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As You Wish Dining - What and How

hammybee

By hammybee,
in Holland America Line

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mancunian

mancunian

Posted
Posted

We returned from Rotterdam yesterday. As usual we had booked open sitting and this was confirmed in the cabin. However, something I have not seen before - the letter explaining the system said that there were vacancies in both early and late fixed seating if anyone wished to change. Thought that was unusual and perhaps it is a sign that things are evening out a bit.

 

There had been changes since Rotterdam in May in that you can now book up to two days at a time and you can book anytime between 8 am and 4 pm.

 

We have clearly been lucky on Rotterdam (3 times) and Prinsendam as we have not had problems with open seating on any occasion. We only prebooked once on this cruise just turning up usually between 6.45 and 7.45 pm and never did we have to wait. In the latter part of the cruise I developed a chest infection and when back in action decided it was fairer on myself and other passengers if we opted for a table for two. (Unable to cope with both eating and talking without coughing!!). Amazingly this was no problem either and in fact there were a lot of tables for two. The only time we had to queue at the door was the night of the Master Chef's dinner when we were back on fixed times. This reminded me of another reason we like open sitting.

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cp556

cp556

Posted
Posted
Do any of you just skip the main dining room altogether?

 

 

Well .... yes. Generally we do skip the MDR. I guess that we cruised for so many years with traditional dining being the only choice ... same table, same time, same people. Now we like to change around. So, we reserved Open seating so as to allow flexibility.

 

Last cruise (16 nts) we dined in the MDR one time, Canaletto three times and Pinnacle four times. The other nights were either Lido or room service.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
*Miss G* "Live from...." Rare

*Miss G*

Posted
Posted

AYW dining was problematic for our party of 9 on the Zuiderdam last year. It became almost stressful to attempt to book a reservation every morning, and we were never assured of one. Quite often we had to separate into 2 or 3 groups at different seatings. Sometimes we ate at different places.... some in main dining, some in the Pinnacle, some at the Lido. Once or twice we were told they couldn't accommodate us in main dining at all. *blink*

 

We weren't able to reserve fixed seating through our TA for next weeks cruise. There are 10 of us this time. I am not looking forward to it. :(

 

How were others able to book fixed seating on their cruises? I could use a hint. LOL

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RuthC

RuthC

Posted
Posted
How were others able to book fixed seating on their cruises? I could use a hint. LOL

We book as early as possible---sometimes as much as 15-18 months out.

Even then we don't always get what we wish dining. :rolleyes:

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Roz Great Review Rare

Roz

Posted
Posted

Judy,

 

I was in the same situation as you are on my Nov. 1 Noordam cruise. When I didn't see a dining room card and number in my cabin, I knew I was still waitlisted. I went to the DR at the time given in the daily program to see the maitre d', but the line was long and not moving. I finally gave up, and just accepted the open dining. It worked out OK.

 

From what I observed on my cruise and in talking with others, you do better just walking up to the wait stand, rather than driving yourself nuts (and getting up early!) to make a reservation.

 

Roz

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mancunian

mancunian

Posted
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HEYJUDE I think being waitlisted does mean something - you will possibly stand a good chance of getting what you want. On our recent cruise on Rotterdam we got open sitting as we had asked, but the letter in the cabin telling us this also said there were vacancies for formal sitting on both early and late sittings. I am assuming that on this occasion they must have given all waitlist people tables and still had some over.

 

Good luck. I hope you get what you want.

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donnabob Great Review Rare

donnabob

Posted
Posted

First and last time I'll ever do as you wish dining.

Every formal night we had to wait 45 mins to get in.

The first 2 nights there were also 30 min waits. The

only nights we didn't have to wait were when we

booked a 7:45 seating and when we went at 8:15.

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lzeit71203

lzeit71203

Posted
Posted

i have traveled 5 times on HAL and once or twice on carnival and royal carribean. have traveled with DH and gal pals. i must say that i find HAL to be the best--i love the free 24 hr room service--that is a bonus compared to other lines. some say it is for older travelers, but i do not find that to be true. i have found a variety of passengers on the ship and have always enjoyed the ride. sometimes, the shows are not to my liking, but there are many other ways to spend my time. i guess i need to try other lines., but for now==HAL has my cash

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Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen

Posted
Posted
First and last time I'll ever do as you wish dining.

So, you aren't going to sail on HAL again? As I've stated before (over and over again), ALL the dining venues (incl. room service and the burger place by the Lido pool) are part of HAL's 'As You Wish' dining. Yes, even the fixed seating in the MDR is part of it.
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GeriatricNurse

GeriatricNurse

Posted
Posted
So, you aren't going to sail on HAL again? As I've stated before (over and over again), ALL the dining venues (incl. room service and the burger place by the Lido pool) are part of HAL's 'As You Wish' dining. Yes, even the fixed seating in the MDR is part of it.

 

The poster probably should have stated "Open Dining" rather than "As You Wish Dining"!

And no, I would NOT choose HAL's "As You Wish", sorry, I meant to say "Open Dining" either!

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Presto2 Great Review Rare

Presto2

Posted
Posted

As someone new to cruising and once considering going on P&O we have just discovered a holiday using HAL ------ have now just seen this dining option and I think it sounds perfect for us !

 

Off to dream ..................:D

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lucky1ns

lucky1ns

Posted
Posted

I am booked over a year in advance and it says early and late seating are full which is fine by me as I love the idea of AYW dining.

 

I just hope the kinks are worked out by the time I get there as I am with 2 big, hungray impatient guys and will end up living on burgers if the dining room is too much for them to deal with.

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RuthC

RuthC

Posted
Posted
I am booked over a year in advance and it says early and late seating are full which is fine by me as I love the idea of AYW dining.

Sounds like fixed seating is AYW for a whole lot of people. It's open seating that passengers aren't wishing for on your cruise.

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Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen

Posted
Posted
That is confusing.

 

I thought As You Wish was open seating.

 

Was I wrong?

Yes, you are wrong. Do you think only passengers who have open seating are dining as they wish? ALL passengers have "As You Wish Dining". Some wish open seating, some wish fixed seating. ALL dining venues are part of "As You Wish". In addition to the MDR, the Pinnacle Grill, Lido, room service, the burger and pizza places by the pools....

 

From the HAL site:

As You Wish® dining

 

From a festive five-course affair to a quick, casual dinner for two, our As You Wish® dining lets you choose the venues and style that suit you.

 

The elegant main Dining Room

 

* Luxurious Dining Room, graced with fine art and antiques

* Sophisticated Rosenthal china and crisp white table linens

* Five-course menus with offerings from classic preparations regionally inspired cuisine to vegetarian options

* Your choice of traditional pre-set seating and dining times or a flexible open schedule

 

 

The Pinnacle Grill experience

 

* Intimate dining featuring Sterling Silver Beef® and fresh seafood

* Luxurious appointments including Bvlgari® china, Riedel® stemware and Frette® linens

* Extensive wine list featuring many selections rated “Excellent” by Wine Spectator

 

 

Other delightful ways to dine

 

* Fresh, cooked-to-order specialties in the Lido Restaurant for breakfast and lunch

* Made-to-order dinner entrees and tableside waiter service in the Lido Restaurant for dinner

* Complimentary 24-hour in-room dining

* The Terrace Grill on deck

* Late-night snack; Chocolate Dessert Extravaganza

* Explorations Café featuring pastries and espresso drinks

* Daily Afternoon Tea service, elevated to Royal Dutch High Tea once per cruise

 

 

A master staff and crew

 

* Enhanced menu design under the direction of Master Chef Rudi Sodamin

* Executive chefs inducted into the prestigious Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, an international food and wine society

 

 

Signature touches

 

* Ice cream bar featuring complimentary treats

* Hot hors d’oeuvres during cocktail hour.

 

 

Special dietary needs, such as vegetarian, diabetic or gluten-free meals, are easily accommodated with advance requests. Kosher meals and a Health Conscious Dining option are also available. To arrange special meals, please contact the Ship Services Department at 800-541-1576 at least 60 days prior to departure. As You Wish® dining is currently available on each of our ships.

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Napi's Mom

Napi's Mom

Posted
Posted

We traveled twice on HAL with the fixed seating, then discovered first on Renaissance then Oceania and Azamara -- open seating....was wonderful for us. We met so many more interesting people that we would have with the fixed with 4-6-or 8 at a table. Plus eating when we wanted. On the recent NCL cruise we did with our Granddaughters we had 6 of us so we shared the table each night, had no problem being seated almost immediately. (This was 4 nights...our shortest ever-- now on to...)

I do have a question about the open dining. We will be on an 18 day cruise Aug 3, and are wondering about whether formal nights effect open dining? Do you need to dress formally throughout the ship? And how many would there be on an 18 day cruise??:confused:

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RuthC

RuthC

Posted
Posted
I do have a question about the open dining. We will be on an 18 day cruise Aug 3' date=' and are wondering about whether formal nights effect open dining? Do you need to dress formally throughout the ship? [/quote']

The dress code for the evening, whether it be formal or smart casual, applies to both sections of the dining room, as well as the public areas of the ship (with the exception of the Lido, Lido Deck, and outside areas).

On an 18-day cruise you should expect 5 formal nights.

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