Anytime dinning

[sarahcat111]

What is better assigned or anytime dinning

 

 

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[hartsnvt]

There are dozens of posts on anytime DINING. It is a matter of taste. If you do not want to be confined to a time to eat the choose ATD. If you want to sit at the same table every night at the same time with the same people then choose a dining time.

[nets33]

The answer really depends on your preferences.

 

For DH and I we enjoy anytime dining - it means we can eat whenever we want to instead of having to be forced to eat at a specific time and with other table mates. I've done both traditional and anytime and we prefer anytime.

[runner15km]

What is better assigned or anytime dinning

 

 

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I find that the individual service is better with assigned dining.

[OCruisers]

While we much prefer Anytime/Your Time Dining so we can have dinner when it suits us, some love Traditional Dining so they'll have the same waiter and tablemates each night. :)

LuLu

[sarahcat111]

Is there a wait if u do anytime dinning

 

 

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[douglinc@msn.com]

We always do the early seating, but on our Magic cruise in Jan. we are doing an Elvis impersonator cruise so we need the flexability so we are going to try anytime dining for this one.

[springs741]

We are anytimers. Is that a word? When you pick set time you are expected to be at the dining room at the start of the service. With YTD you can go when you are ready to eat. If you want the same wait staff every night just ask. You may have to wait a few minutes but hey, you are on vacation. This also allows you to dining with just your party or if you feel like meeting new people ask to share a table. There does seem to be many posts lately regarding wanting to have a table for two during set dining. This allows you to have that without having to rush to the MDR upon embarkation to make this request. As for the argument that you want set dining so you have the same wait staff every night, what is they aren't any good?

[cruiseelady]

Is there a wait if u do anytime dinning

 

 

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It depends on how big a table you need and if you are going at a busy time. I always asked for a table for two. Most days I dint have to wait at all, on formal night during the busy time(7:30), I had to wait about 20-25 minutes, other times no wait at all.

[falkcor]

Is there a wait if u do anytime dinning

 

 

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I prefer anytime dining. Wait will vary. The smaller the table the less likely the wait. Have never had a wait for a table for 2. Table for 10 is more likely to have a wait more often

 

 

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[beamqueen]

I have only done traditional so I can't comment on anytime....BUT we loved sitting with our table each evening and having the same waitstaff. They knew exactly where we would sit and it was cool to sit with the same people each night and see what they did throughout the week! We did late dining and I will definitely sign up for the same next cruise!

[jocko4279]

We've done ATD two cruise in a row now. It is way better! :)

[getupgo]

I miss seeing my stablemates every evening to catch up on their activities, but the freedom makes it worth it and new people every night is interesting too. So, we always request your time dining.

[Herbaltees]

I am not sure I have a preference. I enjoy Any Time Dining because of the flexibility. We can eat when we are hungry.

 

With a Set Dining Time, it acts like a standard meeting time for getting together with friends and family. On our last cruise, we always spent 30-45 mins finding each other, making plans changing etc. before dinner. This time, however, we have a very large party that would not be able to eat together w/o a set dining time.

[LindseyButlerWilson]

I prefer anytime dining, BUT when I am with a larger group, we do traditional and it's nice too. I like to determine when I eat based on how hungry I am at a given time, but with a group it's nicer to be able to sit together, so on the next cruise it's early dining for us. :o

[bunchesofun]

While we much prefer Anytime/Your Time Dining so we can have dinner when it suits us, some love Traditional Dining so they'll have the same waiter and tablemates each night. :)

LuLu

 

If you like your waitstaff you can request to be in their area all week.

[bar1068]

Anytime dining=MUCH better than assigned time...especially the late assigned time...bleah!!

[bonnie&clydecruzers]

It depends on your preferences.

[Disconnections]

What is better assigned or anytime dinning

 

 

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Depends on your preferences.

 

Is there a wait if u do anytime dinning

 

 

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Depends on your arrival time to the dining room.

 

;)

[Domino D]

Is there a wait if u do anytime dinning

 

 

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I am sure others will continue to share their experiences as well, but here is ours.

 

We would prefer to eat between 7 and 7:30. Turns out so would most people on the ship.

 

On both the Breeze and Conquest we tried showing up at this time. We waited in a line to get to the hostess stand (5-10 minutes), waited to get assigned a table (5-10 minutes), then had a range of experiences in getting served. We did this three times (2 Breeze and 1 Conquest). We had one night where I don't remember any further waits, one night where from line up to finished was more than 2 hours, and one where we waited a little more than normal. None of these were horrible, just were. We would show up at 7:15 for dinner: we might get the table we wanted, we might get the servers we wanted, we might share, we might be done at 8:15 or we might be done at 9:30.

 

After the second night on the Breeze (we couldn't get table for two or sit by a window without a longer wait), I asked our waiter for any suggestions. He said come before 6:30 or after 8:00. He was right. We went before 6:30 and never had an issue. After the 2+ hour first night on the Conquest, we went back to going before 6:30, and again had no more issues.

 

For us, we would rather be able to plan our evening around knowing what time we will be in and out of dinner, and having a consistent dining room experience. Since that means showing up at certain times anyway, we are going back to the early seating. But this is simply our preference. There are a lot of people who trade off the waits for being able to come when they are ready.

 

Traditional Early: 6pm - on some port days this is rushing it.

Traditional Late: 8:15 - this is late for dinner for us (I would need a serious snack)

Anytime: Like going to a restaurant back home. Some ships will give you a buzzer to tell you when your table is ready. Like Chilis. Only without option to sit at the bar.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Domino D

[gtaylor]

I have only done traditional so I can't comment on anytime....BUT we loved sitting with our table each evening and having the same waitstaff. They knew exactly where we would sit and it was cool to sit with the same people each night and see what they did throughout the week! We did late dining and I will definitely sign up for the same next cruise!

 

We're now Any Time Diners, but back in the day when we had assigned seating at a large table, we all agreed to mix it up with the seating every night, so everyone had a chance to sit next to someone else. Worked great,

 

But now, with this option available, I don't want someone to tell me exactly when I have to show up for dinner.

 

When Carnival began offering this it was one of the main reasons that we moved some of our cruises to Carnival from NCL.

 

gary

[tkportersat]

Thanks for the breakdown :) I have always done traditional on Carnival, but with two families and 3 boys (ages 4-7) we are going to try anytime just for the flexibility. I have to admit on Norwegian this was touch and go but I am hoping it will turn out ok. It will be nice to not be on a set dinner schedule, especially on port days. Fingers crossed ;)

 

I am sure others will continue to share their experiences as well, but here is ours.

 

We would prefer to eat between 7 and 7:30. Turns out so would most people on the ship.

 

On both the Breeze and Conquest we tried showing up at this time. We waited in a line to get to the hostess stand (5-10 minutes), waited to get assigned a table (5-10 minutes), then had a range of experiences in getting served. We did this three times (2 Breeze and 1 Conquest). We had one night where I don't remember any further waits, one night where from line up to finished was more than 2 hours, and one where we waited a little more than normal. None of these were horrible, just were. We would show up at 7:15 for dinner: we might get the table we wanted, we might get the servers we wanted, we might share, we might be done at 8:15 or we might be done at 9:30.

 

After the second night on the Breeze (we couldn't get table for two or sit by a window without a longer wait), I asked our waiter for any suggestions. He said come before 6:30 or after 8:00. He was right. We went before 6:30 and never had an issue. After the 2+ hour first night on the Conquest, we went back to going before 6:30, and again had no more issues.

 

For us, we would rather be able to plan our evening around knowing what time we will be in and out of dinner, and having a consistent dining room experience. Since that means showing up at certain times anyway, we are going back to the early seating. But this is simply our preference. There are a lot of people who trade off the waits for being able to come when they are ready.

 

Traditional Early: 6pm - on some port days this is rushing it.

Traditional Late: 8:15 - this is late for dinner for us (I would need a serious snack)

Anytime: Like going to a restaurant back home. Some ships will give you a buzzer to tell you when your table is ready. Like Chilis. Only without option to sit at the bar.

[momof3cruisers]

Is there a wait if u do anytime dinning

 

 

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The only time we have had a wait was on Formal night. And it was really long! We ended up going to the Lido in all our finery. LOL The kids really wanted to see the comedian so we didn't have enough time to wait that night. Otherwise we were always seated immediately. We were a party of five, btw.

[hftmrock]

we do anytime. for us its a no brainer. the worst thing that happens is a wait but at this point, we have never waited.

 

I cant be sure I will be hungry at exactly the same time every day and if you are more than 15 or 20 minutes late for traditional dining, they can refuse to serve you.

 

I get the same waitstaff and they know our likes and dislikes after the first day.

[momof3cruisers]

We are anytimers. Is that a word? When you pick set time you are expected to be at the dining room at the start of the service. With YTD you can go when you are ready to eat. If you want the same wait staff every night just ask. You may have to wait a few minutes but hey, you are on vacation. This also allows you to dining with just your party or if you feel like meeting new people ask to share a table. There does seem to be many posts lately regarding wanting to have a table for two during set dining. This allows you to have that without having to rush to the MDR upon embarkation to make this request. As for the argument that you want set dining so you have the same wait staff every night, what is they aren't any good?

 

LOL After our last experience on RCL, I am sooo with you on that last line. Our waiter was awful! He pretty much ruined the MDR experience. We had a very large party and we weren't in charge so we just dealt with it but oh, how I would have loved to ditch that guy!