Panorama Mexican Riviera dining times

[cruiseSEA52]

I have not been on Carnival since 2004.  At that time early dining allowed passengers much greater flexibility on shows as the first show started at the same time as late dining.  Is this still true?  

 

Is service faster in my time dining or early/late dining?

 

What are the table arrangements / how hard is it to get a table for 4 instead of the huge group table?

[kdr69]

showtimes are 7 and 9 on the Panorama if i remember correctly.  We had my time dining, when we left the cabin i would use the app to book our table and it was usually ready by the time we walked to the dining room.  Service wasnt any different noticeably from assigned dining as far as i could tell it still took as long.  Its very easy to get a table for 4 as they are the predominate size of table settings on the Panorama.  

[Saint Greg]

You can grab my Panorama Fun Times here: https://saintgregtravel.com/fun-times/

 

I personally do YTD and get there right when they open to try to get out of there for the shows.

[xDisconnections]

2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

You can grab my Panorama Fun Times here: https://saintgregtravel.com/fun-times/

 

I personally do YTD and get there right when they open to try to get out of there for the shows.

Thanks for the link to the Fun Times. Very useful!

 

@cruiseSEA52 the above might help you plan for your cruise 🙂 

[LuckyStar]

18 hours ago, kdr69 said:

showtimes are 7 and 9 on the Panorama if i remember correctly.  We had my time dining, when we left the cabin i would use the app to book our table and it was usually ready by the time we walked to the dining room.  Service wasnt any different noticeably from assigned dining as far as i could tell it still took as long.  Its very easy to get a table for 4 as they are the predominate size of table settings on the Panorama.  

This...I fell in love with My Time Dining when you can check in on your app.

[BelowDeck4us]

We cruised on the Panorama in February.  Sign up for YTD, eat early & use the app.  We never had much, if any, of a wait.  Tell your server you want to make the show that evening.  You'll want to get to theater before the doors open, if you want your choice of the best seats.  We loved Rock Revolution and Celestial Strings.  

[PhillyFan33579]

15 minutes ago, fyree39 said:

I wonder what the seating will look like post-Covid. I don't know that any of us can answer your questions until sailing starts again and we see what that looks like. Any information you get here will be from what sailing on Carnival looked like before last March.

That is a really good point. Just my thoughts, but initially I think fixed dining may be a better option because the MDR will be configured to accommodate the number of people with fixed dining times. On the other hand, I could see the wait for YTD possibly being longer based on reduced capacity in the MDR if too many people show-up at the same time. Of course that possibility existed prior to this virus too. However, like you said, we really won’t know anything until cruising resumes. 

[sanmarcosman]

10 hours ago, BelowDeck4us said:

We cruised on the Panorama in February.  Sign up for YTD, eat early & use the app.  We never had much, if any, of a wait.  Tell your server you want to make the show that evening.  You'll want to get to theater before the doors open, if you want your choice of the best seats.  We loved Rock Revolution and Celestial Strings.  

This worked for us on Carnival Panorama in February for YTD and yes the special after show cast performance of Celestial Strings presented in the main atrium was excellent!

[kdr69]

1 hour ago, fyree39 said:

So many answer these questions like they know what to expect in the future. It's maddening.

Yes your absolutely correct, after seeing this i realize mine and others comments are based on PAST sailing experience and i never even considered how COVID might impact before i commented.  It is a new way of thinking and will likely take time to get used to translating in the brain before typing. However, to be fair alot of the questions are not presented as "what will it be like?" but more along the lines of "which is better?"🙂

[glrounds]

1 hour ago, sanmarcosman said:

This worked for us on Carnival Panorama in February for YTD and yes the special after show cast performance of Celestial Strings presented in the main atrium was excellent!

 

Yes, this was my experience also, although it's fair to think many changes will take place during post Covid cruises. The Rock Revolution and Celestial Strings were only being done on the PANORAMA at the time, and again, no reason to believe these shows will still be around when we return. Both were absolutely TERRIFIC !

 

I'm sold on YTD dining these days. Go early and you won't miss the shows. Hard to get preferential seating however with the new Showroom seating configuration, however. Guests tend to "camp out" there very early.

 

Edited October 7, 2020 by glrounds

[Smporter74]

We had YTD last February, and we loved it. We made our "reservation" and usually had a 10 minute wait until our table was ready. We were even able to have the same table and waiter every night just by requesting it when we made the reservation. Not sure about a table for 4, but we had a nice table for 2.

[skrufy]

On 10/5/2020 at 7:29 PM, cruiseSEA52 said:

I have not been on Carnival since 2004.  At that time early dining allowed passengers much greater flexibility on shows as the first show started at the same time as late dining.  Is this still true?  

 

Is service faster in my time dining or early/late dining?

 

What are the table arrangements / how hard is it to get a table for 4 instead of the huge group table?

The YTD dining gives you the greatest flexibility. From our experience the time that backs up is around 7pm. We have waited to be seated from 2 minutes to 45 minutes at this time. Reservations are now being taken on the Hub app which should move it along some. Getting a table bigger than two might cause a slight delay. The bigger the table the longer you might wait. Most of the time it’s a short wait. We take whatever is fastest.