Anytime vs. Traditional Dining

[appgirl]

I'm trying to sort out which dining would be best for us. I'm not sure if I even understand the concept of anytime dining. I thought it was pick a dining room, go whenever and wait for a table. But then I hear people saying to make reservations for the same time every night. So if we wanted to go to different rooms each night would we make reservations at each one or what? And is the menu the same at all the dining rooms? It just seems easier if you are going to eat in the same place at the same time just go with the traditional dining. Also, as I have never been on Princess before, does it seem like more people choose traditional or the anytime dining?

[kimchee1212]

I believe more go with traditional, and that traditional usually has a wait list, and the wait listed people end up having to go Anytime.

 

I definitely prefer Traditional seating, and will always continue to eat with that setting. It's part of cruising.

[h3rjp]

Personally I wouldn't consider traditional dining as an option, I found anytime dining worked perfectly for me.

 

All dining rooms serve the same menu. The big difference being in traditional you have to show up at a fixed time and are seated with the same people each night.

 

With anytime you just show up at either of the anytime dining rooms (to be honest the only decideding factor between the 2 for us was whether there was a line of people waiting or not; If there was we just went to the other dining room).

 

The best thing about it, asides showing up at a time we were hungry, is that we could alternate between eating on a table of just 2 or dine with our new friends we made on board.

 

If you preference is to eat at the same time each night, then book traditional dining if you can.

[h3rjp]

Sorry just to add to the above; when you arrive at the desk at the dining room entrance they will ask you for how many people and if you want to share a table with whoever else is arriving just now. We never shared this way.

 

The only time we had to wait was for a table of 2 people and the wait was less than 5 minutes. I guess you are more likely to wait if you travel on the larger ship with the rivieara deck (with considerably more passengers), but other would probably be able to advise better than I.

[Coolmama_1]

We like Anytime Dining and last year on the CB we had a party of 6. We never had to wait for a table regardless of the time we went. Just lucky I guess. We have also made a standing reservation on a prior cruise with a party of 6 only because my parents wanted to eat at 5:30 each night and my 80 yr old mom saw a waiter that she thought was cute:D

[paul929207]

With Anytime Dining, you can show up at any of the Anytime Dining rooms whenever you want, or you can make a reservation for the time you want every night. You do what works for you.

 

The menus and dress code are the same in all dining rooms (Traditional and Anytime).

[shepcookie]

I prefer anytime dining. You're able to meet new people every night if you share a table. As others have said, you can also choose to eat with just the 2 of you if you are in a hurry or don't feel like socializing one evening. The ability to eat on my time-schedule really is a bonus. On my next cruise, we'll have some longer days in port. We won't have to worry about being back at certain time to eat.

 

The only thing I dislike about anytime is they don't serve Baked Alaska at the table! The traditional dining room does!

 

Tammy

[hubofhockey]

The answer you are looking for is: it all depends

 

On our last cruise on the Crown Princess, there were two Anytime diining venues and one traditional.

 

We found that on Anytime on our cruise, that they wouldn't take reservations between 6 (on some nights 5:30) and 8. We never waited longer than 15 minutes and sometimes we were a party of two and sometimes a party of four. We arrived at different times between 6 and 7:20.

 

When we do our Mediterranean cruise, I don't want to have to rush back to make an early traditional assigned seating nor do I want to have to wait until a late one if I am tired. However, some people really enjoy traditional dining because they like having the same waiter and/or tablemates all week or longer depending on the cruise and make friends for life. But that's kind of a luck of the draw thing. You could also meet nice people on board and, with anytime, decide to have dinner with them.

 

You should pick what works best for you. I wouldn't count on a standing reservation for same time, same table every night. If you really want that, maybe you should go traditional early or late.

[cynbar]

The benefit of traditional dining is that you eat at the same time with the same tablemates and the same waiters who quickly get to know your preferences, such as having iced tea every night with your dinner--- this really makes you feel pampered. However, the disadvantages are that you are locked into that time (unless you go to the buffet or the specialty reataurants), and you may or may not like your waiter and table and tablemates. Also, there seem to be more "no shows" these days in traditional, so your table may well be half empty at least some nights.

 

The main draw of anytime is that you can eat when you are ready, between 5:30 and about 10:00--- this may well vary from night to night for an assortment of reasons. Some people make a big deal about reservations, which you can call for each day or even make a standing one for the week (but not between 6:00 and 8:00) Reservations are best if you find a waiter or table you particularly like, but there is no necessity for this, may people just appear when they are ready. You may get a beeper if the DR is full, but the wait is seldom more than a few minutes.

 

Menus and dress codes are the same whether you are in anytime or traditional. Some cruisers prefer one, some the other. Only you can decide which will work better for you.

[paul929207]

Most of our cruises are on the small ships, where Anytime is not an option. Last year, we were on the Star for 5 weeks, sowe signed up for Anytime for the first cruise (12 days). We figured we would see how it went. About 8 or 10 days in, we found a waitress we loved. We made a reservation for 7:30. We also arrange to switch from Traditional to Anytime for the next two cruises and made the same reservation on them.

[Genessa]

Dh & I always loved Traditional and have done Trad for every cruise but one.

 

However, we did enjoy Anytime the one time we had it. We didn't book early enough to get traditional that time.

 

We have since decided that we will, when travelling alone (just the 2 of us), get anytime.

We liked the flexibility and it was especially great on the British Isles cruise where we were on long excursions or long treks every port day. We would go to eat whenever we were hungry and ready.

 

We occasionally took a table seated with other people, but usually sat by ourselves - it depended on the wait time and our mood.

 

If you like the dining times offered on Traditional - usually around 6PM and 8:15 PM, and have booked enough in advance, try traditional.

[janchor]

Anytime dining worked for us last summer on the Emerald in the Mediterranean. We went when we wanted--usually after 7:30 because we needed a rest after a long day on shore ( and a snack from the International cafe when we first got in!!). Never made a reservation, never once waited and shared a table every night with some great people. Anytime for us!!

[janchor]

There were two Anytime dining rooms with the same menu (also the same as the one traditional dining room). If there WAS a bit of a line at one we just scooted down to the other. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between them. We did eat in Cafe Caribe once or twice when that menu appealed more than the dining room menu. You get white tablecloths and wine service there but have to get you own food.

[tip]

I definitely prefer Traditional seating, and will always continue to eat with that setting. It's part of cruising.

 

We have now been on seventeen cruises. For the first sixteen we used traditional and enjoyed it. This past February we tried Any Time Dining and are now converts.

 

Everyone has their own preferences, but Any Time Dining is now part of cruising as well!;)

[Pia1913]

Anytime dining, a/k/a personal choice, is the best thing to happen since the invention of the wheel. Seriously........how many times have you been "assigned" to a table and been subjected to dinners every night with people you never would have selected to dine with yourself? Long sentence, but you get the gist. When Princess first instituted this form of dining, we thought we had died and gone to heaven. PC forever! :D

[Andee]

We love Anytime Dining, and wouldn't go on a cruise that only offered Traditional. Early seating was too early, late was too late, and we don't know that we want to eat at the same time ervery evening. Usually 7-7:30 works best for us, but not always.

 

We've had both good and bad waiters in Traditional--some learned our preferences, and some required us to ask every night for 14 nights for coffee before dessert. The same is true for tablemates--some we liked so well that we travelled together again, and some we didn't care for at all.

 

I think it's great that there are different options to please different people.

[MSN-Travelers]

Wouldn't cruise on a line that didn't have anytime dining.

[San Diago guy]

Anytime dining will have wait list for seating at the entry into dining room, but the tables are filled in sequense.

The food is cooked to order.

Traditional dining allows you to go direct to your table, the draw back is, they will not take your order until everybody is seated and the food is cooked and in a heating station waiting for delivery to your table.

So at larger tables, the slow pokes hold up dinner.

If you have earily seating at traditional, you will be rushed out of the dining room before 7:40 PM.

Always ask your waiter for special appitizers for the following night, you may get sauted frog leggs or (Escargo) snails.

The golden rule during dining, No Politics or Religion.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I believe more go with traditional, and that traditional usually has a wait list, and the wait listed people end up having to go Anytime.

 

I definitely prefer Traditional seating, and will always continue to eat with that setting. It's part of cruising.

 

I agree. I can do "anytime" by going to a restaurant at home.

[designsbyjuju]

The golden rule during dining, No Politics or Religion.

 

 

LOL I've been training dh in this for the past two months as we await our upcoming cruise. "NO politics honey...NOOOOOOO politics...get it? Nada. None. Zippo. Zilch!"

 

Julie

ps. We got anytime dining and will probably try sitting alone sometimes and with others on some nights.

[OnVacation11]

We love Personal Choice as it allows us to eat when we want, meet different people and wear dinner outfits multiple times. This time we are cruising on the Pacific Princess and it only offers Traditional dining so some night we will most likely eat at the buffet. We did this on our previous Pacific Princess Med cruise. Our tablemates at the late sitting did the same as there were only a few occassions when all 6 of us were eating together.

[SeaDawg]

Choose traditional dining, it gives you the most flexibility.

 

[others] SeaDawg, are you out of your f***ing mind! [/others]

 

Yes, but that's beside the point. Consider these factors:

 

• It is much easier to obtain Personal Choice (PC) dining than it is to get the early seating traditional dining (TD).
  
• If you choose TD and decide you don't like it, you can always change to PC. However, if you choose PC you will probably be waitlisted if you decide to change to TD.
  
• If you choose TD, you can go to an Anytime venue one night and go back to your TD the next night.
  
• They all serve the same food that is produced in large quantities. The exception would be the specialty dining options which are also available to TD patrons.
  

You should let the maître d' know if you do not plan to use your TD seating, especially if you know you won't use it for the rest of the cruise.

 

[others] SeaDawg, you're crazy. Now go away while I change my dining preferences for my cruise. What a lunatic! [/others]

[BoPippy]

LOVE anytime dining for a table for two!Never had to wait more thann 5-10 minutes.Go when we r in the MOOD from 5-10.30 PM...Perfect..different waiters..who cares...they all do a great job!:)

[LC_txcruiser]

As many have said, Anytime dining definitely gives you the flexibility of dining when you are ready. The only reason I have tried it is because our last two cruises have been somewhat last minute decisions and it was our only option at that point. I am very glad we did because now on our upcoming Alaska cruise I know that Anytime is definitely what we want.

 

However, we do miss getting to know the same waiter each night and the personalized service that can bring. I think we would choose traditional on our next Caribbean cruise if we book in time just to experience that again.

[Pia1913]

As many have said, Anytime dining definitely gives you the flexibility of dining when you are ready. The only reason I have tried it is because our last two cruises have been somewhat last minute decisions and it was our only option at that point. I am very glad we did because now on our upcoming Alaska cruise I know that Anytime is definitely what we want.

 

However, we do miss getting to know the same waiter each night and the personalized service that can bring. I think we would choose traditional on our next Caribbean cruise if we book in time just to experience that again.

 

I have never understood why anyone wants/needs this type of personalized attention. The waiter is not your BFF. We've had excellent wait staff and not so good waiters; point being that even traditional can give you marginal servers. Just happened to us on the Pacific where we had no personal choice option. Would have been far better than the servers we were stuck with for our first 14 days.