Your Time Dining vs Set Dining Time

[Kurbanfan]

I'm a first time cruiser and am curious about the Pros and Cons of a set dining time vs. Your Time Dining. I chose the Late Dining because we tend to eat late at home. Are there any benefits in choosing one over the other?

 

There are no cons to choosing your time........

[Kurbanfan]

I prefer assigned dining. We always choose early dining. I like it because your dining staff, really gets to know you and you them.

 

You can have the same waitstaff every nite with your time too........

[Kurbanfan]

It seems that many folks who are new to cruising prefer the Your Time Dining option as they aren't familiar with traditional ship board dining.

 

:)

 

And many of us platinums cruises love my time too.......

[DEBnGAB]

The percentage alloted is based on Carnival's experience. On some voyages there are less than 15% that request YTD, on others there is more but as it requires physical changes to the dining area they have elected to stay at approximately that level. They seem to have pretty good confidence in the exact precentage they have settled on...

 

:)

 

 

I see...so the percentage of folks that end up with Anytime could never exceed 15% even if more people have requested it?

[*Mach*]

I see...so the percentage of folks that end up with Anytime could never exceed 15% even if more people have requested it?

 

 

I'm sure it could... if there's a constant higher demand Carnival would adjust to that but at the moment it's staying at approximately that level.

Since most of the folks who are interested in YTD want a table for two, perhaps four, it requires that tables be moved from one portion of the dining area to another. In the case of those ship with two levels in the dining room it can require a significant amount of time and effort.

:)

[*Mach*]

And many of us platinums cruises love my time too.......

 

 

Yep... and I noted that in one of my posts above...

:)

[Kurbanfan]

I see...so the percentage of folks that end up with Anytime could never exceed 15% even if more people have requested it?

 

Of course it would......my time has only been on some ships less then a year........it will adjust as the demand gets greater..........

[*Mach*]

Of course it would......my time has only been on some ships less then a year........it will adjust as the demand gets greater..........

 

 

Exactly right...

:)

[A&Jfamily]

You can have the same waitstaff every nite with your time too........

 

I have to disagree. If you are traveling as a party of 2 perhaps. But when we traveled as a party of 5, one night we had a 30 minute wait and the other and hour wait - and that last time they sat us at a table for 4 and put a spot on the end. We made the best of it...but not exactly what I would have chosen had I known. Imagine if we had tried to wait for the same staff - we could have been another 30 minutes or more.

 

So, back to early seating we go.

[Kurbanfan]

I have to disagree. If you are traveling as a party of 2 perhaps. But when we traveled as a party of 5, one night we had a 30 minute wait and the other and hour wait - and that last time they sat us at a table for 4 and put a spot on the end. We made the best of it...but not exactly what I would have chosen had I known. Imagine if we had tried to wait for the same staff - we could have been another 30 minutes or more.

 

So, back to early seating we go.

 

We always cruise with a party of 4 and 6......we never had a problem and we just requested the waitstaff we wanted at the front desk and they took us right in.....one night with just the 4 of us I think we waited about 5 minutes tops......sorry your experience was different......

4 times so far so good for us......

[GatorMomInNC]

I'm a first time cruiser and am curious about the Pros and Cons of a set dining time vs. Your Time Dining. I chose the Late Dining because we tend to eat late at home. Are there any benefits in choosing one over the other?

 

I have only cruised 2x before, several years ago with my husband. Back then they didn't have YTD dining, and one of the things we DIDN"T like was the assigned dining. It was a pain to have to eat at the same time every night (we missed the sunset every night we ate in the MDR), and it was especially annoying to have to get back from shore excursions and hurry to get dressed for dinner.

 

I am returning to cruising now that I have 2 young kids, and one of the things that lured me back was the YTD. Especially with 2 young kids, I can't be on someone elses schedule. We'll see how I like it - I'm schedule to cruise in October and January!

[charmy733]

We did your time dining on the Conquest last year and it was such a relief to have a 2 top guaranteed each night for dinner. Like a PP mentioned, I enjoy having a personal dining experience with my husband on our vacation.

 

The only negative we experienced was an extremely rude hostess. The first night we got there right when dinner started and they did as not have any tables available. We asked her if we should come back in 30 minutes and she just kept saying "No, longer, longer" with each time interval we mentioned. She didn't give us a pager as others have mentioned previously. Every night thereafter she just acted like it was such an inconvenience to her that we were requesting a table for 2. I almost complained about her on the cards, but decided to just let it go. I hope she won't be there this December!

[hubofhockey]

I was under the impression that there will be a separate anytime dining restaurant in the Magic (closer to how Princess does this) and guests will not be subjected to those annoying singing waiters. Does anyone know if this is true or how it is handled on the Dream?

[srlafleur]

We've done any time dining on any of our cruises that have offered it. We much prefer it to the forced socializing, forced schedule, etc. of fixed dining. On our last cruise, we loved our server on the first night and were able to be seated in her section (usually the same table) on all but one night. That said, we don't usually care if we have the same waitstaff or not. We're not there to make buddies with the people who bring our food, but we are there to have a relaxing vacation. I don't find it relaxing to have to rush or wait in order to get to dinner on time. I find early seating is generally too early and late seating too late.

[LemurCat]

The menu is exactly the same. You eat in a main dining room .. just one (or a section of one) that is assigned to the YTD.

 

I'll never choose traditional dining if there is a flexible dining program. I hate the pretense of "waiters getting to know me", or deciding..before I get to the table..what I might want to drink, or any of that. I LOVE the flexibility of choosing when *I* want to eat, not some arbitrary time established by the cruise line,

 

and eating with whom I want to eat..not a table-ful of strangers, whose only commonality is that we are stuck to eating together!

 

I don't personally mind the table full of strangers, but the whole "The staff really knows me! They're my friend!" creeps me out. They don't know me. They aren't my friends. And it amazes me that people expect the staff to act that way all while they know that the first time something goes wrong the staff most likely will be the recipient of their "new friend's" wrath.

[WOWGirl]

We prefer Set Time Dining. Since we have teenagers, they like to spend their time with their friends. They always know what time to meet back a the room so the family can have dinner together. Also, I dont mind waiting in line for breakfast or lunch, but dinner, I dont want to wait. I want to be seated with my family. Just my preference. :)

[wantocruisemore]

My daughter is restricted to a gluten free diet (& also insulin-dependant diabetic). Because of this Carnival highly recommended we do the set time dining.

 

So if you have any special needs or requests, I would go with the set time where you have the same wait staff, etc.

[Rocknsoul]

On our first 4 cruises, only set time was available. On the most recent 2, DH was determined to have a table for 2 & was not interested in sitting with strangers for dinner.

 

We got the table for 2 both times, but this last cruise I was a little put out at eating lunch alone for an hour while he waited for the Maitre d' on embarkation day. I will say that based on the conversations we couldn't help but hear around our table, on that particular cruise it was good to have a table for 2.:o

 

I was so glad to have the choice this time, and I'm looking forward to trying YTD.

[blindrid]

I don't personally mind the table full of strangers, but the whole "The staff really knows me! They're my friend!" creeps me out. They don't know me. They aren't my friends. And it amazes me that people expect the staff to act that way all while they know that the first time something goes wrong the staff most likely will be the recipient of their "new friend's" wrath.

 

Totally agree. I don't need new buddies like that. In general, I meet very few people on a cruise that I enjoy hangnign with. The last cruise on NCL. we met two couples that were great to hang with during the day but no-one got clingy and we went our own way for dinner. It was great.

 

We would run into them after dinner or in the casino and either drank together, or didn't. I really enjoyed their company but at the same time it was nice the way everyone respected everyone's wishes as well. We knew we weren't going to be lifelong buddies.

 

Some people just like servers to be their friends when the servers really don't care, I'm sure.

[Cruise, J.D.]

We will always choose YTD. The only downside I've noticed is that trying to sit together with a large group can cause problems.

 

One thing we like about YTD is that you can dine as early as 5:45 if you need to. Works great with a toddler!

[Kurbanfan]

I don't personally mind the table full of strangers, but the whole "The staff really knows me! They're my friend!" creeps me out. They don't know me. They aren't my friends. And it amazes me that people expect the staff to act that way all while they know that the first time something goes wrong the staff most likely will be the recipient of their "new friend's" wrath.

 

 

It's not a big deal for us having the same wait staff either.....but if we find a fast and efficient one on "my time" we will request them the next nite.......

Nothing worse then have a really bad wait staff like we did on the Spirit..........before they had "my time"

 

Fast and efficient means I can get my egg salad sandwich faster and have plenty of time to get my rockin bikini on.....LOL!

[thewynn]

I have been trying to decide on this as well. Our next cruise on the Dream will be my wife, 3 year old daughter, a 13 year old, and myself. I don't want to have to wait 30 minutes for a table for the 4 of us if we do YTD, do a party of 4 usually seat pretty quick?

Also, if we do YTD will we get a table for just the 4 of us or have to share a table with others?

I think I have read (maybe even in this thread) that the dinner process is not as long for YTD? If we could have an hour long dinner instead of a 2 hour dinner that would be great, especially with a 3 year old.

 

Thanks for the help

[Kurbanfan]

I have been trying to decide on this as well. Our next cruise on the Dream will be my wife, 3 year old daughter, a 13 year old, and myself. I don't want to have to wait 30 minutes for a table for the 4 of us if we do YTD, do a party of 4 usually seat pretty quick?

Also, if we do YTD will we get a table for just the 4 of us or have to share a table with others?

I think I have read (maybe even in this thread) that the dinner process is not as long for YTD? If we could have an hour long dinner instead of a 2 hour dinner that would be great, especially with a 3 year old.

 

Thanks for the help

 

A 4 top is no problem with YTD.....they have lots of booths that fit 4 people.....and yes the dining time will be as quick as you want it to be........that is another reason we enjoy YTD...

No you don't have to sit with anyone else but your own group.......

[paulandfran]

I'm planning on trying Your Time Dining next cruise. I think it's a great option for people who don't like the traditional dining room. I have a feeling I'll stick with Set Dining Time though because we've always had such great table mates many of whom we keep in touch with. And it seems like with many going to Your Time Dining it will make the Set dining even better because everyone there actually wants that same experience.

[mjmiller]

I was under the impression that there will be a separate anytime dining restaurant in the Magic (closer to how Princess does this) and guests will not be subjected to those annoying singing waiters. Does anyone know if this is true or how it is handled on the Dream?

 

The second floor of one of the regular MDRs is where YTD is on the Dream. It's all wide open. So I assume if you're eating upstairs when the "show" is going on downstairs for the set time folks - you'll hear it.