us, a good dinner table group is a highlight of our cruise

 

Me too! I have experienced less and my memories of those cruises are diminshed.

 

Excuse me if I offend because I have not read all of this thread. I read the first page and decided the OP was rumor mongering. (Forgive me Jade 13 if I am wrong.)

 

This is a thread that is "Much ado about Nothing". Other, than maybe getting the HAL faithful riled up.

[sail7seas]

Since there's traditional seating, which some people like - and open seating, which some people prefer - why in the world do some of you want to force everyone into open? I don't see the traditional dining people trying to do away with open seating. We tried open seating one week with Cruz Chic last November. We managed to have the same dining and wining stewards the whole time. The servers were excellent. And, (Cruz Chic) correct me if I'm wrong, but we had pretty much the same table, or at least the same section every night.

 

However, my wife and I much prefer late fixed dining. We would avoid open seating at all costs. It's just a preference thing.

 

I hope I didn't give the impression I want to have HAL do away with fixed Traditional Dining. I do not. I really only meant that I'm ready to move to open but until very recently, I never would have been even thinking about open seating.

 

 

Do you think you would feel the same way, though, had you sailed alone?

 

Yes, Ruth, I do think I would feel the same way had I sailed alone. I don't want to be part of a large table and unless I met someone in my travels or traveled with friends, I would prefer a small table at whatever time suits my fancy any given night.

 

I have read far too often about a single or even a couple sitting alone at a table for 8 and no one else showed up. I won't put myself in that position.

 

[RuthC]

Yes, Ruth, I do think I would feel the same way had I sailed alone. I don't want to be part of a large table and unless I met someone in my travels or traveled with friends, I would prefer a small table at whatever time suits my fancy any given night.

 

I have read far too often about a single or even a couple sitting alone at a table for 8 and no one else showed up. I won't put myself in that position.

 

I can see your point of view. I hope it works out well for you then if you ever do sail alone.

Thanks for answering.

[sail7seas]

I can see your point of view. I hope it works out well for you then if you ever do sail alone.

Thanks for answering.

 

I would never intentionally not answer any question you ask me and you have always extended me the same courtesy. :)

 

The IF I sail alone, of course, is what is pertinent. I'm at the point of IF I sail again right now but that does not have to be decided this week or next, for that matter. :)

 

[cruz chic]

I have read far too often about a single or even a couple sitting alone at a table for 8 and no one else showed up. I won't put myself in that position.

 

[/b]

 

I've had it happen to me. Its not pleasant.

[GUT2407]

 

I have read far too often about a single or even a couple sitting alone at a table for 8 and no one else showed up. I won't put myself in that position.

 

 

happened to us last cruise.

 

A table of 8 just us.

 

I believe that the one night we didn't go to MDR others showed up.

 

Maybe they'd heard about my table manners.

 

But hen we had originally requested a table or 2 so no complaints.

[elusive_23]

Considering I've been wait listed for fixed dining on all but one of my cruises with HAL I doubt they will change if it's that popular. I love fixed dining!

[lettienets]

Is HAL considering doing away with the set seating dinner option?

 

Right now early seating is typically 5:45 p.m with main seating at 8 p.m.

 

We are scheduled on the Koningsdam next year, and were told our only option right now is open seating.

 

So I asked HAL last week and the reservationist said they were considering only having As You Wish open dining, and were considering just trying this out on Koningsdam next year before rolling it out across the fleet, but of course that could change.

 

Has anyone booked on Koningsdam in 2016 been given either early or main seating in the MDR?

 

We like the set 8:00pm dining because we always have a table waiting for us, but confess to doing open seating on all other cruise lines.

I am booked on Christening cruise May 9, 2016 and got late dining, requested sitting at large table of 8

[sammiedawg]

 

My understanding is that Dynamic Dining classic is a way to reserve the same time throughout the cruise, but they send you to different restaurants each night (on a 4-night rotation). I don't know if your whole "table" travels as a group. Somebody who's been on Disney told me they have a version of this, and you go to a different restaurant each night (I don't know how many) and everyone at your table will be together every night and your waiters move, too. So you have the variety of different restaurants and can still have your same waiters every night. I find this hard to believe, but that's what I was told. (I would think it's a lot easier to just change the menu each night, but what do I know??)

 

BTW, the friend who sailed on Quantum said it was the best cruise food she'd had. She thought that since there were multiple kitchens for multiple restaurants more food was cooked to order, less pre-cook and hold.

 

Disney links extended family and friend groups together at time of booking for dining. Their system is child focused which also benefits the extended group riding along to see the world through new eyes. Dining staff even cuts the meat for whomever has a little one in arms.

 

I totally agree open seating food is less banquety and cooked closer to serving, especially on the premium lines.

[ellieanne]

I totally agree open seating food is less banquety and cooked closer to serving, especially on the premium lines.

 

Even with As-You-Wish dining options, I don't see how the food is cooked-to order. That's A LOT of meals to get out in a short period, even with staggered times. And there is no way most components aren't pre-cooked and re-heated immediately before plating for service.

 

The biggest issue I have with this idea is that it would take so many more people in the kitchens than I have seen evidence of on the HAL ships. It's a lot of people working to allegedly cook-to-order meals. That's just not possible with the staffing levels as I have seen them.

 

That said, I have never found the food in the Main Dining room to be "banquet-y."

[wander]

While I certainly understand why some folks prefer to each at a table for 2, I like tables for 8, 6 for second choice, whether I am in traditional or open dining on HAL. This is also true for me if I am traveling alone (many days), with my husband or with friend(s). The only time, in over 500 days, we were alone at a large table was for open seating. We started an table for 8 and then somehow the "front desk" forgot about our table and started putting folks in another part of the MDR. We did feel a bit conspicuous, but we got great service. The area supervisor (or whatever the current title is) came over to ask if we had wanted to eat alone, we said no, particularly at a large table, but did NOT complain beyond that. He comped us a bottle of wine and made sure it did not happen again.

 

In my experience, I have not noticed any difference in the food quality, temperature, etc. in open seating versus traditional, the stewards get all the food off the same lines in the galley. Now, when they cooked the food to order on the Lido at night - there was a difference in my experience.

Edited August 20, 2015 by wander

[3rdGenCunarder]

Even with As-You-Wish dining options, I don't see how the food is cooked-to order. That's A LOT of meals to get out in a short period, even with staggered times. And there is no way most components aren't pre-cooked and re-heated immediately before plating for service.

 

The biggest issue I have with this idea is that it would take so many more people in the kitchens than I have seen evidence of on the HAL ships. It's a lot of people working to allegedly cook-to-order meals. That's just not possible with the staffing levels as I have seen them.

 

That said, I have never found the food in the Main Dining room to be "banquet-y."

 

Staffing is an important consideration when a ship goes from fixed dining to open. On one of our Norway cruises, we took a kitchen tour. That ship had two dining rooms, with the kitchen between them. We were told that despite NCL's move to "freestyle," they could never do that with Norway because the kitchen was too small to support open dining, and there was no way to enlarge the kitchen. There is a cadence to meals in a kitchen where meals are at fixed times. Open dining requires all courses to be "on the go" at the same time, requiring more space and more staff.

[3rdGenCunarder]

happened to us last cruise.

 

A table of 8 just us.

 

I believe that the one night we didn't go to MDR others showed up.

 

Maybe they'd heard about my table manners.

 

But hen we had originally requested a table or 2 so no complaints.

 

It feels so awkward to be the only couple at a large table, like you gave a party and nobody came. I would have asked if we could be moved to a smaller table.

[sail7seas]

happened to us last cruise.

 

A table of 8 just us.

 

I believe that the one night we didn't go to MDR others showed up.

 

Maybe they'd heard about my table manners.

 

But hen we had originally requested a table or 2 so no complaints.

 

It feels so awkward to be the only couple at a large table, like you gave a party and nobody came. I would have asked if we could be moved to a smaller table.

 

 

 

I likely would have left the MDR and on my way out would request the Asst Dining Room Manager be sure to arrange my meal be sent to my cabin. If I am going to eat alone, I will do so in private rather than a solo at a table for 8. I would suggest they use a little sensitivity and put effort into seeing no guest is put in that position. Unacceptable and why I won't permit my self to be put in that uncomfortable circumstance.

 

[Jade13]

It's a shame that you titled this thread as a definitive statement, rather than the question you are actually asking.

I was rather taken aback when I read the subject, and very upset at the news until I actually opened the post and read it.

 

My title said that they were "considering no longer offering"... That is what I was told. How is that a definitive statement? :confused:

Edited August 20, 2015 by Jade13

[Hlitner]

A few years ago (before AYW dining on HAL) DW and I were on a RCI cruise out of San Juan. As was our normal practice (at the time) we requested a large table in late sitting. We got a perfectly located table for 8, but the other 6 did not show-up for a single dinner the entire cruise. The Maitre'd checked and the 6 (who were apparently traveling together) were eating all their dinners in the Lido. There were no other empty seats in that 2nd sitting (Puerto Ricans love dining late). After that experience we prefer to book open sittings (called different names on different lines) and simply eat when we please. We always request to share a large table and because it is open dining our tables are almost always full! The best part is that on long cruises we get to dine with lots of different folks early in the cruise which often leads to a group of us forming our own table for many dinners. It is the best of all worlds.

 

Hank