a new Open Seating option for dinner

[CookieMonster]

we've got a great group of people ready for that Meet and Mingle onboard

 

The DW has been active on that thread already! She is the regular poster,

I just drop in when I have something to say =-}

 

Thanks

Brian

[SherriZ366]

I am sorry you do. If I honestly felt that replying to the letter

would get my views to the people at RCI that mattered, I never

would have posted.

 

But I do know that those people watch these boards, and while they

are not bound by the opinions expressed here, they do take them in

to account.

 

Making RCI look foolish is anything but my aim. I have a huge investment

in them. They are my cruise line of choice, I have 3 cruises booked in

the last half of this year. One of them is a group of 10 people in Suites.

 

I spent 10 minutes on the phone with RCI when they called. They called

me at home. I explained what I thought of the freestyle dining, and that

I did not want to participate. I asked that they note my preference and

not contact me regarding the open seating in the future.....

 

Yet today another e-mail, so after much thought, I realized that if talking

to a person does nothing, what good will sending an e-mail do. A canned

response thanking me for my views?

Thus the open letter.

 

Sorry to have offended you, and especially sorry to have made

RCI look foolish to you.

Brian

Brian -- I find the fact that some people are offended at your expressing your opinion about open seating seems like an overreaction. The boards are for expressing various opinions.

 

What cruise are your saililng on? Is it a Freedom of the Seas cruise this fall or has RCI extended the trial to other cruises. I notice you are sailing on Mariner soon.

[fifty]

Although I am excited about my upcoming cruise, I think I will take a hiatus from the boards on CC.

 

Some of these threads and SOME of the reactions of the posters are beginning to "creep me out". Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

And, if so, why do we do we keep coming back? It's sort of like trying not to gawk at a highway accident. :(

[Mark_K]

Although I am excited about my upcoming cruise, I think I will take a hiatus from the boards on CC.

 

Some of these threads and SOME of the reactions of the posters are beginning to "creep me out". Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

And, if so, why do we do we keep coming back? It's sort of like trying not to gawk at a highway accident. :(

Don't get creeped out - Take it all with a grain of salt, read the informative ones for information, read/participate in the others for entertainment.

[ondeckatsea]

We tried the FreeStyle on an NCL 15 night cruise a few years ago and hated it. 15 nights, 15 different tables with strangers making small talk. We both treasure the friends we've made over the years, many of whom we've cruised with several times because we found we have so much in common with them. You don't get that feeling sitting down every time with different people. We have also met one particular waiter 3 times on 3 different Royal Caribbean ships and he always comes over to see us. If it is a choice of traditional or open and it is an option rather than a set policy we will continue to cruise with them, but otherwise it just might be what ends our crusing days.

[CookieMonster]

What cruise are your saililng on?

 

This weekend, and thankfully Open Dining is not an option.

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Sailing On

The Mariner Of The Seas on 19-Aug-2007

 

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Sailing On

The Freedom Of The Seas on 04-Nov-2007

Open Dining seems to be an option.

 

7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise Sailing On

The Freedom Of The Seas on 11-Nov-2007

Again Open Dining seems to be an option.

 

Thanks

Brian

[The Big Booper]

Brian, great letter. It seems interesting to me that all the anytime/freestyle boosters totally ignore the most important part of your letter, that you have significant MEDICAL problems and don't want to have to reinvent the wheel every night and hope that the distracted wait staff, who are handling 4 tables at 4 different stages of the dining experience, note your situation. And as for the peanut lady.......

 

None of the RCI ships are set up for the chaos of mixing traditional and anytime; the Princess experiment only works for those who rush in to the dining room the minute it opens or wait until after 9 PM to eat. But, HOLY COW (RIP Phil, we luvved ya!), that sounds like, yes, TRADITIONAL.

 

Go Yankees. :)

[abridalmaven]

We did freestyle with NCL and did not like it, to many missed shows ( after all they can not arrange the shows around that) and poor service. Luckily for us we cruised with another couple and had other friends also on that cruise so were wer never forced to seat with people we did not know everynight. Yes, sometimes it can be fun meeting new people but I can not tell you how many times when we did either breakfast or lunch in the DR without our freinds, that we ended up with duds, whiners or people who only spoke to their friends.

 

So thanks for the letter, it was well written and it expressed my exact sentiments.

[SherriZ366]

This weekend, and thankfully Open Dining is not an option.

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Sailing On

The Mariner Of The Seas on 19-Aug-2007

 

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise Sailing On

The Freedom Of The Seas on 04-Nov-2007

Open Dining seems to be an option.

 

7 Night Western Caribbean Cruise Sailing On

The Freedom Of The Seas on 11-Nov-2007

Again Open Dining seems to be an option.

 

Thanks

Brian

Then you are back to back on two of FOS's experiemental cruises. Wonder if you are getting more calls from RCI because of that. I also have read on another thread that the RCI people who are calling and offering open dining are not getting a huge amount of takers but that could be anecdotal.

 

You will have 2 sets of coments cards to fill out on FOS (and even the one on Mariner) to express your love of traditional dining and your need for it. RCI really reads these cards.

 

I really can appreciate your food allergy issues as we sailed with a large family group on Mariner in 2005 and my SIL's grandfather has celiac. The head waiter met with him each night and ensured that he had things he could eat and would like. Lots of threads on this board about celiacs.

 

you will love both ships. We sailed on Mariner 3 times and are to be on FOS in February.

[Clarkk W Griswald]

that you have significant MEDICAL problems and don't want to have to reinvent the wheel every night and hope that the distracted wait staff, who are handling 4 tables at 4 different stages of the dining experience, note your situation. And as for the peanut lady.......

 

I've heard this whole "medical issue" & "food allergy" thing time and time again when this threads about traditional vs open/anytime dining. I just don't get it. So what do these people do at home? Only go to 1 restaurant and make sure the same waiter is working that night?

[LOVETOTRAVELE]

Have to agree with you 100%

 

:cool: I have been on both rccl and ncl I like same time for dinner and same wait staff as the service is much better no lines and same crew taking care of you every night and they care!:)

 

on ncl as you can eat any time you feel like. there are often very long lines the food is awfull the crew could care less and their tip has already been taken out of your room tab daily so thus the service is poor. ( experience on the Dawn in Mar 2008 Ncl has now only 1 crew member per table . no wine steward no bus person only 1 wait person staff and service is slow and poor .PS: had to order every thing all at once they wanted coffee drinks and desert order all at once so they could get to other tables.

 

the freestyle may be good for some but not others and I feel in MY opinion if people dress better they act better .

 

Ncl now allows jeans and the crowd they had attacted before i though was bad now its even worse.

 

****:mad: :eek: :confused: Tip is already a guarantee on NCL $10.00 taken out and crew know it and service stinks the biger the ship the worse it is *****

[katiel53]

We normally travel with family, all adults. We like having late seating for dinner. In May, my husband and I traveled alone. We had late seating, but there were times we would have liked to have had dinner earlier and not necessarily in Windjammer.

 

I think this trial that RCI is doing will be a good thing. Traditional dining is probably the way we would go, but to be told if you don't want to eat at your regular time, go to Windjammer ticks me off. The food in WJ is not the same as the dining room, so you (posters) are telling me that I have to eat there because I am hungry earlier.

 

What about families with children? Do you think all children want to eat at 6:30 or 8:00 or whatever the times are? I don't have young children, but if I did, I would welcome being able to go to dinner when they are hungry.

 

I think choices are great. There are those who want to wear a tuxedo on formal night and others want to wear jeans. Who is right?

 

From reading posts about choices on Princess, I think RCI could make the two different types of dining work. If, and it's a big if, they could change on a weekly basis, based on requests, from 2 levels of dining rooms of choice and 1 being formal and vice versa. There will always be people who are unhappy. It happens now and there's nothing to indicate that will change.

 

The other way it could work is to have 2 levels of the dining room be standard and one level anytime. I don't believe RCI is just going to jump into this. I think there have been many comments requesting anytime dining.

 

I guess we are not as resistant to change as some others are. I don't know if that is good or bad, but we learn as we go along. Happy cruising.

[adjournthis120]

I prefer traditional dining, having just experienced the freestyle on NCL and not having been totally satisfied. I can remember the names of each waiter and barman on AOS and Mariner, but cannot for the life of me remember one waiter's name on NCL Pearl.

 

Having stated my preference, I am not totally against freestyle type of dining for those who prefer it, but it seems that the option of traditional is far outweighed by freestyle. This seems to be a continuous problem on Princess, and now HAL appears to be going the same way. I have been on HAL's site looking for an Alaskan cruise next summer, a year away, and every itinerary I have chosen has been waitlisted for each traditional dining option, but "anytime" dining is always available. When you're a year out and can't book traditional, it seems that the demand for traditional is exceeding the availability.

 

Why RCI would try to compete with NCL regarding dining is a mystery to me. Isn't it obvious that there are many of us who prefer traditional dining, and we will try to patronize those lines that still offer it?

 

The comment above relating to our "insecurities" is one of the most dumb-ass comments I've read in a long time. You like what you like, and I like what I like - nothing to do with insecurities. Unless our preferences make you feel insecure? Hmmmm.

[johno95]

yes, i overreacted. sorry Brian, and everyone else. i think i was having a bad day at work. but that's no excuse.

 

yes, these boards are a good tool to get your point across to the top brass.

 

if RCCL tries freestyle, maybe they'll just do it in a small way, leaving most to have the traditional dining.

 

i like the Celebrity method on some of their ships, where you can eat alone in the buffet, in the portion where they turn it into a nice dining area with wait staff, and access to most of the dining room menu. but the service just isn't as good.

 

i think its interesting that RCCL is watching its back. competition benefits us all.

 

i have 2 cruises coming up, another RCL and my first Princess. i'll get to try the freestyle. we'll see what happens.

 

John

 

Brian -- I find the fact that some people are offended at your expressing your opinion about open seating seems like an overreaction. The boards are for expressing various opinions.

[emilygrace]

I would think that people with severe food allergies do not eat out very often. It is just an accepted thing with them.

 

As for the OP's letter to RCL, what seems to elude SO many people since the Open Seating has been discussed is that it will be an OPTION. Meaning you still can CHOOSE which type of dining you prefer. If you choose traditional dining, I just don't see how having one level of the dining room doing Open Seating will impact you.

 

If I was cruising with the girlfriends I would choose Open Seating, but if it was just DH and me, we'd go with traditional. I think each has its advantages.

[gary]

The cruisers who are gung-ho on anytime (freestyle) dining can move to NCL and leave the RCI dining rooms to the balance of us who still have some class.

Of course, they can stay and as another member says, use the WJ or room service. Or maybe, get a table in the crew's quarters????

 

HUH?

 

This makes no sense whatsoever. I have cruised multiple times on both Royal and NCL. While the Royal product is great, I find that the flexibility of NCL to be even better. If we want to dine at the same table every night at the same time with the same waiters, we are more than welcome to let them know our desire and it will be granted, and yes, the ever so important "my drink" will be waiting for you.

 

I do not think for one minute that the diners in an RCCL dining room have any more "class" than those in an NCL dining room.

 

What about all the threads on this board about "tablemates from hell"? On NCL you sit with new people at each meal. If you hit it off well and want to dine together again, no problem. Decide where and at what time.

 

There will always be a place for set dining times. It just probably will not be on the mass marketers such as RCCL, Princess, etc... Give it a few more years and you will see. The higher end lines, while they do offer specailty restaurants, will be the last to change.

 

We just got off the Vision in Alaska and by the end of the week, the jokes from our waitstaff were beginning to grate on us. It made me long for NCL. I am booked on the Serenade in January, but it may be my last time on RCCL. I like the freedom that NCL affords. There are many post on this thread from people who have not recently tried NCL. It is a far different and more polished product than it was even five years ago.

[wayne_trisha]

As for the OP's letter to RCL, what seems to elude SO many people since the Open Seating has been discussed is that it will be an OPTION. Meaning you still can CHOOSE which type of dining you prefer. If you choose traditional dining, I just don't see how having one level of the dining room doing Open Seating will impact you.

 

The impact is that you may not have a choice if traditional tables are full you may be stuck with freestyle. That is how this little experiment can impact your cruise. I much prefer traditional seating to talk with tablemates and getting to know them instead of making small talk with strangers at dinner every night.

 

If you don't like your dinner time, don't want to eat in hte WJ, and need to feed your kids when they are hungry, order room service.

[Leafpeeper]

Although we have two upcoming cruises booked on RCCL ships, we wish RCCL would have options like Princess cruiselines because they offer both traditional and anytime dining. DH doesn't like traditional dining at all, so I only book RCCL ships with multiple dining venues. We only eat in the dining room for half of our RCCL cruises.

 

We have never seen jeans in any dining room on an NCL cruise. Just as many people dress in formal wear on NCL as we see on RCCL or Princess. We've never had to wait for a table and have never had bad service. We do like having the choice of a different type of restaurant each night, and no other cruiseline offers such a variety of dining venues like NCL newer ships: Japanese, Italian, French, Mexican, American, Pub, Steak House, etc. We enjoy dining at a different venue each night on an NCL cruise.

 

We will continue to sail on lots of different cruiselines because we like variety. I just hope one day that RCCL will offer at least one anytime dining room.

[derftegel]

Well, we like PC Dining - 6.00 is too early and 8.30 too late for us!! And if we want to eat a bit later or earlier, we can!! We also meet many nice people that way.

 

As for the server calling me by name, it now seems the trend for them to use first names - I find this offensive and extremely irritating. I am not a friend of the server - he/she is just there to do the job as far as I am concerned. (Security are also doing this.) As far as they are concerned, they are there to do the job and gather in the tips - they do it for the money, not for the questionable pleasure it gives them. Forget it when they say 'my pleasure' - nonsense!!:D And before y'all flame me, I am always extremely pleasant to the servers and other staff on the ships - they do an excellent job - but they are paid workers, I am the customer, and not their friend:eek::).

Sad.

[keep on cruisin]

Have to agree with you 100%

 

:cool: I have been on both rccl and ncl I like same time for dinner and same wait staff as the service is much better no lines and same crew taking care of you every night and they care!:)

 

on ncl as you can eat any time you feel like. there are often very long lines the food is awfull the crew could care less and their tip has already been taken out of your room tab daily so thus the service is poor. ( experience on the Dawn in Mar 2008 Ncl has now only 1 crew member per table . no wine steward no bus person only 1 wait person staff and service is slow and poor .PS: had to order every thing all at once they wanted coffee drinks and desert order all at once so they could get to other tables.

 

the freestyle may be good for some but not others and I feel in MY opinion if people dress better they act better .

 

Ncl now allows jeans and the crowd they had attacted before i though was bad now its even worse.

 

****:mad: :eek: :confused: Tip is already a guarantee on NCL $10.00 taken out and crew know it and service stinks the biger the ship the worse it is *****

 

 

I find it funny to listen to all this back and fourth about traditional vs. anytime dining.

 

Royal Carib. offers a great product, as evident all these avid cruisers who will only cruise with them.

 

There is a very large market that would like anytime dining. It would be bad business for them to not try to find a way to occomodate both sides of this debate. If they can, and this is a big if, but if they can guaranty everyone that wants traditional to get traditional, then I don't see a problem.

 

As for the many posts making it seem as if those who prefer anytime dining to be of a lesser class, this is just sad way of determing class.

 

I have done traditional on Celebrity, and enjoyed it very much. I was with only my own family, so I did not have to deal with liking or not liking my fellow diners.

 

I have also sailed on NCL twice with freestyle dining. This year I had no trouble getting a table at 6:30 every night, with the same wait staff. We did not care much for the Dining room menu last year so ate mostly in specialties. Some have said they like being recognized on future cruises by prior servers. My family was recognized by an Assistant waiter from our cruise last year, who we only saw at breakfast, and 1 dinner last year. When we went to lunch on Embarkation day this year, he saw us and came right up to us.(It's not just traditional wait staff that can do a great job.)

 

Yes, NCL charges you $10 pp per day directly to your account. This is not a guaranty. The tip can be removed. We removed the tip on our first NCL cruise, due to many problems in many areas. I tipped people individually at the end.

NCL more than made up for the last years problems, with this years cruise. As perfect as you can get. They have you fill out a form stating why you are removing your tip. They use this information for reviews. The crew knows, the tip can be removed, so they still work very hard.

 

I am very much looking forward to the early seating I have for our Freedom cruise next year. But if the anytime dining option works well for them, we may consider changing. We have 2 6 year olds, and a 2 1/2 year old. Having the option to eat whenever we want may be convenient, and we can still enjoy the food that is being served, as opposed to going to the buffet.

 

Like it or not it will probably happen permanently on all the lines eventually, so get used to the idea. Hopefully they will keep both options available to make everyone happy.

 

Enjoy your cruises,

 

Happy dining,

Dave

[FitzLA]

It is an option. Not something that you HAVE to do. So don't do it. Stick to traditional. But no need to deprive others of something that they may want to try. I don't understand why so many people have such a hard time understanding what the word OPTION means. It offends you? Cry me a river.

[breal6]

What is the big deal of getting to know the wait staff? I guess for some people it is important that the server call them by name.

By the end of the week it gets very boring, predictable, and it's like here we go again. The same routine gets old, and sometime so do the same people.

Change is good, and who knows try it you might like it.

 

 

did you not read the original posters letter? it is not only about getting to know your wait staff. it is about the waitstaff knowing you, your wants or needs. I require spomething special with every meal and i like having to only explain it once on the first night. after that it is taken care of by being with the same wiater every night. different table each night would mean i would have to go through the head waiter every night and explain my special need, as the waiters need o go to the headwaiter for anything out of the ordinary.

[RareBird]

OP, you can come cruise on the same ship and have traditional dining - WHY do you care about ruining it for others who want to do open seating? UGH.. i've come to hate these threads, fellow CC'rs are just not open to open dining -- everyone, it's an OPTION, rci will not make you do open dining, you will be able to do traditional dining as you always have :(

 

everyone who would like RCI to make the new open seating permanent, please use the link below, thanks! :)

[FitzLA]

everyone who would like RCI to make the new open seating permanent, please use the link below, thanks! :)

 

Done! :D ;)

[2ladies]

Sad.

 

Originally Posted by 2ladies

Well, we like PC Dining - 6.00 is too early and 8.30 too late for us!! And if we want to eat a bit later or earlier, we can!! We also meet many nice people that way.

 

As for the server calling me by name, it now seems the trend for them to use first names - I find this offensive and extremely irritating. I am not a friend of the server - he/she is just there to do the job as far as I am concerned. (Security are also doing this.) As far as they are concerned, they are there to do the job and gather in the tips - they do it for the money, not for the questionable pleasure it gives them. Forget it when they say 'my pleasure' - nonsense!!:D And before y'all flame me, I am always extremely pleasant to the servers and other staff on the ships - they do an excellent job - but they are paid workers, I am the customer, and not their friend:eek::).

 

 

Not sad at all - just used to good manners. If staff show respect to customers, it is usually reciprocated!! Familiarity breeds contempt. Unfortunately, in recent years, we have witnessed much rudeness towards staff.

 

We also like to meet new people when we are cruising - it is so interesting to sit at a large table and meet different people, from different countries and different walks of life, each evening. We have made many friends this way!! And if you want a quiet meal occasionally, you can ask for a table for two!! You can also make a reservation, sit together as a group and ask for the same server each evening. Quite a few people sit together on the first evening and then ask to remain as a group table at a set time with the same server.

 

We can't see what's not to like as an option!!

 

There is also the difficulty of people preferring to eat either late or early and not being able to do so, because their preference is full. This happens on every cruise!! With a PC alternative, they can do as they choose.