MDR vs Anytime venues and show attendance

[2wheelin]

Have always had assigned MDR dining in the past. (Only cruised Princess once) We're assigned 5:30 for our next Crown sailing and think that is too early when returning from port. Traveling companions are elderly and use a scooter so need more time too. I want to know the difference in venue (atmosphere) for anytime dining from the MDR other than no assigned dining companions. Is the menu the same? Is it a separate dining room. RCCL used a portion of the MDR so all "waiter shows" were visible. How does it work out for attending shows? What time do the shows usually start? We would probably like to aim for 6:30 or 7 dining but could we still see any shows?

[Pia1913]

Have always had assigned MDR dining in the past. (Only cruised Princess once) We're assigned 5:30 for our next Crown sailing and think that is too early when returning from port. Traveling companions are elderly and use a scooter so need more time too. I want to know the difference in venue (atmosphere) for anytime dining from the MDR other than no assigned dining companions. Is the menu the same? Is it a separate dining room. RCCL used a portion of the MDR so all "waiter shows" were visible. How does it work out for attending shows? What time do the shows usually start? We would probably like to aim for 6:30 or 7 dining but could we still see any shows?

 

Early shows are usually at 8:15 and there is no such thing as traditional dining at 6:30 or 7:00. For those times you would need to use personal choice dining. Menus are always the same no matter which diningroom you go to.

[Pam in CA]

FYI, there are no "waiter shows" on Princess (thank god.) No group singing, towel waving, etc. On the last night in Traditional dining, they do introduce the chefs with a "parade" and thank them for their hard work.

[geoherb]

The menus are the same in the anytime and traditional dining rooms. The traditional dining rooms are separate--except on some ships they have started having an early seating for traditional in one of the anytime dining rooms. I don't think they let anytime diners into that dining room while those traditional diners are there. But we always have late seating, so I haven't experienced this first hand.

 

If you eat early, there's still time to see the shows. There are some things that we miss with second seating traditional dining--they're usually the evening trivias, the newlywed game, and other events like that.

[geoherb]

double post

[pablo222]

FYI, there are no "waiter shows" on Princess (thank god.) No group singing, towel waving, etc. On the last night in Traditional dining, they do introduce the chefs with a "parade" and thank them for their hard work.

 

About a year ago, they did the baked alaska parade in the

anytime dining room on Emerald. I was stunned, as I hadn't

seen anything like that in several years.

 

They also had about a dozen waiters dancing in the atrium

at 23:00 on the last night. That was the one and only time

I have ever seen that.

 

A few years ago on a different cruise line -- they put a shot

glass in the center of the baked alaska -- threw in some sugar

cubes, and added sterno for the flame. Somehow, I got one

of the sterno soaked sugar cubes in my serving, and started to

eat it.

 

I never liked baked alaska very much -- now, I avoid it at

all costs!

[Princess Patches]

Princess now has two traditional dining times, 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. Possibly the 6:00 p.m. time would work better for you. If so, request to be changed. If you are placed on the waitlist for the 6:00 dining time and do not clear the waitlist by the time you sail, go see the Maitre D upon boarding and request to be switched.

 

I have never failed to get my desired dining time by the second night of the cruise in more than 20 cruises. A lot of passengers change their dining times after boarding and so there always seem to be openings.

[TwinCruiserMom]

We really like the flexibility of anytime dining as we also do not like to rush after returning from a port day. The food is exactly the same and dining takes a little less time than in the traditional dining room. In traditional, the waiters seem to time all their tables together and it ends up taking two hours no matter how few courses you order. On the Crown, the traditional dining room is in the aft of deck 6 and the anytime dining rooms are midship deck 6 and deck 5. I believe one of the anytime dining rooms is now used for an extra early traditional seating.

 

I don't think the atmosphere is any different from traditional to anytime. If anything, it is a tiny bit more casual with anytime and people are obviously coming and going more often than with traditional.

 

The nice thing about anytime is you can go when you want, so if there is a show you want to see at 8:15pm, try to be seated by 6pm as you will need to arrive extra early at the first show each night. Most big shows are offered two times a night, so you can always go to the later show if you just do not want to hurry down to dinner. Since you receive your Princess Patter the night before, it is easy to plan your next day and figure out what time you want to eat. I think with anytime dining you have a better chance of seeing all the shows, comedians, and movies you want to see.

 

Happy cruising :)

[Bonnie1750]

I've only tried using anytime dining once and it was a disaster. We signed up for it because the people we were traveling with wanted to eat early. It is quite difficult to get 6:00 PM and you have to call early in the am and make reservations. I believe that you can only reserve three days at a time. So in addition to struggling to get the time our party wanted to eat, I had to get up early on vacation to make those reservations. We have returned to a set dining time and are happier there.

[Pia1913]

I've only tried using anytime dining once and it was a disaster. We signed up for it because the people we were traveling with wanted to eat early. It is quite difficult to get 6:00 PM and you have to call early in the am and make reservations. I believe that you can only reserve three days at a time. So in addition to struggling to get the time our party wanted to eat, I had to get up early on vacation to make those reservations. We have returned to a set dining time and are happier there.

 

And there you have it; choices. We would never even consider traditional dining unless there was no other option. That of course will be the case on our next two cruises on the baby ships. We also never make a reservation. We just show up around 6ish and get seated and usually we are a party of four.

[Pam in CA]

About a year ago, they did the baked alaska parade in the anytime dining room on Emerald. I was stunned, as I hadn't seen anything like that in several years.

 

They also had about a dozen waiters dancing in the atrium at 23:00 on the last night. That was the one and only time I have ever seen that.

 

A few years ago on a different cruise line -- they put a shot glass in the center of the baked alaska -- threw in some sugar cubes, and added sterno for the flame. Somehow, I got one of the sterno soaked sugar cubes in my serving, and started to eat it.

 

I never liked baked alaska very much -- now, I avoid it at all costs!

On RCL, at least the several cruises I've been on, the waiters stopped serving during dinner and put on a "show" of singing, waving napkins, etc. almost every night so you sat there waiting for them to take your dessert order or take away your dinner or whatever. Very annoying and didn't add anything to the atmosphere but rather, took away from having a nice dinner.

 

I never have baked Alaska and the waiters are always stunned when I ask for a dessert menu. I get the same reaction when they tell me how great the lobster is and how everyone orders it, and I say, "You've got to be kidding."

[TwinCruiserMom]

I've only tried using anytime dining once and it was a disaster. We signed up for it because the people we were traveling with wanted to eat early. It is quite difficult to get 6:00 PM and you have to call early in the am and make reservations. I believe that you can only reserve three days at a time. So in addition to struggling to get the time our party wanted to eat, I had to get up early on vacation to make those reservations. We have returned to a set dining time and are happier there.

 

You do not have to call for reservations especially when you want to eat between 5:30 and 6:30. Just go to the door and be seated.

[2wheelin]

Thanks for all the comments. We are scheduled for 5:30, waitlisted for 6:00. I could "stomach" 6:00 but not so much 5:30. Good to know you have a good chance to change once on board so maybe we'll wait. I like choosing daily when we want to go but also like meeting the same table mates each day (providing they are as nice as the people on these boards :) We've had both good and bad but want to give our relatives a good first experience.

[shofer]

Thanks for all the comments. We are scheduled for 5:30, waitlisted for 6:00. I could "stomach" 6:00 but not so much 5:30. Good to know you have a good chance to change once on board so maybe we'll wait. I like choosing daily when we want to go but also like meeting the same table mates each day (providing they are as nice as the people on these boards :) We've had both good and bad but want to give our relatives a good first experience.

 

On our last cruise w/our adult kids in 2008, we had the 5:30 dinner and it was way too early. I felt like I was always rushing to get ready on time on port days. I am very happy to try Anytime Dining on our next trip in January.

[rfinch]

We have always had a good experience with Anytime Dining. We really enjoy the flexibility and are always able to make the shows and have the option of going early or late depending on the days activities. I do personally think that the service is a bit better when you have the same server each night in traditional dining but not a big enough issue for us to switch from Anytime dining.