Anytime Dining help please

[weluvtravel]

We are taking a 10 night Alaska cruise on the Golden Princess this July. It will be my parents, me, my husband and our 2 children. My husband and I prefer to eat dinner later (6:30 or 7:00) while my parents like to eat at 5:00 or 5:30. My parents would like for us all to dine together every night and we have a spot at the 5:30 seating in the MDR. I should add that my parents cruise quite a bit (mostly on HAL) and they like the MDR. I would like to try the anytime dining. My parents will probably not want to eat much later than 6:00, so I was hoping to try to eat at 6:00 each night in anytime dining. I keep reading about long waits for anytime dining and that you have to go early or late to even get in. Having to wait a long time for a table will not make my parents happy. Can anybody share experiences of anytime dining and what I might be looking at as far as wait times, etc. I do have us wait listed for a 6:00 slot in the MDR but we are currently #33 so I am not sure if we will clear that or not. Thanks so much for any advice!!

[shredie]

You will clear the list before then almost certainly. I think this when to eat question is one that will need to be decided amongst you before you get on the ship. I can foresee problems. I think the prime time for ATD lines is at 6:30.

[highheel girl]

We are taking a 10 night Alaska cruise on the Golden Princess this July. It will be my parents, me, my husband and our 2 children. My husband and I prefer to eat dinner later (6:30 or 7:00) while my parents like to eat at 5:00 or 5:30. My parents would like for us all to dine together every night and we have a spot at the 5:30 seating in the MDR. I should add that my parents cruise quite a bit (mostly on HAL) and they like the MDR. I would like to try the anytime dining. My parents will probably not want to eat much later than 6:00, so I was hoping to try to eat at 6:00 each night in anytime dining. I keep reading about long waits for anytime dining and that you have to go early or late to even get in. Having to wait a long time for a table will not make my parents happy. Can anybody share experiences of anytime dining and what I might be looking at as far as wait times, etc. I do have us wait listed for a 6:00 slot in the MDR but we are currently #33 so I am not sure if we will clear that or not. Thanks so much for any advice!!

 

If you are not happy with the dining situation once onboard, see the MD on embarkation day at the time/place listed in the Patter. Its usually in one of the DR's between 2p-3:30p. He can fix the issue for you. ;)

[NavyVeteran]

If you want to all eat together, traditional fixed dining is much more convenient for a party of six. Trying to eat at 6:00 or 6:30 every evening in anytime dining will probably be a problem.

 

The 5:30 fixed dining will probably be in the MDR on deck 6 midship - a very convenient location. The 6:00 fixed dining will be in the MDE on deck 6 aft - a less convenient location unless you have an aft cabin. You cannot get there directly from deck 6 midship, because the kitchen is in the way - you have to take the aft stairs or elevators.

 

There is only one anytime dining room until about 7:30 pm - probably the one on deck 5 midship. The deck 6 midship dining room becomes anytime after the people from the 5:30 fixed seating leave. Once that single anytime dining room fills up, there is no room until the first people leave. That is why there is often a wait at 6:30.

 

Because they don't want the tables to sit empty at 5:30 pm, they will usually not make reservations at 6:00 or 6:30. In a full suite, I was able to make reservations during that period that they don't generally make reservations. If you are not in a full suite, however, you won't be able to make reservations for after 5:30 until about 7:30.

 

I don't understand your statement that you want to try anytime dining. If you want to eat at the same time every night and you want to eat with the same party of six every night, I don't understand any advantage of anytime dining.

 

You didn't say what ages your children were and if they would prefer to eat earlier. If you and your husband prefer to eat later, you could eat a light meal with your family in the MDR and then eat some more later in the buffet.

[happy cruzer]

Have your parents ever done anytime? If they are only used to going to the same table with the same wait staff that might be as important as the time. They are probably used to walking right in and taking a seat.

 

For anytime there is usually a line, maybe a wait as well. But you don't typically walk past the head waiter and just take your seat. Unless you get something special arranged each night you will need to wait in the anytime line for those that that have a res or one with no reservation, speak to the head waiter, then be seated. We love anytime but find that it is quickest after 7:45.

[RNGALNG]

My DH and I like to dine later as well. But when we travel with our friends, we bend to suit them. We don't want fixed as sometimes we would go to the buffet for dinner.

 

What we did, on two separate cruises, two different ships, was to call the dining line from our room each morning to reserve a table at 6:00. It worked like a charm. No pager was needed, we just walked up to the hostess and and gave her our reservation and would be seated immediately.

 

That would be my second plan of attack so to speak, after talking to the wait staff once you are onboard.

 

You will all love Alaska! Have fun!

[greenie082756]

My DH and I choose anytime dining and when we go to the dining room we tell the Head Waiter that we are willing to sit anywhere. That usually gets us to a table for 6 or 8. We go anytime from 6:00 - 7:00pm for dinner and it takes anywhere from 1 hour to 2 from beginning to end.

 

From what you stated and from what I've learned on CC, I would suggest you have an early dinner seating (traditional) for a table of 6. Its seems that would work the best for all. :)

[Bizziecruzer]

I know this is not the question you asked, but most of the port days you will still be in port at 5.30 - 6pm dining this early will cut your shore time short. What about a compromise that you all eat together on sea days for dinner and maybe do breakfast together on port days.

[skynight]

Group of 6, I would stay in traditional dining. Note that if you actually dine at 6pm you most likely will not be able to get into most of the early entertainment shows. Most of the nights the early shows start at 8:00, 8:15 or 8:30 and there might be a few nights when there is a 7:00 show. Those that dine at 5:00 to 5:30 will go directly to the Theater or Vista Lounge and it will be filled up by the time you finish dinner around 8:00. There will of course be later shows where it is easier to find a seat.

In ATD it is difficult to find a seat at 6:00pm and the wait could be fairly long as the earliest diners, 5:00, will not finish up until around 7.

Your family might also enjoy some or all of the surcharge dining venues, Crown Grill, Sabatini's and the Crab Shack. The current cost is $20/pp for the Crab Shack with the others being $25/pp. Make reservations by calling the dine line early in the cruise once on board. Reservations times can fill up.

[Loonbeam]

The issue with AD (which there is no way to avoid) is that the dining rooms fill up within an hour of opening at latest, sometimes faster. Then, you have a lag period while people eat until they start emptying and resetting tables. In most cases, 6-7 pm will always have the longest waits.

[weluvtravel]

Thanks for all of the replies. As one poster said, having an early dinner can cut into some shore time/excursions. This is what happened to us when we sailed with my parents 12 years ago and had the 5:30 dinner in the MDR.

 

My children are 10 & 11 and will eat anytime (our schedule always varies due to school and sports :)) I guess that I was hoping that we could eat in the anytime dining room later on some of the port days, but try to get a 6:00 reservation on all of the other days (to accomodated my parents). From what I have been reading it seems to vary where some people have success at getting reservations for anytime dining while others do not. Just trying to figure it all out because if we have to wait for a table, my parents will not be happy and I will never hear the end of it!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Just a clarification of the terminology for anyone new to cruising (from the first post), MDR can refer to any of the main dining rooms dedicated to traditional, early-early traditional/anytime, and anytime dining. It's not just the dining room that has traditional dining.