Just when I thought there was nothing else to cut

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I guess I don't understand why HAL has a difficult time assigning tables to those with anytime dining. This is standard practice on every other cruise line I've sailed. The waiters love it.

 

Most lines also offer some type of technology that will notify you when your table is ready. I didn't try it on the K'dam, but it sounds like HAL doesn't do this? Instead they make you stand around and wait? Is there an old school paging system at least?

 

 

Just wondering what other lines even have fixed dining.  We cruise on many lines, and HAL is the only one where we still see this antiquated practice.   Pray tell.

 

Hank

[canadarocks]

4 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Just wondering what other lines even have fixed dining.  We cruise on many lines, and HAL is the only one where we still see this antiquated practice.   Pray tell.

 

Hank

Princess has reinstated Traditional Dining in one of their three MDRS nightly at 5:00 & 7:30pm (or close to that depending on the ship) beginning in mid September 2024.

[BermudaBound2014]

27 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Just wondering what other lines even have fixed dining.  We cruise on many lines, and HAL is the only one where we still see this antiquated practice.   Pray tell.

 

Hank

 

All of the lines I have sailed since covid still have fixed dining as a choice (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, & Carnival).  The only exception I know of is NCL which abandoned the practice many years ago.

 

But, like I said above, it seems to flow better on other lines. I've never heard of not being able to get an assigned table at my preferred time (example: 7:00 p.m.). It's basically fixed dining of the cruisers preferred time (the cruise line doesn't dictate the time). There are times we can't get the exact table, but will be seated in same section as our regular servers.

Edited August 7 by BermudaBound2014

[Haljo1935]

34 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Just wondering what other lines even have fixed dining.  We cruise on many lines, and HAL is the only one where we still see this antiquated practice.   Pray tell.

 

Hank

Carnival has it.

[Kay S]

44 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Just wondering what other lines even have fixed dining.  We cruise on many lines, and HAL is the only one where we still see this antiquated practice.   Pray tell.

 

Hank

I prefer the term “traditional.”  😀

[TiogaCruiser]

On 8/5/2024 at 3:32 AM, LouChamp said:

Aloha. Agree with you. On a gwv A couple actually had another couple moved from " their" table.

 

On 8/5/2024 at 12:17 PM, FlorenceItaly said:

Since I spend too much time on this board I remember the conversation.  Originally, a different couple was assigned this table but then they were moved after the first night or so to accommodate the more seasoned GWV couple.  

I believe the “more seasoned “ couple said they were booked into the table in question, then later the second couple was given it.

 

There were 2 first-hand references to the subject in separate threads, at close to the same time.

Edited August 7 by TiogaCruiser

[Mary229]

7 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Is there an old school paging system at least?

One night I was given one of those but warned “not to go too far”. The range was to the stairs in front of the MDR. So what is a person to do - create a fire hazard by sitting on the stairs?  The pagers have disappeared on this sailing.  My experience has improved tremendously but I am pretty sure that is because of my remarks here on cruise critic. 

[indybelle]

I am disheartened to hear that there are such service issues but do understand things change.  But I'm particularly interested in what seems to be a lack of guest speakers that several posters mentioned.  Not only am I a 5 Star, Silver Medallion HAL sailor but I have had the privilege to be a guest speaker on several itineraries.  While the list of speakers mentioned in an earlier post sound interesting, it seems unfortunate that no one was speaking on the Vikings on the Voyage of the Vikings.  That is my specialty and passengers were always interested.  My hope is that HAL will try to book speakers who do talk about the Vikings on that voyage - it's a perfect match.  I wonder if anyone who has taken that voyage in the last few years have had speakers who cover Viking history and culture?  If so, I'd be interested in hearing if you did and if not, if you would have liked it.

[ChinaShrek]

21 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

All of the lines I have sailed since covid still have fixed dining as a choice (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, & Carnival).  The only exception I know of is NCL which abandoned the practice many years ago.

 

But, like I said above, it seems to flow better on other lines. I've never heard of not being able to get an assigned table at my preferred time (example: 7:00 p.m.). It's basically fixed dining of the cruisers preferred time (the cruise line doesn't dictate the time). There are times we can't get the exact table, but will be seated in same section as our regular servers.

Anytime dining on my last Royal Caribbean cruise meant we had to stand in line 15-30 waiting for a table to open up. No pagers or app notification available.

[BermudaBound2014]

14 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

Anytime dining on my last Royal Caribbean cruise meant we had to stand in line 15-30 waiting for a table to open up. No pagers or app notification available.

 

We've always set up a reserved table from anytime dining. 6:00 is too early for us and 8:00 is too late. We usually set up a reserved table for 7:15. No wait, walk right in. Same table. Same waiters. We also let them know at the beginning of the cruise the nights we won't likely be there (specialty, late tour, etc..). 

 

That's why I thought it strange that @Mary229 can't reserve a table from anytime dining on the Volendam since other cruise lines almost encourage it. The waiters prefer it also since they get to know their guests.

 

The BEST system was Carnival last January. New ships, better technology. On that ship when we were about 30 minutes away from being ready to walk in the dining room,  we checked in on the app. You don't have to go down to the hostess station at all. You can check in from your shower lol.

 

Then when your table is ready you are notified via the app. That system lent itself to true anytime dining because somedays we ate at 6:30 and some days 7:15. Every day you pick. They also track where you have sat before and try to put you in the same waiters section.

 

One of the reasons I like sailing on brand new ships is that they continue to evolve and offer better technology. I haven't found the perfect ship yet but I'm trying 😄 

Edited August 8 by BermudaBound2014

[TRLD]

4 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

We've always set up a reserved table from anytime dining. 6:00 is too early for us and 8:00 is too late. We usually set up a reserved table for 7:15. No wait, walk right in. Same table. Same waiters. We also let them know at the beginning of the cruise the nights we won't likely be there (specialty, late tour, etc..). 

 

That's why I thought it strange that @Mary229 can't reserve a table from anytime dining on the Volendam since other cruise lines almost encourage it. The waiters prefer it also since they get to know their guests.

 

The BEST system was Carnival last January. New ships, better technology. On that ship when we were about 30 minutes away from being ready to walk in the dining room,  we checked in on the app. You don't have to go down to the hostess station at all. You can check in from your shower lol.

 

Then when your table is ready you are notified via the app. That system lent itself to true anytime dining because somedays we ate at 6:30 and some days 7:15. Every day you pick. They also track where you have sat before and try to put you in the same waiters section.

 

One of the reasons I like sailing on brand new ships is that they continue to evolve and offer better technology. I haven't found the perfect ship yet but I'm trying 😄 

On P&O Iona they have vitual queues for all of the MDRs and most specialty restaurants. You can set up a reservation in advance or add your name to a virtual queue and the app will let you know when your table is ready.

[ChinaShrek]

On 8/8/2024 at 9:26 AM, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

The BEST system was Carnival last January. New ships, better technology. On that ship when we were about 30 minutes away from being ready to walk in the dining room,  we checked in on the app. You don't have to go down to the hostess station at all. You can check in from your shower lol.

 

Then when your table is ready you are notified via the app. That system lent itself to true anytime dining because somedays we ate at 6:30 and some days 7:15. Every day you pick. They also track where you have sat before and try to put you in the same waiters section.

 

One of the reasons I like sailing on brand new ships is that they continue to evolve and offer better technology. I haven't found the perfect ship yet but I'm trying 😄 

I love the Carnival system. It even allows me to select any of the various dining options for dinner and not just the MDR. You can also see how long the current wait was for each restaurant (although that could change). 

[2Long2NxtCrz]

On 8/10/2024 at 8:15 AM, ChinaShrek said:

I love the Carnival system. It even allows me to select any of the various dining options for dinner and not just the MDR. You can also see how long the current wait was for each restaurant (although that could change). 

That sounds amazing! With so many more options for dinner, it's got to be nearly impossible to properly staff when juggling fixed, any time, and specialty dining in combination with varying port departure times. This seems to be an example of when technology could easily improve service and save money. Hopefully Carnival's tech will get rolled out to the other CCL lines.

[mcrcruiser]

About the original subject of this thread imo as long as we have high inflation ^ the cruise lines have high debt loads ,expect many changes .  What they have to be careful is not to cheapen the product too much for profit sake & start loosing  bookings 

[mcrcruiser]

On 8/6/2024 at 5:44 PM, Hlitner said:

Just wondering what other lines even have fixed dining.  We cruise on many lines, and HAL is the only one where we still see this antiquated practice.   Pray tell.

 

Hank

Hank we were on a Celebrity Ship in 2023 & tjhere was fixed early & late dining inthe MDR ,at that time

[ricka47]

On 8/8/2024 at 9:26 AM, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

We've always set up a reserved table from anytime dining. 6:00 is too early for us and 8:00 is too late. We usually set up a reserved table for 7:15. No wait, walk right in. Same table. Same waiters. We also let them know at the beginning of the cruise the nights we won't likely be there (specialty, late tour, etc..). 

 

That's why I thought it strange that @Mary229 can't reserve a table from anytime dining on the Volendam since other cruise lines almost encourage it. The waiters prefer it also since they get to know their guests.

 

The BEST system was Carnival last January. New ships, better technology. On that ship when we were about 30 minutes away from being ready to walk in the dining room,  we checked in on the app. You don't have to go down to the hostess station at all. You can check in from your shower lol.

 

Then when your table is ready you are notified via the app. That system lent itself to true anytime dining because somedays we ate at 6:30 and some days 7:15. Every day you pick. They also track where you have sat before and try to put you in the same waiters section.

 

One of the reasons I like sailing on brand new ships is that they continue to evolve and offer better technology. I haven't found the perfect ship yet but I'm trying 😄 

While we have never sailed Carnival, some good friends do so and, as you noted, love their system. It just seems to make so much sense!

 

Something that some llines are doing (Oceania for one) is using a wireless system for taking orders. They take your order, and it goes right to the kitchen. No running back and forth while not making eye contact with other tables until they can return.

[atexsix]

5 hours ago, ricka47 said:

While we have never sailed Carnival, some good friends do so and, as you noted, love their system. It just seems to make so much sense!

 

Something that some llines are doing (Oceania for one) is using a wireless system for taking orders. They take your order, and it goes right to the kitchen. No running back and forth while not making eye contact with other tables until they can return.

I assumed they all did something like that. I think I had to on Princess, they wouldn't even let me do it on the TV like the old days.  The main downside was having to carry around a heavy phone everywhere, I usually lock it in the safe on embarkation day and don't look at it much after that except to check on the pet sitter. 

[TRLD]

On 8/10/2024 at 6:15 AM, ChinaShrek said:

I love the Carnival system. It even allows me to select any of the various dining options for dinner and not just the MDR. You can also see how long the current wait was for each restaurant (although that could change). 

That sounds very similar to the system P&O uses.

[MaisonRose]

On 7/28/2024 at 4:09 PM, doublebzz said:

Just returned from a 21 day Transatlantic cruise on Zuiderdam.  Having sailed with HAL for over 30 years and witnessed so many cutbacks over that period, I thought there was nothing left to cut. Boy, was I wrong!  On this cruise, there were no guest lecturers.  Instead, the cruise director and some staff provided a few short lectures of dubious interest to pass the hours on sea days.  Gone is the ship's band.  Instead, musicians and production shows employed canned music which sounded like glorified karaoke.  On a lesser note but still obvious, after dinner mints and nightly chocolates were only served on so called "dressy" nights.  Also gone were lobsters which required a significant up-charge if one desired. Staff reductions were plainly obvious particularly in the main dining room where servers had to double as wine stewards. The cost of gratuities, alcoholic beverages and specialty restaurants have risen substantially in the past 2 years. The cost of the Pinnacle Grill now rivals upscale shoreside restaurants while the quality has diminished.  I am now waiting for HAL to require guests to bring their own bed linens and towels.

So sorry to hear that..we’re booked on a westbound TA in Oct. 

i read somewhere that there are no self serve laundries. Does anyone have info on that?

….considering the worth of my CCL STOCK, they must be in dire circumstances,

[Sea42]

4 minutes ago, MaisonRose said:

So sorry to hear that..we’re booked on a westbound TA in Oct. 

i read somewhere that there are no self serve laundries. Does anyone have info on that?

….considering the worth of my CCL STOCK, they must be in dire circumstances,

There are no self serve laundries anymore.

[atexsix]

3 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

There are no self serve laundries anymore.

And that is unfortunate.  I used to pop in to iron out any wrinkles in my clothing, since even the best packing can't eliminate all of them. And with the first formal night sometimes the very next day, ship laundry might not have it back in time. 

[sunviking90]

3 hours ago, MaisonRose said:

So sorry to hear that..we’re booked on a westbound TA in Oct. 

i read somewhere that there are no self serve laundries. Does anyone have info on that?

….considering the worth of my CCL STOCK, they must be in dire circumstances,

It has been quite a few years since they have had the self service laundries. The Vista class (Oosterdam, etc) were built without them.

We are also on your cruise and plan to use the laundry bag around mid cruise. We find we are able to fit quite a bit in it.

[Hlitner]

3 hours ago, Sea42 said:

There are no self serve laundries anymore.

Great point.  What makes this even more troubling is that HAL really does specialize in longer itineraries when most folks have to deal with laundry issues.  We were recently on the Oceania Vista (that line's newest ship) and were delighted to find they had self-service laundry rooms (with free washers/dryers and iron) on every passenger deck!  Even upscale lines like Seabourn still provide self-service laundries.

 

On HAL we get free unlimited laundry, but there are still times when we miss having a laundromat plus the ability to do a little ironing.

 

Hank

[MAVIP]

On 8/1/2024 at 10:15 PM, Mary229 said:

I have been told by everyone including the hotel manager that having a fixed table is not doable. I did not state a preferred table, I will take any table. 

Maybe there is progress by now? On NSDM in MDR "open seating" in April/May we had "a table" at a fixed time and on NDSM in August (just disembarked last weekend) we had a fixed table at a fixed time. And only once we had to come back 15 minutes later; no problem for us.

[Mary229]

2 hours ago, MAVIP said:

Maybe there is progress by now? On NSDM in MDR "open seating" in April/May we had "a table" at a fixed time and on NDSM in August (just disembarked last weekend) we had a fixed table at a fixed time. And only once we had to come back 15 minutes later; no problem for us.

I think it is ship dependent.  Some MDR managers are better than others.  My cruise ended August 20.  

Edited August 29 by Mary229