Just switched from Late Seating to Anytime Seating......

[Vellamint]

I hope we are happy with it.....I am so nervous to sit with strangers (just read a few reviews and well....) that I thought we would be better off with ATD and requesting a table for two?

 

Also thought if I changed my mind I would be better off switching to Late because I have read that ATD gets booked up first?

 

Help me here professional cruisers.......

 

I have obviously cruised before .... and have had assigned seating but some were good, some were not, and some we never went to the dining room.

[1girln3boys]

I have ATD but I keep thinking of changing it. I picked ATD so we can eat when ready and not at a certain time. I don't mind sitting with others in fact I enjoy meeting new people

[lucky13elec]

I like having the same wait staff. Also the singing & dancing in the Dining room. The few times we haven't had a full table we've been lucky with our tablemates.

[Velvetwater]

I read Early seating gets booked up first.

 

 

You can always ask for a table for 2 or share a table with anytime. We did that depending on our mood.

[dmdiver]

We've done ATD for several years now & love it. No rushing to get ready for dinner after a day of activities. If we like our waitstaff, we simply request to be seated in their area. The staff will let you know if there is a wait & you can decide what you want to do then.

[WAHMto5]

We have also only used ATD for years now and love it! They always tend to sit us with the same wait staff most of the week anyways, if not you can always request them though you may have to wait just a bit.

[Not_Done_Living]

I like having the same wait staff. Also the singing & dancing in the Dining room. The few times we haven't had a full table we've been lucky with our tablemates.

 

Have had ATD for the last 4 cruises.

Had the same wait staff, except for the one time we changed because a waiter made an inappropriate remark that made both my wife and daughter uncomfortable.

Saw the waiters dance every single time as well.

sat alone, sat with new people. ATD is fine and great experience.

Edited March 10, 2015 by Not_Done_Living

[DTC]

Just make sure you request a private table if thats what you want. We've had YTD and they were filling tables & had it all screwed up. I always say "private table please"!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cruisegirl6]

We also changed from early dining to Anytime Seating also because we don't want to get stuck sitting with people that don't speak english or those who have misbehaved children. (sorry if anybody objects to what I said but my children are grown and I don't want to sit at a kiddie table sorry...). We also find early a bit too early and late too late so this would be perfect for us.

 

At times I have to admit we have had scheduled dining and didn't like seating next to the "station" and we generally find it a hit or miss having an excellent server, so anytime dining if we get stuck with a not great table or not a great waiter its only for that one night.

[marshhawk]

We love ATD, but we also don't mind eating with other people. We go to be fed, and if perhaps our table mates want to talk, that works well with us. I always feel that by meeting new people I might learn new things. Sometimes I may not want to learn something (lol) but it makes for a more interesting cruise. That said we have learned to go around 7, when they are about to do the dancing and the singing and are in the process of serving dessert. As others have said, early is way too early for us, and late is too late. Have a great cruise, and since we have started using ATD, my DH wont go back to an assigned dining time.:rolleyes:

[G-Luvs2cruise]

We have done ATD twice & Early dining once. Our next cruise we changed from late seating to ATD. Last cruise we did the Early dining. Wanting to meet other people & get the same wait staff. They sat us at a table for 4. Akward! No one sat with us. We ate in there twice. Wait staff was ok. We prefer ATD. Like the freedom of eating when we want. Where we want. Just found out that we can request the same staff if we like them. Which is why my friend wanted to do a set time dining. So hopefully this will be a win for all of us! Plus the Sunshine has a couple specialty restaurants that we would like to try.

[tea4ular]

We prefer ATD and have requested it for our next trip as well. Echoing "early is too early and late is too late" in fact on one trip we tried late seating and eating that late made me physically ill so we just stopped going. One afternoon our waiter saw us as we were floating around the ship. He asked if he had done anything "wrong" and I explained the situation. He invited us to join the table "just for dessert" any time we wanted. We did, actually, on the last night. It was a 10 day trip and it was wonderful. BTW we kept the tips in place for him as he'd done nothing "wrong" and hand tipped our ATD crew at the end (we were fortunate to have the same wonderful team there).

[islandatsea]

We always do ATD with the exception being our upcoming cruise on the Sunshine we decided to do early.

[ray98]

I love ATD. It fixed every complaint I had. I can dine with who I want and when I want. No more odd conversation with strangers. No more starving because I had an early lunch. No more not being hungry because I had a late lunch. Now it is like real life, I eat when I am hungry.

[BigB0882]

I think you will like ATD. I did assigned dining on my first cruise and I hated being sat at this huge table with a bunch of strangers. I am not a social person and the entire dinner was just awkward for me. We were lucky and were able to get a table for 4 the rest of the cruise. However, it was also a pain to have to go eat at a certain time. There were events going on we didn't want to miss or maybe we had a late lunch and weren't really hungry, etc. etc. For our next cruise we knew we would do ATD and I can't really see a downside to it. We will get our own table for 4, we can go when we want and if the wait is too long come back. The only worry is that I have read ATD can be a lot longer because I guess the kitchen doesn't have it as planned out as those they know are coming. If it takes 2 hours for dinner then we will just try dining at a different time or at the buffet.

[cb at sea]

Once you've introduced yourselves, you're no longer strangers! We LOVE table mates! Dinner is much more fun, more of a social occasion, with others to chat with! So far,, we've never had table mates that we couldn't get along with....maybe, it's us!!! We are pretty easy to get along with!

[michigancruiser0715]

Like the OP, I'm not huge on feeling like I have to talk to strangers while I'm eating. I know some people love meeting new people while dining, and that's great! I wish I was like that, but we enjoy our two-top.

 

Like a couple people said, if you like assigned dining, you can definitely request a table for two. If you want to get a jump on it, email the matre'd before you cruise - they are usually very helpful and accommodate requests. :)

[Artemus]

You can have late dining and a table for two by requesting it once onboard. Just go see the maître d after boarding the first day. My wife and do that every cruise.

[cruisintwinsmom]

This will be the first time in 16 cruises for ATD, as I have always enjoyed meeting new people at large tables. How does tipping work? Is it automatic like late dining in the MDR? Thanks in advance for your help!

[islandatsea]

Tipping is automatic.......... charged to your sail & sign card.

[bonnie&clydecruzers]

I love YTD. It allows me to eat when I'm hungry.

[cruisintwinsmom]

Tipping is automatic.......... charged to your sail & sign card.

 

Thank you!

[SMSACE6]

Vellamint, I have had similar situations with fixed dining, most of the time the table mates were wonderful, and a couple of times (once Carnival, once Celebrity), it was horrible. When YTD was introduced on Carnival, I was going on a cruise solo, and still chose it, because I did not want to spend my pre cruise time worrying about having a similar experience to my previous cruise's dining table mates, who made no bones about hating my mother and I on sight.

 

On that next cruise with YTD, I had a table to myself (a two person table), yet the people at the next table most nights did instigate conversation, and it was very nice, nice people, nice conversation, but my table was mine, and I could just leave when I was done and bid the folks at the next table a good evening.

 

Did the same thing last November and it worked mostly the same. Both cruises, both times with YTD, I requested and got the same wait staff each evening, so for me...from now on especially if cruising solo, I will do ytd only, and if it is unavailable, I will eat at the lido buffet. It only took two bad experiences for me to get to this point. Unless I know at least one other person at dinner i will not chance it again.

 

YTD can also spoil you. the flexibility of going to eat when it suits you, is addictive. I have always gotten same wait staff, but if they were not available I would either take a pager and wait for them, or ask to be seated in another section. Lots of options with this.

 

JMO.

 

Have a great cruise:)

[rlkubi]

We had always done early seating until a few cruises ago. We went on a cruise alone (just my hubby and me) and we usually cruise with at least 3 other couples. We decided ATD. It worked for us. Now we do late seated dining with the group. I missed getting a rapport with the waiters etc. though. I'm glad they have the option :)

[gizmo911]

I was assigned late and prefer early. How do you go about switching or at least requesting change. I will be traveling in the next 3 weeks.

 

Thanks

Edited March 11, 2015 by gizmo911