Changing from early seating to anytime?

[Momma Mojito]

I've decided to change our dining from early seating to anytime. After 10 cruises with early dining I think I want to be able to get ready for dinner without a rushing around to be there on time. When we have cruised by ourself we have always enjoyed the same table mates every night, so this will be one thing I know I will miss. Am I making the right decision?

[MSN-Travelers]

I've decided to change our dining from early seating to anytime. After 10 cruises with early dining I think I want to be able to get ready for dinner without a rushing around to be there on time. When we have cruised by ourself we have always enjoyed the same table mates every night, so this will be one thing I know I will miss. Am I making the right decision?

 

I understand the attraction with TD. You can often make life-long freinds with your tablemates. On the other hand, when we are on a cruise we don't like to be on a time schedule for meals.

 

The flexibility that comes with anytime dining outweighs the favorable experience that might come with TD (we have had some stinker tablemates too). AD is one of the primary reasons we cruise on Princess.

 

Only you will know if you have made a mistake by switching to AD and most likely won't know for sure until the cruise is over.

 

Enjoy!

[Toto2Kansas]

You will never know until you try it for yourself. Some love it, some don't. The only way to know for sure is to give it a try and judge from there, everyone of us is different in what we enjoy so it would be very difficult to say how you will feel about it. Try it, you might enjoy it. ;)

 

I know for us, that rigid dining schedule is just not something we enjoy anymore on vacation. Plus, it only takes a couple of tablemates from he** to change your mind about TD (been there, done that one). lol

[grandmato4]

We're in a similar position. We are booked right now for early traditional but will likely change to anytime before our cruise just haven't gotten up the nerve to actually make the change;):) On our last cruise we finally had the experience for the first time of not so great tablemates. We also did something entirely different for us and ate in the Horizon Court for dinner one evening and actually enjoyed it:eek: not that we wish to do that every night but it was a good experience. We also had several different couples from our rollcall ask which dining we were doing as they would have liked to share dinner together if we had been doing Anytime so we think we're ready to branch out and give Anytime a try to see what our actual experience is like.

 

If its something that you'd like to try you'll never know for certain if its a good decision for you until you actually try it. Some people love it and others find they really do prefer traditional. In any case you'll know what you want for your next cruise.;) At least that's how we're looking at it.

[RickEk]

I've decided to change our dining from early seating to anytime. After 10 cruises with early dining I think I want to be able to get ready for dinner without a rushing around to be there on time. When we have cruised by ourself we have always enjoyed the same table mates every night, so this will be one thing I know I will miss. Am I making the right decision?

 

Well, you will miss sitting with the same folks night after night. But then, you'll have so much more freedom to eat whenever you like. And you can always request to sit with other people too... And hey, it's only one cruise. You can always go back to traditional next cruise... :)

[FredS]

Our last 21 day cruise we switched from TD to Anytime about the 2nd night. There were times that my wife just did not want to eat dinner (not sick, just too much too eat) so she would skip dinner. As you know with TD this can be awkward, with giving of reasons, etc. Interestingly, we several times sat with the same people over the course of the cruise. This was pleasant. We just took whatever table we were given. So it was potluck for tablemates, but it was nice not to have to set with the same windbag for 21 nights. Some people on this Board say you can reserve the same table and waiters for the cruise, even in Anytime. We find it more interesting to meet new people, some we like and some we did not miss. This was the first cruise out all we have taken that we did this. From now one this is probably what we will do, much more relaxing.

 

We just talked to the person at the door of the Anytime dining room, told him we were giving up our TD seating. He took care of notifications.

[karatemom2]

After becoming accustomed to Anytime Dining I don't think I would ever want to go back to the restrictions of Traditional Dining. I love the flexibility that AD provides. I find it much more relaxing to know that we are not on such a rigid schedule and I can plan my evenings each day as we choose.

[MERLOTCHAMPAGNE]

We're in a similar position. We are booked right now for early traditional but will likely change to anytime before our cruise just haven't gotten up the nerve to actually make the change;):) On our last cruise we finally had the experience for the first time of not so great tablemates. We also did something entirely different for us and ate in the Horizon Court for dinner one evening and actually enjoyed it:eek: not that we wish to do that every night but it was a good experience. We also had several different couples from our rollcall ask which dining we were doing as they would have liked to share dinner together if we had been doing Anytime so we think we're ready to branch out and give Anytime a try to see what our actual experience is like.

 

If its something that you'd like to try you'll never know for certain if its a good decision for you until you actually try it. Some people love it and others find they really do prefer traditional. In any case you'll know what you want for your next cruise.;) At least that's how we're looking at it.

 

Hi Joy!

 

Where are you cruising to??? We're in the same dilemma and I started a dining dilemma thread and received lots of posts.... to confuse us even more! Guess we'll only know once we try it with Princess.

 

Happy cruising....

 

Pam & Bruce

[Putterdude]

Try it, you won't know until you do. Frankly there are things we like about AD and things that we like about TD. The one thing that we don't like about AD are the lines...when they occur. We certainly have had good service in AD and there is not the pressure to get you out the door for the next seating.

[grandmato4]

Hi Joy!

 

Where are you cruising to??? We're in the same dilemma and I started a dining dilemma thread and received lots of posts.... to confuse us even more! Guess we'll only know once we try it with Princess.

 

Happy cruising....

 

Pam & Bruce

 

Hi Pam :) We're doing the 10 nt Southern Caribbean on the Ruby in Feb. Wish you guys could join us. We could do Anytime together:D Say hi to Mom and tell her I miss her in the Casino!:D

 

Joy

[captainron]

Folks,

Just think after returning from a shore excursion on a hot tropical afternoon, AD offers the following:

 

1) No rush to shower and primp;

 

2) No rush to get changed for formal night (in a sweaty tuxedo by early dining time is avoided);

 

3) Time to relax with a drink on the balcony before even thinking of dinner;

 

4) Lots of time to consider which formal photos you'd prefer to have taken before dinner thus avoiding the rush to get to the Princess Theatre for the late performance, or Explorer's Lounge for the next edition of Princess Idol; and

 

5) Time to relax for a late dinner and simply enjoy your dining room wait staff.

 

Just to name a few. A later dining time on Coral allowed us to interact more with our wait team. There were nights we were singing Broadway musical songs in our corner of the DR and the Maitre'd came over to join in.

 

Remember you are on Princess and so you have every right to:

 

 

Ciao for now!!!

[kooljamming]

On our last cruise we changed our sailing date in order to be assigned to TD. We are a family of 4 and requested a large table (8-10) but was assigned a table for 6. Not exactly the large table with different conversations I was hoping for. Add to this our table mates never showed, so we were eating by ourselves the first 2 nights:eek:. Not getting our table request shot our wonderful vision of cheerful conversation out the window. We switched to AT and was always seated with a large group which we truly enjoyed. Most of all I enjoyed the flexibility and going to afternoon tea without worrying about ruining my appetite for dinner. Since table size request is not guaranteed and I enjoy sharing a meal with others, I will stick with AT. On this cruise I embraced anytime dining and the casual buffet. It was quite liberating:p

[Momma Mojito]

I want to thank all of you for your opinions and you have helped me to make up my mind. We will be swictching to anytime dining I can see there are so many more positives to anytime than TD. I kind of feel guilty because we were never waited listed for TD like our other cruises with Princess.

Another question about anytime dining. We requested a large table, and was wondering if you have to wait for you table to fill before you place your dinner.

[Rockymountainsparky]

I want to thank all of you for your opinions and you have helped me to make up my mind. We will be swictching to anytime dining I can see there are so many more positives to anytime than TD. I kind of feel guilty because we were never waited listed for TD like our other cruises with Princess.

Another question about anytime dining. We requested a large table, and was wondering if you have to wait for you table to fill before you place your dinner.

 

I think you'll find that you made the right choice.:)

[TwinCruiserMom]

The larger tables in anytime fill fairly quickly. If you are in a particular hurry that night, just request a table for 2 and you will be able to eat at your own speed.

 

We had a lousy experience in traditional on the Emerald (late seating) and on the last cruise we went back to anytime. We loved it! If you go early or late you will not have a wait. If you go around 7 or 7:30pm, you may be given a beeper.

 

I love the flexibility of anytime. We were missing out on so many things before because we had to be at the dining room at a set time.

 

Hope you enjoy anytime as much as we have!

[PescadoAmarillo]

If you're on a ship (such as the Grand class) where there is one Anytime Dining Room on Deck 6 and one right below on Deck 5, if you see a bit of line outside the Deck 6 dining room, just walk right down the stairs to the Deck 5 dining room, and 80% of the time, there's no line there.

 

We love Anytime Dining. My cruise experience does NOT revolve around having the same waiter and the same tablemates each night. I appreciate the ability to dine early/later/never in the dining room on any given evening based on the day's activities, the next day's activities, the sunset, the shows, etc. We virtually never make reservations (only if dining with a large group of new friends) and instead like to be more spontaneous. If we request a table for 2 and there's a wait, but no wait for a large table to share, we share. The ONLY downside is if we're in the mood to share a large table, and we are seated and our timing is such that the table doesn't fill immediately. If we're in a hurry to get to a show, we'll ask to be served and we are, and that's kind of weird, only two of us sitting at a table for 8 (but how many times does that happen in Traditional Dining...lots!). If we're not in a hurry, we'll linger over a cheese plate until the rest of the table arrives.

 

We are generally earlier diners, and I really dislike the hurry in early Traditional Dining to get the table turned over in time for late dining. Sometimes the conversation just gels, enough so that it's worth missing the evening's entertainment altogether, and it's nice to be able to order another bottle of wine and another cheese plate and spend more time talking with new friends.

[Momma Mojito]

If you're on a ship (such as the Grand class) where there is one Anytime Dining Room on Deck 6 and one right below on Deck 5, if you see a bit of line outside the Deck 6 dining room, just walk right down the stairs to the Deck 5 dining room, and 80% of the time, there's no line there.

 

We love Anytime Dining. My cruise experience does NOT revolve around having the same waiter and the same tablemates each night. I appreciate the ability to dine early/later/never in the dining room on any given evening based on the day's activities, the next day's activities, the sunset, the shows, etc. We virtually never make reservations (only if dining with a large group of new friends) and instead like to be more spontaneous. If we request a table for 2 and there's a wait, but no wait for a large table to share, we share. The ONLY downside is if we're in the mood to share a large table, and we are seated and our timing is such that the table doesn't fill immediately. If we're in a hurry to get to a show, we'll ask to be served and we are, and that's kind of weird, only two of us sitting at a table for 8 (but how many times does that happen in Traditional Dining...lots!). If we're not in a hurry, we'll linger over a cheese plate until the rest of the table arrives.

 

We are generally earlier diners, and I really dislike the hurry in early Traditional Dining to get the table turned over in time for late dining. Sometimes the conversation just gels, enough so that it's worth missing the evening's entertainment altogether, and it's nice to be able to order another bottle of wine and another cheese plate and spend more time talking with new friends.

 

Thanks for pointing all this out. I called Princess to change but was told I had to call my online TA. Just got off the phone from him and he said it will take about 48 hous before it will show on my cruise personalizer. I do feel good about making the switch and thanks again to everyone.

[FritzG]

Only you can decide what's best for you. I agree that hurrying to get ready for dinner is a negative plus we rarely go to tea since it's so close to dinner. However we love having the same table and wait staff every night, and we've mostly been lucky with tablemates.

 

If you do make the change, please make it official and don't keep an assigned table you aren't going to use. We were waitlisted for first seating on two cruises, and there were tables in the dining room that were empty every single night.

[Momma Mojito]

Only you can decide what's best for you. I agree that hurrying to get ready for dinner is a negative plus we rarely go to tea since it's so close to dinner. However we love having the same table and wait staff every night, and we've mostly been lucky with tablemates.

 

If you do make the change, please make it official and don't keep an assigned table you aren't going to use. We were waitlisted for first seating on two cruises, and there were tables in the dining room that were empty every single night.

 

I guess you didn't read what I had posted right before you. I did call and make the official changes. I too know what it's like to be waited listed, last year we were wait listed and could not get into the early Traditional Dining room so they put us in the Anytime dining room with the same talbe and time for every night of our cruise. Worked out fine for the sis of us who were cruising together. I can see that maybe this is why there is a wait everynight for anytime dining.

[johnmik1]

Anytime Dining is one of the main reasons that we sail with Princess!

[Momma Mojito]

I just checked my cruise personalizer and we are now listed for anytime dining. So now it's official. .