As You Wish Dining - Opinions, Comments and Discussions

[HeatherInFlorida]

I suggest that the opinions posted on this board regarding AYW Dining is extemely "meaningful". Any venue represents a cross section of opinions of people from all walks of life. That's the beauty of a message board ... especially one a huge as CC.

 

It doesn't matter what percentage of cruisers we are ... what matters is we are a diverse group from all over the world. Each one of us represents hundreds sharing the same opinion. For every one who dislikes AYD there are a hundred others and the same holds true for posters who love AYW.

 

I get awfully tired of the argument that the opinions posted on this thread (and elsewhere on this board) have no value because we are such a small percentage of the cruising public.

 

HAL is offering AYW to please people who are NOT NOW CRUISING HAL. There is no other reason. We have seen that posted right here over the past couple of years by individuals who actually work for HAL.

 

I am confident that their reason for changing is NOT to please their already loyal customers. If they were doing that, nothing would have changed because they already have those passengers coming back on a constant and consistent basis:) .

[RevNeal]

No, CruiseCritic is a small percentage of cruisers. I would venture that, on the HAL boards at least, CruiseCritic represents something very close to 100% of the actual cruises, with at least one person from here onboard just about every cruise HAL sails. Am I wrong?

 

Your point is very well made, even if it is somewhat hyperbolic. Strictly speaking, there's not a CCer on every sailing; however, there is a CCer (and sometimes several CCers) on a very large percentage of HAL saiings. I've not done a count or a survey of the Roll Call board or the CCer sailing list (and some CCers don't bother to sign up with either, so that's incomplete anyway), however over the last couple of years I've been impressed with the breadth of our ship and itinerary distributions. For instance, it's certainly correct that every ship of the HAL fleet has been sailed on by CCers, and that at least some of this ship-board experience is recent. It is also certainly correct that, while not every single sailing has CCers on it, every type of itinerary in every market in which the Line operates has had CCers on it. At least, I can't think of an itinerary that at least some of us haven't done ... and it doesn't matter how exotic it is. If HAL offers it as an itinerary, there's some one of us (or more) who has either been on it or, if it's brand new, is booked on it.

 

Additionally, it is also true that most of us are Multiple-Mariners ... we've cruised on HAL more than once and, in many cases, we cruise on HAL more than once a year. This means that we're among HAL's target group ... they want us to sail repeatedly and often. Anyone who says otherwise has other agenda for making their claims. Now, granted, we're not the only target group HAL is going after ... they're also going after NEW mariners who will sail repeatedly and often. But they want to keep us, too, in order to help fill their ships. Otherwise, they'd do away with every little bit of the Mariner program, rather than moving to expand it.

 

In short, on CC we have a small group of people who have a broad range of experiences upon every ship of the Line, sailing on every type of itinerary which the Line offers. And, we do it repeatedly.

 

As for why HAL is willing to generate so much dissatisfaction among a group like us ... we should remember that their business objective is to expand their market, fill their ships, and make a profit. They know that we help them do this, and in many cases more than once a year. They're not setting out to intentionally upset us. HAL believes -- perhaps wrongly, but I suspect more rightly than not -- that they've already hooked most of us who repeatedly cruise with them and that, for the most part, we'll keep cruising with them even with this kind of dissatisfaction (in part because there are few acceptable and affordable alternatives and, also, because we're a stubborn bunch). Their objective is to expand our numbers -- to build an even larger repeat-cruising mariner base -- and they believe that they can do it by attracting people who've cruised other lines by making HAL more like those other lines. :) And, they're right. I don't like it ... but they're right. HAL is willing to change the bait to try and hook other customers, trusting that we'll also keep biting even though it's not exactly the bait that first hooked us. Thus far most of us have proven that we will keep biting, so they'll keep changing (incrementally it seems) until they have us hooked with bait that we would never have accepted when we began.

[hammybee]

 

I did not hear from anyone that they wanted to change from Fixed to Open. I think the fact they were able to move some people later to traditional is that they had not assigned all of the seats in fixed to begin with. There were 3 empty chairs at our table (even after they moved the two women mentioned above) for the entire 3 weeks even though I know there were people who wanted to move to fixed. There were other empty chairs throughout the dining room.

 

How bizarre is this? People clamoring for fixed seating and yet seats went unoccupied, in fixed seating on a sold out sail.

 

Maybe this had more to do with too many wanting early versus late fixed seating and they decided to stay in Open Seating to get the time they wanted.

 

To summarize, based only upon reports made to this board, there have been two situations over the past ten months whereby passengers with confirmed seating learned they did not get what had been confirmed, after they boarded. The first time was due to Open Seating being trumped by a large group and then your sailing, where more people wanted Fixed versus Open seating.

[hammybee]

 

I've not done a count or a survey of the Roll Call board or the CCer sailing list (and some CCers don't bother to sign up with either, so that's incomplete anyway), however over the last couple of years I've been impressed with the breadth of our ship and itinerary distributions.

 

The Yum-Yum Man cruise, in February, had the largest roll call of any HAL cruise, that I recall. Being generous, I think it represented about 7-8 % of all passengers, on that cruise.

 

Who were the other 92-93% who sailed that cruise? Most definitely some were new to HAL and now are Mariners and some were repeat passengers.

 

I do not think it possible for any of us to presume how 92-93% of any ship feels about anything, given it is impossible to meet and get to know that many passengers and that we do not see the comment cards.

 

We see so many threads from 3-7 posters who were on the same cruise and it sometimes seems not possible they sailed together, given how substantially different their experiences were and I am not talking about Fixed versus Open Seating, here.

 

A few posters had the worst service and food, ever and others thought it was the best cruise they ever had. And they are all right, as it relates to their own experience. No way to extrapolate much of anything from the feedback, other than some enjoyed their experience and others did not.

 

It makes me uncomfortable when anyone acquires the potential perception that all loyal Mariners have the same values and/or that they represent a majority of those who sail with HAL. You often go out of your way to make it clear that not all Mariners think alike.

 

There is however, no doubt in my mind that those with the most time on HAL probably have a tendency to prefer some combination of the "R" and "S" class ships, traditional fixed seating and true formal nights.

 

And of them, those who post with some frequency, also tended to be the most vocal as it relates to the building of the first VISTA class ship, surcharge restuarants, auto tipping/hotel surcharge and the relaxation of dress codes. ( Have I missed anything:o ) Some have moved on and others adapt and continue to return, despite that everything changes, all the time.

[RuthC]

To summarize, based only upon reports made to this board, there have been two situations over the past ten months whereby passengers with confirmed seating learned they did not get what had been confirmed, after they boarded.

Your math is more than a bit fuzzy here. Greg and I reported two at our table alone, and now SharonN has reported two at her table. That's four "people" (out of 16 seats), not two "reports".

[hammybee]

Your math is more than a bit fuzzy here. Greg and I reported two at our table alone, and now SharonN has reported two at her table. That's four "people" (out of 16 seats), not two "reports".

 

I meant two sailings, Ruth. No way to tell how many on your sailing were impacted just as no way to tell how many had confirmed seating on the Noordam, last year, when a large group bumped everyone, out of Open Seating.

[NoNoNanette]

Your patience is a virtue, Hammybee. You deserve Sainthood. :)

[RevNeal]

No way to tell how many on your sailing were impacted....

 

As I have reported elsewhere, the figure of 70% having requested Fixed and 30% Open came from the Maitre D'. When I asked him about passengers having Confirmed Traditional in their documentation but discovering, upon boarding, that they had been placed in Open, he admitted that several dozen passengers were so re-classified. He did not say why, other than that the distribution of passengers between Traditional and Open seating was all messed up when they got it. Given that they were using the lower level for Open, and the upper level only seats about 42% of the ship's passengers in two seatings, all-told that means that about 28% of the ship's passengers that wanted it were not going to be able to get Traditional no matter what. On a ship with 1316 passengers, that comes to 368 people.

[Copper10-8]

Chinese Proverbs . . . .

 

Man who run in front of car get tired.

 

Man who run behind car get exhausted.

 

Man with one chopstick go hungry.

 

Man who eat many prunes get good run for money

Man who smoke, smell like he been there.

 

Crowded elevator smell completely different to midget.

[mancunian]

I am confused by HAL's interpretation of all this. Given that on Rotterdam on our cruise there were more open diners and they put some upstairs with the traditionals, why I wonder does it not work the other way. Indeed will they get round to doing this eventually - I see no reason why not. On Rev Neal's cruise was the great discrepancy in figures because it was the first AYW and the dining staff were trying to figure the whole thing out.

 

Has anyone come across them mixing on any of the other ships?

[HeatherInFlorida]

Chinese Proverbs . . . .

 

Man who run in front of car get tired.

 

Man who run behind car get exhausted.

 

Man with one chopstick go hungry.

 

Man who eat many prunes get good run for money

 

Man who smoke, smell like he been there.

 

Crowded elevator smell completely different to midget.

 

That about sums it up :) !

 

..... round and round and round it goes and where it stops nobody knows;)

[cruz chic]

I am confused by HAL's interpretation of all this. Given that on Rotterdam on our cruise there were more open diners and they put some upstairs with the traditionals, why I wonder does it not work the other way. Indeed will they get round to doing this eventually - I see no reason why not. On Rev Neal's cruise was the great discrepancy in figures because it was the first AYW and the dining staff were trying to figure the whole thing out.

 

Has anyone come across them mixing on any of the other ships?

 

Yes on my Ryndam cruise in Oct.07 when the AYWD was implemented I had traditional which should have been on the upper level. They had some traditional tables on the lower level. Could not tell you how many.

[texkan]

I am a newbie to HAL and I am trying to understand the dining arrangements.

I have only sailed Celebrity that has traditional dining with dress codes for each night. Does HAL have a dress code for each evening in the main dining room?

[RuthC]

I have only sailed Celebrity that has traditional dining with dress codes for each night. Does HAL have a dress code for each evening in the main dining room?

Yes, a dress code for the evening will be published in the Daily Program. It doesn't matter if you have fixed or open seating---the dress code applies to each.

In a typical 7-day cruise there will be two formal and 5 smart casual evenings. On longer cruises it may not play out to that exact proportion.

[2kiwis]

We have been following this thread with interest as we have been considering a HAL cruise but the idea of 'fixed seating' has put us off. We couldn't think of anything worse than having to dine with the same set of people night after night regardless of how nice they were - especially on a 20 day+ cruise.

 

We have only cruised with Oceania which is all open seating. We have never had a problem with service or waiting for a table at whatever time we turned up (without having to make a booking). The only restaurants that require a booking are the two resturants on deck 9 (which, by the way, do not carry an extra chrage).

 

When you arrive at the dining room you are asked if you wish to dine alone or join a group. Many nights we elected to join a group and were placed at either a table for 6 or 8 and this way we met others without the worry of organising it. However, when we wished to dine with a group of our choice it was just as easy - we all turned up and were accomodated at one table without any problems. Or if we wished to have just a table for 2 that was never a problem either.

 

All in all it is a wonderful service. :)

[terrydtx]

We have been following this thread with interest as we have been considering a HAL cruise but the idea of 'fixed seating' has put us off. We couldn't think of anything worse than having to dine with the same set of people night after night regardless of how nice they were - especially on a 20 day+ cruise.

 

We have only cruised with Oceania which is all open seating. We have never had a problem with service or waiting for a table at whatever time we turned up (without having to make a booking). The only restaurants that require a booking are the two resturants on deck 9 (which, by the way, do not carry an extra chrage).

 

When you arrive at the dining room you are asked if you wish to dine alone or join a group. Many nights we elected to join a group and were placed at either a table for 6 or 8 and this way we met others without the worry of organising it. However, when we wished to dine with a group of our choice it was just as easy - we all turned up and were accomodated at one table without any problems. Or if we wished to have just a table for 2 that was never a problem either.

 

All in all it is a wonderful service. :)

 

I agree 100% with you on this. We were in AYWD last November on the Volendam and were satisfied 100% with the service and concept. I have had in the past been stuck with too many horrible tablemates :eek: in traditional seating. AYWD gives me the freedom and choice to not have to worry about that again. We will not have the choice of open dinning on this year's cruise on the Celebrity Century, but we are traveling in a group of six with a table for 6 so at least will will not have to worry about horrible tablemates.

[RR18]

Just returned from Westerdam - they don't have the any time dining worked out at all - 2 nights in a row they messed up our reservation - we were a family of 10 - and they kept saying we could only have 2 options for dinner 5:45 or 7:45 - we tried both - they NEVER had the table ready - and on final night said, how bout we split you into 2 tables. VERY disappointing - maitre d was not accommodating or concerned at all.

[tutak]

RR18, your family of 10 must have paid a lot for this cruise, it's too bad your received this poor service.

[2kiwis]

Just returned from Westerdam - they don't have the any time dining worked out at all - 2 nights in a row they messed up our reservation - we were a family of 10 - and they kept saying we could only have 2 options for dinner 5:45 or 7:45 - we tried both - they NEVER had the table ready - and on final night said, how bout we split you into 2 tables. VERY disappointing - maitre d was not accommodating or concerned at all.

 

 

Well that puts paid to any ideas we have of cruising with HAL as we couldn't abide not having anytime/anywhere dining :(

[terrydtx]

Well that puts paid to any ideas we have of cruising with HAL as we couldn't abide not having anytime/anywhere dining :(

 

Kiwi, the 5:45 and 7:45 options for AYWD are to make reservations in the AYWD room ahead of time. You also have the option of walking in to the DR any time between 5:30 and 8:30pm and requesting a table. We did this at 7pm one night and waited less than 5 minutes for a table for 6. I have not heard of anyone waiting more than 10 minutes for a table between 6 and 7:30pm. A table for 10 is more complicated as there are a very limited amount of tables for 10 or more seating at one table.

[RR18]

I understand that a table of 10 is more complicated - but why when we made a reservation they gave away our table -not once , but twice. I was really more concerned with their lack of concern then anything - the final night they kept insisting we must parts of our group had already been seated - but they hadn't. Then the offer was "how bout 2 table of 5". They just didn't handle it well. Having said that - the wait staff themselves were wonderful. I just feel that if you make a reservation - they should have it.

[gizmo]

RR18,

 

There is no excuse for not having your reservation handled properly.

[2kiwis]

Kiwi, the 5:45 and 7:45 options for AYWD are to make reservations in the AYWD room ahead of time. You also have the option of walking in to the DR any time between 5:30 and 8:30pm and requesting a table. We did this at 7pm one night and waited less than 5 minutes for a table for 6. I have not heard of anyone waiting more than 10 minutes for a table between 6 and 7:30pm. A table for 10 is more complicated as there are a very limited amount of tables for 10 or more seating at one table.

 

 

It is hard to know what to do, as there seems to be so many conflicting postings about the dining service, then again maybe those who are happy with the service don't bother to say so?

 

We have seen a HAL cruise that takes our fancy, but as it is a long cruise we can't think of anything worse than being frustrated and unhappy with the dining service over a long period of time. If it was a 2 week cruise we would take a chance. We have thought about doing that but at this point in time we are really more interested in long holidays and longer cruises.

[Koshlong]

We sailed on the Westerdam at the end of March. When we booked our only choice was anytime dining. We'd previously had a great sail with an assigned table for 6 on the Zuiderdam. Anyway, our attitude was we'll see?? It worked pretty well for us. We were able to book tables for about 7:00 pm (which doesn't happen with assigned seating) and asked for tables of 4 or 6. Met lots of interesting people and found the service was pretty good, too. You have to help yourself to the candied ginger at the end of the meal though. No special waiter for it! I'm really not sure which we'd choose another time.

[HeatherInFlorida]

.................... You have to help yourself to the candied ginger at the end of the meal though. No special waiter for it! I'm really not sure which we'd choose another time.

 

NO YUM YUM MAN?????????????? Are you serious?:mad:

 

And we watch the traditions die:( . One of my favorite things after dinner is stopping to chat with the Yum Yum man, get a little ginger, or mint.

 

This news makes me very sad. Just one more nail in the coffin.