HAL CEO :Choose Your Own Dining Table

[Jsipes]

HAL has goofed up our Dining Time and Table 3 times !!! Why can't the CEO of HAL have a "Table Time / Seat Selections " webpage, whereby you could mouse click your own seating location in the Rotterdam (upper or lower), rather than the current, and archiac, method of surprising you the first day onboard. Allowng passengers to select their own seats on a first come first serve basis would solve a lot of problems, create happier empowered customers, and benefit the Cruise Line by giving people a reason to book early. Currently we can select our cabin with a mouse click, so why not the table too. Making a 30 day cruise sitting at a table you don't like is a unhappy experience we foundout firsthand. They could pro rate the seating times, ie those in Veranda could get the majority of the early seating, etc etc. I have discussed this with friends who cruise, and they feel it is a good idea too. HAPPY Cruising.:rolleyes:

[dakrewser]

sounds like a massive headache to me....

[Tricia724]

While that sounds like a good solution, I can see some problems that "pick and click" option could bring on.

 

For example: Suppose you were traveling with a group of family or friends of 6, 8, or 10 who all wanted to sit together, and when you went in to check the open seats in the dining room, there were no tables available large enough to accommodate you all. Would you really be happy taking 2 seats at this table and 4 seats at that table, etc?

 

And even though the current method seems to put people together sometimes that have nothing in common, imagine the possibilities if it was a totally random selection. Young, old, families, singles, different languages, etc. could be thrown together in a real potpourri. Some might like the diversity....some wouldn't.

 

And......if you happened to get the tablemate from he** at the table you chose, what would you then expect to happen? You couldn't go to the maitre'd and ask for a change, because everyone else chose their seats, too, and it would be out of his control.

 

Doing the seating arrangements on a cruiseline has to be a major headache every single week. And it's certainly a thankless job, because there are always people that won't be happy....either with their assigned dining time, table, or dining companions. Even at that I think the cruiselines do make some effort to seat people together in similar age groups or family groups, etc. It doesn't always work out that way....but then the demographics from cruise to cruise will vary widely.

 

I can see how this idea would be attractive to people who travel with their friends or family members and would be able to have their own table. However, it's just the two of us, and we always ask to be seated at a table for 6. It would still be a "luck of the draw" situation for us. So far we've done pretty well, and I like the option of being moved if a problem arises.

 

I agree that under this system there would be some happier, empowered customers.....those who got in early and locked up the table of their choice with the tablemates of their choice.....but there are still going to be a whole lot of people who are going to be surprised the first night out when they discover who they have unknowingly "chosen" to sit with.

[kryos]

Also, how would you know that the table for six you are selecting, that has four people already seated at it ... has four ADULT people? Here you could wind up assigning yourself to a table for six, a Spanish-speaking family of two adults and two young children. You wouldn't find out about that little "wrinkle," though until you were onboard and perhaps it might be too late to do anything about it. Now you get to spend seven nights listening to a baby scream, a child hopping up and down out of her chair, and a set of parents who you can only hope are trying to correct and control the kids ... because frankly you can't understand a word of what they are saying.

 

Sounds like I'd be better off taking my chance with HAL's table assignment. At least they have access to information such as couples traveling together, families, singles, etc., and can at least try to match people for compatibility.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

While that sounds like a good solution, I can see some problems that "pick and click" option could bring on.

Also, it is my understanding that people in the penthouse and luxury suites get first dibs on dining preferences. Well, how are you gonna handle that with "point and click?" What happens if you book your luxury suite well after I've booked my inside guarantee. Since I've booked sooner, I've already selected the table for two that you wanted. You go online to select it and it's listed as taken. That's not fair to you.

 

The only way around this sort of thing that I can see is not to let people select their tables until a week or so before the cruise, and open up the table selection a day or so earlier for the suite passengers. Then, when the regular passengers get online to book, they will have to work around what the suite passengers have already selected. But even that method will not always work since many HAL travelers ... both in suites and regular accommodations ... are not very internet savvy and may not get online in time to make their best selections.

 

I think things are better left as they are in this regard. At least the way it is now, you can always see the matri 'd once you are onboard if your dining arrangements are totally unacceptable to you.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Randyk47]

I would add, and maybe somebody mentioned it and I missed it, that there still is a large number, probably the majority, of people who don't use computers or the Internet. There'd have to be a dual system, one for the computer savy owners and the present off-line system for use by HAL and the ship staff. They're having enough trouble with day-to-day operations as it is so I'm not sure they're ready for any enhancements.

[bepsf]

That's the Maitre'd 's job...

...if you're unhappy with your seating arrangements, his job is to make you happy and change your seating arrangements.

Of course if you have a seating preference and would like to book a particular table that you perhaps enjoyed on a previous cruise on that ship, or wish to be seated with a particular group of people, then by all means call ShipServices and make that request - that's what they're for.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I can see it now, people book their cruises months ahead. Then they try to "reserve" the table they want only to find that someone has already beat them to it. Then all we are going to hear for months is ab out how they booked early and can't get the table of their choice.

[kryos]

I can see it now, people book their cruises months ahead. Then they try to "reserve" the table they want only to find that someone has already beat them to it. Then all we are going to hear for months is ab out how they booked early and can't get the table of their choice.

Or ... worst still ... we're gonna have threads galone on this board from people who returned from their cruise and are complaining because that table for two that the online system confirmed was theirs in reality was given to a suite passenger who got onboard and requested it, and then they were moved across the room to that table for six. Totally unacceptable! :)

 

At least the way it is now, you get no promises. You place your dining requests with your TA and HAL does the best they can to accommodate them. If you don't get that table for two that you wanted, at least it was never promised to you.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita