Flexible Dining to Roll Out Fleetwide on Carnival

[tnt091605]

We were on the Liberty in Feb. It was great to be able to go to diner on your own schedule. The food was just as good as the MDR. Service was a little hit and miss. But we did not request the same staff each night like some did.

 

We are on the Legend on the 26th. We will also be taking advantage of the anytime dining.

[Artemus]

I just called Carnival and switched from late seating to anytime dining. I will be sure to let everyone know how it was when I get back.:eek:

[celtic sailing]

Too many choices! I don't know what to do.

 

We are booked on Carnival Conquest (Oct 25 sailing) and chose early seating (flexible dining was not an option when we booked). We are usually fans of late seating, but during our last cruise the meal took so long that we were late arriving for some of the activities and there weren't any seats left. We decided to try early seating this time in anticipation of being able to attend more activities and also not to be still totally stuffed when it is time to go to bed.

 

We have only had open seating once (Regent's Paul Gauguin). We did not develop a rapor with the waiters, but that may be part of Regent's training. None of the waiters were particularly friendly, just efficient.

 

The flexible dining does sound inviting. Like many have said, early is too early and late is too late.

[jebl]

We used the anytime option on Princess and had reservations and the same waitstaff each evening. Only glitch was we could not get our reservation for 7PM since we were a party of 18. They did give us 6:30 so they could turn the tables at least once or twice during the evening.

 

It worked out great for us. I find early too early and late too late. For my Dream cruise in Oct. I chose the anytime dining. I am also using that option this month on RCI's Enchantment. We'll see how it works out.

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

WE have not tried the flexible dinning program on any cruise line. We like the traditional late seating dinning. One of the most enjoyable parts of the cruise for my family is meeting new friends at the table each cruise. Over the 3 to 10 days you really get to know people and make life long friends. We also like getting to know the wait staff. I would not want to go to the main dinning room and have an experience just like we can have at any resturant at home.

[judyzoo]

I think it's nice that Carnival will be offering a choice. However, DH and I like traditional and have no interest in the anytime type of dining. So I hope that this isn't a gradual process by which Carnival will eventually abolish all traditional dining.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I can have a modest wait at home, I don't need it on a ship. I feel that the grats should not be offered if this is going to be a Applebee's type of dining. This (Traditional Dinning) is one of the things I cruise for.

 

I think it's a crock and another way for the cruise lines to manipulate the passengers...We are capitive once we leave dock LOL.

 

We prefer late seating as well (we have tried late and early seating) It does seem that you are a bit rushed with the early seating. But my hubby has us on a schedule it goes like this:

 

6:00 a.m. - room service (coffee, danishes, fruit and juice)

8:00 a.m. (or whenever dining room opens) - Breakfast

12:00 p.m. - lunch

3:30/4:00 p.m. - snack (usually a slice of Pizza, Sandwhich or for me the buffett)

8:15 p.m. - dinner

 

And I wonder why the jeans I was fitting so comfortably in prior to the cruise doesn't fit when we leave the cruise:ohehehehehehe

 

I agree with the many here who would like traditional dining to stay. And yes, a reason we're so vocal is our concern (at least I am) that the cruiselines will do away with t.d. For me, it's one facet of cruising that makes it so different from just staying in a hotel and heading to a restaurant for each meal. That's why some are mentioning Applebee's and the Olive Garden. I can just go to one of those or similar restaurants around here, wait for a table, get a waitstaff that doesn't know my preferences for lemon slices instead of salad dressing or that I can't have eat anything with shrimp or yogurt in it.

 

And btw, we seem to keep the same schedule as above. Would have a small salad, a bit of entree and a sugar-free dessert in the mid-afternoon. Didn't gain any weight on a two-week cruise that way.

[ArizonaCruzer]

We just had open dining on the Miracle last week and loved it. We got a table to ourselves most nights. Only had to wait once, formal night. Other nights dining room not as crowded so we got right in.

[vawalkers]

We really enjoyed the flexibility of open seating on the Legend in November. WE didn't have to hurry back from shore in order to be at the dining room at the appointed time. Those who had assigned times, especially early seating, had to wait in a long line to get in the dining room. With open seating, we would wait until after the early diners were seated before making our way to the dining room. We always asked to be seated at our favorite waiter's table and they were always able to comply. If you want to be treated like a king,(or queen) ask to be seated in Clive's area. We really enjoyed him. I could find no problem at all with the open seating. I hope they have it in place on the Freedom by April 2010.

[bayoulady52]

I have to say that I prefer Traditional Dining and as much as it surprised me the first time around, all of my kids did also! I like the fact that you have the same waitstaff who learn your likes and dislikes. ALSO, when we have our whole family there, no arguing over time. (Besides, I have one son who is ALWAYS late so this way, we are not waiting around for him to show up.)

[Wormy53]

I think this is WONDERFUL news! There are some Carnival cruises that I thought would be nice to do, but just couldn't go back to traditional dining. We like to do our own thing. Could care less if I have to tell the waiter I would like lemon in my tea! (Although a good cab is usually a lot better!!:D) Now I can look here as well as my Princess standby!

[jeppster]

...I can just go to one of those or similar restaurants around here' date=' wait for a table, get a waitstaff that doesn't know my preferences for lemon slices instead of salad dressing or that I can't have eat anything with shrimp or yogurt in it.[/quote']

 

Just as several others have said, you can get the same waitstaff every night with My Time dining. We've done this twice, and it was exact same experience as traditional dining, just at a time that we chose. There is nothing magical and wonderful about 6:00 or 8:15 that aids in digestion.

[outerbks]

On our last cruise on the Legend in February we had open dining for the first time and it was our best experience. We have open dining again for our next cruise on the Liberty on 4/25/09 and are looking forward to it.

 

We received an email this week that said the Dream cruises we have booked for 12/3/09 and 2/20/10 have open dining too. We will never go back to the confinement of assigned times.:cool:

[Elvera]

The first time I did anytime dining was on the Renaissance ships. It was wonderful. It gave us a chance to meet more people on the cruise and the conversation was always good. That is the only way I choose to dine now.

[KroozFoolz]

From John Heald's Blog today:

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/04/09/keeping-a-breast-of-things/#more-8745

 

 

To tell us all about this brilliant addition to our dining experience I am going to reintroduce you to my friend Shahnaz Kashanipour. Shahnaz was one of our most successful — and without doubt — our most respected hotel directors whose total passion for the job was extraordinary. I say “was “because her brilliant talents have been recognized and she has now taken up a very important position in our Miami HQ.

She will be managing some very special projects over the next few months and I know that their implementation will be a total success with Shahnaz at the helm. However, Shahnaz was the hotel director onboard the Carnival Legen which was the first ship to offer the anytime dining option and Shahnaz will also be overseeing its implementation across the fleet. So…………..I sent her a few questions based on the comments you have all been posting here on the blog thingy and here then are her answers.

1. Shahnaz, before you joined our hotel operations team in the Miami office you were one our finest Hotel Directors for many years and were onboard the first ship to implement the Your Time dining. Therefore I would like to ask you about your experiences on the Carnival Legend. So, let’s start with the basics. What is “Your Time” dining?

“Your Time” dining, is basically where our guests don’t have a set time assigned, where they have to go and eat in the dining room, but have the option to dine anytime between 5:45 pm and 9:30 pm and with whomever they choose.

2. Do guests need to request this when they make their cruise booking or is it something they can decide to do once on board?

Yes, they make that decision before sailing, since now we offer confirmed dining assignments at the time of booking, and at that time one can decide to book Early, Late or Your Time dining.

3. If a guest has requested our regular dining times of early and/or late sitting yet one night decide they wish to go to Your Time dining - is this possible?

No, that won’t be really possible, since it would take away from the seating for our assigned Your Time guests.

4. From your experience on the Carnival Legend and the

Carnival Liberty

, what is the average wait time for guests on anytime dining how are guests informed that their table is ready?

Most of the time there is no wait time, however at times we need to give beepers out and then too, the wait time is minimal. Some days there no beepers given out at all.

5. Are guests likely to have to share a table or do we try and give tables for individual parties?

We will try to accommodate as per the guests requests. Some like to have their own table, and some like to share with others. At times when we won’t have an individual table available, our guest will be given the option to share a table, if seats are available and if they choose not to, they will be given a beeper.

 

6. How do guests on Your Time dining tip the wait staff if they have a different waiter every night?

All gratuities are pooled and shared by service staff assigned to Your Time dining.

7. How is the dining room (rooms) going to be broken up on each class of ship…..meaning where will the Your Time diners eat?

It depends on the class of ship. On the Spirit-class ships, where we only have one two-level dining room, we use one side of the upper level and on the rest of our ships we use the upper level of the forward dining room.

8. Will guests on Early or Late seating still be guaranteed the same waiter and assistant as normal?

Yes, they will, nothing has changed there

9. What percentage of guests are choosing Your Time dining for the entire cruise?

It’s really too early to say. During the pilot phase, we really didn’t do much promotion on board so the requests were minimal as guests were not aware of the new option. Many guests indicated their interest once on board but by that time the dining was already assigned. We are seeing an increase in requests since the press release that’s for sure and will increase the numbers based to demand.

10. What is the most popular time for guests on Your Time dining to request a table?

It all depends, some cruises we have more guests come for dinner earlier and some cruises later.

Thus far, there really hasn’t been a time that has been deemed more popular than any other.

Thanks Shahnaz and I hope that this provides you all with everything you need to know and squashes any concerns you may have had. If it doesn’t and you would like a follow up please remember to let me know here on the blog thingy by marking your comments “John Please Reply.”

[taschr]

Carnival announced today it's rolling out a flexible dining plan called Your Choice Dining fleetwide by the end of 2010 -- and we doubt this is an April Fool's hoax. The dining program will let guests choose among early seating, late seating and My Time dining. The latter option lets cruisers dine whenever they want between 5:45 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

 

What do you think of this new dining option? Has anyone tried it out on test ships Carnival Legend and Carnival Liberty? Tell us what you think.

 

Experienced the longest waits on NCL (first night we waited almost an hour to get seated). Most other nights were in the 15-30 minute range, regardless of whether we opted to share a table or dine alone. And even after waiting, we noted empty tables all over the dining room while we were eating. On Princess, the service was so bad that our tablemates actually called our captain over and told him the service sucked and was totally unacceptable. Both lines involved long waits in between courses -- dinner usually took 2 hours to finish, with upwards of 20 minutes in between courses and forget about a 2d cup of coffee. HAL has it best -- they allow you to reserve a time in 15 minute intervals, and if your preferred time isn't available, they tell you the nearest time before and after that is available and you can then reserve that time. Plus HAL's food is far better than Princess or NCL.

[taschr]

Experienced the longest waits on NCL (first night we waited almost an hour to get seated). Most other nights were in the 15-30 minute range, regardless of whether we opted to share a table or dine alone. And even after waiting, we noted empty tables all over the dining room while we were eating. On Princess, the service was so bad that our tablemates actually called our captain over and told him the service sucked and was totally unacceptable. Both lines involved long waits in between courses -- dinner usually took 2 hours to finish, with upwards of 20 minutes in between courses and forget about a 2d cup of coffee. HAL has it best -- they allow you to reserve a time in 15 minute intervals, and if your preferred time isn't available, they tell you the nearest time before and after that is available and you can then reserve that time. Plus HAL's food is far better than Princess or NCL.

[Colorado Guy]

We just got back from a Carnival Cruise on the Liberty. We had originally been approved for Your Choice Dining but things changed as the cruise date neared. We were put on a 6 o'clock seating. We found out that the Liberty only accepts 370 people before they close the your choice dining list. My opinion, if the Liberty can only accomodate 10% of the passengers, don't offer this flex dining as an option. I will be back on NCL next time around. I can't speak for the other ships in Carnivals fleet but advertising a flexible dining schedule when they only offer 370 seats is a joke on a ship that has 3,500 passengers.