Dining - My Time vs Traditional

[PirateGal]

Just wanted to get some thoughts about My Time vs Traditional dinner seating.

 

My husband and I always gone with the late traditional seating. We've had good luck with most of our dinner mates and we generally enjoy it.

 

For our upcoming Victory cruise, we decided to try the My Time dining but were are currently on the waitlist. Worst comes to worst, we choose the late seating.

 

I'm just wondering if it's worth waiting to see if we can get My Time or if we should just choose the late seating.

 

We wanted to try the My Time because sometimes we just want to eat earlier and not go to bed feeling super stuffed.

 

Thoughts?

[*Mach*]

Just wanted to get some thoughts about My Time vs Traditional dinner seating.

 

My husband and I always gone with the late traditional seating. We've had good luck with most of our dinner mates and we generally enjoy it.

 

For our upcoming Victory cruise, we decided to try the My Time dining but were are currently on the waitlist. Worst comes to worst, we choose the late seating.

 

I'm just wondering if it's worth waiting to see if we can get My Time or if we should just choose the late seating.

 

We wanted to try the My Time because sometimes we just want to eat earlier and not go to bed feeling super stuffed.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

If YTD is your preference hang in there. Even if you end up being assigned Late you can visit with the Maitre d' once on board on embark day and ask for the change.

:)

[Rockportgirl]

I would definitely stick it out for YTD. We've had 4 prior cruises with traditional, but on our last one we did the YTD. We will never go back to traditional. Just our preference of course, but if you really want to try it, I say wait it out.

[kroozers]

We also go with late seating. Thought about YTD for the next cruise, but having the same wait staff every night is always a memorable part of the trip. By the end of the week they are the staff we have the most contact and conversation with and are always some of our farovite cruise employees to get to know. If we're sharing a larger table with cruisers we didn't previously know, those conversations each night are great memories also. Based on those reasons, we stuck with the late assigned seating.

[Colorado Kat]

We had wonderful table-mates on our first cruise. So we have always opted for traditional dining since. But now we are moving to MyTimeDining. Why? Just bad luck mostly. Lots of no-shows. Never unpleasant people, but people who would tell us "Yes, we will be there", and then the staff would make us wait till they were 40 min late to take our orders. A table of 10, and the other party of 7 never once showed up for a week.

[okwriter]

I've done early assigned dining and your time dining. I liked them both for different reasons! I couldn't do late dining, but that's just me...

 

I'd say hold out and see if you can get YTD.

[rpmljm]

We also go with late seating. Thought about YTD for the next cruise, but having the same wait staff every night is always a memorable part of the trip. By the end of the week they are the staff we have the most contact and conversation with and are always some of our farovite cruise employees to get to know. If we're sharing a larger table with cruisers we didn't previously know, those conversations each night are great memories also. Based on those reasons, we stuck with the late assigned seating.

 

I agree with the above. Same for us...except we have done early or late and have been happy both times.

 

I don't think I would like a different wait staff every night and we have always enjoyed the company of our table mates.

[papilliontraveler]

Remember, just because you do YTD doesn't mean you have to have a different wait staff every night. Depending on the size of your group, you may get the same staff every night.

On our April cruise, my wife and I had the same staff every night. We requested her and never had to wait or had a problem getting her area.

Just something to keep in mind.

[houstoncruisers2001]

We started off our cruise career with traditional late seating, then did three cruises in a row with anytime dining and have now returned to traditional late seating.

 

We enjoy the MDR experience a lot more with traditional seating and will continue to book it in the future.

[DebBrown]

We had wonderful table-mates on our first cruise. So we have always opted for traditional dining since. But now we are moving to MyTimeDining. Why? Just bad luck mostly. Lots of no-shows. Never unpleasant people, but people who would tell us "Yes, we will be there", and then the staff would make us wait till they were 40 min late to take our orders. A table of 10, and the other party of 7 never once showed up for a week.

On my last cruise they didn't make us wait if others were a no show. If they did show up they just had to play "catch up." Not sure if it was just our waiter but it worked out well. I love traditional dining because of the friends I make.

[elsplace2]

We have always done traditional dining....but after our cruises with NCL and their "Freestyle" dining.....I don't think we could go back to traditional dining.......it's GREAT going to dinner when you're hungry and not because it's time for dinner or worse....NOT time for dinner yet!

 

We've never done Anytime Dining with Carnival so I HOPE it's as great an experience as we have had with NCL. I can't wait to try it out!

[okgirl]

I have chosen YTD on my past 4 cruises and love it. If we like the waitstaff from the 1st night we just ask for that table again. However, it's the location of the table that is more important than the servers.

 

For dinner we want a 2 top that is not squeezed right next to another table, so we go to the DR after embarkation to select several tables that we like and make note of the table numbers. I actually like to sit close to where the servers are going in and out of the galley, it just seems like they are quicker to serve those tables and they seem to be further apart too.

[Warm Breezes]

We did anytime on our last 2 Carnival Cruises and loved it. The main benefit for us is the flexibility to eat whenever we are ready. We found it much easier to plan our evenings and do more things since we had flexibility in when we ate.

 

On the Destiny we had the same wait team 3 out of the 4 nights at our request. We did not have them the last night as we would have had to wait for a table in their section. Service was great each night. The wait team we had on our last night wasn't a friendly as the other team we had but there was nothing wrong with the service. We had no waits and we dined at a different time each night based on our schedule that day and when we were hungry.

 

On the Glory we sat in a different area each night. We had to wait about 25 minutes on Elegant night as everyone else came at the same time we did. That was also the night of our slowest service...but again everyone seemed to come at the same time. The other nights there were waits of none to 5 minutes and the service was excellant each night. Again we went to diner at different times each night depending on our schedule for that day.

 

Personally, I won't go back to traditional. I like the flexibility of anytime too much.

[luv cruising 007]

Maybe im old fashioned at 28yo but im a LATE Fixed dining person, I love having the same waiters & tablemates getting to know them by the end of a cruise, having my waiters remember my name & seeing my iced tea waiting foe me at the table makes me feel special! I tried anytime dining & it wasn't for me! I vote fixed dining!

[tarheelmjfan]

For those who have done both YTD & traditional dining, how did the service compare? I have only sailed on 3 cruise lines (one is now defunct). We've had traditional dining on 2 of the lines & received wonderful service every time. The other line had a version of YTD. The service was what you would receive from an average server at a chain restaurant. After previous experiences, that was a big disappointment. It just wasn't the type of service I expected to receive on a cruise. Now, I'm kind of afraid to try YTD.

[Warm Breezes]

For those who have done both YTD & traditional dining, how did the service compare? I have only sailed on 3 cruise lines (one is now defunct). We've had traditional dining on 2 of the lines & received wonderful service every time. The other line had a version of YTD. The service was what you would receive from an average server at a chain restaurant. After previous experiences, that was a big disappointment. It just wasn't the type of service I expected to receive on a cruise. Now, I'm kind of afraid to try YTD.

 

You can still asked to be seated in the same section every night. We found our Destiny cruise to be similar to traditional with the service being more personalized since we had the same wait team 3 out of the 4 nights.

 

On our Glory cruise we still had great service, it just wasn't as personalized since we sat in a different section each night. That was no big deal to us, but to those who prefer the personalized service it may be a big deal to them.

 

If you prefer the personalized service, but you like the idea of having flexible dining time, then I would just ask to be seated in the same section each night using anytime dining.

[luv cruising 007]

For those who have done both YTD & traditional dining, how did the service compare? I have only sailed on 3 cruise lines (one is now defunct). We've had traditional dining on 2 of the lines & received wonderful service every time. The other line had a version of YTD. The service was what you would receive from an average server at a chain restaurant. After previous experiences, that was a big disappointment. It just wasn't the type of service I expected to receive on a cruise. Now, I'm kind of afraid to try YTD.

 

Service was hit & miss with anytime(to me) same with waits to get in during peak times! The food was hit & miss on how quick/long it took to deliver to the table, diff. waiters don't remember everyone's quirks ;)! I always enjoyed (so far) having excellent waiters we got to know & them knowing us, food always delivered around the same time during the meal & just feeling special & remembered:D! for different waiters I can do that on land, i cant have the same waiter multiple nights in a row at a land restaurant without paying big $$$:eek: **I forgot the waiters still sing & dance on Carnival's fixed dining!** (also I dont have kids & an active mother so I know anytime dining could be better for families)

[Megnolia]

For those who have done both YTD & traditional dining, how did the service compare? I have only sailed on 3 cruise lines (one is now defunct). We've had traditional dining on 2 of the lines & received wonderful service every time. The other line had a version of YTD. The service was what you would receive from an average server at a chain restaurant. After previous experiences, that was a big disappointment. It just wasn't the type of service I expected to receive on a cruise. Now, I'm kind of afraid to try YTD.

 

 

6 out of 7 nights on YTD we had impersonal, but friendly and prompt service. It was more or less like you would receive at lunch in the MDR. On the 7th night (which may have been the 5th or 6th) we had a phenomenal server, who must have had a manifest to cross reference with room numbers, because he walked up to our table and called us all by name, without ever having seen us before, and chatted with us and was just wonderful, like our set dining time waiters have always been. So it just depends who your waiter is that night.

 

I personally felt a little disconnected from the goings on of the ship - we missed the MD talk every single night, so we never applauded the staff or anything, and never had the singing and dancing going on while we were there. Not sure how we timed that! but I enjoy those things, so I felt a little like we missed out. With a baby, I like the flexibility of anytime in case she's napping or uncooperative at our dinner time. But when she's older, I would like to go back to traditional for the atmosphere and the chance to get to know new tablemates.

[ChefSusan]

Every time we've done YTD, we've heard the Maitre D' in the Lower Level Dining Room make the next day's announcements, heard him say "It's Shoooooooooooooooooowtime!", and actually participated in the singing/dancing on the upper level. We have also experienced long waits for a particular Dining Service Team (and yes they remembered my lemon wedges after the first night!), and no we'll probably never go back to Traditional Dining (that is, unless the people we're cruising with want to have a scheduled time for dinner).

 

When my husband and I are on vacation, we like to have flexibility whenever possible. And if we can't have it, then we make adjustments.

 

Nothing's ever been solved over spilled milk!

[blueskyday]

For those who have done both YTD & traditional dining, how did the service compare? I have only sailed on 3 cruise lines (one is now defunct). We've had traditional dining on 2 of the lines & received wonderful service every time. The other line had a version of YTD. The service was what you would receive from an average server at a chain restaurant. After previous experiences, that was a big disappointment. It just wasn't the type of service I expected to receive on a cruise. Now, I'm kind of afraid to try YTD.

 

Our experience was the same for both - great! We had YTD on the Legend, showed up the same time every night (5:45) and got the the same wait staff and table. In the past, I have always been assigned late dining but can't eat late, so that was a waste of time - had to eat on Lido deck. YTD was a God-send.

[ddloml]

We have always done traditional dining....but after our cruises with NCL and their "Freestyle" dining.....I don't think we could go back to traditional dining.......it's GREAT going to dinner when you're hungry and not because it's time for dinner or worse....NOT time for dinner yet!

 

We've never done Anytime Dining with Carnival so I HOPE it's as great an experience as we have had with NCL. I can't wait to try it out!

 

We didn't think much of Freestyle Dining on our NCL cruise. We missed getting to know our waitstaff, and their remembering our dining and beverage preferences. It was a different waitstaff every night, and the service wasn't as efficient. The food in the 'free' MDRs was not as good as Carnival's either. We ended up eating in specialty restaurants on 4 nights of our 7 night cruise. The service and food quality in the specialty restaurants was top notch and well worth the surcharges, though.

 

We've enjoyed the assigned late seating on our Carnival cruises. We don't have to worry about getting back on board on port days and rush to get ready for dinner. On sea days, if we get hungry in the late afternoon, we just pick up a slice of pizza or a room service snack to tide us over until dinner. Also, we're recent 'empty nesters', and another advantage to late seating is that there are less young children in the dining room at that time.;)

[bguppies]

We have done YTD twice since Carnival added it and LOVE it. (luckily DW just hit platinum, so we never have to go back to assigned dining.)

We find the pros far outweigh the cons with YTD over assigned dining.

 

We like the freedom that YTD dining gives you with the waitstaff and tablemates.

If you enjoy your waitstaff the first night, you simply request them each night and we haven't had to wait yet to get our choice.

By the 2nd night, they knew our preferences, just like with assigned dining. Would have our drinks coming as soon as they saw us coming.

Had my favorite desert ready each night without asking.

 

Also enjoyed the fact that the waitstaff NEVER waited to take your order. (unlike assigned dining where they will wait 30-40 minutes for absent tablemates who frequently never show anyway)

 

Makes for a much more timely dinner service.(our last cruise we went back to assigned dining for MIL who has dietary restrictions. We kept getting food that was already cooling, definitely NOT hot and fresh. Which We had not experienced at any meal the 2 previous cruises with YTD.

Now know we will NEVER go back again ever)

 

Also prefer to meet people during the week and dining with them if YOU choose.

Not the random folks they choose to seat you with.

In 7 cruises with assigned dining we never were seated with anyone we kept in contact with after the cruise.

More often than not, half the table rarely if ever showed up. (thus usually delaying our ordering)

 

With YTD of we meet interesting people, who also have YTD, you just meet them at the dining room and sit as a group.

Much nicer way to meet dining mates.

 

That is all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Bill

[elsplace2]

We didn't think much of Freestyle Dining on our NCL cruise. We missed getting to know our waitstaff, and their remembering our dining and beverage preferences. It was a different waitstaff every night, and the service wasn't as efficient. The food in the 'free' MDRs was not as good as Carnival's either. We ended up eating in specialty restaurants on 4 nights of our 7 night cruise. The service and food quality in the specialty restaurants was top notch and well worth the surcharges, though.

 

We've enjoyed the assigned late seating on our Carnival cruises. We don't have to worry about getting back on board on port days and rush to get ready for dinner. On sea days, if we get hungry in the late afternoon, we just pick up a slice of pizza or a room service snack to tide us over until dinner. Also, we're recent 'empty nesters', and another advantage to late seating is that there are less young children in the dining room at that time.;)

 

I will AGREE that I LOVE Carnival's MDR food much more then I like NCL's, although I still enjoyed NCL's freestyle concept, that's why we are going with YTD, this time with Carnival.....yes, it is nice to get to know your wait staff and vise-versa.....but not a big deal to us....Our experience with all the different waitstaff we had nightly, were equally enjoyable and efficient. I'm sure we will feel the same way with Carnival's YTD.

[blondietink]

We also had YTD on our first cruise and had the same wait staff every night ... we just requested it when we checked in. Since my boys wanted to see the waiter's show, one night we requested to sit closer to be able to see it from our table. Not only was our request granted, they sat us in another wait team's area, but we got to keep our original waiter. AWESOME!

[nybumpkin]

Up until our last cruise, we always had early seating and that was fine for us. We like having the same wait staff and same table. However, for our cruise last month on Glory we opted for YTD since we knew we wanted to go to dinner later than 6:00 a couple of nights and would be in the supper club for an additional night. We had the same wait staff for three of the four nights we were in the dining room and they were great. The other night we couldn't get a table in their section and wound up in one of the overflow dining rooms with a two-person team with too many tables. However, I'd certainly opt for YTD again if I had an itinerary where I wanted the flexibility that YTD gives you.