Can Main Dining Go to Anytime Dining?

[chsalas]

Short answer yes, long answer, why screw up those who selected anytime. Stick to you r plan or change so theyes can accommodate you.

[Eileen G]

We love to eat using AT but we have gone back to TD because we find ourselves wanting to eat between 6 and 6:30 most nights. The AT at that time has long lines and when you finally get to the check-in you still can't be seated for 30-45 minutes. We have used AT on HAL and Royal and they always check your card to make sure you are AT. The wait times are much shorter on those lines since TD can't use AT.

[pablo222]

No it wont because if they switch to Anytime before they cruise then they will be part of the maximum allocated number which is set by Princess at a number that they can handle.

 

There is no maximum for anytime on princess, that's royal carribbean.

 

On princess, there is a limit to each traditional seating, and those

not assigned to traditional default to anytime. No one is forced

to traditional, so in an extreme case, everyone could select

anytime.

 

On a cruise on emerald last year, second seating traditional was

only about 2/3 full. By plan. There was a large section of the

dining room that was not even set up for service.

 

All the people who might have chosen to eat then, declined traditional,

and were in line for anytime.

 

BTW, my card said 'Anytime'. After I found a table with a waiter

I knew, I went to the headwaiter at the traditional dining room;

he pulled out a giant floor plan, and wrote my name in on a table on

the chart. That was my traditional seat for the rest of the cruise.

 

He changed nothing on my card.

(sometimes, on other cruises, I've gotten a little sticker for a change,

but not this time)

 

I guess I could have gone to the anytime dining room as well,

and the posters guarding the door there would have been none the

wiser.

[eandj]

 

. We have used AT on HAL and Royal and they always check your card to make sure you are AT. The wait times are much shorter on those lines since TD can't use AT.

 

 

As does Celebrity.

[GUT2407]

As does Celebrity.

 

Princess checked ours too, first few days, then they knew us and didn't bother.

[Cruisin' Chick]

We prefer late traditional and on the rare occasions that we don't make our seating, we'll go to the buffet, no problem. I don't think it's fair to crash anytime dining, so I wouldn't mind if the cards were checked at the door. That way passengers are happy or should be.

[PensFan1028]

Here is my experience for what it's worth... it may have already been discussed.

 

We typically choose the late seating and stick to it, however we have attended ATD on a whim if we were running late and it was never a problem. One thing I've noticed is it takes an unusually long time to attend ATD vs. your assigned traditional time. If you have any plans on making it to a specific show or activity do not think you will be in and out in 30-40 minutes.

 

As someone mentioned, the servers get on a routine with courses which coincide with surrounding tables most of the time and aren't scrambling to grab your appetizer when everyone else is on dessert.

 

 

So in short... yes you can do it, we have without issue but don't abuse it. Some may think it is unfair to other ATD if you are TD but the reality is... everyone in ATD is showing up whenever they feel like it so thinking it will disrupt the flow or wait considerably is unrealistic. We specifically chose ATD for our two week honeymoon cruise and never waited more than 2-3 minutes to be sat.

[MGAfhc]

Actually, I have been at the front of the line at the AT waiting for a table and talking to the hostess when the head waiter or M'D come up to tell her to start checking cards as it looked like TD diners were getting in.

[pcsunlover]

There is a reason why each passenger's cruise card show which type of dining they have chosen ... because that is the dining room they are supposed to go to, unless you elect to dine at the buffet, at an alternative restaurant or other non-dining room venues. Just popping into one of the Anytime Dining dining rooms when your cruise card indicates you should be in the traditional dining room really is not appropriate just because you get back late from shore or took a too-long afternoon nap, and is unfair to the passengers who opted for Anytime Dining or those who get there by default because they could not reserve traditional dining because all the spaces were already spoken for by the time they booked. The Anytime Dining rooms are for those whose cruise cards specify Anytime Dining.

 

I agree! I think it's rude to take essentially take two spots. I shouldn't have to have a longer wait for a table in Anytime dining because someone with Traditional dining decided they want to eat whenever they want.

[msmoger]

Here is my experience for what it's worth... it may have already been discussed.

 

We typically choose the late seating and stick to it, however we have attended ATD on a whim if we were running late and it was never a problem. One thing I've noticed is it takes an unusually long time to attend ATD vs. your assigned traditional time. If you have any plans on making it to a specific show or activity do not think you will be in and out in 30-40 minutes.

 

As someone mentioned, the servers get on a routine with courses which coincide with surrounding tables most of the time and aren't scrambling to grab your appetizer when everyone else is on dessert.

 

 

So in short... yes you can do it, we have without issue but don't abuse it. Some may think it is unfair to other ATD if you are TD but the reality is... everyone in ATD is showing up whenever they feel like it so thinking it will disrupt the flow or wait considerably is unrealistic. We specifically chose ATD for our two week honeymoon cruise and never waited more than 2-3 minutes to be sat.

 

I rarely participate in these type of threads. We have always done ATD and never have a particularly long wait (and we always have a table for 2). However, we also always eat later than many (8:00 at the earliest but usually 8:15 or 8:30).

 

The issue that many people report is lines made longer by TD passengers going to the ATD dining rooms at more popular times. Your post seems to indicate that you went later (even later than the fixed late seating since you missed your assigned time). I'm guessing folks doing this are not causing the long lines.

 

Now, 30-40 minutes for dinner in any MDR sounds awfully fast (aka rushed) to me, unless you're ordering one course perhaps. Did you tell your servers you were looking for an "express" dinner? ;) I'm just funnin' ya. :D

[Morgsmom]

Interesting thread. I, too, have had the experience whereby we were told that if we wanted to go to ATD we'd have to switch for the balance of the cruise. (On Princess.) On Holland they CERTAINLY check your card and will politely send you on your way if you are not ATD.

 

One of the challenges, IMO, is the lack of a fixed 7pm dining time. If somehow they could double seat a dining room with a 5pm "express" dining, then flip it for a 7 or 7:15 I think they'd make a Lot of people happy. for us 5:30 is too early, and 8:30 is too late. But since I like getting to know our servers it is a no win situation.

[Hawka]

Yes a 7 - 7.15 would be a good time for people as well agree I sunny like eating dinner most times after 8 sometimes got no choice as friends book things for that time I can't do much about it I don't mind the 5.30-6 slot but I can't always east that time 7 is a handy time to eat it's in between those times

[Steelers36]

These DR threads get almost as testy as the attire threads.

 

Some facts. I agree with AKMAN because I noticed on our REGAL cruises in November, some groups would come in after dinner service had begun and were clearly directed from the AT downstairs to fill empty tables. So, yes, sometimes ATers can get seated in TD. That's kudos and great coordination among the HW's to get people in and seated for dinner. Why keep lines waiting when there are open tables in the other DR?

 

Next, the two mid-ship DR's are always the ones used for ATD on the larger ships, while the aft DR is full TD. Now, the 5:30 time the OP reported is in one mid-ship DR only (on REGAL, it was Concerto on Deck 6). The other mid-ship DR is ATD all evening. After the early 5:30 TD mid-ship, that DR turns to AT for the rest of the evening. Many posters have reported the situation that late dining is never really busy and NP getting a table.

 

The OP could simply go to the same DR they normally go to @5:30pm later on and it's now AT. If they know ahead and speak to waiter, they can probably have same table, or at least same waiter. I can tell you that when I mentioned potentially arriving later one evening for dinner as we had a late layover in STT, we were told no problem. (We returned to the ship at normal time and I never did find out why scheduled departure was 5 hrs later at 11pm).

 

Just let them know your situation and there is likely a MDR alternative that can work and you won't need to feel guilty displacing AT diners.

 

 

That said, I do agree with everyone who posted that considerate cruisers should not abuse the system and book TD and attend AT, or just do whatever without requesting a swap (which they will accommodate if at all possible).

[Iamcruzin]

One of the challenges, IMO, is the lack of a fixed 7pm dining time. If somehow they could double seat a dining room with a 5pm "express" dining, then flip it for a 7 or 7:15 I think they'd make a Lot of people happy. for us 5:30 is too early, and 8:30 is too late. But since I like getting to know our servers it is a no win situation.

 

While that would be the perfect solution it would be impossible given the lack of dining space. The second traditional dinning room opens up to AT dining at 7:00. If you added the additional time slot for traditional dining in that dining room then AT dining would be backed up even more since 7:00 is the prime time for AT dining. We all have to make choices and sacrifices. If you are on a port intensive itinerary that leaves port late choose late traditional or any time dining. The cruise line has made consideration to accommodate early diners by creating a second early time slot. Why should others suffer because they are selfish and want to have the best of both worlds and be able to eat at 5 on sea days and then at 7:00 on port days. Traditional dining can't be that important to them if they are willing to switch between AT and traditional on a whim. If it was just the OP doing this it wouldn't be a problem but it's many others who probably don't know any better and think they have a choice. This is where Princess falls short. We choose AT but don't eat until 8:00 because we don't want to deal with the prime time wait and rushed service. We used to book late traditional but the last time I chose that, the dining room was always empty with sometimes no other couples at our table of 8. By dining in AT you are guaranteed to be at a full table.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Iamcruzin

[PensFan1028]

I rarely participate in these type of threads. We have always done ATD and never have a particularly long wait (and we always have a table for 2). However, we also always eat later than many (8:00 at the earliest but usually 8:15 or 8:30).

 

The issue that many people report is lines made longer by TD passengers going to the ATD dining rooms at more popular times. Your post seems to indicate that you went later (even later than the fixed late seating since you missed your assigned time). I'm guessing folks doing this are not causing the long lines.

 

Now, 30-40 minutes for dinner in any MDR sounds awfully fast (aka rushed) to me, unless you're ordering one course perhaps. Did you tell your servers you were looking for an "express" dinner? ;) I'm just funnin' ya. :D

 

 

Your are absolutely correct... we were likely hitting dinner 8:30 or later. Some of our excursions in the Med went until 7pm so it was a bit of a rush to get cleaned up and to dinner on time some nights.

 

As for the 30-40 minute dinner thing... you are right we skipped some courses. Very rare that we eat dessert. And there is only two of us so it tends to go pretty smooth. And funny thing is we have asked if we can move dinner along as trying to make the late seating of a show and they always tried their best :)

 

Again, I'd recommend scheduling for ATD if you are unsure or dislike a set seating time each night. We definitely do not abuse the ATD when we are not scheduled for it if we do not have to... It's just that hitting the buffet that late or likely for the 3rd time in a day isn't that appealing all the time.

[Hawka]

What are some cruises only giving people 30-40 minutes to eat their meals in traditional dining am I reading that right?

[floridalover5623]

What are some cruises only giving people 30-40 minutes to eat their meals in traditional dining am I reading that right?

 

NO way. Sometimes we even have to wait for 30 minutes before receiving our appetizers.

[PensFan1028]

What are some cruises only giving people 30-40 minutes to eat their meals in traditional dining am I reading that right?

 

No not saying that at all.... but if you prefer some nights not to spend 2 hours dining then you can hurry it along a little is all. We typically enjoy the whole formal dining experience but sometimes have to speed it up a little to get to other activities on time (like having to get to a show 45 minutes early to get a seat :D )

[floridalover5623]

You can always eat your meal & skip dessert, then go to the show & return to the DR for dessert later on in the evening before they close the restaurant. There are absolutely no lines at all 15 minutes before closing time & if you tell them "dessert only" they rush you in & serve you immediately.

All the waiters want to clean up & finish for the night. ;)

[PensFan1028]

You can always eat your meal & skip dessert, then go to the show & return to the DR for dessert later on in the evening before they close the restaurant. There are absolutely no lines at all 15 minutes before closing time & if you tell them "dessert only" they rush you in & serve you immediately.

All the waiters want to clean up & finish for the night. ;)

 

Not a bad suggestion. Thank you. Sometimes the buffet dessert selection isn't the greatest.