What's going on with dining on QM2???

[exlondoner]

51 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

Britannia Evening Dining Times : 

I have just  disembarked from Queen Victoria ( 11th November )

 

The new evening dining times in the Main Britannia Restaurant are as follows 

 

OPEN SITTING  5.45pm - last orders 9pm   Lower Level Deck 2

FIXED DINING ( dedicated table and waiter)   First sitting 5.45pm - last orders 6.15pm 

                                                                                Second sitting 8.15pm -last orders 8.45pm

                                                                               Fixed dining on upper level Deck 3

 

These new dining times came into effect on the 30th October voyage 2022

The times for the evening performance have been brought forward to 

8pm - 10pm 

 

After speaking with a Senior Cunard Executive ( from head office shoreside) who happened  also to be onboard my cruise,  I understand that the concept of Open & Fixed evening dining in 'the main Britannia' restaurant  will 'eventually' be consistent across the Cunard fleet. ( the times may be adjusted once the cocktail receptions are reintroduced. )  

 

QG/PG & Britannia Club Evening dining 6.30pm -9pm 

 

 

Everyone should be happy.😀

[naturelovergirl]

@Bell Boy

Question.

I was reading on a different forum today of people who were also on QV- and they had signed up for 2nd Seating but found out that they had been moved to the Open Seating option once they got on board. They asked if they could go back to being in the Fixed 2nd Seating but were told no.
The people this happened to were very unhappy as they dealt with extremely long queues and did not have the dining experience they were used to on Cunard.

Did you encounter people upset with being automatically switched to Open Seating?

Thanks.

[Underwatr]

Seems to be a larger ratio of open to fixed on QV than on QM2 (based on allocation to upper vs lower deck) which could explain why QV is having trouble seating everyone 2nd/fixed who want it.
We're planning for fixed second seating on QM2 next week and I'm encouraged to see that they're using the lower deck for fixed dining.

As far as dealing with queues, can't one book a certain seating time with open seating in advance (or even request a standing reservation for a certain time on all nights)? 

[Bell Boy]

35 minutes ago, naturelovergirl said:

@Bell Boy

Question.

I was reading on a different forum today of people who were also on QV- and they had signed up for 2nd Seating but found out that they had been moved to the Open Seating option once they got on board. They asked if they could go back to being in the Fixed 2nd Seating but were told no.
The people this happened to were very unhappy as they dealt with extremely long queues and did not have the dining experience they were used to on Cunard.

Did you encounter people upset with being automatically switched to Open Seating?

Thanks.

Naturelovergirl , I also have see that post ( on another cruise forum) It is NOT clear if the poster was on the 'full Cunard fare' or originally booked on a Guarantee basis ( even though they mentioned  'Cunard fare')

For the cruise of the 30th October I was dining in Britannia Club and I did observe long queues on deck 2, almost as far back as the Club Restaurant, however, what I can confirm is, that I met four guests (who enjoyed dancing each evening)  who had originally  booked open dining , and were not happy with the open dining concept that they had originally booked,  apparently they had no problem changing to a later time of Fixed Dining.

 

I've never understood the novelty the of open/freedom dining concept  unless it is in Grills or Club Dining where one can walk directly to their table and be welcomed  ( by name !😉)  from their dedicated waiter .

Being asked to return later or given a bleeper is not not my idea of a premium cruise line  . 

 

 

  

  

[naturelovergirl]

43 minutes ago, Underwatr said:
As far as dealing with queues, can't one book a certain seating time with open seating in advance (or even request a standing reservation for a certain time on all nights)? 

According to the person I read on the other online Cunard specific group, they said they made reservations on QV and still had long queues

(which is the unfortunate experience I had with “anytime dining” on another line a few months ago… we made reservations for every night and still stood in long lines)

[naturelovergirl]

10 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

Naturelovergirl , I also have see that post ( on another cruise forum) It is NOT clear if the poster was on the 'full Cunard fare' or originally booked on a Guarantee basis ( even though they mentioned  'Cunard fare')

Yes… I also wondered about the fare paid, @Bell Boy

 

We have Fixed Second Seating chosen for our Summer 2023 cruise.

I’m hoping that the kinks of the system are worked out by then. 

I absolutely prefer traditional dining to “anytime”.

Edited November 13, 2022 by naturelovergirl

[addo]

We rerurned from QE last week and changed from 2nd sitting to open dining as this gave us more time for evening activities.  It worked very well for us and we have now chosen this option on the World Cruise on QV. This was a table for 2 and the Maitre D was very accommodating in placing us in a quiet location.

 

At no time did we see long queues as it is possible to reserve a time slot and table size in MyVoyage.

 

 

[new to cuising]

Having just disembarked, qm2 I hadn’t realised until reading this post how new open seating was. It was problematic but there were signs of improvement by the end of voyage. I preferred the fixed dining as it gave one a chance to get to know ones waiter, however being a late booking we were not given an option and had to book each day, that said we still ended up for eight days on one of two tables.
I believe, Britannia upstairs is flexible and downstairs is fixed, but I may be wrong.

Due to larger numbers dining later, Meals were over running, and the 10pm theatre performance for the last three or four nights was rescheduled to 10.15pm start.

[NancyDrew1953]

Just now, new to cuising said:

Having just disembarked, qm2 I hadn’t realised until reading this post how new open seating was. It was problematic but there were signs of improvement by the end of voyage. I preferred the fixed dining as it gave one a chance to get to know ones waiter, however being a late booking we were not given an option and had to book each day, that said we still ended up for eight days on one of two tables.
I believe, Britannia upstairs is flexible and downstairs is fixed, but I may be wrong.

Due to larger numbers dining later, Meals were over running, and the 10pm theatre performance for the last three or four nights was rescheduled to 10.15pm start.

I’m also on the QM2 now.  The 10:15 pm start for the second theater performance appears to be a permanent change (at least according to a senior on board officer).  I am in the Club so not directly affected by problems in the main dining room, but from what I observed (and heard others discuss), last night, which was the first night of the westbound crossing, was a complete mess.  Hopefully for those dining there, it gets better as the crossing progresses.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, NancyDrew1953 said:

I’m also on the QM2 now.  The 10:15 pm start for the second theater performance appears to be a permanent change (at least according to a senior on board officer).  I am in the Club so not directly affected by problems in the main dining room, but from what I observed (and heard others discuss), last night, which was the first night of the westbound crossing, was a complete mess.  Hopefully for those dining there, it gets better as the crossing progresses.

 

I was on the Canada cruise, Britannia early seating. Our waiters were terrible. They would give us menus and disappear. One night, we sat with our menus for 25 minutes, waiting to give our orders. Because the waiter station was far away, we couldn't even wave to a waiter to get his attention. Some nights, the only way to get to the show was to skip dessert. We spoke to the Maitre d' and things moved along better, but there still were mistakes in orders, waiters not sure what sauce to offer--I was offered gravy (meant for the beef) when I had lamb chops. I got the feeling they were still understaffed and had many new/poorly trained servers. 

 

On the way out of the dining room, I always saw a queue of people waiting to be seated. Often just a few people, but one night, the queue stretched back to the middle of the elevator area.

[NancyDrew1953]

Dining in the Britannia Club, service has been excellent.  My lead waiter (Anthony) has 22 years experience (16 years on the QM2) and his associate (Amondo) is equally well trained.  Both are great at anticipating my needs and timing, quick at lunch if I am hurrying off to an event , but otherwise, accommodating my desires for a leisurely meal.  My only other experience on the QM2 (which was pre-COVID) was in the main dining room, and the Club is definitely worth the additional cost (in my view) — quiet, relaxed and very personal service.  

 

[marco]

I assume things are continuously chagning, but this was outr experience on a QM2 westbound crossing this past August.  1st sitting was at 6 (I think) set table, set time.  Then it was open sitting 7:30 to 9:30, no set table or time.  There was no set time/table  2nd sitting.

[Underwatr]

It has been discussed here that QM2 dining recently changed, I think at end of October.  We have the option to request fixed second seating on our Nov 2- - Dec 3 Caribbean trip.

 

Our options are fixed first, fixed second or open (roughly during second service). Sounds like Open is being accommodated on Deck 3 and Fixed on Deck 2.

Edited November 15, 2022 by Underwatr

[MaraHornraven]

Oh crumbs, this all sounds a bit worrying!  We're booked on QM2 for 5 nights (Dutch Christmas Markets) in December.  My mum thought sitting the 4 of us on a table of 8 would be fun, which it probably will be (I'm just a bit shy!) and we're on the Late Seating.  How likely are we to be shunted onto this chaotic sounding Open Dining?!

 

[Underwatr]

I think if you've requested fixed you'll get fixed (most of Britannia seating is on Deck 2 which is fixed).

If you find otherwise, discuss with the maitre d'.