Traditional Dining

[RaeVynn]

So, our cruise has us as Anytime Dining, but I'd kinda like to do the Traditional Dining route.

Since Late Traditional seems less popular, do you think that I could have that changed? Am I being totally moronic for wanting to? (don't hold back, tell me what you really think)

 

All opinions are requested. Thank you.

[ssbeagle]

Personally, we prefer the traditiional dining as we like it when our waiters get to know us. We have done anytime and it's okay. If you find a waiter you like in anytime, you can request him every night and you can make a reservation during certain times. With traditional you get to eat with the same people every night; with anytime you can sit with different people each time or request a table for two if that's what you prefer.

[hc00010]

I definately prefer late traditional. It's nice to come back from port and not have to rush to get ready. One can have a drink or nap before dinner. Also, on sea days, you can enjoy a nice lunch in the dining room and still be hungry for dinner.

[pungo3]

You would probably have a better chance of getting traditional if you requested traditional late. I've done both and actually like them equally well. Traditional gives you an opportunity to establish a rapport with your waitstaff, but anytime gives you the choice of when you want to eat. By the way, I've never waited for a seat at anytime dining. (some people have)

[cruisergal 1]

We have always done the tradional late dining. This way we don't have to rush back after an excursion,and just take a bit of a break to relax before heading out to dine. Mostly adults during the late dining as well, and still plenty of time later to do other things, or just talk with our table mates, which we have done before too!

[paul929207]

Contact whoever made your reservation (Princess or a TA) and ask them to sign you up for second seating. They will then determine if there is room for you or if you are placed on the waitlist.

[Toto2Kansas]

So, our cruise has us as Anytime Dining, but I'd kinda like to do the Traditional Dining route.

Since Late Traditional seems less popular, do you think that I could have that changed? Am I being totally moronic for wanting to? (don't hold back, tell me what you really think)

 

All opinions are requested. Thank you.

 

By your signature it looks like you are 29 days from your next voyage. No way there will be room for traditional at this late date. There is always the waitlist though. It seems that anymore, unless you book WAY IN ADVANCE, traditional fills up very quickly, both early and late seating.

But, it's worth a try, and best of luck!

[DonnaK]

One reason we've avoided sailing with Princess until now is because we didn't want to be forced into anytime dining. We are diehard traditionalists when it comes to meals on a cruise! When I booked this cruise through Princess, I asked which seating had the shortest waitlist. Late was at 13, and early was over 600. I booked late (even though we prefer early) and cleared the list within a week. If late doesn't work out for us, our plan is to switch to anytime and get a standing reservation at the same table with the same wait team for 6pm every night, to simulate the early traditional dining experience. If you don't clear the waitlist, you can do the same - just ask the maitre-d for a standing reservation at the same table with the same waiters.

[caribill]

If you are on a waitlist for traditional, when you get on board see the matre'd that afternoon (see Patter for time and location). He may be able to grant your wish within 24 hours.

[Colo Cruiser]

We had done anytime since its inception but now go with late trad. ;)

[eetonaee]

We prefer late traditional and since this is our first Princess cruise in a few years we haven't experienced Anytime dining. We booked our November cruise in June and were put on a waitlist for traditional late.

Last week I checked our Cruise personalizer and we have been moved to Traditional late.

 

I have read all the posts from people who prefer anytime but I guess we prefer to know exactly when we will be eating so that we can plan our activities around it.

 

Now waiting to see if we get assigned a room - we booked an inside gty.

[Andee]

We do late traditional if we're on a cruise line without open seating dining--but I try to avoid those lines. I don't care about getting to know the waiter, I like to eat at different times on different days, and I enjoy the opportunity to meet different people.

[Cobra427SC]

I wouldn't despair too much about not getting your preference for the late seating. We've had anytime dining for about 12 cruises and wouldn't even think of traditional dining....to each his/her own. We like the flexibility of being able to eat whenever we'd like, tho' for some reason it's always about 8:30 or so. We love to eat by ourselves, share a good bottle of wine and spend 2-2.5 hrs talking and relaxing...we're often the last ones out of the dining room. As noted, it's pretty easy to get the same table and same waiter at anytime dining, esp later in the evening. In fact, for all of our cruises, until just recently, we did just that...even 21 days to Antarctica. We've since mixed in some nights at the Cafe Caribe, so we never know where we'll be 'till the last minute. It'll work out fine...have fun. s

[Pam in CA]

We prefer late traditional dining since the timing works out well for us. We tend to eat late at home and after a day in port, like having time to shower, change, and have a drink or two before dinner. Even on sea days, we like the later time and especially like knowing that at 8PM, we can go to our dining room, walk in and sit down. We've met some very interesting people over the years whom we might not have otherwise met, and we like having a waitstaff that gets to know us quickly. If you want to go to the entertainment, there are shows after dinner and sometimes, earlier-scheduled shows that you can see before dinner.

[Solara]

If it were me I would try to get late traditional dining. We just prefer that dining experience. It gives you time to have drinks, dancing or even a show before dinner and then a show after too. It's always worked out well for us.

[Solara]

Double post

[Woodmnky]

Pros Traditional:

1) Same time, same people, same waitstaff (especially helpful for those with food allergies or issues)

2) Traditional cruise experience

 

Cons Traditional:

1) No flexability without going to the buffet

 

Pros Anytime Dining:

1) No clocks to tell you when it is dinner time, just your stomach

2) Easier to get a table for two when you want to dine alone

 

Cons Anytime Dining:

1) Wait staff may be hit or miss (which you may notice more as you will have other's to compare them to)

 

 

---Personally, I loved anytime dining when we cruised. Enjoyed not having to worry about times or schedules as this is something that I do all day when not on vacation. Also, DH and I dined alone each night without a wait.

[Pam in CA]

Pros Traditional:

1) Same time, same people, same waitstaff (especially helpful for those with food allergies or issues)

2) Traditional cruise experience

 

Cons Traditional:

1) No flexability without going to the buffet

 

Pros Anytime Dining:

1) No clocks to tell you when it is dinner time, just your stomach

2) Easier to get a table for two when you want to dine alone

 

Cons Anytime Dining:

1) Wait staff may be hit or miss (which you may notice more as you will have other's to compare them to)

 

 

---Personally, I loved anytime dining when we cruised. Enjoyed not having to worry about times or schedules as this is something that I do all day when not on vacation. Also, DH and I dined alone each night without a wait.

Another "Con" for Anytime dining is the possibility of a wait, sometimes a long wait, which obviates the "flexibility" of being able to eat when you want. On our Crown cruise in July, according to the Maitre D', the wait time in Anytime after 8PM was 40 minutes... or more.

[cmalibu1]

I also love the late traditional. That is actually the reason I chose anytime. There were a couple nights when we wished we could have gone to dinner earlier (although we really like eating later) but there were also nights that we had to hurry up because we didn't want to be late. SO we thought that we would just go with the anytime.

 

I am sure you can change it...if there is space. As far as I know, the traditional dining times are usually the ones where people are waitlisted. For our cruise we didn't really have a choice, only anytime was left..even though it was what we preferred.

 

But, call your TA and see if you can change. Late dining in the traditional dining room is great!

[Putterdude]

We would prefer Tradtional but find the 5:45 time just a little too early and the 8:00 just a little too late. So we have been doing AD and enjoying it but do miss getting to know our waiters. However one of the positives of AD is that you do get to meet a new set of tablemates each night.:)

[jhannah]

We also prefer fixed, traditional dining. But Toto2Kansas is on the mark by saying your chances are very slim to get it 29 days from sail date. While anytime dining is popular with many folks, it's still very telling that traditional always has a waiting list. There are lots of us who still prefer this arrangement.

[RVD]

quick question...if you are booked on traditional, do you have the option to eat at any of the themed restaurants as well?

 

we're on the traditional early seating but i'm pretty sure my wife is going to want to try the asian cuisine as well as the italian restaurant (Sabatinis).

 

RVD.

[rdsqrl]

Yes, if you're assigned to Traditional, you can still dine at one of the specialty restaurants, or in the buffet -- although it's courteous to let your waiter/tablemates you won't be there that evening, so they don't wait for you. I don't know anything about any Asian specialty restaurant on Princess, though. . . ?

[Pam in CA]

we're on the traditional early seating but i'm pretty sure my wife is going to want to try the asian cuisine as well as the italian restaurant (Sabatinis).

There is no Asian or PacRim cuisine specialty restaurant on any Princess ship. There are two ships, the Diamond and Sapphire, that were originally designed to have four smaller Anytime dining rooms instead of two larger dining rooms. Each dining room had a theme and different menu which lasted only a few months. Now, all of the Anytime dining rooms on the Diamond and Sapphire have the same menu except for one "always available" item based on the room's original theme. Also, for those ships that have a Cafe Caribe, there is sometimes an Asian-themed lunch there with sushi, dim sum, satay, etc. but that's not every day.

 

As an FYI, Sabatini's is a fine dining restaurant with predominantly northern Italian food. You're more likely to find mussels than spaghetti, shrimp scampi than chicken parmagiana. In other words, you probably won't find food on the menu from your local Italian restaurant.

[WinnieinWA]

We would prefer Tradtional but find the 5:45 time just a little too early and the 8:00 just a little too late. So we have been doing AD and enjoying it but do miss getting to know our waiters. However one of the positives of AD is that you do get to meet a new set of tablemates each night.:)

 

Thanks for that! When I'm with a group I love Freestyle dining......dining when and where you want. (NCL)

 

I'm traveling solo this cruise and am looking forward to Anytime dining so I can meet lots of people.

 

I don't have a clue as to how it works but I'm excited to find out.

 

On RCI I was seated traditional late and ended up with 3 other gals my age who were traveling solo and we ended up having a blast together throughout the cruise!

 

I hope my Princess cruise will be as fun and exciting for solo people.

 

Happy Sails :)