FLEXIBLE SEATING - my review of open dining on the 8.31.08 sailing of the Legend

[xntric1]

My husband and I opted for "Open Dining" for our cruise last week on the Legend. Though the experience was not flawless, we do hope the choice will be available on our next cruise.

For those of you not familiar with "Open Dining", Carnival is doing an experiment on the Legend and soon to be expanded to another ship (Liberty?). In addition to the early and late fixed table seating, you can choose the Open Dining option. With this, you show up at any time between 5:45 PM and 9:15 PM (or similar times - I may be off slightly on the times) or you can call up till 4 PM and make a reservation. When making a reservation you can request a particular waiter and or table.

 

The first night we went down to dinner about 15-20 minutes after the Legend cleared the Sunshine Bridge. Having cruise out of Tampa before, we did not watch the passing. When we arrived (we didn't make reservations) we were told the wait would be about 10-15 minutes and were given a pager. We went to the bar outside of the dining room and enjoyed a drink. The seas were quite rough that night (Gustav) and it was interesting watching people try to walk a straight path. Our pager went off after about 30 minutes. We went back to the hostess stand and the two of us were seated at a table for four. We were not sure at that point if we would be having others join our table. We did not. We had a friendly and efficient wait team. We were pleased with our service.

 

Night two: we had been in Key West that day, it was an itinerary change due to the hurricane. We went down about 7:30. We were told we would have about a 15 minute wait. Once again we enjoyed a drink prior to dinner. The pager went off about 25-30 minutes later. We were seated in the same general area as the night previous, but had a different wait staff. Again, they were friendly and did a good job.

 

The third evening was our first "elegant" dinner. I called about 3:30 and made reservations for 8 PM. I did not request a certain server or table. We were seated immediately upon our arrival. Again, in the same general area, but we had another waiter. He got a lower grade that the two previous waitstaff groups. He never introduced himself or his assistant to us. There was no effort on his part to "connect' to us. We did not really lack for anything service-wise, but his personality was somewhat off.

 

Night four we went down, without reservations, about 7:15 PM. We had a long excursion in Cozumel and were looking forward to an early evening. Many of the tables appeared to be set and empty, but we again were told it would be about a 10-15 minute wait. It was at least 30 minutes. Once called we were seated at the same table we had the first night, with the same servers as the first night. They recognized us and called us by name. Again they were friendly and efficient.

 

Night five, we had reservations with others from our CC Roll Call. We left the reservation setting to others. They had a waiter they really liked and wanted to be seated in his section. We had a group of 7, but they were not able to accommodate all of us at the same table. They gave us 2 tables, back to back. We had the 'desired' waiter, the other table had another waiter. The requested waiter was excellent. He and the assistant were very personable and he went out of his way to make us feel welcomed to his section. I can understand why our friends requested him as their server each evening.

 

The next night, six, was our second elegant dining evening. Again, we did not make reservations. We went down around 8 PM and were told we had about a 15 minute wait. Of course, by this time, we realized that meant 30-ish minutes. Just right to have a leisurely drink in the bar, finish it and long enough to start wondering if you had time for another before your pager would go off. We were seated in the section of our second night waitstaff's area. She greeted us warmly and welcomed us back. It was a table for two this time. The only night we were seated at a two-top table.

 

The final night, we again had reservations made by our friends, in 'their waiters' area. Conrado is a true asset to Carnival.

 

We liked the "Open Dining" option. Yes, it has some 'warts', but it fit our style well. The approximate 30 minute wait each night was okay with us. I would have preferred a more accurate disclosure of the true wait time and anything longer that the 30 minutes would have been excessive. We did not mind having time for a drink prior to being seated. We enjoyed chatting with Adam, one of the bar/dining room waiters each evening. We could have easily made reservations each night. However, what suited us so with the flexible dining is not having to be ready for dinner at a precise time. We got dressed for dinner when we wanted to, at our own pace. We actually enjoyed the pre-dinner drink. Also, we did not have children to keep occupied while waiting for our table. It was nice having the option to dine with friends when we desired. Something we did miss about this choice was meeting tablemates. On most of our cruises, we have enjoyed our tablemates. (Yes, we have had tablemates from hell and most of that cruise we dined outside of the regular dining room.) At the end of our cruise we were given a separate comment card for the "Open Dining". We made the suggestion that when checking in with the hostess, we would have liked the option of private dining or mixed dining.

 

We hope Carnival expands this option across the fleet. We do not wish to see assigned seating go away, but adding this as an option is a definite plus to us.

[StarryBugg]

Very cool :) Thanks!

[sbharr]

Thank you for the review - would love to hear others opinions as well. We are on the Legend in less than 2 weeks and we picked this option also!

[Mikel1733]

Thanks for the review. 30 minutes is a bit long of a wait in my book, but the time will help CCL sell drinks. Not my cup of tea, I hope we can continue Traditional service.

[Dolly1952]

Your review was very informative. I will send it on to the 6 that are traveling with us. Looks like the 30 min. wait for a table is built in so one can spend money at the bar. We opted for open seating for our 10-12-08 sailing. Guess we could make reservations each day so we would not have to wait for a table. Speed things up a bit.

Thanks for the review.

[deborahjo]

Thank you for you open and HONEST opinion. I really dread this change and I love Carnival. I guess I will find out on the Splendour in April.

[CruisingCarolina]

thanks for posting this

It is nice to be able to hear how it actually

does work

Thank you once again

Carolina

[marci4tony]

Thank you for your wonderful information - we set sail on 11/2, and will probably stick with the Early Seating - but you did a wonderful reporting job!

[Payd]

My husband and I opted for "Open Dining" for our cruise last week on the Legend. Though the experience was not flawless, we do hope the choice will be available on our next cruise.

For those of you not familiar with "Open Dining", Carnival is doing an experiment on the Legend and soon to be expanded to another ship (Liberty?). In addition to the early and late fixed table seating, you can choose the Open Dining option. With this, you show up at any time between 5:45 PM and 9:15 PM (or similar times - I may be off slightly on the times) or you can call up till 4 PM and make a reservation. When making a reservation you can request a particular waiter and or table.

 

The first night we went down to dinner about 15-20 minutes after the Legend cleared the Sunshine Bridge. Having cruise out of Tampa before, we did not watch the passing. When we arrived (we didn't make reservations) we were told the wait would be about 10-15 minutes and were given a pager. We went to the bar outside of the dining room and enjoyed a drink. The seas were quite rough that night (Gustav) and it was interesting watching people try to walk a straight path. Our pager went off after about 30 minutes. We went back to the hostess stand and the two of us were seated at a table for four. We were not sure at that point if we would be having others join our table. We did not. We had a friendly and efficient wait team. We were pleased with our service.

 

Night two: we had been in Key West that day, it was an itinerary change due to the hurricane. We went down about 7:30. We were told we would have about a 15 minute wait. Once again we enjoyed a drink prior to dinner. The pager went off about 25-30 minutes later. We were seated in the same general area as the night previous, but had a different wait staff. Again, they were friendly and did a good job.

 

The third evening was our first "elegant" dinner. I called about 3:30 and made reservations for 8 PM. I did not request a certain server or table. We were seated immediately upon our arrival. Again, in the same general area, but we had another waiter. He got a lower grade that the two previous waitstaff groups. He never introduced himself or his assistant to us. There was no effort on his part to "connect' to us. We did not really lack for anything service-wise, but his personality was somewhat off.

 

Night four we went down, without reservations, about 7:15 PM. We had a long excursion in Cozumel and were looking forward to an early evening. Many of the tables appeared to be set and empty, but we again were told it would be about a 10-15 minute wait. It was at least 30 minutes. Once called we were seated at the same table we had the first night, with the same servers as the first night. They recognized us and called us by name. Again they were friendly and efficient.

 

Night five, we had reservations with others from our CC Roll Call. We left the reservation setting to others. They had a waiter they really liked and wanted to be seated in his section. We had a group of 7, but they were not able to accommodate all of us at the same table. They gave us 2 tables, back to back. We had the 'desired' waiter, the other table had another waiter. The requested waiter was excellent. He and the assistant were very personable and he went out of his way to make us feel welcomed to his section. I can understand why our friends requested him as their server each evening.

 

The next night, six, was our second elegant dining evening. Again, we did not make reservations. We went down around 8 PM and were told we had about a 15 minute wait. Of course, by this time, we realized that meant 30-ish minutes. Just right to have a leisurely drink in the bar, finish it and long enough to start wondering if you had time for another before your pager would go off. We were seated in the section of our second night waitstaff's area. She greeted us warmly and welcomed us back. It was a table for two this time. The only night we were seated at a two-top table.

 

The final night, we again had reservations made by our friends, in 'their waiters' area. Conrado is a true asset to Carnival.

 

We liked the "Open Dining" option. Yes, it has some 'warts', but it fit our style well. The approximate 30 minute wait each night was okay with us. I would have preferred a more accurate disclosure of the true wait time and anything longer that the 30 minutes would have been excessive. We did not mind having time for a drink prior to being seated. We enjoyed chatting with Adam, one of the bar/dining room waiters each evening. We could have easily made reservations each night. However, what suited us so with the flexible dining is not having to be ready for dinner at a precise time. We got dressed for dinner when we wanted to, at our own pace. We actually enjoyed the pre-dinner drink. Also, we did not have children to keep occupied while waiting for our table. It was nice having the option to dine with friends when we desired. Something we did miss about this choice was meeting tablemates. On most of our cruises, we have enjoyed our tablemates. (Yes, we have had tablemates from hell and most of that cruise we dined outside of the regular dining room.) At the end of our cruise we were given a separate comment card for the "Open Dining". We made the suggestion that when checking in with the hostess, we would have liked the option of private dining or mixed dining.

 

We hope Carnival expands this option across the fleet. We do not wish to see assigned seating go away, but adding this as an option is a definite plus to us.

 

Thanks for your review on this. I hope they continue to allow for set dining times for some, and flex dining for others.

[glmnj]

Thanks for the review. We are booked on the Legend for next Sept. so we haven't thought that far ahead, but the open dining seems like the best option for us as well. I would hate to have to stop something I was enjoying just to make sure I was in the dining room on time.

How far out from sailing do you have to make your dining choice?

[mamasue]

I agree with Mike.... I wouldn't want to wait 30 minutes to be seated.

I hope designated mealtimes stay for a long time!!

[bguppies]

Thanks for the detailed review...

 

I am hoping that Carnival has this program in place on the Freedom before our February cruise.

 

The description you gave much better fits DW and My dining needs better than assigned seating/times does.

 

Hopefully the test is succesful and gets rolled out fleetwide, ASAP.

 

Bill

[jmcdon7230]

.... At the end of our cruise we were given a separate comment card for the "Open Dining". We made the suggestion that when checking in with the hostess, we would have liked the option of private dining or mixed dining.

 

 

On the NCL ships the hostess always asks if you would like to sit with others or have a table for two. Seems odd that this would not be an automatic question. Also the wait times are definitely longer than what we have experienced on NCL (your mileage may vary).

 

Having said that, we certainly look forward to the open dining option fleet wide on Carnival.

[SCUBA Mark]

Thanks for the honest review.

 

After all the problems you had, I am surprised that you would do it again.

 

When we cruised on the Elation a three years ago, all of the dining was open seating. You could only make a reservation if you had 4 people.

 

We had different waiters every meal and the service was generally horrible.

 

Mark

[patticaryl]

We are on the Legend in LESS than 2 WEEKS!!!!! Our party has 9 people and we requested open seating. I didn't think about not being able to sit together:( I wonder if we will be able to make reservations and have them put a table for us together?

[AllenF]

Which dinning room was used for traditional ......Upper or Lower.

Thanks in advance.

[xntric1]

My suggestion for those choosing Flexible Seating -

make reservations if you don't like to wait - while we didn't see it as a problem, I can see how some would. We are laid-back, especially on vacation. My hubby actually considered it a plus to have time to go have a drink before being seated.

 

Also, the larger your party, the more important the need for reservations. I do not remember tables for more than 6, but then again - I wasn't looking for them. I know the night we wanted them for 7, they called later in the day.

 

If you see a certain table that you like, make a note of the number on it. You can request it, or just request a general area of the dining room. Conrad (actually Conrado) - if you are going to be on the Legend soon, request him if you want top-notch service.

 

One thing I failed to mention, when you make reservations, you get a card in your 'mailbox' that confirms the time and those in your party.

[xntric1]

Which dinning room was used for traditional ......Upper or Lower.

Thanks in advance.

 

Lower

[Guest Crazeecat5]

xntric,

Question- How do tips work when you have different waiter? Do you tip each night? If so, is the amount of the auto tips reduced? Please explain.

Thanks,

Sheryl

[Kurbanfan]

My suggestion for those choosing Flexible Seating -

make reservations if you don't like to wait -

 

Doesn't that defeat the purpose of flexible dining:confused: If you make a reservation you have to be there at a specific time...same as traditional.

I don't think they should allow reservations for anytime/flexible dining......I think that just messes things up.......

If you can't be flexible then traditional is the way to go.......

[gypsyrose]

I would love open seating and would probably make a reservation. It does not defeat the purpose since our normal dining time is not offered in the traditional dining room. We usually eat around 7pm every day. 6:15 is too early and 8 is usually too late. We are looking forward to open dining or flexible dining or what ever. I hope that we will have an excellent wait staff on the 1st nite and can request them every nite. You can't please everyone all the time so I think it is great they are offering BOTH:D

[cookc61462]

I think 30 min is too long.

I have cruised NCL open dining (but it has been awhile) and never had to wait.......

 

Carnival needs to tweak the open dining for it to be successful.

 

I much prefer traditional.

[Kurbanfan]

I think 30 min is too long.

I have cruised NCL open dining (but it has been awhile) and never had to wait.......

 

Carnival needs to tweak the open dining for it to be successful.

 

I much prefer traditional.

 

Another poster came back from this cruise a couple weeks ago and they said they never waited more then 5 minutes if that. Everyone will have a different experience.

The Princess board has people complaining of the wait on their ships and we sailed on Princess last Dec. and never waited one night for a party of 6.....

That being said it would be unrealistic to go in thinking there will never be a wait.......

[Sea Turtle]

We hope Carnival expands this option across the fleet. We do not wish to see assigned seating go away, but adding this as an option is a definite plus to us.

 

I'll probably always be a traditional diner; however, I appreciate hearing about your experiences with open dining. Nice review!! :)

[disfan13]

I so wish this option was available on the Miracle right now!!!!! 5:45 is too early for me but 8:30 is too late LOL!

 

Thanks for the review! I wouldn't mind the wait each night either - my S.O. and I love to have a cocktail and BS for a while before dinner. ;)