How is HAL handling the main dining room these days

[Guest ldtr]

We have booked our first HAL cruise since the restart.  We have done several on other lines.  Cannot find anything on the HAL web site indicating how one selects dining times for the Main dining room.  Is HAL still doing early/late and anytime like pre-Covid?  Or have they gone to a reservation system like Princess with their App? 

 

In either case when and how does one enter their preference?

[Florida_gal_50]

Yes they are still doing fixed and open.  You will select your choice when you book.  That said if you book late there is a chance the fixed option will be all full.

[Guest ldtr]

10 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yes they are still doing fixed and open.  You will select your choice when you book.  That said if you book late there is a chance the fixed option will be all full.

Thank you.

[cabinluvn]

Had fixed dining first seating. Sailed May 15 Alaska on the Noordam. Upper dining room was closed. Was squeezed between two other two top tables that were not fixed diners. Had the same servers, but it did not feel the same. 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, cabinluvn said:

Had fixed dining first seating. Sailed May 15 Alaska on the Noordam. Upper dining room was closed. Was squeezed between two other two top tables that were not fixed diners. Had the same servers, but it did not feel the same. 

You raise a good point.  I had forgotten that they seem to be doing this with reduced amounts of passengers on sailings.  I would have to think it would change the dynamic.

[Mary229]

I guess it depends on the cruise.  We had both dining rooms open, one for fixed and one for open seating.  I chose fixed - same servers, same table every night makes for a much more pleasant dining experience.   When i need flexibility I dine elsewhere.
 

when I sailed I thought it was a bit silly to have both dining rooms open, it just didn’t make logistical sense for the passenger levels.  It seemed more people were opting for other dining rather than the MDR.

 

Anyway you can call guest services and request fixed dining, early or late. If you prefer open dining you can make reservations from the app.  Finally you can simply talk to the maitre d’ in person 

[Crew News]

My last four cruises on HAL (Nieuw Statendam, Nieuw Amsterdam, and Zuiderdam (2) had MDR reservations available online for booking.  I do not see it available for my September Nieuw Amsterdam Alaska cruise.

[Caribbean Chris]

4 hours ago, Crew News said:

My last four cruises on HAL (Nieuw Statendam, Nieuw Amsterdam, and Zuiderdam (2) had MDR reservations available online for booking.  I do not see it available for my September Nieuw Amsterdam Alaska cruise.

We’re booked on the Nieuw Amsterdam’s Christmas cruise and were able to book Main dining online for 6 every night except of course for our specialty nights. Would have preferred early fixed seating but it was full. This seems like a good alternative, and I am hoping we’ll have the same table & waiters nightly.

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, Caribbean Chris said:

We’re booked on the Nieuw Amsterdam’s Christmas cruise and were able to book Main dining online for 6 every night except of course for our specialty nights. Would have preferred early fixed seating but it was full. This seems like a good alternative, and I am hoping we’ll have the same table & waiters nightly.

It is always “full”.  You can book the day a cruise drops and it is “full”.  Put yourself on the waitlist for your preferred dining, time and table size.  Since it is 6 months out you will likely get exactly what you want 

[FlaMariner]

15 hours ago, ldtr said:

Or have they gone to a reservation system like Princess with their App? 

 

Please no and never.  

 

Experienced that on our first and last Princess cruise in March.  It was a nightmare as it really did not matter if you had reservations and we were never guaranteed same table, same waiters. 

 

Never again.

 

Holland does it right.  You simply tell the TA your preference and you are done.  Simple. 

 

[Caribbean Chris]

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

It is always “full”.  You can book the day a cruise drops and it is “full”.  Put yourself on the waitlist for your preferred dining, time and table size.  Since it is 6 months out you will likely get exactly what you want 

We’ve booked many times when it was not “full,” and had early fixed dining on our booking paperwork from the start.  If not, we always waitlist for our preference, sometimes eventually clearing it up with the maitre d’ after boarding. 

[*Miss G*]

25 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

Please no and never.

 

Having experienced the same misery, I literally LOL’d when I read this.  😂

Edited June 10, 2022 by *Miss G*

[Mary229]

4 minutes ago, Caribbean Chris said:

We’ve booked many times when it was not “full,” and had early fixed dining on our booking paperwork from the start.  If not, we always waitlist for our preference, sometimes eventually clearing it up with the maitre d’ after boarding. 

This year I have booked 5 cruises, they have all said waitlisted.  One I booked when it came out.  I think it is an internal glitch.  When I cruised in May I went to see the maitre d’ and he said of course I was table for 2, early dining as if he had gotten a different status report 

Edited June 10, 2022 by Mary229

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Please no and never.  

 

Experienced that on our first and last Princess cruise in March.  It was a nightmare as it really did not matter if you had reservations and we were never guaranteed same table, same waiters. 

 

Never again.

 

Holland does it right.  You simply tell the TA your preference and you are done.  Simple. 

 

I certainly agree that Princess has screwed up with their system. Largely because everyone has to check in creating a long line. If they would just modify it such that people who request and get the same table each night can go directly to their table, it would greatly reduce the problems with the system and make it much better.

[*Miss G*]

21 minutes ago, ldtr said:

I certainly agree that Princess has screwed up with their system. Largely because everyone has to check in creating a long line. If they would just modify it such that people who request and get the same table each night can go directly to their table, it would greatly reduce the problems with the system and make it much better.

 

Sadly, it is a much greater problem than that.  Their reservations system does not allow for traditional dining (same time; same table) so it must be done manually, leaving the staff constantly having to fight the technology.  On our sailing, they just gave up.  Case in point:

 

 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Sadly, it is a much greater problem than that.  Their reservations system does not allow for traditional dining (same time; same table) so it must be done manually, leaving the staff constantly having to fight the technology.  On our sailing, they just gave up.  Case in point:

 

 

Actually on the 4 Princess cruises I went on the system worked quite well. I booked a same time for all nights and the system did give me the same table just fine.

 

In my case I used that feature in the app in advance of the cruise. Did not have to do anything else.

 

If we changed plans for a specific night we would cancel that night.

 

So the system worked as it was designed to for us.

 

Did talk with some people who tried booking each night individually, because they had other plans for a couple of evenings and they did not get the same table each night.

 

There are some differences on different ships, for example there seemed to be fewer problems on the Majestic than the Grand.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2022 by ldtr

[nyold]

Just got back from a Zaandam 7 day. Deck 4 is for my time dining, and deck 5 is for fixed time seating, and it is 5:30 and 8 pm. 

The 5:30 was very crowded, but 8 pm seating is only about 40% occupancy (eyeballing). The waiters said that the vast majority are opting for my time dining, which makes sense.

 

The show times are always 7:30 and 9:30, so if you're doing early seating you're ok, but if you're doing late seating it's a bit rushed. Keep this in mind when booking specialty dining. I botched my PG reservation that way so it was too rushed.

 

[grammi]

We haven’t cruised for 4 years and not on HAL for 25 years. We’re doing triple Denali cruise tour from Fairbanks in August after cancel and rebooked 3 times due to Covid. There are 5 of us. 
 

We chose anytime dining so we could be flexible. It’s not important to us to eat at same table or same staff. 
 

I hadn’t planned on any dining reservations except specialty dining night. Is it standard to make reservations when choosing anytime dining?  I hadn’t found this necessary on other cruiselines.  
 

I

[Mary229]

19 minutes ago, grammi said:

I hadn’t planned on any dining reservations except specialty dining night. Is it standard to make reservations when choosing anytime dining?  I hadn’t found this necessary on other cruiselines.  

It is not required.  You can just show up and get on the list. Usually there will not be a substantial delay but that can vary by cruise.  On my most recent cruise there were no delays.  The most popular times are 5:30 to 6:30.  After that you will probably walk right in.  If you find there are delays then you can make your reservations for the following nights 

[grammi]

6 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

It is not required.  You can just show up and get on the list. Usually there will not be a substantial delay but that can vary by cruise.  On my most recent cruise there were no delays.  The most popular times are 5:30 to 6:30.  After that you will probably walk right in.  If you find there are delays then you can make your reservations for the following nights 

Thank you!

[willoL]

On 6/10/2022 at 10:00 AM, Mary229 said:

This year I have booked 5 cruises, they have all said waitlisted.  One I booked when it came out.  I think it is an internal glitch.  When I cruised in May I went to see the maitre d’ and he said of course I was table for 2, early dining as if he had gotten a different status report 

It's also possible that HAL is considering switching to the "modern" method a la Princess, or that ongoing staffing issues make them reluctant to promise doing things the traditional way just in case people can't be accommodated.

 

It's probably a good idea for those of us who enjoy traditional seating to make comments to that effect when we fill out surveys on board! I'm perfectly happy that others like different or flexible options, but, for myself, I hope to always have the option of a set table on this kind of vacation. It's just what I like! I'll let HAL know that on my August voyage. 🙂

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, willoL said:

It's also possible that HAL is considering switching to the "modern" method a la Princess, or that ongoing staffing issues make them reluctant to promise doing things the traditional way just in case people can't be accommodated.

 

It's probably a good idea for those of us who enjoy traditional seating to make comments to that effect when we fill out surveys on board! I'm perfectly happy that others like different or flexible options, but, for myself, I hope to always have the option of a set table on this kind of vacation. It's just what I like! I'll let HAL know that on my August voyage. 🙂

I tried the flexible option on one cruise, it is not for me.  I don’t want to wait, I like that my waiters know me and I know them.  It is just so much easier even though my preferred dining time is later than early and earlier than late.  I will be sure to mention it on my next survey. 

[LosMM]

What are the fixed shift hours?

An part of the early option and the flexible one, is there any other?

[nyold]

5:30 pm and 8 pm. So if you do the fixed hours, you can do 5:30 OR 8, but you cannot switch willy nilly. 

The flexible one is always flexible of course. The issue is that if say you usually do 5:30, but on ONE day only you want to do a flexible dining, they can do it but they said you're making it difficult. They'll still do it with a smile of course, but out of consideration we try not to do this one unless we have to. 

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I am booked on the Rotterdam's 10-day Southern Caribbean cruise that departs on Nov. 20, 2022. For dining, my reservation states "Confirmed Main." Is "main" the second (8:00 pm) seating?

 

Thanks,

 

Chuck