Anytime Dining

[biojeep]

My wife & I are used to the anytime freestyle dining on NCL ships. We are considering HAL for Alaska & would like to know if HAL has anytime dining with seating for only 2 or do you have to sit with a group? We are used to dining by ourselves & not with a large table of people. It is not that we do not like to mingle - we just prefer to dine alone.

[RuthC]

Holland America does have open seating, generally from 5:15-9:00, with some 2-tops. You can make reservations for the early or later times, but not for the more popular times from 6:30-either 7:30 or 8:00 (I don't recall). Or, you can walk in anytime and take your chances if a table is available. If not, you can choose to join others or to wait.

[NYteacher]

My husband, son nod myself frequently travel both NCL and HAL. When our son isn't dining with us (sometimes he just wants room service and then kids' club) it is very easy to get a two top by ourselves.

[deserttraveler]

I have never had trouble getting a two-top during anytime dining because they can turn these tables around three times during the dining hours. They are more available than tables for larger groups, which can only be "turned" twice. This means that a twosome can eat without being rushed in about an hour and fifteen minutes, including dessert. 7 p.m. seemed to work really well, since that's when the 5:30 diners would have finished and had the tables re-set. 8:30 should work really well for the same reason.

[POA1]

I have never had trouble getting a two-top during anytime dining because they can turn these tables around three times during the dining hours. They are more available than tables for larger groups, which can only be "turned" twice. This means that a twosome can eat without being rushed in about an hour and fifteen minutes, including dessert. 7 p.m. seemed to work really well, since that's when the 5:30 diners would have finished and had the tables re-set. 8:30 should work really well for the same reason.

 

That's an excellent point.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Open Seating is the name HAL uses for people wanting to dine when they are ready for dinner.

You can make reservations for 3 days at a time for hours be tween 5:15 - 6:15 and 7:30 - 9.

Some people have reported that they did have trouble getting a table for 2 -- the tables would be used, but the staff was so busy getting meals out to others that they did not have time to change the table clothes and reset the tables. This of course depends on how busy they are. We always have fixed seating and I have noticed many times that the larger tables in Open Seating are filled quickly.

[Typhoon1]

As You Wish Dining consists of fixed or open in the MDR, Lido dining or Specialty restaurants.

[Susie51]

I also enjoy anytime dining. We arrive at the MDR when it opens and have not had a problem. My last HAL cruise was in 2009 so things could be different now.