Things that we want P&O to INTRODUCE ...

[manonabike]

I would like the ability to book freedom dining times and it would be good to have 'waiting times' for restaurants displayed around the ship so you can choose your dining venue that most suits your need. 

 

[manonabike]

they could have a priority key card for those who actually need to use a lift and it will get them a lift faster and straight to their deck.

 

[jeanlyon]

Now I have just searched for my upcoming cruise on Arcadia in April and when I go to the Itinerary, the times are listed for each port and I am rather pleased to see we have until 9 pm in Genoa!!  So maybe they have listened to that one!

 

However, have just searched for our October cruise and they are still Am and PM???

Edited January 5, 2020 by jeanlyon

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, manonabike said:

I would like the ability to book freedom dining times and it would be good to have 'waiting times' for restaurants displayed around the ship so you can choose your dining venue that most suits your need. 

 

Actually I am against the idea of booking a table on Freedom Dining. It tends to make table management more difficult for the staff, and can lead to longer wait times for other diners.

The waiting times idea is excellent though. 

[jeanlyon]

Further to my previous, if when you check the Itinerary, it just gives AM and PM, click on Learn More and the times appear.

[Mysticalmother]

19 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Andy, I would have agreed with you until we tried it.  We are on Arcadia next and we will see what it''s like second time, but it was a 19 night cruise and I couldn't fault it.

Jean

I will be very interested to hear what you think of Freedom dining on Arcadia... by all the reports I have read,  it works least well on that ship...hearing a lot of complaints about very long queues and waiting times. So much so, we have actually changed our dining back to Club for the October cruise...something we haven't done for a while now.

[jeanlyon]

So does it depend when you want to eat?  We are quite happy at 8pm and never had a wait at all then.

[silkworms]

Whilst we love freedom dining, Arcadia and Oceana are a no no for us, we have reverted back to club dining on both these ships as the MDR are just not conducive to freedom.

Queues form at five thirty and thereafter don’t even try to get in until well after 8.

Freedom does not mean freedom on either of these ships.!

[AndyMichelle]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

So does it depend when you want to eat?  We are quite happy at 8pm and never had a wait at all then.

I think a lot of things on Aurora are quite different Jean, but dining time does make a difference. 

My view is if you want to eat at 6 you should be OK, but that is no more freedom than club... 

Andy 

[AndyMichelle]

5 minutes ago, silkworms said:

Whilst we love freedom dining, Arcadia and Oceana are a no no for us, we have reverted back to club dining on both these ships as the MDR are just not conducive to freedom.

Queues form at five thirty and thereafter don’t even try to get in until well after 8.

Freedom does not mean freedom on either of these ships.!

Nor Ventura, same experience... 

Andy 

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, AndyMichelle said:

Nor Ventura, same experience... 

Andy 

We rarely experience problems on longer cruises on Ventura Andy, the first night whilst people are acclimatising to the cruise and also the Captains welcome party, can have queues.  But thereafter we find it settles down and as long we choose to share a table we don't have to wait, and the queues are fairly tiny.

[jeanlyon]

Ah yes, we always ask to share on a Table for 8 or 6 and I haven't eaten at 6 since I was 6!!

 

The queues started on Aurora around 5.15, unbelievable.  But even when we went down at 7.30, it was straigtht in.

[AndyMichelle]

9 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

We rarely experience problems on longer cruises on Ventura Andy, the first night whilst people are acclimatising to the cruise and also the Captains welcome party, can have queues.  But thereafter we find it settles down and as long we choose to share a table we don't have to wait, and the queues are fairly tiny.

Yes, it was probably because it was a short cruise and New Year, but the experience was enough to send us scurrying back to club dining. 

It just highlighted all the things we enjoy about set dining on larger tables. 

We like to get to know the waiters and companions over the course of the holiday and also found the waiters seemed to care less. 

Andy 

[Harry Peterson]

24 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Nor Ventura, same experience... 

Andy 

I’ve not found that on Azura or Ventura, Andy.  We always ask for a 6 or an 8, and even with that limitation we’ve never had much of a wait. 

[wowzz]

45 minutes ago, Mysticalmother said:

Jean

I will be very interested to hear what you think of Freedom dining on Arcadia... by all the reports I have read,  it works least well on that ship...hearing a lot of complaints about very long queues and waiting times. So much so, we have actually changed our dining back to Club for the October cruise...something we haven't done for a while 

Andy- we did 24 nights on Arcadia - never needed a buzzer, but we do prefer to eat after 8.

 

32 minutes ago, silkworms said:

Whilst we love freedom dining, Arcadia and Oceana are a no no for us, we have reverted back to club dining on both these ships as the MDR are just not conducive to freedom.

Queues form at five thirty and thereafter don’t even try to get in until well after 8.

Freedom does not mean freedom on either of these ships.!

As above, never needed to wait after 8. Hate being told when to eat, so will never do club dining.

Edited January 5, 2020 by wowzz

[jeanlyon]

Wowzz, you just put my mind at rest.  We are usually in the bar for a drink until 8, so I'm sure it will be fine for us.  Haven't been on Arcadia since 2011.

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Wowzz, you just put my mind at rest.  We are usually in the bar for a drink until 8, so I'm sure it will be fine for us.  Haven't been on Arcadia since 2011.

Us too - the whole point of the cruise is to have a "sharpner", and then saunter in for dinner. Any time before 8 is much too rushed!

[jeanlyon]

Hee hee, we call it a "livener"!

[Britboys]

I would like to see solo pax pre-dinner drinks get-togethers listed in the Horizon Paper - not hosted or with free drinks of course, just a 'focal point' for us solo pax.

I would also like to see 'thermos' carafes for water in each cabin with chilled water stations on most decks.  That was one of the few decent things on Marella Discovery 2. 

[Deeliteful]

I like the idea of solo tables in the speciality restaurants.

a lot of other lines have their own app where you can download things like the Horizon, that would save a lot of paper waste!

ANd if you have to do them at all then just one formal night on a 7 nighter is enough imo.

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Deeliteful

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, manonabike said:

they could have a priority key card for those who actually need to use a lift and it will get them a lift faster and straight to their deck.

 

Good idea except when the lift arrives people will appear and push themselves in first.

[Tikka234]

Something more for families to do together,  mini go!f, or games tables (air hockey type of thing), not just children clubs. maybe a slide in a slide in a pool. Not looking for things like RC ships just a couple of things

daughter likes being with her kids 

[dunnster1965]

Green beans on the menu in the MDR... 😉

[peteukmcr]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

Actually I am against the idea of booking a table on Freedom Dining. It tends to make table management more difficult for the staff, and can lead to longer wait times for other diners.

The waiting times idea is excellent though. 

How does it make table management more difficult? Surely as in a restaurant on land, if you know what reservations you have for the evening, you know how many ‘walk ins’ you can manage. Front of house staff can ‘reserve’ tables in preparation, just as we used to do where I worked. In addition, at least 3 other cruise lines manage this in our experience superbly (one of which is totally ‘freedom dining’). 
 

As opposed to wait times, showing how full/busy a restaurant is does help. 

[Harry Peterson]

3 minutes ago, peteukmcr said:

How does it make table management more difficult? Surely as in a restaurant on land, if you know what reservations you have for the evening, you know how many ‘walk ins’ you can manage. Front of house staff can ‘reserve’ tables in preparation, just as we used to do where I worked. In addition, at least 3 other cruise lines manage this in our experience superbly (one of which is totally ‘freedom dining’). 
 

As opposed to wait times, showing how full/busy a restaurant is does help. 

In practice, as on land, reservations inevitably mean periods, however short, when tables are empty. The present system provides close to 100% occupancy.

 

That can only mean less efficient use of tables and longer queues for anyone wanting the freedom to dine when they choose to.

 

Another vote against from me, purely on logical grounds.