Open seating on Veendam

[Smartcookie]

Hi, we're a party of 4 doing Open Seating dining on the Veendam to Bermuda - can anyone comment on whether we should expect a wait or if some times are better to show up than others?

 

Is it possible to make reservations if we have open seating?

 

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

Check this "Sticky" at the top of the board.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=582072

 

Yes, you can make reservations, but only during certain hours. IIRC, between 5:15 and 6:15, and after 8.

[Krazy Kruizers]

a table for 4 should be easy to get in open seating

yes -- you can make reservations for 3 days at a time -- reservations can only be made between 5:15 - 6:15 and 7:30 - 9 pm

[catl331]

As long as you don't go during the peak time from 6:30 to 7:30 I doubt you would have to wait.

[NordicPrince]

I doubt that the above CC posters are writing from personal experience on the Veendam.

 

Based on our cruise to Bermuda in June 2010 where the ship was 100% booked you will most definitely have a wait to be seated if you are not fixed seating. First as you approach the MDR there is no sign which indicates a different line between those having reservations and those not having reservations. This did not matter what time you showed up to be seated.

 

Secondly there seemed to be confusion as to who was handling which task (i.e. who was determining seating and who was leading guests to their tables).

 

Third, if you requested a table for 2 and were put at a table for 4 you should expect that there will be someone else joining you in a few minutes.

 

On the pro side you would be given a beeper and if you went with it you could hang at one of the nearby lounges, have a pre-dinner drink and listen to a nice string quartet playing some lovely music, which is not all that bad. Expect on average a 20 minute wait.

 

Bottom line on Veendam Bermuda run: if you are not regular or late seating don't expect to be immediately seated and treated like your table is ready waiting for you to be seated, as you will be sorely disappointed otherwise.

[jtl513]

I doubt that the above CC posters are writing from personal experience on the Veendam.

 

Based on our cruise to Bermuda in June 2010 where the ship was 100% booked you will most definitely have a wait to be seated if you are not fixed seating.

What time did you usually go to dinner? We like to eat around 5:30. Were there waits then?

[GrammieK]

We had a similar problem last May on the Veendam. Always a wait and sometimes, we were seated at a larger table and had to wait for the table to fill. It was one (!!) of the first times that I saw my husband actually lose it! It happened to us one nite and dinner got off to a really slow start, amost an hour before our orders were taken. The next nite, we specified that we were four and did not want to share, but again, shown to a 6 top, were told there would be no wait for others, but were forced to wait as 2 others were seated, separately. It is one of the reasons that we did not go again this spring. I would be interested to know if HAL has gotten better in that department.

[English_in_Spain]

Maybe this a problem with Veendam. We had no problems on the Noordam last year.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We had a similar problem last May on the Veendam. Always a wait and sometimes, we were seated at a larger table and had to wait for the table to fill. It was one (!!) of the first times that I saw my husband actually lose it! It happened to us one nite and dinner got off to a really slow start, amost an hour before our orders were taken. The next nite, we specified that we were four and did not want to share, but again, shown to a 6 top, were told there would be no wait for others, but were forced to wait as 2 others were seated, separately. It is one of the reasons that we did not go again this spring. I would be interested to know if HAL has gotten better in that department.

 

sadly -- i have seen this happen on other ships as well

we sit by the railing on the upper level -- we are able to look down on a couple of larger tables -- all too often we would see 4 people being seated -- then a wait before 2 more were seated -- and finally a good half hour or so -- the final 2 people were seated there -- it was obvious that the first 4 there were not happy with the situation

[Krazy Kruizers]

I doubt that the above CC posters are writing from personal experience on the Veendam.

 

Based on our cruise to Bermuda in June 2010 where the ship was 100% booked you will most definitely have a wait to be seated if you are not fixed seating. First as you approach the MDR there is no sign which indicates a different line between those having reservations and those not having reservations. This did not matter what time you showed up to be seated.

 

Secondly there seemed to be confusion as to who was handling which task (i.e. who was determining seating and who was leading guests to their tables).

 

Third, if you requested a table for 2 and were put at a table for 4 you should expect that there will be someone else joining you in a few minutes.

 

On the pro side you would be given a beeper and if you went with it you could hang at one of the nearby lounges, have a pre-dinner drink and listen to a nice string quartet playing some lovely music, which is not all that bad. Expect on average a 20 minute wait.

 

Bottom line on Veendam Bermuda run: if you are not regular or late seating don't expect to be immediately seated and treated like your table is ready waiting for you to be seated, as you will be sorely disappointed otherwise.

 

we sailed on 2 different itineraries on the veendam -- not bermuda - and one of them was oversold -- so ship was completely sold out

we watched as people were costantly being seated -- no lines -- everything was running well on our cruises -- one cruise for 7 days and the other one for 14 days

[NordicPrince]

What time did you usually go to dinner? We like to eat around 5:30. Were there waits then?

 

After our first night's experience we tried to make a reservation. Only times were before first seating (4:45) and after late seating (8:15).

Ixnay on that. We like to come back late in the afternoon after being onshore, get cleaned up and relax before dinner so 5:30 is too early for us. We tried going about 7:30 figuring early seating diners would be freeing up their tables and they would have a good idea which tables would be taken for late seating.

 

Don't get me wrong, this did not impact our enjoyment of the cruise since, like I said, we were "forced" to spend some nice time together relaxing with a drink and listening to nice music. Besides we are 'go with the flow" people when on board.

 

Last time we booked a guarantee HH late on a good HAL sale and then got a fantastic upgrade so we had nothing to complain about and considered ourselves very lucky indeed. So dining assignment was the least of our considerations

 

DW and I are returning again on June 19 but this time will have late seating. We will report back on that.

 

I apologize to some posters who might have taken offense to my prior post but I am just reporting my own personal experience on the Bermuda run. Also, being a native New Yorker, I understand that, at times, we can be a difficult group to please (just a generalization).

[Krazy Kruizers]

After our first night's experience we tried to make a reservation. Only times were before first seating (4:45) and after late seating (8:15).

Ixnay on that. We like to come back late in the afternoon after being onshore, get cleaned up and relax before dinner so 5:30 is too early for us. We tried going about 7:30 figuring early seating diners would be freeing up their tables and they would have a good idea which tables would be taken for late seating.

 

Don't get me wrong, this did not impact our enjoyment of the cruise since, like I said, we were "forced" to spend some nice time together relaxing with a drink and listening to nice music. Besides we are 'go with the flow" people when on board.

 

Last time we booked a guarantee HH late on a good HAL sale and then got a fantastic upgrade so we had nothing to complain about and considered ourselves very lucky indeed. So dining assignment was the least of our considerations

 

DW and I are returning again on June 19 but this time will have late seating. We will report back on that.

 

I apologize to some posters who might have taken offense to my prior post but I am just reporting my own personal experience on the Bermuda run. Also, being a native New Yorker, I understand that, at times, we can be a difficult group to please (just a generalization).

 

first fixed dining time was at 4:45?

never been on a ship with dining that early -- not even in alaska

[NordicPrince]

first fixed dining time was at 4:45?

 

never been on a ship with dining that early -- not even in alaska

 

Before rushing to correct, my post is specifically stating the reservation time that they were offering us before the first fixed seating was at 4:45 P.M.

 

I also have never been on a ship which had a fixed seating time at 4:45. I , as well as you do, have cruising experience.

 

Thank you for making me feel welcome to contribute to your HAL board.

[bermuda triangle]

On the street festival night in Hamilton, with the gombay dancers, you should not expect a wait for open seating.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Before rushing to correct, my post is specifically stating the reservation time that they were offering us before the first fixed seating was at 4:45 P.M.

 

I also have never been on a ship which had a fixed seating time at 4:45. I , as well as you do, have cruising experience.

 

Thank you for making me feel welcome to contribute to your HAL board.

 

 

I am not jumping on you -- just trying to get the facts straight

so open seating opened early for the bermuda cruises?

[Charles4515]

we sailed on 2 different itineraries on the veendam -- not bermuda - and one of them was oversold -- so ship was completely sold out

we watched as people were costantly being seated -- no lines -- everything was running well on our cruises -- one cruise for 7 days and the other one for 14 days

 

Nevertheless on the Veendam last June I usually had to wait and the first couple of nights they gave me a beeper.