Freedom dining - Pacific Sun

Has anyone returned from a recent Pacific Sun cruise where they can give us an update on how the new 'Freedom Dining' is working out?

And is there a noticeable difference/drop in dress standards to dinner?

Thanks in advance,

Moira :)

Hi, I returned on the 21st Feb and having not experienced the other way im not sure how they compare. This is how we found it.

If you just turned up at any time you could sometimes get a seat. We did it around the 6 - 7pm time. When we tried to book on those same nights we where given the option of 5.30 or 8.30 times. Once we waited about 10mins and then got seated. On the way to the table my son said he needed to go to the toilet so i walked to the table with my husband and daughter and then raced him outside to the toilet. When i came back the others where outside because they gave away my seat and DS's and said we would have to wait again. Hubby wasnt impressed and we ate at the buffet and the steak house after that. I think if you plan ahead and book for most nights in advance then you would have no problems. Does that help?

we are going on the sun soon , how or where do you book for dinning?

You can either ring the number or book at the front. The phone number was in the Pacific daily.

cool thank you so did have a good cruise any way?

I haven't experienced it on Pacific Sun (yet) but I hope it works as well as it did for us on Pacific Dawn last year. We found that outside the restaurant on the first few nights they had a desk set up where you could book for the following night. On the second night we found a good table and a waitress that we liked, so we would just request the same table for the next night at 6pm as we left the restaurant after dinner. The only exception was one night when we were having late shore tours, we decided to try the pizzeria instead.

We didn't notice any difference in dress standards from earlier cruises.

We'll be able experience it on Pacific Sun in December :)

cool thank you so did have a good cruise any way?

Yes we did have a great time :)

Hi, I returned on the 21st Feb and having not experienced the other way im not sure how they compare. This is how we found it.

If you just turned up at any time you could sometimes get a seat. We did it around the 6 - 7pm time. When we tried to book on those same nights we where given the option of 5.30 or 8.30 times. Once we waited about 10mins and then got seated. On the way to the table my son said he needed to go to the toilet so i walked to the table with my husband and daughter and then raced him outside to the toilet. When i came back the others where outside because they gave away my seat and DS's and said we would have to wait again. Hubby wasnt impressed and we ate at the buffet and the steak house after that. I think if you plan ahead and book for most nights in advance then you would have no problems. Does that help?

Is the buffet open at night? I thought it was only open for breakfast and lunch.

buffet is open for all 3 meals - and we preferred it for dinner instead of the dining room. They have the same meals, and you can take as much of each one as you like, whereas in the dining room, you choose one entree, one main and one dessert, and they only give you small amounts. You also dont need to dress for the buffet, which is nice after a day around the pool.

We did a cruise last year to Alaska on Ryndam and had freedom dining - we ate at the buffet every night except one. I agree, you can choose what foods and how much of them you want to eat. Much better idea. The dining rooms are still available for those who want "fine dining".

We experienced anytime dining for the first time on Pacific Dawn last year, and on one night we tried dinner in Cafe Del Sol (the buffet) and only did it once. We much prefered to sit down and be waited on for dinner.

Conversely at lunchtime we were happier to go to the Buffet for lunch than to go and sit down in the restaurant! For breakfast we did a bit of both depending on our plans for the day.

Given how disorganised the buffet on Pacific Sun is, I think dinner in there will be a nightmare. We might try it once on our criuse in Decemeber, just to be fair, but I think the rest of the time we'll stick to the restaurant.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I've done both traditional and anytime dining on Princess depending on my travelling companions.

As Pacific Sun has changed over completely to Freedom Dining this month (Feb 2009) I was wondering how it was working out and if the staff were settling in to the new 'regime'.

No doubt I will find out in a few weeks time ;)

Steve/Thied - looks like you'll find out sooner. Perhaps you would post an update on your return - (except you'll be getting off as I'll be getting on .. lol)?

Cheers,

Moira

Thank you everyone for your replies.

 

I've done both traditional and anytime dining on Princess depending on my travelling companions.

 

As Pacific Sun has changed over completely to Freedom Dining this month (Feb 2009) I was wondering how it was working out and if the staff were settling in to the new 'regime'.

 

No doubt I will find out in a few weeks time ;)

 

Steve/Thied - looks like you'll find out sooner. Perhaps you would post an update on your return - (except you'll be getting off as I'll be getting on .. lol)?

 

Cheers,

Moira

We know someone who was on the first cruise to do it, and they said that it was a bit disorganised that week, but it might get better.

We were looking into booking PS for the xmas cruise out of Fremantle and the booking form asked would we prefer early seating or late seating for dinner?

So are they going to change back for the Fremantle cruises?

den

We were looking into booking PS for the xmas cruise out of Fremantle and the booking form asked would we prefer early seating or late seating for dinner?

 

So are they going to change back for the Fremantle cruises?

 

 

 

den

No, the call centre operator probably didn't get the memo telling them they don't need to ask that question any more :rolleyes:

No, the call centre operator probably didn't get the memo telling them they don't need to ask that question any more :rolleyes:

LOL

I booked this cruise in November and was told it was Freedom dining only.

Skyrules I note your comment Given how disorganised the buffet on Pacific Sun is, I think dinner in there will be a nightmare. We were there only 2 weeks back and I found it to be excellent. Not sure what you have experienced before. Everyone stood in line, the food was hot and plentiful and excellent and you served yourself and moved on. There were waitresses taking drink orders if you wanted something other than the juice, water or coffee. THere was always somewhere to sit and we got to meet different people all day. The dining rooms were fine, the staff were lovely, but I thought the food was no where near as good - one night in the dining room, my husband ordered cutlets. He got two bones with a 1 cm circle of meat on each one, plus not too many veges to fill the plate. He left hungry. We went to the buffet the next night and had lamb chops, roast beef, chicken, fish, pork, and plenty of real veges and potatoes. We decided we preferred to be full, rather than feel elegant being served artsy plates. Each to their own of course, which is why cruising is such a fabulous way to travel. :)

Skyrules I note your comment Given how disorganised the buffet on Pacific Sun is, I think dinner in there will be a nightmare. We were there only 2 weeks back and I found it to be excellent. Not sure what you have experienced before.

I've done 3 cruises on Pacific Sun, the most recent just a month ago. I've always found the buffet to be badly laid out, and very difficult to find seating in. The buffet on Pacific Star was - and the one on Pacific Dawn is - much better laid out in terms of flow through the area.

I guess I'll have to be fair and give the buffet dinner on Pacific Sun a chance when we go on her again in December

What meal are we talking about here ? As far as I am aware, the buffet on Pac Sun has only ever been open for Breakfast and Lunch.

Now that anytime Dining is being used on Pac Sun, is this for lunch and dinner or just dinner. Cant imagine them opening the Bordeaux and Burgundy Restaurants AND the buffet for Dinner??

Barry

yes thats right Bazzaw, buffet is open for all 3 meals and the two dining rooms are open as well, together with the Steakhouse for dinners. We tried lunch and dinner in both the dining room and the buffet, but only used the buffet for breakfast - I believe the dining room was open for breakfast too? Anytime dining in the dining rooms was awkward the first day because it was the first day they were starting the system. So we arrived on board at 11.30 and were told if we wanted dinner that night in a dining room, we had to stand in a queue in the library to see the Maitre'de and book a time in either room. That was a very slow process, but then they isued a phone number to ring for the next night. Unfortunately, the number they printed was wrong, so night number 2 was also a schemozzle, but after that they sorted it out. For our last night we went to the Steakhouse which has a set fee of $25 per person for an entree, main & dessert. The steaks were magnificent!

For our last night we went to the Steakhouse which has a set fee of $25 per person for an entree, main & dessert. The steaks were magnificent!

Glad you enjoyed the steakhouse. Our visit a few weeks ago was disappointing. Just curious - was tea/coffee included?

Evon.

yes Evon, tea/coffee was included, I was just too full to drink anymore! We had a bottle of wine for $24 - I noticed someone else mentioned getting charged an extra $4.75 for having wine in the steakhouse - we were only charged what they quoted in the wine list. All the wine and spirits on board were excessive - $9 for a glass of wine, $8.50 for bourbon & Coke. Cocktails appeared to be the best value - $7.75 each.

yes Evon, tea/coffee was included, I was just too full to drink anymore! We had a bottle of wine for $24 - I noticed someone else mentioned getting charged an extra $4.75 for having wine in the steakhouse - we were only charged what they quoted in the wine list. All the wine and spirits on board were excessive - $9 for a glass of wine, $8.50 for bourbon & Coke. Cocktails appeared to be the best value - $7.75 each.

When we went to the steakhouse, the staff insisted we could only have coffee if we bought it on our cruise card. After one of our group argued at length, they grudgingly said they would make an exception and we could have it complementary. All we wanted was the coffee from the dining room. This came at the end of a meal where the soup was barely luke warm and the pastry entree was icy cold (when it should have been hot). We were told later in the cruise, that they changed the rules and offered tea/coffee at the end of the meal. Near the end of the cruise the Maitre d' wanted us to go back to see that things had improved. We declined and said we didn't want to spend another $50 just to see that. On previous cruises we have had either a good meal (Pac Sun) or a superb one (Sun Princess) in the steakhouse, so our experience this time was a surprise.

Evon.

I have heard people rave about the food in the Pac Sun steakhouse - fantastic steaks, etc. The food is OK - but I would not rave about it. I have definitely had better steaks.

Notwithstanding any comments about the service etc in the steakhouse - My observation is that the food in the dining room is good - and I can't really see much added value for money in the steakhouse. It is only $25 extra per head (thus $50 for wife and I)- but I am not sure that I can see that we are getting much extra for that. The ambiance in the Library is quite pleasant - and perhaps if we were starry-eyed lovers again :o, it would be worth an extra 50 bucks for the experience - but personally, I would rather buy an extra 2 bottles of wine and share it around the dining room table.

Barry

I have heard people rave about the food in the Pac Sun steakhouse - fantastic steaks, etc. The food is OK - but I would not rave about it. I have definitely had better steaks.

 

Notwithstanding any comments about the service etc in the steakhouse - My observation is that the food in the dining room is good - and I can't really see much added value for money in the steakhouse. It is only $25 extra per head (thus $50 for wife and I)- but I am not sure that I can see that we are getting much extra for that. The ambiance in the Library is quite pleasant - and perhaps if we were starry-eyed lovers again :o, it would be worth an extra 50 bucks for the experience - but personally, I would rather buy an extra 2 bottles of wine and share it around the dining room table.

 

Barry

I'm with you on this one Barry. :):)

Evon.