Group of 13 at dinner

[SportsMomof4]

We are a group of 13 going on the Sunshine for New Years. Nine of us got early dining. Then 4 booked & got anytime dining. We all want to be together so if the group of 4 do not get 6:00 dining, the group of 9 will switch to anytime dining.

 

I have never had anytime. Do we go the same time every night? Will 1 table accommodate all 13 of us? Will we get the same table & waiters every night? I am really clueless how ATD works!

 

Thanks!

[KenMo]

ATD basically works like a land restaurant.

 

You go any time between 6pm - 9:15pm (or there abouts), the time will be posted in the Fun Times.

 

You do not have to go at the same time every night.

 

You can ask for the same wait team every night, but you might have to wait with that many people.

 

I'm pretty sure the largest table is a 12 top, I guess you could squeeze in 13, but it would be tight.

 

NYE cruise, the ship will be full. I wouldn't wait too long to switch to ATD. It's popular and you might not get it.

 

Are all of your reservations linked? That should put you all at the same dining time.

Edited August 2, 2014 by KenMo

[seashinesunshine]

If you are all on Anytime they will accomadate you to sit close. No table is big enough for 13, so you will have 2 tables next to each other, expect to wait though, unless you can make reservations, or have one person give them a heads up. You may find that not everyone wants to eat at the same time every night so you might go in smaller groups once in a while.

If you have assigned seating, I recommend the first thing you do is to make sure your tables are the same and next to each other. We were a group of 16, our reservations were supposed to be linked and we all had late dining. When we got our room cards and saw our tables we realized they had us at 3 very different tables. We went to the Maitre De right away and he switched us to 2 tables that seated 8 each. Worked out well, but if we had waited they might not have been able to switch things. This was before the days of ATD so all the seats were assigned.

Have fun and don't forget to do what we forgot to do. Take a group photo! My husband is a photographer, how did we forget that?? Luckily we had taken couples pics all at the same spot so a collage was fine.

[SportsMomof4]

ATD basically works like a land restaurant.

 

You go any time between 6pm - 9:15pm (or there abouts), the time will be posted in the Fun Times.

 

You do not have to go at the same time every night.

 

You can ask for the same wait team every night, but you might have to wait with that many people.

 

I'm pretty sure the largest table is a 12 top, I guess you could squeeze in 13, but it would be tight.

 

NYE cruise, the ship will be full. I wouldn't wait too long to switch to ATD. It's popular and you might not get it.

 

Are all of your reservations linked? That should put you all at the same dining time.

 

What are the chances the group of 4 will get early dining like my group of 9? Everyone would rather be set with the early dining than to worry about ATD.

 

They are linked now but the group of 9 booked months ago. The group of 4 only 2 weeks ago.

[cruise_girl2002]

What are the chances the group of 4 will get early dining like my group of 9? Everyone would rather be set with the early dining than to worry about ATD.

 

They are linked now but the group of 9 booked months ago. The group of 4 only 2 weeks ago.

 

If they can, switch it now! After anytime dining, early is the next most popular. And especially on new yeas, switching could be hard. Call your TA or carnival and make sure your bookings are linked

[sjcruiser]

We are a group of 13 going on the Sunshine for New Years. Nine of us got early dining. Then 4 booked & got anytime dining. We all want to be together so if the group of 4 do not get 6:00 dining, the group of 9 will switch to anytime dining.

 

I have never had anytime. Do we go the same time every night? Will 1 table accommodate all 13 of us? Will we get the same table & waiters every night? I am really clueless how ATD works!

 

Thanks!

 

If your cruise bookings are linked together, you can write John Heald on his blog or FB page, for help getting those assigned anytime dining switched to early. He was a tremendous help in getting my group changed from wait listed to late seating for our upcoming cruise. He advises against writing to the MaitreD's as they are not required to answer emails from passengers beforehand, although some have had luck with writing them directly.

 

On a previous cruise we had several tables on the Breeze put together to fit our party of 15 (banquette seating), which was great, as long as no one in the middle of the table on the banquette side needed to get out/leave. Hope everything works out for you, and enjoy your cruise!!!:)