We LOVED "anytime dining"

[pg.]

Hello just back from the 04/17th Golden and we had Pc dining. We loved it , we met many nice people and never ended up with a "bad table"!!

We have seen some posters complain of long waits, we NEVER waited longer than 15 minutes and that was on formal night when we went to the dining room during peak time( 7 to 8).

We always allowed the maitre'd to place us at any size table( the wait might be longer for those who specifically request a table for two) and we often ate earlier rather than later( around 6 30) .

 

We found it was so nice to just "go when we wanted" . And we found the servers to be very pleasant all around, we don't need to have a waiter simpering over us, so the fact that we got a different one each time never bothered us.

 

Overall, we say if you are the least bit easy going then give it a try!!!

[Hilary G.]

We did pc dining for the first time in February on the Island and loved it as well! We did not have long waits and sometimes did a table for two. You always meet someone to talk to in the waiting area anyway so just another way to meet people!

[mek]

My husband and I did PC back in October for the first time on the Star. I loved it - he didn't.

We're going on the Grand in June and are doing traditional, but in Novenber when we are taking a family cruise,on the Caribbean Princess, we're going to do PC again. I guess we'll just have to take turns to keep us both happy!

[spongerob]

We normally choose traditional dining, but have done the Anytime option when we couldn't get into the late seating. It wasn't as bad as we'd expected. Like PG noted, if you are willing to sit with a group that is just being seated, the waits are minimal.

 

Just completed:

Caribbean Princess Apr 3/04

Golden Princess Apr 10/04

Coming up:

Tahitian Princess Oct 14/04

[joyus]

Did any of you do PC with a "full" ship? I just wondering if this may make a difference.

[mek]

Yep, the Star was completly sold out on our cruise. The longest wait we ever had was about 15 minutes.

[pg.]

joyus, our sailing was full, in fact apparently it was over-booked as we met people who had been contacted and asked to switch their sailing date in excahnge for cash back and an upgrade.

 

I think the two factors that can make the most problems are if you try to get a table for two and you show up at 7:30!!!

There are many tables for two, BUT, they are popular, and 7:30 is prime time for dining. If you are flexible and social, then you just won't have a problem.

 

I should add that one evening we dined at a table for 10, and everyone at the table was at least 75, ( we are early forties) .Not our first choice, but you know we just kept an open mind and started yakking away and discovered some very lovely people with a wealth of interesting experiences to share with us!

 

Most times we did find ourselves at tables with very similarily aged cruisers, so don't fret!

[jakedoc]

Can anyone tell me if they had any experience using PC dining with a group? We have a group of 14 and would like to be able to get tables for 8 or 10. Long time Celebrity cruisers and we're going to try Princess. Thanks

[bob&karen]

On our 4/10 Golden sailing, we did wind up waiting 40 minutes on the second formal night but STILL loved the overall PC experience. We showed up around 8 pm and requested a table for 4. We had a full ship. As noted above, had we thought to indicate a willingness to combine seatings we would have gotten in sooner.

 

All other evenings, there was a max wait of 15 minutes and frequently no wait at all. Note that they do give you the little electronic beeper so you can go sit at the bars and complete your "Princess Bar Tour" checksheet (did it, got the shirt)

 

I WOULD suggest either making dinner reservations, or avoiding peak hours, on embarkation day - NOBODY eats early and there is much more of a crowd later into the evening than is the case for the rest of the cruise.

 

Bob

 

"These moments we’re left with - may you always remember

These moments are shared, by few

And those harbor lights, lord they’re coming into view

We’ll bid our farewells much too soon

So drink it up, this one’s for you -

Honey, it’s been a lovely cruise."

-- James W. Buffett

 

Carnival Triumph, April '02

Carnival Sensation, January '04

Golden Princess, April '04

 

Carnival Sensation, Golden Princess / Caribbean Princess pix at: Cool Cruisin' Pix

 

e-mail: bobandkarenny@yahoo.com

[srphnx]

We just did PC on Diamond which is even more involved than anytime with a single dining room. We took the advice on the boards, made ressies early and had NO TROUBLE at any time.

 

There were people who waited until day of and could always get a table but were given limited times from which to choose.

 

We like the system and found that we were able to choose from the 4 dining rooms and ended up sampling maitre'ds and staff as well as menus as we are taking another cruise 4 weeks after this one all that data will still be good, because the staff doesn't start rotating that quickly.

 

We like PC and found it was easy to make work, but there are some solid reasons to go traditional as well. What is wrong with any kind of cruise meal after all?

 

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>

Diamond Princess 05/04

Mercury 06/02

Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98

Legend o.t. Seas 09/95

<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>

Diamond Princess 04/04

Sea Princess 01/02

Vision o.t. Seas 04/02

Star Princess 12/02<FONT color=red>

West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>

Ecstacy 09/01

Vision o.t. Seas 10/02

<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>

Century 12/97

<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>

Century 9/96

 

[joyus]

Thanks mek & pg for answering my question about the ship's capacity. Since we are from Florida, we will probably be in the dining rooms early (3 hrs time difference for us). After reading all the unfavorable reports about PC Dining I called TA to switched back to Traditional (waitlisted at #405, guess we know that will not happen) on the Diamond 5/15. However, after reading this thread, I do think PC will work just fine.