anytime dining for large groups...is this recommended or not

[crissyp]

Hi...We will be cruising in July with three families and and 8 teens (17-19 yrs. old)..Our cruises are booked and my TA suggested anytime dining. I'm just wondering if we should do this being we are such a large group.

I'm not sure we will be dining every night together with everyone in our group, but for the nights we might plan on it will it be almost impossible to get a table.

 

Thanks for any advice...This is only my 2nd cruise, so this is a new alternative for me. We cruised 3 years ago with Disney and had late dining and it seemed to work out perfectly,

[vamcd]

we are on the 8/1/07 crown princess for my son's wedding. we have 25 going. by the time the booking was completed, half of us are on early and the other half late. my ta said the only other option was to book anytime with possibly 4 tables. my thinking was at least we have a place to go with that many people. but if couples or families decide to dine elsewhere, they can and should notify the dining venue. just a thought. i don't know what else to do. any other suggestions would be welcomed.

[spongerob]

If you've read enough reports on this board about Anytime and large groups, it always seems to generate more complaints than compliments. Try to book into one of the traditional fixed seatings if dining together as a group is important to you.

[sweetair]

anytime time dining for large groups is a nightmare!

when you call They DO NOT take reservations between 730-830 They will tell you just to show up and wait in line. Well with a large group that becomes very difficult!

 

You will need a "group leader" One who will make all the arrangements DAILY then contact each party and let them know which dining room and what time.

It becomes a mega CHORE!

 

my suggestions: IF you are "stuck" with anytime dining...prior to boarding: Get all the reservation numbers, cabin numbers and last names of all the parties involved ... On day 1: go to a maitre'd with this printed list and hopefully he can make a standing reservation for your group. I am sure you will need to TIP this guy to make this happen. (figure at least $5 pp tip or greater) I hate this concept but money talks!

 

get traditional if at all possible...its 1 less headache to deal with!

have a great cruise :D

*sweet*

[Pam in CA]

Yes, you will see reports of success in booking Anytime dining for a large group. However, no matter what you do, you will have several tables that could be all over the dining room and the likelihood that you won't be sitting down at the same time. The only time, from what I've read, that this will work is if you make a reservation or eat between 5:30 - 6PM, when the dining room opens. You can't make a reservation between 6 - 8PM.

 

With traditional dining, you have "your" tables and with the bookings crosslinked, the tables will be near each other and you can swap and mix people at the tables. I've seen that done a number of times.

 

Even making a reservation at the same time for the same table(s) in Anytime doesn't guarantee that your table(s) will be available. On the Caribbean Princess a couple of years ago, we had a standing reservation for 8PM and some times had to wait up to 45 minutes for "our" table.

 

I strongly suggest booking traditional dining as soon as possible since there are usually long waiting lists. If you change your mind, you can switch to Anytime (but you can't switch back), even after you board.