Making the big switch from Traditional for 2 to Anytime for Whatever!

[canadarocks]

We'll be aboard the Emerald for our very first Princess cruise next February/March. After 5 HAL cruises at "late traditional dining for 2" we've decided to completely switch it up and I've booked us at Anytime Dining. :eek:

 

I figured we're changing cruiselines, so why not change a whole bunch of things! ;) Plus with all of the entertainment options available on Princess, it seemed like a good idea!

 

Please tell me we've made the right choice!:o

[Mom33]

We have always been fans of Anytime dining. We arrange our activities to suit our needs. We eat mostly with others but occasionally get a table for 2. There are so many choices of things to do and places to dine. You can schedule your time any way you want. Enjoy the Emerald. She's a beauty.:D:)

Edited November 3, 2013 by Mom33

[canadarocks]

Thanks Mom33 for this, and for your reply about the Specialty Dining! :)

[peachykiehn]

Agree that will all the entertainment on Princess that anytime dining really makes sense. We usually choose to dine just the two of us as the meal moves a little faster and we can make it to more of the evenings entertainment. Enjoy your cruise. Please post after the cruise and let us know your thoughts on the comparison of HAL and Princess.

[canadarocks]

Agree that will all the entertainment on Princess that anytime dining really makes sense. We usually choose to dine just the two of us as the meal moves a little faster and we can make it to more of the evenings entertainment. Enjoy your cruise. Please post after the cruise and let us know your thoughts on the comparison of HAL and Princess.

 

Thanks for your response. :)

 

Can I ask you, if we do decide on a table for 2... how much of a wait time would we looking at, at perhaps 6:30pm?

[Sunsailor]

Thanks for your response. :)

 

Can I ask you, if we do decide on a table for 2... how much of a wait time would we looking at, at perhaps 6:30pm?

 

Generally, at 6:30, no wait at all but at 7:00 the wait has been about 20 minutes. This can vary greatly depending on the cruise. We usually book anytime and go shortly before 7 for a table for 2. No wait or short wait and no wait if we decide to join others. We favor the dining room on deck 5....easy to wait at the bar in the piazza.

 

We prefer anytime dining and the ability to dine alone or with new friends met aboard.

Have a great cruise!

[eandj]

6:30 just begins getting busy. You might run in to some wait for a two top. We have noticed things are a little different on different itineraries and of course how busy and long the day is. If you can be at the anytime dining room around 6:15-6:30, you will have no trouble. Once 6:30 hits, groups begin to wait. Worst wait time we saw was 7-7:45.

 

Enjoy your first Princess cruise, Canadarocks. It will be more lively than the HAL cruise we shared last year.;) Where are you headed?

[waltd]

We were just on the Golden and did any time dining. I believe the first dining room opened at around 5 or 5:30 and we normally went on the early side and always asked for a table for 2. We had any where from a 30 minute wait to about an hour. Of course it's different from ship to ship and depends on how big the dining room is they are using.

[bigenna]

That cruise was completely sold out, I believe, which made things a little crazy in the MDR. We were told we would have a problem with table for two unless we came before 5:30

 

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[DMRick]

What we liked about our last anytime , is we were able to call in the morning at 8 if we wanted and make a reservation for the two of us.

[sayaguru]

I love anytime dining. On one cruise on the other side of the world we met a couple that live less than a kilometre from us. We ate with them everynight. I like that you can choose who you eat with, when etc.

 

Our agent booked us on traditional on Diamond but I have requested to change. Not sure why it's not listed when I log in.

 

I have tried fixed a few times and it has been OK but after a week there are some people you don't want to eat with. I like to socialise and my husband is Mr Havachat so we don't just want a table for 2 every night.

 

On our MSC cruise one American couple were seated with 2 Russian couples with no English. They heard us talking in English and we started talking so we asked to switch tables so they were with us.

 

If you have a table for 2 I don't see there being much difference except you can go at a time to suit yourself.

Let us know what you think.

Edited November 3, 2013 by sayaguru

[peachykiehn]

We usually make reservations for 7:30 so not sure of the wait time earlier. Really depends on the age of cruisers and the nights entertainment as to the lines for dinner.

[PrincessLuver]

We'll be aboard the Emerald for our very first Princess cruise next February/March. After 5 HAL cruises at "late traditional dining for 2" we've decided to completely switch it up and I've booked us at Anytime Dining. :eek:

 

I figured we're changing cruiselines, so why not change a whole bunch of things! ;) Plus with all of the entertainment options available on Princess, it seemed like a good idea!

 

Please tell me we've made the right choice!:o

 

We love Anytime Dinning and have done it on the Emerald too. We usually tell them we are willing to share a table and ask for a round table holding 6 each time. It has been our experience that if you sit at a table holding 8 it is hard to hear everything being said by everyone. If you can get there before or around 6:00 PM we have never had to wait.

 

We meet so many interesting people and it is a great way to makes new friends too. We also do this for breakfast in the mornings and for lunch on the days when they serve it in the main dinning room. :):)

[mafig]

I am happy to read all of these remarks. I have read some posts about Anytime having long waits. We haven't cruised on Princess for several years, but when we did we always did Anytime and thought it worked well. Lately I've read posts where that is no longer the case, mostly because switching back and forth from Traditional to Anytime is allowed.:(

 

Hopefully, next week on the Crown, we will be pleased.:)

[Going Coastal]

We were always happy with late dining and met many wonderful people there who ate still our friends today.

However we know a couple here at home who loved anytime dining on NCL and so we tried it. Did not like NCL but loved anytime dining and have done it ever since. On Princess we generally like one dining room better than the other and will stick to that. We, too, find the meal moves faster for two but often like a six top to visit with others.

[canadarocks]

Enjoy your first Princess cruise, Canadarocks. It will be more lively than the HAL cruise we shared last year.;) Where are you headed?

 

We're doing a 20 day B2B in the Eastern/Southern Caribbean. I'm excited to try Princess for the first time! :)

[Lynda90]

In my opinion, Anytime Dining is the only way to go! On our last cruise we ate with friends some nights, asked for a table to share some nights, and ate at the HC on other nights. We even had room service one night after a long, exhausting tour. It's so nice to be able to dine when and where you want. We also had dinner and lunch at Alfredo's a few times. Great menu! Enjoy your new choices! :p

[Jasperdo]

My wife and I have used Anytime Dining on all 6 of our Princess Cruises. In our experience getting for a table for 2 has been all over the map. We always eat early, between 5:30pm and 6:30pm. Sometimes we've walked right in. Other times there was a long line, and we were given a beeper. Our wait times with the beeper has varied from 5 minutes to a whopping hour and 15 minutes one night on the Coral Princess. That said, we still prefer Anytime Dining. Just be prepared to have to wait some nights, even if you go early. Once on the Coral we arrived at 5:20pm, 10 minutes before the Dining Room was supposed to open. They were already seating people, and the Maitre'd said he gave us the last table for 2. So the tables for two were all taken before the Dining Room was even officially open. But on other cruises, we've walked right in at 5:30pm.

Edited November 3, 2013 by Jasperdo

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much everyone for your comments. It sounds like Anytime Dining will suit us just fine! :D

[OCruisers]

We love Anytime and would hate to go back to Traditional.

 

On Emerald we normally went down around 7:30 to 8:00 and said we'd share.

We were always seated promptly and never given a beeper. :)

 

LuLu

~~~~~

[Shug1948]

We loved anytime ding on Coral Princess. We had the option of dining alone or with a group which I loved meeting new people.

Shug

[cruisingberger]

Normally we do Anytime Dining, however, based on the last few things I read on this board, I changed to Early TD on Golden. We are sailing on a sold out ship (or very close to it) and I was concerned that it may get tough to get a table. Im sure it would have been fine either way, but I feel better knowing we have a table.:o

[birdiebill]

My wife and I have always chosen anytime dining. We always eat before six and are willing to share any size table. On the Coral we usually ate at the same 10 top. One other couple we met on the cruise also ate with us almost every night while the other six people varied from night to night. One night we returned from an excursion later than usual and were seated at an 8 top with six other people; we had no wait. The night of our wedding anniversary we made a reservation and sat at a table for two.

 

Our experience from our small number of cruises is if you eat before six and are willing to share any size of table, there is no wait for a table in ATD.

[toberman]

Hi Neighbor... We always do ATD. Have always been asked if we wanted to "share", or just us. We really like that you can share and meet other people, but don't have to actually 'be with them' every night as it is with traditional. Or, you can go on your own (2 top). Biggest problem I've had is that the 2-tops are very close together. Being said.. We've met some wonderful people sitting next to us.

You can't loose with ATD.. don't feel like the DR - go to the buffet or grill. Nobody will notice.

Have a great cruise... Know you will !!

[victory2020]

We were just on the Golden and did any time dining. I believe the first dining room opened at around 5 or 5:30 and we normally went on the early side and always asked for a table for 2. We had any where from a 30 minute wait to about an hour. Of course it's different from ship to ship and depends on how big the dining room is they are using.

 

I can't remember - does the Golden have the "bench seating" for tables for 2?

Will be on her twice this month. Couldn't get 6pm seating for one so will have to do anytime. Any good table suggestions?