best time to arrive for "your time" dining

[gaubow]

This will be our 4th cruise as a family. Our first with Carnival. Our previous 3 were with RCCL and we always did late seating.

 

This time, against the vote of the family, I booked our cruise as flexible seating. It sounds as if alot of people prefer it so I am not TOO worried about the "We told you so's"...

 

However, for planning purposes I was wondering if there is a "lull" in the line to get in... or if there even is a line? Better to be there first thing or late? Just looking for a tip. thanks.

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

This will be our 4th cruise as a family. Our first with Carnival. Our previous 3 were with RCCL and we always did late seating.

 

This time, against the vote of the family, I booked our cruise as flexible seating. It sounds as if alot of people prefer it so I am not TOO worried about the "We told you so's"...

 

However, for planning purposes I was wondering if there is a "lull" in the line to get in... or if there even is a line? Better to be there first thing or late? Just looking for a tip. thanks.

 

Varies from ship to ship based on the passengers needs. My experience is that if you get there right when it opens (5:45) there will be a short line maybe 20 people or so but we got seated right away every time. After that there really is no line at all just people coming at various times.

 

Be advised however that service can be very slow and inefficient based on what waiter you get at least from our experience. I witnessed several people complaining about messed up orders etc. My advice is that if you get a good waiter request him or her every night you go (ask the hostess if you can get table X where you had a great dining experience).

 

Also they still do the singing and dancing and cut the lights off so depending on when you go you might get served food right when the lights are cut off for the entertainment for several minutes. I found this a bit annoying as did many other folks as your food gets cold waiting for the lights to get turned back on.

[nobody000]

On my trip in April on the Glory, the assistant Maitre D came by and asked how we like the your time and so on. Then proceeded to tell us that 7 or round 830 is the slowest time to come. Which worked perfect for us, because that when we show up about every nite anyway.

 

We never had to wait once on our Freedom cruise this early Dec. Now that thye have had the program going for some time now they tweaked it to work much better so wait time all overall down from when it started also.

[blindrid]

This will be our 4th cruise as a family. Our first with Carnival. Our previous 3 were with RCCL and we always did late seating.

 

This time, against the vote of the family, I booked our cruise as flexible seating. It sounds as if alot of people prefer it so I am not TOO worried about the "We told you so's"...

 

However, for planning purposes I was wondering if there is a "lull" in the line to get in... or if there even is a line? Better to be there first thing or late? Just looking for a tip. thanks.

 

We typically go a bit later, depending on whether a sea day or not. A couple of weeks ago the longest wait we had was less than 5 minutes. The only cruises I book have anytime or freestyle dining.

[FlaGrl4Evr]

On the Legend my fiance and I had a routine of having a drink in the Casino bar and enjoying the live music prior to our dinner. We would usually get to the MDR between 8:30 and 8:45. We never had to wait and by then the AT dining area was starting to empty out so dinner was never rushed. In addition, we always arrived in time to see the dancing waiter show that was held for the traditional late dining seating in the lower level. On the very last evening we did arrive at 7:30 and had to wait about 20 min. ONLY because we requested the same wait team that we had all week.

 

This dining time would probably be too late for a family but you could just try out a few dining times to see what will work best for you. Have a great cruise. :)

[zqvol]

This will be our 4th cruise as a family. Our first with Carnival. Our previous 3 were with RCCL and we always did late seating.

 

This time, against the vote of the family, I booked our cruise as flexible seating. It sounds as if alot of people prefer it so I am not TOO worried about the "We told you so's"...

 

However, for planning purposes I was wondering if there is a "lull" in the line to get in... or if there even is a line? Better to be there first thing or late? Just looking for a tip. thanks.

 

IMO there is not a best time, BUT there is a worst time, and that would be between about 6:45 and 8:00. During that time you might encounter a short wait. Any other time will pretty much be seated as fast as the hostesses can get you to a table.

[elcuchio24]

We usually go between 6:30-7:30 but sometimes as late as 9. Last two 7 nighters we only had to wait one night for about 5 minutes for a two top.

[Girlincube]

Personally- I did have a bad experience with MTD- not with a wait to get in but as Carnival Plat Cruiser stated- the service was very inefficient and super long and food was lack luster.

However - I just got off an RCL cruise and it seems they have perfected the MTD a little quicker than Carnival. I am going forth with traditional dining on Carnival and MTD with RC until I hear that Carnival gets a little better.

[Jacob's Mom]

We had the best service (and quickest) if we went about 15-20 BEFORE the late seating started. We liked the quicker service

[PAcop141]

hmmm if your wondering what the best time to go is doesnt that defeat the purpose of anytime dining? Why not just choose one of the assigned times if you are worried about it........but thats just my opinion.

[serene56]

IMO there is not a best time, BUT there is a worst time, and that would be between about 6:45 and 8:00. During that time you might encounter a short wait. Any other time will pretty much be seated as fast as the hostesses can get you to a table.

 

 

Learned quickly last cruise-- we went at 6:45 and had a 30 minute wait the first and second night-- and never went back.

[JoeMissile]

hmmm if your wondering what the best time to go is doesnt that defeat the purpose of anytime dining? Why not just choose one of the assigned times if you are worried about it........but thats just my opinion.

 

Ya beat me to it, but here's my thoughts...

 

Seems a bit ironic that someone is asking for a suggestion for “Your Time dining” If you are going to base your dining time on strangers suggestions it’s not “Your time Dining” anymore as it becomes “Wisdom-of-the-Crowd time dining”

[hubofhockey]

What I like best about anytime dining is not having to rush or juggle shower times. We go when we're ready. We are more likely to look at the evening activities that we want to do and plan around that. We've done it on other lines and look forward to it on Carnival.

[riffatsea]

One of the reasons we like Your Time Dining is because we are guaranteed a table for 2.

We still go early because that's when we like to eat. We have not had to wait more than 5min to be seated. We have had NO probs with service or food. We thought the servers were top notch and so requested the same area/servers each night.

On Spirit class ships the upstairs(or part of it) in the dining room is the YTD area so we don't get bothered by the singing/dancing waiters. I don't really find that sort of "entertainment" fun during a meal anyway so not bothered by missing it.

[gaubow]

Not looking to pin down a time for us to go ALL of the time... just to get an idea of what to expect is all. I wanted to avoid the set times of 5:30 and 8pm or whatever it is.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Sounds like we just will have to play it by ear, but either way shouldn't have to wait too long.

 

thanks

[Sirwinston]

I love CCL. And I Love YTD. That said I have done YTD on several cruises since 2009. The best advice I can give the O.P. and others is that you communicate with the M.D. We do. We insist on a table for two. We are friendly. Every cruise can have a differnt mix of passengers so what would be a walk in time on one cruise may be max wait time on another. The M.D. sometimes tells us when is best time to come for a no wait for a table for two. Often like if you come @ 6:45 it is easier than if you come at 7:00. Lots of people are fixated on dinning 7:00 to 8:30. Also if we enjoy a service team we ask for them again. If we do not we try to politely avoid. I have gotten different service from the same team because of how many other tables the team has at that time. Almost always it is between good and great. My spouse is somewhat shy in certain social settings and I have to make small talk as a living so not doing it on vacation is priceless. If we like the hostess(s) we slip them a small tip at the end of the cruise $5 to $ 20 depending of the length of cruise. Worst possible thing that can happen is they give you a pager and you go have a drink or walk arround. Our longest wait was about 20 mins.

Tom in Long Beach

[zqvol]

Personally- I did have a bad experience with MTD- not with a wait to get in but as Carnival Plat Cruiser stated- the service was very inefficient and super long and food was lack luster.

However - I just got off an RCL cruise and it seems they have perfected the MTD a little quicker than Carnival. I am going forth with traditional dining on Carnival and MTD with RC until I hear that Carnival gets a little better.

 

I won't comment about your service because just like in any restaurant service can vary and can be hit or miss in the traditional setting too. I will say that the food is identical whether you have any time dining or traditional. Just like for any banquet it is all prepared and plated ahead of time and kept in warmers. Your finding that the food was lack luster will be reflected in both any time dining and in traditional, it is what it is, cafeteria food.

[zqvol]

. . .

On Spirit class ships the upstairs(or part of it) in the dining room is the YTD area so we don't get bothered by the singing/dancing waiters. I don't really find that sort of "entertainment" fun during a meal anyway so not bothered by missing it.

 

I just got off Legend (a Spirit class ship) yesterday and had any time dining. The servers sing and dance upstairs in the area reserved for any time dining just like they do throughout the rest of the dining hall. If you haven't seen it is because you finish your meal and leave before they get to it. It is there and is as offensive and disruptive as it has always been.

[blindrid]

I just got off Legend (a Spirit class ship) yesterday and had any time dining. The servers sing and dance upstairs in the area reserved for any time dining just like they do throughout the rest of the dining hall. If you haven't seen it is because you finish your meal and leave before they get to it. It is there and is as offensive and disruptive as it has always been.

 

I used to agree but a couple of weeks ago, the "entertainment" wasn't as bad as I remembered and actually found it entertaining. Either it's my memory, outlook at the time or whatever but I enjoyed it - short and something to watch. Now if they did it for 1/2 hour, I would have jumped.

[lucyjlou]

what time do they typically do the singing / dancing? I have never done YTD and have always done late. I don't care to see if every night, but maybe on formal night or something .My DD and my inlaws have never cruised and may enjoy seeing it once or twice at dinner. What time do they do this usually?

[Willbcruisin]

Just off CCL Liberty and we loved YTD! We arrived anywhere between 6:00 pm & 8:30 pm and never once waited.

 

I know we did catch the 1st waiters show @ 7pm. Not sure of exact times across the fleet.

 

We used to always schedule second seating but will not be turning back. It is YTD from here on out!

 

I hope you love it as we did. Enjoy your cruise!

[mohavemommy]

We just booked the Inspiration for next year. We have always had an assigned time, but hear from many friends that they like Your Time Dining so we decided to try it. Does anybody know if they have one dining room dedicated to Your Time Dining?

[imluvncruzn]

I have a few questions. We were bumped off the splendor and rebooked the Dream but because we booked so close to sailing we were unable to book the early dining or anytime dining. We have young children in our group and the late seating will be too late. We are waitlisted at the present time. I plan on going to see the Maitre D on day one but I was wondering if it would be difficult to get seating for 11 for anytime dining. Also do they give you a pager if there is a wait? Thanks for the info.

[zqvol]

I have a few questions. We were bumped off the splendor and rebooked the Dream but because we booked so close to sailing we were unable to book the early dining or anytime dining. We have young children in our group and the late seating will be too late. We are waitlisted at the present time. I plan on going to see the Maitre D on day one but I was wondering if it would be difficult to get seating for 11 for anytime dining. Also do they give you a pager if there is a wait? Thanks for the info.

 

IMO 11 is too many to do anytime dining. Most of the tables are smaller though there are a few for 8 that I have seen. There may be a 12 top but that depends on the ship. Your best bet is going to be with regular dining.

 

With a party that large I think that you can expect a wait every night. They will provide a pager for you so that you do not have to stand around.

[swimmom32]

We just got off the Destiny and did YTD wow we loved it...Not only did we never have to wait we ate went to the dining room between 6:30 and 7:00 and the girls (hostesses) were awesome and they always seated us with the same waiter who was Elmer and awesome too...The waiter show was at 7:20 every night...one Night we were seated at 7:15 and that worked out great as well!!! I must also say that YTD on this trip was very popular as about 7:15-7:45 THE LINE was out the door literally as we were leaving..where the tables with Scheduled times were empty...oh and the most important thing was they never sat us with anyone else nor did they ask us if we wanted to be seated with other people that was fine with us and we always had a booth and overlooked the Downstairs dining...