Noordam: Upper / Lower level dining

[Benzbuddy87]

Hi all! We are currently booked for 12/6/06 ... and have been waitlisted for second seating, upper level (lower level apparently has openings for late seating). For those who have sailed on Noordam ... do you have any thoughts / suggestions / input on upper vs. lower level seating?

[bala girl]

If the current Leisure Dining experiment becomes firm, both rooms will have the same time you can dine - anytime from 8-9pm. If Leisure Dining is no more, upper will probably go back to 8pm and lower to 8:30. So it might also depend on when you prefer dining just in case they go back to the old timing. Upper room is on Promenade Deck, so there is deck all the way around the windows. Lower dining room windows are right on water . The photo gallery is right outside the entrance to the upper dining room, so it can get a little congested. When you leave the upper dining room (deck 3) for the show in the Vista Lounge, the better seating is on decks 1 and 2, so you need to come down a flight.

Sounds like I am favoring lower dining room, but I had dinner in upper and enjoyed each evening. Assume upper and lower rooms have different dining times, and pick based on your preferred time.

[Benzbuddy87]

Thanks so much! That would explain it (each level with separate dining time). So, it looks like an entire level is seated at one time, then the other. Personally, I do not care for any form of leisure time dining. I will keep my fingers crossed!

[MBeamTX]

We're booked on Noordam in November. Is that ship experimenting with "leisure dining"?? :eek: I thought it was only Oosterdam.

 

Can someone confirm which it is?

Thanks,

Susan

[RuthC]

Susan, it's reported in another thread that the Noordam started the "experiment" in June.

SD, I had the lower dining room on the Noordam (8:30) last March since I booked close to sailing. As mentioned above, it was easier to get in/out on that level. And I was on the better level for post-dinner entertainment. :)

Since I went for pre-dinner drinks in the Ocean Bar I had to go down one level to dine, but found it easier to do that at mid-ship.

I agree that if I were you I would pick the time I prefer then hope for the best.

[MBeamTX]

Ruth, thanks for providing the information - even though it's not what I wanted to hear. :(

 

We selected main dining on the lower level, which I think is 6:30 pm. I'm going to have to search the boards to understand how this leisure dining works. I hope it doesn't mean that we have different dining stewards every night. :mad:

 

Susan

[RuthC]

Susan, "main" dining is the 8:00 or 8:30 seating. "Early" is 5:45 or 6:15.

On the experiment the window for early is 5:30-6:00, and for main is 8:00-9:00.

There was one report that the window for early is 5:30-6:30, but I suspect that's bad information. There just isn't enough time to turn-over a table if a party arrives at 6:30 and the later party arrives at 8:00 for the same table.

[MBeamTX]

Thanks, Ruth. Apparently I was totally discombobulated when I wrote that last message. We are confirmed on Noordam for "Early Lower Dining" according to my reservation. So that should be 6:15 pm.

 

I plan to write to send a fax to Ships' Services about 2 weeks before the cruise to request a table just for the three of us. I've done this before on some of our other cruises. It just seems more necessary now. We really don't want to be at a big table with people arriving at different times, delaying the meal and forcing the stewards to juggle courses. Dad's a diabetic and needs to eat within a short time of taking his insulin in the room right before dinner.

 

Thanks,

Susan

[Benzbuddy87]

Thanks for the info Ruth. I guess I am dissapointed if HAL is experimenting ... as there was no mention of this on their website (not that I saw, anyway), and it was not mentioned to me when I booked with HAL.