Open dining question

[JPH814]

We have a fixed seating dinner reservation on our upcoming Zuiderdam cruise for the "second seating". I understand that the ship offers "as you wish" dining as well, If - on a given night - we wanted to eat an earlier dinner, would we be able to do the "as you wish" dining for that one evening?

Edited December 30, 2015 by JPH814

[Hlitner]

We have a fixed seating dinner reservation on our upcoming Zuiderdam cruise for the "second seating". I understand that the ship offers "as you wish" dining as well, If - on a given night - we wanted to eat an earlier dinner, would we be able to do the "as you wish" dining for that one evening?

 

You can certainly make the request by asking any of the MDR maitre'ds or the person working at the entrance. It would be a maybe yes or maybe no kind of thing, but the staff usually tries very hard to accommodate passenger requests if it is possible.

 

Hank

[Alberta Quilter]

The "As You Wish" dining is offered to everyone. Some people choose a fixed dining time (early or main), some specialty restaurants or buffet and some open dining but it's all "As You Wish".

 

To answer your question, one is discouraged from flipping back and forth between fixed and open dining.

 

However, what you can do, is stick with fixed dining for the majority of the cruise and then make reservations at a specialty restaurant for the night you want to eat earlier. You would probably want to make your specialty dining reservations in advance of the cruise to ensure you get the date/time you want. With some of the promos that HAL has given out, that include specialty dining, you may be hard pressed to get a reservation once onboard.

 

If you want to make your choice based on how you feel on that particular day, you might want to go with Open Dining instead of fixed. You can make reservations up to three days in advance while onboard.

[Oceanwench]

The "As You Wish" dining is offered to everyone. Some people choose a fixed dining time (early or main), some specialty restaurants or buffet and some open dining but it's all "As You Wish".

 

I've heard this argument made over and over on this site, but HAL refers to open seating as "As You Wish Dining."

I noticed when we checked in at the MDR for open seating a few weeks ago, the man at the podium had a name tag that said "AYWD Host."

[PatsyAnne]

Another option would be to eat in the Lido when you want to eat earlier, especially if you also want a quicker meal. When you aren't going to eat at your regular place and time, it is a kindness to let the MDR know so that your table mates (if any) and the waiters aren't waiting for you.

[dakrewser]

I've heard this argument made over and over on this site, but HAL refers to open seating as "As You Wish Dining."

I noticed when we checked in at the MDR for open seating a few weeks ago, the man at the podium had a name tag that said "AYWD Host."

 

 

From HAL's web site:

 

"With a wide range of food & dining options, we invite you to dine 'As You Wish®' To savor Italian cuisine one night and a perfectly grilled porterhouse steak the next. To take your place in the Dining Room at a specific seating time or be spontaneous, following your desires"

 

Open seating is only one part of As You Wish dining.

[Alberta Quilter]

I've heard this argument made over and over on this site, but HAL refers to open seating as "As You Wish Dining."

I noticed when we checked in at the MDR for open seating a few weeks ago, the man at the podium had a name tag that said "AYWD Host."

 

Yes, HAL contradicts itself many times with "As You Wish". In reading a brochure, the AYWD lists all that I listed in my previous post.

 

Let's not let terminology get in the way of answering the OP's question. I apologize for bringing it up in the first place.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Alberta Quilter

[Krazy Kruizers]

Many of the dining room managers will discourage you from flipping back and forth.

They may ask you when you show up if you wish to remain in the Open Seating.

It never hurts to ask.

As mentioned you can even go to the Lido or call room service. There is a menu in your cabin -- usually on the desk giving you 24 hour options as well as items for cabin service up to 10 PM. You can order from the dining room menu if you place your order within the first hour of the main dining room opening -- and request when you want dinner delivered to your cabin.

[WeLoveCruising]

You can, and they will accomdate you, but it is likely to be frowned upon, becuase you'll technically be taking up two tables that night - the one you use earlier, and they one they hold for your fixed dining. With others with open dining waiting to be seated during peak times, I dont think they will want to encourage changing back and forth.

 

I would probably ask and offer them to use your fixed table to seat open diners, but I'm not sure how easy it is for them to pull off that kind of coordination. If it's a one time thing and you ask them about it, I'm sure they will accomodate you, but they are likely to discourage it as a regular practice.

 

Another thing to consider, is we have found open seating to work very well for us, even at fixed times. Many times we have had 'open" dining, but stated a preference for a table for 2 at 7 or 7:30pm, and have found ourselves more often than not with the same table at the same time for the duration of the cruise. If you were to do that, then of course moving the time up or down on any one night wouldn't be a problem at all.

[Oceanwench]

From HAL's web site:

 

"With a wide range of food & dining options, we invite you to dine 'As You Wish®' To savor Italian cuisine one night and a perfectly grilled porterhouse steak the next. To take your place in the Dining Room at a specific seating time or be spontaneous, following your desires"

 

Open seating is only one part of As You Wish dining.

 

Thank you for your extensive research!

 

As I noted, this has long been discussed on this forum.

Even HAL has published materials in which AYWD was synonymous with open seating.

 

I should have taken a photo of the AYWD host's name tag. Next time I will.

Then ask him what it means.

 

I only brought this up because someone else felt the need to correct the OP's use of the term.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Oceanwench

[kazu]

From HAL's web site:

 

"With a wide range of food & dining options, we invite you to dine 'As You Wish®' To savor Italian cuisine one night and a perfectly grilled porterhouse steak the next. To take your place in the Dining Room at a specific seating time or be spontaneous, following your desires"

 

Open seating is only one part of As You Wish dining.

 

Thank you for your extensive research!

 

As I noted, this has long been discussed on this forum.

Even HAL has published materials in which AYWD was synonymous with open seating.

 

I should have taken a photo of the AYWD host's name tag. Next time I will.

Then ask him what it means.

 

I only brought this up because someone else felt the need to correct the OP's use of the term.

 

There are lots of places where the HAL site/brochures contradicts information.

 

I tend to rely more on first hand reports ;)

 

I too, have seen the open dining referred to as AYWD as well on board.

 

and now, back to the point of this thread.

 

for the OP, switching is discourage in our experience. I'd look at the Pinnacle or Canaletto or Lido or even room service for that evening. Then, on boarding, if you are told it is possible, you can always cancel the reservation if you so choose (as long as it isn't for the first night).

[JPH814]

Interesting replies. Thank you all

 

We are on a twelve night cruise. We like the traditional fixed seating because we have always enjoyed having the same servers. We usually travel with others so we usually have a table four six or more. This time we are at a table for two. We prefer late seating because it gives us a chance to come back from shore excursions, rest, and then leisurely prepare for dinner. But with four days at sea, I was thinking maybe one night or two we might want to eat early.

My point in asking is just because - on past cruises- we never seem to get to the shows because we eating so late.

 

Our package includes one dinner in Pinnacle and one in Canneletto. We may ask for earlier reservations one of those evenings. We may even do a room service dinner one night. We are staying in a Neptune suite so that might be enjoyable. We would not do the Lido for dinner. Not interested

 

But I was just looking for other potential options. Thanks for all of the advice

Edited December 30, 2015 by JPH814

[RuthC]

I would probably ask and offer them to use your fixed table to seat open diners, but I'm not sure how easy it is for them to pull off that kind of coordination.

Unless the party that wants to switch for the night is at a fixed table for 2, then this should never be possible. Others at the table selected fixed seating because they wanted a table with the same tablemates every night. To place open seating people with them when others are away for the night is not fair to them.

Edited December 30, 2015 by RuthC

[jtl513]

The only time I've heard of Fixed diners being cheerfully accommodated in Open is when a HAL excursion got back too late for Early Fixed, which is the opposite of what the OP wants to do. That isn't to say that it won't be allowed, but it certainly isn't what HAL would like to happen.

[WeLoveCruising]

Unless the party that wants to switch for the night is at a fixed table for 2, then this should never be possible. Others at the table selected fixed seating because they wanted a table with the same tablemates every night. To place open seating people with them when others are away for the night is not fair to them.

 

Good point. I definitely had the two top in mind. We noticed on nights we ate at the Pinnacle Grill that there were others at our table, a different couple each night. We could spot them when we did our after dinner laps around the Promenade deck, and I assumed they came from open seating. However, as you point out, we had a table for two so there weren't other passengers to consider.

Edited December 30, 2015 by WeLoveCruising

[cruz chic]

As a person who does open I am asking that fixed diners not do this. Hal should not allow this either. That's not to say they won't. I don't think fixed diners would enjoy coming to their dining table to see its occupied by others. To me that's the same thing as going to open when you have fixed. At times the lines can be long to get into open. It's not fair to open diners to add to that.

Edited December 30, 2015 by cruz chic

[cruz chic]

Good point. I definitely had the two top in mind. We noticed on nights we ate at the Pinnacle Grill that there were others at our table, a different couple each night. We could spot them when we did our after dinner laps around the Promenade deck, and I assumed they came from open seating. However, as you point out, we had a table for two so there weren't other passengers to consider.

 

Hal does put open diners into the fixed on occasion when they know that the table is open. It has happened to me on occasion.

[JPH814]

As i mentioned above, we are at a table for two so that is one consideration eliminated. I do understand the others.

[jtl513]

Hal does put open diners into the fixed on occasion when they know that the table is open. It has happened to me on occasion.

Same for us once, but it was a 2-top, not one where we were put with others.

[dakrewser]

There are lots of places where the HAL site/brochures contradicts information.

 

I tend to rely more on first hand reports ;)

 

I too, have seen the open dining referred to as AYWD as well on board.

 

 

Calling it AYWD doesn't make it so. Since the concept was introduced it's been understood that it covered fixed, open and specialty dining. Perhaps the concept wasn't drilled in to the staff on ships, but it's my belief that they would not want to correct a passenger who got it wrong. And, as we've seen on CC over the years, a number of pax have got it wrong.

 

Of course, we've always been told you can switch from fixed to open, but you can't switch back. For the OP there are many, many options should you prefer not to go to the MDR one night. Take advantage of those rather than potentially causing problems for your fellow passengers.

[dakrewser]

My point in asking is just because - on past cruises- we never seem to get to the shows because we eating so late.

 

 

On our most recent cruise the second show was usually at 10:00 PM, we had no problem with our table for 7 getting there on time.

[casamariposa]

Unless the party that wants to switch for the night is at a fixed table for 2, then this should never be possible. Others at the table selected fixed seating because they wanted a table with the same tablemates every night. To place open seating people with them when others are away for the night is not fair to them.

 

I agree with you completely, Ruth. I've been sailing the Prinsendam over the past three years, and the only "beef" I've had with that ship was that at my "fixed/early" seating, table for six or eight, they would place one or two people from open seating at our table if one or two of the "regulars" were dining elsewhere. It changes the ambience. If I wanted to have to introduce myself continually to new tablemates, I would have opted for "open seating" to start with! I, and the others at my table, made our feelings clear about that in our evaluations. That has never happened on any of the other 20 HAL cruises on various ships of the line that I've cruised on. My tables mates and I have been very good about alerting the Dining Room Mgr. if we're ALL going to dine together in the Pinnacle Grill on a particular night so that the Mgr. can place open seating passengers at our unused table.

[cruz chic]

I agree with you completely, Ruth. I've been sailing the Prinsendam over the past three years, and the only "beef" I've had with that ship was that at my "fixed/early" seating, table for six or eight, they would place one or two people from open seating at our table if one or two of the "regulars" were dining elsewhere. It changes the ambience. If I wanted to have to introduce myself continually to new tablemates, I would have opted for "open seating" to start with! I, and the others at my table, made our feelings clear about that in our evaluations. That has never happened on any of the other 20 HAL cruises on various ships of the line that I've cruised on. My tables mates and I have been very good about alerting the Dining Room Mgr. if we're ALL going to dine together in the Pinnacle Grill on a particular night so that the Mgr. can place open seating passengers at our unused table.

 

As an open diner I wish they wouldn't do this either. It's been my experience that usually you end up being sent upstairs a bit later than the start of the fixed dining so you are rushed. Getting your open wine seems to be a problem. I've had it happen on gala nights too when I'm wearing a long dress and heels and have had to walk up the stairs with that situation. Not good. I've asked them to not put me upstairs if it can be helped. I think it's a good idea to mention the issue on your evaluation. It's also not fair to the waiters who may get thrown off.

Edited December 30, 2015 by cruz chic

[joepeka]

Interesting replies. Thank you all

 

We are on a twelve night cruise. We like the traditional fixed seating because we have always enjoyed having the same servers. We usually travel with others so we usually have a table four six or more. This time we are at a table for two. We prefer late seating because it gives us a chance to come back from shore excursions, rest, and then leisurely prepare for dinner. But with four days at sea, I was thinking maybe one night or two we might want to eat early.

My point in asking is just because - on past cruises- we never seem to get to the shows because we eating so late.

 

Our package includes one dinner in Pinnacle and one in Canneletto. We may ask for earlier reservations one of those evenings. We may even do a room service dinner one night. We are staying in a Neptune suite so that might be enjoyable. We would not do the Lido for dinner. Not interested

 

But I was just looking for other potential options. Thanks for all of the advice

I think you solved the situation with those two specialty dinner comps. Whenever we've done that (dined in a specialty restaurant one or two nights versus our normal MDR time), we've informed our head waiter the evening prior so he/she would be aware and could potentially make use of the seating for others if needed.

Edited December 30, 2015 by joepeka

[SeaBands]

but that makes too long a cocktail hour. We do AYW and the first night talk w/ Maitre D' that we would like a table for 2 at a specific time each night with the same waiter and a $10 tip didn't hurt. We always notified him if were doing specialty dining so the table could be freed up. Never had a problem.

Edited December 30, 2015 by SeaBands