Anytime dining with a group of 8

Hello,

Our group of 8 is currently signed up for the 8:15 traditional seating for dinner on the Crown R/T to Alaska. There are many shows, etc. that start at 9 that some of us would like to go to but will missed with our current dining time. I've done Anytime dining multiple times but only for a party of 2, which often requires quite a bit of waiting time. Does anyone have experience with Anytime dining and the approximate wait time for a large table vs a small table (I realize it depends on many variables....). I'm just looking for an idea so that I can "sell" Anytime dining to a few in my group. Thanks!

Our group of 9 enjoyed the Crown last July to Alaska. We were 6 adults, a 6 yo boy, 3 yo boy and 7 mo girl in high chair. We usually ate around 6:30 to 7. We only had to wait once for about 20 minutes. We only went to one show. Worked out very well for us.

 

Cheers

Hello,

Our group of 8 is currently signed up for the 8:15 traditional seating for dinner on the Crown R/T to Alaska. There are many shows, etc. that start at 9 that some of us would like to go to but will missed with our current dining time. I've done Anytime dining multiple times but only for a party of 2, which often requires quite a bit of waiting time. Does anyone have experience with Anytime dining and the approximate wait time for a large table vs a small table (I realize it depends on many variables....). I'm just looking for an idea so that I can "sell" Anytime dining to a few in my group. Thanks!

 

 

Change your traditional dining time to 7:45. That way everyone would have time to eat together and get to the show in time too. ;)

Change your traditional dining time to 7:45. That way everyone would have time to eat together and get to the show in time too. ;)

That is not an option, the late TD time is fixed by the Maitre d' and can't be changed. That being said, late TD on the Star this year is at 7:45, not 8:15. Even starting at 7:45, you would really be rushing to get your group through dinner to make a 9:00 show. Shows at that time are typically game shows. Edited June 26, 2016 by IECalCruiser

deleted due to already posted.

Edited June 26, 2016 by nanabananna

So you mention a few want to do shows. And others won't? Seems like you are trying to please everyone when they don't have the same interests. If you all don't feel you'd like to switch to early traditional at 6:00, allowing those that want to go to shows able to ....then just change to anytime dining and get there no later than 6:30.

Princess does an awful job with anytime dining. They allow traditional diners to switch over for a night or two or three... This is what causes back ups during the more convenient hours.

 

Not sure why you have to "sell" your group. I wouldn't want to tell someone what schedule they have to follow on their vacation. With different interests, some nights will just be different from others. Talk it all over with them ne time, giving them alternatives to choose from.

Edited June 26, 2016 by eandj

Your success depends on the ship and the dining room Head Waiter/Maître D. Some will allow standing reservations, some won't. On a 29 night cruise on the Crown in 2014, after the 1st night we were able to reserve a table for 6 for 7:00 each night - not necessarily the same table, but in the same area with the same wait staff. With a couple of exceptions where we had a 10-15 minute wait, our table was ready each night when we arrived. If we knew we wouldn't need the table the next night (late day in port, etc.), we let them know the night before so our table wouldn't be saved needlessly. We ended up with all the benefits of traditional dining but at the time we chose to dine. Our waiters and the Maître C did receive an nice extra gratuity at the end of the cruise. Please note, however, that others report not being able to do this successfully on some ships and you probably won't know in advance of sailing.

Edited June 26, 2016 by Kartgv

Just off the Crown. The dinner time for the late seating is 7:45, I don’t know why they have it listed at 8:15pm. We always get the late 7:45pm seating for dinner, it’s not as crowded. We didn’t have any problem making it to the 9pm show after the 7:45 dinner.

Hello,

Our group of 8 is currently signed up for the 8:15 traditional seating for dinner on the Crown R/T to Alaska. There are many shows, etc. that start at 9 that some of us would like to go to but will missed with our current dining time. I've done Anytime dining multiple times but only for a party of 2, which often requires quite a bit of waiting time. Does anyone have experience with Anytime dining and the approximate wait time for a large table vs a small table (I realize it depends on many variables....). I'm just looking for an idea so that I can "sell" Anytime dining to a few in my group. Thanks!

 

That is the problem with a big group , you can't please everyone.

That is the problem with a big group , you can't please everyone.

 

Actually it is very easy to deal with a large group- don't try to please everyone but split up the group if necessary. The people who want to do the shows or other late stuff sign up for anytime dining and eat early. The rest eat late. Where is it written that everyone in a large group has to do everything together?

 

When I travel with a large family group I have several rules that have always worked for us -

 

1) We eat breakfast in the buffet at a reasonable time and anyone who wants to join us is welcome. Ir you can't deal with our schedule, eat breakfast on your own schedule.

 

2) We do things together during the day if we all want to do the same thing. Otherwise we split up and do what each part of the group wants to do. If someone wants to join us, they are welcome to do so. Otherwise my wife and I go off by ourselves.

 

3) We try to eat dinner together but if it does not work with our plans for the evening or some of us want some private time together, we do not have to eat with the group. If we have plans and the plans involved being alone with our spouse and someone else in the group asks if they can join us, we firmly and politely tell them "no".

 

4) Nobody gets insulted if some of us spend more time away from the group than others.

 

This has always worked with us. Try it.

 

DON

We were on the Ruby last week with a group of 9. The only night we had an issue was the first night as everyone is getting settled and we had to wait about 45 minutes and we split up in 2 table next to each other. They told us to call a certain extension each morning and reserve our table. They pretty much only gave us the option of the "opening" time for anytime in the dining room that had traditional for the early seating and then anytime starting at 7:30 so each morning we made the call to reserve the 7:30. This worked fine and we made it to all of the shows as well. On our ship some of the shows were later than 9, it varied based on show and port. There was even one show that didn't start until 10 or 10:15 and one night we went to the early show prior to dinner instead because the show was an earlier show. Hope that all makes sense. If you use the princess at sea app it will tell you the duration of each event which is nice to know for planning especially with a group. Some shows were 30 minutes, others were an hour.

 

Hope this helps,

Tracey

Just off the Crown. The dinner time for the late seating is 7:45, I don’t know why they have it listed at 8:15pm. We always get the late 7:45pm seating for dinner, it’s not as crowded. We didn’t have any problem making it to the 9pm show after the 7:45 dinner.

 

The cruise personalizer always shows late traditional dining as being at 8:15. In reality it can be anywhere from 7:45 to 8:30 depending on itinerary (European sailings are almost always later).