Why have cruise lines have resisted the move towards flexible dining for so long. We asked the experts at Cruise Advisor for comment.
The theatre of the evening meal is one of the great joys of cruise. Traditionally, guests have had just a few options: one of two sittings in the main dining room, or a more relaxed meal at the buffet. In order to fit guests in and ease congestion in the kitchen, cruise lines have divided sittings to first (about 6.30pm) and second (about 8.30pm). Guests are given the same table each night, meaning they get to know fellow guests and their waiters and can plan their day around the meal – opting for a pre-dinner spa treatment or post-dinner show.
However, in recent years, there has been a move towards flexible dining times (Norwegian Cruise Line calls it Freestyle Dining), where diners can turn up and eat when they want. It also means guests don’t have to sit with the same people every night – meaning you’re not at risk of getting stuck with some veteran bore.
Many guests prefer this freedom, but the main hall can get very busy at optimum times like 7.30pm, with queues a possibility. In fact, some cruise lines have already backtracked, with Royal Caribbean reining in its Dynamic Dining programme and creating My Time Dining in two of its restaurants instead.
Increasingly, even small and mid-sized cruise ships will offer more than the buffet and main dining room, with several speciality restaurants, often a French, an Italian and a steak house, that sometimes incur an extra cost or can only be booked once per cruise.
