Anytime dining

[juliet]

I know this topic has been discussed ad nauseam but since this is our first Princess (Coral) cruise is there a time, early or late, that's better as far as a wait?  My husband's in a wheelchair and not sure about where they'd even be seating us.  TIA

[neverbeenhere]

Go to meals at the time you would like. After 7:15, most nights, Anytime Dining is immediate seating. As for a wheelchair, they will seat him at just about any table. 

[Colo Cruiser]

14 minutes ago, juliet said:

I know this topic has been discussed ad nauseam but since this is our first Princess (Coral) cruise is there a time, early or late, that's better as far as a wait?  My husband's in a wheelchair and not sure about where they'd even be seating us.  TIA

There is no way to tell ahead of time especially outside the prime dining times 6p to 8p.

Every cruise can be different.

Talk to the Head Waiter at the door to the DR.

They deal with wheelchairs all the time in the DR.

[SiliconCruiser]

10 minutes ago, juliet said:

I know this topic has been discussed ad nauseam but since this is our first Princess (Coral) cruise is there a time, early or late, that's better as far as a wait?  My husband's in a wheelchair and not sure about where they'd even be seating us.  TIA

5 PM or after 7:30 seems to work better.  But other than the first night, you can call to make a reservation for a specific time in the morning.  The Coral, like it's sister ship, the Island is a relatively small ship made to traverse the old locks of the Panama Canal (Panamax class.)  That being said, it only has two dining rooms; one is used for fixed time dining during the first seating and anytime dining during the second seating (7:30).  The other is used for anytime dining all evening.  The wait can be long during peak periods (like between 5:30 and 7:30).  There are adequate tables for wheelchair seating.

[Qcruise]

As others have said.....the first night is the worst....we have made alternative dining reservations to avoid the mess.  From that point forward however one can call the dining line after 8am each morning and get a reservation for that night.  The problem is they will only give you 5-530pm or 730pm......if you think about it,  the dining room fills up at the beginning then until tables open up when folks are finished they can't take anyone else.  After 730pm people start leaving and it's easier to get a table.  We had times when they would give us a pager and we waited a while at a bar/lounge.

[MrSchwump]

21 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

... Anytime Dining is immediate seating. As for a wheelchair, they will seat him at just about any table. 

Anytime Dining is NOT immediate seating.  In the past, we've waited up to 45 minutes for a table.  Usually it's 10 or 20 minutes if you go at a peak time.  Other times we have gone right in.  This was pretty typical 15 years ago when they first introduced the ATD concept but lately a wait is more common that no wait, in my experience.

This is another reason why we're Buffett people now! :)

[juliet]

Thanks for all the responses.  If we changed to early or late dining, is it that much better and can you always get a table for two?

[Qcruise]

Not sure what your mean by "that much better"...?  The only benefit might be knowing when you're dining each night in advance and having the same servers.  You can ask for a table for two your first night and see what happens.  We have been able to request the same table/ servers in anytime dining in the past,  if you really enjoy them......just ask. 

[janina]

3 hours ago, juliet said:

Thanks for all the responses.  If we changed to early or late dining, is it that much better and can you always get a table for two?

Tables for 2 are harder to get at anytime dinning.  Usually if we agree to share we are seated more quickly.  If you are worried you may want to try fixed dinning instead of anytime.  We love the freedom of anytime dinning especially if we did a shore excursion and can relax and eat later.

[Colo Cruiser]

3 hours ago, juliet said:

Thanks for all the responses.  If we changed to early or late dining, is it that much better and can you always get a table for two?

Go and meet with the Maitre d on embarkation day at the time/place listed in the Princess Patter.

He meets with passengers for about an hour and a half (approx. 2p to 3:30p in one of the DR's)

He has the power to give you the table/time you want. 

[dara90210]

We did ATD for the first time on the Grand in March 2019.  We were traveling with my parents and usually would do early seating in the MDR, but the change to early seating being 5 p.m. was too early for all of us, so we decided to try ATD.  We went to the Crown Grill on the first night since it was hubby and my wedding anniversary.  On night two, we went to ATD around 5:30/5:45.  Walked right up and got seated right away.  Had a WONDERFUL team of Janelle and Maurice from the Philippines.  Janelle's husband worked one section over and it was fun to tease her and watch her wave to him as she was talking about 'her handsome".  After dinner the first night in ATD, my husband stopped and talked to one of the head waiters and asked what we could to, if anything, to always be seated in Janelle and Maurice's section.  He told us that as long as we showed up before 6 every night and promised to let them know if we weren't going to eat in the dining room on a particular night, he'd make sure we always got our table.  We communicated the three nights we did not eat in the dining room and he indeed made sure that we sat at the same table in the same section every night.  We had a great experience!

[neverbeenhere]

21 hours ago, MrSchwump said:

Anytime Dining is NOT immediate seating.  In the past, we've waited up to 45 minutes for a table.  Usually it's 10 or 20 minutes if you go at a peak time.  Other times we have gone right in.  This was pretty typical 15 years ago when they first introduced the ATD concept but lately a wait is more common that no wait, in my experience.

This is another reason why we're Buffett people now! 🙂

 

That is why I wrote after 7:15 most nights.