Tried Any Time Dining - won't do it again

[GoingWithTheFlow]

We had YTD on the Spirit and the Splendor, and on both ships the service was the best we've ever experienced. :)

 

On the Spirit, we found two waiters we really liked and it was difficult to choose between them but the one we ended up with turned out to be an amazing waiter. I was in the restaurant business for many years so I can't help but notice how the wait staff and dining room is being run.

 

On both ships, we never had to wait to be seated more than a few minutes, but then we usually went to the MDR around 6 or 6:30 pm when it wasn't busy. By 7:30 there was usually a line though it was never that long. Our full meal service lasted between and hour to maybe an hour and 10 minutes, tops. On the Spirit, people told us that their early seating dinner was painfully slow and took them the full 2 hours. I'm not sure if that ever improved, but hopefully it did.

 

I did notice on the last elegant night on the Spirit, our waiter got "slammed" as the dinner rush went into full swing. He had 2 large extra tables to pick up. He even mentioned to us that he'd never seen it this busy in a long time. But he handled it very well and actually seemed to relish the challenge. I was impressed! Our waiter had a great team backing him up and I think that makes a difference.

 

Our waiter on the Splendor was also excellent. He always greeted us by name and knew we were usually ready to order as soon as we sat down so he'd take our order immediately.

 

The trick is to find a waiter you like and stick to that person for the duration of the cruise. If I ever had a waiter whose quality of service was lacking, I'd just avoid that one the next time. Perhaps watch the waiters in the other sections and consider switching to them if they seem to be better.

 

A couple we knew who had fixed dining had to switch around several times before finding the right balance between waiter and compatible table mates. So fixed dining is not perfect either!

 

All of the YTD waiters we had on both ships were very good and I would have been content to have any one of them serve me, we just chose the one who gave great service and had the best rapport with us.

[JaniceB]

I thought about anytime dining for our upcoming cruise, but since we have first-timers joining us I thought we should stick with the set time dining. After reading post I think I made the right choice. If they cruise again, they can decide if the want to try anytime dining.

[runforlife]

I love the flexible dining and choose it on every cruise where it is an option. To me the dining room is like going to a nice restaurant at home. I hope for and appreciate courteous and prompt service, but I'm not looking to be friends with my wait staff. I want to spend valuable vacation time with my family. I've always had great service and having to tell a new waiter I want an iced tea or a second appetizer is no big deal.

[sbnuggie]

Wife and I had ATD on Legend in 2009 when the program first started and we had mixed results, all of our other cruises have been set dining with our kids always early dining.

 

This January we will have ATD with the five of us. Just wondering, do you think a ATD is really setup for parties of 4 or less, kind of the way I read into the posts etc.. Kinda worried that with 5, we will get stuck on a ten top and perhaps not have that good of service.

[DebJ14]

We had it MTD once on Princess and several times on NCL and we too hated it. Lack of assigned dining times is the reason we no longer sail NCL. We have always had great, unhurried service at traditional late seating. The waiter knows what you want (tea, water, lemon, how you want your meat cooked etc) by the 2nd night. And you aren't getting shoved out of the dining room before coffee because they have to reset the tables. We don't eat that late at home, but on vacation we sleep late and so all meals are shifted a few hours later. (Breakfast at 10am, lunch at 2pm and dinner after 8pm) Thankfully, being Platinum we are guaranteed our choice of late dining time, even if it is waitlisted.

[TheGrandparents]

We have never had nor tried anytime. Chances are that we never will.

 

Never have we had a bad group of people or waitstaff.

 

We'll stick with what works for us, early seating.

[Name Of The Game]

We tried anytime dining on the Legend a couple years ago and didn't like it either. Service was very slow. We went back to early traditional for the last two cruises.

[ccruisequeen]

We've had ATD for the past few years; the exception being our last Paradise cruise where we traveled with a group of 17 who prefered Early seating (which we also chose on cruises without the ATD option).

 

We've never had a problem with getting the same friendly wait-staff & even the same table. We like going early, after a few pre-dinner drinks. It almost seemed that the staff had reserved the table for us (one time, DF decided to go to Lido for just a salad & the staff wondered where he was). They knew we prefered no bread, & how we wanted our meat.

 

We have it ordered for our next cruises, but it will be interesting to see how they adapt to the new menus, with so many different options.

[Crazy4Koko]

Wife and I had ATD on Legend in 2009 when the program first started and we had mixed results, all of our other cruises have been set dining with our kids always early dining.

 

This January we will have ATD with the five of us. Just wondering, do you think a ATD is really setup for parties of 4 or less, kind of the way I read into the posts etc.. Kinda worried that with 5, we will get stuck on a ten top and perhaps not have that good of service.

 

 

We were 5 on the Inspiration cruise...they would usually take a table for 4 and add a 5th place setting.

[bythehex]

We had it MTD once on Princess and several times on NCL and we too hated it. Lack of assigned dining times is the reason we no longer sail NCL. We have always had great, unhurried service at traditional late seating. The waiter knows what you want (tea, water, lemon, how you want your meat cooked etc) by the 2nd night. And you aren't getting shoved out of the dining room before coffee because they have to reset the tables. We don't eat that late at home, but on vacation we sleep late and so all meals are shifted a few hours later. (Breakfast at 10am, lunch at 2pm and dinner after 8pm) Thankfully, being Platinum we are guaranteed our choice of late dining time, even if it is waitlisted.

 

We do exactly the same thing as you. Breakfast around 10, lunch around 2 and late dining at 8:15. We love late dining and I love having the same table and same wait staff every night. I couldn't agree more.

 

And, while we don't eat that late at home, we do eat dinner at the same time each night. So why would I want to jump around and eat different times every night when I'm on a cruise? If we're going to eat at the same time each night, we might as well have assigned dining.

 

To each his own. For those of you who like ATD, good for you. It's not for us.

[firefly333]

Thanks for posting this. I am signed up for anytime dining, but having second thoughts. I have never tried it before and on Princess did not like it.

 

I have usually loved traditional. I might change. thanks for your post.

[Bigal1017]

We tried ATD on our recent Victory cruise and loved it. We never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a table.

We did miss the Dancing Waiters one evening.

It was great being able to take our time after returning from a day in port.

If given the choice we would never choose assigned seating.

[C Cruise Dude]

I know some folks love it but we will not do it again. This was our 7th cruise and the first time with any time dining. Dinner is always one of our favorite times of the day - not because of the eating but just because of the atmosphere in the MDR, the time with family and the fun with the wait staff. I had read many who had great experiences so we were eager to try it out.

 

For the record, we had no waiting on any night other than elegant night (which was 45 min.).

 

None of us felt like we got the same service we have received when eating with a scheduled eating time in the MDR. We barely saw the head waiter and it seemed as if he had a responsibility for quite an extraordinary number of tables. It looked as if there were 2 assts. helping him. It was really hard to tell. Service was just not the same.

 

I know some folks love it but it just wasn't our cup of tea and we will return to regular seating from now on. Why am I posting this? Mainly, because I only see posts from people who had great experiences with ATD and I just want to put this out there for anyone who may be questioning whether to do it or not.

 

JMO

 

I was a little dissapointed when I found out that I was given ATD, I booked at the last minute. As a solo cruiser, I enjoy being assigned to a table and the atmosphere that goes with the group of passengers and wait staff.

 

What I found was that it was like the personal touch of the waiter with the group but I had them all to myself. It was nice to meet the waiters in other areas of the ship and have them ask about my day and if I will be in the MDR that night, kinda special.

 

I have had good experiences with assigned dining but am for some reason apprehensive about the group. I guess concerned that I will get some idiot that spoils the table. Hopefully the seatings will be great but it is nice to have anytime as a backup.

 

I understand what you mean and respect your opinion.

[Waterloomarc]

Interesting. We're leaving on Thursday for a short 4 night cruise and are booked for late seating. We've always had ATD so I'm anxious to see what the different is like. While I've never had to wait, and we eat in MDR every night, I do find the service to be less than spectacular. While I couldn't care less where my waiter is from or what his favorite color is I'd dearly love my water to not go dry.

[bobnsons]

If you find a waitstaff that you like you just ask for them each night, no problem.

 

 

Such a simple fix, I still remember asking for Gary after one night of not so good service.

 

Problem fixed everyone happy.

 

:)

[LKYGSR]

 

We'll stick with what works for us, early seating.

 

Struck the nail on the head. It's about personal choices. The more choices a business can offer, the better suited they are to attract a wider market; and, market share is what any business is all about.

 

We will try ATD on our next cruise for first time, looking forward to it very much as we have never really enjoyed the "must be on time" feeling or eating with strangers. We are on vacation, it's about relaxing and enjoying at our pace.

 

So, it's all about personal choice, no one is wrong, we all choose what works for us, and Carnival delivers the choice.

[firefly333]

I just went in and changed to early dining. I WAS going to try anytime .. but I know I really prefer traditional. It shows waitlisted, but since Im platinum I can still change.

[DTXCruiser]

For the record, we had no waiting on any night other than elegant night (which was 45 min.).

 

None of us felt like we got the same service we have received when eating with a scheduled eating time in the MDR. We barely saw the head waiter and it seemed as if he had a responsibility for quite an extraordinary number of tables. It looked as if there were 2 assts. helping him. It was really hard to tell. Service was just not the same.

 

I know some folks love it but it just wasn't our cup of tea and we will return to regular seating from now on. Why am I posting this? Mainly, because I only see posts from people who had great experiences with ATD and I just want to put this out there for anyone who may be questioning whether to do it or not.

 

JMO

 

 

Hey...thanks for the post...however, you're pretty vague here. What was "just not the same" about the service? Too slow? Not personal? Sloppy? I understand why you would want to give another spin on it...but you simply say it wasn't the same. I think most would imagine it's not the same as sitting at a table with 3 other couples or whatever....Really, not being mean, but your information is useless. :confused:

[Colorado Kat]

Sorry it did not go well for you. As a solo passanger I love it. I have used it the last 5 or 6 cruises and really would not eat other way now. I have never had to wait and have received excellant service. Usually have the same wait staff each evening and they treat me just like anyone else eating at a set time if not better. I normaly would eat around 7PM.

 

Thanks for posting this. I am going solo next week, and decided to try anytime dining. Too often with traditional dining, we have sat by ourselves when others chose not to dine one night. Not bad with 2 or 3, but embarrassing by myself.

 

I'll let everyone know if it works out.