Should we try Anytime Dining?

[stargate fan]

We will be on Carnival Legend to Alaska in July. Do you remember any of the names of the team members? It would be fun to ask for them and say they were recommended.:)

 

Chances are they won't be on the ship. Contracts are usually nine months long.

Sylvestru from Romania was the Maitre 'd on both Legend cruises.

[beachbum53]

I don't see how this arrangement is better than fixed. (in fact is less desirable) You have a set time to be there (5:45) and still have a wait, and don't know what table or staff you are going to get. With fixed I can walk right in at my appointed time and go right to my assigned table and be served by my familiar staff. (I have always had good service at fixed dining , whether my table size was 2, 4, 8, or 12).

 

If a fixed dining time works for you, and you're happy with that, that's great. Having ATD gives those that choose it more flexibility. I merely suggested that if you're considering ATD and are concerned about a long wait, there is a way to avoid that long wait. It doesn't matter if we always have the same table each evening. And, as others have pointed out, if we want to have the same wait staff, we can request that. As long as we get good service, regardless of who our waiter is, I'm fine with that. By the same token, if we've had lousy service, we can ask to not be seated in that particular area.

[shorties]

We have been doing YTD for several years now and love it. We always travel with 4-8 people and some times have to wait for a table. It doesn't bother us, we just go to the promenade area, have a drink and people watch.

My only concern with YTD is the long line just to get a beeper. We traveled on RCCL once and they had a pre-cruise reservation system for our ship where you went on-line and made YTD reservations for specific times. No waiting in line at all. We were able to make our reservations at different times based primarily on availability. A couple of nights we had to choose a different time than we wanted to because certain times filled up fast. That was OK with us since we did not have to wait in line just to get a beeper.

I wish CCL would institute this system. It would make YTD great

[beachbum53]

We have been doing YTD for several years now and love it. We always travel with 4-8 people and some times have to wait for a table. It doesn't bother us, we just go to the promenade area, have a drink and people watch.

My only concern with YTD is the long line just to get a beeper. We traveled on RCCL once and they had a pre-cruise reservation system for our ship where you went on-line and made YTD reservations for specific times. No waiting in line at all. We were able to make our reservations at different times based primarily on availability. A couple of nights we had to choose a different time than we wanted to because certain times filled up fast. That was OK with us since we did not have to wait in line just to get a beeper.

I wish CCL would institute this system. It would make YTD great

 

This system sounds a lot like the "call ahead" seating that some land based restaurants like Outback Steakhouse and others have. You still have a pager, but your wait time is much shorter than those that haven't called ahead. Also, the menu is posted outside of the MDR two or three hours before the dining room even opens. You can always go take a look at what's on the menu and decide if want to eat in the MDR or choose a different option.

[98Charlie]

Also, the menu is posted outside of the MDR two or three hours before the dining room even opens. You can always go take a look at what's on the menu and decide if want to eat in the MDR or choose a different option.

 

Most (if not all) of my cruises the menu for the day has been posted in the morning outside of the lower level of the MDR. Gives even more time to decide.

 

Charlie

[MMastell]

We've done ATD on our last six Carnival cruises and have only had one night of bad service.

 

We have done it with just my wife and I. A table for four on one cruise, six on another and 12 on a family cruise.

 

We have never had a wait of longer than 20 minutes and that was on the larger 6 and 12 tables.

 

We also have never made "reservations" for ATD and have not been disappointed.

 

I also have a severe dietary restriction (Celiac) and the Asst. Maitre 'D has always taken care of me and had me pick out my next night's dinner selections.

 

If you have a table for four you should have little to no wait.

 

Go for it.

 

Take care,

Mike

[Drose716]

With the exception of my first cruise which was before ATD, I've always selected it. My next 2 cruises were girls' cruises & we never used MDR. My last 3 cruises most nights we went to MDR, my party was seated at our own tables (2-3 people) without asking for it. I wouldn't have minded sitting with others so I didn't request it specifically. It just happened that way. One night my friend & I were seated at a 4 top with 2 other girls around our age.

[beachbum53]

Most (if not all) of my cruises the menu for the day has been posted in the morning outside of the lower level of the MDR. Gives even more time to decide.

 

Charlie

 

 

You're probably right. I don't think we've ever thought to check first thing in the morning. We typically don't look until after we've had lunch, which is either at Guy's Burgers or the buffet. Maybe we should start checking after breakfast. That'll at least give us more time to decide on what we want to do for dinner. MDR, buffet, order Chinese take-out? :D

[dsotm73]

I like same wait staff every night,so I stick to fixed time.

 

You can ask for and get the same wait team with YTD. Our last 7-day in November, we had a good teams on Nights 1 and 2, then a great team Night 3. On subsequent nights we asked for them, and were immediately seated in their area each night.

[RaiderCruiser]

We have used ATD several times. It has been excellent for us on all but 2 occasions. Once on Carnival it was just a little weird, couldn't ever really figure out what was wrong. Last year on Princess was not good at all. Long waits, different staff, really not enjoyable.

 

On Magic last year we had a table for two each night, the same staff, no wait and in and out in 60 minutes every night. It was outstanding.

 

We just enjoy the flexibility of going to dinner at our time. Enjoy.

[wantocruisemore]

We tried ATD one night on our last cruise. I had requested we go to early seating for rest of cruise, with table just for 5 of us. We did and worked great. Never to ATD again.

 

And we request a table just for our family every time. Sometimes it's just husband and myself, sometimes with 1 additional and others with more. Just depends on who goes on cruise.