New Traditional Dining Time coming out

[Colo Cruiser]

I am still not happy that sometimes they seem to take a DR from Anytime and make it a 5:30 PM Traditional . On the Crown Sept. 27 sailing this caused anger, confusion, crowding and we ended up eating at 5:15 (at least getting in line then) or if arriving later we had waits in excess of one hour. Somehow it seems unfair to allow traditional diners preference in assigning DRs and then allowing individual diners to choose to go to the remaining anytime DR taking even more seats from anytimers. Our cruise cards were checked at the door every night and the waiter also asked for our room number each night (wrote it down). The reservation system did not work either -- it was always "closed" by about 9 AM. I'm Platinum but no special "line" for us in DR. I liked eating with different folks each night but it did not live up to my expectations. I also thought that service was slower and less friendly. Of course people who had just waited (mostly standing in line) for over an hour probably were not the waiters idea of ideal customers either. Next cruise I will really have to flip a coin to determine if I want to avoid the long waits or the permanent boring tablemate.:eek:

 

I was perturbed when they started letting people make set reservations in anytime for the entire cruise. :cool:

[vijoge]

I also thought that service was slower and less friendly. . . . . . Next cruise I will really have to flip a coin to determine if I want to avoid the long waits or the permanent boring tablemate.:eek:

 

I loved our tablemates-probably the best we've ever had! But I didn't think the service for our Traditional dining was particularly friendly or efficient. I was a little surprised at that.

[Astro Flyer]

During our 20+ cruises, mostly on Princess, we have always had great tablemates with traditional dining so don't understand how some feel they get stuck with bad ones.

 

As far as the extra TD time which upsets the AT diners, well there were a lot of TD folks who were upset when 2/3 of the seats were given to AT diners.

 

So either way someone is unhappy & that just happens. Princess attempts to adjust the ratio of TD & AT capacity based on passengers preferrences to keep as many as possible happy. I have things I prefer but don't always get it. Some squeaky wheels feel if they threaten to cruise elsewhere they'll get their way...go ahead & cruise another line.

 

If the changes made to keep some passengers happy by assigning more early TD makes some AT diners so upset...maybe try a cruise line with all anytime dining like NCL. Some only care about themselves & are proud of that fact.

 

Fortunately the overwhelming majority are considerate passengers who are happy!

[caribill]

I am still not happy that sometimes they seem to take a DR from Anytime and make it a 5:30 PM Traditional . On the Crown Sept. 27 sailing this caused anger, confusion, crowding and we ended up eating at 5:15 (at least getting in line then) or if arriving later we had waits in excess of one hour.

 

It must be remembered that the people assigned to the new early traditional time would, if that did noy exist, be assigned to anytime and most likely would have been in line at the same time you went anyway.

[captainron]

I'm a little confused. You're saying there are THREE Traditional seatings, i.e., "Early, Traditional 1st and 2nd"? As for the dining time, that's not much of a difference for the Coral/Island. It was 5:30pm for Early (1st) and 7:30pm (2nd) for Late on my January cruise. For my Crown cruise this summer, late dining is listed in my cruise personalizer as at 8:15pm.

 

FYI, I can't see a 5:15pm Early seating on many itineraries, in particular the Med. Most ports, the ship doesn't sail until 6pm and passengers aren't due onboard until 5:30pm. I suspect the adjusted times are not going to be fleetwide but rather depend on the ship and itinerary, which has always been the case.

 

Pam, we just got off the last southbound Diamond from Whittier in Sep10.

 

The Traditional sittings (1st and 2nd) were in the International Dining Room and for the Early Traditional they closed the Vivaldi to Anytime Diners til 8pm. Needless to say there was total chaos and I empathised with Paco and Joseph, the head waiters, who had to try and resolve the saga of reservations and fitting the rest of the Anytime Diners into what equated to one sitting time...AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

 

Ciao for now!!!

[Astro Flyer]

Bowie MeMe "I'm Platinum but no special "line" for us in DR."

 

I've never heard of a special line for the DR based on the Captain's Circle level...has this ever been true?

 

If so, then where's the Elite line? :rolleyes:

 

I was on a cruise with over 300 Elite & over 600 Platinum. WOW...would that be a mess for the DR staff to sort out all of this if they began using lines based on the Captain's Circle level. :p

[Coral]

I am still not happy that sometimes they seem to take a DR from Anytime and make it a 5:30 PM Traditional . On the Crown Sept. 27 sailing this caused anger, confusion, crowding and we ended up eating at 5:15 (at least getting in line then) or if arriving later we had waits in excess of one hour. Somehow it seems unfair to allow traditional diners preference in assigning DRs and then allowing individual diners to choose to go to the remaining anytime DR taking even more seats from anytimers.

 

I was on the Crown last fall and there were waiting times of an hour many times even with out the Traditioanl 3rd dining time. I was so glad I had Traditional as I had several friends with Anytime and they were frustrated...... I have never heard so many complaints amongst Anytime diners as I have on this ship.

 

So granted I haven't been on a ship since they implemented the new dining time but in the past, one dining room opened earlier then the other (I want to say one opened up at 5:30 and the other at 6) amongst the anytime dining rooms. I assume that they are using the one that opens at 6 for anytime diners so that they are not interupting the other dining room that opens for anytime diners at 5:30. Is this not correct?

[gingera]

We just changed our TD to 5:30 from the 6:00. We are very early eaters for health reasons and we thank Princess for this option.

And, I hope that the spot we gave up at 6pm will go to someone waiting for a TD to open up.

[gingera]

5:30 might be a good time for children, too.

[gingera]

So, will the 5:30 dining time take away space from the Anytime diners? If this is so, then I can understand the anger on this subject. I don't want anyone mad at me b/c I need to eat early!

[caribill]

So, will the 5:30 dining time take away space from the Anytime diners? If this is so, then I can understand the anger on this subject. I don't want anyone mad at me b/c I need to eat early!

 

Mainly from the anytime diners who were forced into anytimne because traditional was full.

[Coral]

So, will the 5:30 dining time take away space from the Anytime diners? If this is so, then I can understand the anger on this subject. I don't want anyone mad at me b/c I need to eat early!

 

Those people who were waitlisted for 6 pm Traditional and like to eat early, if they didn't have 5:30 Traditional, they would be eating at 5:30 or 6 pm anyway in the anytime dining rooms. So it shouldn't cause problems as those people would have been there anyway.

[cruzinchris]

After a respite from cruising altogether for several years, DH and I "discovered" Princess in a AAA article that highlighted the new "Anytime" dining option. The "herding" for dinner had been among the few things that we didn't like about cruising, and we decided to give Princess a chance and, of course, opted for "anytime" dining when we booked our first cruise with the line in 2002.

 

On most of our 14 cruises, "anytime" has worked out alright, except for the occasions when it hasn't. We have now opted for late traditional twice and will also do the same in January when we're on the Island Princess. We've requested tables for two and had them on both cruises. While we usually ending up chatting with those seated near us, we don't have to engage in conversation nightly if we choose to dine quietly. There is definitely some peace of mind knowing that our table is waiting and that we don't have to wait for a table.

 

Bon Appetit!

Chris

[BillMcAnally]

Where is it announced?

 

Sounds like another rumor. :rolleyes:

 

It's not a rumor. We have early traditional 5:30PM on the Golden next month. We ask for first seating and this is what we were given. I don't know if there are three seatings .

[paul929207]

It's not a rumor. We have early traditional 5:30PM on the Golden next month. We ask for first seating and this is what we were given. I don't know if there are three seatings .

Yes, there are now three seating for TD - 5:30, 6:00 and 8:15

[BillMcAnally]

Yes, there are now three seating for TD - 5:30, 6:00 and 8:15[/quote

 

I don't think I'm going to like that. Have you seen this in operation? Are people coming in to the same area as the 5:30PM group for the 6PM seating?

[paul929207]

Yes, there are now three seating for TD - 5:30, 6:00 and 8:15[/quote

 

I don't think I'm going to like that. Have you seen this in operation? Are people coming in to the same area as the 5:30PM group for the 6PM seating?

No I have not seen it. I have only sailed once on a ship with Anytime Dining, and those are the ones with the new 5:30 seating. All my booked cruises are on ships with only TD

[sjbj]

Yes, there are now three seating for TD - 5:30, 6:00 and 8:15[/quote

 

I don't think I'm going to like that. Have you seen this in operation? Are people coming in to the same area as the 5:30PM group for the 6PM seating?

 

The 5:30 and 6:00 seatings are in different dining rooms. After the 5:30 dining that room changes to anytime. It's only available on ships that have at least 3 dining rooms. I just got back from a 16 day cruise on the Grand where we ate anytime between 7:15 and 9:00. No wait, ever, and always got a table for 2.

[hcat]

I got that email this morning too for our British Isles cruise this August. We always do the early (6-6:15) traditional dining even though some of the longer tours interfere with that time. The later time is just too late for us. If we miss our time we just go to the buffet. Although my DH has dinner ready for me when I get home from work at 5:30 that is just too early for me when I am traveling. It is nice that Princess has given more options for those who want that earlier time.

 

We did not get any e-mail regarding our July cruise? Should we call to confirm that our traditional 6 pm is still in force? (anything earlier would be too early & anything later not workable with my diabetic schedule..)

 

Glad this info was posted so we can check into it..Thanks

[caribill]

We did not get any e-mail regarding our July cruise? Should we call to confirm that our traditional 6 pm is still in force? (anything earlier would be too early & anything later not workable with my diabetic schedule..)

 

Glad this info was posted so we can check into it..Thanks

 

The personalizer will indicate what time your dinner is scheduled.

[busman6]

Just returned from Hawaii cruise on Grand Princess with the new traditional dining arrangement. With only 3 dining rooms, we noticed longer lines for the anytime dining not only early, but also later around 7:30 and 8:00. Plus we noticed that the early dining room was mostly empty but still at 6:30 we could not be seated as anytime diners. Go back to original single traditional dining. I think the research is flawed and more people prefer the anytime dining.

[nabby]

It must be remembered that the people assigned to the new early traditional time would, if that did noy exist, be assigned to anytime and most likely would have been in line at the same time you went anyway.

 

This sounds like a good theory, but if it is true then why haven't the waiting lines for Anytime Dining always been long? It sounds like a big part of the problem is diners who sign up for the 5:30 Traditional but then show up late, which pushes back the dining time at that table. If you sign up for 5:30, then you should be held to it. Boo Hoo if your excursion "ran late". You knew you would have to be back early.

 

I will be sailing in March. We chose Anytime Dining because there were some port days which went until later and we didn't want to be rushed. However, we usually like to eat around 6:00 - 6:30 and I hope we don't end up waiting forever. It will be interesting to see how it works!

[nabby]

Now that I think about it, why not handle Early Traditional the same way reservations are held at most restaurants? Diners who choose 5:30 Traditional would be given some leeway (maybe up to 20 minutes) to arrive at their reserved table, and if they aren't there then their table is given to people waiting in line. This would make it much easier for the servers and preparers. If you show up late and "your" table has been given away, you can join the Anytime wait line.

 

Sorry if someone has already suggested this. It just seems like a simple solution.

[paul929207]

Now that I think about it, why not handle Early Traditional the same way reservations are held at most restaurants? Diners who choose 5:30 Traditional would be given some leeway (maybe up to 20 minutes) to arrive at their reserved table, and if they aren't there then their table is given to people waiting in line. This would make it much easier for the servers and preparers. If you show up late and "your" table has been given away, you can join the Anytime wait line.

 

Sorry if someone has already suggested this. It just seems like a simple solution.

I agree with everything you wrote except the ending. If people with TD show up late, they should join the Buffet line or call room service.

[Cruisin Oldies]

We were on the Golden a couple of weeks ago and the early TD worked well. They had one dining room just for early TD that later switched to AT. The other AT took reservations and we made them for 5:30 and showed up to get in line at 5:15. We were seated shortly after we got in line. We've never used TD but next year we will have a 1 & 4 yr old with us and the idea of having a set table at 5:30 sounds good. How early do you need to be there? Will they still have your table if you're say 5 minutes late? By the time you get an elevator, find a path that doesn't go in front of a photographer, etc. it can really slow you down on formal nights. The buffet will just give the 4 yr old too much freedom and its hard to hold until a 1 yr old and a plate at the same time.

 

Cruisin Oldies