Anytime Dining on the Coral - Shambles!

[sippican]

I just returned from my first Princess cruise (brief review to be posted), but wanted to comment on the state of anytime dining onboard.

It was by far the worst experience with "free choice" dining we've ever had, on any ship, with any cruise line.

 

I can't recall the last time we've chosen to have an assigned dining time during a cruise and have never experienced waits of more than ten minutes at most, along with exceptional, prompt service once seated.

The very first evening ( at which one can usually expect a bit of "settling in" for passengers and crew), we waitied outside for thirty minutes and then were ushered to a table for eight, which was fine with us as we had requested first available. There was no greeting by waitstaff, a roll was tossed down on the bread plate, followed by a piece of butter. My DH never received butter, and the staff never returned to offer more bread. Appetizers came fairly quickly, then there was an hour wait for the main courses. When I flagged down a waiter to ask if our meals were coming out he replied, "The kitchen is very busy tonight." Seriously, were they expecting a reduction in passengers during the cruise? After 90 minutes at the table, we still had not been offered dessert menus. Waitstaff never came by to inquire if we needed anything else, or were the meals to our satisfaction, so we left the table after the two hours.

Meanwhile entire tables sat empty, with idle waitstaff just standing around at the door (I was later told this was the Club Class area.)

On the way out we spoke with the Maitre'D, who offered to change us to assigned dining, along with two other couples at our table who also requested the change.

 

During the cruise, we spoke with other ATD passengers who reported countinued hour-long waits before being seated along with poor service in the venue. One reported that their waitstaff blamed the passengers for not going with the flow. Making reservations each morning seemed to be a challenge with tour schedules, inability to get a call through, and unavailability of times,

At a get-together with some ships' offiers, I asked if Princess was aware of the continued issues with Anytime Dining and was assured it was being addressed.

 

My advice; if you are on the Coral soon, walk, don't run to request assigned dining the minute you board.

[Kamloops50]

It's not only the Coral but across the whole fleet. We have found a similar issue on the Ruby and the Star . Seems people now want to eat early therefore the lines start forming about 30 minutes before opening. I've seen the ATD line all the way around the piazza at opening.

[Thrak]

Eat a bit later and you won't have such a problem. Any Time Dining is really a misnomer. Sort of like Mini-Suite. Yeah, right. If you want to eat early you will be part of the "herd" that converge on ATD all at the same time and will have a long wait.

[jean s]

We eat later and never have any issues.

[tailspintom]

We eat later and never have any issues.

Likewise, we typically eat at a later time, 7:00 to 7:45, and have found few problems. Of course there have been times that we have experienced moderate seating delays, but no more than one would have at an onshore restaurant.

[msmoger]

We eat later and never have any issues.

 

Same for us. We've taken 12 Princess cruises, 10 of them with ATD and have rarely not been seated very quickly. Of course we don't go to the dining room before 8:00. Any earlier would interfere with the cocktail hour. :cool: In fact in the rare instance we've been given a beeper our wait was very short. The problem is that there isn't enough capacity in ATD for the number of passengers that want an early dinner.

 

The issues with shoddy service is something else. You did the right thing and seemed to have the problem rectified. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your cruise.

 

We'll be on the Coral a week from Monday and can't wait. :)

[JudithLynne]

Another contributing factor on the Coral is that the refit or remodel added many more passengers and if I am not mistaken the dining rooms were not enlarged to accommodate the change. I would really have to think hard about booking the Coral for that reason alone.

[CineGraphic]

Another contributing factor on the Coral is that the refit or remodel added many more passengers and if I am not mistaken the dining rooms were not enlarged to accommodate the change. I would really have to think hard about booking the Coral for that reason alone.

 

 

You are mistaking the Coral for the Island.

 

 

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[JudithLynne]

You are mistaking the Coral for the Island.

 

 

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You are right! Thank you for pointing that out to me. So sorry for the mistake.

[sippican]

My point is, Anytime Dining means dining when one wants to eat, and having the flexibility to alter plans. If the above explanations of too many wanting to eat at the same time hold true, why is it that other lines don't have the same issues? It's not that we don't expect a reasonable wait time (again, we've always been seated fairly promptly on other cruises). Saying that you'd have the same wait shoreside is a poor comparison to a cruise dining venue, IMHO. If other cruiselines can manage the demand than I think it would be a concern worth addressing, at least enough to take a hard look at the empty tables and idle staff.

The reasons some have given make perfect sense regarding size and passenger load.

It just doesn't seem reasonable that we should have lower expectations while cruising on Princess.

[casofilia]

I can only compare eating Freestyle in a MDR on NCL at 5.45 and reading about trying to eat Anytime Dining in a MDR on Princess. I am horrified at what I read about Princess. I want to eat in a MDR, with the sort of waited service I am used to on NCL and in onshore restaurants, sometime between 5.30 and 6.15 when I am ready to eat; it sounds as if this is impossible on Princess.

[Loonbeam]

This does happen to some degree on all lines, but there are varying factors.

 

 

For contrast on NCL and RCCL they tend to offer a lot more specialty dining (free and paid) which reduces the load on the MDRs, especially when on lines like NCL a certain number of specialty meals are offered as a free perk.

 

 

As an example, the Breakaway on NCL has I think around 16 dining options, including 3 separate MDRs. The Royal Princess, which has about 85 percent the Pax count, has around 8 (sit down venues only, not things like a pool grill).

 

 

Secondly, most other lines have eliminated traditional dining, which gives them a LOT more flexibility in terms of utilization of existing space (when people who sign up for TD don't eat there that meal, that space cannot be easily repurposed).

 

Thirdly, the other lines are much better at using technology. For example, lets say you go to Taste (one of the 3 MDRs on breakaway. If that particular venue is busy, the system will tell the host if there is a better option at one of the other venues (same menu at all) and they will direct you to there (if you want). The system also knows which seats are empty, keeping turnover more rapid. And they allow for reservations for all venues, so you can plan ahead (and the kitchen knows people with food allergies are coming etc. Unless something has changed, Princess still does seating charts on paper, which is inefficient in comparison by a large margin.

 

 

Most other lines have also eliminated or minimized large tables. Great for sharing and meeting people but not space efficient and typically slower to changeover and serve, and not as flexible (I recall specifically being seated at a table for 8 for just the two of us, which means once service starts that was 6 wasted seats)

 

Add into that Princess' haphazard enforcement of AD, and any little surge or issue can cascade into large delays, especially with a weak HW and/or host. And that adds strain to the servers, which affects their attitude.

 

 

There is a LOT of room for improvement in this area, but that doesn't mean the other lines are immune.

 

My point is, Anytime Dining means dining when one wants to eat, and having the flexibility to alter plans. If the above explanations of too many wanting to eat at the same time hold true, why is it that other lines don't have the same issues? It's not that we don't expect a reasonable wait time (again, we've always been seated fairly promptly on other cruises). Saying that you'd have the same wait shoreside is a poor comparison to a cruise dining venue, IMHO. If other cruiselines can manage the demand than I think it would be a concern worth addressing, at least enough to take a hard look at the empty tables and idle staff.

The reasons some have given make perfect sense regarding size and passenger load.

It just doesn't seem reasonable that we should have lower expectations while cruising on Princess.

[Loonbeam]

See my post above, that said I can assure you from personal experience, without reservations you are very possibly going to wait on NCL at peak times, especially shortly after opening. This is a matter of crowds physics. If the room fills upon opening, its going to be 45 minutes to an hour before the first seats start opening up after people finish their meal. Because of what I noted above, its more prevalent on Princess, but it does happen elsewhere. If you want to eat 'some time' between 5:30 and 6:15 you will probably be ok. If you walk up at 5:45 and expect immediate seating you will be disappointed, just as you would be if you went to the local Redstone.

 

 

I can only compare eating Freestyle in a MDR on NCL at 5.45 and reading about trying to eat Anytime Dining in a MDR on Princess. I am horrified at what I read about Princess. I want to eat in a MDR, with the sort of waited service I am used to on NCL and in onshore restaurants, sometime between 5.30 and 6.15 when I am ready to eat; it sounds as if this is impossible on Princess.

[Kamloops50]

Another contributing factor on the Coral is that the refit or remodel added many more passengers and if I am not mistaken the dining rooms were not enlarged to accommodate the change. I would really have to think hard about booking the Coral for that reason alone.

 

 

The Coral has had about 10 cabins added near the casino. They are, usually used for staff.

 

 

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[Kingofcool1947]

I just returned from my first Princess cruise (brief review to be posted), but wanted to comment on the state of anytime dining onboard.

It was by far the worst experience with "free choice" dining we've ever had, on any ship, with any cruise line.

 

I can't recall the last time we've chosen to have an assigned dining time during a cruise and have never experienced waits of more than ten minutes at most, along with exceptional, prompt service once seated.

The very first evening ( at which one can usually expect a bit of "settling in" for passengers and crew), we waitied outside for thirty minutes and then were ushered to a table for eight, which was fine with us as we had requested first available. There was no greeting by waitstaff, a roll was tossed down on the bread plate, followed by a piece of butter. My DH never received butter, and the staff never returned to offer more bread. Appetizers came fairly quickly, then there was an hour wait for the main courses. When I flagged down a waiter to ask if our meals were coming out he replied, "The kitchen is very busy tonight." Seriously, were they expecting a reduction in passengers during the cruise? After 90 minutes at the table, we still had not been offered dessert menus. Waitstaff never came by to inquire if we needed anything else, or were the meals to our satisfaction, so we left the table after the two hours.

Meanwhile entire tables sat empty, with idle waitstaff just standing around at the door (I was later told this was the Club Class area.)

On the way out we spoke with the Maitre'D, who offered to change us to assigned dining, along with two other couples at our table who also requested the change.

 

During the cruise, we spoke with other ATD passengers who reported countinued hour-long waits before being seated along with poor service in the venue. One reported that their waitstaff blamed the passengers for not going with the flow. Making reservations each morning seemed to be a challenge with tour schedules, inability to get a call through, and unavailability of times,

At a get-together with some ships' offiers, I asked if Princess was aware of the continued issues with Anytime Dining and was assured it was being addressed.

 

My advice; if you are on the Coral soon, walk, don't run to request assigned dining the minute you board.

 

I cannot remember ever waiting more than 20 minutes to be seated in ATD. Usually dine at 7:00 p.m. Finish desert by 8:00 p.m.

[shepp]

I cannot remember ever waiting more than 20 minutes to be seated in ATD. Usually dine at 7:00 p.m. Finish desert by 8:00 p.m.

 

Me neither, except once on NYE. We usually eat between 7 and 8, though. I'm not sure what Princess can do (aside from making sure no traditional diners eat at ATD). They're supposed to enlarge the dining rooms so the hordes who want to eat at 5:35 can be seated immediately, only to have idle waitstaff standing around huge expanses of empty tables later in the evening?

 

And the OP must have had really bad luck - in over three hundred MDR lunches and dinners, I can't recall a single instance when the waters didn't introduce themselves. Or when, instead of a basket of rolls sitting on the table, a waiter "tossed a roll onto a bread plate." Wow. I must lead a charmed life.

Edited April 7, 2017 by shepp

[kennicott]

I just returned from my first Princess cruise (brief review to be posted), but wanted to comment on the state of anytime dining onboard.

It was by far the worst experience with "free choice" dining we've ever had, on any ship, with any cruise line. /quote]

 

I hear you. Two years ago the first of January we had our first ever really unpleasant MDR experience and it was on the Coral. Not to say though I that I didn't see it coming. I tend to agree with most of Loonbeam's assessments here so won't repeat. But this is what I posted in my review of the MDR on that cruise in the Caribbean:

"Up until this voyage the Main Dining Room on Princess was still tolerable, this time though, either we experienced a fluke or cost cutting has caught up with Princess rendering their product in the MDR undesirable for us. We have never ran into a situation like this before even though the "hand writing was on the wall" that it was bound to come. In my opinion this results from understaffing of both service and kitchen personnel. Each time we tried to use the MDR we were told there was a 40 minute wait time. They gave us a pager, but on the three occasions we decided to carry on and eat in the MDR the wait was only 10-15 minutes, which was not a problem. We don't like traditional seating for a variety of reasons, one of which is we hate being relegated to eating at either 5:30 PM or 7:45 PM., even if we secure a table for two, we usually try to get there before 6:30 using anytime dining. The principal problem on that voyage trying to eat dinner in the MDR was the lack of service and poor quality meals. For instance, there used to be a sommelier to take your wine order immediately after being seated, this practice gave way to no sommelier--instead head waiters were given extra training in wine selection then that gave way to what you have now, wine only if you are lucky enough to get someone's attention and forget about ordering a bottle to be carried over for the following evening, they will lose it for sure. You usually sit there waiting and watching a harried flurry of activity by the understaffed help forging a losing battle trying to keep up. Made dressing up in my tux on formal nights and trying to dine there a joke. So, in order to continue enjoying the cruise we made do, by booking dinner in one of the excellent specialty restaurants on board whenever we felt inclined to really enjoy dinner or simply going up to the Horizon Court buffet."

Since then we have been on five more Princess cruises, none shorter than two weeks. The Royal, Regal (twice), Caribbean and the Pacific Princess. The Pacific doesn't offer anytime and it is very difficult to get a table for two, let alone one in early seating, however the MDR service and cuisine on that vessel is like it was in the days of yore. When we get on board now we make reservations in the specialties for all formal nights. If the MDR act is like it was on the Coral, then we eat almost all dinners in the specialties or buffet.

[floridalover5623]

I just returned from my first Princess cruise (brief review to be posted), but wanted to comment on the state of anytime dining onboard.

It was by far the worst experience with "free choice" dining we've ever had, on any ship, with any cruise line.

 

What time did you arrive at the DR to eat?

This alone can make a huge difference in a dining experience.

[CineGraphic]

It's not just a problem with Princess, we always ended up with a pager on Celebrity.

 

 

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[casofilia]

See my post above, that said I can assure you from personal experience, without reservations you are very possibly going to wait on NCL at peak times, especially shortly after opening. This is a matter of crowds physics. If the room fills upon opening, its going to be 45 minutes to an hour before the first seats start opening up after people finish their meal. Because of what I noted above, its more prevalent on Princess, but it does happen elsewhere. If you want to eat 'some time' between 5:30 and 6:15 you will probably be ok. If you walk up at 5:45 and expect immediate seating you will be disappointed, just as you would be if you went to the local Redstone.

 

All I can say is that you have never been on an NCL ship that I have been on. I have never had to wait more than a few minutes when turning up at the times I mentioned. And that was NOT because of the number of guests but because of the lower numbers of staff, a 'skeleton' staff till 6pm when the main evening staff came on duty.

[Cruise Raider]

We've not had horrible luck with the lines on Princess for the MDR, however, we haven't sailed Princess since the introduction of the Club Class rooms, which I believe is relatively new, so that might explain it. We've been given a pager on many occasions but only a few times had we given up and gone to the buffet or the international cafe for dinner instead.

Funny thing is, we started cruising a few decades back and always chose the late seating...way before anytime dining was introduced. When anytime dining (personal choice?) was made available, we'd sometimes go right before closing and always got quick and excellent service!! We couldn't figure out why everyone wanted to eat so early ... fast forward 30 years and now we are some of those people that have to sit down to eat by 6:15, after which, we either go to the show, casino or one of the lounges to listen to music. Maybe the aging population of Princess passengers is leading us all to the same conclusion ... better to eat early and play later vs the reverse. Makes sense as we used to oftentimes be the youngest passengers onboard (other than the occasional toddler) ... now we fit right into their key demographic.

[kdowneymd]

Upon reading the OP review, the most startling point is the lack of acceptable service. All of the replies stating they never waited or had minimal waits for ATD on Princess of any other ship are completely irrelevant compared to the descriptions of the poor service experienced. That I would find completely unacceptable and even worse if the only way to avoid it would be to pay for alternative dining.

 

The fact that one may need to wait would become almost irrelevant if once seated the diners experience was delightful for service and food. Doesn't sound like either occurred and THAT is the most oncerning

[Kingofcool1947]

Upon reading the OP review, the most startling point is the lack of acceptable service. All of the replies stating they never waited or had minimal waits for ATD on Princess of any other ship are completely irrelevant compared to the descriptions of the poor service experienced. That I would find completely unacceptable and even worse if the only way to avoid it would be to pay for alternative dining.

 

The fact that one may need to wait would become almost irrelevant if once sated the dinosaurs no xperience was delightful for service and food. Doesn't sound like either occurred and THAT is the most oncerning

 

Sorry, I'm old, and sometimes easily get confused. :(

So, can you please explain what do you mean: The fact that one may need to wait would become almost irrelevant if once sated the dinosaurs no xperience was delightful for service and food. Doesn't sound like either occurred and THAT is the most oncerning.

 

Thank you.

[4cats4me]

You would think Princess would get it right, yet , After 14 years of cruising Princess, AT dining is still problematic. We always choose AT. In The earlier years everyone used to dine later, while early had no crowds. Now the opposite appears to be true. The best AT experience has occurred Star, Golden and Grand. Our worst experiences have been on the Sapphire and Diamond when they went to the four little dining rooms. We haven't been to the dining room at all on the Regal. We used to show up at 8:30 years ago and have no problem. Some cruises, after the first night we were offered a standing reservation for the same table every night if we wished, as was the case on the Grand in October. It worked out beautifully. We were a party of two and had a nice, round four-top table with the MOST awesome service on all our cruises. If one shows up to the AT MDR that is also a traditional DR for first seating, it seems to work well. In the olden days we used to make reservations for AT dining, which was NOT at anytime, and the choices were always 6:20 or 8:20. We have had better luck by just showing up either right before 6:00 or from 7:45 on, unless it is formal night

 

 

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[SadieN]

On our Ruby January cruise we had no problem with AT. We went to the MDR that switched from TD to AT around 7:30. Club Class was in that MDR as well, never saw more than a few occupied tables. We ate in the buffet on formal nights.

 

AT waits are most dependent on the pax in your cruise.

 

 

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