Is "your time dinning" new for Carnival ??

[starsteveo]

I was looking at the Carnival site under dinning and seen that they offer "your time dinning" in the MDR for ten ships they had listed, including the Sensation that I'll be on in two weeks. First time cruiser, I am a newby here too, but have not seen any post on here discussing this. I thought you had to choose 6:00 or 8:15. Does anyone know about this? This is copied off the site .....

"Your Time Dining - No reservations required. Dine in the main dining room anytime between 5:45 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Guests are usually seated within 20 minutes on a first-come, first-serve basis, depending on party size. Parties of 10 or more may need to be accommodated at different tables."

[cathyz]

It started on Carnival many months ago and is being phased into all the ships by mid-2010.

[StillPooh]

I think they've been rolling it out through the fleet over the past year.

 

I was thrilled to find out that Carnival had introduced it, and in fact it made me decide to sail with Carnival again over another line.

[starsteveo]

How does it work?? I've already chose the 8:15??

[Slimpickins]

How does it work?? I've already chose the 8:15??

 

You can eat anytime between 545pm and 945pm. Its in a specific location in one of the dining rooms.

 

If you think you might want it, you better call your TA or Carnivals 1-888 number and change it.

[Tapi]

I was looking at the Carnival site under dinning and seen that they offer "your time dinning" in the MDR for ten ships they had listed, including the Sensation that I'll be on in two weeks. First time cruiser, I am a newby here too, but have not seen any post on here discussing this. I thought you had to choose 6:00 or 8:15. Does anyone know about this? This is copied off the site .....

"Your Time Dining - No reservations required. Dine in the main dining room anytime between 5:45 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Guests are usually seated within 20 minutes on a first-come, first-serve basis, depending on party size. Parties of 10 or more may need to be accommodated at different tables."

 

 

Tried it on Carnival for the first time last year (aboard the Carnival Liberty, November 2008). For us, it was AWESOME. We wanted a table for two and the flexibility to eat whenever we wanted, and we were accomodated most nights either immediately, or within 10 minutes of arriving at the dining room.

 

The only time that we had to wait, we were given a "beeper". We went to the photo gallery to wait, but within minutes, our table was ready.

 

Most of the people we saw at Anytime Dining were either couples or small families (4 people max).

 

I would recommend Anytime Dining to small groups, but not to large groups

[uppitycats]

Generally you have to choose which style of dining you want, though -- tradtional (set times), or the anytime option. You can't switch back and forth. For example, you can't decide, "...oh, we'll be busy tonight at 6:15, so we'll just go to "your time dining tonight".

 

So indeed, if you decide you want the flexible dining, call your agent and get it switched before your cruise.

 

I wouldn't go back to traditional dining at all, and am another one glad to see Carnival making this change!

[StillPooh]

Generally you have to choose which style of dining you want, though -- tradtional (set times), or the anytime option. You can't switch back and forth. For example, you can't decide, "...oh, we'll be busy tonight at 6:15, so we'll just go to "your time dining tonight".

Conversely, if you sign up for YTD, you can eat at 6:15. Or at 8. Or anytime that suits your fancy from 5:45 to 9:30, according to my reservation. :D