Table for 2?

[ballroom-cruisers]

4 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Majority of cruiser's feel that way and on other cruise lines flexible dining is now far more popular than fixed dining especially with new cruiser's. With reference to Cunard fist sitting at 5-45pm is far too early and 8/8-30 too late. Like I said before Cunard are one of the last to offer flexible dining and they are doing it because it is what is wanted by many cruiser's and Cunard have to move with the times.

 

 

Plenty of people, us included, are very happy with dinner fixed at 6pm, especially if we want to dance from around 7.30pm in the Queens Room.  By all means give some the option to queue for 'flexible' dining and all that it entails, but please leave the things that some of us like as they are. If too many things that were in the list of those we and others enjoyed for years are removed, we may well also become removed from continuing to book with Cunard. Already in the past year we, and quite a few friends, have been enjoying land based holidays that we have found as pleasurable as a cruise - it is not the same as being at sea, and it is not the same as arriving in port in the morning at a new location multiple times in a voyage, but at least there is a large dance floor, ballroom dancing that we like, and nobody trying to say the ballroom should be used for non-ballroom events, and we do have nice meals in the hotel dining rooms. Yes we would love to continue cruises but only if we can retain a reasonable fraction of the things we like about cruises with Cunard. If Cunard becomes the same as the many other cruise lines offering voyages on similar itineraries, then what is it that would make Cunard special, and a cruise of choice over other lines?

Edited November 25, 2022 by ballroom-cruisers
missing word

[majortom10]

47 minutes ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

Plenty of people, us included, are very happy with dinner fixed at 6pm, especially if we want to dance from around 7.30pm in the Queens Room.  By all means give some the option to queue for 'flexible' dining and all that it entails, but please leave the things that some of us like as they are. If too many things that were in the list of those we and others enjoyed for years are removed, we may well also become removed from continuing to book with Cunard. Already in the past year we, and quite a few friends, have been enjoying land based holidays that we have found as pleasurable as a cruise - it is not the same as being at sea, and it is not the same as arriving in port in the morning at a new location multiple times in a voyage, but at least there is a large dance floor, ballroom dancing that we like, and nobody trying to say the ballroom should be used for non-ballroom events, and we do have nice meals in the hotel dining rooms. Yes we would love to continue cruises but only if we can retain a reasonable fraction of the things we like about cruises with Cunard. If Cunard becomes the same as the many other cruise lines offering voyages on similar itineraries, then what is it that would make Cunard special, and a cruise of choice over other lines?

Nobody, especially me, is saying that Cunard should stop offering fixed dining just that like nearly all other cruise lines they should have it as an option because that is what many now want but obviously not all.

[mcloaked]

That may well be but from what quite a few people seem to be posting, 'flexible' dining seems to be a recipe for a poor and chaotic experience for both guests and dining room staff for quite a few even if it works OK for others.

[PORT ROYAL]

5 minutes ago, mcloaked said:

That may well be but from what quite a few people seem to be posting, 'flexible' dining seems to be a recipe for a poor and chaotic experience for both guests and dining room staff for quite a few even if it works OK for others.

Pleased one mentioned dining staff, as they are also not fully happy with flexible, because their additional gratuities are almost non existent when there.

[LB_NJ]

42 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said:

Pleased one mentioned dining staff, as they are also not fully happy with flexible, because their additional gratuities are almost non existent when there.

 

From what I've read here I am not exactly sure how flexible dining works on Cunard.  On Celebrity and Royal if you select their version of flexible dining then they let you make specific time dinning reservations more than 5 months in advance.  Like a regular restaurant there is a chance that if you have waited too long to book the particular time slot you would like it may be full and you have to pick another time. With their versions of flexible dining, you are almost always put at a table size of the number of people in the group.  I.e., if there are 2 people in your group then a 2 top, 4 people a table for 4, etc.

If you book the same time every night (eg, because you prefer to eat 1 hour later than the first seating) they strive to put you at the same table with the same waiters. This "can" work well as the waiters get to know the passengers and the passengers are more likely to provide an extra gratuity to the wait staff.

 

Usually, the first night can be chaotic as many of the passengers are confused or want something specific, etc.  After that it runs pretty smooth except that those who have not made a reservation may be given a beeper and have to wait 30 minutes to an hour for a table.  They usually have 2 lines, one for those with reservations and one for those without.

 

I relay the information here just for comparison with Cunard.

[Bell Boy]

2 hours ago, mcloaked said:

That may well be but from what quite a few people seem to be posting, 'flexible' dining seems to be a recipe for a poor and chaotic experience for both guests and dining room staff for quite a few even if it works OK for others.

You are correct ,  and  I can confirm, the majority of restaurant crew & Sommeliers (Cunard seasoned crew )  already don't like it ......How do I know this 

In conversation with dozens of  them the other week 😉

Many have told me they already miss the evening interaction with their guest . 

Edited November 25, 2022 by Bell Boy

[ballroom-cruisers]

So now the situation is that in the attempt to change things to satisfy the demand from the freedom diners there are probably many more dissatisfied guests than there dissatisfied freedom diners in the original system. The road to progress can be a problematic one if not considered with due attention to potential bad side effects!

[majortom10]

3 hours ago, mcloaked said:

That may well be but from what quite a few people seem to be posting, 'flexible' dining seems to be a recipe for a poor and chaotic experience for both guests and dining room staff for quite a few even if it works OK for others.

Why should it mean a poor and chaotic experience done freedom/anytime dining for a few years especially on Princess and have never had a poor or chaotic experience or any difference of food quality.

[majortom10]

1 hour ago, Bell Boy said:

You are correct ,  and  I can confirm, the majority of restaurant crew & Sommeliers (Cunard seasoned crew )  already don't like it ......How do I know this 

In conversation with dozens of  them the other week 😉

Many have told me they already miss the evening interaction with their guest . 

Unfortunately the customer comes first and if that is what the customer demands then Cunard have to supply that or lose custom. I am sure Cunard sort out the problem of waiting staff as end of the day they run a cruise line to please customers and not staff  at the expense of customers or if they do customers will walk and go somewhere else.

[majortom10]

16 minutes ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

So now the situation is that in the attempt to change things to satisfy the demand from the freedom diners there are probably many more dissatisfied guests than there dissatisfied freedom diners in the original system. The road to progress can be a problematic one if not considered with due attention to potential bad side effects!

That is what was said when P&O introduced freedom dining and even they were late to the game after Princess. It now transpires that freedom is more popular than fixed dining.

[ballroom-cruisers]

If it is to please customers why are there so many complaints about the service in Britannia Dining Room?

[exlondoner]

2 minutes ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

If it is to please customers why are there so many complaints about the service in Britannia Dining Room?

I think the complaints were largely because they abolished the later fixed sitting. Now that has been reinstated, many seem to be happier.

[ballroom-cruisers]

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

I think the complaints were largely because they abolished the later fixed sitting. Now that has been reinstated, many seem to be happier.

 

So it would seem that keeping fixed dining will please those who want it - good. Time will tell whether people are largely now content, on both sides of that passenger desire, or if the grumbles in the forum will continue concerning dining service and satisfaction. After all dining is a very key, and high priority, factor for most on a cruise.

[majortom10]

38 minutes ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

 

So it would seem that keeping fixed dining will please those who want it - good. Time will tell whether people are largely now content, on both sides of that passenger desire, or if the grumbles in the forum will continue concerning dining service and satisfaction. After all dining is a very key, and high priority, factor for most on a cruise.

All cruise lines that do open dining also still do fixed at the moment and there is not a problem or drop in standards so I don't see a problem.

[TheOldBear]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

I think the complaints were largely because they abolished the later fixed sitting. Now that has been reinstated, many seem to be happier.

On QM2 late seating reserved tables were re-introduced on 1 November, on the Britannia lower level. We were able to secure a late seating reserved table for the preceding eastbound crossing as the couple we were sharing the table [linked booking] had special dietary needs. It is much easier to deal with special needs with the same table/waiter each night. 

'Open' dining was only on the upper level for the late seating - starting at about 8PM, a touch earlier than the reserved tables on the lower level.

 

I believe that the early seating was all reserved tables (upper and lower levels) for our entire time onboard.

[Camgirl]

3 hours ago, majortom10 said:

Why should it mean a poor and chaotic experience done freedom/anytime dining for a few years especially on Princess and have never had a poor or chaotic experience or any difference of food quality.

On the Princess cruise we took, we never had anything that was not both chaotic and a poor experience with their freedom dining. Every evening was bad. And neither the quality or choice of food were a patch on that served in the Britannia restaurants with Cunard. 

[majortom10]

10 minutes ago, Camgirl said:

On the Princess cruise we took, we never had anything that was not both chaotic and a poor experience with their freedom dining. Every evening was bad. And neither the quality or choice of food were a patch on that served in the Britannia restaurants with Cunard. 

You can always have a bad experience and having done many Princess cruises where anytime dining has been available I can honestly say never had a chaotic or poor experience. I think you must have been unlucky as that is not the norm.

[techteach]

For me, early dining is too early, late is too late. As a diabetic I try to eat at the same time every evening which is 6:30. When we board I hope to book 6:30 for every night. We are assigned freedom dining on our booking. We aren’t big on attending shows and with rotator cuff tears there won’t be any ball room dancing! We shall see soon, 21 days.

[LB_NJ]

48 minutes ago, techteach said:

For me, early dining is too early, late is too late. As a diabetic I try to eat at the same time every evening which is 6:30. When we board I hope to book 6:30 for every night. We are assigned freedom dining on our booking. We aren’t big on attending shows and with rotator cuff tears there won’t be any ball room dancing! We shall see soon, 21 days.

 

I am unfamiliar with the process. I assume that with the flexible option you can't reserve dining times prior to boarding. Once you board can you pre-reserve dining times for the whole cruise.

[PORT ROYAL]

4 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

 

I am unfamiliar with the process. I assume that with the flexible option you can't reserve dining times prior to boarding. Once you board can you pre-reserve dining times for the whole cruise.

One may have misunderstood , but on reading CC posts, it appears there is no pre booking of actual time, one rocks up, joins a queue for the MD to be allocated the required table size.  If none available, one is given a pager for summoning when one’s request is available.  There could be a longish wait on pager hold.
Also, if one had a good dining experience the previous evening, wishing the same waitstaff, one will be seated in the general area, if not the actual table.  Again may be subject to pager.

Corrections accepted.

Personal note:

Still don’t get why so many cruisers like freestyle, as this, in one’s HOPO, could not be considered being part of the ambiance of a total Cunard experience.  It’s just eating.  But it is what it is.  

[majortom10]

4 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

 

I am unfamiliar with the process. I assume that with the flexible option you can't reserve dining times prior to boarding. Once you board can you pre-reserve dining times for the whole cruise.

Depends on cruise line, some you can, but normally the MDR is open say for example 6 pm to 9-30pm and you turn up at anytime at your discretion. One day you could turn up at 6-30 and the next day at 8pm if that what suits you

 

 

[majortom10]

We enjoy the flexibility of eating when we want and can vary day by day depending on whether a port day or sea day and what we have eaten at lunch time. I think the only downside for Cunard is that some that have booked BC for the flexibility of open dining might now book a balcony and eat in Britannia and lose Cunard money.

 

 

[PORT ROYAL]

1 hour ago, majortom10 said:

We enjoy the flexibility of eating when we want and can vary day by day depending on whether a port day or sea day and what we have eaten at lunch time. I think the only downside for Cunard is that some that have booked BC for the flexibility of open dining might now book a balcony and eat in Britannia and lose Cunard money.

 

 

Although, fully agree there is flexibility, but one does not book BC solely for the this aspect.  It’s the total Cunard BC dining experience, from service excellence to flambé.  So old school and one does not do queues, if they can be avoided.
We tried PG, but very happy with BC, because allows more Cunard Voyages to be taken per year on, what appears to be, our second homes.  Our best year to date (pre COVID) is 173 nights.

[ballroom-cruisers]

Queuing for long periods to get to dinner is not a way that we would find acceptable for dinner on holiday. Dinner every evening is an occasion for us, not merely a time to shovel food down our throats and re-fuel for the next 6 hours. In order to be an 'occasion' for us it has to be enjoying time with interaction with our waiter(s), and taking time to have enjoyable conversations along with enjoying the flavours and presentation of each dish from starter through main to dessert and taking time for a coffee and petit fours. Not everyone wants that, but we are certainly not alone in wanting to enjoy dinner in particular as a special event, and not just on Gala nights.

[PORT ROYAL]

18 minutes ago, ballroom-cruisers said:

Queuing for long periods to get to dinner is not a way that we would find acceptable for dinner on holiday. Dinner every evening is an occasion for us, not merely a time to shovel food down our throats and re-fuel for the next 6 hours. In order to be an 'occasion' for us it has to be enjoying time with interaction with our waiter(s), and taking time to have enjoyable conversations along with enjoying the flavours and presentation of each dish from starter through main to dessert and taking time for a coffee and petit fours. Not everyone wants that, but we are certainly not alone in wanting to enjoy dinner in particular as a special event, and not just on Gala nights.

A personal point view so eloquently put.