anytime dining not really

[inkboy95]

We were on the Miracle for the new years day cruise we had booked this cruise in feb. of 09.There were nine of us in our party.The first night we showed up around 7:30 at the main dining room and were told it would be a half hour to be seated we were suprised (this never happened on princess or rcl) but said ok.An hour later we went back to the front desk and were told 15 more mins. By this time we were getting a little annoyed but still said ok. A half hour later for a total of 1 hour 30 mins. we were then told sorry we can't accomadate you but we can give you table of 4 three and two, to witch we said no we've waited an hour and a half please help us.The hostess then said well we've got a 6 and a 4 witch we took (It was close to 9pm by then).We ate and chalked it up to not calling ahead.The next day around 10am we called down to the rest. desk and asked to make a reservation for 7:30 and we were told that on anytime dining they don't take reservations.So we went down at 7:00 and were told we cant accomadate you period,you'll have to take atable of 4 a table of 3 and atable of 2.We were hungry so we sucked it up and took them.The 1st chance i got i called the maitrade over and told him my story he said sorry but only 20% of the upstairs dining room was devouted to anytime dining and there was nothing he could do.Now i'm not looking for a refund or anything like that but they must have a count of how many people were on anytime dining and party size.He also stated this is new to us and we'll try to do better on your next cruise.So just a BIG WORD OF WARNING don't book anytime dining on the miracle till these problems are resolved.This didn't ruin my cruise but it did make me think twice about another carnival cruise.:confused::confused::confused::confused:

[Weddingcrasher]

I remember reading somewhere that this Anytime dinning is best intended for smaller parties (2-4), as to not be placed at a larger table with unknown cruisers...

[iceshots]

I think the biggest problem was the size of your group. We did anytime dining on Ecstasy and noticed that there were only a few large tables in the anytime dining area. We were three people and got a table for 4 immediately each night we went.

 

For a large group I would definitely go the traditional dining route.

 

Hope you did not let this ruin your cruise.

[James in SA]

It worked great for us as a couple. We were seated immediately every time, and whether we opted for a table for two or to be seated with others we always ended up striking up a pleasant conversation. It was nice that we got to meet different people each time.

 

It definitely is not designed for a group of 9 all seated together though.

[chachi]

I have not had any trouble with anytime dining. I think it has to do with the size of your party. I too would go with traditional dining if I wanted to sit together or if I wanted anytime I would be willing to split up.

[firefly333]

We had a table for 8 on Princess and they gave us beeper things to wait and be called. It took quite a while to all get seated at the same table.

 

Carnival isnt alone in this.

 

dont sweat the small stuff.

[*Mach*]

As others have said the primary target of Your Time dining is those folks who are looking for a table for two. Of course, there are larger tables but I don't believe any ship in the fleet has a table that would accomodate 10 for Your Time dining.

Now, I'm not appologizing for Carnival, just stating facts.

The other issue is that about 10% of dining times are reserved for Your Time dining. This is because, from experience, that's the percentage that request it. Generally, it's a bit below that but if there are more requests than space those folks are given traditional dining times.

Did you book as a group or did everyone book separately? Were the bookings linked?

How was the rest of the voyage?

[sallyb]

Our experience with anytime was so good on the Pride that we booked it again for the Dream.

[loveJake]

We sailed on the Dream in Dec., had anytime with a party of 8. We walked in with no wait every night. Also had the same table and servers. We ate around 6:30 most nights.

[gargoyle999]

I am very glad Carnival does not accept reservations with Your Time dining. Hope they keep it that way. I would agree that it will work best for smaller parties. If you are with a larger group that wants to sit together then fixed is the way to go.

 

Chalk it up to a lesson learned for next time, if there is one. :cool:

[Rosefloater]

When we did ATD on the Paradise we were given a buzzer. Weren't you?.

 

We found that the best time to do ATD was around 6:30. when we went at 7, we had to wait. I don't know about later in the evening.

 

The problem was that the tables are set up for 2-6 people. But it sounds like the Asst. Maitre D's dropped the ball with your party.

[kkorman]

I remember reading somewhere that this Anytime dinning is best intended for smaller parties (2-4), as to not be placed at a larger table with unknown cruisers...

 

Absolutely true.

 

I think that is why it was first created. If you have a large party, set timing is the way to go.

[jennbill]

It was great on the Legend in September. We're sailing on Triumph's first-ever cruise with anytime in two weeks. Risky but we're trying it.

[smileeys]

Thanks for posting your experience. I don't think it would be common knowledge that if you had that many people that it would be that difficult to get a table. (It seems the M D could have offered to switch ya'll to the traditonal time).

[BruceMuzz]

In nearly any restaurant on planet earth it would be unreasonable to walk in with a party of 9 and expect to be seated immediately.

 

The Maitre d'hotel probably did not explain it to you as it is just plain common sense.

[Middleager]

In nearly any restaurant on planet earth it would be unreasonable to walk in with a party of 9 and expect to be seated immediately.

 

The Maitre d'hotel probably did not explain it to you as it is just plain common sense.

There're lots of restaurant ready to take part of 9.

 

But I agree on a cruise, there are not many tables for 9 or larger, especially not for ATD.

[smileeys]

I usually just let stuff like this go as I am not even the OP but did you even really read what the OP said? From my understanding, they did not expect to be seated immediately. I think anybody that has a pulse would be aggravated if they were initially told they could all be seated together in a certain amount of time and then have to break up in groups after waiting an hour and a half. Just my two cents or three.

[jessemon]

Check out what is in Carnival's facts area.....Note what it says about 10 top tables for this ship...

https://www.bookccl.com/irman/bookccl/shipboard_knowledge/TableSizes.htm

 

Very limited is the key word......Also my thought would be if you could get one in the anytime system you should get there early because they are probably not chasing people out of their tables unlike in the regular system. So if people get there at say 6:30 and are in no hurry they may be still sitting at that table at 9:00.....

I'll stick with the regular system......;)

[bplazo]

I usually just let stuff like this go as I am not even the OP but did you even really read what the OP said? From my understanding, they did not expect to be seated immediately. I think anybody that has a pulse would be aggravated if they were initially told they could all be seated together in a certain amount of time and then have to break up in groups after waiting an hour and a half. Just my two cents or three.

 

Maybe they thought that they would have tables. You can never judge how long a table will sit and talk after dinner. I had a table sit and chat for five hours yesterday, I finally told them that I was leaving (this was after 2 hours past my time to be off) and they had to cash out but they could still stay. I will have to see if they are still there this morning :)

[vacruizer]

I'm having flashbacks to my restaurant days here. It's difficult enough to predict when a table for 4 will open up. Add a large party into the mix and you've now go to predict when various groups of people will finish eating and leave, then hold those tables until you have enough pull together to seat the group, meanwhile angering those in line who see empty tables just sitting there. You can't win. And when a few of those tables decide to linger over coffee an extra hour over what you predicted - then the people in line who heard 30 minutes and had to wait an hour and 30 minutes get really mad.Cut them some slack. Seating a large party at peak dinner time is difficult in any restaurant situation. If waiting for dinner (just like you would with 10 people at 7pm in a land restaurant) makes you want to sail another line then I think maybe you won't be happy anywhere.

[halos]

In nearly any restaurant on planet earth it would be unreasonable to walk in with a party of 9 and expect to be seated immediately.

 

The Maitre d'hotel probably did not explain it to you as it is just plain common sense.

 

You gotta be kidding.

Did you read her entire post?? It sounds as if they waited patiently for 90 minutes and then were told they couldn't be accomodated.

Excuse me, but that sucks.

 

Had they been told immediately, it would have seemed a bit better, don't you think?

 

OP: I am sad that happened to your group and I thank you for posting your experience. I would for sure write to CCL and explain what happened. Having to wait and then being told, 'no' just isn't good. if the anytime dining is set up for smaller groups or just couples then you should have been told that the first night if this was something you were not aware of.

[Elaine515]

Believe it or not, one of the main reasons (and yes, there are others and lots of them) that we stick to Carnival is because they still offer set dining times. We are usually a minimum of 10 people who cruised another line one year (and I cant remember if it was NCL or RCCL) where there was no choice but anytime dining. Well, when 10 people show up they look at you like "ut oh"... Yes, they did give us a beeper but that doesn't really make it any better... more times than not, a large table is harder and takes longer to get...

 

After the 2nd or 3rd night figuring out that there would always be a wait, we started sending the kids to the dining room 1 hour before we really wanted to eat!!! That was it for us... Poppy said never again and thats why we are back where we belong... If Poppy is happy, the entire family is happy!!! Thnx Carnival

[bots99]

We've tried anytime dining on both the Glory & Dream when it was two and four of us and both worked out perfectly. If we had a wait, it was only a few minutes. On our last Dream cruise we had a party of 6 so we chose assigned seating. We had a fantastic server - Mica - and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

 

It's easier for them to find a deuce or a 4 than a table for a larger party.

[Traveler353]

OP: I believe if they could not seat your party at one table they should have told you so up front instead of misleading you for an hour and half. But once you knew that they could not seat your party I think it became a non-issue. You were offered two tables side by side. You should have taken it.

[Cheeseland Cruisers]

We had a group of 8 on the Legend last year and had any time dining. We usually got there kinda early (6:30-7), and we got the same table with the same waiter everynight but one. And the one we didn't was when we got there a bit later (like 7:20 or so), and we had to wait about 45 minutes to get the same table. It was awesome, and we booked anytime dining again this Feb on the Liberty.