As You Wish Dining - Opinions, Comments and Discussions

[cruzincurt]

Care to explain that a bit more?

Sure, on our last HAL cruise we changed to my time because we didn't care to be a a table of eight. We went to the my time dining room and were told to come at 6:00 or 8:00 because they didn't re-set tables for two after they were used twice. So we arrived at 7:30, had to wait until 8:00. Then we were guided to a table for two in the extreme rear of the ship after having walked past numerous empty tables that were not re-set. They kept trying to seat us at tables for 8 ignoring the unset 2 tops.

 

That was 18 months ago, perhaps by now HAL has figured out that my time dining means you re-set the tables after the diners leave so you can accommodate those waiting to dine on "my" time. One other HAL item that PO'd us was we decided to go to the buffet one night...it was closed for staff only.

 

I have been in other my time dining rooms on other cruise lines and watched them immediately re-set tables once the diners leave.

 

HAL can save themselves some money by not mailing us literature every week.

Edited June 6, 2013 by cruzincurt

[Boytjie]

Cruzincurt, that sounds rather unusual. Now we have only done charters and these for the last 4 years or so it has been all open dining and we never had issues, so they know how to do it.

 

As for getting mailings from HAL: after 6 cruizes on HAL we have never gotten any mailings. One cruise on Cunard and we get mailings all the time. Go figure.

[Kathie859]

Cruzincurt, that sounds rather unusual. Now we have only done charters and these for the last 4 years or so it has been all open dining and we never had issues, so they know how to do it.

 

As for getting mailings from HAL: after 6 cruizes on HAL we have never gotten any mailings. One cruise on Cunard and we get mailings all the time. Go figure.

 

It sounds different than my last experience with open seating (March, 2013, Zaandam). On the 2 week cruise, we waited- maybe 10 minutes max- just 2-3 times for a table. Otherwise, we were seated quickly. We didn't make advance reservations either. Open seating information says you can call for a specific time--but we only called once--it was no big deal.

 

RE: Mailings. I just called HAL for a hard copy of their 2014 sailings! DH is a hands on guy who needs to see something (not on line) to get excited. OTOH, Viking sends me brochures regularly and I've never sailed with them!

[froggy500]

Just got off the Maasdam on a New England cruise. As You Wish dining was an absolute disaster. Customers were booked into fixed dining, and then at some point were told there was no more fixed dining available and were booked into As You Wish. When we went down to the dining room the first night around 7:15PM, we were told that the dining room didn't have enough capacity for the number of As You Wish customers, and there was a 1 1/2 hour to 2 hour wait time to be seated, and that you had to physically stand on line for that time. It was strongly recommended that we eat at the Lido (buffet) instead, and that we make reservations for the remainder of the cruise. When we went to the Lido, it turned out that the Lido closed supposedly at 8PM, but they actually shut it down about 10 minutes early. On subsequent nights I made advanced reservations (which worked out in the dining room), but you could only make reservations at either 5:15PM or 7:45PM. These times corresponded to early and late seatings. This is the first cruise ship I have ever been on where you could actually get locked out of dinner.

[terrydtx]

Just got off the Maasdam on a New England cruise. As You Wish dining was an absolute disaster. Customers were booked into fixed dining, and then at some point were told there was no more fixed dining available and were booked into As You Wish. When we went down to the dining room the first night around 7:15PM, we were told that the dining room didn't have enough capacity for the number of As You Wish customers, and there was a 1 1/2 hour to 2 hour wait time to be seated, and that you had to physically stand on line for that time. It was strongly recommended that we eat at the Lido (buffet) instead, and that we make reservations for the remainder of the cruise. When we went to the Lido, it turned out that the Lido closed supposedly at 8PM, but they actually shut it down about 10 minutes early. On subsequent nights I made advanced reservations (which worked out in the dining room), but you could only make reservations at either 5:15PM or 7:45PM. These times corresponded to early and late seatings. This is the first cruise ship I have ever been on where you could actually get locked out of dinner.

 

The same thing happened to us on the Nieuw Amsterdam a couple of nights. I hate traditional seating times and prefer to eat when we want but when all you can get for reservations are 5:15 or 7:45 you might as well call it traditional seating. This is why we are trying an NCL cruise this year for the first time with Freestyle dining in all restaurants and no having to take an extra suit case of formal clothes just to eat diner at night on a hot Caribbean cruise. After 8 HAL cruises I think we have said good bye for now. :D

Edited June 20, 2013 by terrydtx

[JCMass.]

Just got off the Maasdam on a New England cruise. As You Wish dining was an absolute disaster. Customers were booked into fixed dining, and then at some point were told there was no more fixed dining available and were booked into As You Wish. When we went down to the dining room the first night around 7:15PM, we were told that the dining room didn't have enough capacity for the number of As You Wish customers, and there was a 1 1/2 hour to 2 hour wait time to be seated, and that you had to physically stand on line for that time. It was strongly recommended that we eat at the Lido (buffet) instead, and that we make reservations for the remainder of the cruise. When we went to the Lido, it turned out that the Lido closed supposedly at 8PM, but they actually shut it down about 10 minutes early. On subsequent nights I made advanced reservations (which worked out in the dining room), but you could only make reservations at either 5:15PM or 7:45PM. These times corresponded to early and late seatings. This is the first cruise ship I have ever been on where you could actually get locked out of dinner.

 

 

This is our first time on HAL, we leave next Saturday for this same cruise. There are 6 of us traveling together and we want to sit at the same table, and with just the six of us. Since this is a very port intensive cruise we wanted to plan day to day, which is the reason we choose As You Wish Dining. After reading here it seems like there are nothing but problems with the system.

 

Your experience makes me want to make reservations for the entire week ahead of time, and then change it each day as we know our schedule.

 

Are the problems with those who walk up and think there will be a table available ? I figured if we made reservations before 4 pm each day we would be fine. Also can you call in the reservations or do you have to show up in person to make them ? We may want to head off for the day, and not be around to stand in line to make reservations.

[terrydtx]

This is our first time on HAL, we leave next Saturday for this same cruise. There are 6 of us traveling together and we want to sit at the same table, and with just the six of us. Since this is a very port intensive cruise we wanted to plan day to day, which is the reason we choose As You Wish Dining. After reading here it seems like there are nothing but problems with the system.

 

Your experience makes me want to make reservations for the entire week ahead of time, and then change it each day as we know our schedule.

 

Are the problems with those who walk up and think there will be a table available ? I figured if we made reservations before 4 pm each day we would be fine. Also can you call in the reservations or do you have to show up in person to make them ? We may want to head off for the day, and not be around to stand in line to make reservations.

 

Our last 3 HAL cruises we had the open dining with groups of 6 (2 times) and 8 on our last cruise. As I said earlier you can not make reservations for the prime diner times of 5:30 to 7:30pm, it is just walk up and take pot luck. What we did find was we could make 7:45 reservations and show up a little after 7pm and get right to our table as the people eating early had already finished and tables we turned over. One night we tried to walk up for a 6:30 table and were told a 30 minute wait so we went to one of the specialty restaurants and walked right in. We were in a suite for the last HAL cruise and even that didn't get us any reservation making priority but we did have a concierge that would call and make the reservations for us at 5:15 or after 7:45pm. whoopydoo. This year its NCL and Freestyle cruising for us and I think we will like it and never cruise again on stuffy and old folks HAL. Also looking forward to being as casual as we want for all dining venues on NCL too.:D

Edited June 23, 2013 by terrydtx

[Beepsmom]

This is our first time on HAL, we leave next Saturday for this same cruise. There are 6 of us traveling together and we want to sit at the same table, and with just the six of us. Since this is a very port intensive cruise we wanted to plan day to day, which is the reason we choose As You Wish Dining. After reading here it seems like there are nothing but problems with the system.

 

Your experience makes me want to make reservations for the entire week ahead of time, and then change it each day as we know our schedule.

 

Are the problems with those who walk up and think there will be a table available ? I figured if we made reservations before 4 pm each day we would be fine. Also can you call in the reservations or do you have to show up in person to make them ? We may want to head off for the day, and not be around to stand in line to make reservations.

 

I can't answer for the ship you're going on, but we just took a 26 day Mediterranean cruise on the Noordam in April/May 2013. We had "as you wish" dining because of the many ports/tours we were taking. It worked out beautifully. They would let us make 4 days reservations at a time. All we had to do was call from our cabin phone...you didn't have to wait in any lines. They did have 2 different check-in lines...one for people with reservations and one for "walk ins". We only encountered 1 or 2 nights when we couldn't get a table for 2 at the time we liked. We even found a wait staff/table that we really liked and we would request a specific table, which we were able to get 95% of the time. We are going on the Noordam again in November and we are looking forward to the "as you wish" dining again. Hope you have a good experience as well!

[nu2cruze]

We always choose open seating. It is so much easier, flexible, eat with who you want, when you want and can ask for a table sharing to meet new people. If you want you can have dinner with the same people again by just arranging it with them. We don't even bother with reservations and it works just great.

 

This sounds like what I was looking for with AYWD open seating. We have only cruised with Seabourn up until now and you could just walk into the dining room, indicate if you wanted to sit by yourselves or with others and be seated immediately. Some of the other posts make the process sound complicated! I guess faced with a long wait I'd opt for another venue or even room service.

 

 

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[Boytjie]

This sounds like what I was looking for with AYWD open seating. We have only cruised with Seabourn up until now and you could just walk into the dining room, indicate if you wanted to sit by yourselves or with others and be seated immediately. Some of the other posts make the process sound complicated! I guess faced with a long wait I'd opt for another venue or even room service.

 

My guess would be Seabourn can accomodate a bigger percentage of its passengers at the same time compared to HAL. And you pay more to get that.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Boytjie

[kennicott]

This sounds like what I was looking for with AYWD open seating. We have only cruised with Seabourn up until now and you could just walk into the dining room, indicate if you wanted to sit by yourselves or with others and be seated immediately. Some of the other posts make the process sound complicated! I guess faced with a long wait I'd opt for another venue or even room service.

 

 

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As far as dining that has pretty been our experience as well, on the lines we use. We dislike traditional seating anymore. We have cruised a lot and never had an unpleasant one. Started with Princess but as they transitioned into larger and larger ships we pretty much dropped them; we prefer smaller expedition size vessels. In recent years we have alternated our voyages between Regent and HAL.

 

Terrydtx says: "This year its NCL and Freestyle cruising for us and I think we will like it and never cruise again on stuffy and old folks HAL. Also looking forward to being as casual as we want for all dining venues on NCL too."

 

We don't share that opinion and find that Berlitz offers the best comprehensive review of each ship as well as that for each line.

 

Some argue Berlitz reviews only offer the sole opinion of a one, Douglas Ward, and are repeat with error. But, Ward and company reach out in extensively more detail to far more than say, our peer group Cruise Critic cruise reviews do with their limited assessments. Rather, Berlitz does indeed take into consideration personal voyager reviews as well as getting into the nitty-gritty aspects of cruise life so important to all of us. Anyway here is the latest, and they do make sense; to us anyway:

 

Of the eleven major lines, summarizing all the different categories such as food, service, cabins, open decks, quality of ingredients, wine lists, dining room/cuisine, bars, etc. etc.etc. here they are;

 

1. Cunard

2. Celebrity

3. MSC

4. Princess

5. HAL

6. P & O Cruises

7. NCL

8. Star Cruises

9. Costa Cruises

10. Carnival

11. Royal Caribbean

[peaches from georgia]

My guess would be Seabourn can accomodate a bigger percentage of its passengers at the same time compared to HAL. And you pay more to get that.

If memory serves me Seabourn can accommodate all of their pax in the one level MDR at one time. Since there are also 3 other alternative dining venues plus a great Room Service menu with tablecloth service the MDR never seems overly crowded or rushed. There are no traditional fixed seating times as you can be seated whenever you arrive. Service great, professional yet friendly wherever you are seated.

[Shetlander]

Our last 3 HAL cruises we had the open dining with groups of 6 (2 times) and 8 on our last cruise. As I said earlier you can not make reservations for the prime diner times of 5:30 to 7:30pm, it is just walk up and take pot luck. What we did find was we could make 7:45 reservations and show up a little after 7pm and get right to our table as the people eating early had already finished and tables we turned over. One night we tried to walk up for a 6:30 table and were told a 30 minute wait so we went to one of the specialty restaurants and walked right in. We were in a suite for the last HAL cruise and even that didn't get us any reservation making priority but we did have a concierge that would call and make the reservations for us at 5:15 or after 7:45pm. whoopydoo.

 

We are going on our first HAL cruise on 19th October on Ryndam and are currently booked on Anytime Dining. We tried flexible dining on our last cruise and it worked well albeit we ended up going at the same time to the same table anyway. We have 2 boys (9 & 5) and I thought that this might give us a bit extra flexibility and maybe a greater chance of a table for 4 (not that we're that bothered about that). However reading through these posts it seems like we might be better off going for the fixed dining at 8pm (which is pretty much our preferred time anyway).

 

I'd be interested in others' experiences on Ryndam which might be a bit different being one of the smaller ships.

 

Thanks

[sunset sails]

We are sailing for the first time with Holland America on the Nieuw Amsterdam later this year and have chosen As You Wish Dining. In the past, we have sailed NCL with Freestyle Dining and Celebrity. On Celebrity, we had the late seating on one cruise and found that to be a little too late while the early seating was way too early. Ok, I sound like Goldilocks here :) On our cruises since that time, we have chosen select dining where we went to dinner when we wanted. That worked out well since we made a reservation for a time we liked and since we were traveling with friends, we all knew what time to meet.

 

On this cruise, we are traveling alone for the first time and want a table for 2. My questions are:

 

1) Has anyone had experience on the Nieuw Amsterdam with As You Wish Dining and how was it?

2) Will we have trouble getting a table for two in the As You Wish area of the MDR and should we make reservations?

3) What time is the late seating for traditional dining.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

[hypercafe]

We also prefer to eat when we want, not when the cruise line wants us to. I have found if you are on a ship that was built for fixed dinning and then had anytime dinning shoehorned into the dinning room it becomes hit and miss.

 

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[Mary Ellen]

We are sailing for the first time with Holland America on the Nieuw Amsterdam later this year and have chosen As You Wish Dining. In the past, we have sailed NCL with Freestyle Dining and Celebrity. On Celebrity, we had the late seating on one cruise and found that to be a little too late while the early seating was way too early. Ok, I sound like Goldilocks here :) On our cruises since that time, we have chosen select dining where we went to dinner when we wanted. That worked out well since we made a reservation for a time we liked and since we were traveling with friends, we all knew what time to meet.

 

On this cruise, we are traveling alone for the first time and want a table for 2. My questions are:

 

1) Has anyone had experience on the Nieuw Amsterdam with As You Wish Dining and how was it?

2) Will we have trouble getting a table for two in the As You Wish area of the MDR and should we make reservations?

3) What time is the late seating for traditional dining.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

You were able to "choose" As You Wish Dining? Every time I've looked at the HAL site for booking a cruise the only options have been "open seating", "early dining", or "main dining". HAL has been using the phrase "As You Wish" to cover all of the dining options available to all passengers onboard their ships. So, the entire MDR is part of As You Wish and those with the traditional, fixed seating have no need to make reservations.

 

The time for the main seating of the dining room can vary, but generally it is about 8:00 - 8:15.

[RJ2002]

We are sailing for the first time with Holland America on the Nieuw Amsterdam later this year and have chosen As You Wish Dining. In the past, we have sailed NCL with Freestyle Dining and Celebrity. On Celebrity, we had the late seating on one cruise and found that to be a little too late while the early seating was way too early. Ok, I sound like Goldilocks here :) On our cruises since that time, we have chosen select dining where we went to dinner when we wanted. That worked out well since we made a reservation for a time we liked and since we were traveling with friends, we all knew what time to meet.

 

On this cruise, we are traveling alone for the first time and want a table for 2. My questions are:

 

1) Has anyone had experience on the Nieuw Amsterdam with As You Wish Dining and how was it?

2) Will we have trouble getting a table for two in the As You Wish area of the MDR and should we make reservations?

3) What time is the late seating for traditional dining.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

 

I am guessing that you chose "open seating". I've not been on the NA, but have sailed on several other HAL ships. We choose open seating all the time. It works just fine, as least it has for us. You should not have trouble getting a table for 2. Sometimes they may even seat you at a 4 top table. You will not have to share with others unless you want to do so. Reservations are not needed.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[sunset sails]

Oh, guess I got the terminology wrong Mary Ellen. Yes, we chose open seating.

[Koali]

1) Has anyone had experience on the Nieuw Amsterdam with As You Wish Dining and how was it?

 

2) Will we have trouble getting a table for two in the As You Wish area of the MDR and should we make reservations?

 

3) What time is the late seating for traditional dining.

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

 

 

We did open seating on our last HAL cruise. We ended up always going at the same time late so we decided to just do late dining for our next cruise. You can make reservations in advance for up to 3 days but only at times 5:00 to 5:30 or 7:45 to 8:15. They don't seem to allow reservations during "prime" time. You can also just walk up during this time but there will likely be a wait. We never had any trouble getting a table for 2 when we made our reservations. Late seating differs for ships and I haven't been on NA yet but it is usually between 7:45 to 8:15.

 

 

 

 

 

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[kennicott]

We are going on our first HAL cruise on 19th October on Ryndam and are currently booked on Anytime Dining. We tried flexible dining on our last cruise and it worked well albeit we ended up going at the same time to the same table anyway. We have 2 boys (9 & 5) and I thought that this might give us a bit extra flexibility and maybe a greater chance of a table for 4 (not that we're that bothered about that). However reading through these posts it seems like we might be better off going for the fixed dining at 8pm (which is pretty much our preferred time anyway).

 

I'd be interested in others' experiences on Ryndam which might be a bit different being one of the smaller ships.

 

Thanks

 

During our last 200 days or so at sea we have elected to take open dining. No more traditional for us. In mid March we completed a 30 day South Pacific voyage on the Statendam. We experienced excellent service in the main dining room by HAL personnel and always got a table for two, seldom we had to wait, maybe twice for a few minutes. This is our second voyage on HAL using their “Any time you wish dining”, or, almost 60 days at sea with HAL using that service, (Ryndam two years ago). On occasion we would meet other couples where we decided to join up for dinner. No problem getting seated together when we wanted. It appears to me that traditional seating is about to link up with bygone era voyaging. Judging from Roll Calls when someone develops a spreadsheet where dining preferences are listed over 75% choose anytime. A lot of lines don't even offer traditional anymore, like Regent.

[Mytime2014]

we chose traditional/late seating and I really wish we had opted for open....the more I read the more I learn! It feels 'wrong' to be at an assigned table and then just not show up if plans change. I know you are able to let the MDR know if you are not going to be there, but if its for real "traditional" I don't want people waiting/wondering where we are....then there is the real possibility for me that I just don't want to be around people especially on those days when you are sharing your once in a lifetime experience with 9000 other people!

[RuthC]

we chose traditional/late seating and I really wish we had opted for open....the more I read the more I learn! It feels 'wrong' to be at an assigned table and then just not show up if plans change. I know you are able to let the MDR know if you are not going to be there, but if its for real "traditional" I don't want people waiting/wondering where we are....then there is the real possibility for me that I just don't want to be around people especially on those days when you are sharing your once in a lifetime experience with 9000 other people!

When you board go to the assigned place to see about getting your dining choice changed. It would be doing both yourselves and your tablemates a favor.

 

Many people wish for fixed seating because they want to dine with the same people every night, and they like a full table.

Changing your assignment will be a win-win since your seats can then be reassigned.

Edited June 21, 2014 by RuthC

[Mytime2014]

When you board go to the assigned place to see about getting your dining choice changed. It would be doing both yourselves and your tablemates a favor.

 

Many people wish for fixed seating because they want to dine with the same people every night, and they like a full table.

Changing your assignment will be a win-win since your seats can then be reassigned.

 

As I had not cruised before, I deferred to my friend who has sailed on HAL twice - but many years ago and has not been on the board here much/at all to read about the changes and updated info. I'm planning a lot getting ready and transportation - but once I am on the ship, I want to be fluid. However, since I"m spending that week in a room with one person who I work with - I'll pick my battles!! If its weird the first night then we can talk about it.

[At_Sea]

Volendam has the 'As you Wish' option for dinning to Alaska. We love this option, as we get what we want.

[Mary Ellen]

Volendam has the 'As you Wish' option for dinning to Alaska. We love this option, as we get what we want.

Every single ship in the HAL fleet has As You Wish Dining. That is the term they use to cover all of the dining choices available on their ships. It isn't an "option".