Am Concerned about Anytime Dining on Island Princess for Alaskan Cruise

[MaxandMindy]

We are sailing in June to Alaska for the second time. Just my husband and I for out 20th anniversary. Last time was with the whole family and we did Traditional Dining. We opted for Anytime this time, but I am concerned there will be long lines and hassle. Hubby has a stressful job and I want to make this trip as hassle free as possible and don't want to fight our way to the dining room. Any advise from you professional would be appreciated!:D

 

Thanks!

[kathyt939]

When we were on the Island lines were long at 5 to 5:30. Seemed to slow done after that. I always prefer traditional but know that there are many opinions about this.

 

 

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[xlxo]

During my Alaskan repo's. I wondered if it was normal to see large MDR queue's.

• It was ugly when people were holding spaces, line cutting and confused crowds would created additional lines not knowing where the end of the MDR line was.
  
• Agreed about the big Anytime dining rush in the first half of the dining times.
  The AnyTime lines would begin 30 to 40 minutes before feeding time outside the MDR. Once the doors open, it would take another 15 to 20 minutes to get seated. I assume people wanted the window seats or large groups wanted to sit together.
  
• Sometimes to avoid the crowds.... I show up 40 minutes before they close the MDR.
  

[msmoger]

We never eat early, usually about 8:00 I realize many on these boards prefer an earlier time. However, very rarely have we encountered lines and we always request a table for two. Any wait time has been minimal, certainly not 20 minutes or more.

[paul929207]

We spent 30 days on the Island doing a b2b Panama cruise. We are willing to share at a table for up to 6. We ate 7:30 to 8:00 and never waited, except the first night. ATD is a disaster the first night. So we go to the Horizon Court that night.

[easyboy]

We have always done the ATD and usually goes to the MDR between 7:30-8pm. We request a table for 2. We seldom have to wait as sometimes, we are escorted to the other MDR that is ATD on second seating and Traditional on the first seating.

[katisdale]

We have always done the ATD and usually goes to the MDR between 7:30-8pm. We request a table for 2. We seldom have to wait as sometimes, we are escorted to the other MDR that is ATD on second seating and Traditional on the first seating.

Island Princess has only two not three dining rooms so one room is Anytime all evening and one is traditional all evening. Being willing to share when using Anytime we have never had a wait once we reached the entry. Several people in front of us were given beepers as they wanted a table for two. We eat about 6 PM or so.

[Kartgv]

Like others, we plan on eating at about 7:30 or so and seldom have any problem - except for the 1st night as others have mentioned. For some reason it always seems that everyone wants to be in the same place at the same time on that evening. We now plan on eating in a specialty restaurant that night. Also, it doesn't hurt to make a point to say 'please' & 'thank you' with a smile to the dining room host - he/she has one of the toughest jobs onboard. You might just find yourself seated at a better table, before the person who's ranting and complaining at them.

[jeromep]

Some general observations, YMMV. I prefer ATD, so I'm biased, but on Alaskan cruises you're going to find that demand for dining early in the evening is high. I attribute this to a combination of the cruises being port intensive, often with fairly early morning port times, and the desires of the clientele Alaska cruises attract.

 

If you can have dinner at 6:30 or, even better, 7pm, you'll find that ATD will have limited waits or no wait to be seated at all. If you don't mind sharing a table you'll also be seated much faster, especially during high demand times.

 

To successfully dine later and enjoy limited lines, I recommend getting a late afternoon snack from the IC and then having dinner after the early show.

[Essiesmom]

We prefer early seating traditional, but on our Coral cruise to Alaska, we book about a month out and early was not available. We always went early, about 6p, and never had a problem being seated, as we like to share tables with others. Only once did we have a problem, as we participated in the Pop Choir, and the performance ended about 7:30, and there would have been a 45 min. wait for ATD, so we went to the Horizon Ct. EM

[caribill]

What the lines and wait times will be are unpredictable from one cruise to the next, so what happened on previous cruises may or may not happen on yours.

 

That is because there is a different set of passengers on each cruise. And when you have 1000+ people using Anytime, it depends on how many of those 1000+ people chose their anytime to be the same time you decide to eat that evening.

[ComputerDad]

We used ATD on the Island and to avoid the lines we called the dine line and made reservations for the MDR at 7:30 each night. The lines were long most nights but we were directed by the dine line to enter through the exit door and say we had reservations. It worked great and by the second night, the head waiter at the door knew us and made sure we were immediately seated. He earned a nice tip at cruise end but I feel he would have taken care of us anyway.

 

If you wish, you can cancel or reschedule a night's reservation at anytime. They are very accommodating.

[MaxandMindy]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I've another question: If you are staying in a Vista Suite, their website says you have Club something or other service. Does that impact your ability to circumvent the lines at both getting on and off the ship and dining? Thank you so much for your knowledge!!!!

[Jase0581]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I've another question: If you are staying in a Vista Suite, their website says you have Club something or other service. Does that impact your ability to circumvent the lines at both getting on and off the ship and dining? Thank you so much for your knowledge!!!!

As you are in a full suite you will receive priority embarkation and disembarkation as well as priority ship to shore tendering (if you have a tender port). You will also have Club Class dining, enter on far right of Bordeaux Dining and you will be seated immediately.

[MaxandMindy]

Thanks all!!!