Anytime Dining Question

[cambriah]

Hi:

 

We recently booked a California Coastal cruise with Princess, and fo the first time selected Anytime dining.We thought it would give us a bit more flexibility as to when we wanted to dine each night.

 

Does anyone know if you can make reservations a day or two in advance with Anytime dining, or do you simply show up and hope for the best?

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Cambriah

[pusywillow]

Hi:

 

We recently booked a California Coastal cruise with Princess, and fo the first time selected Anytime dining.We thought it would give us a bit more flexibility as to when we wanted to dine each night.

 

Does anyone know if you can make reservations a day or two in advance with Anytime dining, or do you simply show up and hope for the best?

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

Cambriah

 

Depends on the ship. You call in the morning to make a reservation for that evening. Sometimes they will let you have a standing reservation for the whole cruise, but then if you want that, you might as well do traditional.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree it depends on the ship.

Kind of defeats the purpose to make a res in anytime dining.

Why not do traditional?

[Potstech]

No reservation is needed. If you want just go to the Anytime Dining Room and they will seat you at a table. On some ships reservations need to be made the same day and early in the morning. Just call the Dine Line listed on your phone. Have a great cruise and enjoy your meals.

[diane.in.ny]

I agree that the advantage of Any Time dining is just that ... and that includes not having to make a res in the a.m. for whatever time I =think= I may want to dine that night.

 

On the other hand, I have waited too long in too many Any Time dining lines. We now do Traditional

[paul929207]

Isn't making a reservation 1 or 2 days in advance defeating the purpose you had for signing up for AD?

[crusinpeg]

Isn't making a reservation 1 or 2 days in advance defeating the purpose you had for signing up for AD?

 

Not really..if you don't want to eat at the Traditional dining time.

[skynight]

 

Does anyone know if you can make reservations a day or two in advance with Anytime dining, or do you simply show up and hope for the best?

Thanks in advance!!

Cambriah

 

The direct answers are:

You can call the DINE line each morning and make a reservation for the evening.

Most ships only allow specific reservation times, for example 5:45, 6:00, 7:45 or 8:00. Most ships will not take a reservation for times outside of their set times.

The head waiter or maitre d' are the ones to speak with regarding multi- evening reservations. They are available. Tables to share are easier to get than tables for two.

My personal experience is that the dining room fills by around 6:00pm and doesn't start clearing until around 7:30pm. So it is more difficult to walk in at around 7pm. I have also experienced that the early dining times are more in demand. Those that wish to dine after 7:30pm normally can just walk in. But, with all that said each cruise has it's own passenger demographic and you have to 'feel' it out. A CA Coastal will most likely have a younger demographic that will enjoy dining later. We generally make reservations for the first few days and if we notice a partially empty DR we just walk in later in the cruise.

Your ship will have 3 DR's. The one on deck 6 aft is traditional early & late seating. One of the mid-ship DR's, usually the one on deck 6, is normally reserved for overflow early seating traditional dining and will open for ATD at 7:30. The Deck 5 DR opens at 5 or 5:30 for ATD, and remains open all evening.

 

Hope this information is helpful

[Nebr.cruiser]

We almost always do Anytime dining for the flexibility. Usually we decide when we want to eat according to what activities we want to do that evening and just go the the dining room at that time. Once in a while, if we really want a specific time due to other things going on, we call in for a reservation in the morning.

 

We seldom have any lines, partly because we rarely try to dine at the busiest hours. Usually after 7:30 or 8:00 it is easy to get right in. Earlier times might have a wait. We used to always take early traditional dining, but the last few years have realized we enjoy eating later and not rushing around to be ready for dinner at 5:30 or 6:00.

[satxdiver]

If you have TD and for some reason cannot make it to dinner at the appointed time, you need to notify your table mates so they don't wait for you to appear as a common courtesy. ATD relieves you of this task. The TD has set times which may conflict with evening activities that you want to do which means it is decision time. We used TD at first since that was all that was offered but when ATD was started we moved to ATD allowing us to eat dinner and still attend the evening activities we are interested. Prior reservations seem to be available on most ships including the ones we have been on. However they usually will not take reservations during the busy 6 to 7 PM dinner hour. After the initial rush (after 7 PM) reservations generally are not needed unless you have a late dining group on board the ship.

[richstowe]

Looking forward to my Regal cruise in March but I am starting to get a little nervous about my

AT dining choice. I realize that there is always a crush for the flexible dining option on all

cruise lines during "prime- time". Yet I'm reading that many "crash" AT when they don't want to

go to their set dining times . Additionally, on Celebrity you can make reservations prior to boarding .

 

How does this work on Princess. I understand you can't do this but can you make a

"standing reservation" How is this actually done . Through the Maitre'd ? Can you

make a reservation for the next night as you are leaving the dining room. Sknight,

you mention that "most ships only allow specific reservation times" by calling the DINE line.

So you can deal with the Maitre'd or the DINE line ?

Edited December 5, 2014 by richstowe

[caribill]

 

How does this work on Princess. I understand you can't do this but can you make a

"standing reservation" How is this actually done . Through the Maitre'd ? Can you

make a reservation for the next night as you are leaving the dining room.

 

Each ship (Maitre d') has its own policy, so everything you ask is possible, but it depends on the Maitre 'd.

 

Ask your headwaiter the first evening what is possible on your cruise.

[pablo222]

Isn't making a reservation 1 or 2 days in advance defeating the purpose you had for signing up for AD?

 

If you sign up for traditional, you are locked into specific times

-- like 5:30/6:15 and 8:15.

 

Perhaps 'one' would like to eat at 7:00pm every night.

[IECalCruiser]

I agree it depends on the ship.

Kind of defeats the purpose to make a res in anytime dining.

Why not do traditional?

I have some dietary restrictions and prefer to have the same waitstaff and head waiter when I eat in the DR. However, we only eat in the DR about 4-5 days per week. With reserved ATD our table in is not sitting empty on those nights reducing capacity as it would be if we had TD.

 

 

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[skynight]

Sknight,

you mention that "most ships only allow specific reservation times" by calling the DINE line.

So you can deal with the Maitre'd on the DINE line ?

 

No, when you call the DINE line you speak with a dining staff member (usually a waiter) that is assigned to man the DINE line. The Maitre'd has provided them with the specific reservation times. Any time outside of these times are just walk in. The person on the DINE Line can advise you regarding multi-evening reservations and standing reservations. They may or may not be able to arrange for them. You can also visit the DR on the first day and speak with the head waiter or maitre'd directly. They have hours for dining questions during the first afternoon. These hours are usually shown in the Princess Patter.

[shredie]

If you sign up for traditional, you are locked into specific times

-- like 5:30/6:15 and 8:15.

 

Perhaps 'one' would like to eat at 7:00pm every night.

 

I think that's the whole point of this thread, isn't it? "One" wants to eat at 7 pm every night, but the ATD lines are too long. So "one" shows up at 7 pm and stand in line until 7:30. What "one" wants and what "one" gets are two different things.

[IECalCruiser]

On of the other reasons we like ATD is that with a table for two we are done in 45-60 minutes because we don't order all courses and we don't need to wait for others at our table if we are in TD. On a cruise last year we were at a table for four with friends. They liked to order all courses and often two couples completed their dinners in the tables for two around us while we completed our dinner.

 

 

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Edited December 6, 2014 by IECalCruiser

[2pbears]

Sometimes they will let you have a standing reservation for the whole cruise, but then if you want that, you might as well do traditional.

 

Not really. Some of us don't mind a set dining time but early traditional dining is too early and late traditional dining is too late!

[Colo Cruiser]

I have some dietary restrictions and prefer to have the same waitstaff and head waiter when I eat in the DR. However, we only eat in the DR about 4-5 days per week. With reserved ATD our table in is not sitting empty on those nights reducing capacity as it would be if we had TD.

 

 

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I agree, thats why I tell people to see the MD with their special requests.

It would avoid frustration at the door at dining time.

[caribill]

On of the other reasons we like ATD is that with a table for two we are done in 45-60 minutes because we don't order all courses and we don't need to wait for others at our table if we are in TD. On a cruise last year we were at a table for four with friends. They liked to order all courses and often two couples completed their dinners in the tables for two around us while we completed our dinner.

 

If that is the case, simply tell your server you would like your courses to be served as soon as you are ready for them, not when others at the table are ready.

[Plant]

If that is the case, simply tell your server you would like your courses to be served as soon as you are ready for them, not when others at the table are ready.

 

Well, unless all manners have disappeared (which I'm sometimes convinced of), IMO it would be rude to not wait for your tablemate's to eat the same course at the same time.

 

We love Anytime Dining. We don't mind waiting for a table (it's never been more than 20 minutes) and sometimes we share a table, sometimes we have a table for two. When we share, we follow the "courses" rule. When alone we eat at our own pace.

 

Personally, I find making reservations for Anytime Dining to defeat the purpose. If you want to eat at the same time every night, use Traditional.

 

I've heard that Traditional Diner's have come to Anytime Dining, but that was in the beginning. Now they check your cruise card which shows which dining time you have.

[pmcue]

If you select Anytime Dining do you have to prepay gratuities? I know that is case on Celebrity so we have never tried it as we have had a lot of OBC and used that for gratuities.

 

Also, does anyone know if you are in Suite, can you make reservations for Anytime Dining?

 

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[paul929207]

On Princess with AD, you do not have to pre-pay tips

[Colo Cruiser]

If you select Anytime Dining do you have to prepay gratuities? I know that is case on Celebrity so we have never tried it as we have had a lot of OBC and used that for gratuities.

 

 

No they are all charged the same.

[AKman2495]

If that is the case, simply tell your server you would like your courses to be served as soon as you are ready for them, not when others at the table are ready.

 

Yeah, that's kind of tacky. Usually, people will finish the main course and then excuse themselves before dessert to catch a show or whatever. That is the gracious way to do it when seated with others.