My opinion of Anytime Dining

[lvs2trvl]

We just got off the Caribbean Princess (Dec. 7)and we always met at 7PM for anytime dining and never had a problem. There were four couples (table for 8) and sometimes 3 couples (table for 6). We liked the Palm Dining room better, (Randy and John were great) for some reason the Coral dining room staff were not as friendly.They seemed to be very impatient and wanted you to decide on your choices right away and seemed to rush you. (we never sat around after dessert and coffee) We were also told no reservations between 6 and 8. Also when we departed the restaurant there was always a line, especially on formal nights it was really long. The food was good, but sometimes not as hot as it should of been.

[serene56]

What about those who reserve Traditional?

 

Should they be banned if they do not show up?

 

Wouldn't that cause more of a wait in Anytime? :rolleyes:

 

 

I'd be curious to know how many of those eating in the anytime dining room had tables already in the traditional dining rooms.

[Colo Cruiser]

One thing about them being separate is that we would have to go around to each of them to find the wait time or find if we could get seated. Would be nice if there was some way at one dining room to find the availability or wait at the others.

 

You are right.

These 2 ships always seem to present us with dining problems, and I hate running from one room to the other to find an opening. :rolleyes:

[cruisldy]

OK, was on this cruise with Gargoyle999 and I have an opinion from the other side of the dining situation. Before I begin, OK, Gargoyle999, I heard from Tom that you forgot about our "Meet and Greet"? My feelings are sooo hurt. Not really, just sorry I had no idea which of the other 2800+ passengers you and your wife were, as I didn't meet you.

 

Anyway, my husband and I, on all of our 40+ cruises in the past 20 years have been at Traditional, late seating dinner, except one and we like it that way. I am a person who likes structure, so tell me where and when and I'll be there.

 

Since we had requested a table for 2, Traditional late seating and as I always do, I double check this with the Matra'd when he is in residence for inquiries the first afternoon. I was told we did indeed have our 2 top table, however I noticed, after we left the inquiry, that our card said, Vivaldi Dining room. Knowing, from my research that it should have read International Dining room, and curious where our table might be located, w headed for this dining venue, just for a peak see. Happens that there was a lady at the desk, so I asked her about the location, as we had noted those bench seating tables, and must say didn't really like the idea of having dinner with 8-10 of my closest strangers, or I would have asked for a large table. And before you go off on me, it is not that we are anti social in any way, just that my husband and I don't mind visiting with one another at dinner time on a cruise, and actually have found that we visit well with those tables around ours, if we choose and they choose.

 

Anyway, having my table number in hand the lady told me the location and much to our surprise it was a table up on the riser, actually a 4 top, but we had it all to ourselves, every night.

 

What we found out was that the Vivaldi Dining room was used as overflow for the International late seating and as well as "Anytime Dining" after 8:15PM. And if you wanted to eat after 8:15PM in Vivaldi, for "Anytime" you wouldn't have probably had no wait, except for the time it took you to get through the door when it opened and every night we witnessed emtpy tables.

 

And this is just my opinion and not good for anything else, but probably because I am such a seasoned cruiser and having seen all the changes in dining from assigned seating for breakfast, lunch and dinner, to open seating for breakfast and lunch, to now have dinner whenever you please, that I truely don't understand what it's all about. Used to be if you couldn't make your assigned eating time, you ate in the Lido at the buffet. Now it seems like the cruise lines are trying to accomodate all choices and that to me, remember, in my opinion only, chaos.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We like Anytime dining a lot and have never waited over 5 minutes in line. Probably the key is that we are willing and like to share larger tables--we almost always got in right away. We've never even needed a beeper.

 

We just got off the CB and most nights there were few if any people in line. The exception was on the 2nd formal night right after the first show; the staff was working hard to find people seating, especially for two, and there were quite a few people with beepers.

 

I really don't get the point of allowing reservatios at Anytime dining, but it didn't really affect our dining much, except the night mentioned above. Most of the time, the line for reserved tables was very small.

[Sandytoes]

I'd be curious to know how many of those eating in the anytime dining room had tables already in the traditional dining rooms.

More then we'll ever know.

[gargoyle999]

We like Anytime dining a lot and have never waited over 5 minutes in line. Probably the key is that we are willing and like to share larger tables--we almost always got in right away. We've never even needed a beeper.

 

I will agree with that. Just to clarify that we were always asking for a table for two. Even when we were told it would be over an hour wait we could have been seated right away at a larger table.

[Nicki61]

We just got off the Ruby. We had anytime dining. 1st night we just went to dinner at 8 and sat down immediatly.

The 2 and all the following nights we had a standing reservation for 7pm in the Divinci Dinning room. Same table, same server-Jose'.

 

We were greeted each evening by the Matre Di' by name and escorted to our table. Never had a problem, never had to wait. Loved anytime dining.

[mycruz]

Why is it when you arrive for Anytime Dining that the Head Waiter questions you when you ask for a table for two? It seems that every time we arrive and ask we are then asked if we would like to share a table. Was wondering how we can ask this the first time and they understand that we only want to sit at a table for the two of us. Suggestions please!

[toledo_cruiser]

We just got off the Caribbean Princess (Dec. 7)and we always met at 7PM for anytime dining and never had a problem. There were four couples (table for 8) and sometimes 3 couples (table for 6). We liked the Palm Dining room better, (Randy and John were great) for some reason the Coral dining room staff were not as friendly.They seemed to be very impatient and wanted you to decide on your choices right away and seemed to rush you. (we never sat around after dessert and coffee) We were also told no reservations between 6 and 8. Also when we departed the restaurant there was always a line, especially on formal nights it was really long. The food was good, but sometimes not as hot as it should of been.

 

We were on the same cruise and ate at the Coral each night with no wait time whatsoever. Of course we showed up between 5:30 and 6 p.m. each evening and literally walked right in. We had six in our group and two of our members just had to eat early. We never made any reservations. I did see people waiting in line when we finished each night. I think the secret is to go early. We never did get to the Palm. This was my first Princess cruise and I was impressed by how personable the wait staff was. Perhaps we were lucky, but each team seemed to put on their best face. I was struck by the interaction between the wait staff and the diners. These folks cracked jokes and made us feel comfortable. That said, when we saw the same people up on the Lido deck for the late night buffets there was almost no interaction. Perhaps they were tired by then and wiping tables was all they had left in them. It was like night and day.

 

I did see one of the senior staff members in the Horizon Court Buffet chastise a group of youngsters who apparently liked to fill a glass with iced tea and then stuff paper napkins in it. He said this happened each night and he was sick of it.

 

Frankly I would have preferred a set time and the same servers, but I came away with no negatives regarding anytime dining from this cruise.

 

Jim

[pekachryn]

Why is it when you arrive for Anytime Dining that the Head Waiter questions you when you ask for a table for two? It seems that every time we arrive and ask we are then asked if we would like to share a table. Was wondering how we can ask this the first time and they understand that we only want to sit at a table for the two of us. Suggestions please!

 

 

We like AD very much and always do it when we cruise by ourselves. We like to sit at a table for two and won't share with others. If we are asked about sharing, we just tell the Maitre d' that we will wait until we can have a table for two. They are usually accomodating. Sometimes they will suggest going to the adjacent dining room, if there is no wait there for a table for two.

 

The last cruise we went on, which was also a MR on the Sapphire, we too were served by a waiter and asst that we liked very much in the Santa Fe. So, we got a reservation there for every night. There is a row of tables for two in the back against the wall, so we requested a table on the end, so we wouldn't be stuck between two other parties. Also, we tend to go to eat late, usually about 8:30-9:00, so that helps avoid waiting. We prefer avoiding the crowds and noisy kids.

[NSWP]

I agree, of course ANYTIME DINING should be reservation free. If pax want reservations then they should indicate on their cruise booking 1st or 2nd sitting, as I do. We always take 2nd, so no rush.

 

In my opinion these people who are reserving tables in the Anytime dining are bribing the Maitre'd's or Head Waiters, they have to be, to get the tables they want and that is corruption, no other word for it. in other words those who can afford to pay reap the benefits, not fair, not right and if I had evidence of it, I would take it to the top, they will get no bribe money from me.

 

First come to the anytime dining, first in, stuff the corruptors!:mad:

[lel5344]

I agree, of course ANYTIME DINING should be reservation free. If pax want reservations then they should indicate on their cruise booking 1st or 2nd sitting, as I do. We always take 2nd, so no rush.

 

In my opinion these people who are reserving tables in the Anytime dining are bribing the Maitre'd's or Head Waiters, they have to be, to get the tables they want and that is corruption, no other word for it. in other words those who can afford to pay reap the benefits, not fair, not right and if I had evidence of it, I would take it to the top, they will get no bribe money from me.

 

First come to the anytime dining, first in, stuff the corruptors!:mad:

 

We had anytime dining on the Star Princess in October. Our first night, we enjoyed our servers so much, that we went to the Head Waiter to ask if we could make a reservation for a table for 2 with those servers. He gave us a choice of times (we took 6PM) and assigned us a table for two (which was actually a table for 4 from which they removed 2 chairs). We couldn't have been more pleased.

 

We paid no bribes, did no extra tipping (until the last night). The head waiter recognized us on the second night, we went right to our table (always the same) and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of our dinners, to the point where we decided that we didn't have to do the specialty restaurants.

 

BTW, we were on time or a bit early for our dinner every evening. And, there was a family of eight in our area (always at the same time and table), another group of 10 (close by, but with different servers). All of us, always on time for our tables. And, to my knowledge, no bribes.

 

I think your cynicism may be misguided.

[Grego]

People that reserve a table for anytime dining then do not show-up should be barred from reserving in any dining room for the remainder of the cruise.

 

Jim

 

and then hung.....and then shot.... and then thrown overboard!

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for your review!!! I agree 100% with you about not having reservations in anytime dining.

It's just not fair and defeats the whole purpose of "Anytime" dining.

 

Totally with you on this one........ :)

 

Bob

 

Future: Diamond Princess Aus/Nz 01/09

Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Celebrity Constellation British Isles/Norway 07/06

Celebrity Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Celebrity Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Rhapsody Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

Spledour Of The Seas Baltic 09/99

HAL Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Carnival Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

[NSWP]

lel5344, of course there are exceptions, not everybody bribes senior dining room staff to reserve a table at 'Anytime Dining.' You give an example for yourself. But be honest, a lot would.

 

Just seems crazy to me to be able to reserve tables in 'anytime dining.' I doubt when 'anytime dining policy' was introduced, reservations were included, just crept in I reckon.

 

I am a traditionalist, stick to traditions, 2nd sitting for me. Such is life.:o

[Sandytoes]

lel5344, of course there are exceptions, not everybody bribes senior dining room staff to reserve a table at 'Anytime Dining.' You give an example for yourself. But be honest, a lot would.

 

Just seems crazy to me to be able to reserve tables in 'anytime dining.' I doubt when 'anytime dining policy' was introduced, reservations were included, just crept in I reckon.

 

I am a traditionalist, stick to traditions, 2nd sitting for me. Such is life.:o

 

When AD started back in 2004 (I think :rolleyes:), you were allowed to make reservations.

It just wasn't posted.

Now, Princess suggests making them.

They now have signs aboard their ships.

Princess strongly encourages advance reservations, particularly if you want to dine during peak hours -- so much so that they've put a Concierge service in place where guests can call to make reservations at any of these restaurants.

[Carolyn R]

I love anytime dining! Traditional dining is not what it used to be. There are so many alternatives that often a table for eight has 2 or 4 people each night. I enjoy sitting at a full table and meeting new people versus a table where there are so many empty seats each night.

[Nana G]

I believe the Sapphire is sister to the Diamond and we swaore we would never sail the Diamond again because of the confusion with the dining. Have sailed 13 other cruises and never a one did we have the wait or lack of availability of Anytime Dining on Diamond. Now we are booked for Sapphire in 2010 and plan to eat alternative dining venues, balcony dinner and Horizon Court to avoid the problem and still sail where we want to.

[junglejane]

I love anytime dining! Traditional dining is not what it used to be. There are so many alternatives that often a table for eight has 2 or 4 people each night. I enjoy sitting at a full table and meeting new people versus a table where there are so many empty seats each night.

 

That's an interesting observation that I haven't seen on these threads before. We were on a Celebrity cruise to the Med this summer, where they only have traditional fixed seating. We were a family of four and were seated with another family of four. We had a great time when the other family was there, but they probably missed almost half the nights. We also saw several tables for 8 near us that only had 2-3 people show up! It was probably because it was a very port intensive cruise but we felt sorry for those people.

 

--Junglejane

[DeepWaterMariner]

That's an interesting observation that I haven't seen on these threads before. We were on a Celebrity cruise to the Med this summer, where they only have traditional fixed seating. We were a family of four and were seated with another family of four. We had a great time when the other family was there, but they probably missed almost half the nights. We also saw several tables for 8 near us that only had 2-3 people show up! It was probably because it was a very port intensive cruise but we felt sorry for those people.

 

We've run into this situation a few times and expect to see it more as the number of alternative dinning options increase. Couple that with cruisers who aren't wedded to the traditional dinning concept and a full table will become an exception rather than the rule. I don't condemn it, in fact we like having an alternative or two on a longer cruise to break up the main dining room routine. Anytime Dinning allows us to do just that without feeling guilty about letting down a table of new friends in traditional dinning.

[swom]

The thing that busts my chops is when we were being seated, I ask if we could have a lovely table for two at the window. It was vacant, BUT RESERVED, so of course we couldn't get it...and stayed vacant the whole time we dined. I just don't think it's fair to "reserve" the best tables in anytime dining. But then again, I don't think it's fair to "reserve" any table in "anytime" dining. Just my opinion.....

[OCruisers]

I love anytime dining! Traditional dining is not what it used to be. There are so many alternatives that often a table for eight has 2 or 4 people each night. I enjoy sitting at a full table and meeting new people versus a table where there are so many empty seats each night.

 

:( SO TRUE! That's the main reason we now do "Anytime Dining"!

[gargoyle999]

We liked the waitress and jr waiter we had on the Monday night of our cruise. We asked about getting a standing reservation with them afterwards. The gentleman I assume was the head waiter for that dining room said we would need to speak to the Maître d'. He asked us where we would be eating breakfast the next day and we had planned to eat in the dining room the next day and told him so.

 

He said the Maître d' would be there in the morning. I even asked him if he would be there early and he responded he would be there during breakfast and lunch hours. Well the next morning we went to breakfast and asked for the Maître d' and was told he was in a meeting until 9am! We were going into port that day so I knew we wouldn't be around at 9am.

 

The gentleman we were speaking whom I assume was the head waiter in the Internnatial dining room asked if we wanted to leave a message for the Maître d'. I said we did and that we would like to request table 109 in the Vivaldi dining room for 8:15p once it opens up for anytime dining. He took out a little notebook and wrote something down and asked for our cabin number.

 

Well, that night we had no standing reservation for table 109 in the Vivaldi! :mad:

 

So I guess I should have slipped someone a bribe somewhere along the way!

[marie61]

For those of you who find great waiters in AD and want to be in their section all week---HERE is how you do it!

 

Ask them what table numbers they serve--it's always the same #. In our case, our waiters served 2 tables for two ==we noted the table numbers.

 

next night, we arrived and asked to sit at either table X or table Y: we said we would be happy to wait--we went to the bar with a buzzer and had a cocktail. We never waited more than 20 min. all week. We had the same two great waiters and we didn't compromise by making reservations. (which defeats the entire purpose of AD because I don't WANT to be tied to a dining time--I would have booked Traditional in that case!!!!)

 

Have to say that after the first night, the maitre 'd and staff saw us coming and knew exactly what we wanted....we were happy and they were happy.