anytime vs traditional dining

[shredie]

Not forced to talk to same people every night and look at Grandchildrens pictures you don't care about. Thats why anytime rocks IMHO

 

 

Good plan. I don't like to sit with people who don't want to sit with me either. I prefer friendly dinner companions.

[kimlovesfl]

I have only done anytime dining, and boy, TD sounds like a real pain in the a**! Do you really have to wait for all your tablemates to show up before you can order and eat? So not for me. We usually didn't decide where to eat until we saw the MDR menu, which usually wasn't posted until after lunch. We ate anywhere from 5:30-7, typically had somewhat of a wait, but if you are willing to share, you can be seated in the anytime MDR quickly. On our 7 night cruise last week, we only ate in the MDR 3 times-the 2 formal nights, and the last night, and the service was terrible that last night. Sometimes the buffet had more interesting choices, and we also tried Alfredo's and Sabatini's. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

[shredie]

I have only done anytime dining, and boy, TD sounds like a real pain in the a**! Do you really have to wait for all your tablemates to show up before you can order and eat?

 

No, you can order as soon as you get there. The waiting part is just courtesy but courtesy is not mandatory. Often, you will find people sharing a table who know each other and want to eat together. I have found that even if we are dining with people we did not previously know, they are still polite and try to arrive to dinner on time. I guess it takes a person who is willing to engage in mannered discourse to make traditional dining work.

Edited February 17, 2016 by shredie

[Cruisin' Chick]

No, you can order as soon as you get there. The waiting part is just courtesy but courtesy is not mandatory. Often, you will find people sharing a table who know each other and want to eat together. I have found that even if we are dining with people we did not previously know, they are still polite and try to arrive to dinner on time. I guess it takes a person who is willing to engage in mannered discourse to make traditional dining work.

 

Exactly. Hubby and I also like traditional precisely because we don't have to think about when and where to eat. We know that table is waiting for us at 8 or 8:15 and can just enter the dining room a minute before, get that menu and decide what to eat then (unless we checked the menu that's posted earlier). My hubby needs to have smaller meals during the course of the day, so often we'll head to the Horizon mid-afternoon for a nosh (maybe a mini-salad and some protein) to hold up us til dinner. The last thing I want to do is to sit on the phone in the morning waiting to make a ressie for dinner.

[UpcountryTravelers]

We prefer Anytime Dining for these reasons: shore excursions are different each port, sailaways are different each day, shows are different every night, etc. That makes it difficult to be locked into a set fixed dining time every night. And, in all our cruises on Princess, (18 so far) we have never had a problem getting a table in ATD when we wanted, within 15-20 minutes at most.

[cruzsnooze]

If you're in a suite you get complimentary specialty dining the first night. It is almost impossible to let your table mates know you won't be there for dinner that first night.

[wishfulone]

We prefer Anytime Dining for these reasons: shore excursions are different each port, sailaways are different each day, shows are different every night, etc. That makes it difficult to be locked into a set fixed dining time every night. And, in all our cruises on Princess, (18 so far) we have never had a problem getting a table in ATD when we wanted, within 15-20 minutes at most.

Well put. Not only can you eat at a different time each night but anytime dining allows you to choose your table size when you arrive at the door. You can ask for a table for two if you feel like a little privacy, or a table for 4 or 6 if you've just met someone at a bar or started a conversation in the queue. It's also easy to arrange to have dinner with friends you've made on tours, at trivia or dinner the night before. Just meet at the door at a given time.

[jennymaxgirl]

If we have a group of 6, can we have a table to ourselves in the traditional dining room? Or would we need to have additional people at our table?

 

Thanks

[shredie]

If we have a group of 6, can we have a table to ourselves in the traditional dining room? Or would we need to have additional people at our table?

 

Thanks

 

If you are a party of six, they will give you a table for six. The larger tables are usually for bigger groups, or families, or several sets of couples. If it turns out you don't like the table, you can talk to the Maitre d about changing it.

[paul929207]

No, you can order as soon as you get there. The waiting part is just courtesy but courtesy is not mandatory. Often, you will find people sharing a table who know each other and want to eat together. I have found that even if we are dining with people we did not previously know, they are still polite and try to arrive to dinner on time. I guess it takes a person who is willing to engage in mannered discourse to make traditional dining work.

My experience is that we rarely wait more than 2 or 3 minutes for everyone to arrive. During that time the waiter & assistant will be explaining any items on the menu, getting and pouring wine and other beverages for those wanting something.

[paul929207]

If we have a group of 6, can we have a table to ourselves in the traditional dining room? Or would we need to have additional people at our table?

 

Thanks

Be sure your reservations are linked and that you have TD at the same time.

[Travelw]

Allowing reservations in the Anytime dining room defeats the purpose of Anytime dining. If a group wants a set table each night then use traditional dining. It is not right if a group comes in and cannot get a table because it has a reservation for an hour later.

 

Dennis

[ontheweb]

We like anytime dining for the flexibility and meeting new people. And we do not make reservations.

 

Our last cruise was on the small Ocean Princess that only has traditional. There was not a single night that all 8 assigned to the table showed up. We did not show up on 2 nights. The first was the first formal night since we intended to go to only 1 formal night. We did inform the others that we were not showing up. The other night was the overnight in Edinburg. From talking to our waiter the next night, it sounded like the dining room was nearly empty for that night's dinner.

[paul929207]

Allowing reservations in the Anytime dining room defeats the purpose of Anytime dining. If a group wants a set table each night then use traditional dining. It is not right if a group comes in and cannot get a table because it has a reservation for an hour later.

 

Dennis

I have always felt that if they take reservations, you should be able to reserve a table or a time but not both. That was a table is not held empty for a long period of time. The only exception might be for 5pm or so and then the party is given a 10minute leeway before the table is given to others.

[MrMan]

Allowing reservations in the Anytime dining room defeats the purpose of Anytime dining. If a group wants a set table each night then use traditional dining. It is not right if a group comes in and cannot get a table because it has a reservation for an hour later.

 

Dennis

 

NCL handles "Anytime" better than Princes in a couple of ways: 1) it allows, if so desired to make reservations each night on-line before the cruise selecting which Specialty or which MDR you would like to eat at at and at what time. This is not mandatory, though for specialty dining I would advise it as they sell out specialty by day one of cruise. 2) If you don't have reservation, they have monitors throughout the ship showing which venues are full, filling up fast, walk in and at what time. A red, yellow green system. Granted NCL typically has more dining venues and specialty to select from than Princes, but it does add another option on selecting where to eat that would make Anytime dining more efficient on Princess..

[UpcountryTravelers]

NCL handles "Anytime" better than Princes in a couple of ways: 1) it allows, if so desired to make reservations each night on-line before the cruise selecting which Specialty or which MDR you would like to eat at at and at what time. ......

 

Princess has the same option. We use it often, especially if cruising with other couples.

[paul929207]

Princess has the same option. We use it often, especially if cruising with other couples.

Are you saying you can make reservations before the cruise? I have not seen this on Princess.

[WmFCoyote]

NCL handles "Anytime" better than Princes in a couple of ways: 1) it allows, if so desired to make reservations each night on-line before the cruise selecting which Specialty or which MDR you would like to eat at at and at what time. This is not mandatory, though for specialty dining I would advise it as they sell out specialty by day one of cruise. 2) If you don't have reservation, they have monitors throughout the ship showing which venues are full, filling up fast, walk in and at what time. A red, yellow green system. Granted NCL typically has more dining venues and specialty to select from than Princes, but it does add another option on selecting where to eat that would make Anytime dining more efficient on Princess..

 

Princess has the same option. We use it often, especially if cruising with other couples."

 

"Are you saying you can make reservations before the cruise? I have not seen this on Princess."

 

 

Princess Cruises does not allow reservations to be made in their specialty restaurants before boarding for your cruise. Some ships allow reservations to be made for AT dining at 8AM for that day. Princess allows a onetime change from AT dining to Traditional Dining (If there is room) or TD to AT dining.

 

As a suggestion to the original poster, reserve a table for 6 in Traditional Dining. If you decide it is not what you wanted, request a change to AT dining. This way you will not have a couple (maybe 2) eating by themselves when they probably would have enjoyed the company.

 

We have had TD on 24 of 27 cruises on Princess. We did one cruise last December where AT dining was not available and 2 cruises where we tried AT dining. We enjoy the company of others and request a table for 8. Once we were sat at a table for 12 (very difficult to carry on any conversations). One time we were sat at a table for 6 (works well unless there are 2 couples traveling together). We have met some very nice people and have had very good luck with these tablemates. We enjoy a wait staff that knows your name, likes and dislikes. It makes for an enjoyable evening. On occasion, some people do wish to eat at either a specialty restaurant or the HC. We do this on occasion and will inform our tablemates and wait staff of our plans.

[Idratherbeatsea]

Last week I had traditional 6 PM which became 5:30 when we boarded, standard deception with Princess. I asked if I could get a 6 or 6:30 anytime reservation for every night and was told no. After 7 you could make a reservation but not before. We just showed up at 6 PM as per our confirmed reservation for early traditional. Our table mates followed suit because the other 6 (table of 8) didn't like 5 :30 either.

 

Same thing just happened to us. Our confirmed 6pm dining was magically changed to 530. That is too early. Tried to change back to 6 pm and it now shows as confirmed anytime and wait list #1 for 6 pm traditional. Will definitely do anytime before 530.

[Idratherbeatsea]

Allowing reservations in the Anytime dining room defeats the purpose of Anytime dining. If a group wants a set table each night then use traditional dining. It is not right if a group comes in and cannot get a table because it has a reservation for an hour later.

 

Dennis

 

I 100% agree