cruisetheworld67

I don't really have a dog in this fight, but .... it appears you started it with the "Disruptions be damned" remark. I was taken aback by your self-centered attitude but didn't comment. I'm glad someone did.

 

It is HAL's problem to fix it but a little understanding on the part of the people being trotted in and out during fixed dining would be nice. For years and years and years, people in fixed dining have come to expect a certain experience and having people at your table when you arrive, having other people's wine bottles sitting at your table when you arrive and just have people "scooching" by your table off an on during the meal are not part of that experience.

REally??? Taken aback by my self centered attitude? Tough cookies!!!

I was taken aback when poster suggested that a "solution" would be to direct anytime diners to the Lido so as not to "disrupt" the "dining experience" of the Fixed diners. Heaven forbid!!! Or that anytime diners should refuse to be seated upstairs in fixed dining but instead continue to wait for a table in anytime dining. What you don't seem to comprehend ( and don't feel bad you're obviously not alone); this decision is made by the HAL dining room staff....NOT the passengers. I imagine if the MDR manager tells an anytime diner that a table or seats are available upstairs and one refuses to go; they will look at you and wonder " Do you want to wait another 20 minutes or do you want to eat???" Don't put the onus of the decision on the passenger or have the passenger insist on continuing to wait or the solution of "send 'em to the Lido!!!". No. No. We paid to eat in the MDR. We ain't going to the Lido! We are coming upstairs! And if you don't like it I have a suggestion.....you go to the Lido!:p

Oh and BTW horses are "trotted"....not people......unless of course you perceive anytime diners invading the fixed dining area as such?

You have every right to blow all the bubbles you want.

You don't have the right to get the residue of those bubbles all over me, my clothes or hair, or the deck I have to walk on. I don't need a slip & fall at the start of my cruise, and I may not otherwise need to take another shower before dinner.

So, if you want to take your soap somewhere where it can't get on me---have at it.

Ummmm.....how could you possibly have a "slip and fall" when you have stated on a myriad of posts that you are a passenger who uses a scooter due to mobility issues? :confused:

Oh my gosh! I cannot believe all the Negative Nancys here! It's bubbles!!!!! Get a grip!

 

Bring the bubbles! Have fun! Odds are you are going to make some people upset if you happen to breathe in some of THEIR allotted oxygen at some point during the cruise, so you might as well tick them off on the first day with something that makes YOU happy!!!!!!!!! :)

HahA! I love your post! And agree with you 100%. You know the fuddy duddy's on here will report your post!:D Really now! Making fun of their oxygen!!!:p

As for myself on my next sailaway...I plan to light off an assortment of fireworks. M-80's, Roman CAndles, etc. Anyone here have a problem with that???

Interesting that you give priority to one inconvenience in preference to another inconvenience. Sorry about that one-sided attitude.

 

Fixed diners expected a certain service level when they signed up for fixed dining, which appears to be taken away when the decision is made to insert "hungry" anytime diners into that fixed-dining setting.

 

Hope something more accommodating can be arranged - such as sending the "hungry anytime diners" up to the Lido, if they cannot wait for their upfront chosen "anytime" dining preference. Creating chaos in the fixed-dining setting does not solve anything for anyone.

 

HAL might need to re-market the concept of "anytime" dining, or reallocate space in the Upper Dining room to accommodate "anytime" overflow so that it does not disrupt the fixed diners expectations of a predictible flow of more serene service.

Yes...yes. Send the anytime diners to the Lido. How dare those peons interrupt our fixed dining experience by invading our dining room as we sit above the masses sipping our glasses of wine!

Oh.....perhaps you could throw a few crumbs of bread down from above while we anytime diners wait until we too can devour a few left over morsels of food! Talk about attitude!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Can't imagine it would make any sense at all to insert any-time diners into the fixed service environment. No wonder it was stressful for all concerned. Totally disrupts the flow for all concerned. Hope they stop doing this.

 

Good advice, if one is offered an any-time slot in the upstairs fixed dining room setting, turn it down. We fixed diners will appreciate this as much as the misplaced any-time diners.

What??? This makes NO sense! The reason the anytime diners have been sent upstairs is because the dining room manager has sent them there. The downstairs room is obviously full and the diners have already been waiting for a table for 20 minutes or more and a table is available upstairs. Why would an already hungry diner turn down the opportunity to eat.....so what if it inconveniences the upstairs folks.

We have been sent upstairs on numerous occasions. Disruptions be damned!

We usually take 21 to 30 day cruises, so we enjoy the friendship and familiarity with our waiter over the long cruise with many sea days. We love to come into the dining room and my 2 glasses of ice tea are waiting for me. Also, the exact type of dinner roll I like is in the basket. When I order an entree, my waiter knows exactly how i want it, and if I want 2 of them. He knows my patterns, likes and dislikes, and it makes dinner so much more enjoyable. The last thing we want at dinner is a table of strangers every night, with the usual questions of "how may cruises have you been on, where do you live, what do you do, how may grandkids do you have", etc, etc. Some people want to meet lots of people on the ship. That's not our thing, to each his own.

You can get the same thing....even better....at open seating...if you go after 8pm. We always get a table for two, so we don't have to talk to anyone else...plus service is much less hectic. Yes...yes....you will have to go to the 10pm show....if that is important to you. A table for 2 works so much better than a table for 8 especially if one or two of the tablemates are tablemates from hell.

OP....Honestly I think you will be disappointed with a HAL cruise.

YEs...it is a cruise....and I am sure you will enjoy some or most of it....but....I was a college student once and a HAL ship would the LAST ship I would want to be on with many friends especially with a lot of friends in our early 20's.

It is just not that "kind of a ship." Not the party atmosphere you want or expect. Around 10:45pm , when the last show is over,, approximately 90% of the ship "goes to bed." A few people will hang out at the bars or in the casino, but it is nighty night for most.

Also, the average age on a HAL ship is about 70. A lot of walkers, scooters, and canes. Think of visiting Grandma in the assisted living home.

As far as partying in your room late at night... trust me....this will not go over well. There will be a knock on your door by security or the front desk. This ain't no dorm room on the sea. I think a Carnival or Royal Caribbean Ship would have been a better choice. More drinking, dancing, staying up late, etc.

Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but I think you will find my description will be closer to reality than your perceived expectations.

Well my wife and I are new to cruising. We picked the anytime dining which was recommended to us. We have no idea as to early or late seating times and what it means. I was told that we could make reservations ahead of time while on the cruise for an early or later time to eat. As far as sitting at your table on the last night we can sit and enjoy conversing with other passengers or just that simple we can sit with each other. We do not know what the RULES are pertaining to dinning on a cruise but the person original poster is a person that I would not need to sit with. I really don't know what all the fuss is all about.

If you want to enjoy your cruise and wish to sit most nights at a table for two....just you and your wife....here is the secret. Book anytime dining and show up at the MDR at 8 pm or later. No need to make a reservation. This defeats the purpose of anytime dining.When we ate in the MDR, we always requested and received a table for two after 8 pm. This way you don't need to involve yourself with introducing yourselves every night and ensures that you will not be sitting with people you do not like. Not that sitting with different people each night is not interesting, but it does get old after awhile and most nights my wife and I wanted to be alone.

Yes.....8 pm is later than you probably eat dinner at home but my wife and I would order snacks from room service around 5pm and have a few cocktails with some food on our veranda. This worked out well as this was the time we would usually be leaving a port and we captured some beautiful sunsets.

The MDR will be packed between 5:30 and 7:30 pm. This is because many people will want to eat the same time they eat at home and they want to make the 8 pm show. Again, have a snack late in the afternoon, relax, enjoy the pool as this will also empty out after 5 pm. Plus if you go at 8pm, the service is far better (quicker) and you will have plenty of time to make the 10pm show.

Know that all the sushi served in the Lido and TAmarind is frozen. Makes sense since fresh fish will not last an entire cruise. The waitress in Tamarind confirmed this. As far as the Lido goes the sushi is ok....definitely not "out of this world" type or the kind you get on shore from a top notch Japanese restaurant. Also much of the sushi in the Lido is the "vegetable" sushi if you like that.

I've seen people in bathrobes in one of the lounges in the afternoon. NO sense of decorum.

But then there was the guy I saw in the Lido one morning; he should have put a robe on. An old guy, wearing nothing but a Speedo, with a gut that made him look like Octomom just before she gave birth.

All of a sudden, I wasn't as opposed to wearing robes outside the cabin.

Some of you people need to chill out. You're on vacation. The OctoMom guy is on vacation. Maybe he was in the Lido for 30 seconds to get a cup of coffee?Maybe he was there longer? Seriously, who cares!

This is the stuff that offends you? In Europe men of all ages wear speedos and women of all ages wear bikinis and don't shave their armpits! MAybe he was European?

What will you do when a transgendered man on a HAL cruise uses the ladies room? Or changes in the ladies room in the spa? Horrors!:eek:

I have a few days on HAL ;) and some experiences are recent. I actually found the desserts improved and the food was quite edible.

 

I hope it will be the same on our next cruise in just over 30 days.

 

Methinks you do protest too much ;). You must have had one horrific cruise. And, of course, if it is that abysmal, you can do specialty dining every night.

 

While we do specialty dining and other special dining,we eat in the MDR a lot and we were very pleasantly surprised on our last cruise and our food on P'dam was certainly worthy :)

Well, all I will say is that I have cruised HAL 15 times over the past 10 years and on average the dining "experience" in the MDR is not what it used to be. This includes the quality of the food, the attention to detail, the ratio of dining guest to waiters/busboys, etc. This is especially evident since HAL was devoured by Carnival.

Sure, you will still find a cruise here and there that is above "average", but overall just not what it used to be. If you like it good for you! Some people think Olive Garden serves authentic Italian food or that Red Lobster has the best seafood around! THose people are usually from Iowa.:rolleyes:

Slightly off topic. but on a recent cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam...out of 12 nights we only ate in the MDR on 3 nights. The other 9 nights we ate at either the Pinnacle or Tamarind.

Honestly, the food in the MDR has just become inedible. Food is cold, steaks that taste like rubber, can't get the water glasses refilled, wine steward is nowhere to be found, etc.

YEs, I know the food in the MDR is included in the cruise fare, but when it gets to the point of ruining a perfect day at sea or on shore, we would rather pay the surcharge, sit by ourselves, get our food promptly, hot and cooked to order ( steaks in the Pinnacle are outstanding). Also the waitresses who served us in the tamarind could not have been nicer....hot towels to start, no hustle and bustle of the MDR ( you can actually carry on a conversation without shouting) food was exceptional.

The dining experience is an important part of any cruise. Sadly, it is no longer an enjoyable experience in the MDR of most HAL ships.

We received a $200 internet credit as an early booking bonus. Anyone know how that will work? Will we each get $100... I am much more of an internet geek than the friend I'm traveling with. Can we add OBC to the internet credit to buy a bigger package of minutes?

 

 

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Know this about the $200 internet credit. This is not a "use it or lose it " promo. The $200 is immediately credited to your account the first day and is basically an extra $200 in on board credit. We received this credit and never used it and it was just credited to our account. We waited until we reached the islands and some have a free wifi area just off the ship. On other islands if you buy a drink at one of the bars that has wifi, they give you a password. Save the $200 if you can for other payments on board.

I will not be bringing my phone on a future cruise (it is a cheap phone ....not a smart phone and will not work outside US) and I stopped wearing a watch a few years ago. I do not want to bring my current phone only to use it to check the time.

My question is: Do all the staterooms still have a clock on the nightstand and are there clocks throughout the ship?

My wife will be bringing her phone as she has a smartphone and has coverage outside the US but we will not always be together on the ship so that is why I ask. Thanks!

It makes sense that since you "travel for the travel experience itself; not necessarily for the onboard experience", that you haven't "noticed the difference in cabin service, entertainment, onboard services,...".

You simply weren't paying attention to them.

 

But that does not mean they don't exist, and the levels have dropped significantly in the last several years.

 

Daytime activities serving the purpose of just having fun, and winning some decent prizes, have long gone. So has the amount of staff that used to lead these activities.

Evening entertainment has been determined by Seattle, with little room to make changes based on what that particular group of passengers prefers. Music venues have become generic in what's offered, if anything is offered there at all anymore.

Try to find a venue playing cocktail/dance music before second sitting dinner. :rolleyes: After eating dinner there is nothing much to do except go to bed. :mad:

 

If the activity doesn't generate income, it's not offered anymore.

 

And don't even get me started on how the quality of food has gone down! Much poorer quality meats, poorly prepared. Used to be I had a hard time choosing dinner, as there were so many things I liked. Now? I have a hard time choosing dinner because there's nothing on the menu.

even Gala nights send me to the Lido, because the choices are so bad in the dining room.

I understand your frustration and you seem pretty tuned in to the decline in HAL versus years ago.

My question is a general one. Why continue to cruise...or at least why continue to cruise with HAL and give then your dollars if you feel the "decline" is as it is?

Is it because at the end of day they still offer value....or are you too comfortable with HAL to switch to another cruise line?

My wife and I are thinking of trying Seabourn or Oceania and cruising once a year instead of 2-3 times a year with HAL. I think many long time HAL cruisers have achieved 4 or 5 star mariner status with HAL and do not want to give up those perks and are just "comfortable" and familair with HAL that they endure the year to year decline they have experienced.

It strikes me as silly to wear a necktie without a jacket - the tie, rather than the jacket, usually being the "finishing" touch. I don't bother packing a jacket, preferring to wear it while traveling: good to have pockets for documents, etc., and having it to wear on board.

Hmmm yes I see your point. Guess I can skip the tie as well then!

Works for me.

On past cruise I would always wear a jacket and tie on formal nights.

With the introduction of Gala nights which seems "less formal" how out of place will I look if I still wear a shirt and tie but no jacket?

First this is acceptable right? I mean I won't be turned away from the MDR on Gala nights? I just can't stand wearing a jacket while eating. I always seem to get the sleeves in the soup or salad.:eek: I started removing the jacket anyway before sitting down and putting it on the back of the chair.

Plus it takes up too much room in the suitcase so I will be happy to leave it home. If anyone can help this clumsy old fool..........;)

We stayed in a Neptune Suite once only because we got it as an upsell on the 3rd. go around and I felt it was reasonable. I would never pay full price for a Neptune. Everyone raves about breakfast in the Pinnacle but on some ships like the Amsterdam where the Pinnacle is indoors.....you eat in the MDR upstairs and the food is exactly the same.

Plus, the NEptune lounge is nothing special. Also, while the concierge is there to help you here is the problem. Say you want her to book you for 2 nights in the Pinnacle Grill for dinner. So you tell her the 2 nights you want and the times. Then she asks for alternate nights/times if those are already booked. Too much back and forth. I can get on the phone and book myself in 60 seconds and make changes right over the phone. You want a shore excursion? Again "what is an alternate Sir if that one is not available?" Just easier and quicker to do it yourself. So you spend 10 minutes in line or on the phone.

Save your money and book a Signature or Vista Suite. You still have a balcony and you will save a ton of money. The Neptune Suites have a huge jump in price from the lesser priced suites.