Anytime dining question - Island Princess

[sue2go]

We will be embarking on our first Princess cruise and have opted for anytime dining on the Island. I read some people saying how bad the lines are and others don't seem to be that bothered. We don't mind waiting with a beeper for a half hour or so if need be once in a while. Is there a place to grab a glass of wine while sitting and waiting for the beeper to beep?

[GUT2407]

We will be embarking on our first Princess cruise and have opted for anytime dining on the Island. I read some people saying how bad the lines are and others don't seem to be that bothered. We don't mind waiting with a beeper for a half hour or so if need be once in a while. Is there a place to grab a glass of wine while sitting and waiting for the beeper to beep?

 

I've never had to take a beeper so not sure how far they reach, but I'm certain they'd reach he nearest bar, Princess want you to be buying a drink not standing around stewing.

[lrockwitt]

We were on the Island 2 weeks ago and the anytime dining line started at 4:45 pm till around 8 pm. There is a bar right outside the dining room with a sitting area.

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

We will be embarking on our first Princess cruise and have opted for anytime dining on the Island. I read some people saying how bad the lines are and others don't seem to be that bothered. We don't mind waiting with a beeper for a half hour or so if need be once in a while. Is there a place to grab a glass of wine while sitting and waiting for the beeper to beep?

 

 

We always sat at the lobby bar/La Patisserie deck 5 or Crooners deck 6, both are in the atrium.

Edited February 4, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[oskidunker]

Take fixed dining. Basically there are two times,5:30 and 8pm. If you take anytime,that is when you will eat.

 

The dining rooms are not big enough to serve everyone onboard with 2 seatings. Basically people in anytime end up in the buffet

[Colo Cruiser]

Take fixed dining. Basically there are two times,5:30 and 8pm. If you take anytime,that is when you will eat.

 

The dining rooms are not big enough to serve everyone onboard with 2 seatings. Basically people in anytime end up in the buffet

 

 

5:00pm and 7:30pm for our cruise.

[sue2go]

Thanks for the replies. We really don't want to have fixed, so we'll stick with anytime and be patient - or eat late - or hit the buffet. Glad to hear there are places to grab a glass of wine and hang out while we wait.

[CapeCodFlyer]

Thanks for the replies. We really don't want to have fixed, so we'll stick with anytime and be patient - or eat late - or hit the buffet. Glad to hear there are places to grab a glass of wine and hang out while we wait.

 

We were on the Island in December. The longest wait time for Anytime Dining was 20 minutes, and that was between 7:30 and 8:00. When we started arriving at 6:45, we were generally shown directly to our table. Try to plan dinner when the first arrivals are leaving and lines should be minimal. The desk will provide a beeper and they're pretty patient. One evening, I had forgotten a bottle of wine and the beeper went off while I was in the cabin retrieving it. You should not have any problem if you choose to have a drink at any of the bars while waiting. Enjoy!

[Kartgv]

Take fixed dining. Basically there are two times,5:30 and 8pm. If you take anytime,that is when you will eat.

 

The dining rooms are not big enough to serve everyone onboard with 2 seatings. Basically people in anytime end up in the buffet

 

Not sure what you're saying - we've had anytime dining many times, have eaten when we wanted to (which is NOT 5:30 or 8pm!), most often around 7:00-7:15. We've never once ended up in the buffet and never waited more than 20 minutes at the most. Most of the time, we've been able to request a particular waiter's area, so have the best of both worlds - familiar staff, eating when we want to, plus having the option to share a table with others or sit alone, depending on our mood. We make a point to greet the dining room host/hostess and thank them - that seems to go a long way towards having your choices accommodated if at all possible.

[sue2go]

Thanks for the comforting feedback on anytime. I don't consider 20 or so minutes too long to wait to be seated - especially over a cocktail - and could certainly show up at 6:45 or so (actually would PREFER that time). We board on Feb. 18 and when I return I will post a review here including our experience with anytime.

[FirstCruiseBeth]

Yes, thank you for some positive news on anytime dining. We are also boarding on the 18th. 8pm is not much later than our preferred time so I'm happy to work with that and hope we won't face really long waits (20 mins is fine for a pre-dinner drink). Like Sue, I'll report back here afterwards.

[sue2go]

We look forward to meeting you at the M&G Liz!

[Potstech]

Take fixed dining. Basically there are two times,5:30 and 8pm. If you take anytime,that is when you will eat.

 

The dining rooms are not big enough to serve everyone onboard with 2 seatings. Basically people in anytime end up in the buffet

 

No they do not. Have always chosen Anytime dining and have only had to wait in line until the doors opened often late. Many time Traditional dinners use the Anytime Dining Room for various reasons and help,aggravate the situation.

Edited February 5, 2016 by Potstech

[dogdoc2002]

Not sure what you're saying - we've had anytime dining many times, have eaten when we wanted to (which is NOT 5:30 or 8pm!), most often around 7:00-7:15. We've never once ended up in the buffet and never waited more than 20 minutes at the most. Most of the time, we've been able to request a particular waiter's area, so have the best of both worlds - familiar staff, eating when we want to, plus having the option to share a table with others or sit alone, depending on our mood. We make a point to greet the dining room host/hostess and thank them - that seems to go a long way towards having your choices accommodated if at all possible.

 

That's been our experience too. We're going on our 4th Princess cruise this fall and always have had anytime dinning. We're used to eating later anyway, so typically were going in around 7 or 8. Never waited more than 5 minutes. We've offered to sit at tables with others and they usually gave us a table for 2 anyway.

dogdoc2002

[Pushka]

Was your cruise on the Island though? It has more significant issues than other Princess ships due to 200 additional pax and no extra dining areas.

[Potstech]

Was your cruise on the Island though? It has more significant issues than other Princess ships due to 200 additional pax and no extra dining areas.

 

One of mine was on the Island(before the downgrade) doing a 10 day Partial Transit. No real problem with Anytime Dining. We always go with ADR

Edited February 6, 2016 by Potstech

[Pushka]

One of mine was on the Island(before the downgrade) doing a 10 day Partial Transit. No real problem with Anytime Dining. We always go with ADR

 

 

As do we so for the first time ever because of the Island issues we've selected 8pm Trad.

 

What is the talk of Trad diners coming into ATD? Dont they check at the door?