Your Time Dining - True Perceptions (Experiences) from Cruisers

[firstcruiser2010]

We just sailed the Legend on Sept 12th. This was our first cruise (I cruised when I was 14 and 15 so that does not count since it was the sister ship of the Titanic).

 

We LOVED anytime dining. We never waited in line but we did get to pass those with assigned dining waiting in line. The first night we went to dinner late (so much to see and explore) around 8:00pm and it was right in. The other nights we dined between 7-8 and never waited more than 2-3 minutes. Our hostess got to know us (her name was Monica) and we liked the table next to the "balcony" so we could see down into the main floor dining room. If you are really wanting to be involved with all the celebration/dancing go to assigned dining. We enjoyed it very much and the waiters on the 3rd level dance too and usually with us!

 

We never felt shuffled, we had the same waitress and team every night and we always sat with just the four of us.

 

This vacation was just that, a vacation. We did not want to have to be running to dinner at a certain time. We loved it and will do it again on all of our cruises to come!

 

Have a great cruise!

JB

[UpstateCruizer]

From the sounds of the replies most people want a table for two or want to sit with their own group. Nobody has replied what it would be like for a solo.

 

 

We decided to try it last year on the Miracle. We were seated with 2 Carnival employees, and a solo cruiser along with the 3 of us. We were asked when we arrived at the dining room if we wanted to sit alone or be seated with others. I enjoy meeting new people so we chose to sit with others. The solo cruiser joined our table and was relieved she wasn't going to be sitting alone. They assured her she wouldn't have to sit alone. We did not enjoy our first experience with YTD and asked the Maitre'd if we could switch to early. He allowed us as there was room. We wanted to try YTD but for us we found we missed the traditional dining and prefer that.

[CanadaJulie]

This december will my our first time trying YTD. We chose it because on our last cruise, I always felt rushed from about 4pm onwards "gotta get ready for supper" - don't eat anything cause it's almost supper, get the kids out of the pool cause they have to have a shower before supper, my hair took longer to style than planned and we're gonna be late for supper, fell asleep in the cabin and we're late for supper...

 

This time - there will be no 'late for supper' - cause we decide when it's gonna be ! As soon as we are ready and hungry (and awake), we'll go !

[zqvol]

Notes below

 

OK - while I did see a few posts on this subject already, I felt it called for a more pointed thread. Here is the scoop:

 

I am going on my 32nd cruise in December (I'm cruising in Nov also but the people I am going with want early seating with a reserved table) and have heard so many rave reviews about Your Time Dining that I am contemplating trying it out. Having been on so many cruises with seated dining, I am excited yet concerned about the concept. Below are a couple questions:

 

1. Does it feel like you are at a restaurant and simply didn't make reservations so they give you a buzzer? We have never had to wait to be seated. It is much more personal than traditional cattle herding of "traditional" seating.

2. I am assuming you are tabled with whomever happens to be trying to eat when you do, is this true? You pick exactly who you want to dine with. If you want strangers seated at your table or if you want to sit with strangers they will try to accommodate you.

3. What are the table sizes for this type of dining? You determine table size by the size of your party. Minimum is 1, maximum is whatever the largest table is on your ship.

4. For experienced cruisers - do you feel this detracts from your cruise experience? (We've often taken in shows with our tablemates, etc.)It adds to the cruise experience. The worst part of a cruise is the traditional dining fiasco in a large banquet hall with strangers eating banquet food. At least with anytime you can avoid eating with strangers.

5. For those who have tried it and liked it, what are your top 3 reasons you liked it.

 

a. You go when you want

b. You eat with whom you want.

c. You eat at the pace you want and have a much better experience with the wait staff.

6. For those who have tried it and did not like it, what are your top 3 reasons for not liking it?

 

Since we love it and will never cruise on a ship that does not offer it there are no bad points. Well thee is one, and that is that it is not required for everyone.

 

Thanks in advance for all of your insight....

 

 

---Buzz

[dstone]

We were a group of 9 wishing to eat together each night when we were on NCL in April. Didn't work out so well, never had a table to seat all of us togther without waiting for a really long time. As a large group we now prefer assigned dining so we are sailing CCL in Dec with 17 and will sit at two tables, but next to each other. Maybe if there are only a few in your group it might be better.

We also noted that the service was too sporadic with freestyle dining.

[itgeek]

1. Does it feel like you are at a restaurant and simply didn't make reservations so they give you a buzzer?

 

No. I've never found any main dining room that felt like a restaurant. The scale, surroundings and food just have the wrong feeling for that.

 

It feels like a come and go dining room.

 

2. I am assuming you are tabled with whomever happens to be trying to eat when you do, is this true?

 

Maybe. The make it really easy to get your own table for 2, 3 or 4. Or you can opt to have them seat other people with you. It's your choice for whether or not to eat with someone else.

 

3. What are the table sizes for this type of dining?

 

Standard setups are 2 and 4. Anything other than that will potentially require them to configure tables for the group size. And based on my personal experience, I believe they would prohibit any group larger than 6 from using Your Time Dining. Groups larger than that negatively impact the service level of the passengers around them as limited dining staff has to deal with catching up a large group all at once - at the expense of their ability to be attentive to the other guests in their section.

 

4. For experienced cruisers - do you feel this detracts from your cruise experience? (We've often taken in shows with our tablemates, etc.)

 

Honestly, I get bored easily. I never liked having the same tablemates every night. If I really liked someone, I always gave them my room number and/or business card so they could catch up with me elsewhere on the cruise or once we got home.

 

5. For those who have tried it and liked it, what are your top 3 reasons you liked it.

 

1) I prefer to eat ~6:30p or ~7:30p. The normal assigned dining times NEVER worked into my personal schedule.

 

2) Easy to get a private table if so desired.

 

3) Easy to get meet new friends if so desired.

 

I just got back off the 9/27 sailing of Fascination. Several times I went to dinner alone b/c I couldn't find my travel mate. (He was either asleep somewhere on-deck, singing karaoke or who knows what. I gave up trying to keep track of him.) Each time I arrived solo, the front staff either seated me with another party who had given permission or seated me alone and soon brought additional guests to sit with me.

 

Viktoria in the Fascination Sensation Dining Room did an excellent job with matching. None of the people they sat me with were bozos. I'd dine with any of them again. A few of them I gave my contact info to for connecting once we get home.

 

- IT Geek

[itgeek]

Maryann,

 

I am wondering that also as I am contemplating doing my first solo in late November. As much as I hate dining with strangers due to my weird issues :p, I am considering doing assigned dining for a solo cruise as I just don't think it would be much fun to dine alone each night. I don't know if I can take dining with strangers again though.

 

As I just posted, I did solo (even though I had someone w/ me, they were just AWOL at dinner a lot... 10 years younger than me and a social butterfly) a bunch on Fascination this past week.

 

I wouldn't do solo any way other than YTD. When doing traditional dining, there's always the chance some or all of your table might do Lido or alternate dining that night. I've been solo on a cruise w/ traditional dining where I was the only one at the table who showed up for dinner in the MDR that night. That's especially possible when you happen to get seated w/ 1 family who takes up all of the table in question except your 1 seat.

 

With YTD, you tell them you're looking for someone to join you or to join someone when you walk up and they will either seat you w/ someone who is already seated or they will find someone to sit w/ you as people come in. I never waited more than 5 minutes for them to bring someone else to sit w/ me.

 

Plus w/ YTD, if you meet someone on the ship that you would like to bring to dinner, if you have YTD, you can bring them to eat with you! With traditional dining, that's very hard or strongly discouraged since it messes up everyone else's seating.

 

- IT Geek

[aeneas3]

background for my answers: 2 low 30 year olds with a 2.5 year old and 2 sets of grandparents - just got back from the dream yesterday

 

1. Does it feel like you are at a restaurant and simply didn't make reservations so they give you a buzzer?

 

we never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a table and ate any time between opening and 7pm

 

2. I am assuming you are tabled with whomever happens to be trying to eat when you do, is this true?

 

we had a group of 6+ high chair so not sure. from what I saw people were given the choice to dine as a couple or share. wait times were longer for not sharing. not sure about sharing with the same people but it seems you would share with whomever was there at the same time unless you met each other each night

 

3. What are the table sizes for this type of dining?

 

all the sizes - 2 thru 8 - on the dream there is a separate dining area for your time (upstairs in each dining room)

 

4. For experienced cruisers - do you feel this detracts from your cruise experience? (We've often taken in shows with our tablemates, etc.)

 

no we loved it but again we had a group of 7

 

5. For those who have tried it and liked it, what are your top 3 reasons you liked it.

 

flexible times for dining with a 2.5 year old, continuity with same staff was still present, no wait for us :)

 

6. For those who have tried it and did not like it, what are your top 3 reasons for not liking it?

n/a

[betty215]

1. Does it feel like you are at a restaurant and simply didn't make reservations so they give you a buzzer? yes, I can see the whole restaurant vibe, however, we never got a buzzer. Never really had to wait. The most we waited (hubby and me) was 2 minutes, but thats because we wanted to sit in the area of a specific waiter.

2. I am assuming you are tabled with whomever happens to be trying to eat when you do, is this true? We were never seated with anyone else, we were always at a table for 2. We didnt request it, it just happened. However, the tables for two were pretty close to eachother so once we felt like we were at a bigger table.

 

3. What are the table sizes for this type of dining? I think table sizes are just what ever is available. If you want to be seated at a table for 2, then request it.

4. For experienced cruisers - do you feel this detracts from your cruise experience? (We've often taken in shows with our tablemates, etc.) Not for me, I think it was perfect because we ate when we were hungry, not when we had to. this was the first vacation that me and my hubby have taken that was just the two of us, and to do what we wanted to do when we wanted to do it was pretty sweet.

5. For those who have tried it and liked it, what are your top 3 reasons you liked it.

1) we ate when ever we felt like it, not when it was out time to. I made sure to look at the funtimes, so i knew when the shows were and stuff so i didnt miss any of them.

2)we still got to sit at a specific area so that we had the same wait staff. Became friends with them, they took good care of us. even tipped them extra at the end of our cruise cuz they were that awesome.

3) we didnt feel rushed. we were able to take our time eating without worrying that it is about to be time for the dinning shift.

6. For those who have tried it and did not like it, what are your top 3 reasons for not liking it? i dont have anything negative to say here. altho, if it is a big group, i dont know if any time dining would work for them. wait time might be longer for them.

[Muumuu]

DAughter just got off the Dream along with 4 friends. They tried the anytime dining. They had to wait quite a while. She went, flashed her VIP card and got late dining seating and loved it as usual.

[glrounds]

Out of 18 Carnival cruises, I only did it once on the my last cruise when my son and I wanted to eat alone. We were asked if 2 others could join us and enjoyed them (a middle-aged lady with her married daughter) very much. We didn't have reservations (not sure that is allowed), but just walked in and were seated immediately. The service was excellent.:)

I would do it again unless I were cruising SOLO, which I usually do, and always enjoy the assigned seating with other SOLOS in the MDR. I see Carnival expanding this idea in the future. Many paxs that I spoke with chose this dining alternative. :)

[ScottsSweetie]

It would appear that we are in the minority here, but we (DH & I) tried it and did not like it. We sometimes requested a table for just us two, other times requested to be seated with others. We did receive a buzzer one night, but only on elegant night when asking for a 2-top (only waited about 5 mins - no problem). On the last night of the cruise we asked for a large table, and were seated at a table for 8 and never had anyone else seated with us. Felt kind of silly eating at a table that size with just us two.

 

On the first night we asked for company, we were seated at a table for 10 that I believe ended up with 9 ppl. The bread basket was brought to the table with only 4 pieces of bread in it - it was never replenished. Water was poured - nothing else (tea) was offered. As a past Carnival cruiser I knew that we could ask for it, but we were seated with some first time CCL cruisers, and they thought that this was the norm.

 

One night, when seated at a table for just us two, DH got his starter a full 5 minutes before I got mine. This would normally never happen when dining at the standard service times. The service never seemed quite at the standard that we were used to with a set dining time.

 

We decided that for us, the dining experience is an important part of the overall cruise, and unless cruising with our teens, we would go back to a set dining time and not utilize the your-time dining again.