Anytime Dining - works for you?

[Cruisers from MA]

Hoping folks can help - wasn't able to find an answer by reading/ searching...

 

After good experiences with both early and late Traditional Dining (2003-2006), my family tried Anytime Dining just once, several years ago (it was a Diamond Princess Alaska sailing in 2008).

 

We had all kinds of problems. Seemed whatever time the 3 of us wanted to dine, there wasn't a table available. We'd be handed a pager and we'd slink off to one or another lounge, and then we'd wait 30 or more minutes to be called. If (instead of just showing up at a restaurant) we tried to call the dining line several hours in advance, then whatever time we requested a reservation that evening was unavailable. So we'd show up at the dining venue, get a pager, and head to the lounge as before.

 

By the end of the cruise, having missed out on evening entertainments (a few times) and having waited to be seated (just about every time), we were calling it "Ain't No Time Dining", and vowed never again.

 

We've enjoyed a few Princess cruises since then, and for each we selected Traditional. Some table-mates better than others; some server teams better than others - but always "our" table ready at "our" time.

 

I wonder whether it's time to give Anytime Dining another try. Last couple of cruises, when seated with random diners (at breakfast or lunch, say) or when chatting with folks around the ship, I've asked about dining, and most people seem happy with Anytime. Was our 2008 experience an anomaly? Teething pains for Anytime Dining?

 

Give it a try?

 

 

Thanks in advance!

[Astro Flyer]

We were dedicated traditional diners due to reasons similar to yours. However on our most recent cruises we've tried AT dining & it has worked great. It's dependent on when the majority of others want to dine & may vary nightly. Many prefer to dine early so we have had an occasional wait at that time but generally we eat after 7:00 without any wait.

 

I'd recommend to "give it a try".

[paul929207]

Most of our Princess cruises are on the Ocean Princess with only TD. We have had three trips where AD was offered and took AD each time. The first, 35 days from Buenos Aires to Seattle on the Star Princess, we found a wait team we really like and were able to make a reservation with them for the rest of the cruise. Yes, we locked ourselves into a time (7:30). Worked great.

 

Last October/November we were on the Crown for 36 days. We would show up about 7:30 each evening and never waited more than 2 or 3 minutes. Only people getting a pager were those wanting a table for 2. We always said we would share.

 

This past January thru March we spent 49 days on the Grand Princess. Again we showed up at about 7:30 and never waited for a table. On interesting things was that most passengers (about 2000) were on for the full 49 days with there rest doing one of the three legs. We found there were 20 or so couples that ate about the same time as us and with different combinations we ate with the occasionally. Most of them we ate with 5 to 10 times over the 7 weeks. We also got to know most of the staff in that dining room

[Pia1913]

We've been doing anytime dining from the get go. As soon as it was available we found it was definitely for us. When we want to eat in the DR, we do. Other times we just go to the buffet. Other times pizza or a hamburger is our choice. That's what's great about it. Personal choice (which is what it was called and I still like that title instead of Anytime).

 

When/if we are a larger group (more than 2 couples), we sometimes end up eating at the same time every night with the same wait staff, so in essence this sort of becomes TD. But if we think we aren't going to be there on a certain night, we tell them beforehand.

[Treven]

I've always used Anytime and I wouldn't change; I love it! I'll have my main dinner about 5:30 and I've never had a problem getting a table to myself with no wait.

[sherryf]

We have always done Anytime and it has worked well for us. I think we have only gotten a pager about 3 times in 5 cruises. Just a couple of weeks ago, we were a party of 4 and ate around 5:30 - 6:00 every night and never waited for a table. Usually there was a very short line to wait to be seated, but we never waited in line more than 5 minutes. We were always willing to sit with others, but were often seated by ourselves since they happened to have a table for 4 available. Once during the week they sent us up to the deck 6 MDR because they were filling in tables left vacant by the 5:30 traditional seating diners.

[Essiesmom]

We are early traditional diners, but our last cruise was booked on short notice, and only available was late, not suitable for us, so we went AnyTime. We found we enjoyed it...We usually ate just a little later than early TD, but before 7pm. We always asked to be seated with others, and met some great people. Only on the last night did we have a problem. WE participated in the Princess Pop choir and so it was after 7:30p when we joined the crowd at the door. There would be a 20 min wait at least, so we opted for the buffet. EM

[sunsetbeachgal]

We love AT...and on our recent cruise on the Royal we even did it traveling with another family with two children because of the various port times..but on the third night we found a wait staff SO good that we stuck with them for the rest of the cruise...we made a reservation each evening for the next night for "our table" at either 5;45 or .8:00, depending on time departing port.

[dforeigner]

Sorry to hear that it did not work for you. We always done anytime dinner on board Princess and have not had any issues. Did you try the other anytime dinning room?

[Pam in CA]

I've tried Anytime several times. It was a terrible experience on Princess with long waits, even with a table reserved for the whole cruise. On HAL, it worked very well. I'd be tempted to try it again but frankly, I'm afraid as I don't want to wait for 45 minutes to an hour as I've seen very long waits on so many Princess ships and cruises.

[SeagoingMom]

So the general trend on this thread seems to be for dinner at a pretty early hour -- no time later than 7:30 has been mentioned, and that is 1/2 hour earlier than late seating TD on the ships we have been on. We have always chosen late traditional fixed seating. Is there anyone who can speak to the wait for an AD table for two (or any table, really) after 7:30?

[Nan_Sea]

With anytime dining there is an option to call each morning and reserve a table at the time of your choosing. On our 28 day Star Princess cruise we usually called, but not always. We never had to wait. We choose to sit at a table for 6 and that may be why no wait.

[Pia1913]

So the general trend on this thread seems to be for dinner at a pretty early hour -- no time later than 7:30 has been mentioned, and that is 1/2 hour earlier than late seating TD on the ships we have been on. We have always chosen late traditional fixed seating. Is there anyone who can speak to the wait for an AD table for two (or any table, really) after 7:30?

 

 

After 7:30 you'll be walking right in. Most people want their dinner earlier than that.

[Coveguy4]

Hi, I/we always use anytime dining. We often eat late after 730 or so and never had a problem. On our last Panama Canal cruise in April/May on the Coral, only once did we have to wait about 10 to 15 minutes for a private table for 4. If we wanted to share there was no wait. Next month another cruise and "Anytime" is our choice. jim

[Pam in CA]

So the general trend on this thread seems to be for dinner at a pretty early hour -- no time later than 7:30 has been mentioned, and that is 1/2 hour earlier than late seating TD on the ships we have been on. We have always chosen late traditional fixed seating. Is there anyone who can speak to the wait for an AD table for two (or any table, really) after 7:30?

I should have mentioned in my response that each time I've done AT, we would arrive at 8pm or later. The time we had a set reservation, it was for 8pm. We usually do late Traditional dining and I've often seen people seated in the Traditional dining room at unused tables at 8:30-9pm due to such long waits for AT. These are my experiences and observations on a variety of Princess ships and itineraries.

[gooch47]

We haven't tried to make reservations for Anytime Dining recently since we had trouble with getting a table for two. Have they started doing that?

[SeagoingMom]

Sorry to hear that it did not work for you. We always done anytime dinner on board Princess and have not had any issues. Did you try the other anytime dinning room?

Haven't sailed on Princess...

 

So there is more than one flexible dining venue... and you have to pick which one?

 

Funny they don't have an integrated computer system where when a table comes up in either dining room, they let you know and you go where the table is. I would do it that way if I were in charge.

[NavyVeteran]

We had always eaten at Early Traditional Dining. However, we switched to Anytime Dining on one cruise after being assigned some tablemates that we definitely could not get along with. After that cruise, my wife said that she preferred Anytime because she didn't want to rush to make a specific time.

 

We have tried Anytime several problems and have not had any problems. Occasionally we have had to wait at busy times, but not most of the time. We have never tried reservations - we always just showed up.

 

We are always willing to share, and I believe that a party of two willing to share often can get seated faster than a party of two wanting a table for two.

 

On ships with three dining rooms (one aft on deck 6 and two midships on decks 5 and 6), one dining room is traditional early and late, one is traditional early followed by anytime, and one is anytime. Therefore the availability is not as good for the first couple of hours. We usually did not wait around 5:30 pm but once the one anytime dining room fills up there is nothing available until people start to leave. If you want to eat around 6:30 pm, you will probably have to wait.

 

The other times it gets crowded is right after a Captains Welcome Party or a Captains Circle Party - when a lot of people want to eat at the same time.

 

However, most of the time we have had little to no wait, and we are switching to anytime for our next cruises (some coastal cruises this fall and two trans-Atlantic cruises next year).

[Nebr.cruiser]

We've never had problems like this with Anytime dining on any cruise line. Now, we don't even want to eat at the most popular times, only rarely make a reservation, and don't care if we eat with others or by ourselves, so probably being very flexible helps.

 

Only once have we had a pager, and we had barely sat down in the atrium when it went off. A couple of times, mostly on formal nights, we've waited in line 5 or so minutes, otherwise, little to no wait.

 

We just choose a time to eat that works with whatever we are doing that night and go then. We used to want to only eat early, but now prefer 8 or after.

 

Either we are really lucky or not very picky about when we eat.

[paul929207]

We haven't tried to make reservations for Anytime Dining recently since we had trouble with getting a table for two. Have they started doing that?

Linda,

It seems to depend on the Maitre 'd. Some allow reservations anytime, some restrict it to outside the prime hours and others do take them.

[TipsyT]

We've used both Anytime Dining and Traditional Dining several times. AD works fine for us since we don't mind sharing and like the flexibility but we're going back to late TD on our next 16 day cruise to Hawaii in November. What we miss with AD is the personalized attention that you get from having the same server night after night. Since we eat mostly vegan we have some wacky ordering some nights and it's nice not to have to explain our eating preferences over and over again. It's also nice to have our favorite condiments already on the table and get dining tips from our server for the current or upcoming menu.

[Happy ks]

We've done anytime dining now on the last 3 cruises and it worked very well for us. We like to go to the specialty dining rooms a couple nights, no problem having to let anyone know about that. We also found we liked Alfredo's (Sapphire) and went there one night instead of any dining room. Our last cruise, we opted out of any of it once and went to IC, picked up a sandwich and a salad, then walked over to Vines and ordered a glass of wine and a couple hors d' oeuvres.

 

We sometimes travel with a relative that doesn't want to eat late, we don't want to eat early. So AT dining just works well for us.

 

The only time I didn't care for it was when we asked to be seated at a table for 2. The tables were so close we felt like we should have just asked to be seated with others. A couple nights later, we did just that and it was a far better experience. That table for 2 thing was weird...you just knew the people on each side of you didn't want dinner companions and it was awkward.

[Island wannabe]

Linda,

It seems to depend on the Maitre 'd. Some allow reservations anytime, some restrict it to outside the prime hours and others do take them.

 

Yup, sure does. On the Crown and Emerald reservations were no problem (for 2) however Maitre'D on Caribbean this year would not allow it.

[paul929207]

We've done anytime dining now on the last 3 cruises and it worked very well for us. We like to go to the specialty dining rooms a couple nights, no problem having to let anyone know about that. We also found we liked Alfredo's (Sapphire) and went there one night instead of any dining room. Our last cruise, we opted out of any of it once and went to IC, picked up a sandwich and a salad, then walked over to Vines and ordered a glass of wine and a couple hors d' oeuvres.

 

We sometimes travel with a relative that doesn't want to eat late, we don't want to eat early. So AT dining just works well for us.

 

The only time I didn't care for it was when we asked to be seated at a table for 2. The tables were so close we felt like we should have just asked to be seated with others. A couple nights later, we did just that and it was a far better experience. That table for 2 thing was weird...you just knew the people on each side of you didn't want dinner companions and it was awkward.

Remember, the people next to you also knew their neighbors did not want to eat with others either.

[caribill]

It's just like a restaurant on land. Show up when a number of other people do and their will be a wait. Show up at a time when others do not want to dine and you can walk right in.

 

So the experience can vary from cruise to cruise or even from night to night on the same cruise.