Med Cruise - Which Late Dinner Seating

[Giorgi-one]

We have booked a Med cruise for July 2007 on HAL Westerdam. Currenly have 8 PM dinner seating based on earlier experience in Caribbean where passengers with 8:30 seating took much longer to get served and missed parts of after dinner shows. Anyone with experience on Med cruises with these two seating times? Thanks.

[fb0075]

No more 2 dining times--they are back to the original concept of 1 sitting with a30 minute window to show up!!

FRANK

[ekerr19]

We had the upper level 8:00pm and as Frank mentions, the 1/2 hour window to show up. It worked perfectly for us - we could avoid the "rush" to the D/R and show up about 8:10 - 8:15 without dealing with the crowd.

[Giorgi-one]

We had the upper level 8:00pm and as Frank mentions, the 1/2 hour window to show up. It worked perfectly for us - we could avoid the "rush" to the D/R and show up about 8:10 - 8:15 without dealing with the crowd.

 

My understanding is that Upper level seating is at 8 PM and Lower level is at 8:30 PM. Has this changed?

[RuthC]

My understanding is that Upper level seating is at 8 PM and Lower level is at 8:30 PM. Has this changed?

Not as of now on your ship.

 

There is an "experiment" with a concept called "leisure dining". It's been going on on the Oosterdam for a while; was recently extended to the Noordam. It may or may not be in place on the Westerdam when you are aboard.

The concept is essentially two dining times which are somewhat fluid. The early sitting has an arrival window from 5:30-6:00 (there are a few reports of 'til 6:30), and main sitting has an arrival window of 8:00-9:00. The windows are open for the same period on both levels.

[Giorgi-one]

Not as of now on your ship.

 

There is an "experiment" with a concept called "leisure dining". It's been going on on the Oosterdam for a while; was recently extended to the Noordam. It may or may not be in place on the Westerdam when you are aboard.

The concept is essentially two dining times which are somewhat fluid. The early sitting has an arrival window from 5:30-6:00 (there are a few reports of 'til 6:30), and main sitting has an arrival window of 8:00-9:00. The windows are open for the same period on both levels.

 

Thanks. Sounds like a good idea. I really hate those lines waiting to go into dinner expecially on the Zuiderdam class vessels where the line winds thru the photo gallery where all the people from the early seating are trying to get their photos. One of the worst design flaws on any ship I have sailed.