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Open Time Seating for MDR


leekh
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We have open time seating in the MDR on the Carnival Dream. I thought we had Early time. Can we eat in either Scarlet or Crimon MDR? How long have you wait for those who had open seating?

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With Your Time Dining on the Dream last October, we never had a wait longer than 2-3 minutes. It all really depends on what time you go. We tend to eat earlier, so we avoid the 7:00 - 8:00 rush. You will have to eat in whichever dining room you are assigned, but you will not have an assigned table.

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We have open time seating in the MDR on the Carnival Dream. I thought we had Early time. Can we eat in either Scarlet or Crimon MDR? How long have you wait for those who had open seating?

 

YTD is in the front dining room on Dream

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In general on ships with 2 MDRs, like the Dream, the ATD will be held in the one just off the Atrium (excludes the Sunshine and Vista class). Wait times can vary dramatically, we've walked straight up to the hostess and been sat immediately to being on line to just give our name to the hostess for 45 minutes then being told it's another 20-30 minutes for a table to open (only happened twice so far). If the tables are full you will be given a beeper to alert you when to come back to the hostess desk for your seats, that way you can go to a bar/lounge, walk the promenade, or do a little (window) shopping. Just don't go to the casino, main theater, or casino, the electronics in those areas interfere with the beeper. Times that coincide with the traditional set time dining seem to generate lines, since evening shows still are scheduled around those 2 dining times. Also the first Elegant night is the busiest in the MDR, so if not enthralled with the prime rib and lobster menu, there may be plenty of openings at speciality dining (and sometimes a bonus like free wine) that night.

Personally for us we prefer to eat late anyway (DH works 2nd shift) so we will go to dinner after seeing the main production show and maybe an early comedy show. The MDR will seat ATD passengers until 9:30 with no service problems and only once have we run into the problem of a menu choice being not available (it was a soup so no biggie).

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We love YTD and only get it now. We go early when it opens and when we leave about 7-7:30pm there are tons of people waiting, so avoid that time frame. You wanted early seating, so just go early to the YTD and you'll be fine. We always request a table for two and never have a problem getting what we want.

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We had very good luck with YTD on the Breeze, but we almost always ate at 6 (didn't really plan to, it just worked out that way). Five evenings out of 7 we were seated in < 5 minutes. The first elegant night it was 20-25 minutes (we were closer to 6:30), and one other evening it was about 10 minutes. I doubt we'll choose early/late just because we like the flexibility.

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Thank you for starting this thread. Our upcoming cruise on the Sunshine (in 7 days!), we will have anytime dining. We have ALWAYS had early seating, but usually traveled with groups/family. This will be a celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary and really the first time we have traveled with just us. We decided to do anytime dining because we wanted a little more privacy and were hoping for a table for just the two of us. We figured this would accomplish that easier. I'm glad to read that the earlier times aren't as crowded, as we will probably stick with the 6-6:30 times.

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Thanks to all for your advice. We just came back from the Carnival Dream and had open seating. Originally I was nervous but we showed up early when the restaurant open and didn't wait more than 5 mins to be seated. Even as the night went on I didn't notice that long of a wait. Lastly the only negative is that on the Dream they assign you in the Crimson restaurant for those who have open seating. This is the smaller of the 2 restaurant (the other one is the Scarlet). So we couldn't eat and experience the Scarlet restaurant even if we wanted to.

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Lastly the only negative is that on the Dream they assign you in the Crimson restaurant for those who have open seating. This is the smaller of the 2 restaurant (the other one is the Scarlet). So we couldn't eat and experience the Scarlet restaurant even if we wanted to.

 

Even with assigned dining time, you don't get to choose which dining room to eat in. They assign you to one and that's the only one you can dine in.

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We prefer Fantasy class ships, and formal night anytime dining can be quite a long wait-BUT, if you are willing to sit with others (heck it's only one night and you may make a new friend) you will have no wait time at all. I would advise however, if you are a family and would eat dinner together every night any way-then choose the assigned time to avoid the wait.

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Thank you for starting this thread. Our upcoming cruise on the Sunshine (in 7 days!), we will have anytime dining. We have ALWAYS had early seating, but usually traveled with groups/family. This will be a celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary and really the first time we have traveled with just us. We decided to do anytime dining because we wanted a little more privacy and were hoping for a table for just the two of us. We figured this would accomplish that easier. I'm glad to read that the earlier times aren't as crowded, as we will probably stick with the 6-6:30 times.

 

 

Hi

 

Just thought I would expand this thought in an effort to clarify.

 

First, if you like the "early dining" time, YTD can work for you.

 

The idea that "early dining times aren't as crowded" is misleading. There are many people who will be waiting for the doors to open at 5:45 (a line). Once the doors open, these people are seated right away, as well as people coming after them. As with any other restaurant, once the available tables are occupied, anyone arriving after would have to wait. Just to be clear, there may be open tables, but if wait staff isn't available, they won't seat you. So, arriving at 6:30-6:45 p.m., you might find this to be the case. ***Especially on the "elegant" nights.*** In this situation, since it could be very close to when the seats were just filled, you will be waiting for the people first seated to finish their meal.

 

For this reason people wishing to dine later (after 8 p.m.) would rarely have to wait.

 

One other thing, they do have a lot of two top tables available for YTD, but on many ships these tables are placed in such a way, that most would agree doesn't give any feeling of privacy.

 

hope this helps

happy sailing everybody

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We have open time seating in the MDR on the Carnival Dream. I thought we had Early time. Can we eat in either Scarlet or Crimon MDR? How long have you wait for those who had open seating?

Your time dining is restricted to one dining room! The wait is never long!

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We were dyed-in-the-wool late diners for years and years, and loved that.

However, after our first trial run with YTD we were hooked, and we LOVE it!

We very rarely have had to wait longer than 10", even when asking for a table for two and even a specific wait team. But in the rare instance where we have had to wait (usually on elegant night when people turn out in droves) we just get a drink at the Atrium Bar and people watch!

I can't imagine that we would ever go back to assigned dining!

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