Anytime Dining Question

[LuckyStar]

Although, it's my fourth Carnival cruise, I have never had anytime dining.  Our docs says 5:45-9:30.  Can someone tell me how this works?  For grins sake, we would like to eat at 6:00pm. for example.  Do we just show up at 6:00? I would really prefer a set dining time each day, we love the MDR, but it wasn't available.  

 

Thanks!

 

[Schoifmom]

Just show up when you are ready, just like in a land-based restaurant.  You will be seated by the hostess if there is a table available.  If not, there may be a short wait.  We've never waited more than 10 minutes, and that was on elegant night; others have reported longer waits.  Waits may depend on party size and time.

 

BTW, if you like your servers, you can request to be seated in their section every evening 🙂

[tandemcruzr]

Anytime Dining is in the MDR. You can go to the MDR when you board the ship and speak to the maitre`d to see if you can change to the Early Time dining. There will be a note in the Fun Times as to when and where the maitre`d will be available.

[Djptcp]

We only do ATD and usually show up around 5:45-6pm. We go early because we only want a table for two near the front of the restaurant. Usually, we get the same table every night. When we leave the MDR about 7pm, there is a long line with people waiting for a table.

[sc4125]

I've done ATD several times, especially when it's just 2 of us.  The only time I've had a longer wait (maybe 30 minutes) is on formal night.  Typically, we're seated right away, sometimes 5-10 minute wait.  They give you a beeper if there is a wait.  On the ships I've been on, the Atrium lobby is right outside the dining room, so we grab a drink & listen to whatever live music is going on.  If you want to eat at 6:00, I'd show up a few minutes before and I doubt they will be busy.

[jocko4279]

Once you go ATD you never go back. Love the convenience

[LadySam1968]

35 minutes ago, LuckyStar said:

Although, it's my fourth Carnival cruise, I have never had anytime dining.  Our docs says 5:45-9:30.  Can someone tell me how this works?  For grins sake, we would like to eat at 6:00pm. for example.  Do we just show up at 6:00? I would really prefer a set dining time each day, we love the MDR, but it wasn't available.  

 

Thanks!

 

This will be our first cruise we’re we couldn’t wait list early. So we are going to run with ATD and try some of the alternate choices for dinner. 

[LuckyStar]

Thanks to everyone for their responses.  I had totally forgotten that I started this thread!  

[pe4all]

We had always done early dining, but our last 2 cruises did your time dining.  Loved it!  And on our last Conquest

cruise, YTD began at 5:15, not 5:45.  We are "early" eaters, and this left us plenty of time to catch the early show, sit in the atrium listening to music, visit the casino, and catch the early (7 pm) movie on Lido.  If we got hungry after a few hours, we visited the buffet before it closed at 8:30.  Worked out great for us.

[cloudninecat]

We've had to wait when we didn't show up as soon as they opened. Usually less than 15 minutes. The only times we've had a longer wait was on formal night on a Christmas Cruise and when we were a party of 6. Then the wait time was closer to an hour. 

 

[Shaded Lady]

8 minutes ago, pe4all said:

If we got hungry after a few hours, we visited the buffet before it closed at 8:30.  Worked out great for us.

 

 Is this specific to your ship? On our last cruise the buffet was open til 9...

[grandmarnnurse]

On 3/22/2019 at 10:09 AM, LuckyStar said:

Although, it's my fourth Carnival cruise, I have never had anytime dining.  Our docs says 5:45-9:30.  Can someone tell me how this works?  For grins sake, we would like to eat at 6:00pm. for example.  Do we just show up at 6:00? I would really prefer a set dining time each day, we love the MDR, but it wasn't available.  

 

Thanks!

 

I just got off the Breeze, and it was my first time with YTD. I absolutely loved it and preferred it to set dining. Just show up whenever you want to eat between the hours of 5:45-9:30. We would sit in the Atrium lounge area, watching all the people stand in line starting at 5:15-5:30, as if their lives depended on stampeding into the dining room. We’d have a cocktail and enjoy the before dinner music there, then we’d get up and leisurely stroll over to hostess after that long line disappeared, and get seated immediately at our table for 2. In the entire week cruise we NEVER had to wait for a table, but if so, no big deal. We’d just go back and enjoy the music. (Our Sapphire Dining Room was just off the Atrium on Deck 3)

[grandmarnnurse]

On 3/22/2019 at 10:41 AM, jocko4279 said:

Once you go ATD you never go back. Love the convenience

I agree.

[lennythenose]

We booked one cruise late and were unable to get Early Dining. We requested the change once onboard. Had to go to YTD the first night and had Early the rest of the time. Even my teen boys preferred the set dining. More personal feel to the service. Might be different if you had the same servers every night with YTD but personally just prefer knowing we will have the same ones. The few times I’ve wanted a private table I’ve always been able to request onboard. 

[jsglow]

39 minutes ago, LuckyStar said:

Thanks to everyone for their responses.  I had totally forgotten that I started this thread!  

 

Ha!  Better than forgetting to go to dinner! 😄

[jsglow]

As others have said, we're converts too.  Love both the flexibility and the fact that we can get a table for 2 (with close neighbors that change each night).  I will say that I do miss some of our great week long waiters.

[grandmarnnurse]

24 minutes ago, lennythenose said:

We booked one cruise late and were unable to get Early Dining. We requested the change once onboard. Had to go to YTD the first night and had Early the rest of the time. Even my teen boys preferred the set dining. More personal feel to the service. Might be different if you had the same servers every night with YTD but personally just prefer knowing we will have the same ones. The few times I’ve wanted a private table I’ve always been able to request onboard. 

You can request the same servers every night. We did.

[lennythenose]

1 hour ago, grandmarnnurse said:

You can request the same servers every night. We did.

I know you can request but I have also heard of times when it hasn’t been possible on some nights. I just prefer the certainty. I don’t have any problem with YTD being offered, I just hope they always have both. That is one of the reasons we started sailing with Carnival instead of NCL once NCL stopped having assigned dining. Not right or wrong either way just personal preference.  

[MuffyKismet]

This will be my DH and my 45th cruise on the Madi Gra next year (unless we sneak in another one before next October) and this will be the first time we are doing ATD, I really wish I had chosen this option before, we have done early dining and late dining. But this seems like a much better fit as we never know what we will be doing and dont want to be tied to a particular time in the dining room! There will be 6 of us , so it might be a little more of a wait but like many of you have said , just go in the atrium enjoy the entertainment and a drink! 

[rs45thompson]

We are on the April 14 Liberty cruise and it will be our first time with ATD.  So do I understand that if you get there before 7 there should not be a wait?

[Wolfshair]

6 minutes ago, rs45thompson said:

We are on the April 14 Liberty cruise and it will be our first time with ATD.  So do I understand that if you get there before 7 there should not be a wait?

Not necessarily. We always do ATD but there is occasionally a wait. You just get a beeper, sit and listen to the music for 10-15 minutes and then it's in and dinner. They will ask you if you prefer a private table or seating with others. I usually enjoy the seating with others but usually I just tell them to give us whatever opens up first. We have done ATD for 3-4 years. Love it. Occasionally we will find someone that we enjoy sitting with and will meet in the lounge and then go in together. Enjoy your cruise.

 

 

[rs45thompson]

52 minutes ago, Wolfshair said:

Not necessarily. We always do ATD but there is occasionally a wait. You just get a beeper, sit and listen to the music for 10-15 minutes and then it's in and dinner. They will ask you if you prefer a private table or seating with others. I usually enjoy the seating with others but usually I just tell them to give us whatever opens up first. We have done ATD for 3-4 years. Love it. Occasionally we will find someone that we enjoy sitting with and will meet in the lounge and then go in together. Enjoy your cruise.

 

 

Thank you for the information.  Can’t wait!

[pe4all]

16 hours ago, Shaded Lady said:

 

 Is this specific to your ship? On our last cruise the buffet was open til 9...

I don't know, as our last 2 YTD cruises were on the same ship. (Conquest)  They definitely started removing the buffet food at 8:30.  I also didn't realize they opened the YTD time at 5:15, cause on our January 6 day cruise it was opened at 5:45 - same ship!  This time we were on an 8 day cruise, and we only realized dr was open earlier when we went at 5:45 and there were a bunch of people eating already.  When I checked the hub app, it said 5:15.  Just went back and checked my info from my Jan. (6 day) cruise and sure enough - it said YTD was open at 5:45, not 5:15.  

[Shaded Lady]

5 hours ago, pe4all said:

I don't know, as our last 2 YTD cruises were on the same ship. (Conquest)  They definitely started removing the buffet food at 8:30.  I also didn't realize they opened the YTD time at 5:15, cause on our January 6 day cruise it was opened at 5:45 - same ship!  This time we were on an 8 day cruise, and we only realized dr was open earlier when we went at 5:45 and there were a bunch of people eating already.  When I checked the hub app, it said 5:15.  Just went back and checked my info from my Jan. (6 day) cruise and sure enough - it said YTD was open at 5:45, not 5:15.  

OK I getcha- they actually close at 9 but things get scarcer and scarcer after 8:30! I agree, we went to the buffet at 8:55 and there wasn't much left... I figured it was just because it was all eaten by then but they'd probably started closing up earlier... since nothing that was left appealed to us we ended up sharing a pizza!

 

As for YTD start time, we've never gone earlier than 5:45 so I can't comment... but it seems from your experience that they sometimes change it up!

Edited April 1, 2019 by Shaded Lady

[Sabalon]

Glad to know I can request the same server.  It's nice getting to know the servers.  That is one of the nice things about the set time dining.

We prefer the ATD - in the past when we had set times, we'd find we'd get back from an excursion too close to the time for early dining and didn't have time to clean up, or our dinner would extend longer into some of the other events/shows we'd like to do, especially with the later service.