Dining Question?

[dazee8]

Looking into cruising with HAL and had some questions about the dining room.

 

1. What times are dining in the evening?

 

2. Is that the same for each tier of the dining room?

 

Thanks,

:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Which ship are you thinking about?

 

Most of the ships have these dining times: 5:45 upper level (early upper); 6:15 lower level (early lower); 8 upper level (main upper) and 8:30 as lower level (main - lower).

 

Right now the Oosterdam and Noordam are doing a different type of dining on the lowere level where you come into the dining room any time between certain hours.

 

Alaskan hours are also different.

[dazee8]

Krazy Kruizers,

 

Many thanks for the information on the dining times. We are thinking about taking the Maasdam and see that they have 2 tier dining. Do the times you listed coorespond to that ship?

 

:)

[sail7seas]

All HAL ships (except for Prinsendam) have upper and lower level dining.

 

The hours KK listed apply to all ships most of the time. (In Alaska there is some variance.) And, she mentioned the two dining experiments that are on-going.

 

We cruise Maasdam very often and the dining times KK listed apply to Maasdam. We are booked for 2 sets of b-to-b on Maasdam this summer and have selected Main upper dining at 8:00 P.M. ....as we always do.

 

[dazee8]

Sail7seas,

 

Many thanks for your input. We like late dining too and are looking forward to sailing on the Maasadam. It is just the size ship we like.

 

:)

[sally r]

We are doing a three night cruise on the Oosterdam, leaving in a few days. Do you think they will offer the freestyle dining? Our registration says Main/Lower. We do not have our documents yet.

 

First time on HAL. Very excited.

[grannynurse]

Main lower is usually 8:30 pm. I have no idea what they will do for the coastal cruises, I've heard that there is a formal night on the 3 and 4 day trips but that's about all I am aware of since HAL has several dining experiments going on.

Your documents, I hope, will be more specific. If you are leaving in less than a week I think you should try to track down your documents. Call your TA or HAL if you booked through them.

GN

[Krazy Kruizers]

sally r -- you should be checking to see where your documents are - it is getting close to your sailing date.

[Krazy Kruizers]

dazee8

 

When do you plan on sailing on the Maasdam?

[dolls4sell]

We are sailing on the Massdam Oct 30 and I had a few concerns so I phoned shipboard services. While on the phone I asked about if they ever plan to have "FREESTYLE DINING" as for us it would be great,the following was thier response.

They plan to have all their ships with freestyle dining. So far by OCt. they will have the Nordam, Osterdam, Rydam and another. The upper dining will stay traditional and lower will be freestyle, this way they will please everyone. The rep on the phone also told me to call close to the cruise to see if the ship that you are sailing has it in place yet. Shipbard service is not open on the weekends. I also inquied about the dress code and asked why it was not added to their new brochure (07-08) they told me it was printed before the dress code.

[Krazy Kruizers]

dolls4sell

 

Thanks for the information. We are sailing on the Ryndam in Nov/Dec and have already requested the upper level dining time which is traditional.

[dolls4sell]

Krazy Cruisers

After reading about the dining awhile back, sometimes the info on the boards aren't always corecct (if you know what I am talking about). When are you going on the Ryndam? Oct will be our 2nd Massdam cruise. The first 2002 we had so much fun but our cabin was awful (mini suite) was falling apart but HAL did give us a shipboard credit for our next cruise. The the O in 2004 deluxe suite how wonderful, now the Massdam again but a deluxe suite. Hope the have the Freestyle in place by then.

[sally r]

Thanks for your replies. My TA emailed this morning that my doc's went in the mail Friday (she received them from HA on Thurs) and I should have them Monday. We sail on Wednesday! In all fairness, I only booked a few weeks ago.

 

I will post if the free style option is offered on the coastal when we return. Keeping my fingers crossed that it is available to us. We enjoy the lack of a schedule when on a get-away.

[sail7seas]

They plan to have all their ships with freestyle dining. So far by OCt. they will have the Nordam, Osterdam, Rydam and another. The upper dining will stay traditional and lower will be freestyle, this way they will please everyone. The rep on the phone also told me to call close to the cruise to see if the ship that you are sailing has it in place yet. Shipbard service is not open on the weekends. I also inquied about the dress code and asked why it was not added to their new brochure (07-08) they told me it was printed before the dress code.

 

 

They won't be pleasing everyone if they are unable to accomodate all the requests for traditional dining. The people who will be forced into freestyle because traditional is full will not be on the 'happy people list'.

 

Before we get all convinced of the future of dining on HAL from a telephone rep who I am very sure meant well, let's wait and be sure the rep has accurate information and is correct with what they are telling callers.

[the2ofus]

On our recent Volendam cruise, people who all had requested Early Lower at a large table all ended up with Main Upper. Our party of four ended up at a table for four. We were among the first in line to see the Maitre 'D. We were told that tonight that was our dining time and 'perhaps' tomorrow it would change.

 

We were pleased that the second night we were assigned to a table for ten in the center of the lower level. Amazingly, the other three couples at our table also were all refugees from Main Upper. How likely was it that ten people at that table had all requested reassignment?

 

We ended up liking each other a lot and had nine days full of laughter and good fellowship. We would never have achieved that level of friendship with an open seating dining arrangement.

 

I really like 6:15 dining. It fits my lifestyle. I like the opportunity to really get to know my dinner companions. Please, please HAL, don't abandon the traditionalists among us.

[dolls4sell]

They won't be pleasing everyone if they are unable to accomodate all the requests for traditional dining. The people who will be forced into freestyle because traditional is full will not be on the 'happy people list'.

 

Before we get all convinced of the future of dining on HAL from a telephone rep who I am very sure meant well, let's wait and be sure the rep has accurate information and is correct with what they are telling callers.

Sail7 seas

Call up HAL yourself and ask to speak with a supervisor and see what the response is. They told me evedentially all HAL ships will have both freestyle & traditional.

[CDRMark]

Sail7 seas

Call up HAL yourself and ask to speak with a supervisor and see what the response is. They told me evedentially all HAL ships will have both freestyle & traditional.

The quibble on the board is not "if", but rather how well it will be implemented. There may be .....issues.

Time will tell. My crystal ball is all fogged.

Mark

PS Sorry if I stepped on your reply, Sail. No disrespect intended.

[dolls4sell]

Mark,

Like anything new they have to work the bugs out. They already have it on the Nor, and they will have it on all Alaska sailings this year. I realize that some of us do not like change but change happens all the time. I wish they would change the price of gas back to $1.00 per gal, but it never going to happen.I also realize that not all info is true & correct on any boards, that is why I call HAL direct. HAL has never lied to me yet.

[sail7seas]

Sail7 seas

Call up HAL yourself and ask to speak with a supervisor and see what the response is. They told me evedentially all HAL ships will have both freestyle & traditional.

Dolls4sell...... I don't for a moment doubt that is what you were told. You misunderstand me if that is what you think I imply. What I do doubt is that every telephone rep answering every call at Headquarters always has and shares absolutely accurate information. There have been so many times when three or more people will come here and report they were told three or more different responses to the same question and I didn't doubt at all they were saying exactly what they were told.

 

Just because that is what they were told does not make it fact.

 

I am sure you were told that. What I am not sure is that it is carved in stone by the powers that be.

[sab490]

Dolls4sell...... I don't for a moment doubt that is what you were told. You misunderstand me if that is what you think I imply. What I do doubt is that every telephone rep answering every call at Headquarters always has and shares absolutely accurate information. There have been so many times when three or more people will come here and report they were told three or more different responses to the same question and I didn't doubt at all they were saying exactly what they were told.

 

Just because that is what they were told does not make it fact.

 

I am sure you were told that. What I am not sure is that it is carved in stone by the powers that be.

 

Yes, s7s, I am one of those people. I sent a tipping question via the HAL website and received what I knew was an totally incorrect answer. I called ship services and the woman I spoke to readily admitted she did not know the full answer, so she put me on hold and asked her supervisor who looked up the written policy and she came back with a complete and correct answer.

 

And even if their current intention is as Dolls4sell was told, that may change or at least be modified based on the their analysis of the "experiments" on Oosterdam and Noordam.

 

- Steve

[sail7seas]

Thanks, Steve. Those are the sorts of things we hear about on CC sometimes.

We know the poster is telling us what they were told. What we don't know is that they were told correctly.

 

They are calling these tests on Noordam and Oosterdam 'experiments'. That implies to be the jury is still out.

 

We'll know soon enough, I am sure. :rolleyes: