My Time or Traditional Dining-Alaska Cruise

[kozma444]

This will be our 1st time cruising Princess - cruising Royal Denali Explorer Land/Sea Tour.  We tend to lean toward traditional seating for dinner, but have chose My Time for this cruise since I feel like we will be off exploring a little longer than on other cruises?  Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated! 

[XBGuy]

We always choose Anytime Dining (Princess nomenclature).  Keep in mind that there can be a wait at the Anytime Dining Rooms at peak times.  There are a few strategies for avoiding a wait at the Dining Rooms are:

 

• Some ships (it depends on the policy of the Maitre d' for that cruise) allow you to call the "DINE Line" and make a Dining Room reservation for that evening.
• Dine later in the evening, say, after 7:30 pm    
• Ask to be seated at a table with other passengers rather than requesting a table for two.

Another strategy is to dine in the Restaurants.  In addition to the upcharge restaurants, the Royal Princess also has a nice no-charge venue called Alfredo's which offers Pizzas and a few other Italian-style choices.

 

Have a great cruise

[laktex]

2 hours ago, kozma444 said:

This will be our 1st time cruising Princess - cruising Royal Denali Explorer Land/Sea Tour.  We tend to lean toward traditional seating for dinner, but have chose My Time for this cruise since I feel like we will be off exploring a little longer than on other cruises?  Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated! 

 

Last time I experienced "Anytime" dining there always appeared to be queues and personally I just don't wish to queue for my meals so we changed to Traditional seating. Its Club Dining for us in the future - but it's all down to personal taste and choice.

[rkacruiser]

If you are sailing on Royal Princess, be aware of this experience of mine.  Anytime dining on an evening when many other guests wished to dine in a MDR, I was not able to make a reservation for the evening (I called the Dine Line too late).  Arriving at the MDR, I was given a pager.  It did not go off for 70 minutes!  And, then, the table where I was seated as a solo diner, was unsatisfactory.  (I'd requested to be seated with others.)  I was a solo diner at a table for two where one chair/place sitting had been removed!  No more anytime dining for me!!!  On any ship of whatever cruise line!  I have never been satisfied with anytime dining on HAL, Carnival, or Princess.  Fixed seatings are more suitable for me.

[Cruisencatlady]

I've always opted for Anytime Dining since I am a solo cruiser and love the flexibility it offers.  Based on my daily schedule, I call the dining line before I get off the ship to get a reservation, or just show up and wait(with a cocktail) until a seat is available. 

 

If you don't mind sitting with others, tell the maitre d "first available" seating.  Your wait will be shorter, and you will have the opportunity to meet more than just those tablemates you have been assigned to with Traditional Dining. 

 

Another benefit with Anytime Dining is, if your schedule changes(late excursion, longer afternoon nap, want to see the early and late show too...), you don't have to call the MDR and say "don't wait for us".  Nobody likes having to wait dinner for stragglers.

[GloriaF]

Another factor in choosing Anytime dining for us is the change Princess made in traditional dining times. We like to be able to change our plans on a whim or have no specific plans for an evening.   We do not bother eating in the dining room every evening on longer cruises, taking advantage of all dining venues the ship offers, including buffet occasionally.

[Mary Ellen1]

Another vote in favor of Anytime Dining.  For a different reason.  What if wildlife shows up right when it's time to go in & sit down for Early Seating???  For us, last summer, it was the orcas.  I missed them!  I was already inside!  Wondering why DH & SIL & a few others weren't there!  And I missed the orcas.

 

So now I have to go to Alaska again...  😁

[milolii]

How long Is dinner in the main dinning rooms?  I mean from sit down to desert?   I only have NCL to compare to.  Often  took 1.5 to 2 hours. That’s just too long  for us after a  busy day ashore. 

Thansk for the tips in this thread. 

[58Piano]

We live in florida. How many hours different in time is it in alaska? If we normally eat dinner at 6 then what time would it be in alaska? So with time change is early or late dinner best?

[Lindaru]

3 hours ago, 58Piano said:

We live in florida. How many hours different in time is it in alaska? If we normally eat dinner at 6 then what time would it be in alaska? So with time change is early or late dinner best?

Here is a way to compare the times in Alaska by major city to Florida.  Quite a few hours difference there!

https://24timezones.com/usa/time_in_alaska

🍽️
 

[satxdiver]

4 hours ago, 58Piano said:

We live in florida. How many hours different in time is it in alaska? If we normally eat dinner at 6 then what time would it be in alaska? So with time change is early or late dinner best?

 Assuming you do not live in the FL panhandle and therefore in the Central Time zone (CT), you will be 4 hours behind (-4) the time in Orlando.  Alaska is in the Alaska time zone (AKT) and most of Florida is in the Eastern Time zone (ET).  Alaska and Florida like most but not all US states observe daylight savings time so the time difference does not change regardless of daylight saving or regular time.   

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that in the northern part of our hemisphere the daylight hours in the summertime in Alaska can be very long to be something like 18 to 20 hours per day in June/July/August.  You can expect the sun to rise early and set around 10 PM or later.  Prepare for almost constant daylight and little night time. 

Edited March 25, 2019 by satxdiver

[caribill]

14 hours ago, Mary Ellen1 said:

Another vote in favor of Anytime Dining.  For a different reason.  What if wildlife shows up right when it's time to go in & sit down for Early Seating???  For us, last summer, it was the orcas.  I missed them!  I was already inside!  Wondering why DH & SIL & a few others weren't there!  And I missed the orcas.

 

So now I have to go to Alaska again...  😁

And what if you were already seated in Anytime when the wildlife shows up?

[MauiLvrs]

10 hours ago, caribill said:

And what if you were already seated in Anytime when the wildlife shows up?

Or waiting in line 

[MauiLvrs]

20 hours ago, 58Piano said:

We live in florida. How many hours different in time is it in alaska? If we normally eat dinner at 6 then what time would it be in alaska? So with time change is early or late dinner best?

Noonish ... Dinner would be lunch and a mid-night snack would be dinner ....