Open dining on the Spirit??

[MaiTaiMary]

We just booked our cruise (can I get a "woooohooooo"! :D ) and were asked about our dining preference.

 

I thought it was just early dining and late dining.

 

We were also given the open of a new "opening dining" where we just show up anytime between 5:45p and 9:00p in the main dining room. I guess we would be eating with different people every night.

 

Has anybody done this? Thoughts on it?? Sounds pretty good to me since we wouldn't be stuck at a specific time every night.

[MaiTaiMary]

I was also wondering if you showed up at a popular eating time (say, 7:00p), have you had to wait for a table like in a "regular" restaurant back home? :confused:

 

I love the idea of not being set to a specific time, but I also liked getting to know my wait staff and getting to know the people at my table. But with the open dining, I guess we'd be meeting new people every night! :D

[zqvol]

We chose this option on the Legend last summer and really enjoyed it. We were able to have a table for two each night, never had a wait and were able to request the wait staff that we wanted. We were able to take as long as we wanted to dine, without being rushed to get the meal finished for the next seating.

 

We dislike the standard dining of being forced to eat with strangers, and have not bitten into the myth that you get to know the wait staff so that they get to know you, but I will give them credit for being able to take good notes so that they can bring you what you want.

 

If you like to meet new people at dinner this is probably not an option for you and I would suggest traditional seating.

[MaiTaiMary]

Do you have the option of sitting at a larger table or is this dining option only for tables of 2?

[Glenn n Steven in SC]

We just booked our cruise (can I get a "woooohooooo"! :D ) and were asked about our dining preference.

 

I thought it was just early dining and late dining.

 

We were also given the open of a new "opening dining" where we just show up anytime between 5:45p and 9:00p in the main dining room. I guess we would be eating with different people every night.

 

Has anybody done this? Thoughts on it?? Sounds pretty good to me since we wouldn't be stuck at a specific time every night.

 

Darn! Guess that's coming later in the year. Hasn't been mentioned for our 5/27 Alaska cruise.

[MaiTaiMary]

Darn! Guess that's coming later in the year. Hasn't been mentioned for our 5/27 Alaska cruise.

 

I *think* I read in another thread here that the Spirit is going to start this in June 2009.

[cruzinismyname]

Do you have the option of sitting at a larger table or is this dining option only for tables of 2?

Yes, you have the option of bigger tables with other people. Keep in mind though that you may be joining other diners who are already eating or will be joining your table while you are eating.

[zqvol]

Yes, you have the option of bigger tables with other people. Keep in mind though that you may be joining other diners who are already eating or will be joining your table while you are eating.

 

At dinner, as opposed to breakfast and lunch, they wait until the entire table is seated before taking orders, so everyone, at the table, is on the same schedule.

[islandersx4]

Have had this option on a few cruises and love it....At first I was not sure. It is a vacation after all and not being held to a specific time is just my style.

[modernscarlett]

I'm curious if larger parties, ours is 8, would have to wait for a table.

[momofzeke]

I *think* I read in another thread here that the Spirit is going to start this in June 2009.

 

Correct.

 

With the open dining, you can either ask to be seated at a larger table with other people......or you can ask for a table for just your party (2 or 4 or whatever).

 

If you have a larger party, like 8 people, you may have to wait a bit longer to be seated.

 

If you find a waiter that you really enjoy, you can also ask to be seated in that waiter's section each night. Again, it might possibly involve a slightly longer wait for a table.

 

From posts I've read about open dining, it seems like most people have been seated pretty quickly, if not immediately. A few have had longer wait times, but sounds like most have had pretty good luck.

[86004]

The Legend had open seating during our last cruise in December. We chose assigned early seating because we had only 1 late time in a port. There were lines of people up and down the staircase waiting for open seating at 6 pm. We walked past them and directly to our table.

 

Each evening as we prepared to go downstairs for dinner, we were glad to be able to 'just walk right in'. Also, during some cruises we really enjoyed our waiter, assistant, and table mates. In 2007 our table even created our own '12 days of Carnival' instead of '12 days of Christmas'. It was great fun for all of us.

 

That's the + side of assigned seating. The - side is that it is ASSIGNED! Some evenings a flexible time would have been preferred.

 

I also wonder what would happen if we chose assigned seating then showed up for open seating????

[happylady]

How does the tipping work on open seating?