Bella Ecperience

[sealynx]

Hello, I have booked my first real cruise on the MSC Seaview for next summer. No

I'm very excited and can't wait to get to Genua to board.

Since I'm new to cruising I have a question about dining. We will get a fixed (same every day) table in one of the main dining rooms. Will it be possible to change that on a daily basis? Different table/different restaurant every day? I'm a huge fan of variety, so I like a different view every day.

A while ago MSC announced more flexible dining options, but I can't find anything about that anymore.

[Beamafar]

You will have the same table every night. You won't be able to change every night (unless you pay in the Speciality Restaurants).

 

If you are referring to 'Flexi-dining' which was introduced with the launch of Meraviglia in June last year, then, no, Flexi-dining didn't work out so it was scrapped. The only 'Experiences' that enjoy flexibility are Aurea and Yacht Club, where guests can choose their dining times.

[Preziosa]

You Don t need to use the table in the MDR every Night. You Can just Go to the buffet or a special restaurant if you Want. But the food in the MDR is Very good. So Maybe you should give Them a chance. The same table is yours the whole Cruise.

[SirWolf]

You Can just Go to the buffet or a special restaurant if you Want.

The Specialty Restaurants are not included in any Experience. On some cruises “Trio Restaurant” packages are offered, limited menu for discounted price in 3 Specialty Restaurants.

[Jimjamz]

If you are looking for a different view then try the MDR if it is open for lunch as your table is allocated more like a regular restaurant and so is different with a different view each time. When we sailed we did a few lunches in the MDR. You could order off a paper menu or there was also a buffet set up. I think almost the same food as the buffet upstairs in the buffet restaurant but with a quieter, slightly more refined feel about the dining experience.

[sealynx]

Good suggestion, but I think we'll always have lunch in port, since we don't have sea days in this cruise.

This fixed dining is really something that bugs me about cruising. Why have two or more main restaurants, when you'll always assigned to just one? Or maybe that stimulates passengers to opt for speciality dining more often, to gain more income for the company.

I guess I'll just ask the maitreD every day if he maybe has a different table available. Perhaps from people went to a speciality restaurant that day.

[ready2cruzagain]

Good suggestion, but I think we'll always have lunch in port, since we don't have sea days in this cruise.

This fixed dining is really something that bugs me about cruising. Why have two or more main restaurants, when you'll always assigned to just one? Or maybe that stimulates passengers to opt for speciality dining more often, to gain more income for the company.

I guess I'll just ask the maitreD every day if he maybe has a different table available. Perhaps from people went to a speciality restaurant that day.

Good thing you didn't sail back int he 70's, 80's, 90's or early 2000's then, you would really be bugged since there was no Anytime dining and everyone was assigned a table and it had nothing to do with more income for the company.

[sealynx]

True that, although for me it's more the place/table, and not so much the time slot.

[SirWolf]

Why did you book Bella Experience if “My Choice Dining” (included in Aurea Experience) is so important to you ?

[sealynx]

Simply because the Aurea experience is a few hundred euro's more expensive, for amenities which are (other than the flex dining) of no added value for me.

[Beamafar]

I guess I'll just ask the maitreD every day if he maybe has a different table available. Perhaps from people went to a speciality restaurant that day.

 

The m'D cannot seat you in a place or at a table that has already been allocated to somebody else - even if they are not dining in the MDR that night (though the m'D has no way of knowing who's going to show up on any given night - even if he did, there's no way he could do what you're suggesting).

[SirWolf]

Simply because the Aurea experience is a few hundred euro's more expensive, for amenities which are (other than the flex dining) of no added value for me.

I understand but we all can not "pick-n-choose" perks of different Experiences.

Unfortunately I have to pay sometimes for a more expensive package, even some of the perks in

this package are not important to me. It applies to airline fares, hotel rooms, rental car categories, etc.

[MhZnl]

Hello, I have booked my first real cruise on the MSC Seaview for next summer. No

I'm very excited and can't wait to get to Genua to board.

Since I'm new to cruising I have a question about dining. We will get a fixed (same every day) table in one of the main dining rooms. Will it be possible to change that on a daily basis? Different table/different restaurant every day? I'm a huge fan of variety, so I like a different view every day.

A while ago MSC announced more flexible dining options, but I can't find anything about that anymore.

I thought I would not like it either. But it had positive points as well. The staff gets to know you. And we had very nice people at our table and got to touch base with them in the evening and talk about our day. The menu is very different every day. It's way more relaxed in the restaurant versus the chaos at the buffet.

 

Greetings from MhZ in the Netherlands!

[sealynx]

I understand but we all can not "pick-n-choose" perks of different Experiences.

Unfortunately I have to pay sometimes for a more expensive package, even some of the perks in

this package are not important to me. It applies to airline fares, hotel rooms, rental car categories, etc.

 

Not quite true, can't think of a single airline where you don't have to nickel up for everybit of extra. Same for rental cars, and many hotels. Although I do agree that that would really kill much of the cruise ideal. Still I don't think a bit of variety is such a weird thing to ask.

[SirWolf]

Not quite true, can't think of a single airline where you don't have to nickel up for everybit of extra. Same for rental cars, and many hotels. Although I do agree that that would really kill much of the cruise ideal. Still I don't think a bit of variety is such a weird thing to ask.

You can not get the meals from first class in economy on a plane... What you are asking MSC is very complex to handle. They have logistic reasons how the MDRs are managed. Certainly cruise lines will try new things in the future, maybe “flexi-dining” in Bella will be one of them.

[sidari]

Just to throw a spanner into the works, in April on our second Seaside sailing we once again had the Aurea package with My time dining but sadly not the Aft condo cabin we had at Xmas, we knew that our favourite waiter who has served us not just on Seaside was still in the Seashore dining room but had been moved to the fixed dining side of the dining room.

We spoke with him and then to the hostess about being seated in his area instead of the my time dining area, after speaking to the Matre`d they agreed due to the table having not been used for the previous two nights, on the understanding that if the people who should have been using the table turned up we would go back to the other side of the dining room.

We were there for the rest of the week and reverted to the fixed dining time of 8 pm for the rest of the week, the people that the table was allocated to never turned up.

So it can be done on occasions.