Any Time Dining Help??

[racnwdow]

We had originally booked our cruise to accompany some friends who are very familiar with Any Time Dining (ATD).  They have since cancelled.  I have only the vaguest idea how ATD works. On all other cruises we have always booked late dining.  Any suggestions, tips and information would be greatly appreciated.  Can we make arrangements when we board for the whole  week?  Or do we arrange dining times each day?  Do we have to be a table for 4 or can we be added to a bigger table to get to know others?  We will be on a 14 day Greece/Holy Land/Italy cruise on the Rotterdam (if that makes a difference).  TIA

[gigianne]

Depending on what time you wish to dine - go to the dining room (usually lower promenade), there will be a sign - those with reservations, those without.  You will be asked if you want to join others or you can ask for table for two.  You can also reserve for 3 days in advance.  We always do anytime dining by ourselves, with 2 or 3 others.  I make reservations as soon as I board and ask that we have the same table for the whole cruise.  Hope this helps - I am sure others will chime in and share their experiences.  I believe there are times posted for anytime dining.

[Cruising-along]

We had any time dining for 38 days last summer on the Rotterdam and loved it.  It will always depend on the current maitre d' , but we have had cruises where we were given the same table for the entire cruise and other times for 3 days at a time.  In our experience when they find out you really like a certain waiter, they will bend over backwards to give you his table every night.   You can also just walk in whenever you wish, (sometimes there will be short wait) or call in each day to try to reserve a certain time/table.

 

You can request any size table you wish, and larger tables are easier to get than small.  

[Vict0riann]

If you would prefer the fixed late dining, you might go to the dining room, perhaps at lunch time on the day you board and see if it is possible to switch.  

 

We usually do open seating, as we never know when we will actually want to eat, so we just walk up, and usually say we are happy to share a table, preferably for 6 (with 8 it is difficult for DH to hear the conversation), we have never had to wait very long.

[trvlcrzy]

If you like the team who serves you on the first night, you may be asked (as we have been many times on recent cruises), "Would you like to have this table for the rest of the cruise?" or "Would you like to have this table tomorrow night?"  Having enjoyed our experience (and DH has a special-order diet), we usually stick with the same table for the remainder of the cruise.  This does offer the "out" if you have a bad experience.  I often hear the tale of my father's baked potato, never served to him, sitting on the server's station getting cold... within sight of him.  They had only one bad experience, though - often repeated.

[caribill]

11 hours ago, Vict0riann said:

If you would prefer the fixed late dining, you might go to the dining room, perhaps at lunch time on the day you board and see if it is possible to switch.  

 

 

 

Or just contact your Travel Agent (or HAL if you booked directly) and switch to the fixed seating time you want. If there is a wait list, ask to be added to it.