a new Open Seating option for dinner

Hello-

To date I have received at least 3 e-mails and 1 phone call on this

subject. This is something that I feel very strongly about, and have

chosen to post my reply as an open letter to the forum.

Thanks for listening.

Brian

What they told me:

Hi Brian,

We've got great news about your fall Caribbean cruise onboard

Freedom of the Seas! Your sailing is one of the select few to

feature a limited-time offer - a new Open Seating* option for dinner.

With Open Seating, you and your party can arrive at your assigned

dining room anytime between 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. each evening

and be seated together at the best available table. This allows you

more flexibility to plan around your daily activities - from

sunbathing on a deck chair to surfing on the FlowRiderSM to our

extensive list of shore excursions!

And my reply:

Hello-

This is the third e-mail I have received on this

subject. I have also received a call on my cell

phone.

All of this attention makes me think that this is

an important time for RCI. And while I want nothing

to do with any kind of "Open Seating" ( Freestyle Dining )

I think it may be a good time to share with you my

views on this development.

If you review my cruising history I hope that you

will see that I am a good customer. After my cruise

with you on the Freedom in the Presidential Family Suite

I will actually only be one cruise shy of Diamond Plus.

When I can I ALWAYS choose RCI. There are many reasons

for this, some of them no longer apply as the cruise line

policy shifts, but at the same time there are new reasons

for me to cruise with you.

I must stress that adding a "Freestyle Dining" type of

option is very offensive to me. I feel that you have an

option of open dining in the Windjammer.

I suffer from food allergies, and for me having the same

waiter, head waiter, and assistant waiter every night is a

way for me to feel secure, at home, and comfortable. If I

were to have the "best available table" every evening I

would find it uncomfortable holding up everyones order just

so I could explain my needs.

Also, many of my fondest memories have come from the week

long friendships that my wife and I developed with not just

our table mates, but with the table staff, if you throw

everyone into a pot each evening, I don't feel you will

foster a positive environment.

One nice thing about cruising is knowing what to expect.

You can visit the world, and yet every evening you come

Home. You know what to expect. You get dressed, and you

go to dinner, you know where you will be seated, and you

know everyones names.

The Barman comes up and greets you

by name, and you all discuss you day over cocktails. You

order dinner, and compare it to last nights dinner, you

are with friends. They may be new, and in a week you may

never see them again, but when you get back from your

adventures on land you have comfort and stability.

I understand that there are those that will disagree, or

who will think I am completely off my rocker, and to them

I offer the Windjammer!

RCI,

By keeping a formal dinner, ( even though the dress may

now be casual ) you have something special. Please do not

change just to be more like other cruise lines that I would

rather not be cruising on in the first place.

This e-mail informs me that I will receive a reply in 48 hours or less. Honestly I don't need a reply. All I am asking is that this letter gets to someone that makes the decisions, and not just filed away and replied to with some kind of form letter.

Thank you.

Hello-

To date I have received at least 3 e-mails and 1 phone call on this

subject. This is something that I feel very strongly about, and have

chosen to post my reply as an open letter to the forum.

Thanks for listening.

Brian

 

 

What they told me:

Hi Brian,

 

We've got great news about your fall Caribbean cruise onboard

Freedom of the Seas! Your sailing is one of the select few to

feature a limited-time offer - a new Open Seating* option for dinner.

 

With Open Seating, you and your party can arrive at your assigned

dining room anytime between 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. each evening

and be seated together at the best available table. This allows you

more flexibility to plan around your daily activities - from

sunbathing on a deck chair to surfing on the FlowRiderSM to our

extensive list of shore excursions!

 

And my reply:

 

Hello-

This is the third e-mail I have received on this

subject. I have also received a call on my cell

phone.

 

All of this attention makes me think that this is

an important time for RCI. And while I want nothing

to do with any kind of "Open Seating" ( Freestyle Dining )

I think it may be a good time to share with you my

views on this development.

 

If you review my cruising history I hope that you

will see that I am a good customer. After my cruise

with you on the Freedom in the Presidential Family Suite

I will actually only be one cruise shy of Diamond Plus.

 

When I can I ALWAYS choose RCI. There are many reasons

for this, some of them no longer apply as the cruise line

policy shifts, but at the same time there are new reasons

for me to cruise with you.

 

I must stress that adding a "Freestyle Dining" type of

option is very offensive to me. I feel that you have an

option of open dining in the Windjammer.

 

I suffer from food allergies, and for me having the same

waiter, head waiter, and assistant waiter every night is a

way for me to feel secure, at home, and comfortable. If I

were to have the "best available table" every evening I

would find it uncomfortable holding up everyones order just

so I could explain my needs.

 

Also, many of my fondest memories have come from the week

long friendships that my wife and I developed with not just

our table mates, but with the table staff, if you throw

everyone into a pot each evening, I don't feel you will

foster a positive environment.

 

One nice thing about cruising is knowing what to expect.

You can visit the world, and yet every evening you come

Home. You know what to expect. You get dressed, and you

go to dinner, you know where you will be seated, and you

know everyones names.

 

The Barman comes up and greets you

by name, and you all discuss you day over cocktails. You

order dinner, and compare it to last nights dinner, you

are with friends. They may be new, and in a week you may

never see them again, but when you get back from your

adventures on land you have comfort and stability.

 

I understand that there are those that will disagree, or

who will think I am completely off my rocker, and to them

I offer the Windjammer!

 

RCI,

By keeping a formal dinner, ( even though the dress may

now be casual ) you have something special. Please do not

change just to be more like other cruise lines that I would

rather not be cruising on in the first place.

 

This e-mail informs me that I will receive a reply in 48 hours or less. Honestly I don't need a reply. All I am asking is that this letter gets to someone that makes the decisions, and not just filed away and replied to with some kind of form letter.

 

Thank you.

Well done,

though my cruises so far are not affected I voiced my opinion about this to R. Fain and A. Goldstein as I think they should know how I feel about this.

The reason they are contacting you three times via e and another time via phone seems to tell me they are not selling their open dinner succesful.

VERY Well said! I second your opinion.

I agree. Next thing you know they will be handing you a beeper 'til your table is ready. I can do that in any place in town. When I cruise I want to know I have a table where I want when I want.

I also agree with why I choose to do RC rather than another cruise line. Also when & if I want my own time I choose to do the specialty restaurants but I also like the familiarity of the same table & people.

I agree with OP also. I wouldn't like the open dinning option at all. I like having the same wait staff every night as they will have your drinks and other items waiting for you. They know you and your wants/needs and take very good care of you. Plus I want to reward them for great service with tips. A NO vote from me on open dinning option for sure.

I may not have cruised as much as some, but the reason I cruise with RCI is because I like my formal dining as such. Having my table waiting for me with my wait staff (who I let know how much I appreciated their service at the end of the cruise....) and for the next 6 or 7 days enjoying my table mates.

Freestyle "anytime" dining is what I get at *** Garden. While on my cruise I want linen table cloths and my own wait staff! Besides that, I'm a RCI snob! That's what I love so much about RCL!!

Just my 2

What is the big deal of getting to know the wait staff? I guess for some people it is important that the server call them by name.

By the end of the week it gets very boring, predictable, and it's like here we go again. The same routine gets old, and sometime so do the same people.

Change is good, and who knows try it you might like it.

Brian, that was a very well-written e-mail you shared with us. I truly hope it gets read by someone who can affect policies. My husband and I choose RCCL for, among other reasons, their current dining policy. We love going to the dining room each night, to OUR table, to sit with OUR tablemates and be served by OUR wait staff. I agree with several posters who wrote about being able to go to the Windjammer or one of the specialty restaurants if one wants "anytime" dining. I also agree with the poster who mentioned the pager - we can do that at most restaurants near our home. That, to me, is NOT what I want to do while I am on vacation. Again, thank you, Brian, for sending the thoughts of many of us to (hopefully) the "powers that be" at RCCL.

What is the big deal of getting to know the wait staff? I guess for some people it is important that the server call them by name.

By the end of the week it gets very boring, predictable, and it's like here we go again. The same routine gets old, and sometime so do the same people.

Change is good, and who knows try it you might like it.

Nope it never gets boring or old and no I enjoy my tablemates very much each and every time.

Just for the record, I tried it and hated it. My worst dining experience at sea ever.

What is the big deal of getting to know the wait staff? I guess for some people it is important that the server call them by name.

By the end of the week it gets very boring, predictable, and it's like here we go again. The same routine gets old, and sometime so do the same people.

Change is good, and who knows try it you might like it.

EXACTLY MY POINT!

And for you may I suggest the Windjammer. You see I am not spending

what for me is quit a bit of money for the "Applebee's" experience. I am

not there to "shovel in some grub and get goin"

I have found that getting to know your wait staff is not about them knowing your name, it is about you getting to know them, where they are from, what they think. The same goes for your table mates.

It is an opportunity for you to learn something, and maybe grow as a person.

Take a minute and remove food from the equation, then think of how you

would like to spend your evening.

Thanks

Brian

Brian

Very well said.

I don't know why all the cruise lines have to do the same thing makes me crazy.

What is the big deal of getting to know the wait staff? I guess for some people it is important that the server call them by name.

By the end of the week it gets very boring, predictable, and it's like here we go again. The same routine gets old, and sometime so do the same people.

Change is good, and who knows try it you might like it.

Well, we like PC Dining - 6.00 is too early and 8.30 too late for us!! And if we want to eat a bit later or earlier, we can!! We also meet many nice people that way.

As for the server calling me by name, it now seems the trend for them to use first names - I find this offensive and extremely irritating. I am not a friend of the server - he/she is just there to do the job as far as I am concerned. (Security are also doing this.) As far as they are concerned, they are there to do the job and gather in the tips - they do it for the money, not for the questionable pleasure it gives them. Forget it when they say 'my pleasure' - nonsense!!:D And before y'all flame me, I am always extremely pleasant to the servers and other staff on the ships - they do an excellent job - but they are paid workers, I am the customer, and not their friend:eek::).

Even if the Trial is a success...Royal Caribbean will not be doing away with the Traditional Seating.

Open Seating would just be another OPTION.

Brian

I too agree with what you are saying. We enjoy getting to know our table mates. We have had some very enjoyable times at dinner with our new friends and our wait staff.

Judi :)

I have a question on this...how would you tip your waiters,etc. If you don't get the same table every night...how could this work.

It's not like Princess where you prepay your gratuities.

Just wondering.

Very well said Brian!! I'd be interested to hear what they have to say to you, in that promised 48hr email!

Brian - Great e-mail! I agree with you 100%! Let's all hope this "open dining" doesn't go over well and that RCI listens to their customers.

If you have a different table, different servers, and different tablemates think of how much more you can learn. In one week you will experience more, meet more people, and learn more about different countries.

The man or women serving the table next to yours may have a better story, and if you sit at the same table every night you will have to eavesdrop to get to know that person. Move around and broaden your horizons.

Who knows you may go to dinner one night and really want another type of drink, and you feel uncomfortable to ask for something else because the wait staff remembered your particular drink from the night before.

I don't understand why everyone is so against this before they try it. Try it, if you hate it, let them know.

I agree that although I have never experienced Anytime dining, I have truly enjoyed the Traditional dining on my cruises to date and have plans to avoid Anytime dining forever, if possible.

That being said, I do have to comment on my first cruise a couple of years ago on Princess. There were options for both Anytime dining and Traditional. My group chose Traditional and the fact that there were passengers enjoying the flexibility of Anytime Dining never once intruded on my experience.

I may have misunderstood (I admit, I haven't kept up with all the threads on this subject), but I am under the impression that RCI is adding Anytime dining as an option, but it will not be ship-wide the way NCL does it. Am I wrong in this understanding? If not, I would assume that those who prefer Traditional dining should be able to continue to enjoy it while people with other preferences can enjoy the cruise the way they prefer.

Even if the Trial is a success...Royal Caribbean will not be doing away with the Traditional Seating.

 

Open Seating would just be another OPTION.

Even though they won't be doing away with traditional, will it be available to all who want it? One of the main reasons we left Princess was the availability of the traditional. We booked a cruise 13 months out and traditional was already sold out. We were put on a waiting list at around #300. As the cruise got closer we didn't move anywhere on the list so we canceled the cruise. It is one of the biggest complaints I have seen on the Princess board and some who were confirmed for "traditional" boarded the ship and found they had been switched and were not happy.

I really do understand your vehemince. No one is trying to take away your choice of set dining. This is a new option. You like set dining. Others like open dining.

Princess has both. That works fine. Even on full open seating NCL, you can request the same table with the same waitstaff at the same time nightly.

How are you hurt if open dining is an option for those, like myself, who much prefer it? Why should I be denied an option just because you don't want to do it? Are you so insecure that you are hurt if others are not forced to do things your way?

EXCELLENT NOTE TO RCCL. We completely agree. NCL's commercials even irritate me. It makes me think, hmm, they are actually cutting costs by NOT being organized. I love how a cruiseline runs like a well-oiled machine-- and appreciate all the thought & care around the activities offered. We did a Norwegian cruise once- and didn't care for it. In fact, they werer more regimented & restrictive--- and who wants to wait in lines?

Give me dinner at 6:30 so I can go to a show & then a bar-- and then do some gambling. Otherwise, really won't be able to do anything but eat. Freestyle is silly-- and is a way for cruiselines to save money & energy. I like the tradition & hard work behind the scenes.

If I were in your shoes, I think I would be more irritated that I was continuing to receive multiple contacts from RCCL for an option I've already politely declined. :)

I've cruised with Princess as well as RCCL and enjoyed the option of open seating on Princess. Then again, my DH and I value the opportunity for 7 nights of romantic dinners for the two of us. We don't have that opportunity often at home.

To each his own. The option has value for some and not others.