What is working better these days for the MDR wait times , Fixed or anytime dining?

[tallnthensome]

We sailed in August on the Panorama last with a half full ship so waits in the MDR were nonexistent either way. We had anytime for that one. We are sailing the Spirit to Alaska in August on what we are assuming will be a full ship. In general with recent sailings Fleetwood are people having less wait times with a fixed dining time or anytime dining? We are a family of four that eats relatively early (6ish) and are trying to figure out which might require less of a wait with staff shortages and most people probably picking anytime . Any input would be appreciated. 

[1kaper]

We did anytime dining and did find there was a wait. Not super long. 
we also had issues with checkin at least twice. Once was on formal night and it ended up with us skipping dining. 
 

If you would consider fixed time, I would go for that. We are just not good at a scheduled time so we will take the inconvenience of anytime dining over a fixed time. 
 

[BlerkOne]

Is Early Dining still available? Obviously they need to get the people out before the second seating.

[tallnthensome]

3 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Is Early Dining still available? Obviously they need to get the people out before the second seating.

Early, late and anytime are all available..... I was booked for anytime but my gut says do the early  fixed time at 6pm to keep my impatient starving wife and daughters from whining,, haha! 

Edited May 3, 2022 by tallnthensome

[Joe817]

We only use anytime dining at the earlier seating. And have ALWAYS been seated immediately. This will not change. We have never had to wait...ever. That to me, is a stress reliever, and at my age, stress is against my religion. 

[tallnthensome]

2 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

We only use anytime dining at the earlier seating. And have ALWAYS been seated immediately. 

I'm not sure I have ever seen or heard of different anytime dining seatings based on earlier or late times . Just one for all .........

[Joe817]

1 minute ago, tallnthensome said:

I'm not sure I have ever seen or heard of different anytime dining seatings based on earlier or late times . Just one for all .........

Damn! You are so correct! I mistyped! I should have said "assigned seating"...NOT anytime dining! Thanks for catching that. My bad! 👍

[icft]

Is this anytime dining problem something new and wide spread? We have sailed five times since reopening and I can understand that our earlier cruises might have missed the problem not being at capacity. But our early April cruise was pretty full. We have never had a problem with long waits.

 

Also, just what is the problem? Are people putting in their reservation request and immediately going to the dining room and having to wait? We always put in our request and continue doing what we are doing until we get the notification our table is ready. That is one of the things we like about the hub app, no standing around waiting.

 

So I'm just trying to understand this new problem that has suddenly become a topic of discussion. Any help appreciated.

[tallnthensome]

I don't necessarily think there is a problem with either but based on some current readings of fuller ships, less staff, and longer waits for the MDR. I just thought with these scenarios that a scheduled dinner time would be a safer bet wait wise when the majority may select anytime dining resulting in longer waits if there is a big rush at once with that choice. 

[Guest BasicSailor]

Don't read any further. I have done it all when it comes to dining. When Any time came about, I never looked back.

[crooooze]

With check-in to Anytime Dining through the app, it makes it so much better. Check-in from where ever, see how long the wait is, and head over when your table is about ready. 

[tallnthensome]

2 minutes ago, BasicSailor said:

Don't read any further. I have done it all when it comes to dining. When Any time came about, I never looked back.

I tend to agree but with fuller ships each week with staff shortages and dining taking longer I worry about getting backed up or pushed back time wise shall I say with slow service and having to wait versus having a 6 o'clock reservation more or less. 

[1kaper]

30 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

Damn! You are so correct! I mistyped! I should have said "assigned seating"...NOT anytime dining! Thanks for catching that. My bad! 👍

 

i was so confused. Lol 

[1kaper]

11 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

I tend to agree but with fuller ships each week with staff shortages and dining taking longer I worry about getting backed up or pushed back time wise shall I say with slow service and having to wait versus having a 6 o'clock reservation more or less. 

 

agreed. 
 

I have done both and after my last cruise I would strongly consider fixed dining to avoid the hassle of checking in, issues with the app and long wait times. 
Except I HATE the idea of having to be ready at a certain time. So I’ll go with it. But if you don’t mind it; I would recommend fixed time 

[Joe817]

7 minutes ago, 1kaper said:

 

i was so confused. Lol 

Long story short...we insist on assigned seating at 6:30. The earlier the better.

[BlerkOne]

33 minutes ago, BasicSailor said:

Don't read any further. I have done it all when it comes to dining. When Any time came about, I never looked back.

We did. We hate YTD.

[groundloop]

I've cruised 5 times so far since the restart with a mix of early and YTD.  I've had good and bad experiences with both, there's no pattern.  

 

Just chose whichever option is best for you and go with it.

[cruisingguy007]

I had no problem with anytime dining (and never have). Worked perfectly recently as well, with short wait times. It's my favorite and I'll never do set time as long as it's available. Punching a clock on vacation isn't my style. They may need to change the dining rooms and have set-time in the smaller dining rooms, anytime in the larger dining rooms, as anytime becomes more popular. 

[MistyRo76]

We usually travel with larger groups (anywhere from 8-24), so for us it's easier to do a set dining time. Then those who want to show up and eat together show up (which most do...as it's our time to kind of hang out and share what we did during the day and enjoy some togetherness!) and if someone wants to do something different they can (buffet, steakhouse, etc.). But I like the later dining time. Gives us more time during the day to do what we want. Not so rushed getting to dinner! 

[Eli_6]

I have had much better experiences with fixed dining.  For all of our upcoming cruises, I have us slated for early dining  

[AQW]

On 5/3/2022 at 4:19 PM, icft said:

Is this anytime dining problem something new and wide spread? We have sailed five times since reopening and I can understand that our earlier cruises might have missed the problem not being at capacity. But our early April cruise was pretty full. We have never had a problem with long waits.

 

Also, just what is the problem? Are people putting in their reservation request and immediately going to the dining room and having to wait? We always put in our request and continue doing what we are doing until we get the notification our table is ready. That is one of the things we like about the hub app, no standing around waiting.

 

So I'm just trying to understand this new problem that has suddenly become a topic of discussion. Any help appreciated.

 

Our problem with YTD recently was the app saying our wait would be "less than 10 minutes" and then the actual wait was 45+ minutes. I understand it's not an exact science, but the actual wait should not be 4-5 times the projected wait. 

[jetsfan58]

Anytime Dining worked perfectly for us. We reserved a table 10 minutes prior to going to the Dining Room and our table was ready when we arrived. This was consistent each night. Carnival did not miss a beat!

[tallnthensome]

22 minutes ago, jetsfan58 said:

Anytime Dining worked perfectly for us. We reserved a table 10 minutes prior to going to the Dining Room and our table was ready when we arrived. This was consistent each night. Carnival did not miss a beat!

When did you cruise and was it a controlled capacity cruise or recently? 

[jetsfan58]

1 minute ago, tallnthensome said:

When did you cruise and was it a controlled capacity cruise or recently? 

End of March 2022 with 10 people!

[wikoffclan]

My DH is an impatient, early to dinner kind of guy. We've done YTD since it became available. First in First out and he's happy. Have never have had any wait for the earliest opening time signing in on the app. I'm sure the more popular (later) times have a bit more wait time. (Cruised 5 times since restart)

Edited May 7, 2022 by wikoffclan
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