YOUR WAY DINING- Noordam

[whyme]

The new dining "your way " is not making friends. Since Hal allows reservations for open seatings at 8 and 8; 15 pm. many tables sit idle for up to 1 1/2 hours before the reservation time, because they allow an 1 1/2 to 2 hours for serving. So no one can use those tables after 6;30 pm, we had to wait up to 30 minutes for a table for 4 at about 7 pm.. and then sat down and watched many tables stay empty til the 8 pm people showed up..

This is stupid, to have open seating and make people wait because there are tables being held for late reservations

[hammybee]

I hope you don't mind that I copied this into the AYWD sticky at the top of the page.

 

Your experience is so different than my own, on the Noordam. It sounds like, and I am speculating here, they took too many reservations for the later times, leaving many idle tables during the 7-8 range. BOO on this.

[whyme]

I hope you don't mind that I copied this into the AYWD sticky at the top of the page.

 

Your experience is so different than my own, on the Noordam. It sounds like, and I am speculating here, they took too many reservations for the later times, leaving many idle tables during the 7-8 range. BOO on this.

No problem if you wish to copy... Where you on the Noordam after they switched to open dining for the down stairs??

[hammybee]

No problem if you wish to copy... Where you on the Noordam after they switched to open dining for the down stairs??

 

Yes I was, back in May. It worked fine for us and no waiting.

[bUU]

I'm a bit confused about your concern though, whyme: My confusion is with regard to whether you are advocating that Holland American should ignore reservations they take, or simply refuse to take reservations and make everyone wait for a table, ... :confused:

[rzdj96]

Admittedly I haven't read all the posts about "Any Time Dining" but isn't it a bit contradictory to allow reservations? I can understand reservations for the specialty restaurants but for "Any Time Dining"? One would believe it would be for "first come first served". To "hold tables" kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

[bUU]

I believe the name Holland America uses is "As You Wish" Dining. It includes traditional dining and (again, Holland America's words) "flexible/open" dining. So that includes both open dining (presumably no reservation) and flexible dining (presumably that bit that allows reservations).

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/media/newsRelease.do?fileName=/200707/16_Corporate_01.xml

 

So I think what you're seeing is posters abbreviating the actual words used by Holland America, and that abbreviating by posters actually resulting in the appearance of a contradiction.

[jhannah]

I don't care what it's called, either by HAL's marketing department or participants in this forum. Going on a cruise and having to wait on a table to eat dinner is just plain goofy! We can do that at Olive Garden!

[bUU]

:confused:

 

Olive Garden doesn't serve Thyme Roasted Venison Filet with Red Onion and Raisin Compote.

[gizmo]

:confused:

 

Olive Garden doesn't serve Thyme Roasted Venison Filet with Red Onion and Raisin Compote.

 

I have never seen Thyme Roasted Venison on any of my cruises.

 

I am assuming you saw this on a menu someone posted. I am not saying you won't see it but don't hold your breathe waiting for it to show up.

 

 

I don't care what it's called, either by HAL's marketing department or participants in this forum. Going on a cruise and having to wait on a table to eat dinner is just plain goofy! We can do that at Olive Garden!

 

I don't care what they call it either. Waiting for a table is lousy.

 

I wonder if the "beepers" flash pretty colors. :rolleyes:

[pipedreams62]

I just can't believe people wait with a beeper, to eat at "Olive Garden" :confused:

 

 

 

[bUU]

I have never seen Thyme Roasted Venison on any of my cruises.

I lifted that menu item from a Noordam menu posted by someone a few months back. It happened just to be the first one I saw.

 

I don't care what they call it either. Waiting for a table is lousy.

I think waiting for anything, anytime, in any circumstance, is something people tend to prefer to avoid.

[whyme]

Yes I am advocating HAL ,not have late reservations in an open seating setting. The reason for no late reservations is that tables must be kept open because of the lag time to eat( 1/1/2 - 2 hours)....Since they are trying to copy the dining options of other lines.. Oceania.. theirs is completely open seating,you get there and when a table is ready you sit...

[dakrewser]

Yes I am advocating HAL ,not have late reservations in an open seating setting. The reason for no late reservations is that tables must be kept open because of the lag time to eat( 1/1/2 - 2 hours)....Since they are trying to copy the dining options of other lines.. Oceania.. theirs is completely open seating,you get there and when a table is ready you sit...

 

 

Ah, but that's not MY way, is it? :)

[hammybee]

Yes I am advocating HAL ,not have late reservations in an open seating setting. The reason for no late reservations is that tables must be kept open because of the lag time to eat( 1/1/2 - 2 hours)....Since they are trying to copy the dining options of other lines.. Oceania.. theirs is completely open seating,you get there and when a table is ready you sit...

 

The strength of reservations is that it manages passenger expectations.

Without reservations, what happens if everyone gets the same bee in their bonnet and presents for dinner at 7:30?

 

I read most CC boards, including the Oceania board. There are plenty of posts claiming people wait to be seated. Most passengers on Oceania seem however to, develop strategies to work around the fact that the dining room cannot seat everyone, at the same time. They arrive before the dining room is open and wait or they have a cocktail or two before dinner, while they wait.

 

It seems to me that the typical Oceania passenger who posts on CC, is more flexible than some who post on the HAL board. Of course a lot of this has to do with the transition to open seating on HAL versus open seating being the only form of dining available on Oceania.

 

Given Oceania's passenger capacity is about one-third of a VISTA class ship may mean that one is less likely to have to wait long for a table on an Oceania ship than say, the Noordam. There are however tremendous economies of scale, on HAL. Caribbean sails on Oceania cost about $146 more per day (comparing outside cabins) per passenger than a HAL sail. Gratuities run 15-45% more on Oceania, dependent upon cabin class. Fuel surchargess are 40% higher on Oceania, too.

 

If we are to believe what we read here about passenger preferences, more HAL passengers seem to prefer dining earlier than late and often exceed in number, the chairs available to seat them, regardless of seating, traditional or open. No matter what, some will be disappointed.

 

It's sounds to me like the passenger dynamics on your cruise skewed towards earlier dining than not, which is why you incurred a wait, for a table. I am thinking that so many dined earlier is what caused you to have to wait for a table, not late reservations.

 

The alternative is that instead of being seated at 7:30 P.M., you would have had to dine very early or later, had you been limited to Traditional seating.

[dakrewser]

Given Oceania's passenger capacity is about one-third of a VISTA class ship may mean that one is less likely to have to wait long for a table on an Oceania ship than say, the Noordam.

 

But there are also only 1/3rd the number of DR seats, so - all else being equal (# of people wishing to dine at 7:30, e.g.) it's a wash...

[CTBob]

Recently off the Noordam and here is my experience. We had a group of eight that wanted to eat together each night. On the first night we had reservations at the Pinnacle Grill and all went fine. On the second night we decided to test the AYW dining and showed up at 7:30PM for a table. First we waited in line for 30 minutes just to give our name and get our beeper. Then 15 minutes later our table was ready. After that we made reservations for 7:45PM every night and noticed that there was no longer a line of people waiting to be seated so I guess everyone learned their lesson early. After that it was just like having fixed seating as long as I called up every day. One day I forgot to call but when we arrived they still had the same table waiting for us. I expect that the fact that we wanted a table for eight made our situation difficult. However one night I heard the reservation manager complaining that he had requests for 80 tables for two. I guess you can't win.

 

Bob

[Jimjam]

THREE CHEERS FOR jhannah .. YOU SAID IT ALL....

[Jimjam]

Thanks CTBob ---------That's just the information I was looking for.

 

Merry Christmas to all...............

[whyme]

The strength of reservations is that it manages passenger expectations.

Without reservations, what happens if everyone gets the same bee in their bonnet and presents for dinner at 7:30?

 

I read most CC boards, including the Oceania board. There are plenty of posts claiming people wait to be seated. Most passengers on Oceania seem however to, develop strategies to work around the fact that the dining room cannot seat everyone, at the same time. They arrive before the dining room is open and wait or they have a cocktail or two before dinner, while they wait.

 

It seems to me that the typical Oceania passenger who posts on CC, is more flexible than some who post on the HAL board. Of course a lot of this has to do with the transition to open seating on HAL versus open seating being the only form of dining available on Oceania.

 

Given Oceania's passenger capacity is about one-third of a VISTA class ship may mean that one is less likely to have to wait long for a table on an Oceania ship than say, the Noordam. There are however tremendous economies of scale, on HAL. Caribbean sails on Oceania cost about $146 more per day (comparing outside cabins) per passenger than a HAL sail. Gratuities run 15-45% more on Oceania, dependent upon cabin class. Fuel surchargess are 40% higher on Oceania, too.

 

If we are to believe what we read here about passenger preferences, more HAL passengers seem to prefer dining earlier than late and often exceed in number, the chairs available to seat them, regardless of seating, traditional or open. No matter what, some will be disappointed.

 

It's sounds to me like the passenger dynamics on your cruise skewed towards earlier dining than not, which is why you incurred a wait, for a table. I am thinking that so many dined earlier is what caused you to have to wait for a table, not late reservations.

 

The alternative is that instead of being seated at 7:30 P.M., you would have had to dine very early or later, had you been limited to Traditional seating.

 

My problem with the open seating is that it is not a true open sitting ..Reservations can be made for 5;15 ,5;30.then 8; 8;15.. So what is happening is that tables sit vacant for up to 2 hours , so that if you come after 6;30 ,all the tables that are reserved for the 8pm reservations ,are unavailable for seating anyone.

I have been on Oceania ships on 3 differant occassions and the most we ever waited was approxiamately 15 minutes.

[whyme]

The strength of reservations is that it manages passenger expectations.

Without reservations, what happens if everyone gets the same bee in their bonnet and presents for dinner at 7:30?

 

I read most CC boards, including the Oceania board. There are plenty of posts claiming people wait to be seated. Most passengers on Oceania seem however to, develop strategies to work around the fact that the dining room cannot seat everyone, at the same time. They arrive before the dining room is open and wait or they have a cocktail or two before dinner, while they wait.

 

It seems to me that the typical Oceania passenger who posts on CC, is more flexible than some who post on the HAL board. Of course a lot of this has to do with the transition to open seating on HAL versus open seating being the only form of dining available on Oceania.

 

Given Oceania's passenger capacity is about one-third of a VISTA class ship may mean that one is less likely to have to wait long for a table on an Oceania ship than say, the Noordam. There are however tremendous economies of scale, on HAL. Caribbean sails on Oceania cost about $146 more per day (comparing outside cabins) per passenger than a HAL sail. Gratuities run 15-45% more on Oceania, dependent upon cabin class. Fuel surchargess are 40% higher on Oceania, too.

 

If we are to believe what we read here about passenger preferences, more HAL passengers seem to prefer dining earlier than late and often exceed in number, the chairs available to seat them, regardless of seating, traditional or open. No matter what, some will be disappointed.

 

It's sounds to me like the passenger dynamics on your cruise skewed towards earlier dining than not, which is why you incurred a wait, for a table. I am thinking that so many dined earlier is what caused you to have to wait for a table, not late reservations.

 

The alternative is that instead of being seated at 7:30 P.M., you would have had to dine very early or later, had you been limited to Traditional seating.

 

My problem with the open seating is that it is not a true open sitting ..Reservations can be made for 5;15 ,5;30.then 8; 8;15.. So what is happening is that tables sit vacant for up to 2 hours , so that if you come after 6;30 ,all the tables that are reserved for the 8pm reservations ,are unavailable for seating anyone.

I have been on Oceania ships on 3 differant occassions and the most we ever waited was approxiamately 15 minutes.

[hammybee]

My problem with the open seating is that it is not a true open sitting ..Reservations can be made for 5;15 ,5;30.then 8; 8;15.. So what is happening is that tables sit vacant for up to 2 hours , so that if you come after 6;30 ,all the tables that are reserved for the 8pm reservations ,are unavailable for seating anyone.

I have been on Oceania ships on 3 differant occassions and the most we ever waited was approxiamately 15 minutes.

 

Well I don't think all the tables were reserved, else you would not have been seated.:)

 

Regardless if HAL accepted reservations or not, it sounds like there were a lot of folk on your cruise who preferred to dine early. I think they would have shown up to dine at their preferred time, regarless of reservation or not and thus you would have had to wait, no matter what.

 

What I do find curious is that at least on your cruise, the reservation timeframes sort of mimic the fixed seatings. This is not how it once worked nor is waiting for a table a given. It bears watching.

 

That your waits on Oceania did not exceed 15 minutes seems reasonable to me, given the premium you paid and the size of the ship.

[kryos]

This is stupid, to have open seating and make people wait because there are tables being held for late reservations

Personally, I don't think reservations of any type should be allowed in "As You Wish" dining. The whole point of AYW is that you can make your dining plans on the fly, and just show up to eat when you are ready. So, what's with the reservations? They shouldn't be necessary, nor even desired. Seatings in AYW dining should be first come, first served. If you come during a peak period, and you insist on a table to accommodate just your group, then you may have to wait 15 minutes or so. But, if you're truly flexible and don't mind being seated at that big table over there ... with three other couples ... you can be seated immediately.

 

If HAL insists, though, on accepting reservations, then those reservations should only be offered at the beginning of the dining time window. Then, if the party doesn't show up within ten minutes of their stated reservations time, the table is given to the next person in the queue. Seems only fair.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[hammybee]

 

If HAL insists, though, on accepting reservations, then those reservations should only be offered at the beginning of the dining time window. Then, if the party doesn't show up within ten minutes of their stated reservations time, the table is given to the next person in the queue. Seems only fair.

 

Blue skies ...--rita

 

Regardless of reservation or not, if the dining room fills to capacity early on, those who arrive later may have to wait till a table opens up.

 

The real issue is that there are often more, way more people, who insist upon dining early, more than there are seats available for them. This happened when all dining was fixed and it continues to happen. No way around it, some folk are going to be disappointed or have to wait.

 

Or, they can upgrade to a higher end cruise line and have a better shot at getting what they want. Those who sail in the least costly cabins will need to pay multiples and those who sail in suites may have to settle for smaller cabins or pay more too.

[GeriatricNurse]

Regardless of reservation or not, if the dining room fills to capacity early on, those who arrive later may have to wait till a table opens up.

 

The real issue is that there are often more, way more people, who insist upon dining early, more than there are seats available for them. This happened when all dining was fixed and it continues to happen. No way around it, some folk are going to be disappointed or have to wait.

 

Or, they can upgrade to a higher end cruise line and have a better shot at getting what they want. Those who sail in the least costly cabins will need to pay multiples and those who sail in suites may have to settle for smaller cabins or pay more too.

 

 

Then, it is NOT "As You Wish"!!!