Is traditional dining done?

[GUT2407]

Don't know where you get the conclusion they're doing away with it from.

[Luvcrusn]

On a recent cruise we were very surprised that while dining in the MDR our meal was interrupted by the maitre'd making an an announcement with a bullhorn that Mr. and Mrs. Iwannaeatnow had just arrived and regardless of where you were in your meal all tables needed to be immediately vacated. Of course everyone in the MDR immediately stopped and without complaint left quickly, and quietly lined up in a reviewing line to allow Mr. and Mrs. Iwannaeatnow their choice of dining level, table and dining companions. (We had all previously submittied dossiers for their review complete with photos for easy identification.) We were thrilled to be selected from the masses to dine at a table for 6 with Mr. and Mrs. Iwannaeatnow, the Captain and the executive chef. It was truly an extraordinary experience.:)

[WonderMan3]

Those who like the standard eating at the same time every night with the same waitstaff I'm sure could make a standing reservation nightly for the same waiter. It would work fine.

 

Fact is, you are not "sure" you only "think they should be able to" make a standing reservation. There are those of us who very much love the standard MDR times and who respect those who love Select. I like knowing my table will be ready without thinking about it. I like having a wait staff that knows my preferences and has them ready. The problem arises when those who choose Select expect to immediately be seated upon arrival without a wait and without a beeper. I think if a passenger chooses Select, it is with the understanding that there are 2,000-3,000 fellow passengers who all want to be fed within a 3 hour window. If they want the dining room staff to cater(no pun intended;) )to their flexible arrival it is only reasonable to expect that sometimes there may be a wait. I think it's not the fault of those who opt to choose set dining time. If we choose traditional dining late want to dine early, there are many options open, specialties, room service, buffet. We are not on a private yacht where the wait staff attend to our whims, but sharing the ship, and even though we all like to be pampered during our vacation, I would never expect that my table would be ready on arrival if I were unwilling to stipulate what time that arrival would be.

 

Have always done select. On some cruises we ate at the same time each night we were in the MDR and got the same table with the same waitstaff who got to know our preferences very quickly and were wonderful. The staff actually tries to give you the same table each time if you dine at the same time, unless you request differently, as they want you to have the same waitstaff so they can cater to your known preferences. Those who choose to eat at different times each night likely will not get the same table or waitstaff unless they want to wait. But I was more addressing the concern expressed from a standard time diner who likes a fixed time. It can work. I have experienced it.

[Luvcrusn]

I'm sure Select dining works, otherwise it would be long gone. I was addressing the opinion expressed by others on the thread indicating traditional should go away. There's a place for both was my point as long as those choosing Select accept the fact that due to their differing dining time options may cause a wait at times. IMHO it's unreasonable to expect a table to be waiting whenever one chooses if the dining choice is Select. Sometimes there might be a wait or a beeper involved. I for one, prefer traditional, don't want to think about what time will I dine, don't care to stand in line or make reservations (that's why I don't want to cruise on the large RC ships or Norwegian). Others seem to want that, but also want to stroll into the MDR at any time they wish, no reservations, and have a table with their preferred wait staff and companions, or table size preference ready and waiting. IMHO that's not realistic. If I were to choose Select, I would understand that on some evenings, depending upon my time, I'd have to wait or perhaps compromise my choices.

[caribill]

Many of the premium and luxury lines (Azamara, Oceania, Regent, Seabourn and others) all offer open dining as their only choice (with reservations as needed). Has worked perfectly on every ship we have been on and have no idea why someone would feel "rushed." In Select Dining on X, you can take all the time you want.

 

 

What is the size of the dining room(s) on those lines vs. the passenger capacity on the ship?

 

Can 75% or more of the passengers be seated at the same time?

 

Or is it like Carnival, Princess, RCI and Celebrity where less than 50% of the passengers can be in the dining room(s) at one time?

[MandyGirl]

We are curious how it will be on Infinity next week. Our last cruise on Infinity, we had traditional dining. We booked this upcoming Infinity cruise over a year in advance and early dining was already waitlisted at time of booking (did not book last Infinity cruise anywhere near that far in advance - under 45 days out if I recall correctly and had no problem getting early). With the 14+ night cruises we enjoy getting to know our wait staff and thus scheduled for same time for almost every night with Select except for 1-2 nights out of the 15 coming up for Panama Canal. After going through and scheduling each night online, we decided to remove the 5 of us from the waitlist and stick with Select. These threads have been insightful. Thank you.

[jagoffee]

On a recent cruise we were very surprised that while dining in the MDR our meal was interrupted by the maitre'd making an an announcement with a bullhorn that Mr. and Mrs. Iwannaeatnow had just arrived and regardless of where you were in your meal all tables needed to be immediately vacated. Of course everyone in the MDR immediately stopped and without complaint left quickly, and quietly lined up in a reviewing line to allow Mr. and Mrs. Iwannaeatnow their choice of dining level, table and dining companions. (We had all previously submittied dossiers for their review complete with photos for easy identification.) We were thrilled to be selected from the masses to dine at a table for 6 with Mr. and Mrs. Iwannaeatnow, the Captain and the executive chef. It was truly an extraordinary experience.:)

 

Good one.

[Iamcruzin]

The writing is on the wall with special restaurants dedicated for Aqua and Suite guests, specialty restaurants popping up like weeds the shrinking of the traditional dining room and the demise of formal nights that set seating is going down like the Titanic. We haven't booked traditional in ten years. While select dining is far from perfect during peak hours we manage to see a show and dine later in the evening when the crowd has left. We always at in late traditional when be booked that dining option so we aren't eating any later then usual. As far as being rushed I find that it is your personal choice on the pace that the evening takes. Not everyone wants stretch the evening by indulging the wait staff with personal business. I really don't care if they are sending money home to build a church or school in their village. I also like the option to either eat at a 2 top or to dine with passengers I have met on deck. I have made more friends through Cruise Critic than at any traditional seating on a cruise. We might see an end to traditional on the new class ship. This is just speculation on my part but if they were going to put an end to it this would be the perfect transition time.

Edited November 1, 2016 by Iamcruzin

[Luvcrusn]

The writing is on the wall with special restaurants dedicated for Aqua and Suite guests, specialty restaurants popping up like weeds the shrinking of the traditional dining room and the demise of formal nights that set seating is going down like the Titanic. We haven't booked traditional in ten years. While select dining is far from perfect during peak hours we manage to see a show and dine later in the evening when the crowd has left. We always at in late traditional when be booked that dining option so we aren't eating any later then usual. As far as being rushed I find that it is your personal choice on the pace that the evening takes. Not everyone wants stretch the evening by indulging the wait staff with personal business. I really don't care if they are sending money home to build a church or school in their village. I also like the option to either eat at a 2 top or to dine with passengers I have met on deck. I have made more friends through Cruise Critic than at any traditional seating on a cruise. We might see an end to traditional on the new class ship. This is just speculation on my part but if they were going to put an end to it this would be the perfect transition time.

I am glad you are pleased with Select. We would, if X went to all Select dining on the new Edge class, or the entire fleet, choose another cruise line that offered traditional dining.

[WonderMan3]

I'm sure Select dining works, otherwise it would be long gone. I was addressing the opinion expressed by others on the thread indicating traditional should go away. There's a place for both was my point as long as those choosing Select accept the fact that due to their differing dining time options may cause a wait at times. IMHO it's unreasonable to expect a table to be waiting whenever one chooses if the dining choice is Select. Sometimes there might be a wait or a beeper involved. I for one, prefer traditional, don't want to think about what time will I dine, don't care to stand in line or make reservations (that's why I don't want to cruise on the large RC ships or Norwegian). Others seem to want that, but also want to stroll into the MDR at any time they wish, no reservations, and have a table with their preferred wait staff and companions, or table size preference ready and waiting. IMHO that's not realistic. If I were to choose Select, I would understand that on some evenings, depending upon my time, I'd have to wait or perhaps compromise my choices.

 

Yes, I got that. My point was that if standard dining went away and it was all select that those who wanted to remain with the same time each night would be able to do that (I have experienced that) and it would probably help alleviate some of the waiting that current select people are experiencing since the entire dining room would be select. What Celebrity would need to do would be to encourage more people to reserve a time in advance (even day of) for a particular night, as walk-ins are the ones who would run into waits. To some that would seem to defeat the purpose of "anytime" dining, but it's still much more flexible than being locked into a 6pm or 8pm seating every night.

[Luvcrusn]

Yes, I got that. My point was that if standard dining went away and it was all select that those who wanted to remain with the same time each night would be able to do that (I have experienced that) and it would probably help alleviate some of the waiting that current select people are experiencing since the entire dining room would be select. What Celebrity would need to do would be to encourage more people to reserve a time in advance (even day of) for a particular night, as walk-ins are the ones who would run into waits. To some that would seem to defeat the purpose of "anytime" dining, but it's still much more flexible than being locked into a 6pm or 8pm seating every night.

 

I understand your point. I did notice that you tend to travel in suites and so have the luxury of a butler to make your reservations, and also get preferential treatment. That may be coloring your perception. I don't mean that as any sort of attack, in fact I'm a little envious, just an observation that may or may not be accurate.

[johnritt]

Yes, I got that. My point was that if standard dining went away and it was all select that those who wanted to remain with the same time each night would be able to do that (I have experienced that) and it would probably help alleviate some of the waiting that current select people are experiencing since the entire dining room would be select. What Celebrity would need to do would be to encourage more people to reserve a time in advance (even day of) for a particular night, as walk-ins are the ones who would run into waits. To some that would seem to defeat the purpose of "anytime" dining, but it's still much more flexible than being locked into a 6pm or 8pm seating every night.

 

I wouldn't care for that. I'll put up with the wait or eat a little early or a little late to avoid committing myself to a reservation.

[WonderMan3]

I understand your point. I did notice that you tend to travel in suites and so have the luxury of a butler to make your reservations, and also get preferential treatment. That may be coloring your perception. I don't mean that as any sort of attack, in fact I'm a little envious, just an observation that may or may not be accurate.

 

No, not really accurate. On our first few Celebrity cruises we were in Sky Suites and had a horrendous time getting reservations either through the butler or directly on the reservations line so we stopped bothering with reservations and just showed up when we wanted. We almost always ate around the same time (give or take 15 minutes) so we wound up with the same waiter and table. When we ate at different times then we wound up with different table and staff. I only recall us having to wait for a table maybe once, for about 5-10 minutes. Never noticed any preferential treatment from us being in a suite.

 

We have used the butler to book specialty restaurants. This year we experienced Luminae for the first time and never made a reservation and had no issues.

[sanger727]

I think that if you are making a reservation for the same time with the same wait staff every night you are missing the point of select dining. I'd prefer select dining not take reservations, think it's simple enough with first come first serve. Once upon a time they fed the entire ship in two servings, so the dining room should have the capacity for half the boat. So as long as the proportion of people allowed to pick select dining is the same as the tables devoted to select dining, there should be no issues. 25% comes earlier than average, 50% comes at average time, 25% comes later than average, everyone gets a seat, especially when u consider that a % will be in specialty dining. The problem comes when people w traditional dining /suites/aqua want to eat at the tables designated for select dining. We pick select because we want the luxury of eating when we are hungry and dont care at all about having the same wait staff or dining buddies (figure there is as good of chance as being given bad ones as good ones, at least w select u aren't stuck w bad ones for the whole trip!). plz don't choose traditional and the use select on the days you decide to eat early or late.

Edited November 4, 2016 by sanger727

[Luvcrusn]

I think that if you are making a reservation for the same time with the same wait staff every night you are missing the point of select dining. I'd prefer select dining not take reservations, think it's simple enough with first come first serve. Once upon a time they fed the entire ship in two servings, so the dining room should have the capacity for half the boat. So as long as the proportion of people allowed to pick select dining is the same as the tables devoted to select dining, there should be no issues. 25% comes earlier than average, 50% comes at average time, 25% comes later than average, everyone gets a seat, especially when u consider that a % will be in specialty dining. The problem comes when people w traditional dining /suites/aqua want to eat at the tables designated for select dining. We pick select because we want the luxury of eating when we are hungry and dont care at all about having the same wait staff or dining buddies (figure there is as good of chance as being given bad ones as good ones, at least w select u aren't stuck w bad ones for the whole trip!). plz don't choose traditional and the use select on the days you decide to eat early or late.

 

Huh? Didn't even think it was an option to choose traditional, then opt to dine Select. I thought if you were traditional and wanted to eat at a different time your options were buffet, specialty or room service. Did I miss something?

[AlibearNS]

I've also been wondering whether Celebrity will eventually move away from traditional dining. We used to go traditional but one cruise we booked too late and had to go Select and found we preferred it for the flexibility.

We booked in early August for our end of December cruise and this time, for the first time, we were wait-listed for Select! I was so surprised but the TA said Select is becoming much more popular these days. We did get our preference a month or so later, but it shows how things are changing.

[Pstreet12]

The sister line, Royal Caribbean, had to revamp the dining on Anthem of the Seas because they gambled that everyone would like non-traditional dining, and they were wrong--so wrong that they are having to redo the dining rooms. Royal also began the changes on Allure and Oasis and when the decision was made that the Anthem experiment was a failure, the changes on Allure and Oasis were reversed.

 

I would think Celebrity would take that experiment into consideration when deciding whether to drop traditional dining or not.

Edited November 4, 2016 by Pstreet12

[aquanaut1]

As we sail as a family , we love traditional dining , having the same waiter and sommelier each night is a great part of our cruise experience .

The staff are so attentive and we are never rushed . We do visit the alternative restaurants a couple of times for ' adult time ' but I adore the main dining room and hope they never steer away from it .

We like having a fixed 6.15 dining time as that gives us the rest of the evening to enjoy the ship .

 

 

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[ECCruise]

What is the size of the dining room(s) on those lines vs. the passenger capacity on the ship?

 

Can 75% or more of the passengers be seated at the same time? The

 

Or is it like Carnival, Princess, RCI and Celebrity where less than 50% of the passengers can be in the dining room(s) at one time?[/QUOT

 

The ratios are very similar. Smaller pax load, smaller dining rooms.

 

75% of the pax will never be seated at the same time. Different dining time preferences, availability of specialty, buffets and room service all guarantee that.

 

And, with open seating available for all, dining times are slightly less when things move at a more variable schedule, vs. Whole dining room: Starter,

whole dining room: Main, etc.

 

For us (and now the majority of pax) it just seems to work better. But, people said that Celebrity would NEVER do away with formal night...

[GWRNigel]

As a single cruiser I like traditional dining as I get to meet people and the three cruises I have done as a signal cruiser I have meet several nice people.

But I have the same concern about traditional dining as I have been cruising since 1991 when it was set breakfast so we had late sitting, when that went we went to early sitting and I have been early since until the upcoming cruise when I only had the late option as there is no early sitting, I do not know if this is to allow Select to have the MDR.

With Select I feel I will be eating on my own.

[kevinyork]

.

 

With Select I feel I will be eating on my own.

 

 

With Select if you asked to share then you would encounter more passengers when dining than on traditional.

 

 

 

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[Flamencacha]

One point, as a solo cruiser you take away Traditional dining, I will take my business elsewhere. I can solo cruise on another cruise lines who have a solo program and no traditional dining. Since you don't have a program why would I choose you. No, I wasn't happy with the tradition of formal to chic.

 

 

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[Flamencacha]

With Select if you asked to share then you would encounter more passengers when dining than on traditional.

 

 

 

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Not the same at all

 

 

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[PoppyandNana]

Huh? Didn't even think it was an option to choose traditional, then opt to dine Select. I thought if you were traditional and wanted to eat at a different time your options were buffet, specialty or room service. Did I miss something?

 

Please re read the last sentence: plz don't choose traditional and the use select on the days you decide to eat early or late.

Edited November 5, 2016 by PoppyandNana

[QueenofEverything]

I don't understand why everyone is trying to convince everyone else which dining option is better. The reason they have both is because people like different things. Different strokes for different folks!! :D