I don't understand Your Time Dining

[Warm Breezes]

Actually, I don't need to know WHY people like it. I already know that. I need to know HOW to make it work the way people describe it when they want the same time/same wait staff.

 

If I want the same staff, I could see waiting LONG times while people finish their leisurely meal.

 

Can I reserve a table/time? That's what my question is. I am not ranting against Your Time Dining.:)

 

Kathy

 

No reservations...you just ask at the podium. 3/4 times we asked we were seated right away in the section we wanted. 1 time they there was a wait. We just said to seat us elsewhere and were seated right away...no big deal to us.

[petesweet]

For those who said you have to ask, let me say we DID ask. And we did get what we wanted. HOWEVER, if we had not stood in a long line before the doors opened, I wondered how we would get the table or wait staff we wanted.

Perhaps we will try it again sometime.

Kathy

[sg4crzn]

You get in line around 5:30 and be the first in the dining room. Yes you can request same waiters. They want the waiters to know "personally" who they are serving. Likes and dislikes just as usual. Best part is if for some reason you are running late it's no problem and if you find others on board you would like to have dinner with -it's possible. I find it to be a great convenience.

[n6uqqq]

I prefer your time dining and have always been able to get the same servers without issue. With regards to the two top tables, many are so close together they really aren't all that different than eating at a large table. Being a foot apart means if the person next to you sneezes, look out ;).

[GatorGirl57]

With regards to the two top tables, many are so close together they really aren't all that different than eating at a large table. Being a foot apart means if the person next to you sneezes, look out ;).

 

This is true, but if I walk over to a two top and I think it is too close to another one, I just ask them to put me at a different table. They always do, without a problem.

[sailor_jimc]

For those of you saying you have not had to wait to be seated when requesting the same server:

 

When do you cruise? Due to my wife's vacation schedule we can typically only cruise in what are the "peak" cruising times. So it seems the ships have many more people than in the non peak cruise times. I can see not having to wait for your favorite wait staff if you show up early, but at some point those tables fill up.

 

Same with the 2 person tables. Seems like there can only be so many of them available.

 

I'm not trying to prove or disprove one preference or another. But as stated in an earlier post, our main reason for not wanting to use ATD is the possibility of having to wait to be seated (as we enjoy having the same servers each night) We have also not had to deal with bad table mates and enjoy meeting new people (not that we have not had a couple of questionable seatings...

[petesweet]

You get in line around 5:30 and be the first in the dining room. Yes you can request same waiters. They want the waiters to know "personally" who they are serving. Likes and dislikes just as usual. Best part is if for some reason you are running late it's no problem and if you find others on board you would like to have dinner with -it's possible. I find it to be a great convenience.

And that's exactly what we did. Just did not see the charm of having to wait in line 15 minutes to ensure that we got the same servers. That just did not sound like what had been described by others, which is why I was confused.

 

Just to keep from sounding like I am arguing or am disgruntled, let me say that my post has been answered and I am satisfied. Many thanks.:)

 

Kathy

[happy cruzin]

That has been my experience in the past, so that is a good answer to the OP's question as to why some people would want it.

 

I have been told in the past (several years ago now) that two seaters in the main dining room for regular dining were saved for people on their honeymoon.

 

Anyone with first hand experience getting a two person table in the main dining room at early/late seating?

 

 

When we did traditional dining - usually the late seating - I guess we were lucky!

 

We always made a visit our table location once we boarded - if it was not just for two we made a point to seeing the MD and putting in a request for a private table. They have always accomodated our request - only once did we move after the first night - most times we were moved right away.

 

We've now moved to ATD - because we like the flexibility of going when we are ready and not tied to a specific time. We've always requested a table for two and never had a problem.

 

I will also say that on the Breeze they tend to seat "sections" at one time and the table are so close together - it's almost like dining with others. :cool:

[vols_159]

I don't want to sit at large table with people I don't know.. Also wanna eat when I want to eat .. So I'll stick with ytd. Or avoid the mdr.. Just my take love it on ncl!

 

 

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[isadelia]

That has been my experience in the past, so that is a good answer to the OP's question as to why some people would want it.

 

 

 

I have been told in the past (several years ago now) that two seaters in the main dining room for regular dining were saved for people on their honeymoon.

 

 

 

Anyone with first hand experience getting a two person table in the main dining room at early/late seating?

 

 

My now husband and I we're put at a 2 seater on our 1st cruise 2 years ago. We didn't ask for it. We were next to a 4 top in which one of the couples moved to a larger table with their friends. So we moved to the 4 top and made friends with that couple.

 

 

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[maurinsky2]

Our family loves YTD. At home we are on a schedule. We love while on vacation that if we want to swim longer, kids stay at a camp carnival activity longer, stay in port longer, take a nap, or eat a bigger afternoon snack, anytime dinner allows that flexibility. Otherwise we'd be in that same mind set as home" quick kids finish up what your doing we need to get ready for dinner". Or be sitting there waiting for late seating and have everyone snoring at desert with a full late belly.

 

 

 

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This is why we chose YTD. I have no problem making conversation with people I don't know (I'm not a big talker, but I am a good listener!), although truth be told my finance would probably rather not. We're going to have a group of 5, but I honestly anticipate that we may not even eat together every day we're on the ship anyway - his kids will likely want to skip dinner entirely after gorging on Lido offerings. We figured we wanted to be mostly schedule free while we're on vacation.

[swedish weave]

I always find some humor in some who insist on eating at the same time every day.

 

How do they handle it when the ship changes time zones ????

[Warm Breezes]

For those of you saying you have not had to wait to be seated when requesting the same server:

 

When do you cruise? Due to my wife's vacation schedule we can typically only cruise in what are the "peak" cruising times. So it seems the ships have many more people than in the non peak cruise times. I can see not having to wait for your favorite wait staff if you show up early, but at some point those tables fill up.

 

Same with the 2 person tables. Seems like there can only be so many of them available.

 

I'm not trying to prove or disprove one preference or another. But as stated in an earlier post, our main reason for not wanting to use ATD is the possibility of having to wait to be seated (as we enjoy having the same servers each night) We have also not had to deal with bad table mates and enjoy meeting new people (not that we have not had a couple of questionable seatings...

 

Carnival Destiny over Thanksgiving was our first time with anytime. It was a 4 night cruise. We liked who we had the first night and we came back the 2nd night they asked us if we would like to be seated there again and we did....no wait. The 3rd night we asked to be seated there but they were full and it would be a wait so told them we would sit anywhere. The 4th night we asked and were able to go back there...again no wait.

 

Carnival Glory in July was the 2nd time we had anytime on CCL. We never bonded with any wait staff so we let them seat us whereever. We did have a wait on Elegant night for about 15 minutes....other than that no waits.

 

Carnival Freedom in August was our 3rd time we had anytime on CCL. We liked the waiter we had on the 4th night and asked for his section 1 time later in the week. We were able to get it with no problem. No waits at all during this cruise with anytime.

 

I can't give you the times we dined because we were never consistent on when we went to dinner. On NCL we never asked for a specific waiter. We had a wait one time on NCL Epic, during Christmas Break, on Dress Up or Not night for about 15 minutes. They gave us a coupon for a free champaign or soft drink at the bar while we waited. We never had any other waits on NCL.

[Domino D]

And that's exactly what we did. Just did not see the charm of having to wait in line 15 minutes to ensure that we got the same servers. That just did not sound like what had been described by others, which is why I was confused.

 

Just to keep from sounding like I am arguing or am disgruntled, let me say that my post has been answered and I am satisfied. Many thanks.:)

 

Kathy

 

 

Kathy,

Maybe this is the missing piece. I think it is about the time you go to eat. Most people, even on MTD! Tend to go around the same time each day, we saw the same people over and over at tables around us. On NCL we hated MTD. We even skipped the dining room 3 out of 7 days because the wait was to long for me, like 30 minutes between 7 and 7:30 pm. There were plenty of other choices to eat at, so we just went to another restaurant. We took Breeze this past summer and went around 6:30 every day. No line, no wait, same waiters (GREAT GUYs), no problems. Now when we left, the line was out into the atrium. I really think there are points in time where you just get right in. I doubt it's the same on every cruise, but people like me who say we never had the problem just hit at the right time. Also, the thing I like about the same waiters is, like on the Breeze, by the third day of seven day cruise they knew what we drank, knew which sides we liked, knew we had coffee with dessert, and did things for us before we even asked. Which is why we tipped them extra. If you decide to do it again, try asking the desk what times have shorter waits, and see if you can hit one of the times that do not have lines. Not quite really my time I guess, but I think that's probably the difference.

 

 

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[jennknee]

I was a bit torn on YTD at first. I like the flexible time, but I've always enjoyed my time at dinner meeting people. In fact, the 3 friends I generally travel with now are my friends because I was at a table with one of them 7.5 years ago on a Carnival cruise and we've been traveling buddies ever since. I also really love when you have a great wait staff all week. So I didn't know if I would like it.

 

My first experience with YTD on Carnival was the Breeze in January of 2013. The first night we had an awesome waiter, Taras. The second night, we didn't realize we could request him again, so we let them seat us and we HATED it. We were stuck back in a corner with a staff that barely cared we were there. So, the 3rd night we requested Taras again and got in no problem. We requested him the rest of the week with no wait except for the final night. There was about a 20-30 minute wait, but there was no way were going to miss our last night with Taras. He was awesome.

 

Cut to November 2013 on the Glory, 30 minutes after boarding the ship we see Taras again on the lido promoting the steakhouse. I nearly tackled him and asked him if he was doing YTD still. He looked scared (didn't remember me yet) but said yes. We requested him all week and only had 1 night that we had a wait and it was probably less than 20 minutes. Again, we absolutely were going to wait any length of time at this point since we had completely bonded with him.

 

We always tended to go to dinner between 7-7:30. There was 4 of us so it was easy enough to just put us at 4 top by ourselves. We ended up being surrounded by some of the same people every night including another 4-some that we chatted with. The fact that you CAN request (and generally get) the same wait staff makes YTD perfect for us. One of my favorite aspects of cruising is falling in love with the dining staff. The cruises I've been on where I don't connect as much with the waiters definitely can be somewhat less memorable for me.

 

TL;DR: For me, YTD is the perfect mix: Flexible times, same staff, barely any wait.

[GatorGirl57]

 

Same with the 2 person tables. Seems like there can only be so many of them available.

 

I have been placed at a 4 top with no one else if we requested a 2 top and there were none available in YTD. This is not usually done in the MDR unless your other people just happen to not show up.

[silverpenguin]

OP, you expressed your opinion, so I will express mine. I don't understand why you wouldn't choose anytime dining. I have to watch a clock every day at work, I definitely don't want to be watching one on vacation. We never had to wait to eat on our last cruise with YTD. We requested the same waiter every night & only 1 night would we have had to wait, so we decided to take whatever was available. Every night we were taken straight to a table for 4.

[lovetocruise113]

Just was on the Liberty and had ATD. Our wait time was no longer then 5 minutes. Will do ATD again on our next cruise.

[kazbar]

We like ATD because not every day is the same.

If we have a sea day we might sleep late, have a late breakfast, skip lunch, and then be looking for an early dinner.

On a port day we might be up early for an excursion, have a full lunch and not want to eat dinner until later.

 

With set dining we are locked in to eating dinner at 6 or 8 but with ATD we can eat at 5.45, 6.30, 7.30, 8.30 etc

[Lerin]

You didn't like the freestyle dining on NCL so why did you think you'd like it on Carnival?

 

There is nothing to explain or enlighten. Some like it. Some don't.

 

I personally don't. For that reason alone I do not sail NCL.

[LuckyZ]

2 questions:

 

1. If you sign up for Late Seating, can you switch over to YTD after the cruise starts?

2. If you have YTD, is it a shorter wait if you try to get a table closer to the late seating vs the early seating?

[GatorGirl57]

2 questions:

 

1. If you sign up for Late Seating, can you switch over to YTD after the cruise starts?

2. If you have YTD, is it a shorter wait if you try to get a table closer to the late seating vs the early seating?

 

1. You would have to ask the Maitre'D about switching. If there is room, they will probably move you. If someone else wants your spot and has already come to them, they will switch you. If it is a full cruise and no one wants to switch, you have to stay with late seating.

 

2. It really depends on the individual cruise. We normally get there about 5:35 or so and are let in almost right when it opens, so less than a 15 minute wait. The dining room continues to fill for about 30 minutes or so. Then, people are given buzzers and have to wait for a table. If you came in really late (about an hour or so before it ends) you probably wouldn't have to wait at all.

 

I don't think it is a big deal to wait a few minutes for the freedom of eating when I want. For instance, on our last cruise we wanted to watch the movie at sea. Then, we went to dinner around 7:30 or so. The other nights, we mostly went about 5:35. I liked the freedom of doing what I wanted to do.

[vjmatty]

The main reason I choose My Time Dining is I do not like eating with people I do not know, and, at least in the past, Carnival was not able to guarantee my DH and I would have a two person table at a regular dining time. We have been at four person tables, six person tables, etc. If we show up at 5:45 for MTD, we always get a two person table. Simple as that for us. We are actually toying with calling Carnival and seeing if they can guarantee us a two person table now, can anyone tell me if they are more prevalent now than they were a few years ago?

 

With My Time Dining you are more likely to sit with people you don't know since you are at a different table every night with different people.... in fixed dining you are with the same people every night so you will know them after the first dinner.

[hftmrock]

With My Time Dining you are more likely to sit with people you don't know since you are at a different table every night with different people.... in fixed dining you are with the same people every night so you will know them after the first dinner.

 

not exactly... with My Time dining, you are more likely to eat with just your family than to eat with anyone else. my time dining lets you eat alone.

[mikefast]

My wife and I had My Time Dining on the Carnival Magic, Feb. 2 through 9 of this year. The line for the restaurant started forming at least 20 minutes before the door opened. My wife and I were usually toward the front of the line. We had excellent wait staff the first night, so, we asked for, and always got a table for two with our favorite wait staff. We really didn't mind the wait to get what we wanted, so, I'd choose My Time Dining again. The Restaurant opened at 5:30 and we were always in line by 5:15 at the latest. They did seat the people pretty fast though.