Golden, anytime dining reservations....?

[Qcruise]

We're leaving Friday on the Golden weekender to Ensenada and are assigned to anytime dining which we've done before and it worked out great for us. I just read a review from recent and they had to wait an hour each time. Not acceptable.....I know our ship is booked completely so it could be nuts. Can I make a reservation as soon as we get on board for the first night to avoid this wait time. Before we just showed up and were seated within minutes. Thanks.....

[jsiegel]

It's up to the Maitre D' and even if he will make standing reservations, it will probably be at 5:30 or after 8 p.m. We were able to get a standing reservation for a table for 10 but had to all be seated by 5:45 or they'd give our table away.

 

Jackie

[karena1]

I know on Ruby in Jan, Anytime Dining was horrid, lines were nuts. We ended up eating in the buffet 3 out of the 5 nights on board. If they would quit letting the Traditional diners into ATD, this problem would not be so bad.

 

Not sure about the reservations, we did not make any (to me that is the whole point of ATD - go when you feel like it!!!!!) But reservations or not, you should not have to wait 45min to an hour to get in.

 

Hopefully your experience is much better than ours was on Ruby. We are going on Ruby again for a week in Dec and if ATD has not improved, I am not bothering to take formal stuff with me.

[Coveguy4]

We got off the Golden 2 weeks ago and had anytime dining without having to wait more than 5 minutes in line for 3 of the 4 nights. The one remaining night we had about a 15 minute wait before being seated. We were a party of 4 with a table to ourselves. If we were willing to share a table that one night, we would have been seated within 10 minutes. Enjoy your cruise!

[atdahop]

I am on the Golden as I write this...Last night the anytime dining wait was anywhere from 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. They even ran out of beepers to give out so you had to wait in line until someone returned one.

 

Do not even try to make a reservation ...I think you can get one at 5:45 or after 8:00 but those are limited as well.

[akins58442]

Traditional dining is the only way to go. I'm old school and tgibk tge anytime dining craze has lost the familiarity you gain from tge same head waiter and junior waiter. To each is own but I'd never come on a cruise to wait in line

[bigenna]

Last fall I did several short b2b cruises on the Golden, with anytime dining.

Unable to make reservations unless really early or after 8.

The long waits cured me. Fixed traditional from now on for us.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Traditional dining is the only way to go. I'm old school and tgibk tge anytime dining craze has lost the familiarity you gain from tge same head waiter and junior waiter. To each is own but I'd never come on a cruise to wait in line

 

The one time we had anytime dining, we ended up heading to the Horizon half out of the 14 nights. We did have a 20 minute wait once for the ADR, but I think it was more that with TD, it's something that makes a cruise unique when it comes to vacations. We often felt rush, and sometimes it seemed a bit disorganized (two or three of the seven nights, we were seated with passengers who have already ordered their meal). We were so glad to get traditional on our next cruise.

 

BTW, we have never ever crashed the anytime dining room. The few times that we haven't gone to our assigned table (if our girl felt iffy or we were off the ship), we have always gone to the buffet. Not a problem for us.

[OCruisers]

Once on the ship, call DINE Line for your reservations in AnyTime the first night. ;)

LuLu

[maggie.1008]

I called Dine line last week on the Crown 7 nt a soon as I boarded. 45 minutes with 4 lines and always busy. 45 minute lines every night. No beepers so people just stood in line. Princess does not know how to do anytime dine.

[OCruisers]

Happily, we have not had to wait long enough to have been given a beeper when having Anytime! :)

This might be because we are happy to share a table with others and will sit at any wait station/waiter ... and go between 7:30/8:30 for dinner.

LuLu

[maggie.1008]

If you are willing to eat after 8pm anytime might work for you.

[bigenna]

Happily, we have not had to wait long enough to have been given a beeper when having Anytime! :)

This might be because we are happy to share a table with others and will sit at any wait station/waiter ... and go between 7:30/8:30 for dinner.

LuLu

 

That seems to be the only way to avoid long waits in ATD. Eat late.

We prefer to eat around 6 pm and it has almost always been such an unorganized long wait. If there had been any kind of system to allow people to even let them know whether or not you would accept any table sharing with any number, but impossible it seems.

Back to traditional for us.