Traditional dining vs. Open Seating

[KroozLov'r]

We experienced both recently on the Sensation. The final verdict was that we prefer traditional dining based on our opinions/observations of:

 

 

Open Dining: always people coming and going (made it seem more like a regular land-based restaurant), may not get the same servers.

 

Traditional Dining: less people traffic & hustle/bustle, same servers, more of the dining experience that we are used to whle cruising.

[john970]

How does tipping work with open seating... your own waiter wont be getting your tip any more? If I do traditional seating, will my waiter still get my tip?

 

Also, do they still do singing in the dining room for the traditional dining passengers?

[tess2cruz]

I vote traditional, even though not all experiences were the best. Did open on Princess, and it just didn't feel right. But I am happy to see Carnival offering the option, so we all get what we like.

[mudpievelour]

We love the open seating. We like to eat at different times depending on what we are doing that day. We have never had a wait for a table for 2 so far on 2 Legend open seating cruises.We also did anytime dining on Princess 6 cruises. Dessi, who is in charge of open seating is wonderful. We can also avoid the waiter show this way. I think it is degrading for the waitstaff to have to perform songs and dances.

 

We do traditional dining and we have never had to wait for a table either. I like being able to walk in the dining room and go right to "my" table and have the wait staff greet me by name. Then, we like the late dining, so it doesn't interfere with any activities we would like to participate in either.

[Sneezykevina]

Which type of dining do you prefer, and why?

 

I haven't been on a cruise in several years, but I have always enjoyed having my assigned dining time and table. I like having the same wait staff, and I like the idea of becoming friendly with our table-mates. I've also liked that I don't have to think about when/where to eat each night - it's all scheduled for me.

 

I saw a lot of threads about the open seating today, and it sounds like by the time I go on my cruise in August, this will be an option. I am still leaning toward traditional dining though (maybe I should actually discuss this my DH too ;)). I'm wondering if anyone else feels the same way.

 

 

My wife & I went on the Victory last spring (sans kids) and chose the early dining option as thats when we are used to eating. It was so nice having the same waiter who got to know us. After the 2nd night I never had to order my decaf cappachino, he just brought it out. The night in San Juan it was open seating and the other waiter could not for the life of him find our open bottle of wine. I went and found "gedde" (pronounced good day, and I still remember him) and he got it for us.

 

We like to eat at 6. It's what we are used to and comfortable with. We have eaten later and don't like it. Our kids are also used to it.

 

I'm certain if we had anytime dining we would still be there at 6pm sharp!

 

and yes, we gave Gedde a very very good tip. He earned it.

 

I should also mention that I am extremely allergic to tree nuts (pecans, wlanust ect, not peanuts) and it's nice to know the waiter knows that.

[knight2096]

I'll take open dining anyday, Come on Glory hurry up and get open dining. ;)

[frayedend]

I was just mentioning to my wife that open seating may be an option when we go on the Dream. She made some good points. We travel with her mom, her sister and his son, and his son's friend this time. Having a set dinner time is great. We don't have to discuss when we will go to dinner. There is no disagreement about time and there is at least one time every day where we will all see each other. It makes sense if you are traveling with more than your immediate family.

[thephillykid]

My DW and I spent a horrible week in January on the NCL Pearl with open seating. By the end of the week, the only thing that was open was our pockets being fleeced by NCL over the entire week. I know that it sounds really nice to be able to eat when and where ever you choose with who ever you want. In theory, it's a great idea, but in reality it doesn't really work. We wanted to eat at peak times between 6 and 8 pm and we always had a wait in the free restaurants. Even the pay restaurants were somewhat crowded. Why should we have to pay for food that we already paid for with the cruise fare??? Also, I feel that the traditional dining option affords you a better cruise experience, and here is what I mean. The first night at dinner, you meet the wait staff and order an iced tea, a shrimp cocktail, and french onion soup, as an example. The next night when you arrive at the table there is an iced tea and a shrimp cocktail on the table waiting for you, the waiter comes up to you and asks you if you want french onion soup this evening, and a similar thing will happen every night for the rest of the cruise, if you so desire it. I remember on a RCCL cruise a few years ago, my DW ordered a fillet mignon and told the waiter that it was wonderful and every night after that the waiter told her that if she didn't see something on the menu that appealed to her, that he could get her a fillet instead. That's what I call service, and this will never happen in a freestyle environment.

That's just my 2 cents worth.

Howard

[iluv2travl]

My DW and I spent a horrible week in January on the NCL Pearl with open seating. By the end of the week, the only thing that was open was our pockets being fleeced by NCL over the entire week. I know that it sounds really nice to be able to eat when and where ever you choose with who ever you want. In theory, it's a great idea, but in reality it doesn't really work. We wanted to eat at peak times between 6 and 8 pm and we always had a wait in the free restaurants. Even the pay restaurants were somewhat crowded. Why should we have to pay for food that we already paid for with the cruise fare??? Also, I feel that the traditional dining option affords you a better cruise experience, and here is what I mean. The first night at dinner, you meet the wait staff and order an iced tea, a shrimp cocktail, and french onion soup, as an example. The next night when you arrive at the table there is an iced tea and a shrimp cocktail on the table waiting for you, the waiter comes up to you and asks you if you want french onion soup this evening, and a similar thing will happen every night for the rest of the cruise, if you so desire it. I remember on a RCCL cruise a few years ago, my DW ordered a fillet mignon and told the waiter that it was wonderful and every night after that the waiter told her that if she didn't see something on the menu that appealed to her, that he could get her a fillet instead. That's what I call service, and this will never happen in a freestyle environment.

That's just my 2 cents worth.

Howard

 

I second that! I much prefer to get to know my waitstaff on a more personal level! It just feels more human to me. I like the feeling of going straight to my reserved table. Open seating feels too much like at home when you go out to eat. I think open seating ruins the "special cruise" feeling. To me open seating feels very caotic. At least it did on Norweign. I will be sailing on Carnival Senstation in August where they now offer both seating options. I'm picking traditional hands down.