In 2000, Norwegian Cruise lines introduced “Freestyle Cruising” and for the last 10 years, the other cruise lines have tried to catch up in providing passengers more flexibility in how, when, and where they dine.
Let’s look at the shipboard dining scene of 2010 and beyond.
In the “traditional” dining of the past, passengers are informed of their seating assignments for dinner upon boarding. Dining times and table size are based on requests made at the time of booking, but on most ships they are not guaranteed.
Guests are assigned to a specific table in either the early (generally 6 p.m.) or the late (generally 8 p.m.) seating. Passengers dine with the same travelers and are served by the same staff the entire cruise.
Many passengers still prefer traditional dining because it gives them an opportunity to get to know their fellow travelers and the staff. Traditional dining also allows the wait staff to learn preferences and anticipate requests after a night or two, leading to more personalized service.
Cruise lines offering traditional assigned seating in the main dining room during dinner include Carnival, Celebrity, Costa, Crystal, Disney, Holland America, MSC Cruises, Princess, and Royal Caribbean.
Most small-ship cruise lines offer open seating in their main dining rooms. Ships with open seating operate their main dining rooms much like any other restaurant — the dining room is open for dinner during set hours, and guests may dine when and with whom they please during those hours.
This dining style allows guests to choose their dining companions and vary their schedules as desired. Some experienced cruisers feel they do not receive the same personalized service since the staff changes each night.
Cruise lines that offer open seating in the main dining room include Azamara, Carnival, Celebrity, Cruise West, GAP Adventures, Holland America, Hurtigruten, Norwegian, Oceania, P&O Australia, Paul Gauguin Cruises, Princess, Regent, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, SeaDream, Silversea, Star Clippers, Uniworld, Viking River Cruises and Windstar.
Several cruise lines — Carnival, Celebrity, Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean — are listed above as offering both traditional assigned seating and open seating. These lines have at least two main dining rooms on most of their ships, and on each of these vessels, both traditional assigned seating and open seating are offered. At the time of booking, guests choose assigned (early or late) or open seating.
Celebrity’s “Celebrity Select” (open seating) dining debuts in 2010. Also, Carnival’s “Your Time” (open seating) dining will be available on all Carnival ships by summer 2010. The following ships offer assigned seating only: Celebrity Xpedition, Dawn Princess, Ocean Princess, Pacific Princess, Royal Princess and Sun Princess.
The great majority of ships offer one or more “alternative” restaurants in addition to their main dining rooms, ranging from 24-hour buffets to high-end specialty restaurants.
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