Open Dining?

[erniebernie]

I am trying to find information on Open Dining on QE but cant seem to find any  can somebody please explain it to me. Thanx

[AussieVoyager]

It simply means you can turn up at any time the dining room is open - not a fixed time. It also means you don’t have a fixed table or waiter. 

Edited September 4, 2023 by AussieVoyager

[WoorimBeachLady]

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[Bell Boy]

1 hour ago, AussieVoyager said:

It simply means you can turn up at any time the dining room is open - not a fixed time. It also means you don’t have a fixed table or waiter. 

It also means you 'might' have to stand in Line whilst a table is allocated or worst still, given a Pager and told to return back . I witness all    this on my last Q.V voyage ( a birds eye view over the balcony)  from the comfort of my dedicated table.

Not really my idea of premium dining.  

[AussieVoyager]

1 minute ago, Bell Boy said:

It also means you 'might' have to stand in Line whilst a table is allocated or worst still, given a Pager and told to return back . I witness all    this on my last Q.V voyage ( a birds eye view over the balcony)  from the comfort of my dedicated table.

Not really my idea of premium dining.  

Oh, that sounds terrible. I’ve cruised twice since open dining was introduced and didn’t experience that myself, and I hope I never do!

[Pushpit]

I've had 1 bleeper over about a dozen nights on Open dining, if it's a factor it would be on the embarkation day, for some reason it tends to settle down thereafter. My bleeper went off within a few minutes. Open Dining is not for everyone, it has disadvantages, but the main advantage is personal flexibility in terms of timings. The main thread, listed above, gives lots of data points.

[Host Hattie]

We had late fixed dining on our last cruise on QM2 but the tables next to us were open. 

That wasn't great for us but the neighbours we spoke to over the 14 nights seemed to think it was working well.

Nobody mentioned long waits or pagers.

[Bell Boy]

4 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

We had late fixed dining on our last cruise on QM2 but the tables next to us were open. 

That wasn't great for us but the neighbours we spoke to over the 14 nights seemed to think it was working well.

Nobody mentioned long waits or pagers.

Your experience on QM2 was completely different to mine , in that you appeared to have Open & Fixed in the same area , was this due to an over flow from the open dining concept ? 

In your previous review you mentioned that from time to time you often experienced new neighbours, I expect they were delighted to be directed to vacant tables in the Fixed Area, no wonder they didn't experience standing in line or asked to return later. The QM2 Britannia restaurant is almost twice the size of  Queen Victoria .  

[NE John]

5 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

We had late fixed dining on our last cruise on QM2 but the tables next to us were open. 

That wasn't great for us but the neighbours we spoke to over the 14 nights seemed to think it was working well.

Nobody mentioned long waits or pagers.

When in Britannia, I’m not sure I like the idea of signing up for fixed dining with the hope of having nice dinner companions around every night only to be mixed with revolving table companions seated from open dining. 
I like the consistency of fixed dining so the waiters get to know us a bit and us getting to know those dining around us. 

[Host Hattie]

12 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

Your experience on QM2 was completely different to mine , in that you appeared to have Open & Fixed in the same area , was this due to an over flow from the open dining concept ? 

In your previous review you mentioned that from time to time you often experienced new neighbours, I expect they were delighted to be directed to vacant tables in the Fixed Area, no wonder they didn't experience standing in line or asked to return later. The QM2 Britannia restaurant is almost twice the size of  Queen Victoria .  

We were on Deck 3, we were the fixed overflow in the open area.

 

 

[seacruise9]

Hi, 

 

I recently cruised aboard the Queen Elizabeth (Aug. 15-22, 2023) and had open dining. This is on the lower level of the dining room (Deck 2). As noted above, you are not assigned to a specific time or table. However, you can use the Cunard app to make dinner reservations once you are on the ship. I did this for each evening and never had to wait for a table. I sailed solo on this cruise. When I arrived at the dining room, I was asked if would rather dine alone at a table for two or join a larger table.

 

Chuck

[Book bug]

1 hour ago, Host Hattie said:

We were on Deck 3, we were the fixed overflow in the open area.

 

 

We had the same as yourself on QM2, just disembarked today, fixed early dining on deck 3 when the rest were open dining. 

[Host Hattie]

2 minutes ago, Book bug said:

We had the same as yourself on QM2, just disembarked today, fixed early dining on deck 3 when the rest were open dining. 

Sorry to hear that, how was the experience?

 

[Book bug]

It was fine as we were a family group on a table for 6, also it was a round table so there was distance between the tables, waiters were the same throughout 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Book bug

[Host Hattie]

14 minutes ago, Book bug said:

It was fine as we were a family group on a table for 6, also it was a round table so there was distance between the tables, waiters were the same throughout 

That sounds a reasonable move, the problem we had was that we requested a table of 6 on fixed dining and we got a table for 2. Some people would be delighted but not us !

[erniebernie]

Thank you all for your replys now I just need to know what time is the fixed dining. We are on an Alaska cruise next year.

[Bell Boy]

2 hours ago, erniebernie said:

Thank you all for your replys now I just need to know what time is the fixed dining. We are on an Alaska cruise next year.

On Queen Victoria; ( 2022/23)   First sitting 5.45pm ( last call 6.15)  Second sitting 8.15pm  ( last call 8.45pm)  

Queen Elizabeth Alaska itineraries may be different timings due to evening shore side tours.   

Edited September 5, 2023 by Bell Boy

[devolve]

Is it possible to swop options once onboard 

[Pushpit]

I think the official answer is no, the unofficial answer is yes possibly. There is an expectation that you select an option and then you'll find the card in your stateroom with the table details (if fixed) so it's not as though you can mix and match. What makes you ask?

[elaine5]

Sailed QV Aug 13. We had Open dining. We arrived each evening around 6:30-6:45pm and had a table for 2-none at the same location, but we had a choice of several options. All were very good seats. We shared (our choice) 2 evenings. By 7:30 onwards, we noticed a line-some nights not much, others, significant.

[david,Mississauga]

On 9/5/2023 at 12:09 AM, erniebernie said:

Thank you all for your replys now I just need to know what time is the fixed dining. We are on an Alaska cruise next year.

 

On our June cruise to Alaska first sitting was 5:30 with last orders at 6:00. The second sitting was 7:45, last orders at 8:15.  From recollection it was the same on our first QE cruise to Alaska in 2019.