YTD vs. set dining....pros and cons

[1gr8cruise]

Can anybody tell me if the waiters still do the dances and such with YTD like they do with the traditional set times? I sincerely apologize if this question has already been answered somewhere else and I missed it.

 

We saw them do it at the YTD a few years back....it can be hectic for them because everyone is at different stages of dining.......

[hftmrock]

Can anybody tell me if the waiters still do the dances and such with YTD like they do with the traditional set times? I sincerely apologize if this question has already been answered somewhere else and I missed it.

 

they do

[pointybubble]

We have done set dining many times, but tried YTD on our last Breeze cruise. We really missed the set dining, and in fact the teenage boy in our group who very rarely has planning opinions asked one thing when we booked: "We aren't doing YTD again are we??"

 

Our experience was pretty lousy. We are a group of five ADULTS, yet they kept trying to seat us as a table for four and pulling up a chair. We found this to be very uncomfortable the first night and despite multiple requests they continued to attempt to seat us this way and we had to ask again once they brought us to the table most nights. I don't feel like we should have to constantly ask to have spots at the table for each of us without being on top of each other!!

 

Another odd thing was they were in such a rush to seat us "quickly" that the table was never properly set. We were always missing things and having to ask for them...one time bread with no butter, the next night butter with no bread, missing plates and silverware...we have never encountered this with set dining.

 

The random times that they stopped everything to sing and dance was really, really awkward with YTD as well. During set dining they can do it between courses, usually after the main course I think. With YTD we ran into it before ordering...during dinner...or when we were trying to leave, and one night never saw it.

 

The plan for us was to find a good server and request them the rest of the trip. We didn't find one that we even liked until about the 4th night, and when we went back to request him the hostess gave us a hard time. They told us he was too busy, and even though we didn't mind waiting they really tried to push us into another server. After insisting we would wait they sat us before he was ready anyway, which he didn't seem to appreciate and that made us feel bad.

 

One final thing I would note is that my family gets along a little easier when there is a certain time we have to be ready by. Eliminates arguing. My parents who cruise with us especially might not get ready until the last minute making it very difficult for us to get to shows on time afterward. If you travel with people who take their sweet time to get ready and have to be pried out of the room, you will know what I'm talking about. We love that no matter what separate ways we go during the day, we can all meet up at a specific time for dinner.

 

In the end we missed the organization of the set time dining and would never do YTD again. YMMV.

Edited April 24, 2014 by pointybubble

[fishtaco]

On my next couple cruises, the times are listed as;

 

Dining Time:Your Time 5:45-9:30

 

It was the same when I did YTD but has anyone ever got in to eat after 9pm:confused:

[goduckies05]

I did set time dining on the miracle and since it was done so late I missed karaoke most nights... plus I did it as a solo. We had an 8 top with three people and half the time I was the only one showing up. Doing anytime this time.

 

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[Ehpride]

that wasnt clear in your original statement. sorry.

 

 

Somehow to me, ytd seems a little too much like eating out at home. I like building relationships over the course of a cruise and not having to introduce yourself to new tablemates every night. We can all just jump right in with what we did that day.

 

 

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[Tammycm]

I'm really unsure what to do after reading this thread. My husband and I are cruising for the first time in July. While I dislike the idea of being on a schedule, I'm afraid my husband who is the worlds best procrastinator would wait until its too late to eat in the MDR or I would be nagging him to go. We are usually quiet and shy and probably would enjoy eating by ourselves, especially since our sea day is also our anniversary. However, at dinner at a big table is probably the only place I would strike up a conversation with a stranger. I'm so torn as to what to do. ( I also tend to worry too much 😊)

 

 

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Edited April 24, 2014 by Tammycm

[Linda the Book Lover]

I'm really unsure what to do after reading this thread. My husband and I are cruising for the first time in July. While I dislike the idea of being on a schedule, I'm afraid my husband who is the worlds best procrastinator would wait until its too late to eat in the MDR or I would be nagging him to go. We are usually quiet and shy and probably would enjoy eating by ourselves, especially since our sea day is also our anniversary. However, at dinner at a big table is probably the only place I would strike up a conversation with a stranger. I'm so torn as to what to do. ( I also tend to worry too much 😊)

 

 

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Don't worry about the anniversary night--make reservations in a speciality restaurant. There is always the buffet or cabin service if you miss dinner...don't worry you will be fine which ever dining you choose.

[Eimmat]

Thank you for your responses to my question! :)

[bluesman0711]

It was the same when I did YTD but has anyone ever got in to eat after 9pm:confused:

 

Sorry, we usually go fairly early and like YTD to have a table for two. I'm sure you could go as late as 9:30 since that is the advertised time.

 

One thing I am surprised by is the number of large groups that choose YTD and then have to wait for a table big enough to accommodate them. They would come at the same time each evening so it would seem assigned dining would have been better for them.

[katiel53]

We have done YTD on a few cruises and I have mixed feelings about it. Our first time we found a wait staff we really liked so requested them every night. Without a doubt, no matter if we went at 6 or 7 or later, we were given a pager and had to wait 30 minutes several times. This was on Dream and there were 4 of us. We were always seated in a booth overlooking the first floor dining room. Great table, great service, but hated the wait.

 

Second time we were traveling alone so we asked for a table for 2. The tables were so close together, it felt as though we were sitting at a table for 6. The people next to us on one side were having dessert when we arrived and the other side was on the entree. I felt as though we were at a dinner party, but we showed up late.

 

We tried one more time and asked to be seated in a booth. We were told those tables were for 4 people and unless we came into the dining room after 8:30, we couldn't sit in one. We did that one night and we had the worst waiter we have ever had. A butter dish had no butter. No rolls were given to us. We waited at least 20 minutes to order dessert and finally decided to just leave. That was the last time we tried the YTD.

 

Our last Carnival cruises have been late dining at a table for 2 and we loved it. I don't think we will ever do YTD on Carnival again. I guess we were spoiled by Royal Caribbean where we were able to make reservations nightly and our table was waiting for us. No being stuck at a tiny table with others almost seated so close that every word we said was heard by people sitting next to us.

[KroozNut]

We only do Traditional dinning, in fact it is a deal breaker for us! I cancelled a RCCL cruise because they only had YTD places left!

 

We have always had late dinner 8.15-8.30 and although only 2 of us we request an 8 or 10 topper, this way we meet others

 

We started cruising when Traditional dinning was the only option and now it has become part of cruising.

 

We did MTD/YTD once and didnt like it.

 

If I needed to eat dinner early like some do then I think MTD/YTD would be a better option because the time isnt set and you are not rushed out of the dinning room to fit in the next seating like traditional dinning.

 

I am not sure why people need to eat early in MDR other than kids and shows because the same food is in the buffet as in MDR anyway so you can grab a snack early and then eat late.

 

We also do not do shows so can have a relaxed dinner every night until 10-10.30.

 

If you eat dinner late every night then MTD/YTD is of no advantage because late traditional time is Basicly the latest MTD/YTD time as well.

 

Couldn't agree more... traditional dining for us every time!