Iona; the beginning of the end for club dining?

[john watson]

The great thing about Club Dining from the cruise lines perspective is that a predictable number of diners are going to turn up at two specific times. Under this scenario you end up with a lot of happy bunnies, staff and passengers. It also reduces the stress on Freedom Dining as there are therefore fewer people chasing the times and table sizes they would ideally like, suiting the remaining smaller section of freedom diners.

 

On a universal "Freedom" dining situation anything could happen, 80% might turn up on the dot of the restaurants opening. You need a huge number of staff ready to "go" immediately. Conversely 80% might turn up in the last minute. The staff are not required until late and then they have to process a lot of diners quickly to fit them all in.

 

If either of these things happen someone is not going to be very happy. Hopefully things work well and an average number of people turn up well spaced apart during the opening hours. In my experience people turn up earlier and earlier in greater numbers to get there first.

[jeanlyon]

I wonder if they really sit down to eat at 5.30 at home? I haven't eaten at 6 since I was 6. We normally eat around 7.30 at home, so 8.30 is fine for us. also, gives you longer to enjoy the day especially if it's a port day.

[AndyMichelle]

I wonder if they really sit down to eat at 5.30 at home? I haven't eaten at 6 since I was 6. We normally eat around 7.30 at home, so 8.30 is fine for us. also, gives you longer to enjoy the day especially if it's a port day.

 

We need 8.30 sitting to allow for digestion of the afternoon tea at about 4..... Also have never missed a show by eating at this time.

As we keep saying, each to their own and it is good we have choice. Long may it continue...

[amajaa]

I wonder if they really sit down to eat at 5.30 at home? I haven't eaten at 6 since I was 6. We normally eat around 7.30 at home, so 8.30 is fine for us. also, gives you longer to enjoy the day especially if it's a port day.

 

We eat at 5 to 1/2 5 at home and speaking to many people on board so do they.

[AndyMichelle]

We eat at 5 to 1/2 5 at home and speaking to many people on board so do they.

 

Tea time at home for us is 6, always has been, but on a cruise we prefer late sitting as have usually spent all day stuffing our faces....

[jeanlyon]

I;m just leaving work at 5pm!! Home, have a shower, start the dinner. What do you do for the rest of the evening if you have a drink at 4pm? I don't want any alcohol after I've eaten and one show would be enough for me.

 

Also, if you eat at 5 what time do you have lunch?

 

Just curious

[Denarius]

Whilst not wishing to enter the debate as to which type of dining is preferable I believe that the eventual demise of club dining will be down to practicality.

Club dining made sense in the days when the MDR was the only option for dinner. Less so in the days of multiple alternative dining options where many tables in the MDR will be part or fully empty any evening when their designated occupants choose to dine elsewhere.

[jh1809]

As a solo traveller, I should be very unhappy should club dining be discontinued. It is an excellent way for solo travellers to meet like minded travellers. Ships do have coffee mornings available but these are not suitable for everybody.

 

I'm also a solo traveller, and feel the same way.

[the english lady]

I would assume/guess on Iona, even though all 4 are freedom dining..you would still be allocated one of them to be your dining room. then there will end up being one of the 4 that is more popular than the other 3 and people will be queuing up on boarding to change their allocation of dining room to the one they want.

We are 2nd sitters set dining. by the time formal nights/set dining/small ships have all gone, we hopefully will not be cruising any more!!!

[Britboys]

It will be interesting to see how they operate the four main dining rooms on Iona...

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

I much prefer Club dining. I do like getting to know people over a cruise. Some tables I have enjoyed more than others but I have never had a bad experience. I particularly enjoyed a table in the Princess Grill on QE2. Singles were difficult to accommodate so usually were upgraded to Queens Grill which I did not want. I was put as an extra person on a table for eight and it was a very tight fit. There were three mother daughter pairs and a married couple. We had an absolutely wonderful time and I would not have wanted to miss it. This ship would retire a few months later too.

 

Club dining adds a rhythm to life on a ship. Two tides of peopele moving together through the shIp. I use to like the announcements of each sitting on the tannoy on Oriana asking us to take our seats. It just seemed so special.

 

Speciality and Casual dining have also contributed to the loss of that special feeling on ships.

 

I have to accept times have changed. I think Club dining is going.

 

Best wishes, Stephen.

 

PS I often cruise with friends to enjoy their company. Otherwise I don’t think I would bother. So much I enjoyed has been lost.

 

 

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[FangedRose]

Personally have never understood why anyone would want tied to a fixed time every evening, you are on holiday after all!

Don’t you have to make that decision every day?

I like the fact that I don't have to decide when and where to eat. (It was even more stressful when I had to consider others too, oh the constant discussion about when and where).

By the end of the cruise I begin to resent that I have to choose what to eat!

[jeanlyon]

I have never felt like that. All our tables for 8 have been great. Not had any of that stuff about previous cruises. In fact one of my greatest friends who now cruises with us was the results of a table for 8. Tend to agree with English Lady, by the time they take away Club dining and there are no medium sized ships, we will be doing something else. Cruising is no longer being on a ship - it's being crammed into a block of flats that can't get into the delightful smaller ports.

[RedEarth]

I can't see P&O phasing out club dining on the adults only ships while they remain in the fleet, I imagine there's still plenty of demand for it, given the demographic. Our first cruise was on Arcadia and we really enjoyed the club dining experience, the food was great, the waiters were excellent and the whole operation was just great to watch, so slick and efficient. We've had good food and great waiters in freedom dining too but it's more like just being in a regular restaurant. I do like the flexibility you get with freedom dining and can see why it would probably appeal more to the younger demographic that Iona is aimed at. It would be a shame to see it go from a solo travellers point of view though, if I ever went on a cruise alone I'd certainly want to choose club dining.

 

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[madison quest]

We need 8.30 sitting to allow for digestion of the afternoon tea at about 4..... Also have never missed a show by eating at this time.

As we keep saying, each to their own and it is good we have choice. Long may it continue...

 

 

 

you see it is each to there own, we have never been to afternoon tea on board , in fact we very rarely eat at all after breakfast. the odd tea and coffee through the day is enough for us. so early club dining time comes along....and we are quite hungry, ;p not first in the queue hungry, as we wait to at least 6.35 before we turn up at the doors!! so que sera as they say..

[marylizcat]

We have occasionally done Freedom dining, but I get fed up with all the queueing involved. Much easier to just march straight to our allocated table on club dining. But hopefully they will have a booking system to avoid too much queueing.

 

 

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[kenhem]

From a personal perspective I'm glad the emphasis is edging towards freedom dining as we only book cruises with a freedom dining option. But I hope there will always be the option of club dining for those that prefer it.

[Captainclive.]

Horses for courses.

 

I have just returned from a Baltic cruise on Aurora, and as usual we were second sitting on a large table.

 

This fits perfectly for us, plenty of time for showers and grooming followed by drinks in the cabin, then a pre Carmen's show drink in Charlie's or the crows nest, 730 show in Carmen's, downstairs for dinner, then off to the 1030 show in the Curzon, and back to the crows nest for a nightcap.

 

The large table fits as well, as in the last 6 cruises we have never had a bad table, it seems P&O group ages together, as all our fellow dinner guests were our age, and over the 2 weeks we enjoyed getting to know each other. Also the same trio of Waiter, asst waiter and wine steward for 14 days means you get to know them as well, and I have found that compared to freedom dining, which we have tried several times, the level of service is far better, and definitely more personal.

 

So for us set dining suits, but only with the caveat of a large table, just in case your 2 significant others on a table for 4 are really not your cup of tea, and with the second sitting, as rushing around to eat at 630 would not suit us, especially as we are partial to a bit of the afternoon tea and cakes at 4 :)

 

So Iona where all dining is freedom doesn't fit for us, surely they could offer set dining as well as freedom on such a large ship??

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

Horses for courses.

 

I have just returned from a Baltic cruise on Aurora, and as usual we were second sitting on a large table.

 

This fits perfectly for us, plenty of time for showers and grooming followed by drinks in the cabin, then a pre Carmen's show drink in Charlie's or the crows nest, 730 show in Carmen's, downstairs for dinner, then off to the 1030 show in the Curzon, and back to the crows nest for a nightcap.

 

The large table fits as well, as in the last 6 cruises we have never had a bad table, it seems P&O group ages together, as all our fellow dinner guests were our age, and over the 2 weeks we enjoyed getting to know each other. Also the same trio of Waiter, asst waiter and wine steward for 14 days means you get to know them as well, and I have found that compared to freedom dining, which we have tried several times, the level of service is far better, and definitely more personal.

 

So for us set dining suits, but only with the caveat of a large table, just in case your 2 significant others on a table for 4 are really not your cup of tea, and with the second sitting, as rushing around to eat at 630 would not suit us, especially as we are partial to a bit of the afternoon tea and cakes at 4 :)

 

So Iona where all dining is freedom doesn't fit for us, surely they could offer set dining as well as freedom on such a large ship??

 

 

I wonder what they will do for singles on Iona. Perhaps they will have hosted tables for singles like I believe Silverseas does.

 

Best wishes, Stephen.

 

 

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[P&O SUE]

I would assume/guess on Iona, even though all 4 are freedom dining..you would still be allocated one of them to be your dining room. then there will end up being one of the 4 that is more popular than the other 3 and people will be queuing up on boarding to change their allocation of dining room to the one they want.

We are 2nd sitters set dining. by the time formal nights/set dining/small ships have all gone, we hopefully will not be cruising any more!!!

 

Why would one Freedom dining restaurant be more popular then another? They're all serving the same thing. We do Freedom dining and are allocated a restaurant. Sometimes that restaurant is full and we've been to one of the others (escorted by a waiter) so I imagine they can do that?

In June on Ventura we only had to wait once for a table for two and we were quite happy to have a drink while we waited. My friend has a bad back and so asked for the tables that had "proper" chairs not the awful banquette style seats they have on Ventura (and Azura). As a result we were always on one of two tables and so our waiters got to know us quite well. I also noticed the larger tables in our Freedom restaurant were often empty.

[jeanlyon]

If you're on Freedom Dining, how does the wine order work? We always go for Club, so we order our wine on the first day for the evening an it is on the table, because we gave our table number. If it is not finished, which with us it never is, then they put it away for the following evening?

[P-L-B]

If you're on Freedom Dining, how does the wine order work? We always go for Club, so we order our wine on the first day for the evening an it is on the table, because we gave our table number. If it is not finished, which with us it never is, then they put it away for the following evening?

It's the same procedure for freedom dining Jean but they use your cabin number for reference.

So when you are shown to your table you ask the wine waiter for your unfinished bottle quoting you cabin number.

[darknightsdespiser]

Don’t you have to make that decision every day?

I like the fact that I don't have to decide when and where to eat. (It was even more stressful when I had to consider others too, oh the constant discussion about when and where).

By the end of the cruise I begin to resent that I have to choose what to eat!

Bit of a first world problem to be stressed about where to eat! We choose where and when according to how the day has gone and what we plan for the evening

[darknightsdespiser]

I;m just leaving work at 5pm!! Home, have a shower, start the dinner. What do you do for the rest of the evening if you have a drink at 4pm? I don't want any alcohol after I've eaten and one show would be enough for me.

 

Also, if you eat at 5 what time do you have lunch?

 

Just curious

Strange isn't it! Even if I ever retire I can't see me wanting to eat dinner in the afternoon at home! Having said that I suppose eating early on the ship to catch all the entertainment is no different from pre-theatre dining at home!

[dewesties]

That's the wonderful thing about us cruisers, we all dance to our own tune.For us we prefer freedom dining,generally going around 8:30 ,generally sharing. Most are creatures of habit , so our dining companions were often the same crowd. Lovely to bump into people during the day that you have dined with previously. Very few queues..... In fact some evenings we were offered a table for two which we refused in mock shock horror...having to spend the meal taking to other half, I've had all day to do that,

 

 

But what works for you works for you