Which dining time do you prefer, and why?

[pudy68]

We've always had early seating, and no problems getting to any shows.

 

This upcoming cruise on the Liberty, we are waitlisted for early seating. We've never done late seating, and I now hear that many folks complain about not being able to make it to the shows afterwards. Nor have we ever tried anytime dining. What is the earliest time you can arrive with this option? What are the drawbacks to this arrangement?

[Disconnections]

We've always had early seating, and no problems getting to any shows.

 

This upcoming cruise on the Liberty, we are waitlisted for early seating. We've never done late seating, and I now hear that many folks complain about not being able to make it to the shows afterwards. Nor have we ever tried anytime dining. What is the earliest time you can arrive with this option? What are the drawbacks to this arrangement?

 

You can arrive as early as 5:45 with anytime dining and can request the same waitstaff. With the late sitting, you would be seeing most of the shows before dinner. The Maître d' may be able to accommodate your request for early seating on embarkation day. He meets in one of the dining rooms at the time listed in the Fun Times.

[Starbright7966]

We've always had early seating, and no problems getting to any shows.

 

 

 

This upcoming cruise on the Liberty, we are waitlisted for early seating. We've never done late seating, and I now hear that many folks complain about not being able to make it to the shows afterwards. Nor have we ever tried anytime dining. What is the earliest time you can arrive with this option? What are the drawbacks to this arrangement?

 

 

I like early the best also, but I've done all three. I'm not a fan of late because we are hungry before that and tend to fell up before dinner time. Ytd was great. If I didn't get early I would go with ytd. It begins a 6 if I remember correctly. We normally had the same waiters which was a bonus. I went back to early because I have small children and didn't like waiting to be seated. It could be a long wait sometimes.

 

 

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[TheTravelista]

Did late for years and its my preferred time.

 

I was stuck with the early seating once before I was platinum and it was an annoying experience. I was never hungry at dinner time and was always hungry later. I hated having to rush back from ports to get ready and not being able to take a nap after a long day in said port.

 

Never had any problems getting to shows when I did late. There are showings for both dining times so that wasn't an issue.

 

Trying YTD for the first time in July as I've found myself not wanting to be bothered with the MDR at least 2 nights during the cruise.

 

Dining time preferences are very individualized. Its good that there are multiple options.

[sgcass123]

We have always done late dining and haven't had any issues with getting to shows on times, etc. We prefer late dining since we eat in the dining room nightly. This allows us to stay in port as much as possible, and not miss our dining time. We have time to get cleaned up, get a drink before dinner, etc. and not feel rushed. We always make the 10pm show without problems.

[CoconutJD]

Having only done YTD, the biggest drawback is you may have to wait for a table (our longest wait was never more than 10 minutes, on "elegant" night). But I like it since I don't have to be on a schedule when I'm on vacation.

[Kristi Williamson]

We like YTD. We eat when we're hungry and don't have to follow a "schedule" or someone else's time frame. We typically eat around 6-7 at home but depending on port and energy level we've eaten anywhere from 6-9 when we cruise. Love that!!

[Taters]

We love traditional late dining. Love that the pools empty out around 5 PM. For us that is the perfect time to be there! We usually eat at 7:30 or 8 PM at home, so an 8:15 dining time is perfect for us. We tried anytime dining once, but hated waiting around for a table every night. With an assigned table, everyone knows where and when to meet up in the evening.

[Warm Breezes]

We have never done late since we never eat that late at home. We did early before anytime was introduced but had trouble making it a few times due to excursions and sometimes when we had a late lunch we weren't hungry yet. We prefer anytime. We've never had a long wait, most times we were seated immediately and we like the option of eating when we are ready to. The flexibility is important to us.

[runner15km]

6:00 PM, its all about my digestion system. :(

[buddylover]

For years we did late seating so that it didn't encroach on rushing back from ports and cut that time short. Never had any issue with shows etc....but lately we have been doing YTD, and that is truly the best for us. You do miss out on the rapport with know servers/waiters which we always did enjoy, but otherwise it has worked out perfectly. When we are ready, when we are hungry, we just go eat....and never really had much of a wait time on any ship. Fabulous!!

[para88glee]

We like late dining. We get to stay in port later. If we get hungry we just grab a snack and find that there are fewer children at late dining.

[olcar]

I always liked late dining so I don't feel rushed on port days and to relax before dinner

[n6uqqq]

For years we did late seating so that it didn't encroach on rushing back from ports and cut that time short. Never had any issue with shows etc....but lately we have been doing YTD, and that is truly the best for us. You do miss out on the rapport with know servers/waiters which we always did enjoy, but otherwise it has worked out perfectly. When we are ready, when we are hungry, we just go eat....and never really had much of a wait time on any ship. Fabulous!!

 

 

I had YTD on the Miracle and got the same wait staff every night. All you have to do is ask for the same people if you like them and you will get that same experience as the set time dining people.

[BlancaNoir]

What time do you eat at home?

 

We eat by 6pm so late seating was hard for me. By 7pm I was STARVING and eating everything in sight. Then I would go to MRD dinner and eat more, plus dessert, because I want to experience everything I can on a cruise! So I was eating 4 meals and that was not good for my weight! Early seating worked much better. I would choose the felxible dining option if I couldn't get early but I enjoy the traditional experience and getting to know table mates. No where else in life do I enjoy eating with strangers, but somehow on cruises it is just so eay to strike up conversations with people and 2 hours laters you can't believe the interesting people you have met.

[springs741]

As others have said, it is a personal preference. For us your time dinning is the only way to go. In seven cruises we only had one occasion that we had to wait more than a few minutes for a table. It was elegant night and we were given a pager. By the time we went to the bar and got a drink we were beeped to return. Once in a while there will be a couple or two before us but that is a five minute wait. We also like the flexibility of eating when we are hungry and not having to rush back from port.

[092306]

We used to do late before DS began cruising with us and now do anytime dining usually around 6. We had no problem with shows with either. Even though we chose it for many cruises, I always felt the late seating was a bit too late and prefer anytime now. One good thing about late seating is that you aren't rushed to get ready for dinner after port.

[jazm2011]

When we sail out of the west coast we go with early dining, which is our normal dinner hour at home. However, when sailing out of the east coast, we typically go with late dining, which also happens to be our normal dining time when you account for the 2-3 hour time difference. :)

[pudy68]

I know that the shows are run twice to try to accommodate both early & late diners, but from what I'm hearing about how slow the service is with the American Table menu, I was concerned about possibly missing shows. Has the issue been resolved since they've had a few more months to practice it?

[sealgirl]

We did anytime dining in December on the Freedom. We got there at 5:45 every night, which is when they opened. After the second night, we figured out we could request the same server team and we got to know them just like you do with assigned dining. Never had to wait and since we were among the first ones there, we ended up at the same table every night

 

 

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[evandbob]

I have always asked for and received late dining. I can be out all day on excursions, return to my cabin to shower and dress for dinner in my leisure. I would frequent the sushi bar when there was one prior to dinner for an appetizer @ maybe 7pm or so. Always time after dinner to catch a comedy act or spend an hour in the casino to wind down the evening. Shows don't matter any more, hardly worth going to the theater. Early dinner has lots of kids and elderly, so I'm quite content with late dining.

[mawmawmaw123]

Early dining because that's when I eat at home.

[amyh13]

I really prefer your time dining. Even though we tend to eat early, we don't HAVE to if we stay in port late. Never had to wait for a table for two. Got the same server 5 of 7 nights and one of those nights I liked our server slightly more. We also have kids that like to eat with the other kids. Take them to their dinner, go back to the room and take your time getting ready. Or get ready fast if you are hungry. Totally up to you.

 

 

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[ExFed drvr]

We tried YTD once and never again. We are now doing early dining as we always come back to the ship early. I never was fond of getting up from the dining room at 9:45 at night..Dennis

[Ehpride]

I like late dining because I can take my time and eek out the last bit of sunlight. There's enough time before dinner to get a drink, take pictures, listen to music and do some people watching.

 

 

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