Freedom v sittings

[kersh]

Arcadia has had freedom dining for nearly 2 years since the refit in December 2013. We used it for 50 nights of the world cruise without any problems. We mixed the dining up by having some nights a table for 2 other nights we joined a larger table and sometimes we arranged to dine with friends we had met on the ship.

 

There are 2 restaurants. The upstairs restaurant is the freedom dining and the lower is for club dining. It worked very well with very few queues and although we dined at different times never had a pager.

 

We have used freedom on Azura, Ventura, Oriana and Arcadia and is always our first choice. We find the service better and often we are allocated the same area each evening with the same waiters.

Edited September 7, 2015 by kersh

[dgs1956]

The only thing which worries me about Freedom dining when cruising alone is that I have had the experience at lunch of couples saying they don't want a single person at their table (bloody rude I know!)

QUOTE]

 

I don't understand that. Why wouldn't they want to sit with a single person? That's totally beyond me.

[bobstheboy]

Freedom dining every time for us. Having done 25+ cruises we just don't want to take the chance on our table companions, which can be very hit or miss.

 

Table for 2, Freedom dining and we can still chat to others nearby if they want to talk or just between ourselves if not.

[FangedRose]

The only thing which worries me about Freedom dining when cruising alone is that I have had the experience at lunch of couples saying they don't want a single person at their table (bloody rude I know!)

QUOTE]

 

I don't understand that. Why wouldn't they want to sit with a single person? That's totally beyond me.

 

I've been a situation where I was seated with a couple for lunch and was totally ignored the whole meal.

 

I have always gone for fixed seating for dinner, but booked late this time and have been given freedom. Bit worried about it.

[dgs1956]

 

I've been a situation where I was seated with a couple for lunch and was totally ignored the whole meal.

 

I have always gone for fixed seating for dinner, but booked late this time and have been given freedom. Bit worried about it.

 

... and we have sat with couples and been totally ignored. Surely its just the way some people are. All the single people we have sat with have been good conversationalists.

[dgs1956]

The only thing which worries me about Freedom dining when cruising alone is that I have had the experience at lunch of couples saying they don't want a single person at their table (bloody rude I know!)

I have had various tables on club dining for 6, 8 or 10 as a solo cruiser and always had a really good experience except for one old buffer who was easy to avoid as it was a 10 and I just sat as far away as possible..

 

Do you think the "one old buffer" felt the same as you did when the couples said they didn't want to sit with a single person?

[thames_side]

Just back from Aurora. Took freedom dining. Frankly we didn't think much of the food in the mdr. Hardly worth the hassle of waiting for a menu, waiting to give our order, waiting for our food to come, waiting for our plates to be cleared and so on. We often ate in the Glass House, the Beach House or Sindhu, all with good food and quick service, and the curry in the self service was very good and no hassle. If we had been on a set table in the mdr we would have felt it rood to our fellow diners to keep going off to alternative restaurants.

It costs more but that's modern cruising.

[Sea Green]

Another vote for late and large fixed dining!

 

I dont mind freedom for breakfast and lunch but prefer traditional for dinner, I prefer getting to know my table mates a bit better than the 'first night conversation' and knowing I'll be done in time to wander down to the late show.

 

I know freedom suits some. I think the problem with queues that have been mentioned are that P&O is total freedom dining, i.e no reservations. So the ones who want to be first in end up playing leapfrog i.e on day 1 they arrive as the MDR opens and queue up. On day two they get there a little earlier to 'beat the queue'. And on day three a little earlier still to beat those who get there early to beat the queue......etc until people start queuing at 5:00pm. Im sure if you go down a little after 'doors open' it wont be so much of a problem.

 

The only problems I've ever had have been dining freedom style. On P&O I had to walk out of lunch once coz service was so slow. Overnight in St Petersberg we had to use the freedom MDR and the waiter was so impatient I ended up 'panic ordering' the first things I saw on the menu (and I don't dawdle, honest :)) and had a very rushed meal. On HAL the rest of our table never turned up so we became the default freedom table and had a variety of waifs and strays for the duration. Including one couple who ignored us totally and spoke to each other in whispers. :eek:

[dgs1956]

We always go for Freedom Dining. The main reason is we go Ballroom Dancing and like to fit our time around that.

We have never ever been rushed or had poor service or indeed a poor quality meal nor have we ever had a problem with queues. We normally take a pager and go for an aperitif. We do get to know the waiters over the length of the cruise and find them very friendly.

We have tried Club Dining but always land on a table where, although the people are friendly enough, we always seem to be holding them up as we like to enjoy all the courses and also a bottle of wine.

The fact is that there are, as always, fors and againsts for both and its a matter of choice. What suits one person may not suit another.

[tom_uk]

We're about to try Freedom for the first time on A523 from Saturday. Previously we've done late sitting, but decided to try Freedom this time. Reasons? - well, while we have had excellent tables in the past, for our least several cruises the table just hasn't 'gelled'; perhaps a too disparate group of people, and also people vanishing (and arriving) midway through the cruise. Also, as we've got older we've found it more and more uncomfortable going to bed straight after a big meal. We're not night owls, really, and somehow we can't seem to stay in bed in the morning. We could have done early sitting on Club, but (being picky) I don't think we'd want to eat & drink - we do enjoy our wine - quite that early.

 

Actually starting dinner somewhere between 7:30 and 8 will be perfect for us, and I'm hoping that's how it will turn out for us.

[gadabout60]

We have always had tables for 6 and 8 on late sitting on P&O and it works for us

On Celebrity this summer we tried Freedom and by and large it was good. One table for four had a couple where the wife was lovely and the husband ignored us. :(

Couldn't eat at 6.30 on holiday - just far too early though I often eat at that time at home

 

Interestingly I am reading a blog of a HAL world tour and the two couples seem to eat at 5.30 each night - not for me!

[Ann Twerp]

Just returned from Azura, our first P&O cruise. We booked the 8:30 fixed sitting as on previous cruises (with Fred) this worked very well for us; it gave plenty of time to shower and change before eating, and catch the 2nd showing of the entertainment after the meal. However, on Azura we found that the 8:30 sitting was totally useless if we wanted to see any of the shows, as the first performance was while we were eating and we didn't finish until well after the 10:30 start of the 2nd performance even without cheese and biscuits (we finished our coffees at 10:45 on the 2nd day). On the 3rd day we changed to Freedom, which was much better for us. We never had to wait except when we asked for a table for 4, and that was only a few minutes. The service seemed to be quicker, presumably because the staff want to free up tables, but not so much that it felt rushed.

[sapphire4]

freedom all the way. Allows you to come and go as you please. We like a table for two. On Britannia some of the tables for two were together on one side of the restaurant and you could chat with whoever was next door if you so wished. would hate to get stuck with people you don't particularly gel with on a regular table then spend all cruise trying to avoid them. This happened to my parents once and it spoiled their holiday. they did get to move to another table but found it all a bit embarrassing.

[Doughty3]

Just back from 2 weeks on Oceana. Allocated Freedom dining worked very well for us on our first ever cruise.

We shared large tables on formal nights which made it all seem a bit more special and met new people. One of these evenings seemed rather rushed with the servers bringing courses too quickly.

Some nights we asked for a table for 2 and were given a pager and a warning that we could wait up to an hour. We found we didn't have to wait more than 15 minutes, 5 minutes being the quickest.

We loved the flexibility and even managed a quick meal for 2 at 6pm before going out to a concert in Venice.

[Slugsta]

We've tried all the options and, on the whole, prefer freedom. Our first couple of cruises we had 1st sitting because we eat around that time at home. However, it can be rushed and, if we want to do a quiz immediately pre-dinner, it can mean us sitting there in formal dress while others are still in shorts etc. On holiday it is nice to relax with a pre-dinner drink, not have to rush down to dine.

 

Since then we have done both freedom and, on a Christmas cruise, late club. Freedom is slightly preferable for us but not by much. We prefer to have company so never have to wait long and we can eat to fit in with whatever else we want to do that evening.

[tom_uk]

Just back (a week ago) from Azura, on which we used Freedom Dining for the first time. We are completely converted. We went down to the specified dining room at 7:30, were asked if we were happy to share, said 'yes', and were then taken immediately taken to a table.

 

Furthermore, we found that the table was just filling up, as it were. On one occasion we were the first couple to be seated at a table for eight, but the other six seats had been taken within five minutes at most. On other evenings we were one of the later arrivals. On every occasion the waiters waited until the table was full and everybody had read the menu before taking any orders, so everyone at the table was at the same stage in their meal.

 

On occasions when we wanted a meal for just the two of us, we went to a Select Dining venue.

 

Finally, we were perfectly happy with the service; efficient and friendly. There wasn't the familiarity that you would get on Club Dining, but to be honest we found that in the last couple of years the extra workload that had been placed on the waiters meant that it wasn't possible to chat with them in the way that had been possible previously. As I say, we're converts.

[Mark-Sheffield]

On our last 2 P&O cruises we have used Freedom dining and if you happy to share a table you were shown straight in. Only had to wait for about 20 minutes when we wanted a table on our own.