Dinner Dining on the Glory

[blondi_21]

We have set dinner time for early seating, 6pm. I recently have been thinking bout it since our cruise is in 19 days. Would Anytime seating be better? Half our ports don't leave until close to 6pm or at 6pm. Plus idk if I want to be on a schedule on vacation. I don't have a set time we eat dinner at home. We're also having my family along with us, my parents & 2 younger siblings. The total would be 7 ppl. Could we be seated together during dinner? Our TA booked us for 6pm cus he said that's the most popular time. So if you decide you don't want early seating you could switch at time of boarding. The TA hasnt been very helpful lately & been giving me some false info then I found on CC. So could we switch to Your Time Seating when we board or should we do it prior to boarding?

[crewsweeper]

you can switch once on board. Just go to the maitre d' on arrival (there should a posted time in the Fun Times when he/she are available to review changes). You may have to wait a day to get it changed. Since you went though a TA, you may not be able to change this before hand on the Carnival site.

 

However, I would caution against changing with such a large group. Anytime dining doesn't have a lot of large tables to accomodate large groups, if you wanted to be seated together. This could entail a long wait, especially on formal nights, if you aren't there early or come at peak times, usually 6:30-8:30 on Anytime Dining. On top service can be a bit slower, wait staff a bit more rushed than in the MDR seated dining.

 

The other alternative is to use the 6PM for the first night( to find your table, and you don't have to dress up) and the two formal night dinners (7 day cruises) and then go to the Lido deck buffet for the other nights or nights you get back to the ship just at sailaway. The maincourses on the Lido are similar to the main courses in the MDR. There is a fairly large salad bar. May or may not be vegetarian dishes. Desserts will be different. Chocolate melting cake is sometimes available but not every evening. Baked Alaska, Grand Mariner souffles, et. al. usually aren't served in the buffet. Nor are all the soups. Plus you still have the grill/deli and the pizza stations opened. Lots of cruisers with familes and small children do it this way.

[Xewrsw]

I was in a large group on the Glory and we ate at the early seating. The exact number at my table escapes me though it must have been 10 or 12. I know we were a large bunch to handle. Our 9 kids were sitting at the table next to us. The kids were finished by the time we got to our desserts and sometimes our entrées. With a large group it is a challenge for the waiter to get all the courses, drinks and entrées served in a timely manner. Because of this we were never the first to leave the dining room. We did however make all of our show times no problem. If this scenario was at the later seating, your evening could drag on.

We liked the early seating for eating, show times, bedtime for the kids, and early mornings for the excursions.

I haven't done the my time dining so I can't speak for that. I like the suggestion from the previous post.

I would just keep in mind that for a larger table it may add a little more time to be served. I loved cruising on the Glory however it was noticeably understaffed as compared to other cruise lines. Still a great ship. You'll have a wonderful time no matter what you do. Have Fun!

[cb at sea]

Traditional works best with larger groups...your table will ALWAYS be ready for you.

 

As far as being "rushed"...you won't be. You have to be onboard 1/2 hour BEFORE the ship sails...and most folks are back before that. You'll have plenty of time to change for dinner.

[CatlinSTJ]

I have to agree, I would stick with the traditional assigned dining time with such a large group. Also, switching once you're on board would be based on availability and you can't just decide that you want to show up at the anytime dining, you have to be assigned to that option. With a larger group you are running that chance that switching may not be possible. My husband and I did the anytime dining on the Glory last summer and it worked out well for all the reasons that you mentioned, but I've seen a lot of complaints from larger parties about long wait times.

[cruisin4fun323]

We have cruised for the last 8 years and always had late dining with our group of 8. Last year we finally tried early dining and LOVED it! It was easy to get ready for and no time to nap but we weren't overly stuffed when we went to bed. With a large group I would not try anytime myself in fear it would be a long wait for a table for all of us. We actually had a lot of time to cruise the ship or shall I say the casino before retiring to bed.