Any Time Dining

[rnenrick]

By you logic I suppose you wouldn't mind if your cabin balcony was available for anyone else to use while you were occupying a space up on deck.

 

Nonsensical analogy. AD is free and open to all.

 

Firs, I don't recall a single person from AD saying they want people from TD coming to the AD dining rooms and making the waits longer. Further, a number of people with TD like myself have also said people should not switch back and forth.

Your anecdotal recollection notwithstanding, no passenger should feel guilty or selfish availing him or herself of the public facilities on board a cruise ship. Period.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Nonsensical analogy. AD is free and open to all.

 

 

 

If so, then why don't you relinquish you TD dining seat at the beginning of the cruise so someone who really wants it can utilize it every evening instead of hogging 2 seats & causing an hour delay for those who show up at the anytime dr at 6:15 PM?

[Kamloops50]

Just got off the Coral . We found "Anytime Dining " the best way.

Most nights we walked up and where seated at a table for 2 (our chose)

We found that the dining room usually opened 15 min before the

posted opening time.

[d3661]

The front of your cruise card is clearly printed with "Any" for anytime diners or the name of the diningroom, table number and time assigned for traditional diners, reflecting your pre cruise choice. At the door to the dining room the staff will either ask to see your card or tap your cabin number into their computer. They'll know the dining choice you made before you step into the dining room. Although I did not witness this on my last three Princess cruises (Sea, Sapphire and Coral) It would not surprise me if they politely steered away a passenger in the wrong place, especially on a full ship.

 

On Princess' website, under Cruise Answer Place, the policy for changing one's election is spelled out. Contact your TA or Princess no later than three weeks prior to attemp a change, or ask the maitre d once on board. Princess is clear that once the dining room assignments are full a change might not be possible.

 

Having said all this, Princess staff seems focused on making passengers happy, if there's a way. Personally, when we've elected TD and we miss our assigned seating, we're off to the buffet.

[cat26]

The confusion about anytime dining always amazes me, no offense to the OP. Anytime dining is like going to a restaurant on land. I took my wife to Red Lobster last night. (Yeah, I'm a big spender.) We didn't have reservations; we walked in, gave our name and waited 15 minutes for a table. Pretty much the same thing happens on board a ship with anytime dining. Yes, you get to pick WHEN you eat (just like with Red Lobster) but you may have to wait a while. (But there's often no wait at all.) If the wait is too long, you can go to another restaurant on board. (Like leaving Red Lobster and going to Applebee's.) If you dislike any wait at all, then, as aforementioned, you can make reservations on board if you like. (Again, just like you can at Red Lobster or Applebee's.)

 

Thanks for the clarification! I thought it was a good question since every cruise line and land resort do things differently. This is our first cruise on Princess this month and we would like to also know how it works.

Thanks for the OP that left the tips to book ahead of time for formal nights. BTW-I doubt Applebee's and Red Lobster accept reservations.

[caribill]

I don't know of any poll showing "most people" hold that opinion. But let's explore the absurd notion that TDs shouldn't go to AD. All passengers are free to use AD; that includes TDs, and rightly so. And this is expressed by an AD.

 

I was in anytime on a recent cruise. One evening we had to wait about an hour for a table (any table, willing to share, table of 4, anything). There was a wait at both AD rooms.

 

Of course I do not know if traditional diners going to anytime that evening was the reason for such a long wait, but under your theory that TD folk can go to AD if they want to, it will add to the wait of people who have not signed up for traditional.

 

Meanwhile, traditional seats go empty as AD folk waiting for a table cannot use them.

[rnenrick]

If so, then why don't you relinquish you TD dining seat at the beginning of the cruise so someone who really wants it can utilize it every evening instead of hogging 2 seats & causing an hour delay for those who show up at the anytime dr at 6:15 PM?

I don't choose TD, but if I did and decided not to use it, I would gladly relinquish TD. Those who "really want" TD should book cruises they can get it on. And those who do get TD should not feel chained by the ankle to that particular dining room table. :rolleyes: This is a cruise after all, not a jail.

 

"Hour delay"? "Hogging"? That's unusual and harsh. For a happy cruiser, you're not so happy.

[uppitycats]

Thanks for the clarification! I thought it was a good question since every cruise line and land resort do things differently. This is our first cruise on Princess this month and we would like to also know how it works.

Thanks for the OP that left the tips to book ahead of time for formal nights. BTW-I doubt Applebee's and Red Lobster accept reservations.

 

 

The Applebee's and Red Lobster in my area do accept reservations, particularly on the weekends. I don't know that this has anything to do with your original question, though... :confused:

[cat26]

The Applebee's and Red Lobster in my area do accept reservations, particularly on the weekends. I don't know that this has anything to do with your original question, though... :confused:

 

I did not post an original question.

In my area those type of restaurants do NOT accept reservations. So, I felt that was a bit confusing when the OP compared that to AD where reservations are accepted.

Why did you bother to comment if that had nothing to do with the OP?:confused:

[1 HappyCruiser]

I don't choose TD, but if I did and decided not to use it, I would gladly relinquish TD. Those who "really want" TD should book cruises they can get it on. And those who do get TD should not feel chained by the ankle to that particular dining room table. :rolleyes: This is a cruise after all, not a jail.

 

"Hour delay"? "Hogging"? That's unusual and harsh. For a happy cruiser, you're not so happy.

 

It's almost impossible to book traditional on some cruises and it not so harsh a comment when you waiting to be seated at at 6:15PM & a traditional diner is taking a spot in the anytime dining room. They should set a time limit of 15 minutes in the traditional DR & give the seat away immediately to anytime diners. Let the TD diners wait at the end of the line of anytime diners.

BTW - It is considered "hogging" by any standards.

[rnenrick]

Thanks for the clarification! I thought it was a good question since every cruise line and land resort do things differently. This is our first cruise on Princess this month and we would like to also know how it works. Thanks for the OP that left the tips to book ahead of time for formal nights. BTW-I doubt Applebee's and Red Lobster accept reservations.

You're welcome. Enjoy your cruise. Of course, things were simpler when TD was the only option. But simpler is not necessarily better. And anytime there is a shared resource (like AD), it's always best to be polite and patient. Hour waits are unusual. Getting upset is silly. As I and others have opined, and as you too note, making a reservation can be a good idea.

[rnenrick]

It's almost impossible to book traditional on some cruises and it not so harsh a comment when you waiting to be seated at at 6:15PM & a traditional diner is taking a spot in the anytime dining room. They should set a time limit of 15 minutes in the traditional DR & give the seat away immediately to anytime diners. Let the TD diners wait at the end of the line of anytime diners.

As I said, I don't do TD. I do AD. But if I were in TD and decided to eat at an AD restaurant, I wouldn't care who sat at my TD table. Please keep in mind that Princess sets its policies; I don't. Flaming me won't affect them. :)

[CKDoodle]

We are sailing on the Ruby in 2 months. We have always had Traditional first seating as we do for this cruise. We just decided after reading all the great reviews here of AD to try it. Do we just contact our TA and have her make the switch?

 

Thanks!!

Carrie

[paul929207]

Nonsensical analogy. AD is free and open to all.

 

 

Your anecdotal recollection notwithstanding, no passenger should feel guilty or selfish availing him or herself of the public facilities on board a cruise ship. Period.

So using your logic(??), the first people to show up for TD each evening should get to eat there after all it is a public room.

[KENANDPAT]

I think the misconception here is that the anytime dining rooms are public facilities. They are not. They are a dining room option that is chosen when booking your cruise just the same as choosing traditional.

 

The public facilities would be the buffet/optional dining/cafe, etc. As we would not expect to walk into a Traditional Dining room and expect to be seated we would hope that those booked into Traditional dining would not expect to walk in and take a seat from those who booked Anytime Dining.

 

However some people have the opinion that they can do whatever they like without regard for others.

[CKDoodle]

I think the misconception here is that the anytime dining rooms are public facilities. They are not. They are a dining room option that is chosen when booking your cruise just the same as choosing traditional.

 

The public facilities would be the buffet/optional dining/cafe, etc. As we would not expect to walk into a Traditional Dining room and expect to be seated we would hope that those booked into Traditional dining would not expect to walk in and take a seat from those who booked Anytime Dining.

 

However some people have the opinion that they can do whatever they like without regard for others.

 

That is always how I thought it worked. It does seem like others don't see it that way. Makes sense to me;)

[jkmcmom]

We were on Star last summer to Alaska. Anytime was perfect for us. We didn't have to worry about getting back in time for dinner. One night we also asked for a particular waiter - that was the only night we had to wait for a table -due to our request. We also bypassed the champagne glass tower production & went on to dinner & were seated right away before the crowd hit. If you know you're going to the dining room at a busy time, call ahead & make a reservation so you won't miss your plans later in the evening.

I am an early riser & I like breakfast in the dining room. If I have an opportunity to not be in the kitchen cooking, by all means, I like to sit at the table & enjoy the dining room. DH usually sleeps in so I take my book with me. I never had a problem onboard Star being seated by myself for breakfast. They were quite pleasant. I did not have the same experience onboard another cruise line. The maitre'd was disgruntled & attempted to place me at a table with a large group. Since the end of the table had several seats, I simply ignored the chair he had pulled out & seated myself at the end. The simple pleasure of anytime dining & Princess staff considering my wishes as something they could fulfill are a major reason I'll cruise Princess.

[caribill]

We are sailing on the Ruby in 2 months. We have always had Traditional first seating as we do for this cruise. We just decided after reading all the great reviews here of AD to try it. Do we just contact our TA and have her make the switch?

 

Thanks!!

Carrie

 

Just call the TA.

 

You can do it on board, but it is less hassle to arrange it in advance.

[paul929207]

I wuld call your TA. but it may be too late. TD is usually waitlisted on cruises where AD is offered.

[CKDoodle]

Just call the TA.

 

You can do it on board, but it is less hassle to arrange it in advance.

 

Thank you!!

[CKDoodle]

I wuld call your TA. but it may be too late. TD is usually waitlisted on cruises where AD is offered.

 

No, we want to switch from TD to AD!

[paul929207]

Sorry, I misunderstood which way you were going. That you should have no problem doing on board. Most switchers are trying for TD, so the Maitre 'D will love you.

[Lynda90]

So using your logic(??), the first people to show up for TD each evening should get to eat there after all it is a public room.

Paul, no point in aggravating yourself over this. There are some individuals who don't care what the rules are and who steps on the toes of others. Most of us already know that we choose either anytime or traditional dining. If we want to try the other, we book it on the next cruise. Can you get away with just walking into anytime while signed up for traditional; probably. But, if everyone did this, the td room would be empty and there would be lines all around for anytime. I gues I just don't understand the concept of "everything is for me." JMHO :p

[1025cruise]

When I was on the Emerald in October, for the first couple of nights, they did check cards to verify Anytime dining. I think once the hostess started to recognize you, they would stop asking. Whether they turned anyone away or not, I couldn't tell you. I know that on the first formal night, I asked for a table for two (the only night I didn't want to share), and after waiting 20 minutes or so, they ended up bringing us to the Traditional Dining room along with multiple couples who were waiting as they had plenty of space that evening.

[bhopal21]

Paul, no point in aggravating yourself over this. There are some individuals who don't care what the rules are and who steps on the toes of others. Most of us already know that we choose either anytime or traditional dining. If we want to try the other, we book it on the next cruise. Can you get away with just walking into anytime while signed up for traditional; probably. But, if everyone did this, the td room would be empty and there would be lines all around for anytime. I gues I just don't understand the concept of "everything is for me." JMHO :p

 

Lynda this is exactly what happened to us last February on The Island. The wait was so long for AD that the head waiter was taking us in groups to the

TD dining room.

 

The TD room was about 40% vacant.

 

Talk about chaos.:eek:

 

Mike:)