What is your experience with "As You Wish" dining?

[donandmelissa]

On our 14 day Transatlantic in April on the Nieuw Statendam we are trying "As You Wish Dining" for the first time.  We recently did this on Celebrity and were pretty disappointed, but our friends who have done this on Holland America urged us to give it a shot.  On Celebrity, we were never able to make a reservation in advance, almost always had to wait at least 20 minutes and were largely unsuccessful in being seated with a larger group.  We chalked it up to post pandemic staffing problems (most of the crew appeared to be really inexperienced).  We still had a fantastic time on the cruise, even if the experience was less than what it had been before the pandemic.

 

We love meeting new people on a cruise and having different dinner partners each night would be fun. We would love it if you would share your "As You Wish Dining" experiences with us to give us an idea of what to expect.  Thanks in advance for your help!

[robotpony]

We've only done the as-you-wish dining on HAL and have enjoyed it, with the exception of the Thanksgiving week (NS had 2900 guests, so was packed). 

 

In August, we were with a large group of people and had no issues getting tables for the portions of the group eating together, and often the staff would try to get all of us in one area of the dining room. There were no significant waits in August.

 

In November (week 1), we waited for 2 people anywhere from 5 minutes to 25. The MDR was pretty chaotic due to how full the ship was. For the second week, things settled down a lot, and we didn't wait for tables and had the option to share a table if we wanted. We shared some of the time and enjoyed the company of a number of interesting people.

[Hlitner]

We have been big fans of As You Wish or whatever each line calls their anytime dining schemes and have been doing it for many years on multiple lines.  We tend to dine no earlier than 7:30, which avoids a lot of the congestion found on lines, like HAL, that attract an older crowd who thinks that having dinner at 5pm is too late :).

 

We seldom make reservations (except on Princess) as we prefer to dine without a pre set schedule.  When we are enjoying pre-dinner cocktails and meet new folks we like the ability to enjoy our newfound company and see little reason to run off because of a schedule.  On most cruise lines (including HAL) we ask, at the MDR door, to share a large table.  On HAL, this means dining before 8 since most HAL cruisers are not late diners (we think many are in bed long before the MDR closes).  We will often invite others, we have met on the cruise, to join us for dinner which can be the basis of a large table.

 

For us, dinner is often the big social event of the day and we often find ourselves at fantastic tables that are liable to close down the MDR.  Two hour dinners are not unusual as many of our tables are a lot of fun and nobody is in a big rush (given the situation with entertainment on HAL...no reason to hurry from dinner).   When we get tablemates that are not very social, we do our best to find discussion topics of common interest.  One very nice advantage of As you wish is that you do not need to dine with the same folks again (or every night), but you also have the ability to dine with folks you like as often as you please.  To us it is the best of both worlds.   I should add that as avid international independent travelers, we have learned much from past tablemates that often governs future port days and even trips.  And when folks ask us how we manage to find excellent discount cruise agencies (which usually save us 7-10% vs booking directly with a cruise line) our usual response is that we share travel/cruise agency info with others we meet over cocktails and at dinner.

 

Hank

Hank

[Cruising-along]

We always choose As You Wish Dining. We don't like to be tied down to eating in the MDR at the same time, same table, every night.  We like to mix it up, and eat in different places each night.

Actually I think it would be easier to get a large table, we're always urged to do so, even though we prefer a table for two unless we're with a group.  Each ship and cruise, even the time of evening will be different, but we've always been asked first if we'd like to "share a table" so I would think you'll be fine.

[DaveOKC]

For a long time we were Fixed diners, as we liked to get seated quickly and not wait in lines.

 

Now we like Open better as we are not tied to a specific time and because we do several specialty dinners per cruise (thus not sitting with tablemates for a decent part of the cruise).

 

Each way has its pros and cons, but the big thing is how well you meet new people (no problem for me as I am a talker!).

[Cruise Suzy]

With Anytime Dining, once onboard you can reserve times - same each evening or different each day. It has been our experience that the MDR has two lines - one for those with reservations and the other for those without. With reservations, we have never had to wait - even when we are several minutes early.

[REOVA]

From experience and recent posts (including above):

 

Pinnacle ships' MDR is large, loud and sometimes chaotic and service can spotty due to staffing and their experience, whether open seating or fixed. 

 

Wait times are usually longer for earlier dinner and for smaller groups. If you are more inclined to accept a table larger than 2, will be less time waiting. (In most cases)

 

Be realistic on time once sitting down. You may have to egg on the Staff for things like wine orders, meal courses delivered together and timely, refills, etc. The staff is trying to hustle but some are new and need guidance. It still can be enjoyable with good tablemates. You can also try to ask the matre d' to put you in the same service area (even during open seating) if you know a good team or they learn your routine. So it's like the best of all worlds, new table mates, eat when you want and get to know the server team over the course of the cruise. (If they stay consistent in that station).

 

We try not to eat in MDR on Pinnacle Class ships and prefer the alternative dining (or if Neptune or Club Orange) in Club Orange restaurant. You would need to know other people with CO to arrange time and table to meet but it's definitely a less hectic and more personal dining experience. Otherwise know in advance the limitations of MDR and use that for a better experience. 🤞🤞

 

 

 

[Pickalily, Wilts]

Our experience has been very good.  I wouldn't describe OH or me as gregarious, but over the years we have met lovely people from many parts of the world and it has led to a few  friendships which have lasted for decades.  So long as you are open minded and have the patience to answer the inevitable "Where do you come from" questions etc.,  it can be very rewarding.

Only twice have we been grouped with folk we wouldn't want to spend more time with, so open dining and sharing a table is what we always opt for.

[ukpylot]

We did the open dining on the Koningsdam in Oct 2021 and I was surprised to find that they really wanted us to make a reservation every day which seemed to me against the spirit of "as I wish". Given the Covid situation then, the boat was not even half full so it was no trouble getting the time I wanted, and everyone was sat in their own groups, we weren't put with strangers.

 

We have two cruises coming up this year and will be open seating again.

[crystalspin]

Pre-pandemic, always as you wish except when our own party was a table of 8 or 10 and dinner was a good time to catch up with experiences and plans. Prior we would not make reservations but show up "as we wished" and tell the host to seat us wherever was easiest for THEM. Never got a pager or had to wait. 

 

Currently on the K'dam for a 16-day B2B. Went by the MDR the first night. People were no joke packed all down the halls with pagers. Especially as we are trying to go home without COVID, and so are not willing to sit at the big tables this trip, we passed and went to the Lido which was NOT chaotic, nor has it been since. 

 

Also as someone said above, we are taking advantage of the specialty restaurants more this cruise, due to our anniversary falling on NYE, HIA promotion, and finally getting to use stock holder benefits! I guess it will be five out of nine nights on this leg. 

[ClippyJoe]

We have used any time dining on nearly all our cruises. We say that we will eat at any table when we arrive at the MDR.  We enjoy meeting new people. In the beginning of our cruise history, we had fixed time but once any time came in, we quickly switched to that.There is no rush to be there on time. And on those evenings when we eat elsewhere, we do not feel guilty about tablemates eating alone. On another cruise line, our waiter was indignant when everyone did not show up each evening. We do not cruise with them any longer. It was as if my mother were on the ship carrying her bag of guilt to sprinkle over missed dinners. ( and I do love my mother ! She lived with my husband and myself along with my mother in law for many years.). Hope this helps.

[Native Floridian 26]

What is "As-you-Wish Dining" versus Open Seating?

[TexasBrit]

Our recent experience as new to HAL on the NS in December.

As you Wish or Anytime dining can be a mixed bag. Sometimes there is a line at the door and then another wait for a table up to 30 minutes. This usually happens on the first night. For subsequent nights seating was essentially immediate. Getting a 2-top is sometimes a slightly longer wait than taking a shared table.

 

It is possible to make a reservation by telephone, and then you get a separate line and check-in desk. However reservations for the popular times go early and are hard to get (compared to some other cruise lines that use apps). I found out after some questioning that they only do reservations for 50% of the available tables.

 

They will usually assign to the same general seating area each time. But if you don't like your seating area, they will assign you to a different one if you ask on your next visit.

 

 

[RAS4331]

We have found anytime dining to be great!  I guess we are oddballs because we prefer a table for two.  (We’re not at all antisocial but just prefer our own company at dinner.) I always got the feeling that the host or hostess would prefer seating us with others, but nevertheless we never waited more than 5 minutes for a table - usually there was no wait at all.  We found it very convenient to eat whenever we wanted and not have to keep to a set schedule.  Our experiences were on the Rotterdam and Zuiderdam.

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

What is "As-you-Wish Dining" versus Open Seating?

As You Wish (AYW) is just the official HAL name for open seating. It actually includes both open and fixed seating "as you wish"! 

[donandmelissa]

Thanks for the great information!  We appreciate that you took the time to share your experience with us.

[RuthC]

6 hours ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

What is "As-you-Wish Dining" versus Open Seating?

'As You Wish' is the umbrella term to cover all the various places to have dinner: fixed seating, open seating, Lido, specialty restaurants, and room service. 
Open seating is just one component of AYW, wherein you can approach the entrance podium whenever you want to (during dining hours), and ask to be seated. 

The term 'As You Wish' is customarily used on CC inappropriately to refer to open seating. 

[donandmelissa]

14 hours ago, RuthC said:

'As You Wish' is the umbrella term to cover all the various places to have dinner: fixed seating, open seating, Lido, specialty restaurants, and room service. 
Open seating is just one component of AYW, wherein you can approach the entrance podium whenever you want to (during dining hours), and ask to be seated. 

The term 'As You Wish' is customarily used on CC inappropriately to refer to open seating. 

Thanks for the clarification. Our question was definitely directed to people who had experience with HAL’s open seating dining. 

[Torquer]

16 hours ago, RuthC said:

'As You Wish' is the umbrella term to cover all the various places to have dinner: fixed seating, open seating, Lido, specialty restaurants, and room service. 
Open seating is just one component of AYW, wherein you can approach the entrance podium whenever you want to (during dining hours), and ask to be seated. 

The term 'As You Wish' is customarily used on CC inappropriately to refer to open seating. 

I had always thought As You Wish meant open seating, so I looked it up and indeed you are correct.  After many cruises on HAL I was very surprised I was wrong about the terminology.  I guess it is so often miss-used on Cruise Critic that I didn't realize it.  Thanks for setting me straight.

[CNSJ]

I have exclusively booked Open Seating with HAL on ten cruises over the past eight years.  I book a table each night in advance (before sailing) when possible for around 5:30-6:00 PM.  While I could book the early fixed dining (we book cruises well in advance) - Using Open Seating allows me to adjust the reservation based on port departure times.  I'll book a later table when we are in port until early evening or later.  

 

I have never had to wait for a table as a result. 

 

We don't always get the same table, but when I get a waiter I particularly enjoy, I ask to be seated at same table for the next night. 

 

I always be sure to cancel my reservation at least an hour before if for some reason we will dine in Lido or in the room.