Anytime Dining on Caribbean Princess

[travelgenie]

I am going on my first Princess Cruise, next month and after looking at another thread about Anytime Dining am now a little concerned about that decision. Is it really true, that anyone can use AD, even if you booked with Traditional Dining? We have done most of the main stream cruise lines and usually always take the alternate dining option as we like the flexibility in time and have not encountered this on previous cruises. It is no wonder there are so many postings on waiting times being so long. Somehow, if this is true, it makes no sense to me..........:confused:

[morecruise4me]

We had anytime dining on CB last February and never had to wait.

[claroquesi]

We are opening a nice bottle of wine on our cruise, have anytime dining and would like to invite the sommelier to join us. Has anyone done this and could you speak about it?

[Jasperdo]

I am going on my first Princess Cruise, next month and after looking at another thread about Anytime Dining am now a little concerned about that decision. Is it really true, that anyone can use AD, even if you booked with Traditional Dining? We have done most of the main stream cruise lines and usually always take the alternate dining option as we like the flexibility in time and have not encountered this on previous cruises. It is no wonder there are so many postings on waiting times being so long. Somehow, if this is true, it makes no sense to me..........:confused:

It really depends on the Maitre'd for that sailing. On the Star a few years ago, the cards were checked every evening. On our other cruises, it was either not done at all, or only a few nights. Very unpredictable.

[Pam in CA]

Traditional dining is usually waitlisted months before sailing so chances are, you won't have the option of Traditional.

 

You are correct that almost all Princess ships allow those with assigned seating to go to an Anytime dining room if they wish. I don't agree with this policy but Princess is unable or unwilling to say, "No" to passengers or enforce any policy or request.

[travelgenie]

Wow, that is so surprising to me, why would they want to overwhelm the Anytime Dining room, like that? Now I understand the threads with the complaints of long waits and poor service.........I would never think of using the AD room if I had booked Traditional Dining, what has happened to common courtesy.....

[pcsunlover]

Wow, that is so surprising to me, why would they want to overwhelm the Anytime Dining room, like that? Now I understand the threads with the complaints of long waits and poor service.........I would never think of using the AD room if I had booked Traditional Dining, what has happened to common courtesy.....

 

I agree. People who book Traditional dining should not be allowed to flip flop

between that and Anytime dining on a whim. As someone who booked Anytime dining on our next cruise, I expect that the only people eating there have also booked Anytime dining. I would not expect to walk into the Traditional dining room and take someone elses table because it suited my eating preferences better that evening, so why should the reverse situation be appropriate?

[Kmkub]

On the Ruby last week, our cards were viewed for the Anytime designation each time we went to the MDR. I don't know if they were turning traditional away, but they were checking, which suggests they may have been.

[Potstech]

I am sure, like others, that Princess is aware of this situation. Unfortunately like many of their policies they fail to enforce them to the detriment of many passengers to avoid a conflict with the few. Someday, again hopefully soon, they will see what the majority of passengers want and do the right thing.

 

Overall though it is a fantastic cruising experience with them.

[azdmelani]

I am going on my first Princess Cruise, next month and after looking at another thread about Anytime Dining am now a little concerned about that decision. Is it really true, that anyone can use AD, even if you booked with Traditional Dining? We have done most of the main stream cruise lines and usually always take the alternate dining option as we like the flexibility in time and have not encountered this on previous cruises. It is no wonder there are so many postings on waiting times being so long. Somehow, if this is true, it makes no sense to me..........:confused:

 

technically no, this is not true. If you have traditional dining you should only eat at your assigned table. However, it really depends on the ship to enforce the policy.

 

I love the flexibility of anytime dining. Since you can request certain tables and waitstaff each night, it's the best of both worlds. We havent encountered really long wait times, you should be fine!

 

Enjoy your cruise :)

[janacin]

We tried anytime dining once and vowed never to do it again. At peak times people were waiting on the stairs for tables. That's not my idea of a vacation.

[cubswin2016]

Are the dining rooms designated specifically for either traditional or anytime dining, or can you go to any dining room you wish?

[Cruzin-K]

Are the dining rooms designated specifically for either traditional or anytime dining, or can you go to any dining room you wish?

 

I can only speak for my most recent cruises on the Star and Ruby. There was one dining room for traditional, and two for anytime. There were long waits for tables for two at peak times (pretty much any time after about 6pm) but if you were willing to share you could always be seated right away.

 

On my Ruby Princess cruise, I had asked to be seated at a large table (late traditional seating) because I was traveling solo and wanted a lot of people to talk to. Only one other couple showed up the whole week :mad: They were really nice though, so I would have felt bad leaving them to dine alone if I switched tables. The other five (?) people never showed up the whole week. I thought it was inconsiderate and rude of them. Why sign up for traditional if you're not going to show? :confused:

[rdsqrl]

. . . The other five (?) people never showed up the whole week. I thought it was inconsiderate and rude of them. Why sign up for traditional if you're not going to show? :confused:

 

Agree 1000%.

As as Traditional diner, this is my pet peeve and the main reason I am vehemently opposed to people who have TD being allowed into the Anytime dining room. Never mind the delays it causes the AD folks; it more negatively impacts the experience for those in TD. Obviously, sometimes someone is off at Chef's Table or the specialty restaurant or something, and I have no issue with that. But an open invitation to dine in AD at a whim just makes a mockery of the Traditional dining experience for all concerned.

[caribill]

Why sign up for traditional if you're not going to show?

 

It may not be the passengers' fault.

 

For those new to cruising, a TA may simply ask early or late dining and not explain the anytime option. Also may not explain that you can also eat in the buffet, specialty restaurants, etc.

 

Thus, once boarding, the newbie may discover the buffet and just eat there each evening, not aware of the ramifications of the choice the TA put down for him/her.

[caribill]

Are the dining rooms designated specifically for either traditional or anytime dining, or can you go to any dining room you wish?

 

If you are in traditional dining, your cruise card will list the dining room and time you should go. That is the only dining room you should use.

 

If you are in anytime, you can use any of the anytime dining rooms. In some cases, one of the anytime rooms may be unavailable early in the eveving due to it being used for a second early traditional seating.