Fix Anytime Dining

[GUT2407]

When I started cruising the options were early, late or room service, no buffet at night, room service only offered sandwich and crisps.

 

I think the post above actually nailed the real problem, most who select ATD want to eat around 7:00 pm, noting to do with a Trad gate crashes, just too many want the same time slot.

[GRAYTech]

Well I think I found the problem why it works for Celebrity and not for Princess. :D

 

From the Princess website about ATD -

*Anytime Dining offers a flexible dining experience – just like a restaurant would – and gives you the freedom to dine with whomever you wish, at your convenience between 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. in elegant, upscale venues.

 

* Not available on Sun, Dawn, and Sea Princess (while in Australia), or Pacific Princess

 

 

From the Celebrity website about Select dinning -

Celebrity Select Main Dining day by day reservations can be made online up to four days prior to sailing. Once onboard, reservations can be made on a daily basis for the same or next day only with the Maitre d'. All reservations are subject to availability, and are handled on a first come, first served basis. Guests with reservations are prioritized before walk-in guests, and will be accommodated at the first available table. Guests may come without a reservation, but may encounter a wait time during peak dining hours. Only groups of 20 or less can be seated at one time.

 

 

 

Princess just needs a disclaimer saying you may encounter a wait time at peak dining hours. Like between 6:30 and 7:00 PM or make a reservation.

[JimmyVWine]

Well I think I found the problem why it works for Celebrity and not for Princess. :D

 

 

From the Celebrity website about Select dinning -

Celebrity Select Main Dining day by day reservations can be made online up to four days prior to sailing. Once onboard, reservations can be made on a daily basis for the same or next day only with the Maitre d'. All reservations are subject to availability, and are handled on a first come, first served basis. Guests with reservations are prioritized before walk-in guests, and will be accommodated at the first available table. Guests may come without a reservation, but may encounter a wait time during peak dining hours. Only groups of 20 or less can be seated at one time.

 

 

Princess just needs a disclaimer saying you may encounter a wait time at peak dining hours. Like between 6:30 and 7:00 PM or make a reservation.

But...but...but...reservations are a major cause of the problem on Princess. But now you are telling us that they are a solution over on X? How can this be?

 

[GRAYTech]

But...but...but...reservations are a major cause of the problem on Princess. But now you are telling us that they are a solution over on X? How can this be?

 

Really don't know how it could work but many ATD diners have claimed that Celebrity's ATD works great. The only thing I see different is the disclaimer.... oh and maybe their double-decker dinning rooms probably double what Princess can seat at any given time.

 

But I'm sticking to it, add the disclaimer and no one should be unhappy! :D

[Cuizer2]

Not sure why people sign up for ATD on Princess if they hate the way Princess Choose to run it.

 

Because they don't play football, and thus are not interested in TD dining.

[JimmyVWine]

Really don't know how it could work but many ATD diners have claimed that Celebrity's ATD works great.

Maybe the folks over on this Board need to stop asserting that the taking of reservations is the root of all evil. Reservations are a solution, not a problem, as long as a table is not taken out of service for a protracted period of time and can be used two and occasionally three times each every night, (5:30; 7:00 and 8:30).

[Cuizer2]

I think the post above actually nailed the real problem, most who select ATD want to eat around 7:00 pm, noting to do with a Trad gate crashes, just too many want the same time slot.

 

I agree. The number of people who want to eat at 7pm is greater than capacity. If reservations for that time slot were limited, it might help solve the problem.

 

I was on the Crown Princess earlier this year. We had ATD and ate at a different restaurant each night (4 night cruise) ...

 

Friday night – Michelangelo Dining Room

Saturday night – Horizon Court Buffet

Sunday night – Crown Grill

Monday night – De Vinci Dining Room

Tuesday night – Home kitchen

 

Here is how Friday night dinner went ...

 

I like late seating, but was not sure when my friends would like to eat, so I took Anytime Dining (yuck - I prefer a set dinner time when you know there is a seat waiting for you and you have the same service staff the entire cruise). The theory for anytime dining is nice, but as a practical matter, a lot of people wanted to eat at 6:30pm, as did my friends. I had them wait in line while I checked on the wait time. I was told it was thirty minutes from the front of the line (they give out those flashy light things that vibrate once you get to the front of the line) and I figured it would take at least twenty minutes to get to the front of the line. So we decided to come back at 7:40. When we returned there was no line and the three of us ended up sharing a table for six with a family of three.

 

Here is how Monday night dinner went ...

 

We purposely went to the alternate ATD (Any Time Dining) restaurant. The regular ATD restaurant opened at 5:30pm. The alternate ATD dining does not open until 7:15pm (after first seating). The main reason we did this is because this would mean we ate in a different restaurant each night (a first for me on any cruise):

 

I should have added that we had no waiting on Monday night.

[cruzsnooze]

Two problems exist, reservations and allowing traditional diners into anytime. Both need to stop to make anytime more efficient. It probably won't solve all waits but would drastically reduce it. I am sailing to Hawaii in Jan and have first traditional at 6 pm and it doesn't matter to me if they move it to 5:30 I will be there at 6 PM, I will bring along my confirmed dinner time. Princess needs to keep their end of the contract, it's not a one way street, it's a business where the customer needs to be respected.

[cattman]

So...Why does this NOT happen on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean???

 

We like to eat late, around 8:00 - 8:30. The only cruises we have waited for a table at this time were on the Oasis and the Allure, average wait 20 - 30 minutes. Reservations were gone days before.

 

One of the reasons we sail with Princess and ATD - 30+ cruises - is we never have a problem being seated right away at this time, and we have always had our choice of tables.

[kennicott]

I think the post above actually nailed the real problem, most who select ATD want to eat around 7:00 pm, noting to do with a Trad gate crashes, just too many want the same time slot.

 

Well that hasn’t been our experience. What we find is that the crowds are beginning to thin about 7:00. I agree, the problem is a majority want to eat at the same time. What I question though is whether or not the seating capacities at those times are inadequate for the demand or is the seating procedure and technique inadequate.

 

I forget for certain what time it is, but I believe the “transitional” MDR schedules their doors opening for ATD about 7:15, however, we have noticed that a ATD line begins to form around 6:50 there and they usually begin seating ATDs before schedule. This coincides with the lines at the full time ATD-MDR having peaked out and those with pagers seated.

 

As I mentioned, when we do decide to try the MDR we head for the “transitional” MDR a little before they open the doors for ATD. Doing that we are usually served between 7:20 and 8:00. We like to eat about 6:15 though.

 

It is my observation that most (TD & ATD) prefer to eat between 6:00 and 6:30, with the duel lines at the full time ATD-MDR getting quite long and unruly between 5:15 and 6:45. We rarely have a problem being seated if we show up at 7:00.

[JimmyVWine]

Two problems exist, reservations and allowing traditional diners into anytime. Both need to stop to make anytime more efficient. It probably won't solve all waits but would drastically reduce it.

I have never been on a ship that allowed Anytime diners to make reservations between 5:45 an 7:30. Every time I call, I am offered 5:30, or after 7:30. So in essence, what the reservationist is saying is: "If you want to be seated when we open our doors, we will accommodate you. And if you want to be seated as soon as the group who dined at 5:30 gets up and leaves, we will accommodate you." When done this way, reservations do not clog up the system at all. Somebody is going to get seated at that empty table at 5:30. Giving it to a person who made a reservation isn't hurting. And when a 5:30 party gets up and leaves at 7:15, somebody is going to get that table at 7:30. Giving it to somebody who made a reservation isn't hurting anyone. What would be fatal would be to allow a 6:15 reservation that ties up the table from 5:30-6:15, but I have yet to see that happen. Again, we are being told that Celebrity excels in this field, and we have seen their published policy that not only allows for reservations, but out and out encourages them. Isn't that the least bit revealing?

[JimmyVWine]

It is my observation that most (TD & ATD) prefer to eat between 6:00 and 6:30, with the duel lines at the full time ATD-MDR getting quite long and unruly between 5:15 and 6:45. We rarely have a problem being seated if we show up at 7:00.

Ditto. I would even edge that up a bit to 5:45. I have never seen a line at 7:30 that even comes close to what I have seen at 5:45.

[IECalCruiser]

I have never been on a ship that allowed Anytime diners to make reservations between 5:45 an 7:30. Every time I call, I am offered 5:30, or after 7:30. So in essence, what the reservationist is saying is: "If you want to be seated when we open our doors, we will accommodate you. And if you want to be seated as soon as the group who dined at 5:30 gets up and leaves, we will accommodate you." When done this way, reservations do not clog up the system at all. Somebody is going to get seated at that empty table at 5:30. Giving it to a person who made a reservation isn't hurting. And when a 5:30 party gets up and leaves at 7:15, somebody is going to get that table at 7:30. Giving it to somebody who made a reservation isn't hurting anyone. What would be fatal would be to allow a 6:15 reservation that ties up the table from 5:30-6:15, but I have yet to see that happen. Again, we are being told that Celebrity excels in this field, and we have seen their published policy that not only allows for reservations, but out and out encourages them. Isn't that the least bit revealing?

That has also been our experience. We have only been able to make reservations within the first 15 to maybe 30 minutes after the DR opens. We haven't been able to make ATD reservations for 6:00 or 6:30, even in a full suite with the preferred reservation priority perk. Reservations are NOT the problem, it is 2/3rds of the ship wanting to eat early when there is insufficient capacity.

 

 

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Edited October 5, 2016 by IECalCruiser

[floridalover5623]

I have never been on a ship that allowed Anytime diners to make reservations between 5:45 an 7:30. Every time I call, I am offered 5:30, or after 7:30. So in essence, what the reservationist is saying is: "If you want to be seated when we open our doors, we will accommodate you. And if you want to be seated as soon as the group who dined at 5:30 gets up and leaves, we will accommodate you." When done this way, reservations do not clog up the system at all. Somebody is going to get seated at that empty table at 5:30. Giving it to a person who made a reservation isn't hurting. And when a 5:30 party gets up and leaves at 7:15, somebody is going to get that table at 7:30. Giving it to somebody who made a reservation isn't hurting anyone. What would be fatal would be to allow a 6:15 reservation that ties up the table from 5:30-6:15, but I have yet to see that happen. Again, we are being told that Celebrity excels in this field, and we have seen their published policy that not only allows for reservations, but out and out encourages them. Isn't that the least bit revealing?

 

Maybe the folks over on this Board need to stop asserting that the taking of reservations is the root of all evil. Reservations are a solution, not a problem, as long as a table is not taken out of service for a protracted period of time and can be used two and occasionally three times each every night, (5:30; 7:00 and 8:30).

 

I don't really think that reservations are the cause of major delays but they certainly do slow down the whole process to a degree. Even holding a table for 20 or 30 minutes waiting for people to arrive can add to that delay.

What's wrong with just allowing people to be seated when they arrive at the door? They wouldn't reserve you a spot on a tender so why a dining room? If people want to eat around a certain time, get there & wait to be seated. There's no reason certain people should get any priority....well, except for those Club Class people who will be buying their way in.

[JimmyVWine]

I don't really think that reservations are the cause of major delays but they certainly do slow down the whole process to a degree. Even holding a table for 20 or 30 minutes waiting for people to arrive can add to that delay.

That would be correct if it were true. As IECalCruiser confirms, they will not allow a reservation 20-30 minutes after the doors open. The slots really are limited to the first 15 minutes. Seating someone at 5:45 isn't creating a problem as certain tables aren't going to get filled until that time anyway due to nothing more complicated than the mechanics of seating people. It's not as if everyone who shows up when the dining room opens is magically seated simultaneously at 5:30. It takes time for the line to work its way through, and someone is going to get seated at 5:45. No reason why that cannot be someone with a reservation. And if you make a reservation for 5:30 and don't show up within 10-15 minutes, they cross you off the list. No one is holding a table for 20 to 30 minutes.

 

What's wrong with just allowing people to be seated when they arrive at the door?

It is simply more efficient to dole out times in advance. This prevents a massive line from forming outside of the MDR. The ship doesn't (or shouldn't) want that. It is unsightly, it is loud, it is disruptive to other areas of the ship such as shops and lounges, and let's face it, it can foster hostility. Look at it this way. Suppose the ship instituted a system where everyone who wanted to dine between 5:30 and 6:00 was required to send one member of their party to queue up at 3:00 p.m. to get a colored wristband. The wristbands would be given out in the order according to when people arrived. When a person gets to the front of that line, they request a specific color wristband that corresponds to a dining time--such as blue for 5:30, or red for 5:35, or green for5:40, etc., all the way to 6:00. First come, first choice. And there are only 15 wristbands of each color. When a color is gone, the people in line have to select a different one, and this goes on until all 105 wristbands are given out. Then every group returns to the restaurant at the time that corresponds to their wristband color and gets seated upon arrival. This would actually be a pretty civilized and orderly way to do things. Except for two problems. It would require one member from each group to take time out of their day to queue up at 3:00 to get a wristband and that is largely incompatible with daily life on a cruise. And it would simply move the physical line up a few hours. Instead of queuing up at 5:00, people would begin forming a line at 2:30. But the end result of seating people in an orderly fashion between 5:30 and 6:00 would work brilliantly. So what do we do instead? We use a thing called a phone to make a call to secure a time slot. Instead of physically queuing up at 3:00, we "virtually" queue up at 8:00 a.m. when the phone lines open. No unsightly line outside of the restaurant. No pushing or shoving. We trade that for 0-20 minutes of "on hold" time. With reservations, you get the same orderly seating process, you fill the same number of tables, you stagger the seating time so that not everyone shows up to the podium at once, and you allow people to spend their "wait time" in their cabin instead of in a hallway. It's a beautiful thing...as long as people honor their reservation time. And if they don't, the restaurant should not be obliged to hold the table for more than 10 minutes. After that, a wait list person or a standby person gets the table. So you see, seating people "when they arrive at the door" is actually the least efficient and least orderly way of filling a restaurant.

 

They wouldn't reserve you a spot on a tender so why a dining room?

Apples and oranges. The tender has to depart at a set time and in order to do so most efficiently, has to be filled to the gills. And the service that the tender provides, (moving people from Point A to Point B) is accomplished simultaneously. In a restaurant, staggering the seating time by a few minutes per table is actually beneficial to the staff and kitchen. Whereas we want and need the tender to move 200 people at the exact same time, the dining room staff cannot take the orders of 200 people at the exact same time (unless each service team served one and only one table at a time), and the kitchen staff cannot prepare 200 orders of fettuccini Alfredo at the same time (unless more cooks were hired to do so).

 

If people want to eat around a certain time, get there & wait to be seated.

But the problem with this is built right into your sentence. First you say "get there" and then you say "wait". In my wristband example above, I assumed that there were 105 wristbands handed out for 105 "groups" of diners. Let's assume that the average size of a "group" is 3.33 diners. Lots of twos, and then some ones and fours, and even fewer larger groups. That represents a total of 350 diners getting seated (in an orderly manner) between 5:30 and 6:00. But now look at what happens when we do it your way. All 350 people show up at 5:30, (or in reality, 5:00-5:15). The first group in line does indeed get seated at 5:30. But since they arrived at 5:00, they had a 30 minute wait. The last group gets seated at 6:00. But they arrived at 5:15, so they had a 45 minute wait. So you see, no one "gets there" and then "gets seated." Everyone waits in a line outside of the dining room, clogging up the public areas of the ship which is far less efficient than waiting 10 minutes on hold in your cabin.

 

There's no reason certain people should get any priority....

You are assuming that people with reservations are "certain people" who have been given "priority". But they are not. They are simply "regular people" (and you can be one) who have waited in a virtual line in their pajamas on hold at 8:00 a.m. to secure a table. They don't have "priority". They just chose a different time, place and manner of waiting in line. Some people wait in line at the podium and others wait in line on their bed with a phone pressed to their ear. Everyone waits. Some just do it more efficiently.

Edited October 5, 2016 by JimmyVWine

[floridalover5623]

 

 

But the problem with this is built right into your sentence. First you say "get there" and then you say "wait".

 

I should have stated "get there, stand in line and be seated. When all the tables of the size you want are doled out the can now hand out a beeper.

You are assuming that people with reservations are "certain people" who have been given "priority". But they are not. They are simply "regular people" (and you can be one) who have waited in a virtual line in their pajamas on hold at 8:00 a.m. to secure a table. They don't have "priority". They just chose a different time, place and manner of waiting in line. Some people wait in line at the podium and others wait in line on their bed with a phone pressed to their ear. Everyone waits. Some just do it more efficiently.

 

I do realize that people can call in each day for reservations and I believe the assign them as each call is receiver but they don't start taking calls until 8 AM each morning. If your in port & want to leave the ship ASAP you'll sometimes have to wait 15 minutes for an answer and if the ship arrives at 7 AM you will most likely get no reservation or have to wait over an hour to even talk to someone.

 

The whole system of giving out reservations should be scrapped & let people line up at the door with seating as first come first seated. If there is nothing available you'll be given a beeper.

[JimmyVWine]

I do realize that people can call in each day for reservations and I believe the assign them as each call is receiver but they don't start taking calls until 8 AM each morning. If your in port & want to leave the ship ASAP you'll sometimes have to wait 15 minutes for an answer and if the ship arrives at 7 AM you will most likely get no reservation or have to wait over an hour to even talk to someone.

 

The whole system of giving out reservations should be scrapped...

A classic case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There are certainly issues with the current system for taking reservations. But the solution isn't to scrap the system so much as it is to fix the reservation system. Now that Princess has a free intranet system on board, it could set up a system like Open Table to allow people to go online with their computers, phones, tablets, or computers in the Internet Lounge and book a time that way. This could be done in conjunction with the existing phone line, perhaps with expanded hours. Or perhaps instead of "day of" reservations, people could speak with the Host or Hostess at the podium as they leave the night before and inquire about a reservation for the following day. Or perhaps the day will come when an online reservation system will be made available to booked passengers a week before their departure date. You see, there are many ways that the current reservation system can be made more robust and user friendly such that an improvement in this area is a better solution than scrapping the system in favor of one that has 300 people crowding the public area outside of the restaurant grousing about how long it is taking to get seated. No matter how one slices it, the "let's have everyone descend on the podium at the same time" approach will always be the worst option.

[shredie]

Clearly, the only answer is to make reservations available only to TDers who plan to crash ATD. :p

[cruzsnooze]

 

The whole system of giving out reservations should be scrapped & let people line up at the door with seating as first come first seated. If there is nothing available you'll be given a beeper.

 

Exactly and don't allow traditional diners in and the problem is reduced or eliminated.

[cruzsnooze]

A classic case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There are certainly issues with the current system for taking reservations. But the solution isn't to scrap the system so much as it is to fix the reservation system. Now that Princess has a free intranet system on board, it could set up a system like Open Table to allow people to go online with their computers, phones, tablets, or computers in the Internet Lounge and book a time that way. This could be done in conjunction with the existing phone line, perhaps with expanded hours. Or perhaps instead of "day of" reservations, people could speak with the Host or Hostess at the podium as they leave the night before and inquire about a reservation for the following day. Or perhaps the day will come when an online reservation system will be made available to booked passengers a week before their departure date. You see, there are many ways that the current reservation system can be made more robust and user friendly such that an improvement in this area is a better solution than scrapping the system in favor of one that has 300 people crowding the public area outside of the restaurant grousing about how long it is taking to get seated. No matter how one slices it, the "let's have everyone descend on the podium at the same time" approach will always be the worst option.

 

Absolutely ridiculous. I'm enjoying a drink at the elite lounge and chit chatting so why should I rush down for a reservation I made before I knew what I was doing. The whole idea of AT was to be at MY convenience. I don't know what's convenient a day in advance. I don't know if I may be at a trivia game, watching a movie, playing ping pong, or having a nice time without watching the clock for a reservation. Everyone should have the same opportunity to walk into the AT who has AT without reservations taking up their tables.

[JimmyVWine]

Absolutely ridiculous. I'm enjoying a drink at the elite lounge and chit chatting so why should I rush down for a reservation I made before I knew what I was doing. The whole idea of AT was to be at MY convenience. I don't know what's convenient a day in advance. I don't know if I may be at a trivia game, watching a movie, playing ping pong, or having a nice time without watching the clock for a reservation. Everyone should have the same opportunity to walk into the AT who has AT without reservations taking up their tables.

You may want to brush up on your reading comprehension skills. Everything you posted and every example you gave was antithetical to the paradigm that I posited. Just by way of one example, try looking at this again:

Now that Princess has a free intranet system on board, it could set up a system like Open Table to allow people to go online with their computers, phones, tablets, or computers in the Internet Lounge and book a time that way.

That can easily be done prior to, or once you finish chit chatting, playing trivia or playing ping-pong.

[Murphey]

If I have a reservation, I still have to get "in line" to be seated????

[JimmyVWine]

If I have a reservation, I still have to get "in line" to be seated????

Not really. There will be a podium for people with reservations and a podium for walk-ups. To the extent that you have to get in a line to announce your arrival with a reservation, it is no different that what you would encounter at a land-based restaurant when three or four groups arrive simultaneously to check in for their dining time. It will be nothing like the walk-up line.

[floridalover5623]

Not really. There will be a podium for people with reservations and a podium for walk-ups. To the extent that you have to get in a line to announce your arrival with a reservation, it is no different that what you would encounter at a land-based restaurant when three or four groups arrive simultaneously to check in for their dining time. It will be nothing like the walk-up line.

 

And lets not forget all the people who have standing reservations every night, some for the same table & same waiter.

Now lets add in the Club Class people in the near future & the lines will be longer than ever. What a way to run ANYTIME SEATING.

[JimmyVWine]

Now lets add in the Club Class people in the near future & the lines will be longer than ever.

Don't forget that it is a zero sum game. For every person who joins Club Class dining, that is one more person pulled out of the line for Anytime Dining. See that? Your line just got shorter! :D