Koningsdam MDR

[mcrcruiser]

Have on board management  on board the ship solved the problem of long lines with beepers for any time diners ?  Back in December there were very long lines & slow service in the MSR .hope they fixed that problem 

 

What is the current environment ?

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

Have on board management  on board the ship solved the problem of long lines with beepers for any time diners ?  Back in December there were very long lines & slow service in the MSR .hope they fixed that problem 

 

What is the current environment ?

That was our experience,  too @mcrcruiser in Dec on Koningsdam. We have not been on her since then. Eurodam in May 2023 and Nieuw Amsterdam in Feb were fine - no long lines. 

Don't know what caused the lines in Dec - if it was the ship or a different internal process, but it was not good.

[erdufylla]

I was on board late May / early June, and we only had a beeper one night in the MDR, and even then, our wait was under 10 minutes for a 2-top. There would have been no wait if we wanted to join a larger table.

[crystalspin]

5 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Have on board management  on board the ship solved the problem of long lines with beepers for any time diners ? 

We were on just after you and encountered the same. Not just first night, either. When we saw lamb on the menu, we tried to make a reservation by phone, just to find the only opening was 9:30pm at a shared table. 

 

My take-away was, if you want to eat in the MDR, pick early or late and stay with it. "Any-time" means Lido or specialty. Fortunately, this situation proved that we like those options fine (except for missing the lamb), and we will stay with Anytime for our coming cruises.

[Florida_gal_50]

6 hours ago, crystalspin said:

We were on just after you and encountered the same. Not just first night, either. When we saw lamb on the menu, we tried to make a reservation by phone, just to find the only opening was 9:30pm at a shared table. 

 

My take-away was, if you want to eat in the MDR, pick early or late and stay with it. "Any-time" means Lido or specialty. Fortunately, this situation proved that we like those options fine (except for missing the lamb), and we will stay with Anytime for our coming cruises.

It was no better in November, even early at night. I was at club orange at 5:45 and there was a huge line up a good way down the ship and I’m not talking just to the doors of club orange.  Club orange was no picnic either.  Lots of long waits in the morning.

[mcrcruiser]

In December 2022 the Koningsdam had a huge problem with long lines & long dining times for any one with any time dining  . People in line where given beepers as to when they could be seated , Staff to passenger ratio was also low ,at that time . For those people who have sailed on Koningsdam with  the last couple of months .say May & J une has the problem in your opinion been resolved or does it still exist ?

 

 TIA

[mcrcruiser]

Thanks for your replies .I just added another  new post asking if the problem has been resolved about the long lines & beepers  .Hoping to get those people who sailed on Koningsdam in Alaska May & June 2023 ,to see if the problem  of long lines & beepers has been resolved .

[Haljo1935]

So what is this issue, do we think? Seems to be isolated to the Koningsdam. Having been on 3 other ships, before and after Koningsdam, I don't understand. 

[mcrcruiser]

18 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

So what is this issue, do we think? Seems to be isolated to the Koningsdam. Having been on 3 other ships, before and after Koningsdam, I don't understand. 

The issue is on Koningsfam only ,at this time

[Haljo1935]

1 minute ago, mcrcruiser said:

The issue is on Koningsfam only ,at this time

Right. And I'm asking why? What is so different about the Koningsdam or it's processes to cause that. Ugh

[3rdGenCunarder]

27 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Right. And I'm asking why? What is so different about the Koningsdam or it's processes to cause that. Ugh

 

I don't know, but I wonder if it's the size of the MDR and distance to the kitchen making service slow. Have there been similar complaints about the other Pinnacle ships?

 

Or maybe, for some unknown reason, they're limiting the number of people in fixed dining on the K more than on other ships. This puts more people in the anytime line. I have seen posts where people complain they couldn't get fixed early, even if they had booked well in advance of the cruise. (Sorry, don't remember which ships were involved)

[highscar]

We have always had fixed believing it was only available at 8pm.  Recently heard earlier.   Asked for early fixed for next cruise. Told not available.   So on late again next time.   On the K in January could not believe the length of the crowds waiting for anytime almost to the center elevator.  Ridiculous 

[mcrcruiser]

Ok so did HAL correct the long wait lines for any time dining during May & Hune in  Alaska ?

[nw gardener]

I cruised the week of June 3rd. We ate all our dinners in CO but used the elevators by the MDR to and from CO dining.  We ate around 5:30 and normal meals took about an hour.  We did not see any lines of longer than a dozen people or so at the anytime podium before or after our dining times.  So it appeared much better than experiences of 6 months ago, but I have no first hand knowledge.

[cbr663]

2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

So what is this issue, do we think? Seems to be isolated to the Koningsdam. Having been on 3 other ships, before and after Koningsdam, I don't understand. 

 

It can be ship specific in that the ship may have a large number of new or inexperienced crew that is slowing service or may be temporarily down crew due to staffing issues.  It can also be the result of a specific cruise trip in which a large number of passengers suddenly all want to dine in the MDR at the same time.  So the issue can appear on one sailing and disappear on the very next sailing or it can be with a ship for several sailings.

[Haljo1935]

4 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

 

It can be ship specific in that the ship may have a large number of new or inexperienced crew that is slowing service or may be temporarily down crew due to staffing issues.  It can also be the result of a specific cruise trip in which a large number of passengers suddenly all want to dine in the MDR at the same time.  So the issue can appear on one sailing and disappear on the very next sailing or it can be with a ship for several sailings.

Thanks.

This one seems to be plaguing Koningsdam for quite some time (Nov & Dec when we experienced it as reported by others on that same sailing), so it will interesting to see what passengers report over the next couple weeks.

[OlsSalt]

The Nov-Dec holiday cruises were also heavily impacted by larger numbers of passengers, with many family groups wanting larger tables together. This would impact the ease of  simply adding  a few unrelated people to tables.

 

 As well as many first time passengers who maybe did not know to pace out the timing of their dinner hours and they all showed up with the doors opened.

 

We were on the Konigsdam Holiday segments, and the opening time for as you wish dining was a backed-up mad house.  Confirmed. Yet, we had late fixed dining  and it was fine. 

[erdufylla]

As I stated previously, I was on the Koningsdam May 27 - June 2 and experienced almost none of these types of delays. We ate in the MDR almost every night, usually arriving sometime around 6-7pm. We were seated almost immediately most nights. We were only given beeper one of those nights, and that wait was under 10 minutes. We ate at a 2-top most nights, including the beeper night, and if we’d opted to be seated at a larger table with other people, there would have been no wait at all.
 

Others who have been on board different weeks recently and/or tried eating at different times and/or tried walking in with larger groups may report different experiences.

[Florida_gal_50]

14 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

The Nov-Dec holiday cruises were also heavily impacted by larger numbers of passengers, with many family groups wanting larger tables together. This would impact the ease of  simply adding  a few unrelated people to tables.

 

 As well as many first time passengers who maybe did not know to pace out the timing of their dinner hours and they all showed up with the doors opened.

 

We were on the Konigsdam Holiday segments, and the opening time for as you wish dining was a backed-up mad house.  Confirmed. Yet, we had late fixed dining  and it was fine. 

Why is it up to diners to “ pace out” themselves?  I don’t think there have been any issues with fixed that I’ve heard.

[OlsSalt]

35 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Why is it up to diners to “ pace out” themselves?  I don’t think there have been any issues with fixed that I’ve heard.

 

When the choice is jamming up at the entrance at opening hours and waiting, or learning to come later, it can be up to the passenger to chose.

 

Closed system ships  -efficient use of limited spaces onboard.  Not sure the highest and best use is to accommodate all diners at the opening hours only and then have the space empty the rest of the time?  

 

Pace oneself- others learn that too, in order to avoid the crowds when the Lido first opens up.  Or when to get the best seats at the onboard events. 

[mcrcruiser]

Thanks to every one .We are happy to hear that Koningsdam is back to a normal dining flow . We booked early dining table for 2 window seat on our next Hawaii cruise in  Jan 2024  ,just to avoid the possible hassle 

[ebtrip]

I haven’t been on Holland since 2019 and always had late fixed dining. On celebrity cruise we eat in private dining room Blu, so it’s anytime dining.  So this time I figured I would do the same on Koningsdam.  After reading all your posts,I have switched to late dining for our March cruise. 5:30 is just too early. 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, OlsSalt said:

 

When the choice is jamming up at the entrance at opening hours and waiting, or learning to come later, it can be up to the passenger to chose.

 

Closed system ships  -efficient use of limited spaces onboard.  Not sure the highest and best use is to accommodate all diners at the opening hours only and then have the space empty the rest of the time?  

 

Pace oneself- others learn that too, in order to avoid the crowds when the Lido first opens up.  Or when to get the best seats at the onboard events. 

Someone is not going to know that when first getting onboard.  I almost always go to the lido at lunch when it first opens because it’s less crowded.  It just gets more crowded after that.  Maybe if you go at 2 pm it’s not crowded. 

[robotpony]

On our last 18 days (April), we waited for the MDR twice, and it wasn't really that big of a deal. We grabbed a pager and grabbed a drink at the ocean bar. Before finishing our table was ready. Other nights we just walked in. November/December last year was about the same, a few nights with a pager, the rest were fine. We mostly time our MDR (or Lido) meals for when it's not as busy, or we're good to wait. Most land-based restaurants get busy too, so it doesn't seem like a big deal to us.

[albingirl]

14 minutes ago, robotpony said:

On our last 18 days (April), we waited for the MDR twice, and it wasn't really that big of a deal. We grabbed a pager and grabbed a drink at the ocean bar. Before finishing our table was ready. Other nights we just walked in. November/December last year was about the same, a few nights with a pager, the rest were fine. We mostly time our MDR (or Lido) meals for when it's not as busy, or we're good to wait. Most land-based restaurants get busy too, so it doesn't seem like a big deal to us.

Perfect response. No need to borrow trouble, as my mum would say.