Anytime Dining Suggestions

[cellyml12]

Thanks for the info, 1 Happy Cruiser! I figure all the info we can collect before this cruise the better. While meeting people will be a lot of fun, we have never been ones to linger over meals. It is something my soon to be DH has a real problem with since his trip to Italy a few years ago. He said the average dinner took at least 3 hours, while the food was amazing, he said he would never have a 3 hour dinner again. I was like well, may be stuck with the same thing on a cruise. That was the main reason we did AT dining. In the hopes of getting out faster with just the 2 of us, plus I don't want to be held to a particular time when we're in port.

[pablo222]

I disagree. I have a hip problem aggravated by sitting. I didn't want long lingering dinners. In April on the Golden, we found no advantage to having a table for two. It appeared to be the policy that the waiter would synchrinize about 5 tables for two. So if someone was having an appetizer, soup and salad at another table while you only got salads at yours, both tables received their main course at the same time. I was very frustrated by this policy. This also contributed to long lines as the tables weren't freed up as quickly.

 

It depends on the station. There are some stations that have 6-8

(or more) tables for two, and those generally move along.

 

When the station is several larger tables and one or two 2/4 tops,

you are right. In my experience, you just need to advise the

waiter that you would like your dining to proceed more quickly.

[cruzysuzy]

DH and I were on the 6/2 Sea Princess out of San Francisco. The first evening for ATD was a hot mess. We arrived between 5:44-6:00 and had to wait a total of 1 hour 15 minutes to be seated. It could have been worse. One lady told us she waited 2 hours. Another who made reservations upon boarding was told they would not be honored. We could see quite a few empty tables through the entrance but they were not being filled with any reasonable speed.

 

The rest of the time we tried to make reservations when the reservation line opened at 8:00am but often the line would be busy or no answer at all. Redial would have been helpful at that point. After the first night we never had to wait more than 10 minutes on those days we could not get through to the reservation line.

 

On a side note, we thought we would dislike sharing a table (instead of having the same group every night) but it turned out to be fun meeting new folks every night and exchanging greetings and info when we met around the ship later.

[Astro Flyer]

I have just come back from the Island Princess which was fully booked. We had Anytime Dining and had no problem getting a table for two each night - although we went mostly before 6pm. A tip, if you want to dine at a later time without having to wait for a table, just call the dining line in the morning (from memory between 8am and 10am) and you can book a table for that night for a specific time slot. We did this a number of times and it worked beautifully.

On the Island last month we generally ate after 7:30 so rarely had any sort of delay for a table for two. The one day we wanted to eat earlier we called for a reservation in the morning and were told that all of the available reservations had been booked. So apparently they limit the number of reservations they will make in advance. Of course this can vary daily depending upon what time is 'anytime' for our fellow passengers. ;)

[cruzysuzy]

AstroFlyer mentioned a detail I forgot. When you call for reservations, you may only have access to limited slots. This happened to us on most of the nights when we were able to get through to the reservation line. I only remember one or two nights (out of ten) when we had our first choice honored.

[1 HappyCruiser]

On the Island last month we generally ate after 7:30 so rarely had any sort of delay for a table for two. The one day we wanted to eat earlier we called for a reservation in the morning and were told that all of the available reservations had been booked. So apparently they limit the number of reservations they will make in advance. Of course this can vary daily depending upon what time is 'a nytime' for our fellow passengers. ;)

We've had the same experience with being told "all tables have already been booked" which I'm beginning to think is their response to everyone no matter when they call for tables for 2. Even if you begin calling before they start taking calls by the time you do get through, they'll be filled. Makes me wonder who gets the preferential treatment? :rolleyes: