Guests Seated in the Buffet area instead of dinning rooms.

[sandpiper35]

What is this I hear about guests being seated in the buffet area instead of the main dinning rooms?

 

Are the dinning rooms not big enough to accommodate all guests? Is this by design?

 

I have not heard of this practice in any other cruise line.

 

Cheers.

[kkttc]

What is this I hear about guests being seated in the buffet area instead of the main dinning rooms?

 

 

 

Are the dinning rooms not big enough to accommodate all guests? Is this by design?

 

 

 

I have not heard of this practice in any other cruise line.

 

 

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

I was on the seaside during 12/23 week and did learn that this marketplace buffet area is one of the main dining rooms, we weren’t assigned to it, but did think that was strange too.

 

Great ship though!

 

 

 

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[Into Cruising]

It is listed as part of the Bella experience. So not everyone has the "opportunity" to sit in the buffet at a tableclothed table and get waiter service and be able to order off of the regular MDR menu. It has to be hard to calculate the need, as people can opt for buffet, or opt for specialty dining, and some can even opt for anytime dining. I believe this is simply a contingency should the need arise. And it is not like it is not "advertised" in the small print on the Bella experience. Me thinks that many of the people who are balking at this, are not and would not opt for the Bella experience anyway. Are they not getting what they paid for, and I do not believe it has any effect on those who purchased other experiences.

 

The "experience" price points are quite new, and many people do not even realize they purchased one experience over another. I hear people complain that they did not get any drink vouchers, or they could not get the dining time they wanted or could not just assume any time dining, or they were not allowed to order room service, but that is all spelled out by MSC, and surely their Travel Agents should have explained what they are getting and not getting based on their experience choice.

[sandpiper35]

It has to be hard to calculate the need, as people can opt for buffet, or opt for specialty dining, and some can even opt for anytime dining.

 

Yes it must be very difficult to calculate the "NEED" , wonder how all other cruise lines manage to seat all their guests in the MDR's?

 

Cheers

[spidybabe]

They don't, as some other cruise lines have waits and buzzer systems at the MDR. They don't sit everybody when they want, some must wait.

Safe sailing

 

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[Cruise Junky]

When I was pricing MSC it was very clear to me that picking the Bella fare code could result in being seated in the Buffet. It shouldn't come as a surprise unless a TA didn't pass on this information.

[Into Cruising]

Just like "calculating the need for the Showroom.........over 5000 on board and the theatre hold less than a 1000. So they have 3 showings a night, still leave 2000 who could not see a show if they all wanted to. I am sure they have a figure of expected # of people who will not eat inthe main dining room, but do the buffet or specialty dining...but i am sure it varies. As they key in on how it usually works and gets some statistics under their belt, instead of SWAG's. Things will get better

[voyager89]

Anybody knows if this happens in other MSC ships?

 

As for the experiences, I unfortunately did not know. Booked through an online agency and all I got to choose (as I knew it was, at least in other cruise lines) was the stateroom type. I didnt know that within stateroom types came these experience thing. It was not until I received the confirmation when I saw INTERIOR BELLA and went online to find out what it was. However that fine print is not on the Mexican website, it even says Bella passengers can chose what time they wish to have dinner, doesnt mention a thing about the possibility of having dinner at the buffet.

 

The fact that they build smaller MDRs knowing that there might be the slightest possibility that passengers might not all fit in is beyond me. I have only done 5 cruises but I haven´t seen that anywhere else. Its a bit ridiculous if you ask me. Why build a +5000 pax ship if you know you won´t be able to accomodate them all for diner? If they wanted to go that way then they should have at least added one more complimentary venue. NCL and RCL have several. Seaside has only either buffet or MDR. or even worse, buffet MDR...

Edited January 10, 2018 by voyager89
typo

[nautica34]

Anybody knows if this happens in other MSC ships?

 

As for the experiences, I unfortunately did not know. Booked through an online agency and all I got to choose (as I knew it was, at least in other cruise lines) was the stateroom type. I didnt know that within stateroom types came these experience thing. It was not until I received the confirmation when I saw INTERIOR BELLA and went online to find out what it was. However that fine print is not on the Mexican website, it even says Bella passengers can chose what time they wish to have dinner, doesnt mention a thing about the possibility of having dinner at the buffet.

 

The fact that they build smaller MDRs knowing that there might be the slightest possibility that passengers might not all fit in is beyond me. I have only done 5 cruises but I haven´t seen that anywhere else. Its a bit ridiculous if you ask me. Why build a +5000 pax ship if you know you won´t be able to accomodate them all for diner? If they wanted to go that way then they should have at least added one more complimentary venue. NCL and RCL have several. Seaside has only either buffet or MDR. or even worse, buffet MDR...

Divina also had the buffet as an mdr in the evening. I had the Fantastica experience so assigned to mdr restaurant. I was surprised to learn that Seaside is doing the same thing, thought newer ship would have enough seats in mdr. I booked the Bella experience for my upcoming cruise on Seaside for financial reasons (going solo so paying double). I'm aware that I may be assigned buffet but hoping not.

 

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[mianmike]

Very poor planning on the part of MSC if you ask me. If a cruise line doesn't have sufficient seating capacity in the MDRs, the solution is simple, create a draw that lures pax away from the MDR and relieves pressure. A simple solution is to offer a well stocked buffet.

 

Instead, MSC decided to close the better buffet and use that as overflow leaving only a small buffet with minimal selections insuring their isn't much of a draw.

[mikesteg]

surely their Travel Agents should have explained what they are getting and not getting based on their experience choice.

 

I have no doubt that many TAs (in the US) don't actually understand and/or don't fully explain the experiences. The upgrade from Bella to Fantastica is typically cheap enough to be a no-brainer if only on the basis of the 12 free drink coupons. Considering the additional perks beyond that, any TA who is worth their salt should know to, and be able to sell that 'upgrade'.

 

 

I actually think this is a pretty smart move. Space is at a premium on a cruise ship, and the MDRs are a huge amount of space. They are minimally used outside of the dinner services, and we've seen many times (typically on a late port day) that they are far from full even at dinner.

 

I'd say the trend is continuing to move away from the old days where dinner in the MDR was an event and everybody attended. If it continues, and more people begin to pass on the MDR, MSC will have made a great decision.

 

My only concern is if this causes space issues for those of us who prefer to eat dinner in the buffet as often as not.

[mikesteg]

Very poor planning on the part of MSC if you ask me. If a cruise line doesn't have sufficient seating capacity in the MDRs, the solution is simple, create a draw that lures pax away from the MDR and relieves pressure. A simple solution is to offer a well stocked buffet.

 

I can't speak to MSC as we only have a handful of cruises on her, but Carnival is certainly been moving this way this over the past 5 or 6 years. Probably more for labor costs than space issues, but Carnival has moved to having the same food on the buffet as in the MDR, plus the usual buffet stuff. The only exception I've observed is lobster. You get what you want, and it doesn't take 90 minutes to get fed. If you want more, just go get it.

[mom2tcdx2]

I have to say the different experience packages weren't really noted as much when we originally booked the Seaside. Now we also booked our cruise back in December 2015 when they first announced the ship coming. MSC chose the cabin when we called they just asked us if we had a deck preference. The Bella information didn't appear until later on.

[galfromkazoo]

I booked the Bella experience on the Poesia and knew what I was getting into and had no problem with the restrictions. We had a table in the main dining room, not the buffet, but we did not get our requested time which can happen on any cruise.

 

If you are seated in the buffet, you get the main dining room food. I did not care where I would be served.

 

The only downside I found with the Bella experience was that you were assigned a late time to leave the ship. We were not allowed to carry off our own luggage so we did not get to start our day in Venice as early as I would have liked. It was the most organized debarkation we have ever had though. I am not sure if you are allowed to carry your own luggage off on MSC in the US. It may be different at different ports.

 

The information about the different experiences is readily available on their website. Everyone considering MSC should do their homework before booking. We were very happy with our experience but they are not like the other mainstream cruise lines in some areas. For the price, it could not be beat.

 

 

 

 

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[sidari]

The experiences are not new and have been around for quite awhile now, as a previous poster mentioned it is more to do with travel agents in the USA knowing little of how they work.

There are five in total.

Bella, Fantastica, Aurea, Wellness and Yacht club.

 

A simple check on the MSC website will give you the information on them all and what is included.

[BermudaBound2014]

According to the Daily Planners published in another thread, they have three seatings each night in Inpanema (3 x 740 = 2,220) and two seating in Seashore (2 x 922 = 1,844) for a total of 4,064 guests.

 

 

?

 

Although I didn’t double check the numbers above, I Have no reason to believe they are in accurate.

 

With that said, seaside holds 4,176 passengers at double occupancy and 5,179 at maximum capacity. I believe seaside is more likely to sail with closer to 5,000 guests due to kids sail free, but that is just my hypothesis.

 

Here is the especially yucky part (IMO).... in order for the seaside to accommodate 4,000 passengers it must turn over one of the dining rooms THREE times! As far as I can tell this is a first for the industry.

 

Turning over one dining room three times means 760 people must be assigned to a 9:45 pm dining time. According to dailies posted, dining times in inpanama are 5:30, 7:45, and 9:45 :(.

 

In keeping with the industry standard, should MSc only turn over the mdr twice the max capacity in the dining rooms is 4064- 760 or approximately 3,300 people. Means approximately 40% of people will be eating outside of the dining room.

 

With 3 seating times, the seaside is still approximately 20% over maximum capacity (which again, I believe will be closer to the norm).

 

True there are speciality restaurants but my experience with MSc is that these are very poorly attended.

 

Since yc guests do have their own dining room I should probably recalculate once yc numbers are subtracted- will do that tomorrow.

 

It has been suggested that European guests will be seated at the 9:45 time since late dining is part of the culture. While this may be true, I doubt MSc is that well organized.

 

In summary, based on the numbers, if your Bella you should be prepared to eat in the deck 8 buffet area- albeit off the regular menu with table service.

 

I’ve read that the buffet area is not being used this week for overflow, so how this all pans out is yet to be seen, but my advice is to at least be ready.

 

pS- using the buffet for overflow does happen on other MSC ships, but based on the numbers I’ve quoted above it most likely happens more on seaside.

 

 

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[riclop]

It's for any over flow if you have Bella.

[BestNC Cruiser]

Since MSC is a European cruise line, I can completely understand the late dining times, hence the third seating at 9:45. Late dinner is typical for most europeans on vacation.

 

The funny thing is that I can picture the grumpy American with a 9:45 dining time clinching his fist and all red faced telling the maitre d that a 9:45 time is the most ridiculous thing has ever heard. Then a bit later the grumpy French guy asking the same thing all red faced and mad except he has the ridiculous 5:30 dining time.

[mianmike]

Since MSC is a European cruise line, I can completely understand the late dining times, hence the third seating at 9:45. Late dinner is typical for most europeans on vacation.

 

The funny thing is that I can picture the grumpy American with a 9:45 dining time clinching his fist and all red faced telling the maitre d that a 9:45 time is the most ridiculous thing has ever heard. Then a bit later the grumpy French guy asking the same thing all red faced and mad except he has the ridiculous 5:30 dining time.

I find it curious MSC specifically marketed the Seaside as the first ship built by MSC Cruises specifically to cater to the North American market. I guess by "cater to the North American market" they meant impose their European cultural norms on the North American market. ;)

[steamboats]

It has been suggested that European guests will be seated at the 9:45 time since late dining is part of the culture.

 

Since MSC is a European cruise line, I can completely understand the late dining times, hence the third seating at 9:45. Late dinner is typical for most europeans on vacation.

 

It´s definitely not part of my culture to dine late at 9:45 pm!!! It´s part of my culture to fall asleep by 10 pm.

 

Europe is very large and there is no common culture regarding dining times. Northern Europeans (and I count me into that as German) do tend to eat early - 5 to 7 pm. Southern Europeans (those countries with higher temps like Spain, Portugal, Italy, Southern France, Greece...) tend to dine later and not earlier than 8 pm.

 

It´s like I would say it´s part of the American culture to eat late... That is true for South America and Middle America (Brasil, Argentina, Mexico...) but not for North America (US, Canada).

 

I don´t think that any of the Brits would be happy to be assigned to a 9:45 pm dinner time nor would I.

 

steamboats

[toinoi]

IThe upgrade from Bella to Fantastica is typically cheap enough to be a no-brainer if only on the basis of the 12 free drink coupons.

 

Hi Mike - just worthwhile noting that while these offers might be in some markets, aren't in others.

 

For example, in Australia, the Fantastica experience in a Balcony cabin for my Nov 2018 14 night sailing is currently over $300 more per person.

 

Fantastica doesn't include the drink coupons, or any other significant benefits than cabin selection and basic dining flexibility.

 

 

https://www.msccruises.com.au/en-au/compare-experiences.aspx

 

My only concern is if this causes space issues for those of us who prefer to eat dinner in the buffet as often as not.

 

Totally agree!

[EssG]

When I was pricing MSC it was very clear to me that picking the Bella fare code could result in being seated in the Buffet. It shouldn't come as a surprise unless a TA didn't pass on this information.

 

There is NO info re Bella possibly being seated in the Buffet on the Australia Website

[EssG]

We are also booked Bella as the only additional benefits on the Australian Website for Fantastica was free room service, some kid's activities, plus preference for choosing your dinner slot, and the price difference was $150 per person .....The website stated "International freshly prepared cuisine in the main restaurant " for Bella and nowhere mentioning the of possibility of being assigned Buffet rather than MDR, so since we have never use room service on any of our cruises (free or not) , dont have kids and willing to accept the later sitting if we could not get our requested early sitting, it wasnt a hard decision to go for Bella which had cabins on our preferred position mid ship level 10 (I get sea sick) and keep the $300 to spend on board for what ever we wanted to do .....I emailed MSC after the discussion here to ask if it was true that Bella Experiance was put in the Buffet for dinner instead of the MDR and this was the response I received.

 

This overflow to one of the Buffet areas (there are 2 on the Seaside) may occur from time to time however it is not the normal process. When you check-in you are allocated a dinning time/restaurant. We do not purposely exclude any of our passenger from the main dinning rooms. Only if they arrive very late to the allocated dinning room or are not happy with dinning time provided are they then directed to the Buffet area. The Buffet area may have same/similar dishes on themed nights.

[ashley@cruisecritic]

Just like "calculating the need for the Showroom.........over 5000 on board and the theatre hold less than a 1000. So they have 3 showings a night, still leave 2000 who could not see a show if they all wanted to. I am sure they have a figure of expected # of people who will not eat inthe main dining room, but do the buffet or specialty dining...but i am sure it varies. As they key in on how it usually works and gets some statistics under their belt, instead of SWAG's. Things will get better

 

I'm told they offer more than one show per night, each with more than one performance. The shows will also appear on more than one night, so those who didn't get to see a particular one the first time will likely have another chance.

[steamboats]

I emailed MSC after the discussion here to ask if it was true that Bella Experiance was put in the Buffet for dinner instead of the MDR and this was the response I received.

 

This overflow to one of the Buffet areas (there are 2 on the Seaside) may occur from time to time however it is not the normal process. When you check-in you are allocated a dinning time/restaurant. We do not purposely exclude any of our passenger from the main dinning rooms. Only if they arrive very late to the allocated dinning room or are not happy with dinning time provided are they then directed to the Buffet area. The Buffet area may have same/similar dishes on themed nights.

 

Interesting answer as usually with a fixed dining time you have a fixed table. The only ones having a flexible dining time is Aurea. And from the reports of cruisers who have been onboard already one of the buffet restaurants does serve as third main dining room for Bella - of course it´s not buffet style and you get the same menu as in the other two main dining rooms.

 

steamboats