Dining... Traditional or Any time? "Weigh-In"

[dennbr9]

Not again!!!

[spny84]

Some people mention that Anytime Dining takes longer. How fast do you eat in Traditional Dining? We ate in Anytime every night for a 7 day cruise (CB) just a few weeks ago and our longest dinner was 1 hour and 15 minutes, most were 1 hour. Curious because eating dinner in less than an hour seems a little rushed.

 

Thanks for answering.

[rcacace]

Some people mention that Anytime Dining takes longer. How fast do you eat in Traditional Dining? We ate in Anytime every night for a 7 day cruise (CB) just a few weeks ago and our longest dinner was 1 hour and 15 minutes, most were 1 hour. Curious because eating dinner in less than an hour seems a little rushed.

 

Thanks for answering.

 

We've never eaten in the times you've quoted whether TD, AT large or small table. It also has a lot to do with time of day & how many courses you select. If you just eat an appetizer, main course & dessert you might do it in that time but if you select appetizer (maybe 2), soup, salad, main course and (maybe 2) desserts + coffee you'll be sitting there for almost 2 hours. Most of the time we just sit there & waiting for the next course.

[davidnsteph]

We've always liked the fixed and structured 6:00 PM dinner time with 1st seating traditional. We have almost always been back from tours in time for dinner, and we haven't had trouble getting to the show of our choice after dinner.

 

DavidnSteph

[Genessa]

we've done both.

 

I prefer Traditional, late, dh prefers Traditional, early. Which time we pick usually depends on who we are travelling with.

 

Last cruise, we couldnt' get traditional, and had anytime. It was a pleasant surprise.

 

Pros - eat by ourselves or with a group, depending on what kind of a mood, how tired we were, etc. Get to know different waiters, meet more people.

 

 

Cons - it was "first" night with most waiters. Took half the meal for them to realize we drink a lot of water, etc.

if it is a night with a "popular" show, get a table just for 2. We weren't even halfway done with our meal, 2 other couples (out of 4) announced to waiter they were trying to get done fast to get good seats ... not only did our meal feel "rushed", we felt we were being rude because we had ordered more courses ... then, the table was empty feeling when they rushed off

 

any future cruise with just the 2 of us, we'd consider anytime again, but if we have others with us, we'll stick with traditional. The flexibility of anytime rings as hassle in my ears. Who has to start the conversation about what time are we eating, what dining room are we eating in, do you want to make reservations, who will make the reservations ...

it is so much easier if all you hae to do is show up at whatever time and not worry about anything except what you are going to order

[City_Woman]

Hubby and I like to dine later. However, later sometimes means 7pm and othertimes it might mean 8pm. We like to be flexible.

 

Also, we have not participated in formal night the past few cruises, so we also want the flexibility of where we dine.

 

Judy

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Traditional Dining for us! We like knowing our table is ready and the same table companions each night. It especially works well for us when we are in a group. Everyone knows when and where we will meet for dinner without having to make prearrangements. We choose early or late depending on our traveling companions' preferences. If it is just DH & myself we choose late.

 

Only once did we have a poor experience and that is when we were traveling alone and ended up at a table for 8 by ourselves because the others all consistently chose other arrangements each night. We worried throughout the cruise that we had offended them! It turns out we didn't - it was just too late for one couple and the other 4 felt uncomfortable as they spoke no English and requested a table by themselves. Since then we have been with family or have linked with other CC members which has always worked well for us.

[c-ruisedaddy]

Only once did we have a poor experience and that is when we were traveling alone and ended up at a table for 8 by ourselves because the others all consistently chose other arrangements each night. We worried throughout the cruise that we had offended them! It turns out we didn't - it was just too late for one couple and the other 4 felt uncomfortable as they spoke no English and requested a table by themselves. Since then we have been with family or have linked with other CC members which has always worked well for us.

 

That happened to us one night. Formal night, table for six. One couple did'nt like dressing and did the buffet. The other couple were dining with the Captain. Felt a little alone that big table that night. Boo, hoo!:(

 

But on the up-side, since we were on the upper level of the dining room, we did get to look down on our dining companions below at the Captain's table.

 

Marty

[Cruisin' Chick]

Being a bit of a planner by nature' date=' I like knowing that at 6pm every night, I will be able to sit down for dinner with my tablemates and catch up on their day's activities. Also is nice to have the same waiters every night - we always develop a great friendship with them.[/quote']

 

this is how I feel. Traditional dining is one of those things that differentiate a cruise from other types of vacations. It's great to sit down and the waiter automatically puts a bowl of lemon slices near me when placing the bread baskets on the table. I know when we enter the dining room, there's a table waiting for us. I can wait for a table at restaurants back home; don't want to do this on vacation.