RuthC

I am thinking any way you shake it, a substantial number of passengers on 7 day sails want more flexibility because ( here we go again) early is too early and late is too late.

I'm not privy to any evidence that supports to what extent passengers want "flexibility". I know I've never been polled by HAL, and would bet that most Mariners haven't, either. Since traditional dining fills up before AYW it seems that the greater number of passengers want traditional.

Since the new dining plan isn't limited to 7-day sails it's wrong to restrict the discussion to the desires of passengers to that time frame.

It is said that CC represents about 1-3% of all cruising passengers. For this reason, I do not think any conclusions reached on any CC board necessarily jives with what cruise lines hear, from the majority of passengers.

That CC members represent a small percentage of HAL cruisers does not necessarily mean they are not representative of the larger population.

It is more likely that HAL is hearing (if, in fact that is what they are hearing) a call for AYW because those who are used to traditional dining have never felt the need to say "keep it".

We didn't vote because we didn't realize there was an election going on! :eek:

From the little I know of Saga it's a cruiseline I could get interested in. More research is needed, of course, before I would book, but they are a line that seems worth the energy to do the research.

David--

 

You've never met this stranger.

;)

Aw, shucks, Brian. You're not that strange. :rolleyes:

I'm feeling a little frustrated....

Can't say that I blame you, bermuda. Have to wonder if HAL is deliberately trying to make it more difficult for all concerned. :rolleyes: (that includes the low-level employees, too.)

...escorted off the ship in cuffs, whatever...

 

Dave

The leather ones with the velvet lining? ooooo. ;)

Thanks for the compliment, Dave. :)

OK, Greg. I get it. Unfortunately for you, though, I'm not as quick to forgive as Marie!

I'm going to have to be placated with liquor! :) And lots of it!!! :D

(oh, and maybe some of your pillow chocolates, too. ;) )

gizmo, I for one pray that no one ever has to experience solo-cruising that way, nor do I think that Ruth intended it in a cruel or uncaring way. I'm afraid, if anything, she was speaking from a matter-of-fact reality that she, herself, experienced .

Please, Greg, enlighten me. What did I say? Or, which post of mine are you referring to? I know I never intended to say anything that was "cruel or uncaring". If there's something that I wrote that can be interpreted that way I would like the opportunity to clarify, or apologize, or :confused: do whatever I need to do to make amends.

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.

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.

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.

I've just gotten back and spent a long time catching up from page 6 through page 18. :eek: All I can say is "Wow"---the personal attack directed at me by luckiestlady21 was totally uncalled for, IMHO. Lady, you seem to have disappeared, but if you are still lurking please consider I said nothing against any HAL employee.

... RuthC has been one of the HAL's Cheerleaders for many years, & I believe has more than 300 days as a Mariner... Suggest you get to know the posters on this board a little better..

Thank you, Betty, for your support. (it's 347 days as of now, with 30 more booked. ;) )

Sharon, what did you eat for supper last night? :confused: And can I have the recipe? :D I'd enjoy a nightmare like that one. ;)

Scroll down the first couple of pages and you should find several mentions of this topic. It's been chewed over quite a bit lately.

I wonder Ruth, if the day will come, that there will be more passengers opting for AYW and then having no choice but to accept traditional seating. Stranger things have happened.

I cannot envision that happening in my lifetime---at least my remaining cruising lifetime. :eek:

Nothing that strange has ever happened. ;)

As far as traveling solo - if you meet people on your roll call ....

And if you don't? Pretty big "if" there. And again, that requires the solo passenger take responsibility to plan a sort of dinner-party guest every single night.

That isn't something I want to spend my cruise time doing; it's the Maitre d's job. :rolleyes:

For those who want "As You Wish" it's nice that they have a choice. What isn't nice is for those who want traditional, fixed dining to be denied that option because there aren't sufficient tables allocated to it. They're not getting what they wish.

I'm glad to read you "get it", Sharon. I suspect anyone who travels solo will.

It's possible that people who live and sail with at least one other person (spouse, maybe) and has never sailed solo can't imagine what it's like to be all alone on a ship not knowing another soul there.

Having pre-set dinner arrangements matters.

Ruth-

I don't follow why you're upset about that...?:confused:

You don't? Then I'll try to explain.

I want to eat with other people. I want to eat with the same people every night because I like that feeling of familiarity that grows as the cruise progresses. And I don't want to feel like I have to arrange a dinner party every single night of a cruise to accomplish that.

If I want to eat alone I can stay home and save several thousand dollars.

Eating with others, at a time of my choice, without making all the arrangements myself every day is what I wish. If HAL wants to call what it does "As You Wish" then it needs to deliver what I wish.

Or they should call it "What You Get is What You Get". :mad:

Q. Can I still waitlist for my preferred Fixed dining time?

A. We do allow our guests to waitlist. However, if they do not clear the waitlist, the guest will be assigned to open seating. The guest can still make a reservation onboard or just walkup at their favorite dining time where they will be seated at the first available table.

(above in bold added by this poster)

Doesn't sound like it's as I wish. How does HAL dare call it As You Wish if I am assigned something I don't wish? :mad:

If I can't be confirmed to late, fixed seating then it's a deal-breaker for that sailing. HAL has the responsibility to make that arrangement up front so I can make the best booking for me. :rolleyes:

Ya gotta luv that one of the Grand Cruise pillow gifts is a duffle bag to stash the rest of the loot in. :D

On mine (so long ago) we also had some nice soft gifts with which to pad the more fragile ones. We had bathrobes and huge bath sheet size towels.

I don't remember you posting this---did you get special pillow chocolates some nights? More of a truffle-type chocolate? The very memory starts my mouth watering. ;)

I've gotten so used to touring around the world with you. Thank you for letting me share your journey. It was a a lovely ride while it lasted. :)

To visit the Holy Land and not be able to enter some holy sites---I would be terribly disappointed. :(

To have guides that don't know what they are showing---I would be very angry. :mad:

To miss historical areas because too much time had been given over to shopping!---I would be livid. :mad: :eek: :mad:

Thank you once again for taking me along to places I will probably never go.

7. The Cane Fakers - those who never, ever, use a cane on the ship, but whip it out to get the front seats on the bus. They have less accidents than # 7, the Roadrunner.

Hey! I resemble that remark! Really, I do.

You'll never see me walking about the ship with my cane, as I don't need it on board where the surfaces are flat and I can avoid stairs. But on a shore excursion I always take the ugly thing. I need it climbing on/off the bus, and may need it on the walkways in various ports. Those cobblestones in Northern Europe are tricky!

Now, that doesn't mean I "use it to get the front seat", mainly because I can't walk fast enough to get there in time! But the point is that the need for the cane is not apparent when I am on the ship and taking it could easily be misconstrued elsewhere.

Might be true for others, too.

As I read your description of your tour in Dubai I couldn't help but think of the contrasts in lifestyles. It's all relative, isn't it.

I see posts about, and have been to, Domenica and realize how rich we must seem to the natives with their poverty. And now I think in Dubai I would be the impoverished one.

OK, now I'm picturing several drunken planes passed out on the tarmac---empty kegs of beer strewn about.

Stop me!