Feedback on open dining Britannia Restaurant

[Host Hattie]

I started a similar thread 18 months ago but open dining is now well established so I thought it would be useful to get a snap shot of recent experiences. 

There's no need to repeat the arguments against open dining, we know it doesn't suit everyone. 

So, have you used open and did it work for you.

If not, please comment about why not.

[Kordy]

Thank you for doing this .... this will be useful.  I am actually not sure if I should go for Fixed Dining or Open Dining on my upcoming cruise on QM2 in Britannia.  My only criteria is that I would like to have a table for 2 which is not RIGHT next to other people and that we have some privacy.  I'm hearing that most tables for 2 in Britannia are only 6 inches from each other and therefore they are basically tables for 6 separated by a tiny amount.  Not sure if it is even possible to have a table with a little privacy(?).

 

I wonder if we choose FIXED dining, maybe we can maximise the chance of a better table.  Or maybe with OPEN dining, there is more preferences opened up?

[lindylooellalouise]

Open dining worked very well for us on Queen Victoria and Queen Anne, never been given a pager and always had a lovely table for two, we are on Queen Mary 2 in August so hopefully will have the same experience.

[Pushpit]

I've had a pager only once, and that was on the first night, when things are just different to other nights, with embarkation. I think that's something that comes across many areas, embarkation day isn't typical. Specifically it's difficult to guess peak time, whereas on other days it's easy to look at the Programme, work out, then avoid, the likely peak period.

 

Occasionally a 2 or 3 minute queue. Occasionally I've been passed down / up to the Fixed dining deck. I've enjoyed good and not-so-good tables, enjoyed my own company, also enjoyed talking to couples near me, for one night only. But overall I won't go back to Fixed dining, I enjoy the variety.

[Pear Carr]

Recently on QV 27/5-10/6 and had requested fixed late dining which was noted on our booking confirmation - on embarkation allocated open dining.  We went to speak to Maitre’d who was openly encouraging all who approached him to embrace open dining, we were  not swayed.  We got the impression that this was actively being encouraged with a view to eventually removing fixed dining as an option.

[Host Hattie]

1 minute ago, Pear Carr said:

Recently on QV 27/5-10/6 and had requested fixed late dining which was noted on our booking confirmation - on embarkation allocated open dining.  We went to speak to Maitre’d who was openly encouraging all who approached him to embrace open dining, we were  not swayed.  We got the impression that this was actively being encouraged with a view to eventually removing fixed dining as an option.

Did you move to fixed ?

[Pear Carr]

Yes - we were moved to late fixed but very persuasive arguments used by Maitre’d to encourage us to use open dining - including dine when we want, prime table location including window seats etc.

[3rdGenCunarder]

53 minutes ago, Pear Carr said:

Yes - we were moved to late fixed but very persuasive arguments used by Maitre’d to encourage us to use open dining - including dine when we want, prime table location including window seats etc.

 

So they're using window tables to entice people to choose open dining? 

[Kordy]

1 minute ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

So they're using window tables to entice people to choose open dining? 

 

That would work on me!  I think Open Dining is good in that it's flexible!  you can come any time you want and if you have a higher chance of a window table, then it seems to me it's almost no way anyone would want to turn that down.

[Pushpit]

35 minutes ago, Kordy said:

 

That would work on me!  I think Open Dining is good in that it's flexible!  you can come any time you want and if you have a higher chance of a window table, then it seems to me it's almost no way anyone would want to turn that down.

Um, I'm sure you seen the photo in the other thread, but the deck 3 window seats are almost all 3 tables x 2 table-tops. So those who want to be kept away from other passengers would not want these seats. There are almost as many window seats on deck 2 for that matter.

[TowandaUK]

We had open dining on Queen Anne to the Canaries. We usually went shortly after opening, and were always given a table for 2. On the first night the maitre’d said we would have to share, but I said we didn’t want that and we were shown to a table for 2 next to 2 other tables for 2 that quickly filled up. Most nights we were seated in a row of 3 and the tables were very close. We were surprised that we actually enjoyed meeting different people each night. There was one night when we asked to be away from others and we were given a solitary table next to the balcony overlooking the level 2 dining room. We never once had a window seat in the 14 nights (we never asked and were not bothered about a window). On one night when service was particularly slow there was a massive queue when we left just before 8pm, but that was the only queue we saw. 
The main problem as we saw it was that on a couple of occasions the set of 3 tables was served as if it was one big table. We were the first to arrive and the last to arrive was some 20 minutes after us. We were all given menus and served courses at the same time. One couple had an extra course and the rest of us were kept waiting until they had finished and were ready to move to the next course. Inevitably it slowed us down and instead of our usual 45 minute meal it took over 2 hours and we skipped coffee so we could get to the early theatre. Another time I would not be prepared to wait and would raise it with the servers. 
otherwise we were happy with open dining and would choose to do it again. 

[Jack E Dawson]

4 hours ago, Kordy said:

I'm hearing that most tables for 2 in Britannia are only 6 inches from each other

MAYBE 6 inched Kordy

Jack

 

[TowandaUK]

Queen Anne open dining

[Lakesregion]

4 hours ago, Pear Carr said:

Recently on QV 27/5-10/6 and had requested fixed late dining which was noted on our booking confirmation - on embarkation allocated open dining.  We went to speak to Maitre’d who was openly encouraging all who approached him to embrace open dining, we were  not swayed.  We got the impression that this was actively being encouraged with a view to eventually removing fixed dining as an option.

I sense this as the ultimate plan for all Carnival owned lines. HAL will be in my opinion be all anytime dining within two to three years. With QA in the mix,Cunard has more room to experiment. What causes this shift is the adding of multiple dining choices and the daily uncertainty of who will show up in assigned seating and who will be gone in favor of an alternative venue. Such uncertainty wrecks avic on the wait staff and the kitchen. So buckle up folks, it may be two years or five years but look for the elimination of fixed seating somewhere down the line.

[Lakesregion]

52 minutes ago, Jack E Dawson said:

MAYBE 6 inched Kordy

Jack

 

Having be in the restaurant business, one of the reasons for putting the two tops so close together is it allows for a fast change over to a four or six top with out having to carry chairs and tables all over the dining room.

[sucramdi]

I've haven't tried open dining yet, but my thought has been that fixed dining is best for crossings and open would be best for cruises. My thinking is the fixed dining is well timed with the evening entertainment schedule (on purpose I'm sure), but the flexibility of open dining is better when you're in port all day or want to watch the ship depart before dinner. 

 

Anyone tried it for both voyages types and agree/disagree? 

[ex-koelner]

I don't think that it's a matter of crossing or port-intensiv cruises. On crossings too your daily schedules varies and I did not regret to switch from fixed to flexible. I often read the argument that with fixed tables the waiters have a chance to get to know you and your preferences. Personally, that would not be a benefit for me, as I don't have any special requirements. I show up, pick the dishes I want and order a glass of wine - that's basically the interaction I have with the waiters. Having a different table at a different time with different views and different people is what I really enjoyed on my crossing.

[Pushpit]

8 hours ago, sucramdi said:

Anyone tried it for both voyages types and agree/disagree? 

I think that's a good question, but a lot depends on what you would be doing in the evening and whether you are an early to bed sort. This is because the end time of Open dining is only a bit after that of the second sitting time (21:00 hrs), so on Open you should be mostly OK for the second slot at the Royal Court Theatre. This is typically 22:15 hrs and usually one of the last events apart from G32 / Yacht Club, the nightclub. Now if you want to have retired to bed before 23:00 hrs then that's not a good set up, but other people would be fine to keep going for later.

 

On top of that, not everyone is in to the shows / Queens Room, and perhaps would want to end the evening in the Golden Lion or Commodore Club rather than schedule their evening around organised events.

 

Incidentally the reason I took up the Open concept was that I always felt that the early sitting is "too early" and the late sitting "too late". Now the logic of that is questionable when Cunard then goes and moves the clocks in advance of port arrivals, but still.

[King Amo]

I've never used it on Cunard, but have on RCI and P&O and it worked great. 

 

Our normal preference is for early dining as we're creatures of habit, but will be on open dining hopefully on QV this summer, as my parents will be joining us on the second week, so we'll need a table of 5 rather than 3. 

 

 

[foodsvcmgr]

Lakesregion please note that Princess three years after eliminating fixed dining has now reversed course and will again offer a traditional early and late seating option.

Also on HAL unused tables in the fixed dining level are frequently given to anytime diners if volume requires, so there is no waste of labor or space by continuing to offer traditional.

Same on Celebrity.

[Host Hattie]

Thanks for all the votes and comments so far. 

[Tattycoram]

I don't have a empirically backed opinion yet, but I'll report back towards the end of July!

 

We booked our July Eastbound TA in February.  At that point, fixed dining already had a waiting list.  I opted for Open, without putting our names on the wait list.  After much appreciated advice here, I have no anxieties about that decision, and even anticipate relishing the flexibility.  I'll be traveling with a teenager who, I'm expecting, will not want seven nights of lengthy dinners and not always want to eat at the same time.  So on nights she does want to eat in Britannia, we can saunter in with no stress about time; on nights she doesn't, I'll show up on my own and either eat by myself with a book or join a table in hopes of conviviality.  

Edited Thursday at 01:33 AM by Tattycoram