Anytime Dining Table Size

[mthomp5]

My husband and I usually sail with just the two of us or with two other people and prefer Anytime Dining because we like the flexibility on when we can go to dinner, depending on the activities for the day.

 

On our next cruise (sailing on the Regal) we will have a larger group...a party of 10. Does the Anytime Dining room have large enough tables to accommodate a party of 10 or will we have to split tables? Or is Traditional Dining our only option for a party of our size if we wanted to sit on the same table?

[LARGIN]

They have tables for 10.. :)

[mthomp5]

They have tables for 10.. :)

 

Thank you!

[caribill]

Yes, they do have tables for 10, but if you just show up and they are occupied it may be a long wait to be seated in Anytime.

[mthomp5]

In the past, I've been able to make reservations in the morning for a party of 2 or 4 for that evening. Would they allow reservations for a party of 10 if we called the DINE line each mornlng once we figured out our schedule of activities for the day?

[fishywood]

If you wish to keep the table for 10 you should talk to the head waiter as to possibly making a standing reservation, or letting them know each night what time you plan to come the next.

 

But know that tables for 10 make conversation with anyone other than the person immediately next to you very difficult. And service is a challenge: by the time the 10th person is served the first course the 1st person will have been staring at it for quite a while (or have finished it should they ignore the etiquette of not starting until all have been served). And the next course may already be arriving at the wait station. I would urge you to consider trying adjacent tables for 6 and 4 (or 5 and 5) one night to see if the comfort and pace are more suitable.

[Lucky TGO]

Yes they do. But call the dine line or you will wait a long time every night.

Tony

[fishywood]

Calling the dine line will net a reservation for the 10 of you at the available time but not necessarily at one table. Because if a large number of walk-ups are willing to share all the large tables will be opened up for them even if your reservation for 10 is coming up shortly. If you are certain that only a single table for 10 will do just calling the dine line each day will not hold it--only dealing with the head waiter/assistant Maitre d' in charge of the ATD room can.

[easyboy]

You may have a better chance with the Maitre D' on the ATD 2nd seating. We got a table for 8, not 10, the last time on the Regal.

 

 

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[floridalover5623]

If you wish to keep the table for 10 you should talk to the head waiter as to possibly making a standing reservation, or letting them know each night what time you plan to come the next.

 

But know that tables for 10 make conversation with anyone other than the person immediately next to you very difficult. And service is a challenge: by the time the 10th person is served the first course the 1st person will have been staring at it for quite a while (or have finished it should they ignore the etiquette of not starting until all have been served). And the next course may already be arriving at the wait station. I would urge you to consider trying adjacent tables for 6 and 4 (or 5 and 5) one night to see if the comfort and pace are more suitable.

 

We always eat in the anytime dining and we always reject a seat if they try to seat us near a table for 10.....shouting plus they slow down not only the waiter for that table but for all his assigned tables.

[skynight]

Reservations in ATD are for specific times like 5:30, 5:45, 7:30, 7:45. Our experience is that they do not take reservations for other times. Are you sure you can get all 10 to agree on a time each evening? Sounds difficult to me. What about specialty dining will some of your group be in specialty dining, the buffet (which is great on the Regal), or some other of the locations? This would make the planning more difficult. Are some of your group children? They may prefer other evening options, for example pizza in Alfredo's, or a burger by the pool.

 

If you really want a large table every night seems like Trad. Dining is the way to go.

[OCruisers]

While we much prefer Anytime Dining, we would book traditional for a group of ten. ;)

[mthomp5]

If you wish to keep the table for 10 you should talk to the head waiter as to possibly making a standing reservation, or letting them know each night what time you plan to come the next.

 

But know that tables for 10 make conversation with anyone other than the person immediately next to you very difficult. And service is a challenge: by the time the 10th person is served the first course the 1st person will have been staring at it for quite a while (or have finished it should they ignore the etiquette of not starting until all have been served). And the next course may already be arriving at the wait station. I would urge you to consider trying adjacent tables for 6 and 4 (or 5 and 5) one night to see if the comfort and pace are more suitable.

 

I like the flexibility of anytime dining and the suggestion of a table of 6 and 4 or 5 and 5 is a good idea.

[mthomp5]

If you wish to keep the table for 10 you should talk to the head waiter as to possibly making a standing reservation, or letting them know each night what time you plan to come the next.

 

But know that tables for 10 make conversation with anyone other than the person immediately next to you very difficult. And service is a challenge: by the time the 10th person is served the first course the 1st person will have been staring at it for quite a while (or have finished it should they ignore the etiquette of not starting until all have been served). And the next course may already be arriving at the wait station. I would urge you to consider trying adjacent tables for 6 and 4 (or 5 and 5) one night to see if the comfort and pace are more suitable.

 

Also, thanks for the idea of speaking with the head waiter. There may be times when we have activities that will prevent us from eating at the same time depending on activities. So like this idea.

[mthomp5]

Reservations in ATD are for specific times like 5:30, 5:45, 7:30, 7:45. Our experience is that they do not take reservations for other times. Are you sure you can get all 10 to agree on a time each evening? Sounds difficult to me. What about specialty dining will some of your group be in specialty dining, the buffet (which is great on the Regal), or some other of the locations? This would make the planning more difficult. Are some of your group children? They may prefer other evening options, for example pizza in Alfredo's, or a burger by the pool.

 

If you really want a large table every night seems like Trad. Dining is the way to go.

 

We may not need a table for 10 every night. We will be on a port intensive cruise with only one sea day out of the 7. Two of the ports we are there until 8pm so depending on individuals' tours and activities, there are nights we may dine in smaller groups....Which is why I like any time dining...the flexibility.

 

If we all signed up for early seating traditional, there are nights, some of us may not be able to make it back in time for set traditonal seating. And most of the party would prefer an early seating if they had to pick. The challenges of cruising with a large group!

[mthomp5]

We always eat in the anytime dining and we always reject a seat if they try to seat us near a table for 10.....shouting plus they slow down not only the waiter for that table but for all his assigned tables.

 

I totally understand! We are usually a party of just 2 or 4 and know what you're saying.

[mthomp5]

While we much prefer Anytime Dining, we would book traditional for a group of ten. ;)

 

I love anytime dining too! We dont usually travel with a group this big. My concern with choosing traditional is that we are on a port intensive cruise with some 8pm departure times. If we had to choose a set dining time, most in our group would select early. Because of tours, some may not get back in time for early seating. While we know the buffet is really good (especially on the Regal), the MDR does an excellent with my hubby's dietary restriction and takes his meal order the night before. They have always does an AMAZING job with his pre-ordered meals. We are always so impressed.

[mthomp5]

You may have a better chance with the Maitre D' on the ATD 2nd seating. We got a table for 8, not 10, the last time on the Regal.

 

 

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Thank you! Is the ATD 2nd seating at 7:30pm? Did you try for an earlier time like 5:30pm and not able to get it?

[shredie]

Thank you! Is the ATD 2nd seating at 7:30pm? Did you try for an earlier time like 5:30pm and not able to get it?

 

ATD does not have first and second seating. That's Traditional. Anytime means you show up whenever and ask for a table. If you are the first group in line when they open the doors, you'll have a better chance of getting what you want.

[AKman2495]

On our last cruise, I noticed that there was a large group of 10 that was seated at a 10 top table every night. I asked about it because they just walked into the ATD room with no wait. I discovered that they had set up a nightly reservation for that table at that time every night.

 

I would expect that for a reserved table for 10 every night, they might insist on a set time. However, as you say, not all of you might be eating at the same time, smaller tables would make more sense.

 

As for conversation, if you keep to the 10 top, you could simp0ly move the seating every night so the group can mingle.

 

But smaller groupings also make sense. Too.

 

Enjoy.

[easyboy]

Thank you! Is the ATD 2nd seating at 7:30pm? Did you try for an earlier time like 5:30pm and not able to get it?

 

 

The Maitre D' gave us an 8pm time, to be held not more than 15 min. We requested for a 7:30-8pm time, and not tried the 5:30pm.

 

 

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[jennybenny]

My husband and I usually sail with just the two of us or with two other people and prefer Anytime Dining because we like the flexibility on when we can go to dinner, depending on the activities for the day.

 

On our next cruise (sailing on the Regal) we will have a larger group...a party of 10. Does the Anytime Dining room have large enough tables to accommodate a party of 10 or will we have to split tables? Or is Traditional Dining our only option for a party of our size if we wanted to sit on the same table?

 

They had a max table of 8 on the Ruby at thanksgiving.

It depends on the ship and the passengers. They can rearrange the tables specific to each cruise, and they did not have tables for 10 for our party of 9.

When you book your dining assignment you specify a table size, however, the tables are assigned each cruise.

Hope you all get to sit together. It was disappointing at Thanksgiving but we did the best with it and didn't let it affect us negatively.

[mthomp5]

On our last cruise, I noticed that there was a large group of 10 that was seated at a 10 top table every night. I asked about it because they just walked into the ATD room with no wait. I discovered that they had set up a nightly reservation for that table at that time every night.

 

I would expect that for a reserved table for 10 every night, they might insist on a set time. However, as you say, not all of you might be eating at the same time, smaller tables would make more sense.

 

As for conversation, if you keep to the 10 top, you could simp0ly move the seating every night so the group can mingle.

 

But smaller groupings also make sense. Too.

 

Enjoy.

 

Thank you! Were you on the Regal princess for this cruise? I hear that some ships like the Ruby do not have tables for 10.

[mthomp5]

The Maitre D' gave us an 8pm time, to be held not more than 15 min. We requested for a 7:30-8pm time, and not tried the 5:30pm.

 

 

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Thank you for the information! Much appreciated!

[dchip]

We had a table for 10 on the Ruby in June. We went at 7:30 each evening and were given the same table. We did not make reservations. But on the evenings we were not coming to dinner, we let the Head Waiter know. It worked out very well for our family.

 

Cheers, Denise

Edited December 13, 2016 by dchip