Dining Dilemma...

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

We are sailing on Grand in Oct doing Med/Greek Isles - very port intensive cruise. At the moment we have traditional late seating as we have always done except for our cruise to Bermuda last month with RCL. We thought we would do a trial run but were quite disappointed in that if we made a reservation, we still had to wait and the flow in the dining room was very erratic. Of course that was with RCL and we're heard/read many comments about them still having difficulty with anytime dining. Princess seems to have a better handle on this so we're still in limbo on this as we would like the flexibility of time and then the option of having the same waiter if we find a gem. Still in the dilemma... other thoughts from those who've experienced Princess anytime recently?

 

Pam & Bruce

[kooljamming]

We are sailing on Grand in Oct doing Med/Greek Isles - very port intensive cruise. At the moment we have traditional late seating as we have always done except for our cruise to Bermuda last month with RCL. We thought we would do a trial run but were quite disappointed in that if we made a reservation, we still had to wait and the flow in the dining room was very erratic. Of course that was with RCL and we're heard/read many comments about them still having difficulty with anytime dining. Princess seems to have a better handle on this so we're still in limbo on this as we would like the flexibility of time and then the option of having the same waiter if we find a gem. Still in the dilemma... other thoughts from those who've experienced Princess anytime recently?

 

Pam & Bruce

 

We did anytime in February on Sapphire Princess and switched to anytime on our most recent cruise on the Golden Princess. I read a lot about waits but never really experienced it. Like most land restaurants, I went before I was starving, knowing there could be a delay. I would not have a problem waiting up to 30 minutes. The longest we waited was 20 minutes on one formal night. At this moment I am not sure that I would ever opt for traditional again. Once I embraced anytime dining I truly loved and appreciated the flexibilty. I liked the fact that I could go to the buffet at times without bailing on tablemates.

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

have done med twice and took late fixed dinning would do it again,

 

a lot of ports are very hard work, very hot, long days. lots to see, late sailings etc,

 

as such late fitted with our day plan.

 

yours Shogun

[Pam in CA]

We are sailing on Grand in Oct doing Med/Greek Isles - very port intensive cruise. At the moment we have traditional late seating as we have always done except for our cruise to Bermuda last month with RCL. We thought we would do a trial run but were quite disappointed in that if we made a reservation, we still had to wait and the flow in the dining room was very erratic. Of course that was with RCL and we're heard/read many comments about them still having difficulty with anytime dining. Princess seems to have a better handle on this so we're still in limbo on this as we would like the flexibility of time and then the option of having the same waiter if we find a gem. Still in the dilemma... other thoughts from those who've experienced Princess anytime recently?

Stick with Traditional and see if that works for you. If it doesn't, then you can switch to Anytime but if you make that switch now, you won't be able to switch back to Traditional. Your description of RCL is pretty much what it's like on Princess, particularly if it's a port-intensive cruise when a lot of passengers don't want to eat as soon as they reboard the ship. Even if you make a reservation, you might have a wait.

 

HAL handles this MUCH better than Princess in that they don't allow anyone from Traditional dining to go to As You Wish without requesting a switch and being approved. On Princess, you have both Anytime and Traditional diners showing up at the Anytime dining room to be seated, which can cause very long lines, i.e., Princess doesn't turn away passengers with Traditional dining from going to a Anytime dining room.

[Colo Cruiser]

For your port intensive cruise on the Grand I would suggest anytime.

[TuxedoMan]

Anytime will give you the most flexability:cool:

[Putterdude]

Our experience on the Diamond (Sapphire) with the 4 dining rooms we didn't have to wait but on the Golden (Grand) with it's 2 dining rooms the lines were often 30 mins or more. So while we quite like the concept of AD we have moved back to TD.

[Treven]

Was on the Emerald this past spring. While I had Anytime dining, I only ate in one of the main dining rooms once. I prefer eating early, 5-6 p.m. so I was in line when the dining room opened at 5:30; there was a line of approx 20-30 people waiting for the dining room to open. Everyone was seated right away, even solitary me. No matter which ship I'm on, I always eat alone.

[cruisinnewfy]

anytime can be done without a wait if:

 

you don't have to eat at prime time 7ish and

 

you are willing to sit at a large table with others.

 

Primetime and a table for two can involve a wait.

[cynbar]

There really isn't any easy answer to this question---- both traditional and anytime have pros and cons. Some cruisers love one or the other, some can go either way. We like anytime and have selected this for our last several cruises. Some posters here have reported long waits, but we have never experienced that, although we do make a reservation for formal night because it seems more people opt for the regular DRs then. It's true that you won't develop a bond with your waiter and you won't have someone who knows your likes and dislikes, and it's true that some waiters are better than others. Also, it does have something of an erratic feel because diners are coming and going, eating different courses all around you. But we really like the flexibility to vary our dining times depending on our schedule for the day or even our mood. And we appreciate not being stuck with a bad waiter, bad table or boring tablemates for the whole cruise, which has occasionally happened in the past to us in traditional. On occasion, we have found a waiter we liked so much that we reserved his section for the rest of the cruise-- and you will get over the top service when they know you have done this. Anyway, to summarize, we find the benefits of anytime outweight the negatives, but only you can decide which type is right for you.

 

PS. --- It was particularly helpful to us on our Med cruise last summer due to the varying times in port and the long days.

[onthelake]

I agree that if you originally ask for anytime, you will not be able to change to traditional later but you can move from traditional to anytime. Although there is a certain amount of controversy over making reservations for anytime, we often do - that way we are ahead of the curve when the masses head out of the captain's cocktail party, etc. If you know you will be arriving back on the ship at 7:30PM, call in the morning and make a reservation for 8:15 or 8:30. If you will be back on board at 6PM, make a reservation for 7PM, etc. Anytime dining lets you make reservations that you can adjust on a day-to-day basis and that is what we love about it. It really is a matter of personal taste.

[spongerob]

We came back from a Med cruise about a month ago. We used Anytime and had a fantastic time, though admittedly we requested the same table most evenings. We were once sworn to Traditional dining, and even refused to book cruises if it wasn't available. Since we have switched to Anytime, we have found that we don't miss out on anything.

 

Both have their advantages, but for a port-intensive cruise I would recommend Anytime.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

Thank you all for your input. We certainly seem to be leaning towards Anytime but won't change until we're on the ship. From what I've been reading, once we go to Anytime, we won't be able to return to Traditional especially if there is a wait list.

 

Thanks again.... Happy Cruising to you all!!

[recia]

we just returned from the Ruby, on the three days in Italy which were all 7 to 7, the anytime dining room was not crowded for dinner. The buffet was very crowded in the evenings on those days. I think a lot of people did not want a long dinner after the all day tours.

[billco]

I don't know what the big deal is about anytime or traditional dining. it is just one meal out of the day. Lunch and breakfast in the MDR is anytime dining, just at a different time.

[san diego sue]

We are getting ready to book a transatlantic for the spring and need to decide as well. Looking at the Ruby. Based on times in ports (and we love to watch sailaway, will sign up for late fixed and see if we want to change it. A few weeks ago we had anytime dining on the Star(Alaska) and there were lines. Don't know if I want to deal with that after a long day touring.

In March we were on 32 day HAL cruise and started fixed and changed to anytime. HAL really checks everytime before seating you if you have fixed or anytime. then they politely tell you wrong dining room. That was great as it eleminated the crowds of people that go back and forth on some lines.

We had lots of Cruise Critic friends on that cruise and ate with different ones or met for drinks every night. So anytime worked best there.

On the Star, seven day cruise, only went to the dining room once, first night. Didn't like standing in line. Went to the specialty restaurants twice with friends and rest of time brought food back to our room from the International cafe(wanted to enjoy the wonderful views in private).

I think I still prefer fixed dining with great tablemates to share the cruise experience

[kooljamming]

I don't know what the big deal is about anytime or traditional dining. it is just one meal out of the day. Lunch and breakfast in the MDR is anytime dining, just at a different time.

 

Some of us get really dressed-up for it wearing 3.5' heels and jelled Wonder, push-up bra. If you start out the day like this and it will be a very long cruise:eek::D

[Pam in CA]

anytime can be done without a wait if:

 

you don't have to eat at prime time 7ish and

 

you are willing to sit at a large table with others.

 

Primetime and a table for two can involve a wait.

Actually, this is oversimplified. Even if you have a reservation for the same time and the same table every night, you can experience a wait. That happened to us so it can happen. And, even if you are willing to sit at a large table with others, there can also be a wait. I've been on several cruises where they've had to use tables in the Traditional dining room to seat people from Anytime because there were waits of 45+ minutes every night. Some people are lucky and never experience a wait, others will have it every night unless they eat at 5:30-6pm.

[billco]

Some of us get really dressed-up for it wearing 3.5' heels and jelled Wonder, push-up bra. If you start out the day like this and it will be a very long cruise:eek::D

Generally ' means foot and " means inches, so I guess 3.5 feet heels would lead to an interesting day as well as long.