anytime dining not really

[cespo]

Over the summer we were on the Imagination with a party of 7. We choose anytime dining and never had a problem getting a table. We always were seated at the same table and had the same wait staff. They were absolutely wonderful. We did not have a set time when we went down to eat, but never had to wait for a table. I loved anytime dining have done it twice since then. Once with a party of 5 and another with a party of 4. And all times have had wonderful experiences.......

[CruiseHobbit]

I started out with Anytime dining on the Miracle for our next cruise. My dw decided to switch it to the late seating as she likes having the same waiter the entire cruise. Since there are 5 of us(DW, 3 children and I), it sounds like it is good that we switched, since it might be harder to accomodate all us. Usually we just squeeze into a booth for 4, but doubt they do that on the ship.

[MrPete]

Not that I'm a proponent of ATD, even in regular land restaurants, the larger the party, the longer the seat AND worse, the serve.

 

I would not expect that to be any different at sea.

[awhcruiser]

They don't have single tables to accommodate nine people..That was the problem.

 

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:

[rednose83]

We had the anytime dining last week on the Legend. We were a group of 7. We never had to wait and had the same table/server each night.

[caribbean dreams]

I have never requested anytime dining, we always opt for a set dining time because of #1...We always have a group of more than 5, & #2...Im afraid i would never make it to dinner if I knew i didnt have to be there at any certain time, to many other things i get occupied with on the ship.

[G'ma]

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.

 

....and, I believe that the Maitre'd and staff were trying their best to find a table for this party.....and it simply didn't work.

 

Look, when you turn down traditional dining and decide to wing it, there is no guarantee at all that you are going to dine at the exact time you show up. It's like showing up at a restaurant without reservations...you wait...sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.

 

It's not some giant conspiracy perpetrated by the Maitre'd to tick off the passengers. It simply is what it is.

[halos]

I sailed with a large group, on a different line.

They pushed tables together for us...happily.

[Traveler353]

....and' date=' I believe that the Maitre'd and staff were trying their best to find a table for this party.....and it simply didn't work.

 

Look, when you turn down traditional dining and decide to wing it, there is no guarantee at all that you are going to dine at the exact time you show up. It's like showing up at a restaurant without reservations...you wait...sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.

 

It's not some giant conspiracy perpetrated by the Maitre'd to tick off the passengers. It simply is what it is.[/quote']

 

You could be right. I have not been on a ship that had anytime dinning. Looking forward to trying it when I do. 6 is too early and 8+ is too late for me, screws my sugar levels all up.

[dan40]

Jumbo Shrimp

 

Congressional Intelligence

 

Anytime Dining Reservation

 

All Oxymoron's?:p

[bplazo]

I sailed with a large group, on a different line.

They pushed tables together for us...happily.

 

You still have to have the tables available to push together.

[CWcruisers]

I did not find Princess to be anytime. First off, that reservation phone is a joke. One person runs it and it is always busy. I felt like I was dialing in for a radio game show prize.

 

And anytime was 5:30 or 8:00 because everyone was focused on getting to the shows.

 

I found CCL's anytime dining on the Miracle worked very well. I was there 12/13-12/22 and never waited once. All but one night, we got a table for 2. They are not set up for large groups.

[dznymom]

....It's not some giant conspiracy perpetrated by the Maitre'd to tick off the passengers. It simply is what it is.

 

Not a conspiracy, just incompetence.

 

OP, definitely write Carnival a letter if for no other reason than to bring the problem to their attention so that the dining room staff can be properly trained and that Maitre 'D can be smacked upside the head.

 

If Carnival can't accomodate large groups with Anytime Dining, cruisers should be made aware of that when they make their choice.

[crookedhalo]

Maybe I'm not understanding the OP, but didn't he say they went and were told 30 minutes but came back an hour later? Maybe if they had gone back in 30 minutes there would have been a table for them:confused: I mean, if they didn't show up their tables might have been given to others who were there? If I make a reservation for a certain time and show up half an hour late, I wouldn't expect the restaurant to hold my table til I got there:(

[bplazo]

I am sure that the staff and Maitre'D are compentant and do not need a smack upside the head. Sometimes you just need to split the party and what does it matter anyway because you cannot talk to everyone at such a large table. I do not see this as a big deal.

[Hodag1]

I was on the Miracle beginning of Dec. We tried anytime dining and never again. We never had to wait for a table when we arrived at 6:45 or 7:15. However, we were told they only have ONE table available that seats 8. We were seated with two booths that were side by side, separated by a partition, but we could still talk a bit. We had different servers. Unfortunately, I was on the side with the SLOW service. our friends were eating their desert before we even got our entree. We tried anytime dining two evenings and found the service very poor each night. We asked to switch to late dining and were promptly accommodated. We had the BEST waiter I think I have ever had on Carnival, his name is Mihai. Thanks to him our dinners became enjoyable :)

[luv2cruise777l]

Maybe I'm not understanding the OP, but didn't he say they went and were told 30 minutes but came back an hour later? Maybe if they had gone back in 30 minutes there would have been a table for them:confused: I mean, if they didn't show up their tables might have been given to others who were there? If I make a reservation for a certain time and show up half an hour late, I wouldn't expect the restaurant to hold my table til I got there:(

 

You are given a beeper that lights up when your table is ready.

[Mokey]

We were just n the Legend in December and the ATD did not work for us. We wanted a table for two and were told that we would be seated with a larger table because they needed to fill up all available seats. Asked if we could wait for a table for two and were told no. The Asst Maitr'd told us that there was a table for two at the late seating and we took it. From our experience I think that I will continue to do assigned seating rather than take my chances on ATD. For us it was like they seat you for lunch and breakfast except that they wouldn't accomodate you if you wanted to sit with only your party.

[Mestiza Queen]

I'm reading that anytime dining is best for small groups. How are the tables then for traditional dining - how many people can they accomodate up to? I was thinking of doing anytime (we will be 6) because my mom is quite shy in front of other people, but now I'm wondering if it's easier to do traditional dining. If the maximum is 8, it won't be an issue because dh and I can turn up the social meter when we need to. 10 might be another story though.....

[lappy22]

Not sure why this is a problem with this dining room but on the elation, we saw a party of 14 enjoying dinner in weird L and T shaped tables every night of our cruise. The dining room staff simply moved tables around. Seemed easy enough to make them happy. There is no reason a Carnival ship can not do the same a land restaurant does every night.

[katiecat]

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:

Was the Maitrade D Johnny He keep his staff in a tizzy anywhere in a DR.

[Rosefloater]

.... we were told they only have ONE table available that seats 8. .... We had different servers. Unfortunately, I was on the side with the SLOW service. our friends were eating their desert before we even got our entree. We tried anytime dining two evenings and found the service very poor each night.

 

This service can happen at set dining also. I was part of a group of 20. We had 2 tables next to each other at the early sitting with the same waiter. The people at the other table were on their desserts while our dinner plates were just getting cleared.

[G'ma]

Not sure why this is a problem with this dining room but on the elation, we saw a party of 14 enjoying dinner in weird L and T shaped tables every night of our cruise. The dining room staff simply moved tables around. Seemed easy enough to make them happy. There is no reason a Carnival ship can not do the same a land restaurant does every night.

 

Well, let's see now......

 

At a "land" restaurant, usually a large party has a reservation...which ATD doesn't permit.

 

If the tables are full - or if there are people waiting before you, they go first.

 

If there were an opportunity to push tables together, without inconveniencing others already seated or those waiting to be seated who've been waiting longer, they would.

 

It's not a conspiracy......

[lappy22]

Well' date=' let's see now......

 

At a "land" restaurant, usually a large party has a reservation...which ATD doesn't permit.

 

If the tables are full - or if there are people waiting before you, they go first.

 

If there were an opportunity to push tables together, without inconveniencing others already seated or those waiting to be seated who've been waiting longer, they would.

 

It's not a conspiracy......[/quote']

 

The your time dining rooms have been converted to accomodate more parties of 2. I noticed where once was a long table of 8 against a window, now has 4 smaller tables(with little room between the tables) that can seat four tables of 2.

Or they can seat a party of 4 and two parties of 2.

Or they can seat a party of 6 and a party of 2.

Or they can seat a party of 8

Or they can add a chair to the end of the party of 8 for a ninth guest. (We have done this in regular dining)

 

The booths were eliminated as well on the Elation and changed to a long booth on one side of the table and chairs on the other side. This gave the flexibility of seating larger tables or multiple smaller tables.

 

A party of 9 should expect to wait for their table if they go to dinner around 7pm. We had to wait 20 minutes for just the two of us at that dining time. But the dining room should never tell the guest that they can not accomodate them after they have been waiting for 1 1/2 hours. If a 16 year old hostess at Applebees can figure it out, I'm pretty sure the Maitre d' and his staff on the Miracle can do it.

[Ellanora]

Appreciate the post OP. If the dining room couldn't accommodate a group of 9, that's fine, but they should have said so upfront, not 90 minutes later. That's simple common courtesy, let the customer know what to expect. I would expect the same from any land based restaurant as well - in fact, my family often goes together to eat as a group of 9, and usually the host or hostess will say the table availability and ask if it is okay to break us up, and that usually leads to less wait time.

 

I don't see the point in half set dining and half ATD. Pick one and devote the full resources, tables and servers, to it. I'll stick to set time dining until they go all the way with ATD.