10/22 Oosterdam Dining Change - No, I'm not kidding...

[heavenly]

Just in from Ship Services, they received this news today, our rep doesn't even know yet...

 

Starting with the 10/22 sailing of the Oosterdam, this is a test on the Oosterdam ONLY, early seating will be at 5:30 and is a combination of upper and lower. Only one seating time, both the 5:45 and 6:15 seatings are combined in this new early seating. Main Upper and Main Lower have been discontinued, it is now called "Leisure Dining" and you can show up from 7:30 until the doors close to dine. There are no confirmed late seatings... The only exception is any group that was scheduled for the later seatings will still have their confirmations honored.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

OH MY:eek: This does not set well with me. I love my 6:15 time 7:30 to me is too late and 5:30 is way too early:eek: I go back on the Oosterdam Feb 4th. Any word on how long this "TEST THING" will last? I have to admit this does upset me:mad:

[dakrewser]

My, my, my. THey couldn't have picked a worse combination had they tried! I do hope anyone on this cruise will fill out their comment cards appropriately...

[Aussie Gal]

Even though we haven't a booking on the Oosterdam, I am not in favour of this change.

 

That is one of the reasons I do not like sailing with Princess. I do not like not having a set time. Last year we sailed on the Tahitian Princess which still has the the two set times - as the Dining Room is too small for anytime dining - and the Regal Princess which we will be on in January also has the two set times.

 

In future we will be looking at ships that have set dining times. We like a later meal, around 8pm and we also enjoy the company of our table mates. We love to hear what everyone has been doing during the day. It is a way of getting to know people from the far off corners of the world.

 

Jennie

[Iggipolka]

Just in from Ship Services, they received this news today, our rep doesn't even know yet...

 

Starting with the 10/22 sailing of the Oosterdam, this is a test on the Oosterdam ONLY, early seating will be at 5:30 and is a combination of upper and lower. Only one seating time, both the 5:45 and 6:15 seatings are combined in this new early seating. Main Upper and Main Lower have been discontinued, it is now called "Leisure Dining" and you can show up from 7:30 until the doors close to dine. There are no confirmed late seatings... The only exception is any group that was scheduled for the later seatings will still have their confirmations honored.

 

I don't understand this. Early seating is now only at 5:30 OR you can show up from 7:30 until the dining room closes??

 

This sucks. BAD BAD BAD move HAL. I had really been looking forward to having the same tablemates every night and the same dining time. This is absolutely awful. :mad:

[bepsf]

I would imagine that if you still wanted to reserve a specific table for 8pm or 8.30 w/ a group of folks, that one could still do so w/ a simple request to the Maitre'd.

Lisa--

I'm sorry that this change doesnt work for you, but I'm sure that it wont be the same in Feb - I'm sure that will probably make adjustments to the times and arrangements again before then...

[WillK]

As someone on the 10/22 sailing, I don't really see this as problematic. Maybe HAL is testing the Princess PC concept?

[MBeamTX]

Good grief, this is a dumba** move on HAL's part.

 

It clearly shows, though, that they have bifurcated their marketing to 2 distinct groups: the traditional, mostly older, passengers who want a fixed dinner seating and tend to prefer earlier hours anyway; and the more casual, typically new-to-cruising bunch who don't want to be told when to eat (or what to wear while they'd eating, most likely).

 

My suspicion is, they're going to use Oosterdam as a testbed to see which customer group will they need to cater to going forward.

 

Clearly left out in the cold: anyone who likes tradition but doeesn't plan to be in bed by 9 pm.

 

Susan

 

p.s. I'm really, reallly happy we're sailing on Westerdam and not Oosterdam next month. And HAL just gave us one more reason to look at Royal Caribbean again for our next cruise (as long as we aim for 10+ days to avoid the kids).

[sail7seas]

Add me to the list of those who think this is horrid.

 

We like our 8:00 assigned table dining.

 

If I wanted to eat like Princess, we would book Princess.

 

[Iggipolka]

 

If I wanted to eat like Princess, we would book Princess.

 

 

EXACTLY! Having traditional seating is one of the main reasons why I like sailing with HAL. If I had wanted Freestyle dining, I would have chosen a different line.

If people want to eat at a different time other than their assigned dining time, isn't that why there is dinner served in the Lido?

[bepsf]

I hope this also means no more getting interrupted halfway through dinner w/ the Baked Alaska Parade! :D

[bellebaby]

So, if we want to continue with assigned seating, dinner is served at 5:30? We usually have an early dinner at home, but not that early.

 

We tried Personal Choice dining on Princess and found it to be just like going to a restaurant. If we wanted that type of dining experience, we'd choose a land based vacation.

 

In my opinion, don try to fix what is not broken!!

 

B

[Sierrachik]

As someone on the 10/22 sailing, I don't really see this as problematic. Maybe HAL is testing the Princess PC concept?

 

It was stated on another thread that HAL would be testing the personal choice concept. This information came from James Deering personally and directly last week on board the Zuiderdam. I would expect that if it is found to be successful there will wind up being a combination of personal choice and specific seatings.

[Atomica]

That's crap. Personally I enjoy the late dinner seating, and I don't really like the idea of having to eat early just to enjoy being assigned to a table. If I wanted open seating dining I'd take NCL. I'm only in my twenties, but the one thing I really enjoy about HAL are the little things like fixed dining etc. Who knows, it may work, but my guess is there's going to be a lot of upset passengers who aren't able to be able to get the fixed-seating dining.

[WillK]

I hope this also means no more getting interrupted halfway through dinner w/ the Baked Alaska Parade! :D

 

Amen to that Brian!

 

I do see some advantages to PC. I would much prefer to choose my dining companions than have them assigned.

[sail7seas]

I hope this also means no more getting interrupted halfway through dinner w/ the Baked Alaska Parade! :D

 

 

It well could mean the end of the Baked Alaska Parade.

[Iggipolka]

I'm talking to my TA right now. She just got off the phone with HAL and the rep she talked to said that she had never heard of such a thing. The HAL rep said that their ships aren't configured for freestyle dining and that their customer base is not interested in having the traditional dining changed. So, according to my TA and the HAL person she talked to, the dining is NOT changing on the Oosterdam.

 

Nothing like conflicting information.

[Aussie Gal]

There is no way that we would ever eat at 5.30pm. To us it is still the afternoon and there is still so much to do before the evening begins.

 

If this is the way HAL wants to do the changes, then we will be looking for another cruise line in the years to come.

 

Jennie

[cruznon]

Whoa...talk about stirring the dining times issues even more!!! Ugh!

This "test run" eliminates the two most popular times:6:15 and 8:00 to make the most unpopular time--5:45--even earlier and do away with 8:00--the most popular time with cruising traditionists.

Perhaps HAL could really streamline things even more...

Eliminate dinner times and just have "Dunch" ....start around 3:00 and for those who prefer a later time...well, why not bring back the midnight buffet!

Obviously HAL doesn't understand that many HAL cruisers truly value cruising tradition--that's WHY they come back again and again to HAL.

I understand HAL is out to broaden their pax demographics, but some things just down't make sense.

I do have a question: given this new idea, do passengers need to make nightly dining reservations or just show up , hope for the best (table location, size, wait for an opening)? To borrow a phrase, this get "curiouser and curiouser"

[Sierrachik]

I'm talking to my TA right now. She just got off the phone with HAL and the rep she talked to said that she had never heard of such a thing. The HAL rep said that their ships aren't configured for freestyle dining and that their customer base is not interested in having the traditional dining changed. So, according to my TA and the HAL person she talked to, the dining is NOT changing on the Oosterdam.

 

Nothing like conflicting information.

 

It is tough when there is conflicting information. James Deering is the Hotel Manager, currently filling in on the Zuiderdam, he came on board last Tuesday in Grand Cayman. His regular ship is the Oosterdam. He gave us the information on the test last Thursday during a Q&A session for Cruise Critic members.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

It is tough when there is conflicting information. James Deering is the Hotel Manager, currently filling in on the Zuiderdam, he came on board last Tuesday in Grand Cayman. His regular ship is the Oosterdam. He gave us the information on the test last Thursday during a Q&A session for Cruise Critic members.

 

Did he by chance say how long this "TEST" was lasting?

[Sierrachik]

Did he by chance say how long this "TEST" was lasting?

 

There was no indication of the length of time.

[mechcc]

Add me to the list of those who think this is horrid.

 

We like our 8:00 assigned table dining.

 

If I wanted to eat like Princess, we would book Princess.

 

 

Couldn’t have said it better! Is there a new CEO at HAL? What’s going on? HAL has one of the biggest return customer rates and it should be evident that the reason is because they like it the way it is. The Lido, room service, and Pinnacle Grill are all personal choices. Oh – and how are they going to satisfy large groups like Princess House’s desire to dine together? They all have to eat at 5:30 or take away the late personal choice from everyone else. It seems to me that X is HAL’s biggest competitor and that is where I guess a lot of HAL’s customer’s will go. Dumb, dumb, dumb!

[LoveLifeAtSea]

Of course, I agree with the mass majority here! It looks like, if this is true and HAL starts moving in this direction, I may very well be looking for another cruiseline to book my cruises with.

 

HAL has slowly been making A LOT of MAJOR CHANGES, beginning a couple of years ago with changes to their tipping policies. Does anyone else see how HAL has been slowing placing all of these changes into place, bit by bit . . . copying other cruiselines?

 

Although it's very sad for me now, before long, I won't even recognize the original HAL that I have come to love and look forward to returning to, over and over again. When I no longer recognize the HAL that has drawn me to them, then I suppose it will be a lot easier for me to book elsewhere. I'm already preparing myself to become desensitized so that the goodbyes are easier.

[tspinn]

As someone on the 10/22/05 sailing of the Oosterdam, I say, "Say it isn't so!". I like my late seating with tablemates who I get to know over the course(s) of dinner and the cruise. This sounds hokey, and I will beleive it when I see it actually happen.

 

Tim