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

[tspinn]

I was on this trip also. Hi Janice, it was great to meet you. All I can say about the change in dining is that the staff didn't seem to embrace it. The first day I went to the dining room to ask about when we should show up for dinner, and I was told "Your table and time are on your card, just come then". We had terrible service at dinner. The Assistant Waiter didn't seem to exist. We always had to ask for refills. This was my first HAL cruise. The ship was beautiful, the food was great, but overall the service was not what I expected.

[stanford's girl]

Brian,

I want to be sure I understand you. Are you saying if you have linked your reservation with other people for dining preference and to be seated together, you will be okay and that request will be honored?

Ann

Ann,

I had my reservation linked with 3 other couples and it was honored. We sat together for the whole cruise.

[stanford's girl]

Janice, I'm still trying to understand all this although I'm hoping by my cruise (11/26) this will all blow over and things will be back to normal.

 

Even though your original reservation specified 8:30, are you saying you had to make arrangements with the Maitre 'D to keep that time and your table for the rest of the cruise? Originally I thought your message sounded like it happened automatically but after reading this part I'm not so sure.

The time and table number was printed on my signing/room card. I checked with the Maitre 'D when we first boarded to make sure that this was correct. At that time he verified that the other 3 couples we had booked with, would still be sitting with us. I didn't have to ask him to do it, as it was already done.

I'm not sure if I had to check with him or not. I did because of the wording on the paper we were given before boarding. It wasn't totally clear and I just wanted to make sure we would still be dining together.

[stanford's girl]

I was on this trip also. Hi Janice, it was great to meet you. All I can say about the change in dining is that the staff didn't seem to embrace it. The first day I went to the dining room to ask about when we should show up for dinner, and I was told "Your table and time are on your card, just come then". We had terrible service at dinner. The Assistant Waiter didn't seem to exist. We always had to ask for refills. This was my first HAL cruise. The ship was beautiful, the food was great, but overall the service was not what I expected.

Hi Tim!! It was wonderful meeting you and Sandra. I have to agree with you about the assistant steward. I have no idea who ours was either. Our waiter was Charlie and he was great, as was our wine steward Willy. I'm sorry your service was so poor.

[huntram]

Brian,

I want to be sure I understand you. Are you saying if you have linked your reservation with other people for dining preference and to be seated together, you will be okay and that request will be honored?

Ann

 

Hi cruisegirl,

Let me try not to confuse anyone. What I am saying is that my original request for seating arraingments when I booked was honored. I did not have to do anything. I did check at check-in to see if they were going to force me into leisure seating and they correctly told me no. Just show up at 8:00 as pre-arrainged. We had asked for a table for 4, I received that. It is my understanding if you were by yourself, and requested an 8:00 seating and they set you at a large table with 7 others, you would have automatically been sat at the same table everynight. So as far as I see it, leisure seating was only used if YOU requested it.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Brian

[Iggipolka]

Well, we are just back from the 10/22 Oosterdam also. We were scheduled for the 8pm dining at a table for two and as part of the letter we got it said we could keep our previous rez if desired (this appeared to be a major change to what we all originally thought, and I do think it was possibly due to all the replies to this thread). We did go to see the MD the first day to verify that, but did not even get in to see him. The greeter said if we wanted to keep our original rez, we did not have to do anything. I couldn't figure out how that would work, except that maybe you keep your original table/time UNLESS you make another rez.

 

Thanks for the info Penny. So, it's sounding like if you make dining requests with other people prior to boarding AND those requests are for either the 8:00 or 8:30 dining times, you'll be able to keep your original requests.

 

So..the people who are sailing solo and/or have been assigned the 5:45 or 6:15 are going to be the most inconvienced.

[huntram]

I was on this trip also. Hi Janice, it was great to meet you. All I can say about the change in dining is that the staff didn't seem to embrace it. The first day I went to the dining room to ask about when we should show up for dinner, and I was told "Your table and time are on your card, just come then". We had terrible service at dinner. The Assistant Waiter didn't seem to exist. We always had to ask for refills. This was my first HAL cruise. The ship was beautiful, the food was great, but overall the service was not what I expected.

 

Sorry to hear about your service tspinn!

We had a different experience. Our stewarts were as perfect as could be! Always attentive, refills without asking, remembered each night what we were drinking and glasses were filled with the correct beverage at all 4 seats ready to drink when we showed up at 8:00. told the desert stewart one night I couldn't decide between 2 deserts. "Mr. Brian" he said, let me bring you both and eat whatever you like. :)

Cheppy was nothing less then amazing! And I agree that the food was great.

 

Brian

[LAFFNVEGAS]

So..the people who are sailing solo and/or have been assigned the 5:45 or 6:15 are going to be the most inconvienced.

 

This is what I am concerned with. It seems that those with the 8 PM or 8:30 seating had no problems and I am very glad. What I want to hear is those that chose 6:15. That is always our time of choice, I know it is only 45 minute but that is almost an hour earlier. Anyone out there that had early dining? Was there any word as to how many weeks this experiment will go on? I have to admit that the individual Baked Alaska Parade sound like it looses something:( I know it is corny but I like the traditional, with all the servers parading around, the lights out and the sparklers glowing and the music playing.

[stanford's girl]

Lisa,

They didn't say anything about how long this experiment will go on and I forgot to ask. They were pretty closed mouth about anything had to do with this dining test.

I asked my server how he liked it and he just smiled. I think by his reaction that he wasn't too happy with the test. It does seem like they would be working longer hours.:(

[cruisegirl]

I hope we hear back from folks that are on the Oosterdam this week. They'll be able to give us an idea if this continuing.

[heavenly]

I was on this trip also. Hi Janice, it was great to meet you. All I can say about the change in dining is that the staff didn't seem to embrace it. The first day I went to the dining room to ask about when we should show up for dinner, and I was told "Your table and time are on your card, just come then". We had terrible service at dinner. The Assistant Waiter didn't seem to exist. We always had to ask for refills. This was my first HAL cruise. The ship was beautiful, the food was great, but overall the service was not what I expected.

 

You didn't happen to have table 124 did you? We had that one for the 8:30 seating and it was horrible. Thank goodness for the Pinnacle.

[heavenly]

I hope we hear back from folks that are on the Oosterdam this week. They'll be able to give us an idea if this continuing.

 

The "test" will be continuing (according to the Hotel Manager) but not for another five weeks or so. It will be spotty due to charters, large groups and holidays. Those weeks will not see a dining test. While speaking with him, he said this was what the Mariners had been saying they wanted.

[heavenly]

Thanks for your comments about how the "test" worked out in practice---it sounds like it wasn't even tried as presented a week ago.

Perhaps HAL read this thread and decided to pull back a bit? Perhaps HAL realized there would be a PR nightmare on their hands? Whatever---it's nice to see that those who wanted traditional seating at a later hour were accomodated.

 

Now may concern is that HAL will try to tweek and twist rather than back off on the whole idea. It's like a negotiation tactic: put something totally off-the-wall out there then fall back to what you wanted in the first place. It sounds so much more palatable then.,

 

According to the Hotel Manager, you are correct, they pulled back on the all out test. They will continue testing, I'm not sure to what extreme. A few of us were invited to a one on one with him and we had him repeat the concept several times, it's just much too confusing. He was very receptive to the idea that sprung up on the board about splitting the dining rooms, said that was the kind of input they were looking for while he wrote it down.

[heavenly]

Who was the Maitre d'? Who was the Hotel Manager?

 

And, I personally doubt the existence of "Mr. Joe Potts", who was described as a "General Manager"--a job classification I don't think exists at HAL. It would make no sense whatsoever to have "Mr. Potts" only there for the day of embarkation, leaving before the ship sailed. What could he possibly have learned from that?

 

Oh, he exists, I met with him on Saturday prior to sailing. He was with Boris, the Bar Manager, when we were meeting with him regarding our group. I have his card around here somewhere, I remember looking at it and thinking "yikes, he really is a General Manager." That was pretty much all it said.

[stanford's girl]

Hi Debbie!! It was wonderful to meet you at the CC get together. :D

 

I'm so glad to see you posting as I knew you had gotten more info than I did about the dining.

[heavenly]

Hi Debbie!! It was wonderful to meet you at the CC get together. :D

 

I'm so glad to see you posting as I knew you had gotten more info than I did about the dining.

 

Janice, it was wonderful meeting you! :D What a delightful event you managed to throw together, everyone was having a great time. I was so sorry to have to leave early, had yet another meeting to go to.:rolleyes:

 

My thoughts are this, they are going to continue the type of test we had - this much I know - but it won't impact any cruises in the next several weeks due to charters, holidays (family concerns) and one sailing with a rather large group. I don't think they will have an "all out" test until they are geared up to contact the passengers about it, at least that is what I was lead to believe. Everyone needs to remember though, if you booked through a TA, traditional or on-line, it is the TA that would be contacted in this circumstance.

[stanford's girl]

 

Everyone needs to remember though, if you booked through a TA, traditional or on-line, it is the TA that would be contacted in this circumstance.

I was told by someone that TA's were notified about this before we sailed and that they should have gotten in touch with us. I'm still trying to get a hold of mine to find out if this is true. Did you hear anything like that when you talked to the big wigs?:confused:

[Iggipolka]

I was told by someone that TA's were notified about this before we sailed and that they should have gotten in touch with us. I'm still trying to get a hold of mine to find out if this is true. Did you hear anything like that when you talked to the big wigs?:confused:

 

 

I can say that my TA had absolutely no idea about the dining change before the 10/22 sailing. She works for a large online company that starts with an "O". I was the one who informed her of the change. She said that it didn't appear on any of the TA's inside websites or notification boards. :(

[stanford's girl]

I can say that my TA had absolutely no idea about the dining change before the 10/22 sailing. She works for a large online company that starts with an "O". I was the one who informed her of the change. She said that it didn't appear on any of the TA's inside websites or notification boards. :(

Just got off the phone with my TA and she didn't know a thing about any of this either. She was totally shocked that HAL would pull something like this at the last minute and not even notify the TA's or the passengers.

I told her to come here and read this thread. It will give her some idea of how unhappy this is making HAL cruisers.

[rkacruiser]

Oh, he exists, I met with him on Saturday prior to sailing. He was with Boris, the Bar Manager, when we were meeting with him regarding our group. I have his card around here somewhere, I remember looking at it and thinking "yikes, he really is a General Manager." That was pretty much all it said.

 

heavenly,

 

Does his card say General Manager of what or in what department?

[heavenly]

I was told by someone that TA's were notified about this before we sailed and that they should have gotten in touch with us. I'm still trying to get a hold of mine to find out if this is true. Did you hear anything like that when you talked to the big wigs?:confused:

 

This I didn't hear! I find it hard to believe knowing how little time they had to actually make 1,500 or so calls...:eek:

 

Joe Potts did telll me that passengers (themselves or their TA's) had been notified in advance about the PH group and the dining changes on the 10/15 sailing months in advance.:confused:

[heavenly]

I can say that my TA had absolutely no idea about the dining change before the 10/22 sailing. She works for a large online company that starts with an "O". I was the one who informed her of the change. She said that it didn't appear on any of the TA's inside websites or notification boards. :(

 

This hasn't been publized at all, it's not on any site. We wouldn't have found out if we didn't have a group on the sailing. Right now, we are booking the same group on the 10/21 sailing next year, I keep wondering if choosing one of four dining times is worth the effort...:confused:

[heavenly]

heavenly,

 

Does his card say General Manager of what or in what department?

 

Nope, that's what looked so funny!

[Iggipolka]

I got an email from my TA this morning. According to her, she said that HAL got an overwhelmingly negative response to the dining changes made on the 10/22 cruise and that they have put the dining changes on hold.

 

I'm so hoping that this is true.

[RuthC]

I got an email from my TA this morning. According to her, she said that HAL got an overwhelmingly negative response to the dining changes made on the 10/22 cruise and that they have put the dining changes on hold.

 

I'm so hoping that this is true.

Keeping my fingers, toes, and eyeballs crossed that the info is correct.

Thanks for posting it.