Golden Princess Anytime Dining NOT!

[jbobst]

I doubt Princess would ever consider this as it would be taking a step back from the competition.

 

I don't believe this to be the case. They could easily market it (advertise) about how you won't ever have a wait and they could emphasis the personal level of service you will get with the same wait staff each night. I am not a marketing person, but I am sure they could spin it in a positive light. Heck, I think it would be positive just by going back to traditional without any spin! Besides, they could also emphasize that there still IS anytimedining available "when you want it" at all the other venue's (Buffet, Pizza/Grill station, International Cafe, Alfredo's, Sabatini's and Crown Grill). That is a good amount of additional dining options for "anytime" in my opinion.

Edited December 8, 2014 by jbobst

[Colo Cruiser]

I don't believe this to be the case. They could easily market it (advertise) about how you won't ever have a wait and they could emphasis the personal level of service you will get with the same wait staff each night. I am not a marketing person, but I am sure they could spin it in a positive light. Heck, I think it would be positive just by going back to traditional without any spin! Besides, they could also emphasize that there still IS anytimedining available "when you want it" at all the other venue's (Buffet, Pizza/Grill station, International Cafe, Alfredo's, Sabatini's and Crown Grill). That is a good amount of additional dining options for "anytime" in my opinion.

 

 

Yes anything is possible but I would not hold your breath. People want flexibility in all venue's not just a select few.

[piper28]

If anything I would expect traditional dining to be more likely to go away than to come back as a complete takeover. Personally, if it went to traditional only dining, I'd find another cruise line (I suffer it on the small ships, but there's no good reason those ships can't be anytime too).

 

What they really need to do is stop this nonsense of reserving one of the anytime dining rooms for traditional dining.

[shredie]

 

What they really need to do is stop this nonsense of reserving one of the anytime dining rooms for traditional dining.

 

It's only half the dining room, actually. They do it because there are more people asking for early TD than can fit in the regular TD dining room. I think that suggests people really do like TD.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...there are more people asking for early TD than can fit in the regular TD dining room. I think that suggests people really do like TD.

 

They do, and also some (like me) have realized that Princess doesn't do ATD well, so have gone back to TD.

[grandmaa]

It's only half the dining room, actually. They do it because there are more people asking for early TD than can fit in the regular TD dining room. I think that suggests people really do like TD.

 

So, If only half of the early Traditional Dining room that is supposed to be for Anytime Dining is filled as you are stating why don't they let Anytime Diners into that dining room and be seated for dinner and alleviate part of the problem?

[waltd]

They do, and also some (like me) have realized that Princess doesn't do ATD well, so have gone back to TD.

 

I agree with you. Princess was never really setup for ATD. Unlike NCL that has many smaller dining venues and many more options for one to choose from. Princess has, what, 3 or 4 dining rooms. When you have the majority of people that want to eat early Princess cannot accommodate everyone. Just won't work. Maybe with new builds they will add a few more , free, dining options so there are more choices for the ATD crowd.

[shredie]

So, If only half of the early Traditional Dining room that is supposed to be for Anytime Dining is filled as you are stating why don't they let Anytime Diners into that dining room and be seated for dinner and alleviate part of the problem?

 

They DO let them in. When we had early TD on the Star last summer, we were in the midship dining room (not the aft dining room on deck 6 reserved for TD only) they were escorting AT diners in and seating them while we were having our traditional dinner. That's why I say half the room is still ATD.

[Greyhound3]

People want flexibility in all venue's not just a select few.

 

Thinking along that line, I wonder if we'll be seeing "Anytime Muster Drill" next? :D

 

You could only do that with Grand, Golden, Star ... starting with

Carribbean and an extra deck, there are not enough seats.

 

I saw this statement six hours ago and I still can't get my head around it - didn't this little detail dawn on anyone?

 

Out of curiosity, would you happen to know the (approximate) total seating capacity of the three MDRs?

 

 

Grey

[pablo222]

I saw this statement six hours ago and I still can't get my head around it - didn't this little detail dawn on anyone?

 

I think the intent is to flip the anytime tables more than twice.

They can really do this with 2-tops, which proceed faster than

larger tables.

 

On Emerald, they had a couple gents roving the anytime dining room

-- resetting tables as soon as they were vacated, so that new

people could be seated.

[caribill]

Out of curiosity, would you happen to know the (approximate) total seating capacity of the three MDRs?

 

 

 

About 1300 total

[greenie082756]

Absolutely nothing new. Anytime has been like this since it was first implemented on the Grand Princess years ago. Princess allows Traditional diners to go to Anytime and as long as they allow this, Anytime will be poorly managed when compared to other cruise lines.

 

Agree. My DH and I on the Ruby last November had Anytime dining and they checked his card every time we were met at the dining room entrance.

 

We ate anywhere from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm and never had an issue. We also were willing to sit at a table for 6 or 8.

 

On the first night of a cruise however we usually eat later as we know everyone wants to experience the dining room. Usually as the cruise goes on, the lines become less as the newness is over with.

[laikanuki]

I like to eat later, after 8pm at earliest. Hardly ever have to wait in ATD. Moral - eat late no wait.

[Bimmer09]

I like to eat later, after 8pm at earliest. Hardly ever have to wait in ATD. Moral - eat late no wait.

 

Ditto-plus making a reservation helps get you into the MDR quickly.

 

Norris

[san diego sue]

The biggest problem in the anytime dining venues is:

People request to sit in the same table every night once they find a server they like and at the same time. On some cruises it becomes mostly fixed dining. those that line up don't have a prayer

getting seated. If that request is not met, (and those should just take Fixed dining in the venue where this happens.)more seating for those who abide by the rules.HEAD WAITERS in Anytime dining rooms are to blame.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

The biggest problem in the anytime dining venues is:

People request to sit in the same table every night once they find a server they like and at the same time. On some cruises it becomes mostly fixed dining. those that line up don't have a prayer

getting seated. If that request is not met, (and those should just take Fixed dining in the venue where this happens.)more seating for those who abide by the rules.HEAD WAITERS in Anytime dining rooms are to blame.

 

This, like many policies on Princess, seems to vary from ship to ship. When I was on the Golden last fall, I was told by the maître d' that there would be no reservations taken, period, for ATD passengers that cruise.

[RocketMan275]

We just cruised the Regal Nov 23rd sailing and had ATD. Other cruiselines we have sailed on Holland, NCL, RCL, DCL, Carnival, etc. none suffer from Princess inept ability to properly manage ATD. We twice were told to wait one hour. No free glass of champs like NCL does (granted it not great, but it's the gesture), and we have cruised every thanksgiving for the last 8 years or so. So yes, the ships are more crowded we get it.

 

 

End of rant. I clearly voiced my opinion on the survey emailed. I am sure it's falling on def ears. But in the end, I would highly suggest to never do ATD on Princess. Reservations IMHO are not helpful, at 8am in the morning I won't know what time I will be hungry for dinner.

 

Don't you have to know what time you'll be hungry if you have Traditional, Early or Late, Dining?

[shredie]

Don't you have to know what time you'll be hungry if you have Traditional, Early or Late, Dining?

 

DH is Mr. Predictable and always eats at the same time every night. Hungry isn't an issue. :D

[peety3]

Sadly, I think it really comes down to logistics. On the Grand-series ships with three dining rooms (aka not the Diamond/Sapphire with one big plus four half-size DRs), Princess seems to get enough people who want TD that they essentially need three seatings. Logistically, there's only one way to do this:

 

TD in a dining room at 5:30, with a second seating at 7:15 or whatever.

TD in a dining room at 6:00, and AD after the first seating

AD in a dining room from open to close.

 

That second dining room can't do AD first and TD last, or they'd have to shoo all of the AD folks out in time for TD. Therefore, TD has to happen early and AD late.

 

As a result, if they do reservations in the AD DR, they have to hold the table empty or know that they'll have enough tables of that size that'll clear in time. If they did a reservation at 6:55, they'd never be able to use that table for AD prior to that unless they had someone sit down right with the DR opens. Therefore, they say no reservations from 6 to 7:30 or whatever, because it's better for all overall that way.

 

So...blame it on the TDers if you wish. If less of them chose TD, Princess might forgo that third TD slot in what could be an AD DR all night long. Interestingly, we're on a four-night "repositioning" cruise Vancouver-Ketchikan-Seattle that's quite empty, and yet the 6:00 TD is waitlisted. I suspect it's a waitlist because they don't expect to have nearly enough in the 5:30 slot to justify a 6:00, and everyone on the waitlist will get moved to the 5:30. However, they probably waitlist the 6:00 seating regardless, so if it's thin enough that they could bump everybody into either 5:30 or 7:15, they could actually put that DR back into the AD rotation open-close.

[caribill]

Don't you have to know what time you'll be hungry if you have Traditional, Early or Late, Dining?

 

Except for the first meal on embarkation day, we are never hungry for any other meal, so it would not matter if we had traditional early, traditional late or anytime.

[LovetheSea]

This is why I ALWAYS choose Traditional. I know I will have a place at a table at the same time. I can still go to specialty restaurants on some nights if I choose. If I had too much sun in port and just want to eat in the cabin. That is fine as well. You still have options. Even with traditional.

[Potstech]

No, but as a courtesy to your table mates (if you have any) it's nice to warn them.

 

Another good insult

[jagsfan]

Not an insult. If you have a table for 2, you don't have table mates, right?

If you do, and you know you will eat elsewhere the following night, shredie is correct, it is a courtesy to let them know so they don't wait for you.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Don't you have to know what time you'll be hungry if you have Traditional, Early or Late, Dining?

 

We would often have a little mid-afternoon nosh (I might have a little salad, a little pasta, of course, a dessert) and that will tie us over to a late dining seating. My hubby actually will do this at work, have little snacks and a light lunch during the course of the day.

 

Sadly, I think it really comes down to logistics. On the Grand-series ships with three dining rooms (aka not the Diamond/Sapphire with one big plus four half-size DRs), Princess seems to get enough people who want TD that they essentially need three seatings. Logistically, there's only one way to do this:

 

TD in a dining room at 5:30, with a second seating at 7:15 or whatever.

TD in a dining room at 6:00, and AD after the first seating

AD in a dining room from open to close.

 

That second dining room can't do AD first and TD last, or they'd have to shoo all of the AD folks out in time for TD. Therefore, TD has to happen early and AD late.

 

As a result, if they do reservations in the AD DR, they have to hold the table empty or know that they'll have enough tables of that size that'll clear in time. If they did a reservation at 6:55, they'd never be able to use that table for AD prior to that unless they had someone sit down right with the DR opens. Therefore, they say no reservations from 6 to 7:30 or whatever, because it's better for all overall that way.

 

So...blame it on the TDers if you wish. If less of them chose TD, Princess might forgo that third TD slot in what could be an AD DR all night long. Interestingly, we're on a four-night "repositioning" cruise Vancouver-Ketchikan-Seattle that's quite empty, and yet the 6:00 TD is waitlisted. I suspect it's a waitlist because they don't expect to have nearly enough in the 5:30 slot to justify a 6:00, and everyone on the waitlist will get moved to the 5:30. However, they probably waitlist the 6:00 seating regardless, so if it's thin enough that they could bump everybody into either 5:30 or 7:15, they could actually put that DR back into the AD rotation open-close.

 

Actually it's not the fault of the TDers, but is part of the whole "personal choice" system that Princess started some ten years ago. If everyone just went with an assigned seating as in the past, there wouldn't be people complaining about waiting in a line for a table. And if you don't want to eat at your assigned time, there's plenty of other options for dining. That's the way I see it.

[shredie]

Another good insult

 

Okay, I give up. How is it insulting to tell people you might not be there for dinner one night? "Hey, idiots, we may not be here for dinner tomorrow because we are going to the buffet for tofu night and because you people are so creepy we can hardly stand to sit here and look at you." Okay, that might be insulting. :p:rolleyes::p