Anytime Dining pagers work in cabins?

[belle2]

We used anytime dining on our last carnival cruise and we were told the pagers worked anywhere except the cabins. I'm wondering if they really will work in the cabins but they would rather you be out and about on the ship spending money!?!?!

 

I'd like to hear from someone who has actually taken the pager to the cabin and had it alert you that the table was ready. Thanks!!!

 

 

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[Muumuu]

Good question. I would like to know also.

Anyone?

[RWolver672]

There probably hasn't been anybody that tried it for fear of it not going off and then they would miss their meal or have to start over again.

[okgirl]

I hope that they don't work in the cabins.

 

It's bad enough when you have to wait for a table in the 1st place, but then to have that wait extended because some idiot who is in line in front of you has decided to go back to their cabin possibly many decks away and you have an additional wait for them to saunter back to the DR.

 

It's not that big of a deal to just go sit at a bar or in a nearby lounge area waiting your turn. You don't have to spend any money, and to suggest that Carnival is trying to get more money out of you is silly..

 

I say if the pager isn't responded to within 5 minutes the hostess should move on to the next person. And the person who missed their page goes to the end of the line.

[JRosamonda]

I'm confused.. I thought anytime dining you just show up and wait in line. Unfortunately we always prefer early dining and we are wait listed. Are we better off doing anytime and showing up at 5?

[belle2]

I hope that they don't work in the cabins.

 

 

 

It's bad enough when you have to wait for a table in the 1st place, but then to have that wait extended because some idiot who is in line in front of you has decided to go back to their cabin possibly many decks away and you have an additional wait for them to saunter back to the DR.

 

 

 

It's not that big of a deal to just go sit at a bar or in a nearby lounge area waiting your turn. You don't have to spend any money, and to suggest that Carnival is trying to get more money out of you is silly..

 

 

 

I say if the pager isn't responded to within 5 minutes the hostess should move on to the next person. And the person who missed their page goes to the end of the line.

 

 

There is really no need to be hateful and call me an idiot. I just asked a simple question. And if you think Carnival isn't trying to get every penny out of you that they can....well, I'll let you figure that out:) going to my cabin would be no further away our take any longer than it would if I was sitting at a bar on Lido.

 

If you don't have something nice to say then don't say it. If you read a post and can't add something to it that us beneficial then ignore it and move on. Let's keep Cruise Critic a positive and enjoyable atmosphere. If you don't like waiting for a table with anytime dining Carnival offers two other dining times with no wait whatsoever. That sounds like it would be more suitable for you since waiting seems to make you want to call people names:)

 

 

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[belle2]

I'm confused.. I thought anytime dining you just show up and wait in line. Unfortunately we always prefer early dining and we are wait listed. Are we better off doing anytime and showing up at 5?

 

 

I would suggest if you like to eat early to get in line for anytime dining right when it opens or just before. We did that twice and were seated right away:) you can show up at anytime but if it is a peak time and the tables are full you will be given a pager and an approximate wait time. It's just like a restaurant. Once we had a 40 minute wait and another time the line for a pager was all the way through the lobby! But if we got there as soon as it opened we were fine. Just for some background: we were a party of 3 and we were on a cruise that left the day after Christmas so it was a very busy cruise:)

 

 

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[PortSideCruzan]

 

We used anytime dining on our last carnival cruise and we were told the pagers worked anywhere except the cabins. I'm wondering if they really will work in the cabins but they would rather you be out and about on the ship spending money!?!?!

 

I'd like to hear from someone who has actually taken the pager to the cabin and had it alert you that the table was ready. Thanks!!!

 

 

Hi Belle :)

 

The pagers certainly do work in cabins. In fact, it was during our last Princess voyage

where my wife & I were given a pager, and were told it would be a 30 to 45 minute wait

(1st evening sail-away, backed up kitchen) and we decided to wait on our balcony of our

stateroom with the pager, the sea, and a glass of wine.

 

 

 

:)

[JRosamonda]

Thank you Belle. We area party of 4 two adults and two children but often for dinner it is just my husband and I. Last cruise we pretty much showed up anytime and they sat us regardless of whether it was early seating or late being we were scheduled early.:)

[okgirl]

There is really no need to be hateful and call me an idiot. I just asked a simple question. And if you think Carnival isn't trying to get every penny out of you that they can....well, I'll let you figure that out:) going to my cabin would be no further away our take any longer than it would if I was sitting at a bar on Lido.

 

If you don't have something nice to say then don't say it. If you read a post and can't add something to it that us beneficial then ignore it and move on. Let's keep Cruise Critic a positive and enjoyable atmosphere. If you don't like waiting for a table with anytime dining Carnival offers two other dining times with no wait whatsoever. That sounds like it would be more suitable for you since waiting seems to make you want to call people names:)

 

 

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First I didn't call you an idiot, I simply think it's an idiotic idea and a further example of the me me attitude that too many cruisers seem to have.

 

Furthermore I find it unreasonable for anyone to go all the way up to the Lido deck to wait for a pager signal when the dining rooms are all on deck 3 and/or 4......there are plenty of places to go wait that are nearby and wouldn't cause a further delay in seating other guests who are also waiting their turn to be paged.

 

I actually don't mind a short wait for anytime dining. And over the past 8 or 10 cruises where I've used YTD, I've only had a pager 2 times and both times I just sat in the Lobby until the pager went off which was only about 5 minutes.

 

It would and does annoy me when other guests seem to take no notice of how their actions might inconvenience someone else. And this is one of those situations.

 

And Carnival can't get a penny out of me if I'm not a willing participant. I'm not a mark that is vulnerable to subtle marketing tactics.

[belle2]

Hi Belle :)

 

The pagers certainly do work in cabins. In fact, it was during our last Princess voyage

where my wife & I were given a pager, and were told it would be a 30 to 45 minute wait

(1st evening sail-away, backed up kitchen) and we decided to wait on our balcony of our

stateroom with the pager, the sea, and a glass of wine.

 

 

 

:)

 

 

Thank you so much! That is just the information I was looking for! We had a 40 minute wait once which was fine, but it would have been nice to enjoy that wait on our balcony. I appreciate your feedback:)

 

 

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[belle2]

Thank you Belle. We area party of 4 two adults and two children but often for dinner it is just my husband and I. Last cruise we pretty much showed up anytime and they sat us regardless of whether it was early seating or late being we were scheduled early.:)

 

 

You are so welcome, hope that info helps! How nice they were able to seat you right away:)

 

 

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[Vitamin_Sea]

Why in the world would you go back to the room if you are waiting for a table?

 

Takes maybe 20 mins to be seated

 

it has nothing to do with spending money

 

they want u near the restaurant when the pager calls u

Edited February 14, 2014 by limoguy1

[RWolver672]

Hi Belle :)

 

The pagers certainly do work in cabins. In fact, it was during our last Princess voyage

where my wife & I were given a pager, and were told it would be a 30 to 45 minute wait

(1st evening sail-away, backed up kitchen) and we decided to wait on our balcony of our

stateroom with the pager, the sea, and a glass of wine.

 

 

 

:)

 

Thank you so much! That is just the information I was looking for! We had a 40 minute wait once which was fine, but it would have been nice to enjoy that wait on our balcony. I appreciate your feedback:)

 

 

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Do realize that the answer they gave you was from Princess cruise lines. It may be completely different on Carnival.

[belle2]

First I didn't call you an idiot, I simply think it's an idiotic idea and a further example of the me me attitude that too many cruisers seem to have.

 

 

 

Furthermore I find it unreasonable for anyone to go all the way up to the Lido deck to wait for a pager signal when the dining rooms are all on deck 3 and/or 4......there are plenty of places to go wait that are nearby and wouldn't cause a further delay in seating other guests who are also waiting their turn to be paged.

 

 

 

I actually don't mind a short wait for anytime dining. And over the past 8 or 10 cruises where I've used YTD, I've only had a pager 2 times and both times I just sat in the Lobby until the pager went off which was only about 5 minutes.

 

 

 

It would and does annoy me when other guests seem to take no notice of how their actions might inconvenience someone else. And this is one of those situations.

 

 

 

And Carnival can't get a penny out of me if I'm not a willing participant. I'm not a mark that is vulnerable to subtle marketing tactics.

 

 

Must have been a miscommunication on my part, please accept my apology. Thank you for clearing that up for me:)

 

 

 

 

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Edited February 14, 2014 by belle2

[PortSideCruzan]

Hi Belle :)

 

The pagers certainly do work in cabins. In fact, it was during our last Princess voyage

where my wife & I were given a pager, and were told it would be a 30 to 45 minute wait

(1st evening sail-away, backed up kitchen) and we decided to wait on our balcony of our

stateroom with the pager, the sea, and a glass of wine.

 

:)

 

 

Thank you so much! That is just the information I was looking for! We had a 40 minute wait once which was fine,

but it would have been nice to enjoy that wait on our balcony. I appreciate your feedback:)

 

 

Hi Belle :)

 

Your welcome, no problem. Took us all of 2 to 3 minutes to get from our balcony

to our table. By reading some of the (uptight) reply's to your post it is clear they don't

realize situations & people are going to vary depending on circumstance.

 

In our situation, it was the first evening, sail-away, with a backed up kitchen and an

extremely crowded overflow of people waiting, mingling around, and no seats to be found.

1st evenings, (turnaround day) can often be quite hectic.

 

We told the hostess that we were going to wait on our balcony because of the overwhelming

crowd in the lobby, she replied with, "Oh no problem, see you soon".

 

 

:)

[PortSideCruzan]

 

Do realize that the answer they gave you was from Princess cruise lines. It may be completely different on Carnival.

 

Hi :)

 

Yes, I do..

 

Oh my, I hope the post here does not get turned into a 'Princess pagers are

stronger than Carnivals post', hahahahaha!!!

 

I can see it now, LOL!

 

Princess was simply the last voyage where my wife & I took a pager to the cabin. We

have done this on Carnival as well in the past & the pager worked fine.

I should have been more clear.

 

:)

Edited February 14, 2014 by PortSideCruzan

[carrieluvsgreg]

I'm confused.. I thought anytime dining you just show up and wait in line. Unfortunately we always prefer early dining and we are wait listed. Are we better off doing anytime and showing up at 5?

 

 

We've been doing anytime dining since 2010 and have never received a pager. That said, we arrive early each night to the dining room. When it's just my husband and me we are willing to sit "wherever" but with our kids we ask for a table for 4. We have been on almost every class with anytime dining and it's been great!

 

 

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[mousey]

I'm confused.. I thought anytime dining you just show up and wait in line. Unfortunately we always prefer early dining and we are wait listed. Are we better off doing anytime and showing up at 5?

 

Just a little tip...most of the time your ticket shows you as being wait listed but you will most likely get what you asked for. Our boarding passes always show us as being wait listed...but we've never not gotten our usual "Late Seating" choice.

[bluemarie2]

Thank you Belle. We area party of 4 two adults and two children but often for dinner it is just my husband and I. Last cruise we pretty much showed up anytime and they sat us regardless of whether it was early seating or late being we were scheduled early.:)

 

Wow, so you were scheduled for early dining, but just showed up whenever you felt like going to dinner? Imagine what it would be like if everyone decided to do that.

[sparks1093]

Why in the world would you go back to the room if you are waiting for a table?

 

Takes maybe 20 mins to be seated

 

it has nothing to do with spending money

 

they want u near the restaurant when the pager calls u

 

We received a pager once on NCL on the last night and were told it would be 30 minutes, so we went back to the cabin to do some packing. Pager worked fine and it didn't take us that long to make it to the MDR.

[falkcor]

Just a little tip...most of the time your ticket shows you as being wait listed but you will most likely get what you asked for. Our boarding passes always show us as being wait listed...but we've never not gotten our usual "Late Seating" choice.

 

fwiw, i think late dining is the least 'in demand'. more people opt for 'early' or 'your time dining'. so i wouldn't be surprised if you always got that.

 

not to question your experience at all, i just think that is the qualifying factor :)

[winddawn]

Wow! I think all this cold, snowy weather has got some folks in a bad mood. I think a cruise would be a perfect solution to that. It is hard to believe how a simple benign question became such a noxious conversation.

 

Here's to civility!

[belle2]

I know right?!?!?! Lol!