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As You Wish Dining - Opinions, Comments and Discussions

silvercruiser

By silvercruiser,
in Holland America Line

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Posted
Posted (edited)

When did it increase? I booked the Pinnacle for Nov. 6 and was charged $40 for two dinners. I just went to the website and made like I was making a reservation and the charge is still $20 per person

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RuthC

RuthC

Posted
Posted
When did it increase? I booked the Pinnacle for Nov. 6 and was charged $40 for two dinners. I just went to the website and made like I was making a reservation and the charge is still $20 per person

To my knowledge it hasn't increased. I ate at the Pinnacle on the Amsterdam last Friday night. The charge was $20, then I had the 4* Mariner's discount applied.

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  • 2 weeks later...
shantihhh

shantihhh

Posted
Posted
You don't? Then I'll try to explain.

 

I want to eat with other people. I want to eat with the same people every night because I like that feeling of familiarity that grows as the cruise progresses. And I don't want to feel like I have to arrange a dinner party every single night of a cruise to accomplish that.

If I want to eat alone I can stay home and save several thousand dollars.

 

Eating with others, at a time of my choice, without making all the arrangements myself every day is what I wish. If HAL wants to call what it does "As You Wish" then it needs to deliver what I wish.

Or they should call it "What You Get is What You Get". :mad:

 

I find this discussion very interesting as my husband and I prefer a table for two. We do enjoy meeting other people but are not into the shared table options. We did share a table a couple of times and it was most uncomfortable!

 

S & M

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Mcscotty

Mcscotty

Posted
Posted

My only option on our forthcoming cruise was "as you wish" and I tend to believe you would receive better, or possibly I should say more personal, service with fixed seating.

 

My only proof of this was on my first cruise when the anytime dining room was busy, we were put at a table for 8 with fixed seating passengers. The waiter hardly said two words to us, but kept bringing his regulars little extras and second portions of lobster without them asking (it had to have been lobster night!) On the other hand he wisked our plates away and didn't even offer us, very rude I thought.

 

The concept of "as you wish" suits us but I wondered if it's normal/a good idea to keep asking for a particular waiters area, if you find a good one early on?

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RuthC

RuthC

Posted
Posted
My only option on our forthcoming cruise was "as you wish" and I tend to believe you would receive better, or possibly I should say more personal, service with fixed seating.

:confused: Fixed seating is "As You Wish". At least it is for many of us.

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Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen

Posted
Posted
The concept of "as you wish" suits us but I wondered if it's normal/a good idea to keep asking for a particular waiters area, if you find a good one early on?
"As you wish" suits us too. We enjoy having the same time/table/waiters/tablemates each night. We don't have to keep asking for anything. Even my iced tea was waiting for me before I sat down each night. :D
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RuthC

RuthC

Posted
Posted
Ok now I'm new so don't confuse me. I'm asking about As you Wish, not fixed seating.:confused:

You need to be clear which aspect of As You Wish you are talking about. I suspect you are asking about Open Seating, but can't be sure.

As You Wish refers to the entire spectrum of dining choices. Those are: fixed seating, open seating, Lido, room service, Pinnacle, Canaletto, and Tamarind on the two ships with that option.

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wdw1972

wdw1972

Posted
Posted

Actually, I think the choices are fixed (traditional) or open (anytime). As you Wish refers to dining in general - in the ideal world you would choose the one you wish...either traditional or anytime. There's no choice called "as you wish".

 

Just like when you're cruising - you aren't boarding Holland America Line. You're boarding one of the Holland America Line choices (ships).

 

Sue/WDW1972

Zuiderdam 11/23/10

Eurodam 3/5/11

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Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen

Posted
Posted
As you Wish refers to dining in general - in the ideal world you would choose the one you wish...either traditional or anytime. There's no choice called "as you wish".
Yes! This is it. Some wish open seating, some wish fixed. I don't understand those who think only those with open seating are dining as they wish.
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Ernie0528

Ernie0528

Posted
Posted
My only option on our forthcoming cruise was "as you wish" and I tend to believe you would receive better, or possibly I should say more personal, service with fixed seating.

 

My only proof of this was on my first cruise when the anytime dining room was busy, we were put at a table for 8 with fixed seating passengers. The waiter hardly said two words to us, but kept bringing his regulars little extras and second portions of lobster without them asking (it had to have been lobster night!) On the other hand he wisked our plates away and didn't even offer us, very rude I thought.

 

The concept of "as you wish" suits us but I wondered if it's normal/a good idea to keep asking for a particular waiters area, if you find a good one early on?

 

On our last HAL trip, we chose "open seating" and during the first few days found great variation in the quality of service around the "open seating" dining room. So, we began making reservations not only for time, but also for specific areas where we got to know our waiter, ass't waiter and wine steward very well. In addition, sometimes we reserved tables for more than two when we wanted to have dinner with friends we had met on board (who also had chosen "open seating"). And, sometimes we asked for larger tables when their was just the two of us so we'd meet other cruisers. I've named this strategy "hybrid dining" since it offers many options and some of the advantages of both "open" and "fixed" seating. It let's you get to know a specific serving team, which we enjoyed greatly.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

Posted
Posted
I will have open seating but I would like to prebook 1 or two days in advance a table in MDR at a specific range of time and in a specific location. We are a family of 6 and want to be only ourselves, is this possible ??

 

Yes

Open Seating is on the lower level of the dining room. You can make reservations for to 3 days at a time. But you can only make the reservations between 5:15 to 6:15 and from 7:30 - 9 PM. The times between 6:15 and 7:30 -- no reservations -- first come -- first served.

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cruzincurt

cruzincurt

Posted
Posted
Yes

 

Open Seating is on the lower level of the dining room. You can make reservations for to 3 days at a time. But you can only make the reservations between 5:15 to 6:15 and from 7:30 - 9 PM. The times between 6:15 and 7:30 -- no reservations -- first come -- first served.

HAL has not quite figured out what "anytime" dining is all about, it's their version of still having basically two seatings with just a larger time window. This was very irritating to us in that they would not reset two tops. They were only going to use a table twice a night for those windows. So when we showed up at 8:00 too bad for us even though there were lots of two tops unmade.

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Mcscotty

Mcscotty

Posted
Posted (edited)
HAL has not quite figured out what "anytime" dining is all about, it's their version of still having basically two seatings with just a larger time window. This was very irritating to us in that they would not reset two tops. They were only going to use a table twice a night for those windows. So when we showed up at 8:00 too bad for us even though there were lots of two tops unmade.

 

Don't shoot me, but I don't believe any reservations should be allowed with anytime. You show up when you want and wait if necessary, that way it's fair for everyone and '2 tops' could be used 3, maybe even 4 times for the duration of dinner. Being able to reserve tables, especially up to 3 days in advance seems to defeat the object, to me at least.

Edited by Mcscotty
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