Anytime Dining??

[ginamarie935]

We are booked on the Freedom on July 3rd. I am traveling with husband and two teenage sons. We have booked the "Anytime Dining" option because well, we can go anytime. I have two concerns/questions now. 1) Do we still get to watch the "shows" that the wait staff puts on? 2) Are the waiters as nice as they are in set time dining? May be considering changing this to set time dining. Please help.

[pnjkeith]

Yes and maybe

[CorvetteLady]

When we did anytime dining on the Fantasy we did not see the waiters doing their show. We went early and anytime dining is quicker because they do not have to wait for everyone else to finish to go on to the next course. So we were done eating before the show started.

 

Our waiters were nice but I thought they were more rushed because their tables were not on the same course at the same time.

 

We prefer assigned dining.

[Irishlinny]

We just did the anytime dining on the Miracle and it worked out very nicely. All of the waiters we had were very good. From what I understand, you can request a specific waiter if you find one you like, though it may be a longer wait. We had alot of people in our group, so we took whoever was available...all were good.

You don't get as much of the show (at least in Spirit class because anytime dining is upstairs). Since the waiters are taking care of meals at the time the regular diners are having dessert (and the show), not too many of the waiters can partake in the show. But those who are able, do.

I personally liked the anytime dining...like the flexibility it affords you...but it's a little different than traditional...

[uppitycats]

One of the big advantages for us is that in fact we don't have to see the "shows" that the waiters put on. As others noted -- anytime dining gives you the opportunity for flexibility that traditonal dining doesn't. We've not noticed any particular lack of attention on the part of the servers. While they might not become our "friends" over a 7 night cruise, they do their job well and professionally, and we're happy.

[e46343]

GinaMarie,

 

Thanks for asking...I have anytime dining booked, too.

[rednose83]

If you are in the dining room when the shows go on, you will get to see them.

 

I've never had bad service (or worse service than set dining) with anytime.

 

I love anytime dining!

[ck53]

We did the anytime dining on 2 Carnival cruises and on the last one we had a party of 6 and we had the same waiters every night. When we had a party of 4, we had different waiters but all were very good.

 

We did not see any of the shows from the waiters except for one night we caught the end of from the early seating.

 

Also if you want to see a production show or entertainment in the theatre, please take note of the showtimes so you can use your any time dining accordingly.

 

Enjoy!

[ljs7]

How does anytime dining work and is it available on all cruises?

[tak81288]

Just did anytime dining on the Freedom two weeks ago and love it! We did catch one of the shows, but it was because we just happened to be in the dining room at the right time.

 

We had an awesome waiter and requested to have him each night we showed up in the dining room. There was no additional wait to have that request granted.

[tak81288]

How does anytime dining work and is it available on all cruises?

 

Anytime works like a regular restaurant. You are not assigned to a table or a specific time. You just show up to your assigned dining room during a timeframe (it was 5:45-9:30pm on the Freedom. I'm assuming it is the same or similar time frame on other ships).

 

You and your party are seated at whatever table is available. You can choose to sit at your own table or join another party. In addition, if you have a particular wait staff that you prefer, they will also seat you on that side of the dining room if you make that request.

 

Not sure if it is available on ALL ships, but the all ships I have looked at so far have all had anytime dining as an option.

[CruisinMBA]

We did anytime dining on the Legend two weeks ago and we loved it. We didn't want to have to worry about time. The waiters performed just as they did for everyone else and the magician came around to our table two nights. We did have to take a buzzer one night, but only waited about 5 or 10 minutes after that. Plus, we had a choice to be seated alone or with guests and we said we preferred alone. It may have been quicker if we chose to be seated with guests. The service was excellent! One night, the waiter even brought me an extra entree. He said I looked like I was still hungry!

[klmorg]

We LOVED anytime dining, and will never go back to traditional. We went at different times each night, sometimes early, sometimes later... whenever we were ready and when everyone was hungry (that flexibility is a big benefit for us). We are not really into the "shows" but did happen to catch them each night it seems. The anytime dining staff participates as well. And we actually found the servers more attentive and friendly than traditional as well. We had the same server 3 times, but the different one we had was fantastic, too. Our experience was an extremely positive one.

[ljs7]

Anytime works like a regular restaurant. You are not assigned to a table or a specific time. You just show up to your assigned dining room during a timeframe (it was 5:45-9:30pm on the Freedom. I'm assuming it is the same or similar time frame on other ships).

 

You and your party are seated at whatever table is available. You can choose to sit at your own table or join another party. In addition, if you have a particular wait staff that you prefer, they will also seat you on that side of the dining room if you make that request.

 

Not sure if it is available on ALL ships, but the all ships I have looked at so far have all had anytime dining as an option.

Anyone know if it is available on the Sensation? Also would it be difficult if you had a larger group to be seated together say around 11 or 12 people?

[tak81288]

Anyone know if it is available on the Sensation? Also would it be difficult if you had a larger group to be seated together say around 11 or 12 people?

 

 

It is available on the Sensation. Not sure about large groups. On my cruise a couple of weeks ago, I think I saw a max of 5-6 people at one table. There could have been larger groups and I just didn't notice.

[carnivalcanuck]

We did anytime dining on the Liberty last year and loved it. On the second night we had a fantastic wait staff so we just requested them for the rest of the trip and there was never a problem.