Should we try Anytime Dining?

[tomcatguy74]

Hey all!

 

We have been cruising for a long time and always did the 6:00pm fixed dining.

My wife insists we try the ATD and honestly I'm a little worried about it.

See, we always want a table for just the four of us and usually they honor our request. In fact on our last cruise on the breeze I requested a table for four and they kinda gave me a little bit of grief about it. However when we got to dinner that night they had set up a table in the corner of the restaurant just for us. I know they went above and beyond because the table and chairs didn't match the rest of the restaurants decor.

We have always enjoyed having the same servers so we can get to know them and they get to know us.

I have read good things and bad things about the ATD. it seems like there it more bad than good though.

 

We would love to get some of your thoughts for ourselves from all of you.

 

Thanks

 

Robert and Melissa n' kids

[Taters]

We've always done late seating and tried YTD once. We didn't care for it because often times we had to wait for a table.

[Sue Do-Over]

We have loved anytime dining. It takes the pressure out of being ready at 'exactly' the right time, and allows our group (might be 2, 4, 6 or 8) to mix and match without having half the table sit empty.

 

That said, we usually end up at the dining room at 6:15, just after the early seating wave in the scheduled dining room. We figure that 'they' are getting their appetizers while 'we' are ordering ours.

 

As for having familiar staff... just ask for a table in his/her station. On the same note, it is easy to request "not xxx, please" if you've had less than great service.

 

Happenstance had us on the same ship on two different itinieries about three months apart. (Glory) The great server (Noel) on cruise #1 was still there on cruise #2... and we asked for his station. Of course, he remembered us, AND the special fruit plate my husband always orders. "Oh, Mr. Paul!! So good to see you again!! You'll want pineapple and watermelon??? YESSS!?"

 

Finally, anytime dining gives you a chance to sit by the window... we've never been assigned a window view on a scheduled seating (probably because platinum/diamond diners bump the red/blue/gold from those prized tables)

[98Charlie]

On the surface it looks like you would be happier with set seating.

 

I was on a cruise with my daughters family of 5 and we did Anytime. Normally we would do early but they wanted to try it thinking it would give us extra flexibility. As it turned out we always went when they opened anyway and there was usually a line unless we went 15 minutes before the doors opened. In effect no difference.

 

We always had the same table for 6 because of the size of the group and the time we arrived. Over the course of the 7 nights we had several of the same waiters but not the same ones each night.

 

The service was basically the same speed as all other Carnival cruises.

 

Charlie

[jacksmycat]

We tried once as well. We had to wait in a long line. They sat us by ourselves. It was just my husband and I. The waiter was not friendly and seemed to rush us the whole time. We immediately went to the maitre d and requested late seating. He was fortunately able to accommodate us and we were able to enjoy the rest of our meals. You will probably get a table for just yourselves. I didn't find the experience very personable though. I guess if you like to get in and out you might like it.

[98Charlie]

One additional thought. If you like the shows you will want to time your meal so that you don't miss both showings.

 

We did find that we would skip dessert (not that I really need a dessert:rolleyes:) in order to make it to the show.

 

Charlie

[Cushing985]

My wife and I always do ATD...we like the flexibility and a private table for 2 (if you consider 3 inches between tables private) and we always ask for the same wait staff. Is there a wait? I don't think we've ever waited more than 15 minutes. We just find a bar and have a pre-dinner drink.

[riffatsea]

We will ONLY cruise with ATD! We do not like to sit with strangers. We prefer a table for 2 unless we meet folks during the cruise with whom we choose to arrange to dine together.

Our last cruise we were with my sister and bro in law with ATD we always had our same table for 4 even if we did not come at the exact same time for dinner.

We always try to find wait staff we like and then we ask for them each night. On the last cruise the dining room staff at the podium who seats you called the table for 4 "our " table. They saw us coming and knew where we were going to sit.

We get good service because we are always with the same crew. The one cruise we had where we did not like our first set of servers ,we went straight to the maitre d who found us others who we then enjoyed for the rest of the cruise.

The short wait if you go right when they open is just that, very short! If you go about a half hour later there won't be a line. Of course if you pick the most popular hours probably around 7PM you may have to wait a bit but for us this kind of dining is the only way we will cruise!

[emcelh]

Much prefer ATD and do prefer a table for 2. I agree with the previous poster that those tables are very close together, at least on the Carnival ships I've experienced. As for wait times, it's never been longer than 15 minutes and if you're willing to share a table with others you may be seated right away.

 

I just don't like being locked into a time. Having the same wait staff each night isn't important to me either so ATD suits us.

[notyours75]

Its a personal preference, however, it would seem the vast majority of people on CC complaining about the MDR service (not food just service) are ATD people. We prefer having "our" table with "our" waitstaff through the entire cruise and we don't mind the set times so it works well for us.

[crusinpsychRN]

I like anytime and prefer to sit alone. I was in line behind a family and in front of 2 women speaking Russian and was seated with them. The family basically only spoke to one another at first. One Russian women didn't speak English and the other translated everything. Awkward.

 

Then one more family member joined and said something about Cruise Critic. He was on my roll call and then it got easier to enjoy dinner as we all interacted.

 

I don't usually eat dessert and get strange responses when I get up to leave. I'd prefer to do my own thing.

 

Plus if there is an event you want to go to at 6pm you can and you can see both shows--sometimes there are 2 different shows.

[stargate fan]

Hey all!

 

We have been cruising for a long time and always did the 6:00pm fixed dining.

My wife insists we try the ATD and honestly I'm a little worried about it.

See, we always want a table for just the four of us and usually they honor our request. In fact on our last cruise on the breeze I requested a table for four and they kinda gave me a little bit of grief about it. However when we got to dinner that night they had set up a table in the corner of the restaurant just for us. I know they went above and beyond because the table and chairs didn't match the rest of the restaurants decor.

We have always enjoyed having the same servers so we can get to know them and they get to know us.

I have read good things and bad things about the ATD. it seems like there it more bad than good though.

 

We would love to get some of your thoughts for ourselves from all of you.

 

Thanks

 

Robert and Melissa n' kids

 

Hey backatcha! :D

 

We booked early assigned dining (too early) when we cruised with groups of friends, we booked late assigned dining (too late) when we cruised alone or with our kids. Then we tried Your Time Dining (YTD) when we sailed with my husband's mom, his sisters, and their husbands. It was not a pleasant experience at all. Maybe seating nine people was the issue.

 

Fast forward to August 2014, Legend, Panama Canal sailing. We chose early dining, which on that sailing was 5:45. :eek: We befriended two couples on the first day of the 13 day cruise so we switched to YTD for the third night so we could dine together. We had such amazing waitstaff that after the first night we requested to be seated in the same section. They learned our names the first night, and never forgot them. They brought our preferred drinks without us even asking. They made sure our bread basket was always full. Service was fantastic for the remaining 10 nights with YTD. We never waited to be seated.

 

We sailed Legend to Alaska in July 2015, again choosing YTD. The Maître d' was the same as on our cruise the year before and he remembered us and the one couple with whom we sailed Legend the previous year! He seated us at a table with another excellent wait team. We were seated in their section every night, again right away, and had an amazing week.

 

YTD is all we'll book now.

 

Give it a try. You might be surprised.

[sharkaymon]

Hey all!

 

We have been cruising for a long time and always did the 6:00pm fixed dining.

My wife insists we try the ATD and honestly I'm a little worried about it.

See, we always want a table for just the four of us and usually they honor our request. In fact on our last cruise on the breeze I requested a table for four and they kinda gave me a little bit of grief about it. However when we got to dinner that night they had set up a table in the corner of the restaurant just for us. I know they went above and beyond because the table and chairs didn't match the rest of the restaurants decor.

We have always enjoyed having the same servers so we can get to know them and they get to know us.

I have read good things and bad things about the ATD. it seems like there it more bad than good though.

 

We would love to get some of your thoughts for ourselves from all of you.

 

Thanks

 

Robert and Melissa n' kids

 

We started ATD about 5 cruises ago and are thoroughly pleased with it. We can go whenever we want. I don't mind getting a pager although we've never had to wait more than 20 minutes. Most times we are pleased with our wait staff and request their station on the following nights. Once, on day 1, we got a waiter we did not like and we asked not to be placed with him. All the other times we asked for specific people and only one time was that team not available. How ever the team we liked talked to our new team about what we liked and even stopped by our table for a few moments to assure us the new team would take good care of us. And they did:D. Depending on your ship and the location of ATD you can even watch the waiters dance.

[sharkaymon]

Hey backatcha! :D

 

We booked early assigned dining (too early) when we cruised with groups of friends, we booked late assigned dining (too late) when we cruised alone or with our kids. Then we tried Your Time Dining (YTD) when we sailed with my husband's mom, his sisters, and their husbands. It was not a pleasant experience at all. Maybe seating nine people was the issue.

 

Fast forward to August 2014, Legend, Panama Canal sailing. We chose early dining, which on that sailing was 5:45. :eek: We befriended two couples on the first day of the 13 day cruise so we switched to YTD for the third night so we could dine together. We had such amazing waitstaff that after the first night we requested to be seated in the same section. They learned our names the first night, and never forgot them. They brought our preferred drinks without us even asking. They made sure our bread basket was always full. Service was fantastic for the remaining 10 nights with YTD. We never waited to be seated.

 

We sailed Legend to Alaska in July 2015, again choosing YTD. The Maître d' was the same as on our cruise the year before and he remembered us and the one couple with whom we sailed Legend the previous year! He seated us at a table with another excellent wait team. We were seated in their section every night, again right away, and had an amazing week.

 

YTD is all we'll book now.

 

Give it a try. You might be surprised.

 

 

We will be on Carnival Legend to Alaska in July. Do you remember any of the names of the team members? It would be fun to ask for them and say they were recommended.:)

[surfone]

We've done all the times (early/late/ATD) and we now always sign up for ATD. We like the flexibility. Seldom wait time for us was less than 20 minutes and usually less than 5 minutes. You can still request your favorite waitress/waiter and usually not a problem. We found we might be hungry early one day and late the next night so now we go when it suits us. So glad it's an option.

[cb at sea]

If you want to eat by yourself..the ATD it is! Otherwise, you might have good company and good conversation with tablemates!

Edited January 24, 2016 by cb at sea

[lovestheH20]

We (sadly) finished our cruise on the Miracle last week! We had on previous cruises always had traditional dining. We are early eaters. Our dilemma was that our friends who invited us to cruise with them were late diners. We chose YTD as a compromise. I was worried about it in advance, however, it worked out great. We usually ended up eating early, at 5:45, and never waitied. But if our late dining friends wanted to have wine and a food tasting before their dinner, we joined them and then went to a later dinner at YTD. We did have to wait a short time then , but no biggie. We were able to request our same waitstaff which we loved, and, it was no big deal when we did not eat at the dining room on Port days (to full from big lunch). It was just the two of us. We could have joined others, but instead enjoyed our romantic dinners. One time we did visit with the table next to us. That was nice. I loved choosing our waitstaff. Our previous cruise we had very rushed, short-staffed service with traditional dining. We were so disappointed. The dining experience for us is a big part of the cruise. With ATD if that happens you can easily request something different. We lucked out and met our great servers on the first night with YTD.

[beachbum53]

On our last two cruises we chose ATD. To avoid having a long wait to be seated, try to be at the MDR entrance by about 5:45, since the MDR opens at 6:00. You'll get seated pretty quickly. It may not always be the same table, but will usually be in the same section with the same wait staff. By about 6:15 - 6:20, the line, and consequently the wait, will be longer. As to how good the service is will depend on how large of a party you have. If it's no more than four of you, the service should be pretty good. If you're with a large group of 8 - 10 people, the service will be a lot slower. We've chosen ATD for our upcoming cruise, and there will be four of us. Why ATD? Because we like the flexibility of not having to be at the MDR by a specific time, and the option of eating elsewhere (buffet, steakhouse, etc.) without having to let others know ahead of time what our plans are.

[tomcatguy74]

Thank you all for your awesome replies. We have decided to give ATD a go and see if it works for us. I liked the comment that we could get a window seat which we have never had. So we will see how it goes. This will lessen the stress my wife gets when she has to get ready for dinner and won't be rushed.

[summersigh]

If you want to eat by yourself..the ATD it is! Otherwise, you might have good company and good conversation with tablemates!

 

That's the way we see it. We like sitting with others at dinner with fixed late seating. We've been married 42 years and for the last 20+ years we have had dinner most nights with just the 2 of us - we love good company and good conversation with tablemates :)

[annelizabeth123]

If you want to eat by yourself..the ATD it is! Otherwise, you might have good company and good conversation with tablemates!

 

In ny own experience, which is admittedly limited, you can sit with others with YTD. My husband and I went on a cruise on the Fantasy out of Charleston last January for 5 nights and we ate un the MDR every night. I love the more formal atmosphere and the service was excellent for the most part. Anyway, we sat at a table for two twice and at a table for six thrice so we had a nice mix of alone time and time to mingle with other cruisers. It was nice to be able to speak to some of our fellow cruisers, especially since neither my husband nor I am the outgoing type, and also to sit "alone" (because the tables are right next to each other) for our anniversary celebration.

[simplelife]

To avoid having a long wait to be seated, try to be at the MDR entrance by about 5:45, since the MDR opens at 6:00. You'll get seated pretty quickly. It may not always be the same table, but will usually be in the same section with the same wait staff. k.

 

 

I don't see how this arrangement is better than fixed. (in fact is less desirable) You have a set time to be there (5:45) and still have a wait, and don't know what table or staff you are going to get. With fixed I can walk right in at my appointed time and go right to my assigned table and be served by my familiar staff. (I have always had good service at fixed dining , whether my table size was 2, 4, 8, or 12).

[Ascott318]

I like same wait staff every night,so I stick to fixed time.

[zqvol]

Hey all!

 

We have been cruising for a long time and always did the 6:00pm fixed dining.

My wife insists we try the ATD and honestly I'm a little worried about it.

See, we always want a table for just the four of us and usually they honor our request. In fact on our last cruise on the breeze I requested a table for four and they kinda gave me a little bit of grief about it. However when we got to dinner that night they had set up a table in the corner of the restaurant just for us. I know they went above and beyond because the table and chairs didn't match the rest of the restaurants decor.

We have always enjoyed having the same servers so we can get to know them and they get to know us.

I have read good things and bad things about the ATD. it seems like there it more bad than good though.

 

We would love to get some of your thoughts for ourselves from all of you.

 

Thanks

 

Robert and Melissa n' kids

 

 

Anytime dining is perfect for you. You will always get a table just for your family and no one will say a thing about it. If you eat early or late there is almost never a wait, the waits occur between 7:00 and 8:00.

 

I really can't thing of any bad things about it, the good certainly outweighs the bad.

[stargate fan]

On our last two cruises we chose ATD. To avoid having a long wait to be seated, try to be at the MDR entrance by about 5:45, since the MDR opens at 6:00. You'll get seated pretty quickly. It may not always be the same table, but will usually be in the same section with the same wait staff. By about 6:15 - 6:20, the line, and consequently the wait, will be longer. As to how good the service is will depend on how large of a party you have. If it's no more than four of you, the service should be pretty good. If you're with a large group of 8 - 10 people, the service will be a lot slower. We've chosen ATD for our upcoming cruise, and there will be four of us. Why ATD? Because we like the flexibility of not having to be at the MDR by a specific time, and the option of eating elsewhere (buffet, steakhouse, etc.) without having to let others know ahead of time what our plans are.

 

We met at bars near the dining room every night between 6:30 and 7:00 and never had to wait for a table in our wait staff's section.

 

I like same wait staff every night,so I stick to fixed time.

 

We had the same wait staff every night with YTD. Come to think of it, after the first night, the host/hostess knew our names and asked if we wanted to be seated in the same section.