"Traditional" Dining or "Open Dining?"

[DaCruzNut]

There is one area of cruising that I have very mixed emotions about.

In the early days of cruising, and up to just a few years ago, assigned dining was the norm. Meals were served in the dining room(s), and you were required to arrive at either the Early (later changed to “Mainâ€Â) Seating, usually set between 6:00 pm and 6:30 pm, or Late Seating, usually between 8:00 pm and 8:30 pm.

(Dining Room aboard the Regal Empress, formerly the Caribe I, February, 2004)

Breakfast was an exception, with most ships putting out a very adequate, to excellent, breakfast buffet. The lunch alternative was, usually, hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and cold sandwiches, poolside. Meals were a critical part of the cruise experience and were considered one of the activities. After two or three seatings, you would get to know your tablemates, and form a bond that would last, at least, until the cruise ended. More important, your Waiter and Busboy (they weren’t called Assistant Waiters, yet…) would get to know you, and your likes and dislikes. Order iced tea at the first meal, and it would automatically appear at the second.

The Waiter brought the entrée, and the Busboy would, magically, appear with a huge tray of vegetables, pasta and potatoes. You could ask for as much, or as little, as you wihed. And, no problem with seconds. Of course, there was one Busboy for each Waiter, and they had only 4-5 tables to serve. Now, on most ships, the Waiters have more tables to serve, and an Assistant Waiter is assigned to two Waiters.

Over the years, the concept of more casual dining arrangements has undergone a drastic change, and have become more casual. While you can still attend your meals in the dining room, breakfast and lunch are usually “open seating,†and there is always, at least, one alternative to dinner in the dining room.

In fact, many cruise lines have taken this a step further… NCL has “Freestyle Cruising,†Princess has “Personal Choice;†eat when you want! Other lines serve extensive lunch, and dinner, buffets, allowing passengers to skip the dining room entirely. Twenty-four hour pizza has become a norm, and “alternative dining†abounds.

Oh, the freedom. Want to stay on the private island for an extra half an hour, but not miss dinner? No problem!

(CoCo Cay; Royal Caribbean’s private island)

Ate a slice of pizza, or a burger, or both, poolside at 4:00 o’clock, and not ready for dinner at 6:30? Big deal!

I enjoy both the “traditional,†and “new,†dining arrangements, but lean towards the, “traditional.†I often miss the camaraderie that used to accompany the traditional dining arrangements, and the attentive, personal, service.

On the other hand, eating when, where and what you want has many of its own advantages.

So, which gets your vote?

[Lisa63]

I am very much a "traditional dining" person. I think it's even more important when you travel with kids, because the waiters really know how to build a rapport with them -- but it takes more than one night.

We had the best of both worlds on Cunard last year. We had an assigned table, but we were able to arrive any time within a two-hour window. Although we tended to arrive at about the same time for each meal (this was for breakfast and lunch, too), it was great to be seated immediately and greeted by familiar waiters.

Unfortunately, Cunard is not using this system on QM2, other than the top-most Grill Class. :(

Gosh, how I love the Regal Empress' dining room...

[sailingrose]

Traditional all the way. Guess that's why I haven't sailed NCL. Would miss having the same waiter every night. I know you can arrange it but the hassle would annoy me....I'm on a cruise and not supposed to be doing anything! LOL

[DaCruzNut]

sailingrose-

I think you're going to love Celebrity! It's still my favorite, and 'traditional' all the way! The food staff is made up of many former Apollo employees, and the service is terrific! The food is excellent, and the wait staff very attentive.

[Shari2]

We like traditional. We enjoy having the same waiters and getting to know our tablemates. It's a great part of the whole cruise experience!

[Kristy9299]

Traditional, its like going to a fancy restaurant every night!

[sailinglisa]

I've done both Personal Choice (PC) and Traditional. My preference is Traditional by far for all the reasons stated above. Having said that, I found that PC dining under the right conditions on the right cruise is not bad at all. I am a person who loves to photo sunsets and on this particular, the times of the sunsets were all over the place and we decided to try PC. It worked for us on that cruise, but I did miss the camraderie and attention when you have the same tablemates and wait staff every night.

I am glad that there are other options available other than the main dining room on most ships. Once we had early seating but a self booked excursion (due to difference between local time and ships time) made us late for early seating...........we ended up getting a pizza and eating it for supper that night. Otherwise we would have been stuck with the limited room service menu. You never know when an excursion will run late or you oversleep or whatever. You should have options for food other than the main dining room and room service for supper.

[JohnG]

For dinner, we are late seating traditional fans. I did enjoy Freestyle on NCL, but mostly we went to the same restaurant at the same time and the staff got to know us and it was similar tor traditional. We HATED Princess Personal Choice and switched back to traditional late seating the third night after being unable to be seated in PC without a significant delay.

I also enjoy breakfast in the dining room a few days so I can get eggs benedict. However we never eat in the dining rooms for lunch. Haven't cared much for the choices and prefer a less lengthy lunch time.

[DaCruzNut]

When I sailed on the Grand Princess, there was a "mix-up" that worked in my favor. They issued one card for "traditional," late-seating and one for "personal Choice," so, I had the option of availing myself of both plans. The first three days, we stuck to the "traditional" dining. We, then, tried PC, and loved both!

While I prefer the "traditional," I really enjoyed PC, also....

[Sunni]

I really enjoy traditional, I like having the same tablemates and wait staff for the entire cruise. I tend to be shy so like only having to "break the ice" once versus every night (shy but like to meet people so don't want a two top). I like getting to know people a little more indepth which traditional seating allows me to do. Cheers!