As You Wish Dining - Opinions, Comments and Discussions

[hammybee]

Hi,

We loved Freestyle on NCL and have had good experiences with Anytime Dining until our Alaska cruise last summer when the waits were an hour and a half or more.

Does that happen on HAL?

Thanks,

 

1.5 hours???? Oh my stars.

 

I guess anything is possible if most folk decide to hit the dining room at the same time. Perhaps a reason this does not appear to happen on HAL is that dinner dining in the LIDO is a solid alternative. We experienced a wait time in the LIDO in Alaska and turned around and walked right into Open Seating.

[Kentchikan]

1.5 hours???? Oh my stars.

 

I guess anything is possible if most folk decide to hit the dining room at the same time. Perhaps a reason this does not appear to happen on HAL is that dinner dining in the LIDO is a solid alternative. We experienced a wait time in the LIDO in Alaska and turned around and walked right into Open Seating.

 

Yes it was incredible. The maitre d' kept saying that it was like that only the first night and then only the first few nights but it was like that mostly for the whole cruise.

One problem is that they don't check cruise cards and there was a plethora of passengers who didn't want late seating and so 'snuck' into anytime dining.

We finally switched to fixed late seating and had an excellent table and waiter.

Have you eaten in the Pinnacle? What's it like?

[bookbob]

Right on!! DW and I had a similar prob on the Eurodam last year.Couldn't get a table larger than 2 no matter how hard we tried.We just retuned from the Emerald Princess and had absolutely no problem.After 16 cruises(8with HAL) I can honestly say we will think twice before returning to HAL.Why is it that Princess ha sno problem but HAL seems to create them?

[Kentchikan]

Right on!! DW and I had a similar prob on the Eurodam last year.Couldn't get a table larger than 2 no matter how hard we tried.We just retuned from the Emerald Princess and had absolutely no problem.After 16 cruises(8with HAL) I can honestly say we will think twice before returning to HAL.Why is it that Princess ha sno problem but HAL seems to create them?

 

Actually our experience was on Princess and we had trouble getting a table for 2. But until then we'd had no problems with Princess' anytime dining. We're booked on the Oosterdam sailing Saturday. I'll let you know how their anytime dining goes.

Edited November 27, 2009 by Kentskie

[twinkletoes4445]

I was shocked to find that we actually loved the open seating. But what shocked us even more was that we preferred to eat in the Lido for dinner. I had convinced myself that I wouldn't be happy with the open seating (and posted that many times here), but hubby decided he wanted to try the Lido and the open seating, so figured we'd give it a try.

 

We only ate dinner in the dining room one evening. We walked up to the main entrance, and we were seated with a mother and her daughter. They were delightful and we had a wonderful evening.

 

But what we really liked was dining in the Lido for dinner. It's quiet ... and really very nice. We arrived when we were ready to eat and never waited in line. We'll never go back to fixed dining, and in fact, we have selected the open seating option for our next cruise. With the fixed, the early is too early for us, and the late is too late for us ... so the open seating, or the Lido is just perfect. It's nice to have choices. I know I sound a bit like Goldilocks ... minus the bears. :)

Edited November 27, 2009 by twinkletoes4445

[mancunian]

Twinkletoes. I so agree. The Lido option is particularly nice in hot weather, or if you are sailing somewhere with scenery. Our last cruises have not been in a hot climate so unless scenery we have been in the MDR on open seating. I actually think that for people who like to vary between these two they should be on open anyway. I was always on a guilt trip in the MDR on ships if I went to eat elsewhere because I myself hate empty spaces on tables.

 

I guess we have been very lucky but have not been on the larger ships of HAL, nor are likely to do so. What I do know is that everyone on Rotterdam (3 trips total 8 weeks) and Prinsendam (once for a fortnight) was very happy and did not have to wait. We personally tend to accept the size of table given except for 10's - I cannot hear on these - but on the occasions we have asked for a 2 - or a 4 of 6 if it is to dine with friends we have always had no trouble. Perhaps the R and S ships are better for this. We will find if this is true next time if we are third ship lucky on Volendam.

[twinkletoes4445]

Twinkletoes. I so agree. The Lido option is particularly nice in hot weather, or if you are sailing somewhere with scenery. Our last cruises have not been in a hot climate so unless scenery we have been in the MDR on open seating. I actually think that for people who like to vary between these two they should be on open anyway. I was always on a guilt trip in the MDR on ships if I went to eat elsewhere because I myself hate empty spaces on tables.

 

I guess we have been very lucky but have not been on the larger ships of HAL, nor are likely to do so. What I do know is that everyone on Rotterdam (3 trips total 8 weeks) and Prinsendam (once for a fortnight) was very happy and did not have to wait. We personally tend to accept the size of table given except for 10's - I cannot hear on these - but on the occasions we have asked for a 2 - or a 4 of 6 if it is to dine with friends we have always had no trouble. Perhaps the R and S ships are better for this. We will find if this is true next time if we are third ship lucky on Volendam.

 

I agree with you about the hot climate or scenic views. I also understand why you felt guilty about not being in the MDR for your fixed time should you decide to not be there several evenings. Having the option of dining when and where you like eliminates all the guilt! We don't like tables that seat 10. Hubby just can't hear what others are saying, and unless you know everyone at the table, you really can't talk to everyone.

 

We absolutely loved being able to eat when and where we wanted ... when we wanted. I can remember hurrying back from excursions to make the early seating on one cruise, and trying to stay awake (yep, we're dull! lol) for the late seating. There were a couple of nights that we had appetizers on our balcony and then we went to the Lido for dessert. The flexibility to do whatever we wanted has us coming back for more of the same thing on our next cruise. I know not everyone likes this set-up, but we sure do. :)

 

Enjoy your upcoming cruise on the Volendam. :)

Edited November 28, 2009 by twinkletoes4445

[Cruising-along]

.......

 

We absolutely loved being able to eat when and where we wanted ... when we wanted. I can remember hurrying back from excursions to make the early seating on one cruise, and trying to stay awake (yep, we're dull! lol) for the late seating. There were a couple of nights that we had appetizers on our balcony and then we went to the Lido for dessert. The flexibility to do whatever we wanted has us coming back for more of the same thing on our next cruise. I know not everyone likes this set-up, but we sure do. :).......

 

twinkletoes we agree!!!! We've done open dining twice now and will have it no other way from now on!! We mixed it up with Lido, room service, MDR, it was great having the choices of where and when. Each day of a cruise is different, especially on the port-intensive cruises we like. We hate being stuck with a rigid schedule. Isn't it wonderful we have choices? :)

[twinkletoes4445]

twinkletoes we agree!!!! We've done open dining twice now and will have it no other way from now on!! We mixed it up with Lido, room service, MDR, it was great having the choices of where and when. Each day of a cruise is different, especially on the port-intensive cruises we like. We hate being stuck with a rigid schedule. Isn't it wonderful we have choices? :)

 

We also picked the open dining for our next cruise. You're right ... with port-intensive cruises, the flexibility is awesome. On our other cruise, the ones we had fixed-seating, we felt rushed while we were in port. When we did the early seating, we were really pinched for time in the ports. We are finding that the older we get, the less we eat in the evening. Now that the kids have moved out, there are many times we don't even eat dinner ... or much of one, so being able to go to the Lido and have "real" dinner options is nice. By that time of the evening, we're usually interested in an appetizer and a dessert.

 

My hubby also refuses to do formal. It is what it is. He's done with tuxes and suits on a cruise. He said he does that enough at home, so I am going to do along with that because all that I care about is cruising! :)

 

It is wonderful that we have choices!! :)

[LuAnn]

Just back from the Oosterdam for the T-Day cruise! Probably not the best "test" for the Any Time Dining experience. We have used this form of dining on Princess many times, but this was our first time using this format on HAL.

 

So...this is not a fair test. But even with a "reservation" we were in a huge, long line, with no possibility of having a dining time anywhere close to our reservation time.

 

My concern was that HAL did not address the problem. Corp. office had scheduled 200 + new crew members to board on the day of our cruise in SD.... and I think many of them were dining staff personnel. So...we had the Perfect Storm. 200 + new crew members, large family groups for the holiday and the poor staff over worked. I would have liked HAL to at least address the problem with on-board passengers, so that the "newbies" who had never cruised with HAL would know that this was a "one-off" and not the norm. Many new cruisers told us they would not sail with HAL again, based on this experience. Better to "head them off at the pass'???

 

I think that this format can work...in fact, I have seen it work on Princess. Since both cruise lines are under the Carnival "Umbrella" I think it might be appropriate if HAL and Princess worked together on this format. I was told, by the Hotel Director on HAL on a previous cruise, that the various cruise lines are seperate, and they do not share soft-ware, ideas, cross-training etc. I'm not sure that this is the best way to handle new processes...why re-invent the "wheel"???

 

We had a great time and the food was excellent! But we ate all of our dinners in the Lido...a first for us...but a chance to experience a new venue and way to "dine".

 

I appreciate that HAL gave me a chance to meet with the Captain, the CD, the Hotel and Guess Relation Directors as a "group" leader. While I was certainly not that, I was the passenger who arranged the Meet and Greet with HAL for CC. And I tried to "poll" our CC members re their in-put for this cruise.

 

I think it is wonderful that HAL does this type of interaction with their passengers...it certainly proves that they are open to in-put and feed-back from their passengers!! LuAnn

[Cruising-along]

 

So...this is not a fair test. But even with a "reservation" we were in a huge, long line, with no possibility of having a dining time anywhere close to our reservation time.

 

LuAnn, I'm sorry this happened to you. It's really a shame, because it didn't have to happen. You shouldn't have had to stand in a long line if you had a reservation!

 

When we had reservations, we were told to walk up to the podium, let them know, and we were seated immediately. We never had to wait in line, not with a reservation.

 

Maybe the Oosterdam is having more of a problem, but when we sailed the Rotterdam and Zuiderdam, this is what we did and it worked perfectly.

[DavidJ]

LuAnn, I'm sorry this happened to you. It's really a shame, because it didn't have to happen. You shouldn't have had to stand in a long line if you had a reservation!

 

When we had reservations, we were told to walk up to the podium, let them know, and we were seated immediately. We never had to wait in line, not with a reservation.

 

Maybe the Oosterdam is having more of a problem, but when we sailed the Rotterdam and Zuiderdam, this is what we did and it worked perfectly.

 

On a few occaisions, we had reservations and there was still a line. The people in line also had reservations. What we did was go to a bar, have a drink and return about fifteen minutes later and the line would be gone. We were then seated right away. That worked well for us. Pierce

Edited December 14, 2009 by DavidJ
spelling error

[Kentchikan]

LuAnn, I'm sorry this happened to you. It's really a shame, because it didn't have to happen. You shouldn't have had to stand in a long line if you had a reservation!

 

When we had reservations, we were told to walk up to the podium, let them know, and we were seated immediately. We never had to wait in line, not with a reservation.

 

Maybe the Oosterdam is having more of a problem, but when we sailed the Rotterdam and Zuiderdam, this is what we did and it worked perfectly.

 

On a few occasions, we had reservations and there was still a line. The people in line also had reservations. What we did was go to a bar, have a drink and return about fifteen minutes later and the line would be gone. We were then seated right away. That worked well for us. Pierce

 

We just got back from a cruise on the Oosterdam and had to wait no longer than five minutes to be seated. We wanted a two person table so that's probably why we even had to wait that long. The reservations line was very short and most nights non existent. We got great service and Raj the maitre d' was very helpful. In fact so much so that I tried to give him a tip and he refused it saying he didn't do that much for us. Unique in the hands out world of today.

I agree with whomever wrote about Princess' anytime dining. It is horrendous. Last summer there were waits of up to two hours. We finally changed to late fixed. The problem was that a ton of peops wanted early seating so they just went into the anytime dining room and as no one checked their cruise card to see if they were supposed to be there it all got bollixed up.

[SusieKay]

We recently returned from the Eurodam and our first experience (after 20 cruises) with As You Wish Dining, and we LOVED it. We liked the flexibility of being able to eat when we were ready, and hungry, as opposed to a fixed dining time. We always ate in the MDR, and never made reservations. We never had a wait. We did not make any special requests for table size or location, and enjoyed meeting new people each evening.

We really don't cruise to form "relationships" with our servers, or make life-long friendships with our dining companions, so this was perfect for us. I do, however, expect the same service and attention we would receive in any upscale restaurant at home, and this is what we got. Try it, you might be surprised at how much you like it!!

[Mary Ellen]

We recently returned from the Eurodam and our first experience (after 20 cruises) with As You Wish Dining, and we LOVED it. We liked the flexibility of being able to eat when we were ready, and hungry, as opposed to a fixed dining time. We always ate in the MDR, and never made reservations. We never had a wait. We did not make any special requests for table size or location, and enjoyed meeting new people each evening.

We really don't cruise to form "relationships" with our servers, or make life-long friendships with our dining companions, so this was perfect for us. I do, however, expect the same service and attention we would receive in any upscale restaurant at home, and this is what we got. Try it, you might be surprised at how much you like it!!

You appear to equating "As You Wish Dining" with ONLY the open seating aspect of the program. Even the fixed seating is part of "As You Wish Dining", as is Room Service, the Lido, Pinnacle Grill...... Are you saying that those in the fixed seating aren't dining as They wish??? Are only those in open seating dining as they wish? :rolleyes:

[SusieKay]

You appear to equating "As You Wish Dining" with ONLY the open seating aspect of the program. Even the fixed seating is part of "As You Wish Dining", as is Room Service, the Lido, Pinnacle Grill...... Are you saying that those in the fixed seating aren't dining as They wish??? Are only those in open seating dining as they wish? :rolleyes:

 

As pointed out by Mary Ellen, we enjoyed "open seating", as opposed to "As you wish dining" for the evening meal . My positive comments remain unchanged. We also enjoyed the Lido, room service, and other dining venues at various other times on the ship as well.

Edited December 23, 2009 by SusieKay

[Kentchikan]

You appear to equating "As You Wish Dining" with ONLY the open seating aspect of the program. Even the fixed seating is part of "As You Wish Dining", as is Room Service, the Lido, Pinnacle Grill...... Are you saying that those in the fixed seating aren't dining as They wish??? Are only those in open seating dining as they wish? :rolleyes:

 

As pointed out by Mary Ellen, we enjoyed "open seating", as opposed to "As you wish dining" for the evening meal . My positive comments remain unchanged. We also enjoyed the Lido, room service, and other dining venues at various other times on the ship as well.

 

I think that since the Lido, the Pinnacle, and Room Service were all already in place the issue is the MDR and the service and availability in there. The other venues remain unchanged.

But for the record: The Pinnacle was wonderful. Room service was often slow. The Lido did not live up to our expectations and after two tries we eschewed further patronage.

[PegIra]

We have never sailed on any ship but Disney. We usually have the late dining seating. I wasn't sure when they asked me if we wanted the any time dining on HAL, so I said yes,now I am not sure if I should have or not. Do they have 2 dining times like Disney and do the dining times correspond with show times so we don't miss the shows? Not sure if we should call and change to a set time or not. Our Panama Canal Cruise on the Zuiderdam is April 10th.

 

This is a Christmas gift to my husband, so I am dying for Christmas to get here so I can tell him about it. He is currently in a rehab facility after having knee replacement surgery and is a little down about not being home for Christmas, so this should help cheer him up. We can do Christmas when he comes home, but I will tell him about the cruise on Christmas Day.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice,

 

Peg

[Kentchikan]

We have never sailed on any ship but Disney. We usually have the late dining seating. I wasn't sure when they asked me if we wanted the any time dining on HAL, so I said yes,now I am not sure if I should have or not. Do they have 2 dining times like Disney and do the dining times correspond with show times so we don't miss the shows? Not sure if we should call and change to a set time or not. Our Panama Canal Cruise on the Zuiderdam is April 10th.

 

This is a Christmas gift to my husband, so I am dying for Christmas to get here so I can tell him about it. He is currently in a rehab facility after having knee replacement surgery and is a little down about not being home for Christmas, so this should help cheer him up. We can do Christmas when he comes home, but I will tell him about the cruise on Christmas Day.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice,

 

Peg

 

Hi Peg,

The regular seating times correspond with show times but you can make it happen with "as you wish" dining as well. As I said we had no major problems with getting seated or with service.

Good wishes to you and your husband. It must be hard to be in rehab on Christmas day. But you're giving him such a cool present.

[Mary Ellen]

The regular seating times correspond with show times but you can make it happen with "as you wish" dining as well. As I said we had no major problems with getting seated or with service.

Why are you continuing to use the phrase "as you wish" when you are talking about the open seating aspect? This only causes confusion. I can say we had no problems with getting seated or with service with our "as you wish" dining as well. We had the fixed seating. I don't even need to use the qualifier "major".

 

I've used a large font to hopefully make things clearer in this quote from the HAL site:

As You Wish® dining

 

From a festive five-course affair to a quick, casual dinner for two, our As You Wish® dining lets you choose the venues and style that suit you.

 

The elegant main Dining Room

 

* Luxurious Dining Room, graced with fine art and antiques

* Sophisticated Rosenthal china and crisp white table linens

* Five-course menus with offerings from classic preparations regionally inspired cuisine to vegetarian options

* Your choice of traditional pre-set seating and dining times or a flexible open schedule

 

 

The Pinnacle Grill experience

 

* Intimate dining featuring Sterling Silver Beef® and fresh seafood

* Luxurious appointments including Bvlgari® china, Riedel® stemware and Frette® linens

* Extensive wine list featuring many selections rated “Excellent” by Wine Spectator

 

 

Other delightful ways to dine

 

* Fresh, cooked-to-order specialties in the Lido Restaurant for breakfast and lunch

* Made-to-order dinner entrees and tableside waiter service in the Lido Restaurant for dinner

* Complimentary 24-hour in-room dining

* The Terrace Grill on deck

* Late-night snack; Chocolate Dessert Extravaganza

* Explorations Café featuring pastries and espresso drinks

* Daily Afternoon Tea service, elevated to Royal Dutch High Tea once per cruise

[Kentchikan]

Why are you continuing to use the phrase "as you wish" when you are talking about the open seating aspect? This only causes confusion. I can say we had no problems with getting seated or with service with our "as you wish" dining as well. We had the fixed seating. I don't even need to use the qualifier "major".

 

I've used a large font to hopefully make things clearer in this quote from the HAL site:

 

Oh for the love of poor dead old Aunt Ophelia and in the hope of saving dead horses from being beaten. I merely said that since the open seating in the dining room was the part that had changed, people were concentrating on that aspect of the dining service. What you say and what I say are not mutually exclusive. This is not worth all of the hairsplitting and nitpicking.

On most threads about the unscheduled dining in all of its permutations among various lines the issue is the main dining room not the buffet or specialty restaurants or other dining venues.

FYI I can read regular type and have read what the HAL website says my comments still stand. also thanks for remarks the about "major". I will not defend or explain why I put it in so as not to cause further invectives and I would have left it out if I had known it would be a flashpoint.

Have a wonderful Christmas may you be filled with joy and love.

Edited December 24, 2009 by Kentskie

[Kentchikan]

I tried to erase my previous entry and was unable to. I apologize for "shooting from the hip". We learn in school that when someone hits you you don't have to hit back a lesson I forgot.

I have decided it is not worth my time or energy to continue this particular tangent of the discussion on this thread nor is it in the spirit of the season.

Have a magical Christmas and a joyous New Year

Edited December 24, 2009 by Kentskie

[Mary Ellen]

ALL I am asking is that one use open seating when they are talking about that aspect. I do not want to add to the confusion by using the all-encompassing phrase "as you wish" when talking about only one aspect. It doesn't make sense to use that when talking about the Lido or the PG, why use it when talking about the open seating in the MDR?

Edited December 24, 2009 by Mary Ellen

[MJYFGSL]

Its the best

[VAScot]

My wife and I recently returned from another great cruise on Holland America. My only real complaint is not being able to get the table that we wanted without going through a lot of hassle. On the last two cruises, we have had to make an issue out of getting a better table for two even though we had more expensive accommodations. While this topic is not exactly in this thread, it gives me a chance to raise the issue.