During the inaugural sailing of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection's S.S. Joie de Vivre earlier this week, one component of the cruise really stood out - it felt much more relaxed.
Granted it was a christening cruise, so of course there was a certain amount of pomp and circumstance. But aside from the naming day pageantry, the rest of the cruise had a very chill vibe, and it seemed to me that a large part of that was due to the fact that Uniworld has incorporated much more freedom and flexibility into its daily programs, including more open seating dining options.
In addition to several new smaller dining venues where guests could come and go at their leisure during designated opening hours, the main dining room also had an open seating policy that Uniworld CEO Ellen Bettridge said is something Uniworld has incorporated fleetwide for some time now.
Rather than encouraging all guests to head to the dining room precisely when it opened each night, we had the option to start our dinner anytime during the main restaurant's opening hours, usually between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. So instead of feeling like we were all being herded into the dining room to begin eating in unison, there was a more casual and seamless flow into and out of the restaurant in the evening (breakfast and lunch are usually served buffet style on river cruise ships and therefor are always open seating). Not to mention, some people could opt for more casual fare in the bistro restaurant or at Claude's, the late-night supper club.
The daily excursions also had a choose-your-own-adventure flow to them, with seemingly more options for smaller group sizes and at staggered departure times so that again it didn't feel like big hoards of passengers all rolling out in motorcoaches at the same time.
While some people may like set eating times and a very structured schedule, it appears the trend in river cruising is heading more in the other direction as river cruise lines have increasingly added alternative dining venues with open seating and more varied excursion options. This suggests that passengers have voiced their desire for more flexible eating and outing options, and that companies like Uniworld are responding in kind.
The result, as was the case with this week's inaugural S.S. Joie de Vivre Seine River sailing, is that the vessel feels like a true floating boutique hotel, where people check in and check out at their leisure and dine where and when they want.