Question regarding Your Time Dining

[jezthepuff]

I just saw this on a Cruise Critic article regarding Vista Dining:

 

One unusual detail regarding the Your Time Dining: Diners who have chosen Your Time Dining (which is on Deck 3, aft) must first stop at a desk on Deck 5 (midship), near Java Blue cafe, to sign in for dinner and get their table assignment. It's out of the way, depending on where you're coming from, and you then have to wait in line twice.

 

Do we need to do this every night? This seems really strange! :confused:

[tatt2ed]

I just saw this on a Cruise Critic article regarding Vista Dining:

 

One unusual detail regarding the Your Time Dining: Diners who have chosen Your Time Dining (which is on Deck 3, aft) must first stop at a desk on Deck 5 (midship), near Java Blue cafe, to sign in for dinner and get their table assignment. It's out of the way, depending on where you're coming from, and you then have to wait in line twice.

 

Do we need to do this every night? This seems really strange! :confused:

Unless you are gold or higher, then yes. Its terrible , 2 nights our buzzer never got programmed. Even after numerous return trips to ask why we werent seated they just kept saying the dining room is backed up. When we finally got down there we come to find out it was half full only

[SweetCruiser39]

I wouldn't book my time dining on a ship as large as the Vista. We had late seating, and every night as we were walking to dinner, we passed a huge line of people waiting in line on deck5.

[tatt2ed]

I wouldn't book my time dining on a ship as large as the Vista. We had late seating, and every night as we were walking to dinner, we passed a huge line of people waiting in line on deck5.

Once we figured out that since we were gold we didnt have to wait up there. After that we never waited more than a minute or two.

[SweetCruiser39]

Unless you are gold or higher, then yes. Its terrible , 2 nights our buzzer never got programmed. Even after numerous return trips to ask why we werent seated they just kept saying the dining room is backed up. When we finally got down there we come to find out it was half full only

 

That's because they hold the tables for people who have early or late dining. All those empty tables were probably folks who didn't show up. We had late seating at 8:15, but usually didn't make it until 8:45 or so. Our table was always still there, waiting for us.

[tatt2ed]

That's because they hold the tables for people who have early or late dining. All those empty tables were probably folks who didn't show up. We had late seating at 8:15, but usually didn't make it until 8:45 or so. Our table was always still there, waiting for us.

Two different dining rooms. Early and late are one dining room and anytime was another.

[jezthepuff]

Wow...that seems like a really strange setup.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm pretty sure we are Gold. So that means we would only have to stop the first night, or not at all? Thanks!

[tatt2ed]

Wow...that seems like a really strange setup.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm pretty sure we are Gold. So that means we would only have to stop the first night, or not at all? Thanks!

Im guessing not at all, just go directly to your dining room.

[jezthepuff]

Im guessing not at all, just go directly to your dining room.

 

Thanks! :)

[SweetCruiser39]

Two different dining rooms. Early and late are one dining room and anytime was another.

 

I don't know about Reflections, but the Horizon dining room had both.

[bjstenman]

I just saw this on a Cruise Critic article regarding Vista Dining:

 

One unusual detail regarding the Your Time Dining: Diners who have chosen Your Time Dining (which is on Deck 3, aft) must first stop at a desk on Deck 5 (midship), near Java Blue cafe, to sign in for dinner and get their table assignment. It's out of the way, depending on where you're coming from, and you then have to wait in line twice.

 

Do we need to do this every night? This seems really strange! :confused:

 

We checked in on Deck 5 every night we used the dining room (maybe about 5-6 days of our 10 night cruise---can't remember for sure), and it was really a breeze for us. We either had no wait on Deck 5, or maybe 1-2 minutes once. Then we never had a wait at all once we arrived at the dining room. We thought it was great since there wasn't any clutter of people outside the dining room. Of course, our experience may be because when we did use the dining room we went between 6:00 and 6:30. I've heard it was much busier the later you went...

[CanadaBen]

No need to check in at Deck 5....we figured this out on Day 2. We just went directly to the dining room whenever we were ready to have dinner and we were seated immediately. There was never a line. The dining room was never even half full all week.

There are separate dining rooms for my time dining and early/late seating.

[figdu]

We were on the June 11th sailing and it was only Diamond and Platinum that skipped the check in on deck 5.

[CanadaBen]

Perhaps things have changed now since they have probably realized by now that this is a really dumb system.

This was our first Carnival cruise. I would not wait in a long line to check in, just go directly to the dining room and ask for a table. We had dinner at different times all week and never had an issue getting a table immediately.

[Canadian_J]

We were on the June 11th sailing and it was only Diamond and Platinum that skipped the check in on deck 5.

 

That was my understanding too, just Diamond/Platinum. This makes good sense to have check-in at one area and then seating at another. A number of times we've shown up with our buzzer and had a hard time getting past the crowd of people waiting to just get a buzzer. Makes the entrance very busy! Now the entrance should just be those who've been buzzed and can be seated immediately, better flow.