Main Seating MDR

[kazu]

I'd recommend that you try again for the dining time you prefer in January or February. It's been my experience that sometimes, for whatever reason, booking far in advance of sailing may only result in being "waitlisted" for my preferred second seating. After a few weeks/months, my travel agent is able to obtain my desired dining time.

 

I agree with this. Also, I have noticed that if you are on a collector's cruise that often they don't open up the fixed dining times until later while they are available for the different segments. I had that fixed quite quickly when I noticed that the segments had choices and we did not.

 

Prior to realizing this, we were waitlisted and always ended up with our preferred dining room time :D

[Florida_gal_50]

Absent special circumstances 15 minutes late seems incredibly rude to table mates and serving staff, to me.

While I'm not sure if I'd call it incredibly rude I do think it's rude to show up late continuously for dinner.

 

I have to chuckle ;) at the comments made by people that don't like to stand in lines. I'd love to hear from anyone that does enjoy it;p.

[KroozNut]

It's been my experience that sometimes, for whatever reason, booking far in advance of sailing may only result in being "waitlisted" for my preferred second seating.

 

Interesting, as I recently booked a sailing for Dec 2018 and had not problem getting fixed main dining confirmed at time of booking (with a request for a 6-top). :)

[KrissyCruises]

Just a general comment regarding diners who arrive late or who are a no show to their Early Fixed Seating. It can affect other passengers and their dining experience...

We have been Open Seating diners on our past few cruises with HAL. We like to keep our options open, but normally arrive at the dining room between 6 and 6:30, and sometimes request a 2 top. We are fine with getting a beeper and waiting for a table to become available.

A couple of times, due to late/no show Early Seating diners, we have been directed upstairs and seated at Fixed Dining 2 tops.

Unfortunately, when that has happened, we did not have pleasant dining experiences. We were rushed through dinner, as the stewards had to speed us up in order to prepare for the next Fixed Seating. Certainly not their fault, and I’m sure late comers (as we unwittingly became), make their jobs more difficult. The last time this happened, we were actually told to leave our table (politely, but nonetheless). Side note...we are normally quick diners, especially when dining alone, and don’t often have dessert and coffee, or linger.

Needless to say, we quickly learned not to accept an “upstairs” table when dining Open Seating during Early Fixed Seating, and prefer to wait so we aren’t given the bum’s rush.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

Just a general comment regarding diners who arrive late or who are a no show to their Early Fixed Seating. It can affect other passengers and their dining experience...

We have been Open Seating diners on our past few cruises with HAL. We like to keep our options open, but normally arrive at the dining room between 6 and 6:30, and sometimes request a 2 top. We are fine with getting a beeper and waiting for a table to become available.

A couple of times, due to late/no show Early Seating diners, we have been directed upstairs and seated at Fixed Dining 2 tops.

Unfortunately, when that has happened, we did not have pleasant dining experiences. We were rushed through dinner, as the stewards had to speed us up in order to prepare for the next Fixed Seating. Certainly not their fault, and I’m sure late comers (as we unwittingly became), make their jobs more difficult. The last time this happened, we were actually told to leave our table (politely, but nonetheless). Side note...we are normally quick diners, especially when dining alone, and don’t often have dessert and coffee, or linger.

Needless to say, we quickly learned not to accept an “upstairs” table when dining Open Seating during Early Fixed Seating, and prefer to wait so we aren’t given the bum’s rush.

 

Thanks for this tip. Useful to know that the "upstairs option" is not a good thing if it happens to us.

[Florida_gal_50]

Thanks for this tip. Useful to know that the "upstairs option" is not a good thing if it happens to us.

I've had the very same thing happen to me as the poster you quoted. I've told them I'd rather wait than to be sent upstairs.

[Homosassa]

My husband and I had early traditional seating on the Rotterdam last January. Our first night our service was timely and seamless.

 

The second night - not so much (it actually took an hour longer for dinner).

 

The third night I realized what was going on - fifteen to 45 minutes later from the start of the fixed seating, people were being led into the fixed area and being seated at empty tables or empty spots at large tables and service was coming to a halt as the waitstaff tried to catch up.

 

We spoke to the head waiter and he told us it was the open dining passengers being fit into the empty slots in fixed dining well after service had started for those passengers.

 

I told him it was unacceptable, service was suffering and it wasn't fair for the fixed sitting passengers.

 

He asked me what I thought should be done as those open sitting passengers were standing on line waiting for a table and there were open tables available in fixed seating.

 

I told him waiting for a table was part of open seating when arriving for dinner at a popular time. Disrupting service in fixed seating was not the option.

 

Next night, I noticed that no one from open seating was seated at any of the tables in my waiter's station. I mentioned it to my waiter, he looked around, leaned down and said, "I know; you complained. Thank you. It is not fair to us (the waitstaff) to have people placed late at our tables. It causes too many problems and we can't take care of our people."

[thinfool]

next night, i noticed that no one from open seating was seated at any of the tables in my waiter's station. I mentioned it to my waiter, he looked around, leaned down and said, "i know; you complained. Thank you. It is not fair to us (the waitstaff) to have people placed late at our tables. It causes too many problems and we can't take care of our people."

 

wtg!!

[bUU]

My husband and I had early traditional seating on the Rotterdam last January. Our first night our service was timely and seamless.

 

The second night - not so much (it actually took an hour longer for dinner).

 

The third night I realized what was going on - fifteen to 45 minutes later from the start of the fixed seating, people were being led into the fixed area and being seated at empty tables or empty spots at large tables and service was coming to a halt as the waitstaff tried to catch up.

 

We spoke to the head waiter and he told us it was the open dining passengers being fit into the empty slots in fixed dining well after service had started for those passengers.

 

I told him it was unacceptable, service was suffering and it wasn't fair for the fixed sitting passengers.

 

He asked me what I thought should be done as those open sitting passengers were standing on line waiting for a table and there were open tables available in fixed seating.

 

I told him waiting for a table was part of open seating when arriving for dinner at a popular time. Disrupting service in fixed seating was not the option.

 

Next night, I noticed that no one from open seating was seated at any of the tables in my waiter's station. I mentioned it to my waiter, he looked around, leaned down and said, "I know; you complained. Thank you. It is not fair to us (the waitstaff) to have people placed late at our tables. It causes too many problems and we can't take care of our people."

The problem is that they still had to serve those anytime dining passengers, and without longer waits than is reasonable given a proportional division of resources between the two groups. So what your complaint may have accomplished was double burdening some other section of the fixed dining room. Resources are clearly being stretched. Something is going to give, and eventually it will be passenger service. Our complaints can control the pace - a little - but service degradation will win out in the end because only higher priced lines intend to offer that level of service, and consumers don't have staying power with regard to market manipulation.

 

 

This post may have been entered by voice recognition. Please excuse any typographical errors.

[Hlitner]

We had a grumpy head waiter on our last cruise and he would not assign us the table we wanted, even though it was around 5:30 pm in Open.

 

Perhaps grumpy, or perhaps he had a different agenda which was how the work load was balanced between his waiters. We had a similar situation on a past Grand Med cruise (Prinsendam). We would go in the MDR around 7:45 (open sitting) and ask to share a large table. In the beginning of the cruise we would be put at a large table (for 6 or 8) and then after about 15 min when nobody else was seated at our table the waiter would take our order. When we looked around we saw quite a few other large tables with lots of empty seats and few diners. Around the 3rd or 4th day some of us started talking about how we were all being put at our own large tables,,,,,,without other diners....and yet we were all asking the share large tables, So a few of us went and talked the Maitre'd (who was handling the seating) and he explained that he wanted to spread the workload among more of his staff. Then one of the passengers went over his head to the Hotel Manager and explained that we were the paying passengers and expected our dining wishes (to share dinner with others) to be granted. Apparently the Hotel Manager had some words with the Maitre'd and we never had any further problems,

 

Hank

[sail7seas]

Main Seating is the late fixed dining -- it can start at 8 or 8:15 or 7:45 depending on the itinerary.

Early Fixed seating can be at 5:30 or 5:45 -- and one time I saw some one mention that they had to be in the dining room for the 5:15 seating.

No matter what time you have, you should arrive no later than 15 minutes after your assigned time.

 

 

We a re always main upper Traditional and only time it was priorr to 8 P.M. was in Alaska.

[kazu]

We a re always main upper Traditional and only time it was priorr to 8 P.M. was in Alaska.

 

We sailed recently and KK's info is good IMO.

 

It was 7:45 on our recent saiing to Europe.

 

The TA portion was 7:45 and the more port intensive portion was 8:00 pm.

[cb at sea]

You should be at the door by 5:50 pm.

[pamrose228]

I will be there when the time calls for.

Question do the time of the seatings change in ports that we will be at until evening

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[bUU]

I will be there when the time calls for.

Question do the time of the seatings change in ports that we will be at until evening

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I've been reading a lot of the ship daily activity sheets. I haven't seen dinner times changed from port to put.

 

This post may have been entered by voice recognition. Please excuse any typographical errors.

[thinfool]

I will be there when the time calls for.

Question do the time of the seatings change in ports that we will be at until evening

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

No.

[KroozNut]

Question do the time of the seatings change in ports that we will be at until evening

 

They do not. As an example, on our recent cruise to Mexico we were in Puerto Vallarta until 9pm, but our early fixed seating was still 5:30pm on the ship that evening.