anyone have problems not getting dining they want?

[cathydev]

We booked our cruise 10 months ago and it's coming up quickly. Yay! We requested the late seating and I'm just wondering if people have problems getting the dining time they request? We are sailing on a very port intensive Mediterranean cruise and the early dining would totally conflict with days we are still in port.

 

Do they take into account when you booked your cruise if more people have requested a dining time than they have space for?

 

I know I can talk to the Maitre d and try to get it switched but we are group of 6 which may make it more difficult.

[Sandgnat]

I have always received the dining time I requested but it is not a gaurantee unless you are platinum. I do believe they take into consideration when you booked and your party size. Are your cruises linked together? If you don't get what you requested go and see the Maitre D' as soon as you board. Have a great cruise. I need to book a med. cruise, maybe for my 25th so I get a great OBC!!

[Wags67]

Hi:) Dh & I have switched our dining times on both cruises that we have been on with no problems....we are not platinum:( not yet...workin' on it!

Last cruise when I asked the maitre d' if we could switch dining times he responded with a smile,"Yes, you do...and so does the rest of the ship" I smiled back and said....I understand it's okay if we can't be switched...Later the same day, we had a lil' paper in our cabin letting us know that our time was switched:) It's all good~at least we're on vacation...

[uenvyme454]

I did not get my requested time on this last cruise. I was put in the late seating. I was told when we checked in that plantium members and those cruising with children get first choice. They seat all children at the first dining time. It's a little annoying because a lot of kids don't even eat in the dining room. But we kept our time and it worked out well.

[Cruisin thru life]

They may have told you that they seat all children at the early seating, but that is not always true. Our first family cruise we had requested the early seating and since it was considered a last minute booking(ship change thanks to Katrina), we did not receive the early seating. Our daughter was only 7 at the time. It may not be the norm, but our daughter looks forward to having dinner in the dining room each night.

[mudpievelour]

Hi:) Dh & I have switched our dining times on both cruises that we have been on with no problems....we are not platinum:( not yet...workin' on it!

Last cruise when I asked the maitre d' if we could switch dining times he responded with a smile,"Yes, you do...and so does the rest of the ship" I smiled back and said....I understand it's okay if we can't be switched...Later the same day, we had a lil' paper in our cabin letting us know that our time was switched:) It's all good~at least we're on vacation...

 

I hope you didn't tip him at the end of the cruise.

[GayleR]

We booked our cruise 10 months ago and it's coming up quickly. Yay! We requested the late seating and I'm just wondering if people have problems getting the dining time they request? We are sailing on a very port intensive Mediterranean cruise and the early dining would totally conflict with days we are still in port.

 

Do they take into account when you booked your cruise if more people have requested a dining time than they have space for?

 

I know I can talk to the Maitre d and try to get it switched but we are group of 6 which may make it more difficult.

 

Like you, we booked our cruise way in advance. We were celebrating our parent's 50th wedding anniversary. When I booked it (thru Carnival) I told our PVP that we had to have the mid ship dining room as my DD gets ill in the aft dining room. Long story short when we get to the ship we are not only in the aft dining room but by the back windows!!!:eek: I went and spoke to the Maitre D who was sympathetic to me but explained that b/c we were a large party (10) they were unable to accomodate us in the mid ship dining room. He said we received one of the best tables on the ship! He suggested we seat my DD with her back to the windows and hope for the best. Well we did just that and the Maitre D aslo came to check on us to see if she was ok. It worked out ok and the Maitre D was very kind, but don't think just b/c you book early you will get what you request. :rolleyes:

[punkidoodle]

On every cruise I've sailed, I've alway gotten my requested dinner time - late. Now that I'm Platinum I won't have to worry about it....YEA!!!!

[kwbrad]

We did not get our requested dining time on the Ecstasy last May. It was just Mom and I, and we figured we did not because of families, so we did not worry about it. We were at a table for 8. We had 4 other people at our table, all had gone to ask to be changed and all were told no. Just too many people asking for early seating I guess.

[barbmac]

I have always gotten my requested dining time, except for our last cruise. We just grinned and went with the flow. It turned out to be great we loved our table mates. We were at a table for 6. 3 seperate couples and we got along great. Just hope for the best.

[DragginABag]

Does CCL take into consideration early/late dining if you are booked and sailing in a suite? ... Or are you just SOL if you haven't reached Platinum? ...

[celticd1]

So far we have gotten our requested (late) seating on every cruise. Maybe late is not as popular?

[sjcruiser]

I choose the late seating, this way we don't have to rush back for dinner on port days. This also seems the time less people are interesting in booking or so it seems.

[breenw]

I've got news for you Platinum members - you don't always get your dining choice. We sailed on the Miracle in January and had booked our reservation 15 months in advance. We are platinum members and I am a diabetic. We always request early seating. When we boarded and got our cards, we noticed we were assigned late seating. We thought...we'll just go to the dining room and have the maitre' de change it. He refused to change our seats stating "they" had overbooked the early dining and couldn't accommodate any changes. Even when I reminded him that platinum members were supposed to be guaranteed their dining choice, and the fact that a diabetic can't wait until 8:30 p.m. to eat dinner, he refused to accommodate us. We ended up eating every evening in the buffet which was not what we were used to. We have always enjoyed meeting our tablemates on our other cruises and really missed that experieince. I also didn't realize that Carnival didn't have much in the way of dining choices in their evening buffet because obviously they expect most people to dine in the dining room. We had only gone to the buffet one other time for our evening meal and this was on RCCL or Disney (I can't remember which). Anyway, they had quite a large choice for dinner, so we just assumed the Carnival would be the same. That was a huge disappointment! We made the best of the situation but I hope that never happens again.