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Anytime Dining Question


redbaron
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Hello everybody. Going on Britannia a week on Sunday so getting excited now. I've been on plenty of cruises in the past but this will be the first one that I will be doing the anytime dining option. Just wondering that if I say I don't mind sharing a table of say 6 or 8, do we wait until the table is full and all get served at the same time? Or is everyone at different stages of the meal depending on when they arrived at the table?

Thanks.

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Done freedom dining on Ventura & Azura some years ago.

 

Recall we waited for the table to fill, but it didn't take long! Gave us chance to get to know our fellow diners before eating - usual icebreaker is "have you cruised before" given that that is the one thing you're certain to have in common!

 

We enjoy freedom dining and over several cruises have only had one evening where one couple were a pain!

 

Enjoy your cruise - we're on Britania for the TA in October.

 

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As the previous post has said, tables do fill up rather quickly. If it is particularly slow, after a short while they will close the table and take orders, no other guests will join that table after that point even if there are empty seats.

 

This has only happened to us once or twice and the reason it is done is so the first to arrive at the table do not have an inordinately long wait.

 

It actually works very well. Enjoy your cruise.

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Thank you all for your replies, very helpful knowing what to expect. I think it will be a nice change to my usual choice of the late sitting fixed dining option. Happy cruising to you all!

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I'll be amazed if you don't find yourself converted to the idea of Freedom Dining - there's no way I'd even consider the alternative now. Far too restrictive.

 

Tables fill very quickly, usually, and you shouldn't be held up. You can choose the ideal table size for you as you enter, if you prefer - 6/8 is the ideal number for me.

 

Great way to meet different people, with a huge variety of conversations - really makes the cruise for the wife and me.

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Our first P&O cruise this year on the Azura. We have chosen open dining on other lines for several years now and much prefer it. With the Azura cruise we have chosen a reduced fare which I understand puts you last in line for choice of dining. We have put Freedom as our first choice but know we might not get it. Has anyone been able to change once on board?

 

 

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Our first P&O cruise this year on the Azura. We have chosen open dining on other lines for several years now and much prefer it. With the Azura cruise we have chosen a reduced fare which I understand puts you last in line for choice of dining. We have put Freedom as our first choice but know we might not get it. Has anyone been able to change once on board?

 

 

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If you don't happen to get Freedom Dining, a quiet word with the Maitre d' will almost certainly result in a switch. They're looking for happy customers, not unhappy ones, and it would be quite unusual if your request couldn't be met.

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If you don't happen to get Freedom Dining, a quiet word with the Maitre d' will almost certainly result in a switch. They're looking for happy customers, not unhappy ones, and it would be quite unusual if your request couldn't be met.

 

I don't normally book a saver fare because I do like to choose my dining option. Only twice have we not been allocated Freedom Dining (so 2 out of 4).

 

My experience of trying to switch is not quite as you suggest. The queue to switch, on both occasions, was huge. The attitude of the staff was also "you should have paid full fare to have your dining choice" which is fair enough really as full fare gets first option.

 

Having said that, our last table of eight was made up of the most interesting and fun table companions. And of course you get to know your waiters, and them, you. There are benefits to both options, but Freedom Dining is still my first option.

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If you don't happen to get Freedom Dining, a quiet word with the Maitre d' will almost certainly result in a switch. They're looking for happy customers, not unhappy ones, and it would be quite unusual if your request couldn't be met.

If you do want to switch which maitre'd do you speak to? The one you want to switch to, or the one you want to switch from?

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I don't normally book a saver fare because I do like to choose my dining option. Only twice have we not been allocated Freedom Dining (so 2 out of 4).

 

My experience of trying to switch is not quite as you suggest. The queue to switch, on both occasions, was huge. The attitude of the staff was also "you should have paid full fare to have your dining choice" which is fair enough really as full fare gets first option.

 

Having said that, our last table of eight was made up of the most interesting and fun table companions. And of course you get to know your waiters, and them, you. There are benefits to both options, but Freedom Dining is still my first option.

 

I agree with that sentiment I know that there are some that say they will change it because they want happy cruisers but it is not fare to those that have booked Select and higher prices for that very reason. If you book a Saver fare you paid cheap fare with obvious restrictions and nobody should be allowed there designated dining to be changed if on Saver.

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I agree with that sentiment I know that there are some that say they will change it because they want happy cruisers but it is not fare to those that have booked Select and higher prices for that very reason. If you book a Saver fare you paid cheap fare with obvious restrictions and nobody should be allowed there designated dining to be changed if on Saver.

 

I’m afraid fairness doesn’t come into it. It doesn’t in any way adversely affect anyone who booked Select - any more than finding out that someone’s paid a lower price than you have. P&O want happy customers and if that can be done discreetly, as it often is, who cares?

 

Worrying that someone’s got a better deal than you have is a pretty futile exercise.

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If you do want to switch which maitre'd do you speak to? The one you want to switch to, or the one you want to switch from?

 

Speak to the staff in the dining room you have been allocated. On the first night go early (before first sitting at 6pm) and join the queue to switch dining venues. If you have not been allocated a dining venue yet, you may still get your first option. They should put you on a waiting list to switch. After the second night, if you haven't moved, you are unlikely to.

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Worrying that someone’s got a better deal than you have is a pretty futile exercise.

 

I agree. Just accept that there are some people on board who have paid more than you and some who have paid less. Trying to find them does not enhance your cruise experience.

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I agree. Just accept that there are some people on board who have paid more than you and some who have paid less. Trying to find them does not enhance your cruise experience.

I think the point being made by majortom10 (and I happen to agree) is that passengers who book a saver fare have agreed to the terms and conditions of the booking knowing that there are reduced benefits to those who book a select fare.

For them to then expect to be given the same benefits as select fare passengers is not about fairness but just plain wrong.

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I think the point being made by majortom10 (and I happen to agree) is that passengers who book a saver fare have agreed to the terms and conditions of the booking knowing that there are reduced benefits to those who book a select fare.

For them to then expect to be given the same benefits as select fare passengers is not about fairness but just plain wrong.

 

I don't think anybody's expecting anything - but there's nothing remotely wrong with requesting, and if it can be done, why shouldn't it?

 

By the same logic, it would be 'unfair' or 'wrong' to upgrade somebody to a better cabin or suite than the one they paid for, but that never seems to draw the same wrath that this sort of thread does.

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Whilst, in principle, it is possible to request a change to dining arrangements, regardless of how you booked, when we were on Britannia there were signs up outside the restaurant stating that Freedom Dining was full and they were unable to accept requests for a switch from Club dining. We had booked Freedom as we had a Select fare, so we were OK, but we did see a couple (who wanted to swap) hanging around outside the Freedom Dining restaurant and they managed to find another couple who wanted to swap to Club, so the Restaurant Manager did swap them on that basis.

 

We are fans of Freedom Dining. We don’t like to be tied to fixed times as we like to see port departures at leisure, have a drink before dinner and, if we are hungry then dine or, if not, see a show and dine later. We are always happy to share and have never had to wait. When our daughters come with us we ask for a table for 4 and we often have to take a pager. The longest wait (on Britannia) was an hour. On Aurora, if we went late we would often be offered a table for two, even when we had said we were OK to share, as they said that the flow was too slow to fill a table in time!

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I’m afraid fairness doesn’t come into it. It doesn’t in any way adversely affect anyone who booked Select - any more than finding out that someone’s paid a lower price than you have. P&O want happy customers and if that can be done discreetly, as it often is, who cares?

 

Worrying that someone’s got a better deal than you have is a pretty futile exercise.

 

It isnt when P&O at every opportunity on their website and every brochure /flyer that they produce that to guarantee dining and cabin to book Select. I would be somewhat annoyed and disappointed that those who have paid a lot less i.e. Saver and told that cabin/dining is at the choice of P&O that they were then allowed to change it.

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I think the point being made by majortom10 (and I happen to agree) is that passengers who book a saver fare have agreed to the terms and conditions of the booking knowing that there are reduced benefits to those who book a select fare.

For them to then expect to be given the same benefits as select fare passengers is not about fairness but just plain wrong.

 

Thank you .

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That is the crux of the problem people who have paid Select fares, myself included, then start to wonder why have I paid extra sometimes a large sum of money to then find out that those that have picked Saver have then had their dining arrangements changed to Freedom. So you begin to wonder so therefore less and less people have been booking Select and have been doing the same paying the lower Saver fare so P&O have had to cut their cloth accordingly and pricing the cruise expenditure at the lower price to maintain profits so standards have dropped and declining quality of food and then many choose not to cruise with P&O and go with other cruise lines which is what we did.

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It isnt when P&O at every opportunity on their website and every brochure /flyer that they produce that to guarantee dining and cabin to book Select. I would be somewhat annoyed and disappointed that those who have paid a lot less i.e. Saver and told that cabin/dining is at the choice of P&O that they were then allowed to change it.

 

Saver fares do not allow you to choose a particular cabin, there's no OBC, shuttle buses are chargeable and you have no guaranteed dining option. And that's precisely what you get - no more, no less. It's not just the dining option.

 

If someone happens to be allowed to change to Freedom dining, they still didn't receive it as a guaranteed part of the package, so they still got exactly what they paid for. It's just a bonus, just as it would be if they weren't charged the shuttle fare (which also happens sometimes).

 

How do you feel about people being upgraded to maybe a suite that they haven't paid for? Same principle - just someone benefiting by a stroke of luck, but not adversely affecting anyone else.

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I do not see any problem here if people just accept you get what you pay for. Select fare you get the dining you wanted. If there are places left then why should saver fares not be allocated to that dining option? However to book saver with the belief you will certainly be able to swap is naive, if there are spaces you will be able to, if not well it should not be a problem you got what you paid for. Instead just standing in the corridor to the MDR for a period of time I have seen some great tantrums when folks can not get the dining they prefer and they get very abusive towards the staff. No need no reason.

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