As You Wish Dining - Opinions, Comments and Discussions

[RevNeal]

I just noticed this in purplenorway's current "Noordam LIVE" thread (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=607529 - post dated today, August 13):

 

"At dinner last night, there was a line of people waiting for the open sitting, but we went past them to find our traditional dining table. Apparently there were more people than usual who wanted traditional, so they allowed some to be on the lower level."

So maybe HAL is adjusting dining space allocation to demand, at least on Noordam and at the moment. There's hope yet, folks! :D

 

That's very good news ... let us hope. :D

[nchank]

I just reserved the Rydam for March. When I called my AAA TA he told me they only had traditional dining. I asked him to double check which he did and confirmed that there was open seating on the lower dining room which is what he reserved for me. We will see.:D

[Sinbad37]

The only consistent thing about HAL's website is that it is frequently screwed up. Another puzzling example of AHW is dining for Noordam's October 2008 crossing, another big band cruise I was considering.

 

14 months out, the website is showing the following dining options:

 

Early Upper Dining: Available

Early Lower Dining: Closed

Main Upper Dining: Available

Main Lower Dining: Available

Open Seating: Available

 

LET US HOPE THAT THOSE OF US WHO STILL WISH TO "EMBRACE THE ELEGENCE AND THE AMBIENCE" WILL BE HEARD, UNDERSTOOD AND INCORPORATEDED INTO THE "NEW WORLD OF CRIUISING."!

 

MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES MUST CERTAINLY BE WAY BEYOND WHAT MOST OF OUR POSTER'S COMMUNITY HAS EVER FACED. HOWEVER, I DO KNOW OUR VIEWS ARE IMORTANT!

 

NO BUSINESS SUCCEEDES WITHOUT DELIVERING THE DESIRED GOODS!

 

(Sure hope they are "eavesdropin on this an don't mind down home Indiana Farm logic!) :D

[Roz]

Speaking for myself, and in defense of the other single and/or solo cruisers who inhabit this board and have posted their view, unless you're single or have cruised solo, you don't get it and you're never going to get it.

 

Not a week goes by that I don't have to justify my existence as a never married, childless woman.

 

One of the highlights of the cruise experience for me is the nightly dining ritual. It's a time for sharing and companionship in an elegant setting. I'm not interested in eating dinner in the Lido, eating at a table by myself in the DR, or spending my day trying to scrounge up dining companions and making dinner arrangements.

 

One of the reasons I tend to take my breakfast and lunch in the DR is because I like sitting with other passengers. At home I eat most of my meals by myself, so when I'm on vacation, I like a change of pace.

 

What about this don't some of you understand?

 

Roz

[bUU]

I'm a bit confused by your assertion that some people don't understand. Who, specifically, are you referring to? I haven't seen anyone say, "Solo people are crazy to want to cruise." What did I miss?

[Roz]

Bicker,

 

You do like to bicker, don't you? :D

 

No one said "Solo people are crazy to want to cruise." But several posters did say they don't see what the problem is, and AYW was no big deal and would work for everyone. When others tried to explain their situation and tried to point out that no, it doesn't work for everyone, they were blasted.

 

Roz

[RuthC]

Absolutely, Roz. It's one of those "if you're solo, no explanation is necessary; if not, then no explanation is possible" things.

The sad part is that for every couple reading this, the day will come when one of them will understand.

[fsalzer]

The sad part is that for every couple reading this, the day will come when one of them will understand.

 

I understand (perhaps, mistakenly) the desire of a solo to want traditional dining would be for reasons similar to those of couples.

 

What I don't understand is that some solos apparently believe that if they don't have traditional dining, then they must necessarily have to dine alone. As a couple, we rarely dine alone, and, if so, that's what we want for that particular evening. We use open-seating dining and ask to be seated at a shared table for 6 or 8, usually even when we are dining with another couple. We have always received what we requested and only one time we had to wait which was for around 5 minutes.

 

If I cruised alone, I would make exactly the same request and would expect to be seated similarly at a table of 6 or 8. I would dine alone only by my choice. I've always found that solos are welcome at our open-seating shared tables. YMMV.

 

A special joy of our cruising is meeting new people and making new friends. Sometimes, we even cruise with old friends or family. :)

 

Fred

[Roz]

Fred,

 

Maybe someday Ruth or I will find ourselves dining with you and your wife. :D

 

I'm just hoping that since I tend to book early, my dining request will be honored.

 

Roz

[bUU]

But several posters did say they don't see what the problem is, and AYW was no big deal and would work for everyone.

Sorry, but I didn't see anyone say it was no big deal or that it would work for everyone. I have to pay more attention I guess. Sorry.

[RevNeal]

Sorry, but I didn't see anyone say it was no big deal or that it would work for everyone. I have to pay more attention I guess. Sorry.

 

Not only that, bicker, but also a crass disregard for how AYW might impact solos was expressed by some. It was almost as if some were happy that solos were going to be hurt ... as if it was "good, you deserve it." Or some such like that.

 

But Roz is correct ... being solo on a cruise is a very different experience than going as a couple. I've done both, and enjoy both, but the experience is very different ... and the dining experience is one of those places where it can be either wonderful or exceedingly uncomfortable.

[RuthC]

Sorry, but I didn't see anyone say it was no big deal or that it would work for everyone. I have to pay more attention I guess. Sorry.

There have been uncountable posts on a myriad of threads about this since the concept started in trials. It would have been very easy for you to have missed the posts that "it's no big deal", but they have been here. Many more times than I care to think.

[bUU]

Not only that, bicker, but also a crass disregard for how AYW might impact solos was expressed by some. It was almost as if some were happy that solos were going to be hurt ... as if it was "good, you deserve it." Or some such like that.

Good grief! I've been only skimming the last week, and probably ignoring crassly-worded messages more than usual. (I've been suffering from the nasty virus that's been going around the Boston metro area, and just coming out of the fog this past weekend.)

 

Surely, no one should minimize the impact that AYW could have. Not that that should govern whether AYW should be deployed or not, of course. HAL needs to weigh the forecasted impact on revenue from those negatively impacted against the forecasted impact on revenue from those positively inclined towards AYW.

[RuthC]

What I don't understand is that some solos apparently believe that if they don't have traditional dining, then they must necessarily have to dine alone.

Fred, there are more points on the continuum than that.

Unless you dine alone every single night you have no idea what pleasure it is to be able to sit down with someone comfortable and share the details of the day. This is not something that can start afresh with strangers every night. This feeling of comfort is something that develops over time.

On a cruise---especially the longer cruises that I'm familiar with---you do develop a comfort level with your dinner companions. Part of that comfort comes from knowing you'll all be there tomorrow, as well as from the shared experiences that even a few days aboard can generate.

[Roz]

Ruth and Greg,

 

Thank you for putting my own thoughts into words. You've both stated the perspective of many single and solo cruisers very eloquently. I consider my dining table my "home base" for the duration of the cruise. Just like I don't want a different waiter each evening, I don't want a different set of dining companions.

 

Roz

[hammybee]

Not only that, bicker, but also a crass disregard for how AYW might impact solos was expressed by some. It was almost as if some were happy that solos were going to be hurt ... as if it was "good, you deserve it." Or some such like that.

 

But Roz is correct ... being solo on a cruise is a very different experience than going as a couple. I've done both, and enjoy both, but the experience is very different ... and the dining experience is one of those places where it can be either wonderful or exceedingly uncomfortable.

 

I did a search on "solo" within this thread and read every post that popped. I read expressions of empathy for the solo cruiser, not crass disregard or hurtful comments.

[bUU]

Okay, so maybe I didn't miss much in my skimming, recently. :confused:

[fsalzer]

Unless you dine alone every single night you have no idea what pleasure it is to be able to sit down with someone comfortable and share the details of the day. This is not something that can start afresh with strangers every night. This feeling of comfort is something that develops over time.

 

I understand that point of view and I see that as a strong argument for solos (or others) choosing traditional dining. I wasn't suggesting that open-seating was the same in that respect.

 

My point is that, in my experience with open-seating dining, solos need not eat alone, except by the solo's choice.

 

Hopefully, the implementation of AYW dining will provide for each person actually getting traditional or open-seating, as he/she wishes.

 

Fred

[RevNeal]

I did a search on "solo" within this thread and read every post that popped. I read expressions of empathy for the solo cruiser, not crass disregard or hurtful comments.

 

The volume of difficult posts were on one of the other threads. I THINK the posts I'm remember were on the tread that came out with the official announcement of AYW (and that wasn't this thread). I will go back and find them.

 

I know that some of the offending posts were pulled within a few days of being posted, but others were up as recently as a week ago.

[SharonN]

I did a search on "solo" within this thread and read every post that popped. I read expressions of empathy for the solo cruiser, not crass disregard or hurtful comments.

 

They may not have been on this particular thread but there are several related threads and some of them got pretty nasty. I don't even want to go back and read some of the responses that I and several other solos got for voicing our concerns.

[SharonN]

The volume of difficult posts were on one of the other threads. I THINK the posts I'm remember were on the tread that came out with the official announcement of AYW (and that wasn't this thread). I will go back and find them.

 

I know that some of the offending posts were pulled within a few days of being posted, but others were up as recently as a week ago.

 

Oops. Guess we were posting at the same time!

[SharonN]

Ruth and Greg,

 

Thank you for putting my own thoughts into words. You've both stated the perspective of many single and solo cruisers very eloquently. I consider my dining table my "home base" for the duration of the cruise. Just like I don't want a different waiter each evening, I don't want a different set of dining companions.

 

Roz

 

Thanks to all 3 of you! I'm still pretty new to this solo thing so it's nice to know there are others who understand how important this is to many of us. As Ruth stated in another post many more will eventually come to understand the issue out of necessity and hopefully they'll find they can continue to travel too.

[RevNeal]

Hammy and bicker,

 

The thread where you can read some of the most vicious, uncaring, and crass remarks, was: HAL Formally introduces "as you wish dining" and date back to mid-July.

 

For samples from that thread which reflect a crass disregard for how AYW dining will impact traditionalists -- and, particularly, solo diners -- see:

 

Post 140

Post 168

 

For instance:

Does it bother me that some old timers are upset over the change - to be honest, NO. Just as you and others could have cared less that I and others prefer choice in dining, relaxed dress codes, etc I am not going to be all weepy eyed for your / their dismay over this change.

 

There are many other posts, both by this person and by several others, but some of most vicious of them have been pulled.

[hammybee]

Thanks to all 3 of you! I'm still pretty new to this solo thing so it's nice to know there are others who understand how important this is to many of us. As Ruth stated in another post many more will eventually come to understand the issue out of necessity and hopefully they'll find they can continue to travel too.

 

Sharon, Here is a link to a thread from a solo cruiser on Princess who expressed similar concern for their AYW Dining Program:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=609544

 

Although not the same concern as some have expressed here, the benefit of meeting many new people might outweigh the potential of being stuck at a table that is not conducive to or perhaps appreciative of the solo cruiser. Regardless, I think HAL will more than likely do what they can to place a solo cruiser where they want to be, especially if the solo cruiser is flexible about seating times, which increasingly those (solo or otherwise) who prefer early seating, need to be.

[bUU]

The thread where you can read some of the most vicious, uncaring, and crass remarks, was: HAL Formally introduces "as you wish dining" and date back to mid-July.

Hooray for us! We, in this thread, we're much nicer than those people!