Anytime Dining?

[Shazza1111]

My Husband and I are going on our second cruise on the Sapphire Princess in May, and I was just wondering, why do some people choose anytime and some choose set time for dining, I would really like to here what you choose and why?

[paul929207]

It comes down to personal preference. Each has advantages and disadvantages. You want to choose whichever is best for you.

[cruisin'tex]

My Husband and I are going on our second cruise on the Sapphire Princess in May, and I was just wondering, why do some people choose anytime and some choose set time for dining, I would really like to here what you choose and why?

 

We choose set dining as we get to be with same people every night.

 

At anytime, you may be seated at a table for two (if available). If not, you'll end up at a table with different people each night. However, anytime provides the flexibility to dine when you want.

[trish1c]

We choose Anytime or Freestyle b/c on vacation I do not want to be told that I have to go to dinner at a specific time. It's my vacation. I have deadlines & appointments all year; I don't need one on vacation.

Also although we are friendly people who are generally easy to get along with I also fear being stuck with tablemates who make the experience unpleasant. Last cruise I was in a hot tub for about 5 minutes with a miserable bore who hated everybody; he ranted about politics, lesbians, the school system, health care etc. I tried to ignore him but when he started saying special needs children should not be educated b/c the world doesn't need "more dummies" I moved to a different hot tub. There is no way I could have enjoyed a peaceful meal if I had to dine with that jerk every night.

[flamomo]

To me the choice depends mostly on how much flexibility one wants re: time of dining.

If having dinner at the same time every night is really important to you, whether it be because one wishes to follow the same pattern as the one they use at home, or because one has a health need requiring they eat at a certain time every evening ... then go for traditional.

If one wants to choose the time they want to eat each night, depending on whether it was a port day and they might get back to the ship late, there's a show at 7:30 that you want to see, or your time of dining is dictated by when you stomach starts growling ..... Anytime dining might suit your needs better.

I've done both ways, depending on the itinerary and who I am cruising with. The menues are the same each night in both types of dining, so you're not missing out on anything in that respect.

[Putterdude]

We have done both but have gone back to traditional. We enjoy meeting new people each evening in AD but don't like the waiting that goes along with getting into the dining room. That said, the 3 come 4 themed dining rooms on the Sapphire/Diamond seems to make the waiting much shorter.

[uppitycats]

We've done both, and will always choose anytime dining when available. We don't like to stick to any schedule when we're on vacation. While we may eat approximately the same time every night, we want to decide that...not have to be watching our watch to get to the dining room "on time".

 

And while we are generally friendly and polite folks, we're not willing to eat dinner with strangers every night in some sort of artificial setting. When we go out to eat at home, we go by ourselves or with friends -- people with whom we have something in common....not people that someone else thinks we would like! We'll often meet people on the cruise, spend some or all day with them, and want to go to dinner with them...and can't, when we have to go to our assigned seats (traditional dining). With anytime dining, we can all go together, be seated together.

 

Some folks like the pretense that "the waiter knows our preferences, and is already pouring our favorite beverage as we enter the dining room", and "we become friends with the waiter, find about about their home..". We don't need that kind of artificiality. It only takes a few minutes more, when we're seated, to say, "I'd like coffee right now", or whatever. And we don't share our personal information with strangers; why should we expect them to share with us???

 

Anyway. It's purely a personal choice, and people choose one or the other for a variety of reasons. These are ours.

[Hlitner]

We have spent more then 2 years on cruise ships and tried all the different dining schemes. We used to love late seating assigned tables until a few bag experiences. In one case we had a table for 8 on a RCI ship and none of the other 6 ever showed-up for dinner (not once). In a few other cases we had boring tablemates (it is possible to ask for a different table). We finally decided that doing personal choice was close to the perfect solution. The first few nights (and we do some long cruises) we simply would go to the dining room and request to share a large table. Within a few days we get to meet lots of different folks, and most of the time it evolves into a situation where we start forming our own group. On really long cruises (more then a few weeks) we usually find that we make lots of dining friends and alternate our dinner companions (it never gets boring). The problem on a long cruise with fixed dining mates is that after the first week you have gone through the children, jobs, houses, and travel experiences.

 

As to the waiting issue, we like to dine late (not much earlier then 8) so there is seldom much of a line. Generally, those that want to share larger tables do not wait very long. The funny thing about Princess is that on the larger ships they usually have 3 dining rooms...one of which is strictly 2 sittings and assigned tables. We have watched folks line-up (queue for you Brits) twenty minutes before the early seating even though they have an assigned table. It makes us scratch our heads and wonder why they don't just show-up 2 or 3 minutes after the doors open so they can simply walk right in the door to their table. One evening on the Emerald Princess we actually chatted with a couple who were waiting in line for their assinged table and, when we told them we had Anytime....they said they hate anytime because you have to wait (now remember, they were standing in line for the doors to open for traditional). This is what makes life interesting!

 

Hank

[househunter]

We also love anytime because we hate being told what time we will be hungry for dinner! We like our schedule on vacation to be flexible- we don't know in advance what time we would like our dinner to be. We may have an late breakfast and skip lunch one day and be hungry earlier then the next day we might sleep in, have a late lunch and have dinner a 9. We don't eat at exactly the same time at home and we won't do it on vacation either.

 

We also both work 50-60 hours per week and hardly ever see each other. We like to spend quality time with each other, we have no desire to eat dinner with people we don't know. We are also very social and will meet people at the pools or at the bars but dinner is just for us!

[lakeguy]

We also are experienced cruisers and have done both, but for us we enjoy the routine on having a set time and not having to stand in line to get a seat. The repore with our tablemates and waitstaff, having our favorite drinks already on the table when we arrive etc. On the rare occasion when our schedule won't allow us to make our dinning time there is always the buffet. With anytime dinning you will find that the only way to avoid waiting for a table is to make reservations ahead of time. With rare exception you dont just walk up to the dinning room and be seated.

[Treven]

I ALWAYS do the anytime dining. As was mentioned earlier, I too eat about the same time every evening, but I certainly don't want to share a table with a bunch of people. Dinner is unwind time for me. I sit at my little table for 2, think about what I did that day, read, and quietly enjoy my dinner. I sure don't want to sit at a large table & share chit-chat.

[cb at sea]

We're the opposite....we really enjoy tablemates! Hubby and I are "empty nesters" and eat every meal together....we've heard all of our own stories! We LOVE talking to others, comparing our days, and next day's plans...it's just more fun, for us! We have all day long on the ship to "be alone"...dinner is such a social occassion!

[Shazza1111]

Thanks for all of the reasons provided, I am glad I asked as there was a thought in the back of my mind that I was missing something, we are going to stick to anytime, because yes although we love to meet new people the though of the having to go to dinner at a set time while on holidays just doesn't sit to well with us:D

[deadmoney]

We do anytime dining and always ask for a table for two.

This comes from two bad experiences with set dining time table mates.

It is nice for the two of us to just have a nice dinner while reliving our day and planning the next.

This is just our experience and preference. Your mileage may vary:D

[Cruisin' Chick]

We also are experienced cruisers and have done both, but for us we enjoy the routine on having a set time and not having to stand in line to get a seat. The repore with our tablemates and waitstaff, having our favorite drinks already on the table when we arrive etc. On the rare occasion when our schedule won't allow us to make our dinning time there is always the buffet. With anytime dinning you will find that the only way to avoid waiting for a table is to make reservations ahead of time. With rare exception you dont just walk up to the dinning room and be seated.

 

We're the opposite....we really enjoy tablemates! Hubby and I are "empty nesters" and eat every meal together....we've heard all of our own stories! We LOVE talking to others, comparing our days, and next day's plans...it's just more fun, for us! We have all day long on the ship to "be alone"...dinner is such a social occassion!

 

 

We had anytime dining for the first time on our last cruise as we had booked pretty late. Not my choice, but I figured maybe my hubby would prefer it, so I didn't bother to seek out the maitre'd to see if we could switch.

 

Turned out my hubby didn't care for anytime, either. After the first week, he said he found it disorganized (compared to traditional), he missed having the same waitstaff (however they do it -- notes at their station, whatever -- it's nice when they get to know your preferences), he missed having the same tablemates. Yes, he's a social animal -- we always asked to share -- but both of us like that we don't have to start with the same set of questions when we get new tablemates. On previous cruises, from day 2 or so, you start off with "what did you do today?", rather than "is this your first cruise?"

 

And for the record, only once did we get a pager to wait,once we got to the front of the line, that is. But we found ourselves going to the Horizon about half the time on our 14-day cruise. And we rarely do that (and yes, on the few times we haven't been back to the ship in time for our seating on all of our cruises, we will go to the buffet).

 

A few weeks after our cruise, he made the statement that I usually make whenever posting on this question: traditional dining is something that differentiates a cruising vacation from a land vacation.

[Skywench]

After having anytime dining available on my last two cruises, I will always go for that option now. I don't care to be on a set schedule when I'm on vacation. I have to do that when I'm working. I don't want to have to rush around after port days to get ready for dinner. I don't enjoy having dinner at a big table with strangers and making small talk. I just want to dine with the person or people I am on the cruise with. I don't care about having the same wait staff every night, although I have had the same ones with anytime dining. To be perfectly honest, I'm not into the whole dining experience anyway and whille I've found the food to be excellent in the main dining room, I could happily never set foot in there the whole cruise. I only go in there because the person I cruise with enjoys it.

[euro cruiser]

I also prefer anytime dining so I can eat when I want.

 

On NCL we had to wait sometimes up to ten minutes, but we were a family of 11, so I was actually surprised that it wasn't longer. (With a large group, we had the option of making a reservation for a specific time each night, but we couldn't coordinate ourselves :rolleyes:.)

 

On HAL we never waited, but that may be because (1) there were fewer of us - only five on that cruise and (2) we tended to head toward the dining room after 7:30. The early show on that cruise was always SRO, so I presume that's why it was easy to be seated at that hour.

[chrisn]

This will be our first cruise with Anytime Dining. I always loathed having to rush back from port, shower, and fly through getting ready for a structured dining time. We always had early cause late was too late (had a little one).

 

When my TA asked if we wanted ATD for this upcoming cruise I jumped on it! We don't want the structure, and I can't see us making reservations either. I really don't care if I have to wait 10 minutes for a table. We wait longer than that at Olive Garden or Texas Roadhouse!

 

Getting to know the servers is nice...yes...and we like tablemates too....but we like meeting new peeps too, so it's all good.

 

I am really looking forward to experiencing Anytime for the first time.

[euro cruiser]

I really don't care if I have to wait 10 minutes for a table. We wait longer than that at Olive Garden or Texas Roadhouse!

You are so right! Perspective is a good thing. However, sooner or later someone will complain that they've spent a lot more money to get their meal on a cruise than they would at Olive Garden ... I keep thinking that it must be difficult to enjoy your vacation when you are wound that tightly.

[gerryl12]

We like anytime dining but others may likes something different.

 

Set time

-you eat at the same time with the same people. If you dislike your tablemates it can be a problem, you can ask to be moved but.........

-if others at your table are late or absent you sit there waiting for a while wondering if they are coming

-if you have the same thing nightly it may be waiting at your table, your waiter gets to know you

-yes your waiter may become your best friend (for a few days)

 

Open seating

-you can eat when you want (seldom have to wait more than a few minutes)

-sit with mostly new people each night if you ask to eat with others or you can request a table for two

-we like large tables (6 or 8) to meet new people as we are stuck with each other most of the day

-don't care if the waiter is our best friend

-can go for supper with other new friends if you wish