?long waits for ATD reported by Ruby cruisers impacted by decreased interest in trad?

[vmom]

I am speculating here and wonder about other viewpoints.

 

 

For those who choose traditional dining, are there many empty seats in the dining room at tables?

 

Could the longer waiting times for Anytime dining seating be related to more people wanting Anytime dining and therefore greater demand with fewer people wanting the Traditional seating times or using the traditional dining assignments?

 

On my recent cruise, I talked to several people with traditional dining who told me that they were often not going to the traditional dining time. Many were eating in alternate dining venues.

 

In the mean time, all of those seats were being left empty and unused, while many people outside the ATD dining rooms were waiting in long lines to get seats.

 

I just wondered if this along with the club class dining, which I understand involves between 30-40 tables being held in reserve, is impacting the long waiting times.

[jeromep]

I'm not sure how much sense this will make, but I'll make my best attempt.

 

ATD is almost totally like dining at a popular restaurant at home. If you get there during high time, you will probably have to wait. If you get there during low time, you probably won't have to wait. The biggest difference is that cruise lines and cruising generally impart a culture of table sharing, therefore, when guests are amenable to it, they can often times be sat for dinner sooner if they are willing to share a table with strangers.

 

Table sharing in ATD doesn't alleviate the problem of limited resources relative to demand. I've shared this thought before about TD, but TD is not particularly efficient in terms of seating and feeding a large number of guests. Because TD relies on a schedule, it works well in terms of seating a scheduled group at a specific time, but once they are seated you still have the process of taking orders, delivering food, managing the dining time difference between different dining parties, etc. Since one TD dining room is basically reserved for TD dining all night, you do end up with quite a few empty tables between seatings created by those guests that have a faster dining pace than others. You can't turn those tables over to ATD because the second seating will happen and presumably all the tables in that dining room will be needed again.

 

So, the issue is efficiency. There are x number of tables and y number of seats in TD per seating. You are going to fill those up at specific times, but they will depart those tables and chairs at uneven times. If one dining room is dedicated to first and second seating of TD, then it won't be until late that empty tables in that dining room will be free to use for ATD, and by 8 or 8:30 at night, likely, there are no waits at ATD dining rooms as the rush has been seated, fed, and has departed. If you have fast diners from the first seating, they may leave a table empty for 30 or 45 minutes until the next seating begins, however that isn't enough time to open that table up for ATD to use it, therefore that table and those seats go unused in the wait until the next seating.

 

There is demand for TD as there are almost always wait lists for TD assignments often times 6 months or more out from the start of a cruise. But on the other hand, with ships getting larger and larger and the demand for seated dinner growing, I can't help but wonder if TD will go away? Not because there is no demand for TD, but because TD can't seat and feed enough passengers flexibly enough to meet the demand of all dining on board at night.

 

The typical Princess ship has 3 dining rooms of equal size. Imagine if TD were gone and all three dining rooms were open for all guests from 5pm onward. I can't say that there wouldn't be lines, but there would be 1/3 more seats available to seat AT diners and seats would be filled as they were emptied with few or no empty seats until the rush had subsided.

[wizard-of-roz]

Part of, and I must say, a BIG part of mine and my families cruising experience is Traditional Dining. I really like going to dinner at the same time, same table, same servers EVERY SINGLE NIGHT of my cruise. No matter how lengthy the cruise is, it really makes dining a special and more delightful experience.

 

It's fun meeting new folks and certainly having someone get to know your likes and dislikes, when it comes to indulging, makes the whole experience that much more fun!

Edited January 30, 2017 by wizard-of-roz

[easyboy]

Dining preferences of passengers may vary for every ship sailing. On some, more prefer ATD. On others, it's TD. Some may also prefer the buffet.

At present, ships with 3 MDRs still maintain 2 seatings on a dedicated TD MDR, and another seating on the other MDR. So I guess if the observation is consistent in every sailing, only 2 seatings at the dedicated TD MDR will be maintained. JMHO.

Edited January 30, 2017 by easyboy

[IECalCruiser]

I wish Princess would do away with the second early TD DR and have two DR's ATD all of the time. As others have posted, TD is inefficient with only two turns a night. Should be able to get three turns on many tables with ATD. We have been at a table for two and noticed other tables of two around us and most couples are out in around an hour. Most tables for two should be able to be turned four times a night.

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited January 30, 2017 by IECalCruiser

[tailspintom]

Dining preferences of passengers may vary for every ship sailing. On some, more prefer ATD. On others, it's TD. Some may also prefer the buffet.

At present, ships with 3 MDRs still maintain 2 seatings on a dedicated TD MDR, and another seating on the other MDR. So I guess if the observation is consistent in every sailing, only 2 seatings at the dedicated TD MDR will be maintained. JMHO.

 

Our experience has been rather positive in the handling of TD and ATD on Princess. We typically do ATD when traveling alone or with one other couple. With larger groups, we opt for TD. Having said that, we usually learn pretty quickly whether a cruise is filled with early, late or spread out over the evening passengers. We then adjust our schedules and expectations accordingly. When there may be a delay, we have found that the wait personnel will attempt to seat early ATD diners in the TD /ATD dining room if there are empty tables due to no-shows. Perhaps we have just been fortunate, or perhaps, a bit of a wait doesn't bother us as much as others. At any rate, in my opinion, it would be a mistake for Princess to go to an all ATD format. There is definitely a value to both styles of dining.

[Pam in CA]

My experience with Anytime dining starting with the Grand in 2001 is that there have always been long lines. This is absolutely nothing new. I've done Anytime quite a few times over the years and on several different ships and most of the time experienced waits of 30-45 minutes, even with a reservation. There've been a couple of times with either a short or no wait but for me, that has not been the norm.

[FritzG]

I think that if Princess would standardize TD time it would make it more attractive. We're always confirmed for 6pm dining, and most of the time that's what the cruise card shows, too. However, in the last 4 or 5 years the actual time is either 5:30 or 5:45. I'm not referring to early TD dining which is at 5:30, too, which is silly.

 

We've been big fans of TD for many years, but these early times are making us think of adding to the ATD line up which we really don't want to do.

 

It's also next to impossible to get an explanation for the time changes. The maitre d' blames corporate, corporate says each maitre d' chooses the time.

[Thrak]

I think that if Princess would standardize TD time it would make it more attractive. We're always confirmed for 6pm dining, and most of the time that's what the cruise card shows, too. However, in the last 4 or 5 years the actual time is either 5:30 or 5:45. I'm not referring to early TD dining which is at 5:30, too, which is silly.

 

We've been big fans of TD for many years, but these early times are making us think of adding to the ATD line up which we really don't want to do.

 

It's also next to impossible to get an explanation for the time changes. The maitre d' blames corporate, corporate says each maitre d' chooses the time.

 

We are with you. On a recent 17 day cruise we were "confirmed" for 5:45 dining (wanted 6:00 but...). When we boarded we had been assigned to 5;15 dining which is just stupidly early. If this happens on our next cruise which has 6:00 dining "confirmed" I will speak up. 6:00 is great. 5:15 is a time to feed children who need to go to bed early in the evening. It makes afternoon tea or the Plat/Elite get together way too close to dinner.

Edited January 31, 2017 by Thrak

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree, now longer waits due to CC tables reserved for the entire evening in the DR.

[Thrak]

I don't know about a "decreased interest in TD". When booking a cruise many people end up wait listed for TD as all of the spots are taken. That really doesn't sound as if there is a decreased interest...

[PrincessLuver]

Our experience has been rather positive in the handling of TD and ATD on Princess. We typically do ATD when traveling alone or with one other couple. With larger groups, we opt for TD. Having said that, we usually learn pretty quickly whether a cruise is filled with early, late or spread out over the evening passengers. We then adjust our schedules and expectations accordingly. When there may be a delay, we have found that the wait personnel will attempt to seat early ATD diners in the TD /ATD dining room if there are empty tables due to no-shows. Perhaps we have just been fortunate, or perhaps, a bit of a wait doesn't bother us as much as others. At any rate, in my opinion, it would be a mistake for Princess to go to an all ATD format. There is definitely a value to both styles of dining.

 

We have always done ATD on Princess and our experience is like yours....not a problem....sometimes it depends on the ships, itineraries and even where passengers are from. We have never had a problem getting an ATD table because we always are willing to share and usually get there between 5:30 PM and 6:00 PM....:)

[Robinsoncruiseso]

I do ATD and TD about half and half. Often if I go to ATD at the same time as the TD seating, they will send us up/down/over to the TD room if there is a wait at ATD and there are free seats/tables at TD.

[jennybenny]

I am speculating here and wonder about other viewpoints.

 

 

For those who choose traditional dining, are there many empty seats in the dining room at tables?

 

Could the longer waiting times for Anytime dining seating be related to more people wanting Anytime dining and therefore greater demand with fewer people wanting the Traditional seating times or using the traditional dining assignments?

 

On my recent cruise, I talked to several people with traditional dining who told me that they were often not going to the traditional dining time. Many were eating in alternate dining venues.

 

In the mean time, all of those seats were being left empty and unused, while many people outside the ATD dining rooms were waiting in long lines to get seats.

 

I just wondered if this along with the club class dining, which I understand involves between 30-40 tables being held in reserve, is impacting the long waiting times.

 

We've recently made the switch back to TD. We used to do Anytime dining and did not like the process, felt the waitstaff was not as observant or caring if they only took care of you one night. That was of course, our opinion on the situation and because of it we switched. The first cruise we switched to TD we were a party of 9, split into two tables and the "kid" table had far better service than our adult table (2 different waiters in the same area). The second time we had TD the dining room was both TD and ATD. This was also chaotic (for different reasons) for our server, but she did a great job and we've enjoyed the move back to Traditional dining. Both times we did not notice that there were empty tables and when we planned for specialty dining we told our servers and the head waiter so they'd know our table was available for ATD the next night.

 

Once was on the Ruby and the other on the Grand. Next up is TD on the Royal.

 

I would venture to guess that Princess was testing having both traditional and ATD in the same dining room/time. I'm sure they will have have a limit for TD, and the rest will be ATD. This was the first time we've had both in the same dining room at the same time. We had seen where Traditional was the first seating, and second seating times became ATD. It was fine for us, but I felt it was a bit hectic on the staff.

Edited January 31, 2017 by jennybenny

[planb]

We have always liked TD it has allowed us to meet some fantastic people, some very interesting with great pasts, some with exciting jobs and lives, some famous and happy to enjoy evenings without gocers ,but the same people each night and share the days experiences. The waiters have always seemed to try and do their best and we like the late seating to relax before dinner , take a nap and know right where we can get a table. We have tons of friends who love ATD due to kids, their time they prefer to be flexible ,for a number of reasons. It's all personal choice ,that's why we all pay for our own cruises. We can say we like it tons more than the American dining on Carnival as the complaints never ended there and service was very poor. Two night they never delivered our main course until they were taking the tables desert orders and said oh no do you mind just going to the desert or we can wrap your main. REALLY... back to Princess for us.

[floridalover5623]

Due to the additional seats now being reserved in the AT dining room for Club Class they should discontinue all pre-assigned seating and reservations. The delays in seating have now become unreasonable and if people feel the need to eat at the same time every night, let them select the TD dining room.

[RDC1]

Cannot say about other ships, but on the Regal the CC dining area is on the 6th floor in the dining room that is early TD and late AT. As such it would not impact the earlier portion of AT which is when the worst crowds occur.

 

It does slightly reduce the number of early traditional slots, which are usually fully allocated, so that might drive a few more people to select AT.

[crd27]

I am speculating here and wonder about other viewpoints.

 

 

For those who choose traditional dining, are there many empty seats in the dining room at tables?

 

 

Based on my experience on the Ruby last week where we were on the 8:00 pm TD seating, there were quite a few empty seats around. I think that could be part of the reason. We have always done the late TD. No lines, no wait. It works well for us and don't plan on changing anytime soon.

[Greyhound3]

Part of, and I must say, a BIG part of mine and my families cruising experience is Traditional Dining. I really like going to dinner at the same time, same table, same servers EVERY SINGLE NIGHT of my cruise. No matter how lengthy the cruise is, it really makes dining a special and more delightful experience.

 

It's fun meeting new folks and certainly having someone get to know your likes and dislikes, when it comes to indulging, makes the whole experience that much more fun!

 

I absolutely, positively agree.

 

 

Grey

[AtlantaCruiser72]

The biggest demand seems to be for fixed traditional early dining. For some 6pm is too "late" hence part of why they offer early at 5:30 & 6pm. On some cruises when the demand for the 5:30 is known to be particularly high they will make the 6:00 earlier to try and appease those who prefer to dine so early. The 5:30 early dinING also allows that MDR to be available for ATD a bit earlier than 6pm would. Late traditional dining is far less in demand, and for many 8pm is too late, so if they can't get early (or don't want 5:30-6) and don't want 8pm they then choose ATD. Because 2 of the 3 MDR are in use for early dining it puts extra pressure on the third MDR until 730-8ish, with the bulk of ATD guests seeming to prefer to be seated between 7-730 .... This problem has existed with Princess for years and is nothing new. Because of three separated MDR's it exacerbates the issue. If like Celebrity, Royal and Holland they had one large multi story dining room it would make it much easier to allocate seats between fixed early/late and ATD on a cruise by cruise basis.

 

I like Princess but their ATD program could use some significant refinement to make it run smoother.

Edited January 31, 2017 by AtlantaCruiser72

[caribill]

I wish Princess would do away with the second early TD DR and have two DR's ATD all of the time. As others have posted, TD is inefficient with only two turns a night. Should be able to get three turns on many tables with ATD.

 

If that 2nd eary TD was instead anytime, it would not solve any of the AT problems.

 

This is because all those people at that seating wanted to dine early. If that early TD did not exist, these passengers would still be lining up for AT at about that same time.

 

Yes, AT does work better on some other cruise lines. Princess limits the number of people in Traditional and if TD is full, assigns additional people who want TD (unhappily) to AT. RCCL and CCL instead limit the number of AT passengers and assign the overflow (unhappily) to TD.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On my last few cruises (Ruby Princess) the wait for ATD has been horrible. It was so bad one night that we finally gave up and went to the buffet. We are trying to switch to early traditional dining for our Alaska cruise. Unfortunately, we are somewhere in the 60s or 70s on the waiting list so no idea if that will happen.

Edited January 31, 2017 by MsSoCalCruiser

[caribill]

I don't know about a "decreased interest in TD". When booking a cruise many people end up wait listed for TD as all of the spots are taken. That really doesn't sound as if there is a decreased interest...

 

I was on the Pacific Princess which has only one dining room and it is traditional dining only.

 

There were wait lists for both the early and late seatings.

[OzKiwiJJ]

What they really need is a Buffet Only dining option so that those people who never intend to go to the MDR, especially those who choose Traditional Dining, don't get allocated table space.

[floridalover5623]

The biggest demand seems to be for fixed traditional early dining. For some 6pm is too "late" hence part of why they offer early at 5:30 & 6pm. On some cruises when the demand for the 5:30 is known to be particularly high they will make the 6:00 earlier to try and appease those who prefer to dine so early. The 5:30 early dinING also allows that MDR to be available for ATD a bit earlier than 6pm would. Late traditional dining is far less in demand, and for many 8pm is too late, so if they can't get early (or don't want 5:30-6) and don't want 8pm they then choose ATD. Because 2 of the 3 MDR are in use for early dining it puts extra pressure on the third MDR until 730-8ish, with the bulk of ATD guests seeming to prefer to be seated between 7-730 .... This problem has existed with Princess for years and is nothing new. Because of three separated MDR's it exacerbates the issue. If like Celebrity, Royal and Holland they had one large multi story dining room it would make it much easier to allocate seats between fixed early/late and ATD on a cruise by cruise basis.

 

I like Princess but their ATD program could use some significant refinement to make it run smoother.

 

I'm not sure the reason for shifting times is for the passengers sake but only to relieve the rush for the galley crew. By staggering it by 30 minutes it could relieve the rush in each section quite a bit.