Questions re dining options

[P-L-B]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I would imagine this is but one of the many IT bugs in the new cruise personaliser.

Yes, I think that may well be the case. 

[Selbourne]

On 1/30/2020 at 3:08 PM, Fionatritton said:

We've never cruised before and I'm a bit confused about how dining works. I'm very sorry if there have been lots of posts on this topic but I found the search feature didn't bring many relevant results back.

 

We will be travelling with a group of 12 on Iona in December for the Christmas Markets. We are a wedding party and all the bookings have been linked.

Breakfast - is it in the 4 main dining rooms and will the dining room be allocated via cabin number or will we be able to all sit together ? We are on deck 15 under the bridge but the rest of the party are midships on deck 12

 

Afternoon tea - I've seen mentions of buffet service, waiter service in the MDR (which I assume to mean main dining rooms) and the Eric Lanlard tea. I'm a pastry chef so I'm not bothered about the Eric Lanlard tea but I do like a sandwich in the afternoon - is the afternoon tea just served in one of the MDRs as a buffet ?

 

Dinner - We have "anytime" dining selected on our cruise personaliser. What does this mean ? I googled but got so many answers that I was no surer of what it meant. Will we be able to eat as a party on some evenings and independently other meals ? We'd like to eat as a family of 3 some nights and in a group others. If we decide to eat in one of the supplement restaurants do we need to book this in advance or could we just decide on the evening what we want to do ?

 

Wine - we are going to opt for a wine package as the premium one covers our main drinks of sparkling wine, white wine and port. We definitely won't drink a whole bottle of port in one go - how does it work if you don't finish the bottle ? And can we order sparkling wine from the package at the bar to have pre-dinner ?

 

 

I’m not sure that all your questions have been answered in a way that would make complete sense to someone who is brand new to cruising and one or two comments may inadvertently confuse you even more, so I shall try to answer them in order;

 

P&O offer three forms of evening dining. Club, Freedom and Select. The first two are included in your fare (so are free) and you choose one or the other when you book. Club dining is NOT offered on Iona but, for info, is when you are allocated a fixed table at a fixed time (first or second sitting) in a main dining room that is solely for Club diners and you dine with the same people (some of whom you may not know) every night. Table size (between 2 and, I think, 10 but I’m not 100% sure as we haven’t dined club for years, but certainly not 12) can be requested as a preference but is not guaranteed and is only confirmed once on board, so you might book hoping that your group has a table on your own but end up sharing. 
 

Freedom Dining (which is the only option on Iona) means that you are allocated a main dining room used solely for this purpose and can dine whenever you like (usually entry is between around 6pm and 9.30pm). If your bookings have been linked properly (I would check directly with P&O rather than rely on a travel agent) you will all be allocated the same dining room. You turn up when you like (within the stated times) with the people you wish to dine with and are usually seated immediately, especially if you are prepared to share with other people (whom you don’t know). At busy times (say 7-8pm) you might be given a pager (particularly if after a table for 2) and are free to go to a bar or shops and will be paged when your table is available. Unlike Club dining, you don’t have the same table or waiters every night, you are given the first table that becomes available of the size that you request. As a party of 12, I think you are likely to be split across 2 tables, as I don’t believe that they have tables that big (I might be wrong but I think 8 or 10 is the largest). The menu is identical to the Club Dining restaurants (where they exist). The newer ships have several Freedom Dining restaurants (it is the most popular choice now, for many reasons) but you are allocated one of them and you stick to that one. Nobody knows whether Iona will be different, but I suspect it will be the same. 
 

Select Dining restaurants are speciality restaurants which offer a break from the main dining rooms when the mood takes you. They offer very different menus to the main dining rooms and carry a price supplement but are well worth it IMO. You can pre book them before you sail (using your cruise personaliser, but you pay the supplement when you book and cannot use any on board credit you have been allocated) or during your cruise (when the cost is added to your on board account, so on board credit will offset the cost). The numbers of guests are limited and they will sometimes say they are full when there are empty tables, so it’s best to book early on in the cruise, especially if you want a specific night for a celebration. Again, I don’t think they have tables for 12 but there might be more flexibility to arrange this in one of these restaurants than the main dining rooms. 
 

A fourth evening dining option is the buffet. The menu here is entirely different to the dining rooms and is quite repetitive, although each night has a theme with dishes that fit that theme, but is a very ‘low rent’ experience compared to the main dining rooms (which you have paid for).

 

Regardless of your evening dining arrangement, all passengers are free to do whatever they like for breakfast, lunch and are afternoon tea and are not tied to any specific venues, so your entire group can always go to the same place at the same time. 
 

For breakfast you can use one of the main dining rooms and have full waiter service. As with evenings, you either share or ask for a table on your own - entirely your choice. We do this and it’s very civilised, but it does end quite early (9am when in port and 9.30am at sea), especially when you are on your holidays! The buffet offers breakfast until (I think) 1130. On Iona there will be additional options, probably chargeable. 
 

Lunchtime is similar. Main dining room (share or on your own - waiter service) or buffet (free for all). Some Select Dining options (chargeable) are also available (e.g. The Glass House, but probably others in addition on Iona). 
 

Afternoon tea is in one main dining room at (I think) 4.15pm and is waiter served, not a buffet. The buffet is also open but it’s very poor in comparison, though the main dining room isn’t great either. As a pastry chef you will cringe. It’s P&O’s culinary weak point. 
 

Although you are travelling with a group of 12, using Freedom dining you are free to dine with all your group, some of your group or none of your group at will, for any meal of the day, including dinner. You can decide at will in the evening, but Select Dining restaurants might be sold out. 
 

Finally, re wine, it doesn’t matter whether you have a wine package or not. Wine waiters will happily store unfinished bottles until you next require them. It doesn’t have to be the next day if you are dining elsewhere. They give you a card which identifies your specific bottle(s). 

[eddie11]

That’s very comprehensive!

 

Just one more blimmin’ thing, in case it appeals.  Of course, as above, we don’t know the details for Iona yet.

There may be a Costa outlet which also has cakes & pastries; yoghurt & granola and fruit in the mornings; savoury rolls/brioche at lunchtime.  The food comes ‘free’ or at least ‘included’ with a drink.  
Added just for completeness, not because I think it’s good.  You may love it though

[Selbourne]

Just to add to my post, I agree with others that the ‘select table size’ option on the new (and completely rubbish) ‘Cruise Personaliser’ - (see separate thread) - for Freedom (anytime) Dining is almost certainly an IT glitch, as it makes no sense whatsoever and completely contradicts the whole point of Freedom Dining. Probably the same glitch which states ‘Booking not required’ for all Select Dining Restaurants on Iona. I spoke to my P&O contact yesterday about another matter and she said that they are getting a lot of questions about this and, like us, have assumed that it’s an IT glitch. P&O’s IT department really is beyond useless and has been for many years.