Questions and suggestions for Your Time dining

[girlsjustwannacruise]

I bit the bullet and went ahead and changed over the your time dining. Hope this is a good choice. I just have a few questions.

 

1. the times are 5:45-9:30... does this mean you can ARRIVE at 9:30, or you need to be finished eating at 9:30?

 

2.What is the usual wait time? We are going in a group of 10, and I understand that sometimes we might need to be split up.. but whats the latest you have waited?

 

3. If my husband dresses first, can he go ahead of me... like only a few minutes ahead... and go ahead and get on the list??? Or do ALL members of the party need to be present in order to get the table??

 

4. Is the service comparable to the assigned seating? I really hope so..

 

any additional tips would be appreciated to make this go smoothly.

[girlsjustwannacruise]

Are there any times we should AVOID???? and what about on Elegant night, ill bet its more busy, yes?

[cb at sea]

With a group that large, I would arrange for reservations....large parties CAN be seated together, if they are ready for you! I would call ahead either that morning, or let them know the night before what time to expect your group.

 

I'm sure if you arrived PRIOR to 9:30, they would seat you, but it might be a rushed meal! Try to get there a bit earlier!!

 

The busiest times are in the 7-7:30 range...since Carnival doesn't enforce the "elegant" thing, it should be no busier than normal!

 

Yes...the dress code, menu and service are the same.

Edited June 5, 2014 by cb at sea

[beachbum53]

I bit the bullet and went ahead and changed over the your time dining. Hope this is a good choice. I just have a few questions.

 

1. the times are 5:45-9:30... does this mean you can ARRIVE at 9:30, or you need to be finished eating at 9:30?

 

2.What is the usual wait time? We are going in a group of 10, and I understand that sometimes we might need to be split up.. but whats the latest you have waited?

 

3. If my husband dresses first, can he go ahead of me... like only a few minutes ahead... and go ahead and get on the list??? Or do ALL members of the party need to be present in order to get the table??

 

4. Is the service comparable to the assigned seating? I really hope so..

 

any additional tips would be appreciated to make this go smoothly.

 

With a group of ten, you should probably make it a point to stop by the dining room soon after embarkation and talk to the Maitre D'. Let him know you have a large group, and that you have chosen Your Time Dining. Ask him what would be the best time to arrive, so that you don't have a long wait to be seated, and so that, if possible, you can all be seated together. In answer to question number 4, yes, the service is comparable to assigned dining. We chose Your Time Dining for our last cruise, and worked great for us. But then, it was just me and my wife. Also, we typically arrived at the MDR between 6:00 - 6:15, and never had a wait, and there was no line. By about 6:30, a line had started to form. I'm not sure if you can make a reservation, as cb at sea suggested, but you should definitely talk to the Maitre D'.

[minniegidget]

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[imluvncruzn]

After 15 cruises, just tried YTD for the first time last week on the Valor. We LOVED it! We were a group of 8 and never waited more than 5 minutes for a table. We went between 6:30 and 7:30 every night. The waiters we had were fantastic. Depending on what time you go you will still see the dancing/singing.

[Rosefloater]

With a group that large, I would arrange for reservations....large parties CAN be seated together, if they are ready for you! I would call ahead either that morning, or let them know the night before what time to expect your group.

 

Carnival won't let you reserve a table/tables for YTD. Most or all of the group needs to show up at the same time.

 

OP - Carnival might not be able to seat your whole group at the same table, but they will seat the group at adjoining tables which are about 6" apart.

[OCruisers]

1. the times are 5:45-9:30... does this mean you can ARRIVE at 9:30, or you need to be finished eating at 9:30? .

 

Not to worry! You only need to ARRIVE by 9:30!

LuLu

[WAHMto5]

The past 4 cruises we have had parties of 8-9 and have only had to wait one time dinner. They normally do ask if everyone is there before they seated us, which was never a problem for us since we all went together.

[TerReuv]

Don't forget that you can request the same waiters if you had a group you liked. If you go about the same time each night you are more than likely to get them. You will be given a choice to wait for them if there are no tables in their area ready or to go ahead and be seated in another area.

[girlsjustwannacruise]

hmmm...

 

sounds like it kinda defeats the purpose if you should "only" show up at certain times to not have long wait.

 

Also seems like that puts you going early or late...which would be the same as traditional seating.

 

And you can NOT make reservations??? is that correct??

 

I am really rethinking this whole thing. Not sure if it will be worth it or not. Dinner is long enough without long waits.

[ss70chev]

I tried YTD once and it was a nightmare. It has been a few years though. On elegant night we waited in line to get a pager. They ran out of pagers so we had to stand in line for the pager. We waited almost two hours and gave up and went to the steakhouse. It was not a pleasant experience. We now book late dining that way we are not rushed at port.

 

I also enjoy having the same waiter nightly.

[CruisinKibble]

I would never try to do YTD with a group that large.

 

1) You'll end up waiting and will likely be put at more than one table

2) Trying to decide one time for everyone to meet will be a pain

[Sue Do-Over]

We use YTD, but seem to end up there at the same time every night. We find that we're seated quickly if we arrive between 6-6:30, because the line gets long after 7pm.

 

For such a large group, you should establish a daily dinner time. That is, everyone arrives at the dining room at a set time each day, then you're not running around asking who's ready, or dragging people out of the casino. Also agree that you should link your bookings (your TA or PVP can do it) which creates a group that pops up together for the hostesses.

 

You might also choose to eat as the big group only on a couple of evenings, which also reduces the everyone-ready stress.

[Cruise life]

hmmm...

 

sounds like it kinda defeats the purpose if you should "only" show up at certain times to not have long wait.

 

Also seems like that puts you going early or late...which would be the same as traditional seating.

 

And you can NOT make reservations??? is that correct??

 

I am really rethinking this whole thing. Not sure if it will be worth it or not. Dinner is long enough without long waits.

 

 

I agree with a large group unless you all arrive at the same time, and early is best, you may wait. The largest we had was 8 and the one time we arrived 45 minutes after opening we ended up waiting over an hour to get our usual table. We enjoyed our waiters, though, and they made the week very special for us- it was an anniversary trip for my parents and the last night they really made my parents feel special. My dad tipped them right then and there while they sang Happy Anniversary.

Anyway, I am also rethinking YTD for our upcoming Sunshine cruise because I keep reading where on that ship you sign in on one floor and then enter on another! I have never seen this before. These are the kinds of things it would be nice to know about beforehand, especially with elderly or children along. Talked to my husband tonight about it and he is all for trying the assigned seating again, only now we need to decide which one. Probably will be early with kids.

 

 

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[girlsjustwannacruise]

I will let you all know how it turns out. Im just going with a laid back attitude.

[OnePsychLynne]

I also enjoy having the same waiter nightly.

 

You can request the same waiter for YTD. You just ask to be seated in their section when you arrive for dinner :)

 

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[GatorGirl57]

I normally cruise with just my DH and I and we get YTD so we can be flexible with when we eat and always get a two person table. I have cruised three times with family, and then we always do traditional dining. It will be very frustrating to get everyone together for dinner without it and then a long wait. Think of going to Olive Garden with two people or with 10 people - causes a different wait.

[bar1068]

hmmm...

 

sounds like it kinda defeats the purpose if you should "only" show up at certain times to not have long wait.

 

Also seems like that puts you going early or late...which would be the same as traditional seating.

 

And you can NOT make reservations??? is that correct??

 

I am really rethinking this whole thing. Not sure if it will be worth it or not. Dinner is long enough without long waits.

 

Well, with just about everything related to cruising, everyones milage differs. I've cruised twice with larger(more than just wife and I) groups..8 once..10 the other. Our groups chose ATD each time..we arrived at the dining room just about each night we ate there between 7-7:30..and never had to wait what to us, what were long waits...though for some, waiting 15 minutes is a long time...so depends on what you consider a "long wait"...I just know we never waited very long at all.

 

RCCL does reservations for ATD...not that, that is a bad thing...but I think reservations also sort of defeat the purpose of ATD..but thats just me.

 

Plus...if you are in MDR prior to 9:30...they do serve you.

[Big-Will]

Had a group of 8 and never once did we have to wait...

[girlsjustwannacruise]

Sounds like mixed answers but i guess there are many factors that can change the wait times.

[pizza123]

Just off the Sunshine and we had YTD. You check in on floor 5 by the Taste Bar, some nights there was no wait others we had about 40 minutes. They give you a pager and you can have a little appetizer at the Taste Bar, listen to music in either the Red Frog or The Plaza and have a drink at the Alchemy Bar while you wait. Then the dining room was a short walk to the elevator or stairs to floor 3.

[ibcnusoon]

We were a party of 6 with YTD and never had to wait for a table, we usually dined about 6:30pm.

 

On another cruise, my DD and I arrived about 9:20pm for YTD and we were seated right away, orders quickly taken and food came out fast. I believe if you arrive by 9:30pm, they will seat you.