Table For 2

[tarheelmjfan]

My DH & I are booking Island Princess for our 20th anniversary. We prefer late traditional dining, but eating alone is more important to us. Do we need to book anytime dining to guarantee a table for 2? My only experience with anytime dining was with NCL, & it wasn't a great one. We'll go that route, if we have to though. TIA :)

[skynight]

My DH & I are booking Island Princess for our 20th anniversary. We prefer late traditional dining, but eating alone is more important to us. Do we need to book anytime dining to guarantee a table for 2? My only experience with anytime dining was with NCL, & it wasn't a great one. We'll go that route, if we have to though. TIA :)

 

Depends. There are normally more passengers that want to eat early than late. The last time I was on the Island the Provence Dining room, deck 6 was for traditional seating and the Bordeaux, deck 5 was for anytime. However, there was a large demand for early seating traditional dining so they filled half the Bordeaux dining room with these passengers, leaving it difficult to get early ATD seating. But, if you wanted to eat late, no problem, dining room was empty. You just have to wait to see what passengers on your voyage tend to do. Once on board suggest you call the dining reservation number in the morning on the first day and make a reservation. ATD reservation times are normally restricted to specific times such a 8:00 or 8:30. You may also be able to reserve a table for the entire cruise by speaking to the head waiter. Of course he will expect a tip at the end. Hope this is helpful

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for the info. Would it be better to book traditional dining & request a table for 2, then try to change to anytime dining if we don't get our own table or would it be better to book anytime dining, then try to switch to traditional on the ship?

[JimmyVWine]

If you think that you might want to switch, you would definitely want to sign up for Traditional and then try to move to Anytime once on board. It is really hard to do the reverse. May not even be possible.

 

The best strategy for dining alone as a small party is to do Anytime, and eat after 7:30. It is really quite easy that way. If you find servers that you really like, you can check in with the head waiter and ask for a table in his/her section the next night. If you dine on the late side, you will probably be accomodated. On my most recent cruise, I noticed a lot of people requesting certain stations and no one was refused. (This was always from 7:20 on). And no one at that hour ever waited more than 5 minutes for a table.

 

The "advantages" of Traditional are:

• no wait (in theory...you still have to get through the doors in the beginning!)
  
• tablemates
  
• same servers throughout the cruise
  

Dining on the "later" side in Anytime largely negates the first "advantage".

You have stated that you don't want tablemates, so the second "advantage" is a nullity.

As for the same servers, this can be a blessing or a curse. People tend to talk about the wonderful servers they had and are glad that they got the same ones every night. But if you don't "click" with your servers, you could be stuck with them. And quite honestly, very few people complain about their servers to the point where they ask to be re-seated, which means that the odds are heavy that you will be happy with whomever is assigned to your table. So the third "advantage" may not be worth much.

[Treven]

I eat early (anytime dining) and I've never had a problem getting a table for two; never had to wait with a beeper either.

[oskidunker]

I request it through the travel agent and we are always seated at a table for 6. When I ask, they tell me all the tables for 4 are taken.early dining is so impacted, you pretty much have to take what you get.

 

On a recent Star cruise to Hawaii we came back late one night and went to Late Traditional and found the dining room only half full. Not very popular on that cruise.

[cruis247g]

Since you prefer traditional dining, ask your TA to specify the slot and a table for 2. Your TA can look at your res and it will show that your request is confirmed ... or waitlisted. If you are confirmed, you're in!

[DeloreanGirl]

If you have Anytime Dining and want a table for 2 every night, do you go straight to the Maitre'D on the first day and ask and he marks it down somehow? Or do you have to go every night before dinner and ask?

[RickEk]

There's also a chance that you can change your seating assignment once onboard. Once on the Caribbean Princess, we were two people assigned to a table of ten. When we checked with the maitre'd, we found out it was a family of eight that we were sitting with, so we asked to be changed to a table for two. No problem and we had a two-top that night. :)

[caribill]

I suggest requesting a table for two in Traditional.

 

When you board, check with the dining room staff to see if the table assigned is just for two or pssibly a table for four with only the two of you assigned to it.

 

If not, check the Patter for when the Matre d' is holding court to deal with changing dining requests. If he cannot put you at a traditional dining table for two, you can then ask to be assigned to anytime although that change may not be able to be sone for the first evening.

 

I am not familiar with the table setup on the Island, but on most of the other Princess ships many of the tables for two (both in traditional and anytime) are just inches away from other tables for two or even a larger table. You may have a table for two, but it might not be very private.

[srice]

DW and I always request a table for 2 during early seating and very seldom get it.

 

To get a table for 2 we almost always have to meet with the Maitre d'. Check the Princess Patter as soon as you board or ask at the Customer Service desk to find out when and where he will be to change dining arrangements. We are usually successful getting a table for 2 at that meeting.

 

We always meet with him anyway to confirm that we got a table for 2 because the MDRs are not open for us to verify until dinner time.

 

If he absolutely cannot accommodate then switch to Any Time Dining.

[waltd]

I also have to agree with Caribill. We have always had traditional and have always had a table for two. Check with the Maitre'D when on board. They usually hold court :) around 1 or two. You might have to wait in line. As stated they may put you in anytime dining but you will have the same table and wait staff. It sometimes takes them a day to let you know. Enjoy the cruise.

[tarheelmjfan]

I appreciate all the feedback. We'll request a table for two in traditional dining.

 

It looks like those of you who were successful in changing your table assignment onboard have taken Princess cruises in the past. This will be our first cruise with Princess. Do you think that will affect the Maitre' Ds willingness to work with us? We can hope the dining room is only half full, as some of you have witnessed. That should make our chances of getting our request much better.

 

As for the same servers, this can be a blessing or a curse. People tend to talk about the wonderful servers they had and are glad that they got the same ones every night. But if you don't "click" with your servers, you could be stuck with them. And quite honestly, very few people complain about their servers to the point where they ask to be re-seated, which means that the odds are heavy that you will be happy with whomever is assigned to your table. So the third "advantage" may not be worth much.

 

Having the same server is the reason we like traditional dining. On my only NCL cruise, it took 4 days to happen upon a really good server. From that point on, we requested his section. It would have been nice to have that level of service every night. I haven't really thought about having a slack service assigned to our table. That's never happened to us, but I can see how that could negatively impact the dining experience in a major way.

 

I am not familiar with the table setup on the Island, but on most of the other Princess ships many of the tables for two (both in traditional and anytime) are just inches away from other tables for two or even a larger table. You may have a table for two, but it might not be very private.

 

We had a similar table setup on a Celebrity ship once. It was nice. We could exchange pleasantries with the couples on each side of us at the beginning of the meal each night. After that, each couple had private conversations. Everyone was on the same page, which made for a perfect situation.

[Pam in CA]

I appreciate all the feedback. We'll request a table for two in traditional dining.

 

It looks like those of you who were successful in changing your table assignment onboard have taken Princess cruises in the past. This will be our first cruise with Princess. Do you think that will affect the Maitre' Ds willingness to work with us? We can hope the dining room is only half full, as some of you have witnessed. That should make our chances of getting our request much better.

You've gotten good advice here, especially from caribill. Yes, keep your Traditional dining and request a table for two. Once you board, go to the dining room and double-check the size and location. If its not what you want, do as Bill suggests: check where the Maitre d' is located the afternoon of embarkation day. It doesn't matter whether it's your first Princess cruise or your 50th. Explain the circumstances and he will make every effort to accommodate you. Go as early as you can because he will be handling a lot of dining requests. He does NOT expect a tip; this is his job. If you feel like rewarding him if he's able to help you, that's up to you.

 

Just as an FYI, if you haven't booked yet, there's a good possibility that Traditional won't be available. That fills quickly with a long waitlist. :( Should you be unable to book Traditional, see the Maitre d'. That first afternoon, there are many switches and changes with people opting out of Traditional to Anytime and vice versa.

[waltd]

Yep Pam is correct. Lets face it the Maitre d' wants to make the customer happy, if at all possible, so he will try his best. I have to say they do a pretty good job.

[enyliram]

i have confirmed early seating table for 2 on my upcoming cruise. is it possible to get a 4 person table for just the 2 of us as i need lots of room for a wheelchair. the 4 person tables do not appear to be so close together which would be better for me.

[waltd]

You can always ask your travel agent to request what you want but I have found that you will probably still have to talk with the Maitre d' once you get on board. I really don't think the ship looks at all the requests prior to boarding.

[goodie2shoes]

With most of the ships now using at least part of one anytime dining room for assigned dining, you may be assigned to a permanent table there. This was the case with us on the Star on our last two cruises. The first one we were given a table in the Capri dining room. We were so pleased with the table (it was for 4, with only the 2 of us) and the servers that we talked to the Maitre D' before leaving and asked to have the same servers on our next cruise, which was less than a month away. He was happy to do it, and stopped by our table the first night to chat and tell us that he told us he would remember.

[paul929207]

Thanks for the info. Would it be better to book traditional dining & request a table for 2, then try to change to anytime dining if we don't get our own table or would it be better to book anytime dining, then try to switch to traditional on the ship?

That is what I would do. Book the second seating and request a table for two. When you board, go to the assigned dining room and check the assigned table (info will be on your cruise card). If the table is OK, you are set. If not, go see the Maitre 'd (time and place in the Princess Patter in your cabin) and request a table for two. If you get one, you are good. If he cannot give you one, then switch to AD and request a table for two each evening.

[ONT-CA]

My two cents if I may. As you indicate you prefer to dine later than earlier I would book Anytime. I would then request a table for two on the first evening. Provided you are around the 7:30 mark there should be no problem. Scout out the room for a table that you would like throughout the cruise and at the same time. $peak to the Table Captain aka Head Waiter and ask to have that same table each evening at the same set time. We do this on every cruise and generally have a table for four, which we then can, if we so desire share with other passengers we meet and with whom we would like to dine.

[TracieABD]

We have always requested TD when booking and indicated a table for two (except our last cruise when we were four). Our wishes have been honored every time. If we want to chat with others, we typically sit in the lounges after dinner... :)

[I_heart_vaca]

I traveled with a group of 6 so we didn't every have just two of us at dinner, but I found it unusual that tables for 2 in the Anytime dining room seemed to be long tables (some 4 seaters and some 8 seaters) with wood and acrylic dividers placed on the table. Literally no space and if you were at the table for 8 you had to walk down seperate sides of the tables to sit with your partner...it looked like a fancy prison visitors room from TV! I guess this doesn't happen all the time or on all ships, but it looked really odd!

[paul929207]

I traveled with a group of 6 so we didn't every have just two of us at dinner, but I found it unusual that tables for 2 in the Anytime dining room seemed to be long tables (some 4 seaters and some 8 seaters) with wood and acrylic dividers placed on the table. Literally no space and if you were at the table for 8 you had to walk down seperate sides of the tables to sit with your partner...it looked like a fancy prison visitors room from TV! I guess this doesn't happen all the time or on all ships, but it looked really odd!

I haven't seen the dividers like you mention on the ships I have sailed, but there is often 8 or 10 inches between tables.

[Jasperdo]

I traveled with a group of 6 so we didn't every have just two of us at dinner, but I found it unusual that tables for 2 in the Anytime dining room seemed to be long tables (some 4 seaters and some 8 seaters) with wood and acrylic dividers placed on the table. Literally no space and if you were at the table for 8 you had to walk down seperate sides of the tables to sit with your partner...it looked like a fancy prison visitors room from TV! I guess this doesn't happen all the time or on all ships, but it looked really odd!

The only Princess ship I saw that on was the Dawn Princess. They took tables for 4 and put a partition down the middle of it, turning it into 2 really weird tables for two. Here's a photo of my wife at one of them:

 

Dawn Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks again to all of you for the advice. We have booked late traditional dining & requested a table for 2. The tip for late, anytime dining is a good one to know for the future. We'll definitely try to switch to anytime, if they don't assign us a table for 2 in late traditional in advance or won't accommodate the request on embarkation day. That happened to us once on a Celebrity ship, before there was an option of anytime dining. The table dividers on the 4 top tables are an odd setup, but I suppose it would serve the purpose. You'd just have to speak with a whisper. :p