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Anytime Dining

DiMar

By DiMar,
in Princess Cruises

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DiMar

DiMar

Posted
Posted

On many Royal Caribbean ships, one rarely has to wait to be seated in anytime dining because their ships have so many dining options. How is the wait on Princess? We are considering the Caribbean Princess and wonder if picking a set dining time might be better. We like the flexibility of anytime dining but don't want to miss shows because of long waits. By the way, what are the two traditional dining times? Thanks in advance for any help on this matter.

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2pbears

2pbears

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I would say that your wait time for Any Time Dining will depend on the following three factors:

 

  • Which ship you are on - I can't speak for the Caribbean Princess as we have never sailed on her but some ships do a much better job of managing the ATD process than others.
     
  • What time you like to dine - Wait times will be longest during prime time (usually from about 6:30 to 8:00). If you like to eat early (before 6:00) or later (after 8:00) you should get right in without a wait.
     
  • Whether you are willing to share a table with others - There is usually little or no wait if you are willing to sit with others but if you request a table for two you could be given a pager and asked to wait.

 

We always do ATD and only on a couple of ships have we had excessive wait times for a table for two. And in both cases we could pretty much "tweak" our dining routine a bit to work around the issue. For instance, on one ship where we experienced consistently long wait times we just stopped by the dining room and picked up a pager on our way up to the martini bar (instead of having our cocktail and then going down to the dining room). We then enjoyed a leisurely cocktail and by the time we returned to the dining room our table was usually ready. On another ship we found the lines to be very long between 7:00 and 7:30 but when we changed our dining time to 8:00 we were able to walk right in without a wait. Sometimes you just need to "roll with the punches" and make a few changes to fit the situation. Enjoy your cruise.:D

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peety3

peety3

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Ah, the great debate. In a nutshell, it depends almost completely on your expectations. If you're the type of person who eats dinner at 6:30:00 (never 6:29:59 yet never 6:30:01), there may not be hope for you on Princess. :)

 

Many of the ships set aside 2 of their 3 MDRs for TD during the early slot, leaving only 1 MDR for ATD until perhaps 7:30. That means 33% capacity for the dining option that ~50% selected (or got stuck with). In turn, that often causes a management decision where reservations are blocked out between 5:45 and 7:30, and it's all first come, first served; overlaid with who's willing to share, etc. If this is OK for you, particularly sharing, you'll be fine. If you expect a 6:30 reservation, it probably won't happen.

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skynight

skynight

Posted
Posted

We have been using ATD for years. A lot depends on the passenger demographic of the ship.

Princess has 3 traditional fixed seatings, very early, around 5:30, early around 5:45 or 6:00 and late around 8:00 or 8:15.

There are two ATD Rooms mid ship. The deck 5 DR opens around 5:00pm. The deck 6 DR is used for very early traditional dining and opens for ATD at 7:30pm. Between 5:30 and 6:00 are the most crowded times, and boarding day can yield large early crowds. We normally avoid the DR on boarding day and dine in one of the other locations. Tables to share are normally easier to get than tables for two. If you wish to dine 7:30 or later there is normally no issue, lots of tables available. All DR's have the same menu and dress code each evening.

Theater Shows. Check the Princess Patter each day. Showtimes vary, but fall into three basic time frames, Early, around 7pm, Mid-evening, around 8:00/8:30pm and Late around 10:00/10:15pm. There could be two or three shows times in one evening. All shows are walk in. Mid evening shows are the most crowded and production shows also attract the crowds. Arrive about 30 mins. early for mid evening shows. Sometimes there are shows and popular activities in Explorer's Lounge. This venue can become crowded as the seating is limited. Our routine is to select our evening activities, and then plan our dining around them rather than the reverse.

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mafig

mafig

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Posted
A big issue for many is the allowing of assigned diners into the ATD MDRs. This doesn't happen on all ships, but it could happen.

 

I don't like the way Princess handles Anytime dining at all. Toward the end of the cruise many traditional diners have abandoned their traditional table and decide that ATD suits them better. And it's allowed.

 

Also, we like a Table for Two. We always are questioned about this. "Don't you want to share?" NO! I said always and I mean always. Even after saying no, there were a few times we've been brought to a large table with people sitting there. It's very awkward.

 

Whenever I think about a Princess cruise, their dining policy pops into my head, and lately I've just looked elsewhere. BTW Celebrity does a fine job with this.

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flamomo

flamomo

Posted
Posted

I have done Anytime Dining consistently for the last 12 or more cruises, except for a cruise on the Pacific Princess where there is only traditional dining offered, and have rarely had a long enough wait requiring a pager. We usually head for the dining room around 6:30pm, and we always choose to share a table, because we really enjoy the opportunity to new people every night. Even when we have had to do the pager thing, the wait has not been over 15 minutes.

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eandj

eandj

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Posted

Princess too can change the times of the fixed seatings. So if you sign up for 6:00, you can get on board and the seating is 5:15. :rolleyes:

We were totally surprised that after choosing the 6:00 seating rather than 8:30 on our Coral cruise last month, they had two times..5:15 and 7:30.

Before our first night dinner, I let the maitre d know we'd be at our table ( 2 top) no sooner than 5:50 each night. He said that it was OK as he expected our server to have empty tables. Boy he was right. We watched and we guessed at least a third of the chairs were empty, some nights more. Our waiter was great and with fewer to serve, had time to visit with us nightly and we could slow our meal progress, which we enjoy. Was perfect.

 

And altho some ATD cruisers tried coming in after seeing the empty spots, they were always sent away. Was a shame.

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floridalover5623

floridalover5623

Posted
Posted
A big issue for many is the allowing of assigned diners into the ATD MDRs. This doesn't happen on all ships, but it could happen.

 

Not to pick on your post but how do you know that traditional were in line at the AT DR? A lot of people seem to say the same thing but unless you see their card or overhear the conversation at the door, you'll never really know.

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SadieN

SadieN

Posted
Posted (edited)
Not to pick on your post but how do you know that traditional were in line at the AT DR? A lot of people seem to say the same thing but unless you see their card or overhear the conversation at the door, you'll never really know.

 

 

No problem :D

 

We heard them, in line and when asking the Head Waiter if it's ok.

Edited by SadieN
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Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

Posted
Posted (edited)
And altho some ATD cruisers tried coming in after seeing the empty spots, they were always sent away. Was a shame.

On the Regal when we had to wait for ATD seating they escorted a group of passengers to empty tables in the traditional dining room which was an efficient way to utilize available space to seat passengers.

Edited by Astro Flyer
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eandj

eandj

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Posted (edited)
On the Regal when we had to wait for ATD seating they escorted a group of passengers to empty tables in the traditional dining room which was an efficient way to utilize available space to seat passengers.

 

Yes, but it depends on the timing and the maître d. Our dining room doors were closed after a certain point at the first seating. ( I noticed 6:15) Since the dining room needed to be ready for the second seating (7:30), late comers could screw up preparation for the next seating. I'm sure it wouldn't matter much if one was seated in empty seats at the second trad. seating. Except for the servers.

Edited by eandj
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Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

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Yes, but it depends on the timing and the maître d. Our dining room doors were closed after a certain point at the first seating. ( I noticed 6:15) Since the dining room needed to be ready for the second seating (7:30), late comers could screw up preparation for the next seating. I'm sure it wouldn't matter much if one was seated in empty seats at the second trad. seating. Except for the servers.

 

In our situation those tables might not have been assigned to anyone or they knew the tables would be empty that night because we were seated shortly after the early traditional dining room opened to not adversely affect the service.

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