voyeurism26

Hi Mancunian! Lucky for you and others that your able to get a table. My experience with this open seating has been a disaster and I haven't been lucky like you have. The more people I speak to (outside of this board) agree with me 100% and share the same issue's I have and they too prefer HAL go back to traditional dinning. In many cases, the people I speak with don't mind sitting with others...but then the next night they don't get the same waiter or table or the same group can't eat together at the same time.

And although you state that people in the better suits get preferred table...I usually have a SS suit on the ships and that is not true, if that was the case, then I wouldn't have a problem. My point to this whole open seating situation is not good for all of us. Perhaps out of 2000 guests on a ship, they can satisfying 1000 guests but perhaps the other 1000 is having a difficult time. Perhaps you haven't experienced any bad situations and your in the group of the 1000 passengers that hasn't experience any problems but my overall experience and speaking with others have expressed the same as I did. If you take a many cruises like I do, you day will be numbered. Now you praising the great efforts of this "As You Wish Dinning" option, but I will guarantee that on one of your HAL cruises, you will have a difficult time and you will see and understand what I'm saying. Matter of fact, on my recent cruise I was asking our waiter about it and he agreed that it has become a nightmare. The Matre'd that helped us out, even said that his job duties because of this had become more of a nightmare. Between the Matre'd and our waiter, it seems they too prefer that HAL goes back to traditional dinning. But who are they...they, the waiter and the Matre'd, are just employees and have to deal with upper management and HAL's decisions.

Regardless if HAL goes back to regular dinning is really not up to me, I don't own HAL. I've been a HAL client since 1995 and have over 120 sailing days and although I do enjoy HAL, I have no issue's trying other cruise ships for my vacation. My loyalty to HAL can only go thus so far and regardless if I go on HAL or not is not going to make a difference to HAL or not. I've just booked on the Eurodam for next year the Thanksgiving cruise for 2010 so perhaps booking early, I can get a table in the dinning room :) and I can be lucky like you!

-V26

Personally I don't like this new dinning situation. Here are my reasons:

I don't like eating with others...nothing personal but I don't want to eat with a group of folks. I prefer a table for 2 and eat at 8pm. In the past two cruises (eurodam & noordam) I requested reserved seating for 2 at 8pm. I was waitlisted on both cruises and was told I had no choice but to eat in the lower dinning room and the "as you wish dinning" was offered.

Okay...its "AS YOU WISH"...but never are my "wishes" come true. I have to fight with the matire'd for a table for two. Each time I'm told there are NO table for two...I arrive in the dinning room at 6, 7 or 8pm and there is never a table...but when I walk around the dinning room...tables are empty and I'm told that we have no choice but to eat with other guest at table for 6, 8 or 10 seats. So we end up at the PG or the Lido or the new Canaletto Bistro or on the Eurodam, the Tamarind. On the Eurodam, we never made it to the dinning room due to the fact there were no tables, but yet tables were empty. I was told that seating for 2 is very popular and its difficult to get a table for two when you. If they realize that table for 2 is very popular...then this should tell HAL to remove the big tables and replace them with smaller tables if they insist they want there guest to have this AYWD experience.

Just recently on the Noordam (November 1st sailing) we requested once again a table for 2 at the 8pm seating...of course we didn't get the request. However, we did end up at a reserved table for 10 at 5:45pm table number 89. First...I'm not going to eat at 5:45pm on my vacation and rush from the pool or the port of cut into my nap time to rush to dinner to sit at a table with 8 different people I don't know and I don't care to know (nothing personal). As usual when we get on the ship, we took a visit to the matre'd and again was told there is nothing available. So the first night on November 1st we again ate up in the Lido (Canaletto bistro). However, luck would have it and the next day we get a note from the matre'd that we have a table 79 for two reserved for 8pm. It seems the folks that had that table change to anytime dinner and went down to the lower dinning room. Table 79 is located at the upper level dinning room over looking the lower level dinning room. I noticed again, there we many empty tables of various sizes. So if this as you wish dinning is so popular, why was the lower dinning room most empty? Why if you do choose this sort of dinning, they just don't let people who want to sit alone an enjoy a dinner just go into the dinning room and at least sit at a four top, I just don't get the whole thing.

This is why this type of dinning will not work for me. Some may like it others may not...but call me old fashion. I like the same table at the same time with the same waiter. I like to build that relationship with the waiter...I like the fact he knows what I like to drink and how much rolls and butter I'm going to eat and that I want coffee at the end of each meal. I prefer to give that particular waiter an extra tip because that individual took care of me for 7 or 10 days in a row. I think that HAL should go back to normal dinning....its bad enough they took the trays away in the Lido..its bad enough they don't give out a nice ticket holder and nice luggage tags anymore, I can accept these minor changes...but at least keep our dinner options as it was and stop trying to keep with NCL, or RCCL...the reason why HAL has such a great return is because of the fact they keep cruising a tradition and its part of there great service of excellance which separates them from the others. Okay Carnival owns HAL...but try not to cheapen the HAL product....by introducing things that folks on Carnival are doing...if I want to be on a party boat with a bunch of beer drinking hillbillies and kids screaming...I would go on Carnival...but I expect more from HAL. I hope many others complain and hopefully HAL will get rid of this anytime seating and go back to normal dinning!

-V26

My first cruise was in 1995 onboard the M/S LEEWARD...its was on NCL. It was a 4 day cruise left port of Miami to Keywest and Cozumel and one day at sea.

Then I was hooked!

The second year in 1996 was onboard HAL's M/S Westerdam...for 7 days. Then I was really hooked.

And 14 years later...I'm leaving on the Eurodam sailing April 18, 2009. Wow! How time goes by :)

My first cruise was in 1995 onboard the M/S LEEWARD...its was on NCL. It was a 4 day cruise left port of Miami to Keywest and Cozumel and one day at sea.

Then I was hooked!

The second year in 1996 was onboard HAL's M/S Westerdam...for 7 days. Then I was really hooked.

And 14 years later...I'm leaving on the Eurodam sailing April 18, 2009. Wow! How time goes by :)

Aventura (North Miami Beach) between Miami & Ft.Lauderdale

also known as D&E