Liesure Dining?

[xpcdoojk]

There is another thread at RCI about changing traditional dining to dining like Princess where they offer personal choice and traditional. Someone mentioned this and I quote. "Leisure Dining concept that they've been trying out on the Oosterdam."

I have not heard about this concept nor how it is actually working. :confused:

Anyone know anything of this. I apologize if this has been discussed ad infinitum, but I did a search and it didn't yield any results. Of course, the search function is barely alive. ;)

jc

[noblepa]

Yes, HAL is experimenting with "Leisure Dining" on the Oosterdam. It is not quite as loose as some of the other lines. You are still assigned a table and a seating (early/late). However, you can arrive anytime during a specified window. I think that, for the early seating, it is 5:30 - 6:00 and for late it is 8:00 - 9:00.

When we were on the Oosterdam last month, we had the late seating. My wife and I were travelling with my brother, sister and their spouses. We were assigned a table for six, so we did not have the problem of our tablemates arriving at different times.

We usually arrived at about 8:00. On one of the formal evenings, we stopped to have photographs of the six of us taken, before dinner. This made us about a half hour late.

When we arrived, our waiter was already serving entrees to his other tables. There was a little delay in getting the preliminaries, such as bread and butter brought to our table. This was the only lapse (and it was a tiny lapse, indeed) in the otherwise impeccable service we received all week.

This may seem like nit-picking, and I suppose it is. I mention it only because this is one of the consequences that has been brought up in other discussions such experiments in relaxed scheduling. It did happen, just as some critics of the plan suggested it might. It might have even been worse, if it were only my wife and I who arrived late to a table of strangers. In that case, the two of us would have been working on our appetizers while the others were finishing their entrees and preparing for dessert.

All in all, the concept worked reasonably well, but, if I were given the choice, I would opt for the traditional fixed dining times. This is probably the way things will be in the future.

Paul Noble

[xpcdoojk]

Thanks, Paul.

It sounds like a mess if you have a table of 8 consisting of 3 other couples and yourself. Yikes.

I show up at 8pm next couple at 8:15 another at 8:30 and another at 8:45...

jc

[Djptcp]

DH and I experienced "freestyle cruising" on Norwegian in 2003 and hated it. We are definitely ones who prefer the traditional seating arrangement for dinner. We experienced long lines for dinner until we realized a few days into the cruise we could make reservations, which we did for the rest of the time. We sat with different people every night and didn't develop any cameraderie with other people because we never saw them more than once. We also didn't like people at the same table being served different stages of the meal -- it seemed less friendly. That was our 7th cruise and 4th on NCL, but 1st Freestyle, so we were not newbies. I don't want to have to make reservations for dinner every night in the different restaurants on cruises -- we are on the cruise to relax not to have to worry about where we are going to eat and what time. We have not returned to NCL because the Freestyle just isn't for us and we had enjoyed NCL up until that point. We would be very disappointed if HAL was to go to this concept -- don't even like what has been described on the Oosterdam.

Holland America - 2004, 2006
Carnival - 1995, 1998, 2006, 2006
NCL - 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003
Royal Caribbean - 2002

[MikeT718]

We were on the O'Dam in April and we found the "Leisure Dining" not a problem..We were at the early seating and showed up every night at 5:30..What they ask you to do is try to set up a time for the entire table to show up at..If all agree then it should not be a real problem..If not you can try to have them reseat you..The night before we went to the Pinnicle we just let our waiter know that we would not be in the main dinning room the next night

[Krazy Kruizers]

And I hope HAL gives up this idea of "Leisure" dining!!!

[jhannah]

It might have even been worse, if it were only my wife and I who arrived late to a table of strangers. In that case, the two of us would have been working on our appetizers while the others were finishing their entrees and preparing for dessert. Could be. But as it happened on our Oosterdam sailing recently, those with appetizers finished them and the wait staff let them sit until we were finished with our appetizers so the service could get in sync. They were just a few minutes earlier than we were so it wasn't awful for them, but it could be a problem at times.

My opinion: Either leave things alone or, if they just can't get the concept out of their corporate mindset, make one dining room anytime and the other fixed seating traditional.

[kryos]

Thanks, Paul.

It sounds like a mess if you have a table of 8 consisting of 3 other couples and yourself. Yikes.

I show up at 8pm next couple at 8:15 another at 8:30 and another at 8:45...

That's what I can't understand ... how this would be more efficient if the people at the table were not traveling together. Sounds to me like it would be an awful lot of extra work for the poor dining stewards.

If I were HAL, I would only offer this option to folks traveling together and sharing a table together. Otherwise, people arriving at different times would have to take "open seating" sort of like they do at lunch and breakfast in the dining room. I would never have dining stewards serving main courses to some people and appetizers to others at the same table.

Sounds to me like HAL is doing this all wrong. If you want "leisure dining," then it should be that in order to share a table, your group has to arrive together ... either couples sharing a table for two or a family of six wanting to dine together at their own table. But if there were no tables for two available, and a couple didn't want to wait, they would have to be seated at a table with others ... and the waiters would not start coming around to take orders until everyone at that table was seated. This way everyone is on the same course of the meal at the same time.

Just my opinion ...

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

Could be. But as it happened on our Oosterdam sailing recently, those with appetizers finished them and the wait staff let them sit until we were finished with our appetizers so the service could get in sync. They were just a few minutes earlier than we were so it wasn't awful for them, but it could be a problem at times.

My opinion: Either leave things alone or, if they just can't get the concept out of their corporate mindset, make one dining room anytime and the other fixed seating traditional.
I agree with you 100%. I know I wouldn't be too happy having to sit and wait for my main course while people who were just seated finished their appetizers. As you say, in your case it wasn't too long of a wait, but what if the other couple sat down 15 minutes after I did. I could already be done with my appetizer by the time they ordered theirs. Now I have to sit until their appetizer arrives and they eat it? I would sooner take a spot at an open seating table where we all begin eating at the same time.

I agree with you. Do it like Princess ... traditional OR personal choice dining ... or else leave everything alone.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[dakrewser]

WE always enjoy leisurely dining on HAL - we show up within about 5 minutes of our scheduled/reserved time, then enjoy a wonderful meal without ever feeling rushed. I don't understand what the fuss is all abo.. - what? Oh, you mean please-everybody-wait-until-I-m-there dining :rolleyes: That's so NCL!

[Odd Ball]

This method sounds very messy and unorganized. Are there plans to do this on all ships ?

[noblepa]

Even if everyone at the table agrees to arrive at a certain time, there will still be problems. In our case, the six of us were travelling as a group and we all arrived at the same time that evening. The problem was that the waiters were serving other tables different courses.

Besides, if six or eight strangers agree on a time, doesn't that sort of defeat the point of "Leisure Dining"? Haven't you just changed the time of fixed seating?

It really wasn't all that bad, in our case, since we were a group and all arrived at the same time. Still, my vote (are you listening, HAL?) would be to return to traditional, fixed dining times. One of the things I like about HAL, is that it maintains at least some of the traditions of past ocean liners and cruising.

But then, perhaps I'm in a minority. I like formal nights and fixed seating at dinner. Even things like the lifeboat muster are, to me, all part of the shipboard experience. If I want Disneyland, I'll go to Disneyland. If I want golf, I'll go to Hilton Head or Pebble Beach. I want a ship to feel like a ship.

Just my $0.02. YMMV.

Paul Noble

[Jim Gallup]

Paul,

Be careful what you wish for. This "tradition" of fixed dining times has only been around since the middle classes started cruising about 40 years ago. In the good old days of ocean liners, you paid far more money to cruise - and you had a dining table that was yours for the entire cruise. Wealthy sophisticated cruisers were never told when they would be eating. They decided when they would eat each night. They ate whenever they felt like eating, and they stayed as long as they liked, because there was no other seating on their table.

On the RMS Titanic for example, it was quite normal to invite others to join you at your dining table on Tuesday evening at 8PM for dinner. If you watched the movie Titanic, you saw it happen when Leonardo DiCaprio was invited to join his wealthy friends one night in the First Class Dining Room.

Come to think about it, this sounds a bit like the "Leisure Dining" Program at HAL............

[Krazy Kruizers]

Having cruised on the QE 2 we did get accustomed to being able to arrive at the Queen's Grill any time between 7:00 and 9:00 PM (those times may have changed by now). We loved it.

But we also like HAL's traditional dining times and do not want to see HAL go into Freestyle cruising or Personal Choice.