Question for someone on my roll call: Open Dining Reservations

[POA1]

Someone in my roll call thread asked about open seating reservations, and being a helpful chap and trying to preserve the good will & good cheer that we have here on the HAL board 100% of the time, I volunteered to ask and report back. We're a fixed dining people, so I thought I'd ask you, the experts.

 

So....

 

Open Seating: Can you make a standing reservation? If so, what are the parameters? (In other words, before time X or after time Y.) Can you do it in person? Can you make requests in the app? How does it work? (The reservation process, not the app itself. I know the general sentiment about Navigator.)

 

Judging by the person's handle, they usually cruise on Princess. Princess has that whole Medallion RFID thing going on. It works with their app (The Medallionator®) which is kinda like Disney's Magic Band, or chipping your dog or cat.

 

Thanks in advance for preserving the spirit of decorum that sets the HAL board head & shoulders above.

[richwmn]

3 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Someone in my roll call thread asked about open seating reservations, and being a helpful chap and trying to preserve the good will & good cheer that we have here on the HAL board 100% of the time, I volunteered to ask and report back. We're a fixed dining people, so I thought I'd ask you, the experts.

 

So....

 

Open Seating: Can you make a standing reservation? If so, what are the parameters? (In other words, before time X or after time Y.) Can you do it in person? Can you make requests in the app? How does it work? (The reservation process, not the app itself. I know the general sentiment about Navigator.)

 

Judging by the person's handle, they usually cruise on Princess. Princess has that whole Medallion RFID thing going on. It works with their app (The Medallionator®) which is kinda like Disney's Magic Band, or chipping your dog or cat.

 

Thanks in advance for preserving the spirit of decorum that sets the HAL board head & shoulders above.

unfortunately, the answer depends on the particular ship and staff. there have been reports of people doing just that, and others saying it can't be done.

[POA1]

Just now, richwmn said:

unfortunately, the answer depends on the particular ship and staff. there have been reports of people doing just that, and others saying it can't be done.

Thanks, Rich. It's the Nieuw Statendam in the Caribbean in December.

[Banditswife]

We have spent 4 weeks on the N Statendam in the last few months (Nov-Dec) & (March.)  We always have had open seating with our bookings.  We never tried to make a reservation, just shown up at the hostess desk & rarely waited more than 5 minutes.  The 1st night & dressy nights have the longest wait time & probably larger parties.  I cannot speak about set reservations though, never tried it.

[yerdua]

I was on the NS in May and had open seating. The only reservation times available to book on the navigator app were.5:00 and 5:15. I don't know if you went to the MDR on embarcation if they would be willing to do another time.

[JohnCoffield]

We were on Noordam in March (our first HAL cruise - on Nieuw Statendam next Sunday) with open seating & never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a table for 2. One night the head waiter asked us if we wanted to reserve our current table for the remainder of the cruise at a time of our choosing. We passed as we like the flexibility of turning up when it suits us, but maybe it just comes down to each cruise & how busy it is.

[Mary229]

The best course of action is to go to the dining room at embarkation and see how they can accommodate.   I have gotten a fixed seating of my choice this way but it is not 100%.  The HAL app lacks sophistication and though you may try to set a reservation the outcome is not reliable 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

The best course of action is to go to the dining room at embarkation and see how they can accommodate.   I have gotten a fixed seating of my choice this way but it is not 100%.  The HAL app lacks sophistication and though you may try to set a reservation the outcome is not reliable 

While I believe you used to be able to make reservations with the app for the mdr a while back a saw no option to do that on my last cruise.  It is best to try to do that at the mdr.  The dude on the phone tried to tell me there were 2 seating only in open even though I explained over and over it was open and not fixed.

[Daisyloo]

We were on the Koningsdam in April and we could not make dining reservations  on the app for the MDR. We asked about making reservations for the MDR and we were told to make them at the kiosk that was located midship on either deck 2 or 3 (can't remember which). When we asked there, the only times we could make reservations were really early like around 5:30, or late like 8:30.  That was the same for any day. 

So we would just show up at the MDR at whatever time we wanted. Sometimes we waited for a table, sometimes we got in very quickly.  

[Florida_gal_50]

33 minutes ago, Daisyloo said:

We were on the Koningsdam in April and we could not make dining reservations  on the app for the MDR. We asked about making reservations for the MDR and we were told to make them at the kiosk that was located midship on either deck 2 or 3 (can't remember which). When we asked there, the only times we could make reservations were really early like around 5:30, or late like 8:30.  That was the same for any day. 

So we would just show up at the MDR at whatever time we wanted. Sometimes we waited for a table, sometimes we got in very quickly.  

That’s been my experience too.  That kiosk is on 2 on the koningsdam.

[Mary229]

The Koningsdam, imho, is a special case.  It seems the dining manager marches to his own drummer.  On other ships the dining room manager has a lot of latitude if you catch them at a quieter time.  

[Florida_gal_50]

28 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

The Koningsdam, imho, is a special case.  It seems the dining manager marches to his own drummer.  On other ships the dining room manager has a lot of latitude if you catch them at a quieter time.  

It's very hit and miss.  I've experienced the very early and very late reservations on a lot of ships.  It could be very different on the Volendam and zaandam.  It's been a long while since I've been on those ships. I've never been on the Zuiderdam.

[Mary229]

15 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It's very hit and miss.  I've experienced the very early and very late reservations on a lot of ships.  It could be very different on the Volendam and zaandam.  It's been a long while since I've been on those ships. I've never been on the Zuiderdam.

I would think the smaller ships have more maneuverability.   On my recent cruises it seems fixed dining is less popular with more people opting for either specialty dining or the lido.  The main issue is people reserving fixed dining and never showing up.