Oosterdam dining time changes for this week

[Two@Sea]

I love my DH. He's a great guy, makes me laugh, and I wouldn't trade him for anything. BUT, after all these years, we appreciate the company of others during dinner conversations. "What did you do today?" is rather ridiculous between just the two of us... because we were both there!

 

The "single couple" are in almost the same position as the "solo cruiser" when it comes to table shuffling. We prefer the same table, with the same companions, at the same time, for the duration of our cruise. Period. If HAL intends to do away with this simple concept, we will return to Celebrity.

[AirGorilla]

You may be right, Sail. Brand loyalty is something that every company strives for, and once a loyalty is established, it is not easily broken, but it can be broken. HAL might want to study the Oldsmobile. For many years, they had a very loyal base, but it was an aging base. Remember how they tried to market to the younger market with jazzy, smaller offerings and the slogan "it's not your father's Oldsmobile"? Where are they now? They not only destroyed their base, but could not compete in the overcrowded market they wanted to reach. Hal could easily find themselves doing the same thing.

 

Grumpy --

That is a very interesting analogy. All these recent moves by HAL (large groups--Princess House, low fares, screwy dining schemes) are positioning the line as more mass market, and less premium. It will be difficult to differentiate HAL's product from Princess/RCCL/Carnival/fill-in-the-blanks. At the same time, they are leaving Celebrity with its own niche -- premium. This is where HAL used to be, but is moving away from. The Celebrity management team must be very pleased.

[AirGorilla]

I think it is also "crass" to be placed in the position of having to arrange tomorrow's dining time with your newly-met tablemates. Imagine...

 

"We would like to dine at 8:15 tomorrow evening."

 

"Oh, that's a bit late for us. How about 7:45 instead?"

 

"Well, we have a long excursion and will probably get back late. We would also like to rest a bit before rushing to the dining room."

 

"Surely (exasperated sigh) you can hurry just a bit..."

 

Actually, maybe it would be a good idea to switch everyone around, because no one will be feeling friendly toward their tablemates...

 

I have a new title that HAL can call their new dining scheme, "Negotiated Dining"!!!!

[Two@Sea]

I have a new title that HAL can call their new dining scheme, "Negotiated Dining"!!!!

 

Ok, that gave me a good laugh... and I needed it! Thanks! :D

[RevNeal]

HAL has replaced "Dutch Night" with "Dutch-luck Dining" -- Come and see if you get what you were promised. Be prepared to stick a finger in a dike. (Do THAT have multiple meanings!)

[Copper10-8]

Be prepared to stick a finger in a dike. (Do THAT have multiple meanings!)

 

Been there done that growing up in the old country;) We'll be on the Oosterdam for Valentine's on 11 FEB 06 and I don't like this ongoing experiment at all! Hope lots of unhappy pax will let the Hotel Mngr. and Maitre 'd know about it plus give it a thumbs down in the surveys

[LAFFNVEGAS]

John, I just realized as we get off the Oosterdam you will be getting on:( We will just miss each other. I do promise to behave myself and leave the Oosterdam in really good condition;)

[kryos]

HAL has replaced "Dutch Night" with "Dutch-luck Dining" -- Come and see if you get what you were promised. Be prepared to stick a finger in a dike. (Do THAT have multiple meanings!)

 

Ummmmm, Dutch Luck or Negotiated Dining. I just have to see which name I prefer. :)

 

Screw it ... I'll just keep things simple and eat in the Lido every night. That way I can wear some of my more "colorful" slogan tee-shirts. Let's see ... maybe I'll start out with the one that says "It's not a real sport unless you can die of severe internal trauma ... Skydive!" :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Copper10-8]

John, I just realized as we get off the Oosterdam you will be getting on:( We will just miss each other. I do promise to behave myself and leave the Oosterdam in really good condition;)

 

I have no doubt Lisa;) Have an awesome cruise! :)

[wblynch]

Wow.

 

Reading many of the comments in this thread, if we do sail HAL again I will have to MAKE SURE we sail on a Vista.

 

The attitude of some of you is not pleasant at all.

 

Perhaps Jane and I are some of the new HAL customers that the old-timers despise so much.

 

Although at the end of last week's Oosterdam cruise I wasn't sure I'd sail HAL again, when comparing notes everyone in our group had a fantastic time.

 

Our sailing had returned to the "traditional" 4 fixed seating times and I enjoy the traditional arrangement.

 

By happenstance, our group had been separated with two parties split up at other sides of the dining room and the rest clustered in the center.

 

Because the ship was full beyond capacity, (2100+ on an 1800 pass. ship) no table changes could be accomodated.

 

But truly, there were times when the Vista Dining Room was half empty due to late port calls or people visiting the Pinnacle or the Lido.

 

On those evenings with an empty dining room it sure would have been nice to have the flexibility of having our other friends join us or be seated near us.

 

The "FAT" system could easily have allowed that.

 

So, though we weren't included in the experiment, or surveyed about it, I can see some attraction in the concept.

 

.

[sail7seas]

Please help me here.

 

Perhaps Jane and I are some of the new HAL customers that the old-timers despise so much

 

I can't imagine where anyone said they despise the "new" HAL cruisers.

Did I miss it somewhere? I'm also a little unsure about this 'old-timers' business. We don't consider ourselves to be old-timers......Well, actually, we really aren't old yet. (Hope we are lucky enough to live long enough to grow old together.)

 

Our complaint has nothing to do with any person at all (other than those calling the shots in Seattle, perhaps). It has everything to do with changes we don't welcome.

 

But despise.....speaking only for myself, that is most absolutely NOT the case.

 

Happy your group enjoyed their cruise.

[RevNeal]

wblynch,

 

Welcome! I think you'll discover that the longer-term HAL Mariners don't despise anyone, least of all any shorter-term Mariners or "new Passengers." Quite the contrary, we simply want the Line to maintain the traditional cruise experience which attracted us to this form of vacation and mode of travel. Speaking for myself, I don't even dislike the Director of Ship's Services who is responsible for instituting this change. He and I have carried on a fairly congenial and informative conversation for several days, and I think I've come to understand both where he and the Line are coming from and how this new system is likely to work. I still don't like the change, and still fear that it will result -- given various circumstances -- in my solo-cruise experience being adversely impacted with occasional uncomfortable "footballing" around the Dining room; but I do not despise Joe because it's his job to institute that which has been decreed from on-high, and I certainly don't despise any of the new passengers to the Line who have expressed a desire for HAL to be more like Princess, or RCCL, or NCL when it comes to their Dining arrangements. Indeed, I would hope that such new passengers would discover, as did I, the charm and enjoyment of the traditional form of cruise-liner dining and will determine to cruise HAL with such traditional touches -- indeed, BECAUSE of such traditional touches -- and go to other Lines when they want to have different experiences. Sadly, it doesn't appear as though this is going to be allowed to happen. Rather, the "powers that be" have determined to change HAL in order to accommodate the wishes of new passengers. Oh, well ... a good thing gone, and those who are new will never know the difference. But we will. :(

 

None of this means that I, or others, despise you or other new Mariners! Quite the contrary ... we welcome all to come and experience the charm and grace of the Holland America Line. I just hope and pray that there is some charm and grace left for you to experience when Seattle gets done changing things.

[kryos]

Speaking for myself, I don't even dislike the Director of Ship's Services who is responsible for instituting this change. He and I have carried on a fairly congenial and informative conversation for several days, and I think I've come to understand both where he and the Line are coming from and how this new system is likely to work.

Rev, if you don't mind my asking, did he happen to mention whether this planned change was for the entire fleet, or just the Vista class ships? I'm hoping it's just for the Vista class, which after all are the ships that are trying to attract more of the "family type" cruisers for whom this change would probably be most appealing.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

Perhaps Jane and I are some of the new HAL customers that the old-timers despise so much.

It's not the new HAL customers we despise at all ... in fact, personally, I don't despise anyone. It's change strictly for change sake that I despise.

 

If port calls all tended to run into the later hours on this particular cruise, then one would think the traditional dining times could have been slightly modified to accommodate them. In fact, I would bet the dining room was empty because people chose to eat informally on those nights ... in their cabins or in the Lido because they were tired, not necessarily because they were unhappy with the dining room. I know that when I spend a whole day in port, chances are I've eaten lunch ashore. When I get back to the ship, I'm hot, tired and not that hungry. The dining room is the last place I want to go. I just run up to the Lido and grab a bite if I'm hungry, or I could order a snack later on from room service if I'm not.

 

Frankly, what I am hoping happens with this new dining concept is that they implement it on the Vista class ships, to accommodate the "new style" cruiser, but leave it alone on the smaller ships. That would be the best way to accommodate everyone, don't you think?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

By happenstance, our group had been separated with two parties split up at other sides of the dining room and the rest clustered in the center.

 

Because the ship was full beyond capacity, (2100+ on an 1800 pass. ship) no table changes could be accomodated.

Just a tip for the future ... have your TA link all of your booking numbers together for dining purposes. That way you would have been seated at the same table, or a couple of adjoining tables if your group was too large to be accommodated at one large table.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Two@Sea]

Frankly, what I am hoping happens with this new dining concept is that they implement it on the Vista class ships, to accommodate the "new style" cruiser, but leave it alone on the smaller ships. That would be the best way to accommodate everyone, don't you think?

 

Unfortunately, no, it would not accommodate us. We happen to prefer the larger ships, and traditional dining. Go figure!

[stanford's girl]

The attitude of some of you is not pleasant at all.

 

Perhaps Jane and I are some of the new HAL customers that the old-timers despise so much.

Please forgive us if we sound unpleasant. This change is a hot button for a lot of us.

I was on the first sailing when they made this change unannounced. It was my first HAL cruise so I am a new customer. I booked with HAL because of the traditional dining. I dislike "anytime or lesuire" dining. I was not very happy that I booked this cruise having them advertise one thing and giving me another.

I am not a Mariner but I can tell you one thing. If HAL continues with this "lesuire dining", I will be looking at other lines which offer traditional dining.

[RevNeal]

I am not a Mariner but I can tell you one thing. If HAL continues with this "lesuire dining", I will be looking at other lines which offer traditional dining.

 

Guess what ... you've been on a HAL cruise, hence you ARE a Mariner. :)

Welcome to one of the most meaningless clubs you'll ever find with the most expensive jewelry!

[kryos]

Unfortunately, no, it would not accommodate us. We happen to prefer the larger ships, and traditional dining. Go figure!

Then it's all gonna depend on what the comment cards each week reflect. If the majority of the passengers say that they like the new dining concept, then the new dining concept is what will be adopted on a permanent basis. I'm just hoping that IF they do have to implement it, that they only implement it on the Vista ships.

 

Let's face it ... no matter what HAL does, SOMEONE is gonna be unhappy. I think the trick is to please the majority of the people. If this only goes into effect on Vista class ships, at least we have options if we still wish to sail with HAL. If it goes into effect throughout the fleet, then our only options are to either adjust to it or find another line to sail.

 

Of course, I would prefer the concept not be implemented at all. But barring that, I'd rather see it go into effect only on the larger ships, which are generally the ones sailing "family-oriented" itineraries. This leaves a lot of other ships for me to choose from that still offer the traditional assigned dining times and seating.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[RevNeal]

Rev, if you don't mind my asking, did he happen to mention whether this planned change was for the entire fleet, or just the Vista class ships? I'm hoping it's just for the Vista class, which after all are the ships that are trying to attract more of the "family type" cruisers for whom this change would probably be most appealing.

 

He has been intentionally vague about that kind of thing. He won't even admit that it's going to be instituted on any of the other Vista ships, much less the entire Fleet. As he puts it, it's still in testing stages ... much too early to say how far it will be instituted. That being said, from what I've been able to gather from what he DOES say, it sounds to me as though it will be brought on-line in January 2006, initially on the Oosterdam, and that (based upon something he said) it sounds like it will be in-place on the Noordam when we sail on Feb 22nd.

 

As for the rest of the Fleet, I would be VERY surprised if it wasn't implemented Fleet-wide fairly quickly after the end of the test period. From what he has said, it sounds like the Modified Cunard system was adopted because it is one of the few plans that enable greater flexibility in scheduling without requiring a major refit of the ships extended, multiple, dining venues.

[kryos]

As for the rest of the Fleet, I would be VERY surprised if it wasn't implemented Fleet-wide fairly quickly after the end of the test period. From what he has said, it sounds like the Modified Cunard system was adopted because it is one of the few plans that enable greater flexibility in scheduling without requiring a major refit of the ships extended, multiple, dining venues.

Oh, well ... at least it won't be in place on my Amsterdam cruise in January.

 

Guess if this plan goes fleet-wide, I'll be going back to Princess exclusively. At least they offer a choice with both early and late traditional seating being options. As long as you don't wait to book until the last minute, you can get your choice of seatings in the traditional dining room.

 

Shame ... I really like HAL and would hate not to be able to sail her anymore. But I won't put myself in the position of having "leisure dining" as my only meal choice. The Lido is nice, but not every single night.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[WNYCRUISER]

sounds to me as though it will be brought on-line in January 2006, initially on the Oosterdam, and that (based upon something he said) it sounds like it will be in-place on the Noordam when we sail on Feb 22nd.

 

I believe I had mentioned earlier on this or another thread, that you would likely see it on the Noordam, with their comments being "That's the way we always did it on the Noordam". It will likely be a "surprise" on that one too, as they are currently taking reservations for the four dining times. I already have confirmation on time, which we know kind of means squat at this point.:(

[stanford's girl]

Guess what ... you've been on a HAL cruise, hence you ARE a Mariner. :)

Welcome to one of the most meaningless clubs you'll ever find with the most expensive jewelry!

But I'm just a baby Mariner compared to a lot of you.:)

 

[stanford's girl]

Then it's all gonna depend on what the comment cards each week reflect. If the majority of the passengers say that they like the new dining concept, then the new dining concept is what will be adopted on a permanent basis.

The funny thing about this is they didn't even ask this question on the comment card. They asked just about everything else but not a word about the new dining concept.

Also, not a word about this was spoken in the embarkation talk given by the Cruise Director. He was more than willing to tell everyone to how to fill out the cards with high marks or about how to tip. You would think that he could have thrown in a small sentence such as, "Please let us know how you liked our new dining concept".

How do they expect to get a majority of the passengers opinions if they never ask the question?????:rolleyes:

[sail7seas]

Ahhaa.....

 

That is how they can say...."we've had very few negative comments about it."