Fixed Seating vs. Anytime Dining?

The last time we had fixed seating in an MDR it was on RCCL and it was such a disaster that we always chose Anytime Dining once we started sailing on Princess. In the beginning we invariably had a great experience and it seems like it was on par with the current reviews for Club Class dining. I don't know if it is just the Regal or if it is across all ships, but on our last two sailings the waitstaff has appeared rushed, harried and impersonal. Our prior sailings had been on the Ruby, Crown and Coral. The sailing on the Coral was only a few years ago and the service in Anytime was exceptional.

We are late diners and usually eat in Anytime between 7:30 and 8 so the late seating will be fine. My question to those in the know ~ when you have the same waitstaff for fixed seating, especially on the Royal Class ships, is the service noticeably better than Anytime?

When we first began cruising on Princess, we had no choice except fixed dining in the MDR because there was no anytime dining.

As soon as anytime was offered, we liked booking it and never had a problem with service.

Now, the type of cabin we book has Club Class Dining which we find VERY nice. :D

It doesn't answer OP's question, but we found the service at Club Class dining to be far superior than our previous experiences with traditional dining. Traditional wasn't bad, but CC was exceptional.

A suggestion is to go to the Maitre d’ on embarkation day. You can have the best of both worlds. There is early fixed seating in the Anytime dining room and the Maitre d’ can, and will, assign you a table in that dining room at 7:30pm... same table, same waitstaff every night. It becomes Anytime at that time but you’ll have fixed seating.

I’ve done Anytime several times and much prefer late Traditional dining. However, as I get older, 8pm is late for me. This was a great alternative when traveling with friends.

After getting used to Freestyle dining on NCL we took Anytime on a Princess cruise, in comparison an abomination. We did Traditional on the next Princess cruise, not too bad.

We have tried anytime dining but have come to the realization that we did not like it. On our last several cruises on the Royal Class ships we had traditional early dining and have enjoyed it tremendously. The waitstaff get to know you and after the first couple of nights they have everything waiting for us when we arrive. We like soft rolls instead of the hard crusted and hot tea for diner which they have set up and waiting. Had same wait staff on b2b and they were wonderful.

I want to try Princess’ traditional but what do you do when the port time is later than your fixed seating?

Some port times run really late.

On some nights with late port departures, all the dining rooms will be open seating.

If you have a late arriving ship's excursion that will conflict with the start of your dining time, speak to your wait staff who will usually refer you to the head waiter. He will usually make arrangements for you to arrive late (either at your normal table or will give you a table in open dining).

Be prepared for the posters that will now appear and go on a tirade about traditional diners in open seating or insist that you eat in the buffet.

I want to try Princess’ traditional but what do you do when the port time is later than your fixed seating?

 

Some port times run really late.

Then you eat in Horizon Court.

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We have tried anytime dining but have come to the realization that we did not like it. On our last several cruises on the Royal Class ships we had traditional early dining and have enjoyed it tremendously. The waitstaff get to know you and after the first couple of nights they have everything waiting for us when we arrive. We like soft rolls instead of the hard crusted and hot tea for diner which they have set up and waiting. Had same wait staff on b2b and they were wonderful.

I've never cared for the rolls they put out on the table whether they are hard or soft.

We always request a freshly baked Challah for every dinner.

On our cruise last year on the Regal with our three under six grandchildren not only did we have a Challah each night but they included a platter of lox, cream cheese, sliced tomatoes, and sliced onion.

Howard

I've never cared for the rolls they put out on the table whether they are hard or soft.

We always request a freshly baked Challah for every dinner.

 

 

On our cruise last year on the Regal with our three under six grandchildren not only did we have a Challah each night but they included a platter of lox, cream cheese, sliced tomatoes, and sliced onion.

 

 

I’m very impressed, love Challah and didn’t realize that was an option, will request on our cruise in Dec. Thanks for the tip!

Am curious, were you in Trad or ATD?

I also like having the same waitstaff every evening, so I go for Traditional Seating (late) every cruise. This works for us.

If I am unable to make it because of a Specialty Restaurant or late excursion, I always tell my waitstaff and tablemates the evening before.

I can always find something good to eat at the buffet if I get back to the ship too late to make dinner. I do not enjoy eating room service in the cabin, but that is an option others might prefer.

When we do ATD we find a waiter we like and stick.

I've never cared for the rolls they put out on the table whether they are hard or soft.

We always request a freshly baked Challah for every dinner.

 

 

On our cruise last year on the Regal with our three under six grandchildren not only did we have a Challah each night but they included a platter of lox, cream cheese, sliced tomatoes, and sliced onion.

 

 

I’m very impressed, love Challah and didn’t realize that was an option, will request on our cruise in Dec. Thanks for the tip!

Am curious, were you in Trad or ATD?

 

We had traditional dining and had the same family table for eight every evening at 5:15 or 5:30. The kids had a blast.

 

Dinner Table

 

This two and a half year old discovered she loved mussels.

 

Loves Mussels

 

And he discovered he loved shrimp

 

 

Howard

When we started sailing with Princess only TD was offered and we would do the late dining. When they introduced ATD we switched to ATD. However we missed not having the same waitstaff every meal so a few years ago we switched back to TD but early this time so that we could go to the various events that night. We enjoy the fixed table and waitstaff. You can request the same table after 7:30 when the second ATD MDR opens. The last time we were on RCCL was 5 years ago and had their version of ATD. We were able to call the MDR and make reservations in the morning for a 7 PM dining time which was nice but different tables/waitstaff.

The last time we had fixed seating in an MDR it was on RCCL and it was such a disaster that we always chose Anytime Dining once we started sailing on Princess. In the beginning we invariably had a great experience and it seems like it was on par with the current reviews for Club Class dining. I don't know if it is just the Regal or if it is across all ships, but on our last two sailings the waitstaff has appeared rushed, harried and impersonal. Our prior sailings had been on the Ruby, Crown and Coral. The sailing on the Coral was only a few years ago and the service in Anytime was exceptional.

 

We are late diners and usually eat in Anytime between 7:30 and 8 so the late seating will be fine. My question to those in the know ~ when you have the same waitstaff for fixed seating, especially on the Royal Class ships, is the service noticeably better than Anytime?

It all depends on your servers. We do fixed seating and on the Royal we had the best waiter in our 35 cruises and on the Regal we had the worst.

 

Be prepared for the posters that will now appear and go on a tirade about traditional diners in open seating or insist that you eat in the buffet.

The main problem with open seating is that it seriously disadvantages late traditional diners as the early traditional diners who were late back to the ship are still finishing their meal when the late diners want to dine at their regular time. It was total chaos when we were on Diamond Princess in March.

I prefer traditional dining but they love to make the time too darn early! Our next cruise is on Coral Princess. They offer 5:15, 5:45, or 8:00 PM. I've changed our booking from ATD to TD at 5:45 but am on the wait list. It says #3. We've never done a wait list before. Can anybody tell me how that works and how likely we might be to get the requested time? I absolutely, positively, do not want the 5:15 PM dining time. That's way too early.

I prefer traditional dining but they love to make the time too darn early! Our next cruise is on Coral Princess. They offer 5:15, 5:45, or 8:00 PM. I've changed our booking from ATD to TD at 5:45 but am on the wait list. It says #3. We've never done a wait list before. Can anybody tell me how that works and how likely we might be to get the requested time? I absolutely, positively, do not want the 5:15 PM dining time. That's way too early.

At number 3 chances are you will clear the wait list before the cruise. If not, check your cruise card at check-in and see if it has the TD assigned. If not, meet with the Matre 'd when he has adjustment meetings on embarkation day as announced in that day's Patter.

At number 3 chances are you will clear the wait list before the cruise. If not, check your cruise card at check-in and see if it has the TD assigned. If not, meet with the Matre 'd when he has adjustment meetings on embarkation day as announced in that day's Patter.

It's a bit weird. It says:

5:45 PM dining requested and Waitlist #3

Anytime dining is confirmed

I've never cared for the rolls they put out on the table whether they are hard or soft.

We always request a freshly baked Challah for every dinner.

 

 

On our cruise last year on the Regal with our three under six grandchildren not only did we have a Challah each night but they included a platter of lox, cream cheese, sliced tomatoes, and sliced onion.

 

 

I’m very impressed, love Challah and didn’t realize that was an option, will request on our cruise in Dec. Thanks for the tip!

Am curious, were you in Trad or ATD?

 

I always thought it was spelled "hallah." Thanks for the lesson! :)They look delicious.

A suggestion is to go to the Maitre d’ on embarkation day. You can have the best of both worlds. There is early fixed seating in the Anytime dining room and the Maitre d’ can, and will, assign you a table in that dining room at 7:30pm... same table, same waitstaff every night. It becomes Anytime at that time but you’ll have fixed seating.

 

I’ve done Anytime several times and much prefer late Traditional dining. However, as I get older, 8pm is late for me. This was a great alternative when traveling with friends.

Thank you Pam! I've learned to always take your advice....;)

When we first started cruising Princess that's exactly what we did and they always accommodated us. We had a two top in ATD and enjoyed the folks we were sitting next to so much we asked to be seated there every night. The next few cruises, the same thing, no problem. Then came the Regal. We requested the same table for 7:30 to 8 and on both sailings we were told no and that we could call for reservations every morning. We didn't visit the Maitre d as soon as we boarded, we only asked in the evening when we went to dine - do you think we should ask upon boarding?

The last time we had fixed seating in an MDR it was on RCCL and it was such a disaster that we always chose Anytime Dining once we started sailing on Princess. In the beginning we invariably had a great experience and it seems like it was on par with the current reviews for Club Class dining. I don't know if it is just the Regal or if it is across all ships, but on our last two sailings the waitstaff has appeared rushed, harried and impersonal. Our prior sailings had been on the Ruby, Crown and Coral. The sailing on the Coral was only a few years ago and the service in Anytime was exceptional.

 

We are late diners and usually eat in Anytime between 7:30 and 8 so the late seating will be fine. My question to those in the know ~ when you have the same waitstaff for fixed seating, especially on the Royal Class ships, is the service noticeably better than Anytime?

When we started cruising we did anytime dining until we sailed on the Pacific Princess. PP didn't offer AD (because of it's size, I presume). After our PP cruise was over, we continued using the MDR and seated dining. We love having the same waiter, who we get to know so much better, and who gets to know us too! (After 2 days I don't have to ask for a cup of coffee after dinner's over anymore). We also love sitting with the same group of folks and getting to know them.

Another point, with anytime dining we found ourselves hitting the Horizon Court quite a bit because the wait was so long. After gaining EIGHT POUNDS one time, I really enjoy the portion control that comes with fixed dining. :)

When we first began cruising on Princess, we had no choice except fixed dining in the MDR because there was no anytime dining.

As soon as anytime was offered, we liked booking it and never had a problem with service.

Now, the type of cabin we book has Club Class Dining which we find VERY nice. :D

It doesn't answer OP's question' date=' but we found the service at Club Class dining to be far superior than our previous experiences with traditional dining. Traditional wasn't bad, but CC was exceptional.[/quote']

 

My very British MIL used this saying often when I was very young, "If wishes were horses we all would ride"

 

I wish I could justify the cost of a Club Class mini but I just can't. It would have added $400 pp to our fare. We don't care about the additional space in the mini and neither of us gets motion sickness so we usually end up with a great deal on a balcony in an undesirable location.

 

Someone made an excellent point in another post in regards to Club Class - if the fare ends up being more than $29 pp per night then it really isn't worth it because one can eat in a specialty restaurant every night instead. Heck, we are only on a 7 day - we could do UBD every night for less!

We have tried anytime dining but have come to the realization that we did not like it. On our last several cruises on the Royal Class ships we had traditional early dining and have enjoyed it tremendously. The waitstaff get to know you and after the first couple of nights they have everything waiting for us when we arrive. We like soft rolls instead of the hard crusted and hot tea for diner which they have set up and waiting. Had same wait staff on b2b and they were wonderful.

Thank you - your response is very helpful. Early Traditional is too early for us but we are definitely looking to build a short term relationship with the waitstaff. I think it makes a whole heckuva difference to the entire dining experience.