Name an actual restaurant that you frequent that has two dinner seating's an evening.

[A Sixth?]

Please tell us why its so much better than all the other eateries near your home.

 

All the fuss about RCI adding an option to the dinner choice has made me really wonder if I am in the dark on this. :confused:

[cruise182]

HHHmmm...this should get good.

[JanineM]

We have belonged to two different country clubs that had set dinner seatings.

 

We preferred eating there because we didn't have to stand in line, or wait for our reservation because the previous diners were slow.

 

I really don't know what the big deal is about this ...

[AZjohn]

All the fuss about RCI adding an option to the dinner choice has made me really wonder if I am in the dark on this. :confused:

 

I think the two of us are in the dark on this one. Though I think some people have had it a certain way for so long in their lives that they don't want it changed (that can go for many more things besides dinner on cruises).

 

I think there is a way to make both dinner arragements work for everyone. No fears:D .

 

John

[texancruzer]

Please tell us why its so much better than all the other eateries near your home.

 

All the fuss about RCI adding an option to the dinner choice has made me really wonder if I am in the dark on this. :confused:

 

Well, been to many restaurants that have "reservations only" only to have to wait for a table...sometimes quite a while.... so have read that the "freestyle" dining option alot of times requires that you be given a beeper and they will let you know when your table is ready even though you have reserved a time.....

 

I much prefer to go at 6 pm and my table is ready and waiting for me. No waiting - no buzzer beeper thingy.... just sit. I also prefer to have the same waiterstaff each night. I LOVE when I sit down and they bring me my iced tea and my bottle of wine magically. They know what kind of bread I prefer......etc etc..... have read you don't get that with anytime dining.....

 

To me it is these "little" things that make the dining experience and to lose them would be a shame.

[RareBird]

let me add that this 'restaurant' with 2 seatings would also seat you at any table of THEIR choosing (no window/next to band/table with little kids/etc) and will make you sit with these complete stangers for 2 hours.

 

i personally welcome the change.. i hate to eat with stangers, especially on my vacation. And kids! ugh.... Sure we're met great people, but i'd rather dine with my family anytime :)

[Mark_K]

Please tell us why its so much better than all the other eateries near your home.

 

All the fuss about RCI adding an option to the dinner choice has made me really wonder if I am in the dark on this. :confused:

Apples & Oranges. Name a non fast food establishment around your home that serves 3-4 course meals, and serves 3,600 people a night.

[ORANGEinINDY]

Apples & Oranges. Name a non fast food establishment around your home that serves 3-4 course meals, and serves 3,600 people a night.

Or, a restaurant around your home that gives you the opportunity to sit with 'new friends', and form that relationship over a week

[DonnaK]

let me add that this 'restaurant' with 2 seatings would also seat you at any table of THEIR choosing (no window/next to band/table with little kids/etc) and will make you sit with these complete stangers for 2 hours.

 

i personally welcome the change.. i hate to eat with stangers, especially on my vacation. And kids! ugh.... Sure we're met great people, but i'd rather dine with my family anytime :)

 

 

There are only a limited number of tables for 2 or 4 in the dining room, so even if you choose open seating, there is no guarantee that you will get the table size or location of your choice.

 

During open seating for breakfast and lunch, requests to be seated by ourselves are often denied because only the largest tables in a particular area are in use, so you are forced to sit with different strangers every time. With traditional seating, they are only strangers the first night, and gradually become friends or even "family" over the course of the week.

 

Land-based restaurants here often have scheduled seating times for their Sunday Brunches.

 

In my opinion, traditional seating is what sets cruises apart from other vacation venues. It provides a certain classy atmosphere aboard the entire ship, and that's what a lot of us don't want to be diluted if RCI goes with Personal Choice or Freestyle. We cruise specifically for this atmosphere and level of service across the board.

[MaryZ]

It's just tradition. I don't know why people prefer it, I certainly don't. .

For me, my choice is freedom of choice.

[realtreebar]

let me add that this 'restaurant' with 2 seatings would also seat you at any table of THEIR choosing (no window/next to band/table with little kids/etc) and will make you sit with these complete stangers for 2 hours.

 

i personally welcome the change.. i hate to eat with stangers, especially on my vacation. And kids! ugh.... Sure we're met great people, but i'd rather dine with my family anytime :)

TELL ME ONE PERSON WHO DOSE'NT HATE TO EAT WITH STRANGERS ? and for me i love to be around kids thats why i take them on any vacation i go on, and not just leave them with relatives and be selfish!!! MAY THE NEXT TABLE YOU RECIEVE HAVE LOTS OF SCREAMING FOR JOY KIDS,BECAUSE THEY ARE HAVING FUN.

[Sue L]

TELL ME ONE PERSON WHO DOSE'NT HATE TO EAT WITH STRANGERS ? and for me i love to be around kids thats why i take them on any vacation i go on, and not just leave them with relatives and be selfish!!! MAY THE NEXT TABLE YOU RECIEVE HAVE LOTS OF SCREAMING FOR JOY KIDS,BECAUSE THEY ARE HAVING FUN.

 

 

I for one love to eat with strangers because I know by the end of the meal we won't be strangers any more and by the end of the week they will be friends.

 

We have friends coming over tonight who were our tablemates on the Brilliance in March. They live in Utah but are here in NY for a visit and we have been keeping in touch since the cruise.

[berwyn]

let me add that this 'restaurant' with 2 seatings would also seat you at any table of THEIR choosing (no window/next to band/table with little kids/etc) and will make you sit with these complete stangers for 2 hours.

 

i personally welcome the change.. i hate to eat with stangers, especially on my vacation. And kids! ugh.... Sure we're met great people, but i'd rather dine with my family anytime :)

I agree.

[A Sixth?]

Apples & Oranges. Name a non fast food establishment around your home that serves 3-4 course meals, and serves 3,600 people a night.

 

Not an argument. There are likely over 1,000 places here serving a combined total of tens of thousands 3 and four course meals.

 

If there was a herd large enough for one to have a dining area with as large capacity as a cruise ship, it would be built.

[A Sixth?]

My wife just named a place in our area that does in fact serve at set times.

 

Prison :D

[CaptData]

I think I would love anytime dining. I am single so sitting with strangers always happens. I like the idea that I can watch a sunset then eat. If I am on a tour there is no rush to get ready for dinner (I always eat early for meds).

[Murphy]

One thing that I think has gotten lost in the dining time contraversy is the impact the dining times have on the other events on the ship (which I don't have to worry about at a restaurant in my home town!) I think overall RCCL does a pretty good job of ensuring that most entertainment options are available to all guests regardless of their dining times. They plan popular events to occur after most dining times or have 2 schedules so the 2 seatings each have an opportunity to attend, if they so choose. I think when you eliminate a set dining time, you create a greater possibility of NOT being able to see/attend the events that are important to you.

[TMarie]

I love having a set dinner time on board the ship. If you cant get back to the ship on time, eat in the windjammer or a specialty restaurant.

 

I love sitting down to a nice dinner and even meeting new people. Who else can you tell your daily adventure to? Also, it gives formality to the whole cruise.

 

I dont wait very long in land based restaurants for a table, I dont plan to go on vacation and spend my time WAITING.

 

Also, NCL has anytime dining and everyone i know personally that has gone on one has complained about the service.

 

I like having the same waiter every night. Its like when I go to my neighborhood pub and they know what you are going to order before you even sit down.

[TRadle]

There are things about cruising that are unique and add to the ambiance of the vacation. Traditional Dining is one of those things.

There are ships that are built for Freestyle or Anytime Dining with several “restaurants” where you make a reservation. If the Freedom Class ships had been designed like this I think there would be less of an issue with converting to Anytime Dining. Maybe the Genesis ships will be designed with this concept in mind. As it is, having one dining room to accommodate nearly 4,000 diners in a 3 hour window anytime they wish to eat will not work well. Who wants to spend vacation time waiting for a table? And you’ll end up with strangers every night instead of just the first night.

[A Sixth?]

One thing that I think has gotten lost in the dining time contraversy is the impact the dining times have on the other events on the ship (which I don't have to worry about at a restaurant in my home town!) I think overall RCCL does a pretty good job of ensuring that most entertainment options are available to all guests regardless of their dining times. They plan popular events to occur after most dining times or have 2 schedules so the 2 seatings each have an opportunity to attend, if they so choose. I think when you eliminate a set dining time, you create a greater possibility of NOT being able to see/attend the events that are important to you.

 

:D You must live in a pretty small town. No cinema, theaters, comedy houses, rock shows, fireworks, regattas, Grand Prix, casino show or anything that may come after dining?

 

(Just funning! :D :D )

[Mark_K]

Not an argument. There are likely over 1,000 places here serving a combined total of tens of thousands 3 and four course meals.

If there was a herd large enough for one to have a dining area with as large capacity as a cruise ship, it would be built.

The busiest independent non-fast food restaurant in the US (Zehnder's, seating capacity 1,500) averages less than 3,000 meals a day counting lunch & dinner.

 

But to answer your question:

 

Seaweed Cafe

1580 Eastshore Road (at Highway 1), Bodega Bay

(707) 875-2700

Open 8:30-2:30 p.m. Thursday-Monday. Breakfast served all day, lunch

service starts at 11:30. Dinner seatings at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

Beer and wine. Reservations, cash and checks accepted. Parking lot. .

[Murphy]

:D You must live in a pretty small town. No cinema, theaters, comedy houses, rock shows, fireworks, regattas, Grand Prix, casino show or anything that may come after dining?

 

(Just funning! :D :D )

 

Not that I'm trying to coordinate with the other 215 citizens at the same time!!!!!!

[RareBird]

 

During open seating for breakfast and lunch, requests to be seated by ourselves are often denied because only the largest tables in a particular area are in use, so you are forced to sit with different strangers every time.

 

that is just not true.

 

when we cruise, we eat 90% of our breakfasts and lunches in the dining room, and we ALWAYS request AND get a table for two. We may have to wait, but the wait was never more than 5min.

 

TELL ME ONE PERSON WHO DOSE'NT HATE TO EAT WITH STRANGERS ? and for me i love to be around kids thats why i take them on any vacation i go on, and not just leave them with relatives and be selfish!!! MAY THE NEXT TABLE YOU RECIEVE HAVE LOTS OF SCREAMING FOR JOY KIDS,BECAUSE THEY ARE HAVING FUN.

 

Hopefully i never get seated next to you.

[Aquahound]

Please tell us why its so much better than all the other eateries near your home.

 

Because it's a different experience. To me, dinner on a cruise is an event, not just a way to fill my belly.

 

I'm not against anytime dining. I just have no beef with the current arrangements.

[MaryZ]

One thing that I think has gotten lost in the dining time contraversy is the impact the dining times have on the other events on the ship (which I don't have to worry about at a restaurant in my home town!) I think overall RCCL does a pretty good job of ensuring that most entertainment options are available to all guests regardless of their dining times. They plan popular events to occur after most dining times or have 2 schedules so the 2 seatings each have an opportunity to attend, if they so choose. I think when you eliminate a set dining time, you create a greater possibility of NOT being able to see/attend the events that are important to you.

 

that is very true. On the other hand, those of us that have cruised for many years aren't as compelled to make sure we get to all the activities planned.

And if there is something you'd want to participate in, you'd make plans for that evening accordingly.