Open dining on the Carnival Dream

[kittygirl]

We have open dining on the Carnival Dream in February. How many like this style of dining, and if you had this dining on the Carnival Dream who were your favorite wait staff that you had on your cruise.

[*Mach*]

I am not a fan of Your Time dining... I prefer the traditional style with an assigned table and wait staff. You get to know your tablemates, your waiters and so on.

It's a great experience.

Now, having said that... Your Time dining is an excellent option for couples who want to be seated at a table for two. We had a table for two on the Dream and were disappointed that we had no one except our fabulous waiter, June, to talk to!!

:)

[Illa Zilla]

Host Mach,

 

The family and I are sailing on the Dream in March. I have two boys and usually request a booth for four (simply because my boys are young boys and can get squirrely. I don't want to inconvenience anyone's dinner experience.) Right now we have Any Time Dining. Did you have the same waitstaff or was it a different team every night? And did you find it less attentive than traditional dining?

 

Thanks!

[*Mach*]

Host Mach,

 

The family and I are sailing on the Dream in March. I have two boys and usually request a booth for four (simply because my boys are young boys and can get squirrely. I don't want to inconvenience anyone's dinner experience.) Right now we have Any Time Dining. Did you have the same waitstaff or was it a different team every night? And did you find it less attentive than traditional dining?

 

Thanks!

 

 

I didn't do Your Time dining... we had traditional but we ended up at a table for two... no biggie. Our waiter was a gem.

Keep your time dining. If you can arrange to eat around the same time every evening you can request the same waiter. They're assigned to Your Time so it shouldn't be a problem.

When in March are you sailing??

:)

[Illa Zilla]

I didn't do Your Time dining... we had traditional but we ended up at a table for two... no biggie. Our waiter was a gem.

 

Keep your time dining. If you can arrange to eat around the same time every evening you can request the same waiter. They're assigned to Your Time so it shouldn't be a problem.

 

When in March are you sailing??

 

:)

March 6. It's my oldest's 12th birthday, so he's really excited. Hopefully they can do something neat for him in the MDR. I've always liked the traditional dining, but the Mrs. is concerned that we may be rushed getting back to the ship and trying to make the 1800 dining time. And she doesn't like to eat at 2000, so that time slot is out. That's why she went for the anytime dining.

[outerbks]

We (3 couples) had Michael 6 of our 9 nights. His team was exceptional. By the fifth night we were requesting him. Also, we never waited long enough for a table to finish a drink at the Atrium bar. Hope your experience is equally great.:cool:

[loveJake]

We had anytime on the Dream in December. I first had anytime on Princess and loved it, will always choose it. It was great on the Dream. We were a party of 8 and I was a little nervous the first night. We never had a wait, walked right in. Had the same table and wait staff everynight. We ate between 6:30 and 6:45 each evening. The best part for us was what a lot of people do not like, we ordered and out food was delivered right away, one course right after the next. For us there is too much to do on the ship to spent it in the dining room. All the food was hot also. No complaints that some people report.

[mitsybella]

we did anytime dining and loved it, we sat in the same section every night, you just have to request it, we even had kind of a reservation on the booth, they saved if for us every night, we like to eat early and because we have young children it worked out great you get to go in 15 mins earlier than the 6pm diners, food came out faster, some may not need this but worked well for us as we were able to complete our meal before any meltdowns.:D there were also many couples or families that met while on board and they choose to eat together, we saw this on several nights.

[Nickymjw1]

We are a party of 4 (DH & I and my dad & his DW) and selected anytime dining. I do enjoy sharing the table with other table mates though. Do they not seat you at big tables with anytime dining?

 

I would also like some feedback about anytime dining from people that go around 7:30-8pm. How is the wait around that time?

 

Thanks,

Nicky

[kittygirl]

Thank you so much for your input on open dining. We have a party of seven on the Dream February 20th. Can you still see the entertainment in the lower dining area. I was told they do not dance and sing during open dining. At what time would you eat to see the entertainment.

[*Mach*]

We are a party of 4 (DH & I and my dad & his DW) and selected anytime dining. I do enjoy sharing the table with other table mates though. Do they not seat you at big tables with anytime dining?

 

I would also like some feedback about anytime dining from people that go around 7:30-8pm. How is the wait around that time?

 

Thanks,

Nicky

 

 

There are a limited number of large tables available for Your Time dining as it's really aimed at couples...

When you board check with your Maitre d' and let him/her know that you'd like to be seated with other passengers if possible...

:)

[crewsweeper]

We had requested late seating, but for some reason they gave us Your Time Dining. We tried it the first 2 nights. DW didn't care for it, she's like Mach and enjoys the personalized service. So she got us switched to late seating.

For families that need to be flexible and for couples wishing a table for 2, I'd say Your Time Dining is probably a good option. The first elegant night had a 15 minute wait if you went around 7:30. I think the biggest problem with Your Time Dining is the limited staff covering a large number of tables. In the Scarlet Room we had 2 waiters who only had the 4 of us and a table for 8. They were prompt on orders and had time to interact. We had 2 different sets of 3 waitstaff in Your Time Dining and while they were friendly and introduced themselves, they were just too busy to get acquainted. And some orders were late in getting to people at the tables. For instance the 4some next to us on elegant night 2 people got their entrees and the other two had to wait another 10 minutes. But the option does give everyone a better choice of when to eat if they want it.

[cruiselover 43]

March 6. It's my oldest's 12th birthday, so he's really excited. Hopefully they can do something neat for him in the MDR. I've always liked the traditional dining, but the Mrs. is concerned that we may be rushed getting back to the ship and trying to make the 1800 dining time. And she doesn't like to eat at 2000, so that time slot is out. That's why she went for the anytime dining.

***************************************************

You can order a birthday cake for him with his name on it & they will bring it during dinner with candles - the chocolate one is delicious!!!

go to the gift shop onboard & order it when you get on the ship!!

[Illa Zilla]

***************************************************

You can order a birthday cake for him with his name on it & they will bring it during dinner with candles - the chocolate one is delicious!!!

go to the gift shop onboard & order it when you get on the ship!!

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to see if they have vanilla or banana or coconut or something. He hates chocolate cake.:eek:

[mississauga]

Host Mach,

 

The family and I are sailing on the Dream in March. I have two boys and usually request a booth for four (simply because my boys are young boys and can get squirrely. I don't want to inconvenience anyone's dinner experience.) Right now we have Any Time Dining. Did you have the same waitstaff or was it a different team every night? And did you find it less attentive than traditional dining?

 

Thanks!

 

There are lots of booths for 4 in the My

 

March 6. It's my oldest's 12th birthday, so he's really excited. Hopefully they can do something neat for him in the MDR. I've always liked the traditional dining, but the Mrs. is concerned that we may be rushed getting back to the ship and trying to make the 1800 dining time. And she doesn't like to eat at 2000, so that time slot is out. That's why she went for the anytime dining.

 

Thank you so much for your input on open dining. We have a party of seven on the Dream February 20th. Can you still see the entertainment in the lower dining area. I was told they do not dance and sing during open dining. At what time would you eat to see the entertainment.

[*Mach*]

March 6. It's my oldest's 12th birthday, so he's really excited. Hopefully they can do something neat for him in the MDR. I've always liked the traditional dining, but the Mrs. is concerned that we may be rushed getting back to the ship and trying to make the 1800 dining time. And she doesn't like to eat at 2000, so that time slot is out. That's why she went for the anytime dining.

 

 

Can you do me the favor of sending me an email, please??

Thanks!!

:)

[mississauga]

Host Mach,

 

The family and I are sailing on the Dream in March. I have two boys and usually request a booth for four (simply because my boys are young boys and can get squirrely. I don't want to inconvenience anyone's dinner experience.) Right now we have Any Time Dining. Did you have the same waitstaff or was it a different team every night? And did you find it less attentive than traditional dining?

 

Thanks!

 

There are a lot of booths for 4 in the My Time Dining Room. They are the booths that sourround the open area to look down to the lower level of the Crimson Restaurant. The glass partitions are higher than the railings on other ships. You can request the same waitstaff if one of their tables is available when you first come in to be seated. We had very good service. The head waiter assigned to your table has 2 assistants. He is the team head waiter and has a head waiter and an assistant waiter to assist him. I guess because each of his/her tables might be having different courses at different times.

 

March 6. It's my oldest's 12th birthday, so he's really excited. Hopefully they can do something neat for him in the MDR. I've always liked the traditional dining, but the Mrs. is concerned that we may be rushed getting back to the ship and trying to make the 1800 dining time. And she doesn't like to eat at 2000, so that time slot is out. That's why she went for the anytime dining.

 

You can order him a cake ( extra charge ) from "Celebrations" on deck 5 or even if you'd rather not, with all those desserts available, let your wait staff know and a group of waiters will come and sing Happy Birthday to him. You can also write a note to John Heald ( he's the CD on your cruise) for his morning show and he'll say Happy Birthday to your son on the show and may even send him something for his birthday.

 

Thank you so much for your input on open dining. We have a party of seven on the Dream February 20th. Can you still see the entertainment in the lower dining area. I was told they do not dance and sing during open dining. At what time would you eat to see the entertainment.

 

Diners sitting in the booths that surround the glass partition to the lower floor can see without getting up. From your table for 7, you may have to get up to see but you will definitely be able to hear. I did not walk around the whole floor but from what I can remember, most of the tables were set up for 4 but there should be no problems for them to set up for a table for 7 for you.

Most of the singing and dancing are done downstairs in the traditional dining room and was usually about 7:15pm , just before the serving of desserts. I would guess that since late dining is 8:15pm that the entertainment would be about 9:30pm

Occasionally a waiter or 2 in the My Time Dining may sing or dance depending if they were free at the time or not.

[mississauga]

:oSorry, didn't know my 1st attempt got posted. I thought it went to cyberspace and re-posted the entire post.:o

[mississauga]

There are a limited number of large tables available for Your Time dining as it's really aimed at couples...

 

When you board check with your Maitre d' and let him/her know that you'd like to be seated with other passengers if possible...

 

:)

 

Mach, we found this to be true on the Liberty but on the Dream, most of the tables were set up for 4. Other than the booths for 4, the other tables for 4 were so close to each other, it felt like you were at tables for 8 or 12. LOL

[Koval]

Thank you so much for your input on open dining. We have a party of seven on the Dream February 20th. Can you still see the entertainment in the lower dining area. I was told they do not dance and sing during open dining. At what time would you eat to see the entertainment.

Hi Kitty girl, we too are on the Dream Feb. 20th.

I am so excited.

We have a few in our group doing the anytime dining and they love it.

I can not speak for the Dream, but my only cruise was on the Spirit, and we were a party of 8 in a side room. From where I was sitting I saw nothing in the MDR. But our Wait staff, did some dancing and such as those who were in the MDR. I didn't miss a thing. Our guys were so funny and FUN, I didn't need anything more.

I sure hope the Dream can live up to my memories of the Spirit:o if not, I have her booked for a trip to Alaska.

But I cant imagine the Dream disappointing, I am going to be cruising with my sister and my Dream Catchers friends. And YOU too. It is going to be a blast...

[bots99]

We have open dining on the Carnival Dream in February. How many like this style of dining, and if you had this dining on the Carnival Dream who were your favorite wait staff that you had on your cruise.[/quote

 

:cool:Had open dining on december bloggers cruise - loved it.

:cool:Had assigned dining with 5 friends on January 2 cruise.

:)Signed up for anytime dining in February.

:(Only down side was trading a song or two from Ken & wonderful server Mica.

[loveJake]

 

 

 

Diners sitting in the booths that surround the glass partition to the lower floor can see without getting up. From your table for 7, you may have to get up to see but you will definitely be able to hear. I did not walk around the whole floor but from what I can remember, most of the tables were set up for 4 but there should be no problems for them to set up for a table for 7 for you.

Most of the singing and dancing are done downstairs in the traditional dining room and was usually about 7:15pm , just before the serving of desserts. I would guess that since late dining is 8:15pm that the entertainment would be about 9:30pm

 

In the back against the railing on both sides are tables for 8, which we had every night. They will not have to set up tables, unless these tables would be full. You could see the downstairs entertainment.

[Skywench]

I am not a fan of Your Time dining... I prefer the traditional style with an assigned table and wait staff. You get to know your tablemates, your waiters and so on.

 

I'm looking forward to trying Anytime Dining on my next cruise. The reasons you stated are a few reasons why I am looking forward to it. I don't care to sit at a big table with strangers. I really don't care about who the waiters are. I don't cruise for the whole dining experience. I just want to have dinner with the person I am cruising with and not have to be on a set schedule and rush around after a day in port. As far as dinner goes, what's important to me is the person I am cruising with and that the food is good!

 

I'm glad Carnival is offering choices for dining.

[cruiselover 43]

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to see if they have vanilla or banana or coconut or something. He hates chocolate cake.:eek:

 

 

They also have white cake with strawberry filling - thats yummy too!!!

[Illa Zilla]

They also have white cake with strawberry filling - thats yummy too!!!

That would be right up his alley! :)