Picking dinner times...questions/help

Hey, my family will be on the Carnival Dream week of 5/26/12. I have a question about the open dinner time option. Does anybody know or have opinions about that. My concern is that the wait time to get a table for our group of 7 might be long and/or that we may not be able to sit together. We didn't pick the reservation time option because we have a disabled person with us and can't always be prompt.

Any thoughts? Thanks,

Bruce

If you pick traditional dining your disabled friend will know what time they should be at the dining room. It is always th4e same time. They can plan accordingly. You will have the same table and waiter every night and he will know if you want ice tea, coffee, etc., after the 1st night you won't have to ask. He/she will get to know everyone and what they want.We like the 8:15, 2nd seating. You are not rushed to get out of the dining room so they can be ready for the 2nd seating, you don't have to rush back from shore to get ready for dinner, there is even time to take a nap before dinner. You are never hungry on a cruise ship. There is always food available.

Once on NCL we were given a beeper and had to wait 40 minutes for a table- and there was only two of us. We askde to share a table but were given a table for just the two of us! We have always had to wait but we don't eat at 5, 6 or 10 o'clock!

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

At this late date I doubt if you will be able to get traditional (fixed) dining for 7 people.

People who tend to arrive at the Open Seating dining option early have a much better chance of being seated right away than those who choose to eat later.

Being a disabled person myself, I so much appreciate your sensitivity to your disabled friends needs!

You may have to wait for all 7 of you to be seated together, and indeed, the earlier you show up to the dining room the better. On past cruises though we saw that sometimes large groups took precedence over smaller ones and were seated pretty quickly, so it might not be an issue.

Have a great cruise.

I too wished you had asked before making a selection. The idea of having to round up 7 people for dinner every night -- to pick a time, to pick a meeting place -- sounds like a big p.i.t.a. to me, at least it would be with my family. :o If you had chosen or can still opt for traditional dining, that will be handled for you.

If you are going to do the anytime option, avoid 6:30 - 7:00 p.m. as that 1/2 hour will be most crowded. Get there before or after. I can't speak to Carnival but on other lines you are given a pager if there is a wait. You can go to a nearby bar to wait or there should be other seating options within range. Alas the pager rarely works on deck.

Hey, my family will be on the Carnival Dream week of 5/26/12. I have a question about the open dinner time option. Does anybody know or have opinions about that. My concern is that the wait time to get a table for our group of 7 might be long and/or that we may not be able to sit together. We didn't pick the reservation time option because we have a disabled person with us and can't always be prompt.

 

Any thoughts? Thanks,

 

Bruce

Anytime dining on Carnival is really designed for smaller parties (2-4 people) although some larger parties will do it too. If you don't want to wait, I suggest showing up as soon as the dining room opens (5:45) or show up after 8. Obviously, these are just generalizations the the crowd can vary from sailing to sailing, but many people choose anytime because they think eating at 6:00pm is too early and eating at 8:15 is too late, so they show up at times between there (6:30-7:30ish).

My last Carnvial cruise there were 4 of us. We got to the dining room around 7:00pm each night and waited every single night (anywhere between 10-40mins). Some nights, we even split up into 2 parties of 2 and still had a wait. I noticed larger parties had to wait longer and I also notice that every night as it got later, the dining room wasn't as crowded.

ATD is great when it comes to the flexibility of when you eat. As long as you are patient and don't mind a possible wait, you should be fine. If the wait is longer than a few minutes, then you will get a beeper so you can walk to another part of the ship.