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"Your time dining" - Not Necessarily

Lingalizzi

By Lingalizzi,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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lylone

lylone

Posted
Posted

How do they handle YTD on a ship that only has one dining room like the Legend. We are sailing her on 4/27 and chose YTD will it be an issue. Should we switch? Will only be 2 of us

 

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vwrestler171

vwrestler171

Posted
Posted
How do they handle YTD on a ship that only has one dining room like the Legend. We are sailing her on 4/27 and chose YTD will it be an issue. Should we switch? Will only be 2 of us

 

Sent from my Venue 8 3830 using Tapatalk

 

I would avoid ATD if there is only 1 dining room, on the Inspiration they had ATD mixed with fixed dining, and it was the only time I had bad experiences, seemed the waiters couldn't get into a routine like they usually do and service was way slow every night.

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Crusin'Cousins

Crusin'Cousins

Posted
Posted

It seems that YTD for two, sometimes has people sitting very closely in rows of two topper tables... is that correct?

 

We want to sit at a table for two most of the time, but if the two top tables are as close as some are saying, it may just be best to go for a table of four or six.

 

Can any one with experience confirm if YTD on the Freedom has the two top tables more separated for a more private, intimate dining experience for two?

 

Just curious.

 

Thanks!

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fishtaco

fishtaco

Posted
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Tried YTD on the Glory a few years ago. Asked for a table for two and was told a 45 minute wait. I really don't see the point.

 

This is because YTD is really "Their Time Dinning" most times you have to wait for a table and when you get one its usually around the same time as Trad early or late sitting because their is such a small window of time difference between early and late Trad times anyway!

 

I have only done YTD once and in the end we just booked same table same time every night at the front of the restaurant as we left after each dinner.

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Halya50

Halya50

Posted
Posted
Hmm, this makes me nervous. We used YTD last cruise and never had a wait and loved the flexibility. So I of course chose it again for this cruise. However, we will be a group of 7 this time on the Splendor. May have to rethink this...

 

We had a group of seven and no problem, the most we ever waited was maybe 15-20 minutes.

 

We have even a larger group this year.

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sewut

sewut

Posted
Posted

We had YTD on the Victory last month. We were a group of 8, and never had to wait. We loved the table and servers that we had the first night and asked for and got them every night. It was table 140 with Melvin and Dan. Great servers and great times.

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Prphan2

Prphan2

Posted
Posted
We sailed with two other couples on the Lberty two months ago and the first night found a server we wanted to keep.

 

Made up with the hostess that we could come within a 15 minute window each night and keep the same table.

 

Surprised they didnt do that with you.

 

We've done YTD on CCL and ATD on RCCL and have had great experiences. If we find wait staff that we enjoy and bond with, we request them every evening and it's wonderful!

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Prphan2

Prphan2

Posted
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It seems that YTD for two' date=' sometimes has people sitting very closely in rows of two topper tables... is that correct?

 

We want to sit at a table for two most of the time, but if the two top tables are as close as some are saying, it may just be best to go for a table of four or six.

 

Can any one with experience confirm if YTD on the Freedom has the two top tables more separated for a more private, intimate dining experience for two?

 

Just curious.

 

Thanks![/quote']

 

We did experience that one time on the Triumph, but it turned out to be wonderful for us since we met a really nice couple. Other than that one time, we've been seated in 4 person booths.

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Sparky2

Sparky2

Posted
Posted
We were encouraged to select "your time dining" when we booked our cruise. We were told we could make reservations - which we found out on board that you can not. While it may work for some people, we had a group of 10 and it was a pain in the butt. When you get in line for YTD, unless it is between 5:45 and 6:30, you are more than likely to be in line for a pager. Once your pager goes off then you get in a line to be seated. Especially if you have a large group. We waited 90 min to 2 hours the first 3 nights and they split our table up once. Every day the staff sent "We are sorry for the wait" sweets to our room because of the long wait for a table (we had to tell them to stop because they were not so good and it was wasteful). So if you have a bigger group, you may want to reconsider. Every day we waited in line. It was annoying and not explained we'll in advance. The staff tried to be accommodating but this is not their fault, they don't encourage us to use YTD.

 

Extra note - if you are on the Splendor, YTD is in the Black Pearl which is at the front of the ship. The other set dining time is at the Gold Pearl which is at the back of the ship and you feel much more movement there. We also noticed the evening staff is much nicer than the brunch staff but overall they are all superb at what they do.

 

I wished that someone had told me this information in advance - I hope it helps you!!

 

Cheers!

 

Christina

 

 

Novice cruiser - can't wait for the next one!!

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Sorry you were given incorrect info for ATD. With a group of 10 people, it would be the same as going to a restaurant at home and having to wait for them to be able to seat 10 people together.

 

When you have ATD and find a waitstaff that you like, you can request them each night. That might be what they should have said, not that you can make reservations for a certain time.

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ccruisequeen

ccruisequeen

Posted
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I've done YTD several times in a row of 2-tops. Never had to wait for others to be seated or order. I was treated as an individual and got my food as soon as it was ordered. Others who came earlier were already eating. People who were later got theirs while I was eating.

 

 

 

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ccruisequeen

ccruisequeen

Posted
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I would avoid ATD if there is only 1 dining room, on the Inspiration they had ATD mixed with fixed dining, and it was the only time I had bad experiences, seemed the waiters couldn't get into a routine like they usually do and service was way slow every night.

 

Inspiration has two dining rooms. The midship MDR is the one split for YTD or scheduled. YTD line is to the left and are seated on that side. Scheduled is on the right and use those tables. The Aft MDR is ony for scheduled.

 

 

 

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lylone

lylone

Posted
Posted

We did YTD on the Freedom last year and there was two of us. We never had to wait and always asked for the same wait team. The tables for two were close together but not like you felt obligated to engage other people around you. Corcorda and her crew were the best on the Freedom!

 

Sent from my Venue 8 3830 using Tapatalk

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txmom11

txmom11

Posted
Posted

We've always had assigned dining and usually the late seating. However, we cruised with our DD and SIL in December and they wanted YTD. DH and I did not enjoy it as much. It just was not as special. We missed the singing (yeah, we like the singing) and didn't like moving tables every night. We won't be doing it again. Glad they have it for those of you who enjoy that experience, but it wasn't for us. :)

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hftmrock

hftmrock

Posted
Posted
We've always had assigned dining and usually the late seating. However, we cruised with our DD and SIL in December and they wanted YTD. DH and I did not enjoy it as much. It just was not as special. We missed the singing (yeah, we like the singing) and didn't like moving tables every night. We won't be doing it again. Glad they have it for those of you who enjoy that experience, but it wasn't for us. :)

 

just so you know you can have YTD and have the same waitstaff (we even had the same seats) every night and we did time our dining to see the singing as well. you can have those experiences in YTD if you want to

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GlendaleCruiser

GlendaleCruiser

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Posted

We ate in groups of 4 or 6 when another couple joined us and definitely got in sooner with just 4. So many more tables available for that number. When we were 6 we usually had to wait 10 minutes. I can see where a table for 10 would not open up very often.

 

Sounds like the OP got bad advice.:(

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