Tried "Your Time" dining on the Dream 11/20 - NEVER AGAIN! (Chef's Art letdown also)

[Skywench]

we sail on saturday and have the anytime dining request. i wont even attempt to tell my mom of this problem as she will worry til next week and all through the cruise. i just hope we are ok.

 

My mom and I sail together quite often. On the last two cruises we had anytime dining and just loved it. For me, it's just much better not having to be on a schedule for meals. No rushing around after a day in port and no having to share a big dinner table with other people if you don't want to. We never eperienced any long waits. We only had to wait one time and it was only for about 10-15 minutes. Unlike some people, I don't cruise for the whole dining experience and the social event of dinner. Heck, if I had my way, I wouldn't go in the main dining room at all lol.

[Havingfun2010]

Less money = less service

MTD = wait in line like at a restaurant (hit or miss)

 

Complaints are good. But I still like to put things in perspective. Many that go on Carnival is not going to get dressed up. Just isn't going to happen, since Carnival lowered prices, and lowered standards. I still will go on a Carnival Cruise, but my expectations now are way below.

[drosphot]

I noticed on the Miracle that YTD's usually flocked in at the early seating time..it would make more sense to me to show up closer to 7pmish...thats my plan anyway when I try it with my mother on the Inspiration in March!

 

We (family of 5) were on the Miracle for Thanksgiving week and showed up around 630-7 when we ate in the MDR. One day we waited 5 minutes, the rest we were seated immediately. Also our steakhouse experience was incredible.

[mj]

OP (Tom), thanks for sharing as I will be trying YTD in just a few weeks. To make matters worse, I'm travelling solo, so I'm facing a double-whammy and getting a tad nervous about the whole thing.

 

Halos, I'll be on the Liberty shortly after you, so please post your experience with YTD on the Liberty (pretty please)? I've heard that the MDR service on the Liberty is good, but 3,000 + pax must be a logistical nightmare (I can't even imagine feeding that many peeps within a 4 hour range)! I have booked the Chef's Table and Harry's Steakhouse, just in case I'm disappointed with the dining experience in the MDR, but I'm hopeful that I will not be disappointed.. I love to eat well, and Tom is right, dining is a big part of our cruise experience - good food and good dining room service is one area the cruiselines cannot afford to cut back on. ;)

 

I did YTD dining on the Liberty in May as solo passenger and had no problems. Most of the time, I got a table by myself and only had a 2 minute wait on one night. Went between 6:45 and 8:15 and had no problem getting seated. Service was good at YTD, but the service I experienced at assigned seatings seems to be better.

[C Cruise Dude]

This post will likely not "go down" well with all who read it. It simply relates a couple of events which need to be aired!

 

We just got off the Dream this morning. Having completed close to 50 Carnival sailings, this was our first experience with YOUR TIME dining. We have always had early (with 1-2 exceptions).

 

On this sailing, since we had 4 nights booked in the Steakhouse (Chef's Art) and 1 night at the Chef's Table (EXCELLENT), that left us with only two nights in the MDR so we decided instead of having a table set aside for us in the MDR which would sit empty for 5 of 7 nights, that we would go with YTD.

 

Our first night in the MDR (Crimson, deck 4) was on the second night of the cruise. That was the first "Cruise Elegant" night, so on went my tux. I was apparently the only one, in that dining room at least, who felt "elegant" might imply a tux. This thread though is NOT about that! - back to the main topic... That evening we arrived at 7 PM and were immediately seated at a reasonably private table for two. Good service, food and wine made for a nice dinner.

 

Our second night trying the YTD was last night (final night of the cruise). We arrived at 6:50 with a chilled bottle of wine and was told that we would need to wait. I asked for an estimate of how long the wait would be and was told 20 minutes. We were given a beeper/pager and proceeded to wait in a nearby room. After 25 minutes had passed, I headed back into the dining room and asked the hostess if she could put our bottle of wine on ice, as it was warming up. She took the bottle and assured us they would keep it cold. After appx. 45-50 minutes we were seated. This time our table was not quite as "choice". It was a two topper perhaps 10" away from an adjacent two topper. How Carnival, and many other land based restaurants, can justify calling such a set up a "table for two" is beyond me! :rolleyes: At any rate, this meant that any conversation above a whisper would be heard by your unintended "table mates". However in that dining room a whisper across the table would not be heard by Cheryl thanks to the the level of background noise. I could hear the piped in symphony music over the crowd, and thought how out of place that music seemed given what was going on all around. Cut off jeans, sweat pants, baseball caps on (backwards no less). The 5 topper to my right with 2 kids crawling all over the place was a source of "amusement" for us... as they (finally) left their ~4 year old grabbed the cork in our wine bottle and started fiddling with it. This was new territory to me, fortunately the father quickly told him to "git yer paws off that son". NUFF SAID about that! The concept of YTD is great, but they simply don't have enough tables to meet the demand... or really what they don't have is enough able bodies to work the room. The waiters were keeping very busy, bringing small trays of different courses from the dining room all the time. There were NUMEROUS tables which were left uncleared for too long: the 5 person table behind Cheryl (which appeared to be crowded even for 4!) was vacant/dirty when we were seated, and remained that way for FORTY FIVE minutes! As I said, it was not the only one - several could be seen. NO WONDER people had long waits! At one point we observed the hostess and Maitre d' himself setting the tables.

 

Libby, a fellow CC'er we met onboard, was also waiting that evening for a table. She reported to us that she had experienced long wait times the entire week - no matter what time they arrived. One hour was not uncommon, and once it was TWO HOURS of wait time before being seated - and that was for a party of only 3 people! That, my friends, is unacceptable. Carnival for years has been steadily stretching their employees thinner and thinner. More and more tables for waiters... more and more cabins for stewards. Well, in my opinion - in the case of the Dream at least, they have passed a tipping point. They need to remedy this right now, especially in the YTD rooms, or risk pissing many people off. We have experienced the equivalent of YTD on Celebrity (Solstice) and never waited more than a minute or so... more like "come right this way". There the host and others were in constant communication with earpieces and it was all handled very efficiently... impressive. Before you say "well, you pay more for that" - let it be known that we picked the Solstice over the Dream to take our son and 3 friends on for an "end of the school year" trip this summer because (but not limited to, LOL) we could get the 4 boys in a balcony cabin on the Solstice for slightly LESS than the fare for them in an INSIDE on the Dream for that date! LINK to the details! ;)

 

OK - so enough about the failed YTD experience. We will not try that again on Carnival... EVER!

 

Now to another observation of diminished dining experiences: Chef's Art - Each evening when we were there we witnessed multiple dropped dishes, waitresses chatting and giggling with each often within earshot, poor timed table service: on our first THREE nights in there, they would bring our entree and then it would be 3-5 minutes while we sat there and waited for our butter (for lobster), sauces (for the steaks), and side dishes (mashed potatoes, vegetables, etc). On that third night I pointed it out to them in no uncertain terms that if that was intentional, as it apparently was due to the consistency of this practice, that it was in no way acceptable. Our food was literally getting cold as we waited on these items which should come in relatively rapid succession to one another. We have enjoyed the Supper Clubs (sorry, STEAKHOUSE :rolleyes:) on many ships - probably over 30 times - and know how it used to be. First we lose the live music, then the quality of service suffers a slow decline (which was readily apparent on this sailing). Is there no longer any formal training of the staff - proper etiquette and protocol? Or are they just trained by the current staff as they are moved up in the ranks to this position... which will slowly lead to the steady decline we witnessed?

 

The selection on the menu and the quality of food served there is GREAT - don't let the service drop like this though and still tout the Steakhouse as a "Five Star experience" (which is what they do). Sorry, that is NOT 5-star dining - to promote it as such implies that they either don't know what "5-star" is, or assume that their guests are not aware enough to know the difference. Either way, bad move!

 

Our friend Don (DGP1111), another Milestone guest who we shared a meal with up there on the 2nd "elegant" night (Thanksgiving), had planned to dine there (made reservations well in advance of the cruise) on the last night as a solo guest. He does this on EVERY sailing he goes on where there is a Steakhouse - to have the peace and refined experience which is (was) their trademark. Well, he arrived there last night at his confirmed time only to be told that they tried to contact him earlier in the day and combine his reservation with two others... at the same table. Well, they did not successfully reach him, and went ahead and made the change. They did not have a table for him, unless he could wait (30-40 minutes?). WOW, to change your reservation is such a way without your consent. Well, you figure out what the heck is going on there, because I sure can't!! :mad:

 

Carnival - sometimes attempts to SAVE $ comes back to bite you. WISE UP, you can still be a multi-billion dollar corporation without cutting service in this way! We, and others, are what helped you become what you are - don't pull the rug out from under our feet! :confused: You still have a lot going for you, so plow forward in these uncertain times and make sure that you are not shortchanging the guests in attempts to appease some bean counters!

 

BTW - the floor in the bathroom floods almost EVERY time someone takes a shower, no matter how careful one is with the curtain and position of the shower head... it wasted an additional full size towel each time a shower was taken to sop it up.... get right on that! ;)

 

Tom

 

I have taken two Carnival cruises and two NCL. I never had the YTD on Carnival, always assigned sitting. On NCL I never waited more than ten minutes for a table. I also realize that even on NCL it depends on when you go to dinner. At certain times you will wait a while for a table. When I was on the Dream, I noticed long lines of people waiting for YTD as I was leaving the early sitting. I found that on one sitting (NCL) the service was a little slow because they seemed to be short of staff. Nothing like the nightmare described.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Keep in mind that there are many on here who LOVE YTD. Perhaps on some ships they do it right... not sure. I just know that I am not going to "chance" it again. FOOD/DINING is one of the MAIN reasons we enjoy cruising!!

 

Tom

 

I loved it on the Valor in September but agree with your observation about the close proximity of the tables for 2. It's quite awkward to me.

 

Bill

[pnjkeith]

I don't doubt your motives in the least. If there's a systemic problem I'm sure that Carnival would want to know about it.

:)

 

 

The decline has accelerated under Cahill's watch.

 

Comment card fiasco is further proof of lack of concern on Carnivals part.

[msjazzymiss]

We sailed on the Dream December 2009 and the dining service was lacking then and we had the late sitting. There was always a wait to enter the MDR almost every night. I agree, the wait staff has been cut and working double to accommodate the guests. There were always long lines in the lido dining area as well. We are set to sail on the Freedom this Saturday and are scheduled for the YTD. I was told a minimum of 20 minute wait time when booking, but we'll see.

[SMSACE6]

The decline has accelerated under Cahill's watch.

 

Comment card fiasco is further proof of lack of concern on Carnivals part.

 

Sooner or later, all of this will catch up with them, Carnival or him, Cahill, but at what expense? While I continue to enjoy my Carnival cruises, there are some changes, that are making me look to other lines for my next cruise. My reasons will vary from other folks, but I am reading a lot of reviews here lately by seasoned Carnival cruisers, who are not completely happy with the new "product" under Cahill's reign. It will take time to see the result, but there is always a reaction to change. Sometimes good, and sometimes bad.:)

[2goinagain]

OP, thanks for posting your experience. We sailed on the Dream end of Sept. All of your observations are the same as ours, except the Steakhouse as we haven't done that. For us the first night in MDR early seating was our intro to the change in service or lack of. Being a former wait staff myself, not with Carnival, it was obvious their stations were to large to do it as well as our past cruises. This was also the same feeling with the room steward. When we were on the Dream my husband and I discussed the apparent thinning of staff and it's effect on service and the feeling that the staff has been stretched to the breaking point. I do hope that this is addressed soon for the staff sake as well as the cruisers. We also have another cruise booked for Feb. and love Carnival but have to admit since the Dream cruise have looked at other lines and considered to try them. Only considered it. We are platnium and do love to cruise with Carnival. Once again thank you for posting as I didn't want to get flamed for expressing this.

[zqvol]

This post will likely not "go down" well with all who read it. It simply relates a couple of events which need to be aired!

 

We just got off the Dream this morning. Having completed close to 50 Carnival sailings, this was our first experience with YOUR TIME dining. We have always had early (with 1-2 exceptions).

 

On this sailing, since we had 4 nights booked in the Steakhouse (Chef's Art) and 1 night at the Chef's Table (EXCELLENT), that left us with only two nights in the MDR so we decided instead of having a table set aside for us in the MDR which would sit empty for 5 of 7 nights, that we would go with YTD.

 

Our first night in the MDR (Crimson, deck 4) was on the second night of the cruise. That was the first "Cruise Elegant" night, so on went my tux. I was apparently the only one, in that dining room at least, who felt "elegant" might imply a tux. This thread though is NOT about that! - back to the main topic... That evening we arrived at 7 PM and were immediately seated at a reasonably private table for two. Good service, food and wine made for a nice dinner.

 

Our second night trying the YTD was last night (final night of the cruise). We arrived at 6:50 with a chilled bottle of wine and was told that we would need to wait. I asked for an estimate of how long the wait would be and was told 20 minutes. We were given a beeper/pager and proceeded to wait in a nearby room. After 25 minutes had passed, I headed back into the dining room and asked the hostess if she could put our bottle of wine on ice, as it was warming up. She took the bottle and assured us they would keep it cold. After appx. 45-50 minutes we were seated. This time our table was not quite as "choice". It was a two topper perhaps 10" away from an adjacent two topper. How Carnival, and many other land based restaurants, can justify calling such a set up a "table for two" is beyond me! :rolleyes: At any rate, this meant that any conversation above a whisper would be heard by your unintended "table mates". However in that dining room a whisper across the table would not be heard by Cheryl thanks to the the level of background noise. I could hear the piped in symphony music over the crowd, and thought how out of place that music seemed given what was going on all around. Cut off jeans, sweat pants, baseball caps on (backwards no less). The 5 topper to my right with 2 kids crawling all over the place was a source of "amusement" for us... as they (finally) left their ~4 year old grabbed the cork in our wine bottle and started fiddling with it. This was new territory to me, fortunately the father quickly told him to "git yer paws off that son". NUFF SAID about that! The concept of YTD is great, but they simply don't have enough tables to meet the demand... or really what they don't have is enough able bodies to work the room. The waiters were keeping very busy, bringing small trays of different courses from the dining room all the time. There were NUMEROUS tables which were left uncleared for too long: the 5 person table behind Cheryl (which appeared to be crowded even for 4!) was vacant/dirty when we were seated, and remained that way for FORTY FIVE minutes! As I said, it was not the only one - several could be seen. NO WONDER people had long waits! At one point we observed the hostess and Maitre d' himself setting the tables.

 

Libby, a fellow CC'er we met onboard, was also waiting that evening for a table. She reported to us that she had experienced long wait times the entire week - no matter what time they arrived. One hour was not uncommon, and once it was TWO HOURS of wait time before being seated - and that was for a party of only 3 people! That, my friends, is unacceptable. Carnival for years has been steadily stretching their employees thinner and thinner. More and more tables for waiters... more and more cabins for stewards. Well, in my opinion - in the case of the Dream at least, they have passed a tipping point. They need to remedy this right now, especially in the YTD rooms, or risk pissing many people off. We have experienced the equivalent of YTD on Celebrity (Solstice) and never waited more than a minute or so... more like "come right this way". There the host and others were in constant communication with earpieces and it was all handled very efficiently... impressive. Before you say "well, you pay more for that" - let it be known that we picked the Solstice over the Dream to take our son and 3 friends on for an "end of the school year" trip this summer because (but not limited to, LOL) we could get the 4 boys in a balcony cabin on the Solstice for slightly LESS than the fare for them in an INSIDE on the Dream for that date! LINK to the details! ;)

 

OK - so enough about the failed YTD experience. We will not try that again on Carnival... EVER!

 

Now to another observation of diminished dining experiences: Chef's Art - Each evening when we were there we witnessed multiple dropped dishes, waitresses chatting and giggling with each often within earshot, poor timed table service: on our first THREE nights in there, they would bring our entree and then it would be 3-5 minutes while we sat there and waited for our butter (for lobster), sauces (for the steaks), and side dishes (mashed potatoes, vegetables, etc). On that third night I pointed it out to them in no uncertain terms that if that was intentional, as it apparently was due to the consistency of this practice, that it was in no way acceptable. Our food was literally getting cold as we waited on these items which should come in relatively rapid succession to one another. We have enjoyed the Supper Clubs (sorry, STEAKHOUSE :rolleyes:) on many ships - probably over 30 times - and know how it used to be. First we lose the live music, then the quality of service suffers a slow decline (which was readily apparent on this sailing). Is there no longer any formal training of the staff - proper etiquette and protocol? Or are they just trained by the current staff as they are moved up in the ranks to this position... which will slowly lead to the steady decline we witnessed?

 

The selection on the menu and the quality of food served there is GREAT - don't let the service drop like this though and still tout the Steakhouse as a "Five Star experience" (which is what they do). Sorry, that is NOT 5-star dining - to promote it as such implies that they either don't know what "5-star" is, or assume that their guests are not aware enough to know the difference. Either way, bad move!

 

Our friend Don (DGP1111), another Milestone guest who we shared a meal with up there on the 2nd "elegant" night (Thanksgiving), had planned to dine there (made reservations well in advance of the cruise) on the last night as a solo guest. He does this on EVERY sailing he goes on where there is a Steakhouse - to have the peace and refined experience which is (was) their trademark. Well, he arrived there last night at his confirmed time only to be told that they tried to contact him earlier in the day and combine his reservation with two others... at the same table. Well, they did not successfully reach him, and went ahead and made the change. They did not have a table for him, unless he could wait (30-40 minutes?). WOW, to change your reservation is such a way without your consent. Well, you figure out what the heck is going on there, because I sure can't!! :mad:

 

Carnival - sometimes attempts to SAVE $ comes back to bite you. WISE UP, you can still be a multi-billion dollar corporation without cutting service in this way! We, and others, are what helped you become what you are - don't pull the rug out from under our feet! :confused: You still have a lot going for you, so plow forward in these uncertain times and make sure that you are not shortchanging the guests in attempts to appease some bean counters!

 

BTW - the floor in the bathroom floods almost EVERY time someone takes a shower, no matter how careful one is with the curtain and position of the shower head... it wasted an additional full size towel each time a shower was taken to sop it up.... get right on that! ;)

 

Tom

 

The combination of these issues leads me to believe that this is a problem with the hotel manager and the maitre 'd. Not with the concept of ATD.

[halos]

Less money = less service

MTD = wait in line like at a restaurant (hit or miss)

 

Complaints are good. But I still like to put things in perspective. Many that go on Carnival is not going to get dressed up. Just isn't going to happen, since Carnival lowered prices, and lowered standards. I still will go on a Carnival Cruise, but my expectations now are way below.

As crappy as it sounds, that is very realistic.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

One other thing that came to mind regarding Chef's Art:

 

We ate dinner there at 7 PM on the first night of the cruise. Some time within the first hour or so the music stopped and LOUD AND CLEAR you could hear a ship wide announcement promoting, among other things: Bingo, Shows, Ship Stores... you get the idea. This lasted for a minute or two - and seemed out of place there. It was not repeated, as far as we know, the other nights we were there.

 

I asked one of two of the servers if that was a regular thing, and the response was something like "on the first night"...

 

I just wanted to add that, as it stood out to us.

 

Tom

[Lib0007]

Libby, a fellow CC'er we met onboard, was also waiting that evening for a table. She reported to us that she had experienced long wait times the entire week - no matter what time they arrived. One hour was not uncommon, and once it was TWO HOURS of wait time before being seated - and that was for a party of only 3 people!

 

 

I was on the same sailing as Tom and the one he referred to in his post that also had long waits. Each night, I said we could sit at a table for 3 or we would be happy to be seated with others and was told that the table for 3 would come alot quicker than a larger table. We tried early (6 ish) and we tried later (7:30 ish) Our waits were somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes each night except one night we sat with fellow CCers (5 total) and were seated right away. The worst was Thanksgiving, our 2nd elegant night. The line to check in was almost to the elevators and it took over 30 minutes just to get the beeper. We were told the wait would be 45 minutes to an hour and it ended up being well over an hour. The library and a bar are right next to the DR so they make great waiting places - and I've never played so many hands of Crazy 8's in my life (with DS).

 

That being out of the way, the service we received on all nights except the first was fantastic. Ulla is one of the best waiters we've ever had. We saw her several times around the ship and were always greeted by name with a smile and a hug.

 

We did not eat at the steakhouse - but enjoyed the Chef's Table with ten other CC new friends and absolutely loved it - definitely a highlight to our cruise. I'm still full from that dinner ;)

 

We enjoyed our cruise very much and after reading all the reviews beforehand, it exceeded my expectations overall. and yes, there were 1200+ children (mine being one of them) - mostly well behaved that I saw but there were just MANY of them!

[hubofhockey]

I am not here to rip OP. We have not done anytime dining on Carnival and have had it on Princess our last two cruises.

 

But I really don't think these complaints are so major. OP only went two nights to anytime dining. The first night he showed up at 7 pm and was seated without any wait. Wow!!!

 

The only other time OP did anytime dining was on the final night of the cruise. I would think that would be a tough night since very few are using specialty restaurants on the final evening and because people are more likely to show up early to get a move on packing and maybe catching the final show. Showing up at 6:50 pm is prime time. 45 minutes is a tough wait. My experience on Princess is that they overestimated the wait time. This was underestimated.

 

The table for two are also close together on Princess. I understand they do this to maximize the number of tables and to minimize waiting times. It doesn't bother me. While the people next to us are not "tablemates", if they're friendly, we'll have a conversations. If they're not or we're not in a mood, we can ignore. Anytime dining obviously isn't for everyone. It has its positives and negatives. It's not for OP but many of us enjoy its flexibility and other positive aspects.

[travelinggrandma]

I tried YTD on the Splendor on Oct. 31st and was very nervous about it since I was going solo. I only had to wait one night for twenty minutes and the staff apologized profusely and even sent a lovely note saying they were sorry I had to wait. The note was on a plate of sweets. I asked for a large table and was put at what could have been a six people table or three two people who would be very close together. I agree that there was no privacy if someone wanted to be alone as a couple. I was seated near a nice gentleman and after the first evening we met every night at about 7P.M. The staff let us know when the other showed up and took a real interest in us. We were seated with others every night but one, when we had a booth to ourselves. This was truly a table for two. The regular tables shouldn't have been called tables for two. I met different people most nights which meant I saw more cruisers I "knew" during the day and felt I had friends sailing with me. It was such a positive experience for me that I will choose it next time I travel solo. I was also sorry that I didn't receive an evaluation form so that I could relate how great the staff was. I realize that everyone has a different experience. This was mine.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I was on the same sailing as Tom and the one he referred to in his post that also had long waits. Each night, I said we could sit at a table for 3 or we would be happy to be seated with others and was told that the table for 3 would come alot quicker than a larger table. We tried early (6 ish) and we tried later (7:30 ish) Our waits were somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes each night except one night we sat with fellow CCers (5 total) and were seated right away. The worst was Thanksgiving, our 2nd elegant night. The line to check in was almost to the elevators and it took over 30 minutes just to get the beeper. We were told the wait would be 45 minutes to an hour and it ended up being well over an hour. The library and a bar are right next to the DR so they make great waiting places - and I've never played so many hands of Crazy 8's in my life (with DS).

 

That being out of the way, the service we received on all nights except the first was fantastic. Ulla is one of the best waiters we've ever had. We saw her several times around the ship and were always greeted by name with a smile and a hug.

 

We did not eat at the steakhouse - but enjoyed the Chef's Table with ten other CC new friends and absolutely loved it - definitely a highlight to our cruise. I'm still full from that dinner ;)

 

We enjoyed our cruise very much and after reading all the reviews beforehand, it exceeded my expectations overall. and yes, there were 1200+ children (mine being one of them) - mostly well behaved that I saw but there were just MANY of them!

 

Yes - the Chef's Table will be a memory to keep... and pounds to lose! :D

 

It was nice sailing with you and all the others - I'm pleased to hear that your service, once seated, was great!! It comes down a lot of the time to pure "luck of the draw"! I should know that, judging by how many low cards I received when I was doubling my 10's and 11's playing blackjack this cruise! At least the casino sent me a "free" bottle of wine to offset some losses... ;)

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I am not here to rip OP. We have not done anytime dining on Carnival and have had it on Princess our last two cruises.

 

But I really don't think these complaints are so major. OP only went two nights to anytime dining. The first night he showed up at 7 pm and was seated without any wait. Wow!!!

 

The only other time OP did anytime dining was on the final night of the cruise. I would think that would be a tough night since very few are using specialty restaurants on the final evening and because people are more likely to show up early to get a move on packing and maybe catching the final show. Showing up at 6:50 pm is prime time. 45 minutes is a tough wait. My experience on Princess is that they overestimated the wait time. This was underestimated.

 

The table for two are also close together on Princess. I understand they do this to maximize the number of tables and to minimize waiting times. It doesn't bother me. While the people next to us are not "tablemates", if they're friendly, we'll have a conversations. If they're not or we're not in a mood, we can ignore. Anytime dining obviously isn't for everyone. It has its positives and negatives. It's not for OP but many of us enjoy its flexibility and other positive aspects.

 

Yes - I do acknowledge that many people report liking the YTD.

 

Agreed, nothing was "major" - other than having something brought to our table from a dirty table next to us during breakfast. That had nothing to do with YTD. As far as our being offered bread or danish (morning) multiple times by multiple people after saying "no thank you" -- again, nothing to do with YTD.

 

The shortcomings in the Steakhouse were not major -- just observations. The hostess was very friendly and helpful to us (not sure Don would say that). The Chef came out 2-3 evenings to make sure all was well... even preparing a couple of special dishes --- great (not good) eats!! I believe it was on the first night that they had the BEST "compliments of the chef" tidbit I have ever encountered! It was a one bite mini RARE (Prime) hamburger!

 

 

 

 

Our servers in the Steakhouse were very friendly. There was only one sommelier, and the place was very busy - she was spread too thin, and we ended up pouring from the decanter several times. It was not her fault - she was selling wine right and left. They simply need TWO in there!!

 

Tom

[hubofhockey]

Tom, sounds like your problems go to the whole Carnival dining experience on the Dream. From what you have written, I would be upset as well. But we are looking forward to anytime dining next summer on the Magic. One of my main issue with Carnival has always been the never ending announcements over the loudspeakers and even into the rooms and I agree that it has no place in the upcharge restaurant. It's one of the reasons that we like Princess. It is a more upscale and relaxed experience. But we like Carnival, even with all of its warts and the food, itself (other than the grease they pass off for food in the breakfast buffet area) is pretty good.

[CharlesCutiePie]

My DH and I did the YTD on our Cruise in May and will not do it again. We did not have any wait issues and got seated very promptly every single night.

 

I just did not like the whole experience. I enjoy sitting at the same table with the same people and getting to know them. Also, I like having the same waiter that gets to know you and really tries to entertain you during the cruise.

 

As far as dressing up, which I have seen concerns on other posts, I really do not get the big deal. I like to dress up for me and I really do not care what other people are wearing. To me just going to the dining room is like going to a nice restaurant so I will wear a nice dress or something more formal on elegant night. As for my DH he could care less and since I am the one that wants to go to the MDR I have to compromise and be ok with him wearing a golf shirt and slacks on dress up night. I do not see this as a big deal or embarrassing.

[arpie05]

We did the Anytime Dining on the Sensation and hated it. Yes, the tables are almost touching so you are almost at a table with other people. We asked the first night for a table for four thinking it would be faster than two and we were left sitting there for a long time waiting for tablemates then we ordered and then tablemates were assigned and it messed up the timing of the table.

 

I also noticed on the Dream the lack of dressing for dinner. I was shocked on the last night by the women in cut offs, tank tops and cheap flip flops. And men in jean shorts and ratty t-shirts.

 

I would like to see a dress for dinner reminder. There is no need for such lack of dressing appropriately.

[InverStone]

I also noticed on the Dream the lack of dressing for dinner. I was shocked on the last night by the women in cut offs, tank tops and cheap flip flops. And men in jean shorts and ratty t-shirts.

 

I would like to see a dress for dinner reminder. There is no need for such lack of dressing appropriately.

 

 

Hmmm. What is appropriate dress? I'll still wear whatever I want...just curious what you mean by "appropriate".

 

Everyone has their own standard and definition of "appropriate" you see.

 

Pants and polo is as dressed up as I get. Ever. Unless I'm lazy and then it's flip flops and the buffet.

 

Inver

[DGP1111]

. . . The only other time OP did anytime dining was on the final night of the cruise. I would think that would be a tough night since very few are using specialty restaurants on the final evening . . .

 

The steakhouse was a very active place on that final evening, thus their apparent decision to attempt a mix-n-match with some reservations (including mine which has been confirmed way back in February).

 

.

. . . The shortcomings in the Steakhouse were not major -- just observations. The hostess was very friendly and helpful to us (not sure Don would say that). The Chef came out 2-3 evenings to make sure all was well... even preparing a couple of special dishes --- great (not good) eats!!

 

I'll certainly agree they were all friendly and helpful for our delicious Thanksgiving meal upstairs. The chef did a superb job with our specialty soup - YUM!! :) Heck, the servers were even a bit entertaining with the juggling act of Cheryl's brioche, and hearing the same set of dishes (not once, but twice) dropping to the floor after being removed from our table.

Putting that aside, my meal was deeeelicious. :D I was also very pleased that the servers agreed to reduce the portion size of my dessert as I'd requested, since I'd have never eaten the standard wedge.

 

.

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I've dined in the steakhouse/supper clubs more than two dozen times now, and this was the very first sailing where I only attended once during the week. That was definitely a change, but I think of it more the ship's decision than my own. :(

[larkz]

I cruised the Dream on 11/13 and was entirely pleased with early dining. I was seated at a great table with great servers. Not one complaint from me. I was disinclined to pay more for the steakhouse, so I can't rate that. I enjoyed the buffet, burrito bar, pizza, and pasta bar. All great, in my opinion.

 

The thought of trying ATD was entirely out of the question — it seems to me that this is a simple matter of physics and math. ATD throws a wrench into an extremely complex system. Thousands of passengers must be served in a relatively tight working space and timespan. Passengers are demanding fast personalized service, and delicious food that is hot when it should be hot, cold when it should be cold. It seems unnecessarily cruel to servers and kitchen staff, and a potential disaster for diners hoping to get in and out for shows and on board activities.

[wimsiecruise]

I did YTD dining on the Liberty in May as solo passenger and had no problems. Most of the time, I got a table by myself and only had a 2 minute wait on one night. Went between 6:45 and 8:15 and had no problem getting seated. Service was good at YTD, but the service I experienced at assigned seatings seems to be better.

 

Thanks MJ ! I can understand that the service would be better at assigned seatings... I think I read in CC that if we have a good table the first night, we can ask for the same table (same servers). I'm also wondering if I should ask for a large table (the more the merrier), or would a table for 4 be better? I could eat on my own well enough (and have done so at fancy restaurants without batting an eye), but part of the great cruise experience is a table full of fun, happy ppl...I think I would be missing out if I were to ask for a table by myself...dunno ? Of course, I could get a table with a bunch of ppl who aren't happy or fun :eek: It's times like these that a DH would come in handy...:D

 

It was such a positive experience for me that I will choose it next time I travel solo. [unquote]

 

Thanks travelinggradma !