Set dinning time vs. your time dinning

[29dawgs]

We did YTD on our last couple of cruises. The first cruise was great but the last cruise on the Dream we had long waits each night. We would go different times between 6:30 to 7:30 and our wait times was anywhere from 20 min. to just over an hour. Always had to wait at least 20 to 30 min. Maybe it was because a lot of people were doing YTD, I'm not sure, but will go back to assigned seating.

[Caraec]

You do not make a reservation just show up. You may have to wait a bit if it's a prime time but just like a land-side restaurant will get a buzzer and can wander the lobby area until you are called.

 

Thanks to you and Taylor for your quick responses!

[nybumpkin]

We mostly book early seating. We like having the same wait staff that knows what you like, and early seating mirrors our dining time at home. However, we will book YTD if the itinerary doesn't match early seating. And you can ask for the same wait staff on YTD - on one 5-night cruise we were able to be seated in the same area every night except one.

[tlw440]

They seem to have it down better now than when it first started so if you haven't tried it in a few years you may want to try it again.

[skiorcruise]

I have always done early dining, except for one cruise with anytime. I prefer the early, for the following reasons:

 

Same wait staff ... they quickly learn your names, preferences, etc.

 

Same people at the table. Sometimes friends, sometimes strangers (for a few minutes). I can get along with anyone for a limited amount of time. Most trips we are with one or two other couples, so get "our own" table without other cruisers.

 

My DW is frequently late, and being late drives me crazy. Once she realized that set dining times were in fact really set times, we manage to show up on time.

 

Knowing when the dinner will be done makes it easier to plan evenings.

 

Perhaps I am just anal about planning and routines. One of the things I love about cruises is that it eliminates some of the decision making needed on a vacation. I know where I will stay, when I will eat, etc.

 

And if we screw up and miss a dining time, we can always go up to the LIDO deck and eat there. It happens.

[Frank12]

Love the YTD. it doesn't bother me that the staff doesn't know me, it's just like any other restaurant. And I prefer quiet dinners with just my husband, not a table full of strangers

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Us too!

[WLHyatt]

We've done all three.

 

Early was just too early, at home we eat between 7 and 9 pm every day. This is because we do not have children, we're both in our mid-thirties and I have a 1.5 hour commute in the evenings.

 

Anytime was just not consistent. We found a good server who did a great job, but the food was often off. It was either too cold or too hot, or just did not seem right compared to the other sailings we have been on. We did ask to be seated with the same wait staff every night, and one night we had about a 30 minute wait. That was on the Dream and it just didn't seem to flow well.

 

Late dining has been great every other time. Our second cruise we were teamed up with about 3 other couples our same age with no children and were able to have many discussions about anything that came up. On the Elation we did get a table to ourselves and that worked out nicely, and on the Legend we were with a group of two other couples and they all preferred late dining too. The timing and service just seemed better at the set dining times overall.

 

This was our experience, I know other people may have other opinions but for us anytime just did not work out well for us.

[KroozNut]

If we could go a cruise with like-minded people, that may be fun, but we rarely find the AVERAGE person on a cruise has the same hobbies or interests as us.

 

Unless I'm missing something, CRUISING is your like-minded interest / hobby, and if you can't find topics to talk about .... well. :rolleyes:

[ilovemom]

We love anytime and never had more than a 5 minute wait. Last time we were seated at a booth and had the same waiter the whole time. We love the flexibility of eating when we're hungry and not at a set time. Plus we really don't like sitting with people we don't know just to then not like them and being stuck with them the rest of the cruise. I know that a lot of people meet great people and make long life friends but it doesn't always work that way and it sucks when it doesn't.

[ldlewis45]

Nothing wrong with it, it's just that our experience has always been that after the first night, they're not strangers anymore...but friends. In fact we still to this day correspond with some of the folks we met at our dinner table and made friends with on cruises years ago. It's great... and yes, it's probably a personality thing. ;)

 

 

 

Just has not been our experience, that's all.

 

 

 

We have always had very relaxing meals with like-minded cruise loving table mates. And our conversations are engaging and enjoyable.

 

 

 

Always more than enough time to spend with one's DH/DW, or anyone else outside of the couple of hours each night spent in the MDR.

 

And as has been mentioned, it all comes down to personal preference. We just happen to love traditional dining! :)

 

I'm glad you've had good experiences, but I've definitely been in dining situations with people I didn't care for. A couple of cruises back, I had the "luck" to get stuck with the same woman at my ATD table a few times, and I was so glad that I could just vary the time I went to dinner on other days to avoid her. I was really regretting my request to sit with other people after meeting her. For some reason, she thought that since we were both solo cruisers, we meshed, so she wouldn't leave me alone and let me eat. Unfortunately, I found her personality highly irritating and obnoxious. She just. wouldn't. stop. talking. I don't mind chitchatting when we're all still waiting for our food, but when my food arrives, I like having a chance to actually, you know, eat instead of having to respond to questions every two minutes.

 

One of the gems she was so happy to share with everyone at the table was how she always got discounts or on-board credit because she always found something to complain about. Whenever she wanted to save a little money, she would find something nitpicky and go complain, or call up Carnival and yell at them, just to get a reduction in price or some other perk.

[BIGA961]

We love traditional dining, and we love having the same wait staff, and meeting new people. Last fall our family sat alone, but every other time we've been with others and after the first night we find ourselves looking forward to chatting with our dinner mates and sharing stories about our days. We too have maintained some contact with some of them, and these relationships have positively impacted our cruise experience. We'd be disappointed if Carnival ever went away from traditional dining times.

[berrieh]

Unless I'm missing something, CRUISING is your like-minded interest / hobby, and if you can't find topics to talk about .... well. :rolleyes:

 

Most cruising talk would be small-talk, like what did you do today, look what's going on later, etc. That's not interesting talk to me, especially when I don't know the person and frankly...don't care what they did today (I do love reviews, but that's in writing and I can put it down whenever I like if it gets boring). Though we don't even see cruising as a "hobby" at all really. Or even worse, sometimes when talking about cruises on cruises, people complain! Personally, I don't want to hear ANY complaining on vacation! Edit: And by "like-minded" I meant WAY MORE like minded than that! One tangential similarity is not like-minded to me.

 

Now, I understand many people ENJOY small talk (often extroverts) and you may be one of those people who enjoys small talk. What I find irritating is how often extroverts expect everyone to like what they like or conform to their notions (we live in an extroverted society), which is how your initial post to the other person who pointed out it can be awkward sounded. I don't see why it's hard to understand that it's not about being unable to "find" topics to talk about but about small talk being not really engaging if you don't get the "top off" from the social interaction that extroverts get and instead have to put in energy and get tired (vs. re-fueled) from it, as an introvert. It's not the way I want to spend MY vacation. If sat with folks, I'd seem to be having a good time, chatting away, but I'd be faking it 90% of the time and I'd be really bummed about how I had to waste my vacation entertaining strangers. On vacation, I don't want to have to fake niceties for strangers or conform to their idea of a sociable person. I want to be me! I want to talk about what interests me, speak the way I want to speak, and not feel any need to entertain or please strangers.

 

Edit: I say this just to confront your perspective on being snarky towards someone with a different perspective like saying, "That kind of record has to be more than just luck" to the person who commented the perspective first. There are many reasons why people like different things than you, and it has nothing to do with capability. You seem to relate it to capability again with this comment I quoted above, with your rolling eyes. Why would I want to be at a table with someone with those kind of perspectives for instance when they aren't seriously considering mine? (This is not meant as a personal attack at being at YOUR table, but to further point out people are different and have different perspectives and experiences and that may make them incompatible to truly enjoy each other's company.)

Edited October 30, 2015 by berrieh

[FloridaKevin]

We always do anytime dining! We don't want to be told we have to eat a specific time and then feel obligated to participate in small talk. Don't get me wrong, there is times we have been asked if we didn't mind sitting with others and we did just that. But, we find ourselves asking for a table for two more times than not.

The best way to answer the original posters question is, Are you comfortable carrying on a conversation with strangers, are you willing to eat at the same time daily with the same people or do you want a more flexible dining experience where you can have dinner at a table for 1, 2 or the choice to eat with strangers at "any time" you choose ?

[trvlgirlmq]

Most cruising talk would be small-talk, like what did you do today, look what's going on later, etc. That's not interesting talk to me, especially when I don't know the person and frankly...don't care what they did today (I do love reviews, but that's in writing and I can put it down whenever I like if it gets boring). Though we don't even see cruising as a "hobby" at all really. Or even worse, sometimes when talking about cruises on cruises, people complain! Personally, I don't want to hear ANY complaining on vacation! Edit: And by "like-minded" I meant WAY MORE like minded than that! One tangential similarity is not like-minded to me.

 

Now, I understand many people ENJOY small talk (often extroverts) and you may be one of those people who enjoys small talk. What I find irritating is how often extroverts expect everyone to like what they like or conform to their notions (we live in an extroverted society), which is how your initial post to the other person who pointed out it can be awkward sounded. I don't see why it's hard to understand that it's not about being unable to "find" topics to talk about but about small talk being not really engaging if you don't get the "top off" from the social interaction that extroverts get and instead have to put in energy and get tired (vs. re-fueled) from it, as an introvert. It's not the way I want to spend MY vacation. If sat with folks, I'd seem to be having a good time, chatting away, but I'd be faking it 90% of the time and I'd be really bummed about how I had to waste my vacation entertaining strangers. On vacation, I don't want to have to fake niceties for strangers or conform to their idea of a sociable person. I want to be me! I want to talk about what interests me, speak the way I want to speak, and not feel any need to entertain or please strangers.

 

Edit: I say this just to confront your perspective on being snarky towards someone with a different perspective like saying, "That kind of record has to be more than just luck" to the person who commented the perspective first. There are many reasons why people like different things than you, and it has nothing to do with capability. You seem to relate it to capability again with this comment I quoted above, with your rolling eyes. Why would I want to be at a table with someone with those kind of perspectives for instance when they aren't seriously considering mine? (This is not meant as a personal attack at being at YOUR table, but to further point out people are different and have different perspectives and experiences and that may make them incompatible to truly enjoy each other's company.)

 

This, exactly!

 

I make small talk with people while at the pool, during trivia, waiting for a show to start, etc. I can end the small talk at any time by going back to my book, concentrating on the questions or the show. You can't do that during a meal that can last up to 2 hours. Having cruising in common is not enough to make for a pleasant dining experience for an entire week.

[butterflys]

If we could go a cruise with like-minded people, that may be fun, but we rarely find the AVERAGE person on a cruise has the same hobbies or interests as us. Just not a lot of childfree 30-something gamers on cruises. I'm sure if you found the typical cruiser was similar to you, it'd be more enjoyable. Also probably more enjoyable for extroverts!

 

As to the always more time to spend with DH elsewhere - honestly, at ports, we usually do excursions (adventure or historical) and rarely just-us because of pricing (it's a better price for a group) so on port days, it's our primary alone time in the evenings.

 

 

We are the same as you and I agree with your post.

[summersigh]

Nothing wrong with it, it's just that our experience has always been that after the first night, they're not strangers anymore...but friends. In fact we still to this day correspond with some of the folks we met at our dinner table and made friends with on cruises years ago. It's great... and yes, it's probably a personality thing. ;)

 

We have always had very relaxing meals with like-minded cruise loving table mates. And our conversations are engaging and enjoyable.

 

Always more than enough time to spend with one's DH/DW, or anyone else outside of the couple of hours each night spent in the MDR.

 

And as has been mentioned, it all comes down to personal preference. We just happen to love traditional dining! :)

 

We think much like you. In all of our cruising we've never had a table we didn't get along with. We go into it not believing the table mates are going to be our BFFs but rather they're folks with experiences different than ours that we'd enjoy chatting with.

 

We're retired - we spend at least 5 nights every week having dinner with just the 2 of us - thus on a cruise we really enjoy the company at dinner that assigned seating presents. :)

[brepri_h]

You definitely want to pick your time dining. It’s a no brainer. I’ve ne4ver had to wait long at all. Actually most of the time there is no wait. I’ve seen long lines for the set dining times because everyone is coming at once.

Also with YTD I’ve always had the same waiter.

[shdixon]

This is my first time posting I am sorry if this has been asked before. I am sailing on the Liberty, we are going back and fourth with the set dinning time vs. the your time dinning. I was wondering if any of you have done the your time dinning? If so, what did you think? Did you have long wait times waiting for a table? Did you get the same treatment as you would in the set dinning time?

 

Thank you in advance for your time on this!!

 

I like any time dining. I get to eat when I like and we are not forces to eat with a large table of people. Some like that but we do not. We often get a table for 2

[KroozNut]

Most cruising talk would be small-talk, like what did you do today, look what's going on later, etc. That's not interesting talk to me, especially when I don't know the person and frankly...don't care what they did today (I do love reviews, but that's in writing and I can put it down whenever I like if it gets boring). Though we don't even see cruising as a "hobby" at all really. Or even worse, sometimes when talking about cruises on cruises, people complain! Personally, I don't want to hear ANY complaining on vacation! Edit: And by "like-minded" I meant WAY MORE like minded than that! One tangential similarity is not like-minded to me.

 

Now, I understand many people ENJOY small talk (often extroverts) and you may be one of those people who enjoys small talk. What I find irritating is how often extroverts expect everyone to like what they like or conform to their notions (we live in an extroverted society), which is how your initial post to the other person who pointed out it can be awkward sounded. I don't see why it's hard to understand that it's not about being unable to "find" topics to talk about but about small talk being not really engaging if you don't get the "top off" from the social interaction that extroverts get and instead have to put in energy and get tired (vs. re-fueled) from it, as an introvert. It's not the way I want to spend MY vacation. If sat with folks, I'd seem to be having a good time, chatting away, but I'd be faking it 90% of the time and I'd be really bummed about how I had to waste my vacation entertaining strangers. On vacation, I don't want to have to fake niceties for strangers or conform to their idea of a sociable person. I want to be me! I want to talk about what interests me, speak the way I want to speak, and not feel any need to entertain or please strangers.

 

Edit: I say this just to confront your perspective on being snarky towards someone with a different perspective like saying, "That kind of record has to be more than just luck" to the person who commented the perspective first. There are many reasons why people like different things than you, and it has nothing to do with capability. You seem to relate it to capability again with this comment I quoted above, with your rolling eyes. Why would I want to be at a table with someone with those kind of perspectives for instance when they aren't seriously considering mine? (This is not meant as a personal attack at being at YOUR table, but to further point out people are different and have different perspectives and experiences and that may make them incompatible to truly enjoy each other's company.)

 

'Uncle', and really, no snarkiness was intended!:o

[KroozNut]

In all of our cruising we've never had a table we didn't get along with. We go into it not believing the table mates are going to be our BFFs but rather they're folks with experiences different than ours that we'd enjoy chatting with.

 

We're retired - we spend at least 5 nights every week having dinner with just the 2 of us - thus on a cruise we really enjoy the company at dinner that assigned seating presents. :)

 

Exactly! :)

[HectorAchilleus]

I like any time dining. I get to eat when I like and we are not forces to eat with a large table of people. Some like that but we do not. We often get a table for 2

 

We also request a table for two, but the tables are often only four inches apart! For some reason, we usually end up with a couple at the next table that wants to be our next best friends. Why THEY asked for a table for two, I can never figure out.

 

Another disadvantage of ATD is that we always seem to time our meal when the waiters are forced to sing or dance. We sit there wondering where our food is,or we watch it getting cold.

 

ATD also seems to take longer. Sometimes the server will wait until they get several orders before bringing them down. Since dinner has taken close to two hours, we often end up skipping dessert, especially if the server waits to submit orders.

[mmbrad02]

Chiming in, but also wanted to add... does anyone have a preference on set dining time verses Anytime, when children are involved? This is our first cruise and our daughter just turned five. Overall is she behaved, but she is a child - occasionally we do have our moments. Currently we are on the Anytime, but waitlisted for the early dining The late one is just out for us. I keep going back on forth on this, whether to remain waitlisted, or to just mark Anytime and forget the waitlist.

 

The timing of the early seating works well for us as far as the time we are used to eating. I tend to think if she was seated with other children, that would appeal to her - she is quite the social butterfly and loves to make new friends. On the flip side, if we are seated with no children, and she was to have a bad night, I don't want to ruin other childless travelers dinner.

 

Also, my sister and her family are traveling on this cruise and have the early time as their choice, no list. If we did get a spot at the early time, would we be able to sit with them?

 

We are mid thirty's and I do think it would be cool to meet other people, but the above scenarios make me hesitant.

 

For the anytime, obviously it's nice if our daughter was to take a nap (one can dream!), we could go to dinner a little later.

 

THoughts from others with kids?

[2xsin12mths]

2 thoughts......

1. The taking children to dinner question....we have seen kids at early, YTD and late. And I can honestly say I have never seen/heard any have a meltdown. Usually by evening young kids are so wiped out from the day that they are pretty mellow. Also, I have noticed very few kids in the dining room. I think most are at the "kids club" over dinner.

2. Does anyone know if you can request a BOOTH for 2 at YTD. Again, we have had all 3 options and all 3 have advantages and disadvantages. The cruise coming up has late departure times at ports so we picked ATD again. That said, I HATE when you ask for a table for 2 and they line you up with 6 other tables that are 2 inches apart. THAT"S NOT A TABLE FOR 2. One time we had to leave because the couple right against us were arguing. It was soooo uncomfortable. I want to relax, drink a bottle of wine with my DH with a "true" table for 2.

[Jeafl]

Chiming in, but also wanted to add... does anyone have a preference on set dining time verses Anytime, when children are involved? This is our first cruise and our daughter just turned five. Overall is she behaved, but she is a child - occasionally we do have our moments. Currently we are on the Anytime, but waitlisted for the early dining The late one is just out for us. I keep going back on forth on this, whether to remain waitlisted, or to just mark Anytime and forget the waitlist.

 

The timing of the early seating works well for us as far as the time we are used to eating. I tend to think if she was seated with other children, that would appeal to her - she is quite the social butterfly and loves to make new friends. On the flip side, if we are seated with no children, and she was to have a bad night, I don't want to ruin other childless travelers dinner.

 

Also, my sister and her family are traveling on this cruise and have the early time as their choice, no list. If we did get a spot at the early time, would we be able to sit with them?

 

We are mid thirty's and I do think it would be cool to meet other people, but the above scenarios make me hesitant.

 

For the anytime, obviously it's nice if our daughter was to take a nap (one can dream!), we could go to dinner a little later.

 

THoughts from others with kids?

 

When our kids were small we went with early seating. Almost every single time we were seated at a large table with another family with kids around the same age. Most maitre'd's

try to sit families with families so that people with no kids aren't stuck with kids. My kids had instant friends to hang around with which was a big bonus.

 

If you do get early dining you can link your reservation with your sisters so you will be seated together.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Jeafl