Pros/Cons of Anytime dining

[WAHMto5]

I personally do not see any cons in it;) We LOVE it! On all the cruises, the longest we have ever had to wait would be 1-2x for no more then 5 minutes. Love being able to go eat whenever and not having to worry about making it at a certain time every night.

[serene56]

Are you sailing with kids?

 

my cons-- the waitstaff never gets to know the kids likes and dislikes. Having traditional seating the kids drinks will always be waiting there for them the next night.

 

if the kids participate in the camp programs-- they will be late to some of the earlier activiities. Camps start back up at 7pm. Sitting at traditional seating they will be done by 7:30

[Swayde]

I prefer ATD after doing it twice. I actually get a bit stressed out when I have to be somewhere at a specific time. I cannot stand to be late, so I always fret over making sure I am where I need to be, early. This ATD option relieves that stress from me and lets me just go when I want. That is very important to me while on vacation.

 

The 1st night on our 2011 cruise, our 1st time with ATD we were not pleased with our waitstaff. It was very slow, very impersonal. The 2nd night we got a different team and they were fantastic. We requested them the rest of the cruise and couldn't have been more pleased. Our 2012 cruise we scored an amazing team 1st night and stuck with them the rest of the cruise. They were so good they even recognized us by name and spoke to us off the ship after debarkation when they got a little time off the ship in Tampa and walked by us as we were waiting for our ride to pick us up.

[Express Man]

Are you sailing with kids?

 

my cons-- the waitstaff never gets to know the kids likes and dislikes. Having traditional seating the kids drinks will always be waiting there for them the next night.

 

if the kids participate in the camp programs-- they will be late to some of the earlier activiities. Camps start back up at 7pm. Sitting at traditional seating they will be done by 7:30

 

For us our wait staff was awsome during our ATD, Our last cruise Lee our head server would see us coming to be seated and say "Hey Morgan,Ready to dance..Or just a Hello Morgan and Andrew" as were walking to be seated. WE did request same server every night and was like the personal touch. Lee even made my daughter be her dancing partner every night at dinner..LOL She was a amazing server.

[serene56]

For us our wait staff was awsome during our ATD, Our last cruise Lee our head server would see us coming to be seated and say "Hey Morgan,Ready to dance..Or just a Hello Morgan and Andrew" as were walking to be seated. WE did request same server every night and was like the personal touch. Lee even made my daughter be her dancing partner every night at dinner..LOL She was a amazing server.

 

 

what time did you have to go to get the same wait staff each night?

[Express Man]

Its did vary depending on shows. Most were between 6:15-6:30 and other nights about 8pm. We only waited for Lee our server on Elegant night for a short time. We usally request a window or corner 1/2 booth booth also.

[awval999]

I like meeting new people on cruises and have had luck with good tablemates so I haven't used ATD. I probably won't in the future either. I like knowing my servers, etc. If all my tablemates sucked I'd probably just try to ask the matre'd to change me to a more lively table.

[Swayde]

what time did you have to go to get the same wait staff each night?

 

Just tell the Hostess who the server is that you want to be sat with. Timing doesn't seem to matter. But you may need to wait a little while. We never had to for party of 2 or 4.

[LittleJeanne]

We did anytime dining in November. We booked the cruise 5 days out and it was the only thing they would give us. We always told the hostess that we were willing to sit with others.

 

Our 1st night they sat us at a table with a mother/daughter duo who spoke English. But chose not to throughout most of the meal. It felt very awkward as they sat chatting with each other in a language we didn't understand. They clearly spoke English well enough to answer questions when we were 1st seated and to converse upon demand with the wait staff. This could have happened in any dining situation on a ship so even though it made for an uncomfortable meal we didn't hold that meal against the any time dining.

 

The second night was elegant night. We got to the long line for dining around 6:30. Then waited in line for 1/2 an hour just to get a pager. It was after 8 before we were seated. My least favorite.

 

On 2 other nights it was more of an issue between hubby and I. I prefer eating early. He prefers early dining over late dining, and if he's given a time to be ready he has no problem being there. YTD caused more little issues between us because he'd start watching something on tv and forget about getting ready, or get ready and then start watching tv. Since there wasn't a defined time that we had to eat he always wanted to finish watching something which left me sitting waiting until he decided to leave the room. So, for us ... YTD made for more stress between us at dinner time.

 

Our wait staff left a lot to be desired on most nights. Just asking for something as simple as iced tea with our meal took forever. One night they brought my husband the wrong entrée. He will never complain at a restaurant because he's heard too many stories about people spitting in your food. So he just ate what they brought. One night we waited and waited for them to come take our dessert order and they never did. We got tired of waiting, as did others at our table, and left. I always order coffee with my dessert and at least 2x they didn't bring coffee with the dessert.

 

In our experience ... we have generally had a better dining experience with assigned time.

[guxu]

It's been said again and again you can choose your wait staff in ATD. But there are still people claiming it's a con for ATD:confused:.

 

The best witress we ever had on Carnival ships was in ATD.

[Soupernerd]

I had anytime dining on my first cruise and have selected again for my upcoming cruise. Last time I never had to wait for a table, even one night where we ate later than usual. We had different waitstaff but were seated in the same general area each night for dinner. I love the option of eating whenever because sometimes I like to take naps or don't get hungry until later. This time I plan on eating later because on my last cruise I never found the sushi bar and I never even saw the Buffett open! I was always there when it was closed.

[momof4girls]

Are you sailing with kids?

 

my cons-- the waitstaff never gets to know the kids likes and dislikes. Having traditional seating the kids drinks will always be waiting there for them the next night.

 

if the kids participate in the camp programs-- they will be late to some of the earlier activiities. Camps start back up at 7pm. Sitting at traditional seating they will be done by 7:30

 

I sailed with my four kids this past cruise, and we had ATD. Our servers were awesome with them! Guess it depends on the waitstaff (which could be said for any kind of dining). Our head server made my youngest dd this little ring out of a dollar bill. So cute and tiny! She had him wrapped around her little finger and could do no wrong. He brought her all kinds of extras and remembered that she always needed ketchup, no matter what she ordered. :) His asst. always had my other younger dd as his dancing partner. He would be sure to say hi to her, even if he was in other areas of the ship. She cried when we said goodbye to him. :( And they would always remember what we had planned for our days, and never hesitated to ask about it when we got to dinner. I honestly wish they could know just how special they made this cruise for us, especially our girls. :)

[serene56]

It's been said again and again you can choose your wait staff in ATD. But there are still people claiming it's a con for ATD:confused:.

 

The best witress we ever had on Carnival ships was in ATD.

 

in the three times we tried anytime dining we were told we can request the same wait staff BUT if the table just sat with a party your wait can be long.

 

They will NOT hold your table until you arrive.

 

Last time we tried was on the LEgend. We wanted the same wait staff. We were told to show up in line at 5:45 to make sure we got what we wanted.

3 nights out of the 7 someone else always got there before we did. One of those 3 nights we had our party sit at two different booths as all tables for 8 were taken by 6pm. (kinda defeated the purpose of anytime dining)

 

I also want to state that members here represent less then 3% of the cruising public.

[Sailor_Sally]

The last two cruises we did ATD. We always got a table for two but they are so close to the next tables that we had conversations with our neighbors .We never waited for a table and the service was fine. Since They have added so many booths I do not want to chance fixed dining & be with the couple from he--.

[tropicaledrink]

We did ATD for the first time on the Dream in 2011, and signed up for it again for our sailing in 2 weeks.

 

Pros (in addition to all of the above mentioned):

* I have a severe allergy, so much so that I can' be seated next to some people consuming certain items. When it's just me an DH sailing, we do ATD so we don't have to worry about my allergy affecting someone else's dining experience.

 

CON:

NOT IDEAL for large groups. I would say 4-6 is about the max size group for ATD. There is no guarantee on table size or that your tables will even be close to one another.

 

When sailing with family/friends/people we know: Assigned Dining

Just me and DH: ATD (we can always choose to sit with a group on nights that the menu doesn't include items with my allergen).

[Cruizinman]

Pros , table for two, 5:45 earlier than early dining ,6:00 which at one time was Honorable to Platinum members.

 

Cons , good chance your request will not be honored :rolleyes:

[Seago2]

On Carnival, where the waiters are so central to the experience, it's more fun to have set eating times with the same wait staff each night. Otherwise, any time dining wins out by a landslide. You never have to wait, you can sit alone or with a large group, and you can meet new people at every meal. By the end of the cruise you have met a hundred people you otherwise would not have met. Love it.

[Archie796]

We always do ATD, on any line that offers it. We don't particularly like the artificial socializing forced by set dining times at set tables. It's not that we're anti-social, but I'm not a fan of small-talk and the whole "let's be best buddies for the next week or so". If we feel like socializing, we can still request a larger table (we don't, usually). Neither do I feel the need to become besties with the servers, though if we find one we particularly like, we may request that section at subsequent dinners.

We do like being able to eat when we're hungry and find it much more relaxing if we don't have to adhere to a set schedule to eat (there's enough of that with meeting tours, etc.), or risk keeping the rest of the table waiting if we fail to notify someone that we've decided to eat at an alternate dining venue.

 

This is an excellent example of how we feel, we just could never had put it into words the way you did.

 

Thanks, and my post is: ditto

[mreepat]

Interesting perspective.

[kathy884]

When we cruise it's usually with a large extended family group. That makes MDR dining at a set time ideal. No coordinating with a zillion people about when to eat. No waiting for a really big table where we all can sit together or having to split up. It's the one time of day that everyone sees everyone else -- so much fun. And we do like getting to know our wait staff. // Just saying that if you are cruising with a large group I think a set time works really well.

[Ours91]

We love ATD. We don't like being tied down to going to dinner at a specific time.

[Cuizer2]

Thinking about switching to anytime dining. We have never done this before. Family of 4. What are the pros/cons?

 

Pro - eat when you want.

 

Con - you have to decide on when you are going to eat. That means everybody will have to remember that time. If someone forgets the agreed upon time, that can through off your schedule. If it is a popular time, you might have to wait before being seated.

 

Con - shows run based on the set time dinner schedule. So, if you want to see a show, you have to match the set schedule time anyway.

 

Con - you do not have the same wait staff every night, so they don't get to know what you like. Also, since they will not see you every night the service falls off (they are not dependent on only you for the tips).

 

Possible con - depending on the make up of your group, you might have to get everyone to agree on the dining time (not always easy).

[wmowan8485]

Had ATD with no problems or wait times on the Miracle in Dec. It was just my DD and I so we opted for a table for 2 and usually showed up around 7pm. I did notice that large parties had to wait for a table.

 

Now we have a family reunion cruise coming up in August that we have set dining time for. :)

[arpie05]

Con - have to be done in time for kids activities so cant start too much later than early dinner time.

Con-when early they do a great job with kids looking out for them because they are ting you. With ATD you get random waiter until after 3-4 days then u can request who you like.

Con- the waiters ATD are lower on dining totem pole than set dining / less experienced so not as good. Maybe newer on the ship and don't have the relationship with kitchen.

 

We hated it the one time did it 3-4 yrs ago but giving it a try again because Dream has the Taste bar and I'd like to check it out on way to dinner.

[arpie05]

Sorry ... They know they are expecting you. Not ting you.