Dining Arrangements Which is Best?

[ginder11]

Assigned Seating and Assigned Times?? or Open Seating Any time?

I am a first time cruiser. Aug. 2010 Alaska 14 day cruise

:p

[cb at sea]

You should give traditional a try--having tablemates (IMO) MAKES the cruise! We love having folks to talk to at dinner!

Most "anytime" diners want to eat all alone....how boring! There's 22 1/2 hours a day to be alone...dinner is a social time! Enjoy tablemates and the traditional way of cruising!

[ginder11]

You should give traditional a try--having tablemates (IMO) MAKES the cruise! We love having folks to talk to at dinner!

Most "anytime" diners want to eat all alone....how boring! There's 22 1/2 hours a day to be alone...dinner is a social time! Enjoy tablemates and the traditional way of cruising!

 

Thanks for the advice, it makes alot of sense, since I want to meet people. I haven't traveled in 10 years; but used to travel extensively. I am going with three of my neighbors, hopefully they feel the same.

[geoherb]

I like traditional dining. We meet enough strangers during breakfasts and lunches on the ship when we go to the dining room for open seating. The first meal is always the same conversation about where people are from, what they do, where they've cruised, etc. It's only into the week that we really start getting to know our tablemates.

[paul929207]

It really comes down to personal preference. We like Traditional.

[ginder11]

Thanks for your reply!

I think traditional dining may be the way to go.

[Andee]

We like open seating dining so much that we won't go on a cruise if traditional dining is the only option. We don't like to eat at the same time every night, don't vcare about getting to know the wait staff, and enjoy meeting lots of different people. When we find people we really like, we can always make plans to eat together again.

[Capt_BJ]

define best!

[paul929207]

define best!

To me, "best" is what is right for each person. For some this is Anytime Dining, for others it is first seating Traditional and for the rest it is second seating. What is best for me is not necessarily best for you.

[thego6girl]

Assigned Seating and Assigned Times?? or Open Seating Any time?

I am a first time cruiser. Aug. 2010 Alaska 14 day cruise

:p

 

since these boards are (really) all opinion, here's mine. We did a similar cruise last year, and chose second traditional seating. We liked it because we felt if we were in a port, it gave us time to re-group (aka: take a nap) between excursions and dinner, days at sea; it gave us something to look forward to later in the evening, and most important; we developed a really nice relationship with our head server! Just my opinion! :)

[Liz54]

I like traditional (late) as well. Plus, if you book traditional you can always ask to be switched to Anytime if you do not like it after a few nights. The reverse switch is nearly impossible.

[uppitycats]

We'll choose flexible (anytime) dining whenever it's available. We've had enough of incompatible table mates, having to rush back to meet someone else's idea of when to eat (cruise line's fixed dining), dealing with fawning waiters who assume they know what we'll want before we ask for it.

 

We tried the traditional several times, and sighed a big sigh of relief when flexible dining became an option.

[ginder11]

since these boards are (really) all opinion, here's mine. We did a similar cruise last year, and chose second traditional seating. We liked it because we felt if we were in a port, it gave us time to re-group (aka: take a nap) between excursions and dinner, days at sea; it gave us something to look forward to later in the evening, and most important; we developed a really nice relationship with our head server! Just my opinion! :)

 

Thanks, your opinion gave me more insight into traditional, like regrouping after being in port. I never thought about that.:p Everyone so far has agreed with you on trad.

Except for a couple of non committal comments

[Arwenmark]

Thanks for your reply!

I think traditional dining may be the way to go.

 

I absolutely detested traditional seating back in the day when that is all there was.

 

I LOVE freestyle dining. It is the difference between being told when to eat and with whom who you may or may not like, and if you move you still may not like the new ones. the alternative is to eat when you like just like at a restaraunt on land with whom you like.

 

You can also request being seated with others if that is your choice.

[Andee]

Non-commital comments? LOL!!

 

"We tried the traditional several times, and sighed a big sigh of relief when flexible dining became an option."

 

"I absolutely detested traditional seating back in the day when that is all there was."

 

"We like open seating dining so much that we won't go on a cruise if traditional dining is the only option. "

[ginder11]

Dining Preference

Wow! At first every response I received was all for Traditional dining, but the most recent responses have been STRONGLY in favor of Freestyle dining.

 

I don't know what to think at the moment. I am glad I have some time to decide and 3 fellow travelers to help with the decision or decide for me. Again this is my first cruise. I think after this I will have a definite opinion one way or another also.

Thanks

[BIG_Steve]

I like traditional (late) as well. Plus, if you book traditional you can always ask to be switched to Anytime if you do not like it after a few nights. The reverse switch is nearly impossible.

 

I don't think you can be switched that easily on all lines, or if the anytime assignment is full. You would have to ask the maitre'd.

 

We've done NCL freestyle and CCL anytime. Always got a table for two without asking for one. I like the freedom it offers. One of these cruises we intend to try traditional. Until then, anytime dining is like eating in a land restaurant.

[printingchick]

Flexible/AnyTime/MyTime dining!!!

 

I've taken 8 cruises. On my last cruise, I tired flexible dining for the first time. I was hesitant when it was offered. I wonder if those folks who so strongly recommended traditional dining have ever tried flexible dining.

 

After our initial hesitation, we decided to give MyTime Dining a try. We theorized that, while we sometimes met GREAT folks at dinner who we kept in touch with after the cruise, about half the time our tablemates were people who just never showed up. When you do traditional dining, you sometimes get seated with people who prefer to dine at the buffet most nights or who like to go to the specialty restaurants. It's very hit or miss. Landing with really compatible dining companions happens only about HALF the time. (Maybe even less than half, but those times tend to be more memorable!)

 

I can't see ever going back to traditional dining again, unless I cruise solo. Flexible dining allows you to schedule your meal at a convenient time each day. You don't feel rushed to be there at your assigned time because your tablemates are waiting for you. You don't have to schedule your activities around your meal time, you schedule your meal time around your activities. We'd look at the newsletter each night for the following day's activities, pick the ones we wanted to participate in and look for an empty block of time to fit in dinner. It was SO MUCH more relaxing that way.

 

Sometimes, you return from a port of call at 4:00 in the afternoon, starved because you haven't eaten since breakfast. So you grab lunch or pizza. You're not going to be hungry for dinner at 6:00! Also, a 6:00 formal-dress dinner is difficult to handle if you're at port until 5:30! It's a race to get ready and be at the table on time. Who needs that stress?

 

We found 8:30 too late for us to eat. We'd eat dinner, go see a show (in the dark) and get so sleepy we'd end up falling asleep and missing the nightlife!

 

We didn't make any sort of standing reservations on our last cruise. We just showed up and were always seated within 5 minutes or less. We were seated with the same waitstaff 5 out of 7 nights - often at the same table.

 

Dinner is quicker when you do flexible dining because the waitstaff isn't trying to keep the entire table or even their entire section on the same schedule. You move from course to course as YOUR table is ready.

 

I vastly perfer the flexible dining option and I strongly suspect some of the traditional dining proponents would prefer it if they gave it a try. I would have voted for traditional dining a year ago. Not any more!!

[cardbucfan]

We strongly prefer flexible dining to traditional. Early seating is too early for us to eat and it always caused us to rush to get to dinner on time. Late seating is too late and our kids always felt they were missing the fun stuff in the kids clubs. Flexible dining gives you the opportunity to eat when you want, eat with other folks if you want or not, and you don't have that concern of wanting to do something different for dinner one night and leaving your tablemates hanging about whether you'll be there or not. Last summer on our Alaskan cruise, there were evenings when we were so enjoying sitting on the balcony watching the scenery and the wildlife that we ordered room service rather than go to the MDR (also didn't have to dress!) and we didn't have to worry about people waiting for us.

[Arwenmark]

Non-commital comments? LOL!!

 

"We tried the traditional several times, and sighed a big sigh of relief when flexible dining became an option."

 

"I absolutely detested traditional seating back in the day when that is all there was."

 

"We like open seating dining so much that we won't go on a cruise if traditional dining is the only option. "

 

Where does it say only non-commital comments welcome? Also note my signature line! LOL

[Deckhandoug]

We prefer flexible dining, we too have had table mates not show up from day to day and had to rush to make our dining time after a busy port day.

[DDWW]

Traditional for us. We have not had good luck with freestyle. Seems anytime we wanted to eat at our convenience, everyone else wanted to eat at that time. Long lines. We waited 45 minutes one night standing at the dinning room entrance.

So late seating, assigned table, same staff, works for us.

 

 

DD (what night do you serve duck?)WW

[elycelynne]

And (for printingchick), I even did this as a solo. I don't know how it is on most other lines, but on Holland America a solo cruiser can share a table with others who have open seating, and there will be people at those tables that will welcome a solo cruiser. The statement that most people who choose anytime dining want to eat alone is a generalization. To me the flexibility of being able to eat on my own schedule far outweighs the security of coming back to the same table every night, but at the time that the cruiseline dictates.

[peptobysmol]

since these boards are (really) all opinion, here's mine. We did a similar cruise last year, and chose second traditional seating. We liked it because we felt if we were in a port, it gave us time to re-group (aka: take a nap) between excursions and dinner, days at sea; it gave us something to look forward to later in the evening, and most important; we developed a really nice relationship with our head server! Just my opinion! :)

 

Only problem with this is you will miss your evening "show". With Early Dining you can more easily see the evening show. But you won't be able to "regroup" and after 10 hours in the caribbean sun... You NEED some regrouping :D

[Andee]

My comment was in response to the OP saying,

 

"Thanks, your opinion gave me more insight into traditional, like regrouping after being in port. I never thought about that. Everyone so far has agreed with you on trad.

Except for a couple of non committal comments "