Open seating vs fixed seating

[baja mama]

I have not cruised in a long time and my husband and I are booking a 20 night cruise in April 2018. Do most people go for opening seating or are there still cruisers that do the fixed seating?

My husband is not much of a talker so I do not want to sit through 20 silent dinners.

 

Thanks

[kazu]

I have not cruised in a long time and my husband and I are booking a 20 night cruise in April 2018. Do most people go for opening seating or are there still cruisers that do the fixed seating?

My husband is not much of a talker so I do not want to sit through 20 silent dinners.

 

Thanks

 

I don't think one is more popular than the other. It just depends upon the demographic on each cruise. If your husband is not much of a talker, you can request a table of 6 or 8 to have companions to talk with.

 

In fixed dining you will have the same tablemates every night.

 

In open dining you will usually join new tablemates every night.

 

It just depends which you prefer.

[KirkNC]

We used to always do late fixed seating until we had a bad match :(. We tried open and have never looked back. We like the flexibility both in times we can eat as well as meeting lots more people. We usually ask to sit with others but you can request a sit at a table for two. You also can reserve a table (3 days at a time) if you choose. We have found that if we eat around the same time in open dining we end up sitting in the same general area and usually have the same servers as well. At the end of the day it is like Kazu said, what works best for you.

Edited October 17, 2016 by KirkNC

[HELENPSL]

We also do the anytime dining. One caveat...we ask for a round table which makes conversation easier. Have met some very interesting people.

 

 

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[3rdGenCunarder]

We prefer fixed in order to have the same waiter each night. If you get a good one (Rianto on Maasdam, Gusti on Zuiderdam come to mind), they remember preferences, like who wants decaf or regular or tea after dinner. They get used to your pace through a meal and serve accordingly. I find it a smoother service than a different waiter every night.

 

We ask for a large table and in all of our cruises have been very lucky with dinner companions. My husband isn't much of a talker at dinner, either, so it's nice to have other people to share the time with. I think most people who request fixed dining large tables are people who enjoy getting to know others over the course of the week, as opposed to new introductions every night.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The only bad part I see about open seating and sitting at larger tables -- you will have different people each evening and the conversation usually starts out the same. Where are you from? How many cruises have you done? What other cruise lines have you sailed on? ETC.

[RuthC]

I still prefer fixed seating, but especially so on a longer cruise, as you are taking. I like getting to know my tablemates, and on a longer cruise I get to know them in more depth. We get way past the "where do you like to travel to?" and "what was your best travel experience?" to more substantive topics. It takes a while for everyone to relax with each other and start to laugh.

I like to laugh. Dinners like that are a part of the day to look forward to.

 

A round table for 6 more easily allows for one general conversation that everyone can hear and participate in.

[Tom O.]

We go back and forth between fixed and open. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. Open seating gives you more flexibility, but you usually have to wait to be seated. With open you have different table mates every night, and I prefer that, I like meeting different people every night.

With fixed, you don't have to wait to be seated, you just stroll in and go to your table. You will have the same table mates every night, which can be good or bad. I don't care about having the same table mates, but I love having the same wait staff. You get to know the waiters, and they get to know you. They know I like a cup of coffee after the meal and they bring it without me asking.

But lately I have been asking for open seating, because I just get tired of the same table mates every night. Some people are very interesting, others are downright tiresome.

[Scrapnana]

I have only had open seating once (on a different cruise line) and hated it. I like having the same table, dinner companions, and waitstaff. I always ask for a large table and have had some really great tablemates and will continue with fixed seating as long as it is available.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Scrapnana

[Lovely other]

We have done gone back and forth between the two and can't really say what we prefer . We are still in touch with our tablemates from two of our cruises but we once did have a table with a group who didn't want to speak to us ... Awkward!

 

But then open seating can be very tiring for an introvert like myself and you do run the gauntlet of tablemates and waiting staff . Our last cruise wins for the worst tablemate ... A couple from Canada where the wife constantly complained about her adult children's choice of partners (tellingly they had all moved to other countries than Canada) all of whom happened to not be Canadian and the she started talking about immigration and was pretty racist in her remarks ...funnily she was so wrapped up in herself and her vitriol ranting she didn't seem to notice that the majority of the table was actually made up of the Chinese immigrants she particularly despised ... Her poor husband though he never got a word in edge ways and we heard she repeated the same rant on tours as well ...

[xlxo]

I vote for open.... I enjoy making new friends with each meal.

• Yes, I have come across some conversation issues like foreign languages and political views.
  
• I usually arrive for lunch and dinner when the MDR is just opening. I find those people to have the best conversations. Not sure why.
  
• If I can't get along with the people in front of me.... I request to be put in a new separate table. Getting there early means the front desk has an easier time with so many open tables.
  

Edited October 18, 2016 by xlxo

[summersigh]

We prefer fixed in order to have the same waiter each night. If you get a good one (Rianto on Maasdam, Gusti on Zuiderdam come to mind), they remember preferences, like who wants decaf or regular or tea after dinner. They get used to your pace through a meal and serve accordingly. I find it a smoother service than a different waiter every night.

 

We ask for a large table and in all of our cruises have been very lucky with dinner companions. My husband isn't much of a talker at dinner, either, so it's nice to have other people to share the time with. I think most people who request fixed dining large tables are people who enjoy getting to know others over the course of the week, as opposed to new introductions every night.

We're in the same school of thought as you are.

Remember - if something is wrong with your fixed seating tablemates you can go to the matrie'd (sp) and ask for a new table for the next dinner

[yorkshirephil]

We have just returned from Koningsdam where we had first sitting on a table for 6. First night 1 other pax, after 3 nights on our own we changed to open as we like to share with others. This worked fine as we met some great folks. Ideally we prefer fixed.

[sapper1]

We used to love late fixed until we had a few not so great experiences. We then tried open seating and found that it was tedious to have the same round of "where are you from" every night.

In the end we have settled on a table for two in fixed late unless we are sailing with friends. This enables us to get through dinner in an hour and be able to take in some of the evening entertainment. If there is a larger group we want to dine with on a few evenings there is always the Pinnacle.

[Herfnerd]

We've always done fixed, late seating and have always enjoyed it. We are going to try open on our next cruise to Alaska

[sammiedawg]

You do know fixed dining is the ultimate banquet experience. They are simultaneously serving hundreds the same course all at once.

Open dining is a little less banquety if you go when the dining room first opens.

[srlafleur]

We prefer open seating, and usually request a table for 2. While I'm not anti-social, I'm not a fan of forced socialization. I suspect on our next cruise, which is 18 nights and the longest we've been on, we will occasionally choose to share a table.

As for always having the same server, even with open dining, we've rarely had any issue getting seated in the same area, if not the same table, every night, if we so requested. (we are patient and flexible, so if we have to wait, or if we don't get our requested area, we just go with the flow.)

[summersigh]

You do know fixed dining is the ultimate banquet experience. They are simultaneously serving hundreds the same course all at once.

Open dining is a little less banquety if you go when the dining room first opens.

We're late fixed diners :)

Frankly, I've never heard anyone on CC raving about how much better the quality of the food from the ship kitchen is in open dining rather than in fixed :)

 

As for atmosphere - we always request a large table (6-8) and are too busy socializing with tablemates to feel we're "banqueting" rather than "dining".

JMHO

[3rdGenCunarder]

We're late fixed diners :)

Frankly, I've never heard anyone on CC raving about how much better the quality of the food from the ship kitchen is in open dining rather than in fixed :)

 

As for atmosphere - we always request a large table (6-8) and are too busy socializing with tablemates to feel we're "banqueting" rather than "dining".

JMHO

 

I agree. We've been among the last tables to leave because we've enjoyed socializing at dinner, lingering over our coffee.

 

And I don't see what's wrong with everyone being served at the same time. For one thing, it means tables aren't being cleared and resest around you while you eat. (Except for the time the waiter had to shoo us out because we were chatting so long)

[kazu]

You do know fixed dining is the ultimate banquet experience. They are simultaneously serving hundreds the same course all at once.

Open dining is a little less banquety if you go when the dining room first opens.

 

We're late fixed diners :)

Frankly, I've never heard anyone on CC raving about how much better the quality of the food from the ship kitchen is in open dining rather than in fixed :)

 

As for atmosphere - we always request a large table (6-8) and are too busy socializing with tablemates to feel we're "banqueting" rather than "dining".

JMHO

 

Agree summersigh. I've never seen a post saying that the food is better in open dining.

 

Eating at 5:30 p.m. Is NOT something we want to do ;).

[navybankerteacher]

Agree summersigh. I've never seen a post saying that the food is better in open dining.

 

Eating at 5:30 p.m. Is NOT something we want to do ;).

 

While 5:30 pm is certainly not our choice, we've found that on cruises with many sea days and time changes - like our most frequent: TA repositionings, you can easily adjust and think of 5:30 as though it were 8:00 - you really can make your own time ranges.

[kazu]

While 5:30 pm is certainly not our choice, we've found that on cruises with many sea days and time changes - like our most frequent: TA repositionings, you can easily adjust and think of 5:30 as though it were 8:00 - you really can make your own time ranges.

 

LOL :). We've done lots of TA repositionings both ways and, since the time change is only an hour at a time, we've never had a problem adjusting :D. Bests the heck out of the time change when you fly:D;)

[baja mama]

Thanks so much for your responses. I think since it is such a long cruise we will get late fixed dinner and hope we get a good group of tablemates.

[kazu]

Thanks so much for your responses. I think since it is such a long cruise we will get late fixed dinner and hope we get a good group of tablemates.

 

Good for you! Remember if your tablemates don't appeal (that doesn't happen often, but it can), you can ask to change tables.

 

You are also allowed one change on your cruise and if you have fixed dining it's easy to switch to open/anytime dining if you decide you would prefer that ;). Once it's done thought, you can't switch back.

[3rdGenCunarder]

While 5:30 pm is certainly not our choice, we've found that on cruises with many sea days and time changes - like our most frequent: TA repositionings, you can easily adjust and think of 5:30 as though it were 8:00 - you really can make your own time ranges.

 

5:30 is early for me, too. But I've found that I change to an earlier schedule when we travel. Up early to see us into ports or get ready to go ashore, and if breakfast is early, then it's OK for dinner to be early, too. We don't do cocktails before dinner, which makes the early time easier.