Anytime Dining vs Assigned -Advantages/Disadvantages

[ms simba]

I have chosen Anytime Dining because it is very important that we are in the Fantasy dining room and that was the only way that I could be assured that we would be placed there.

 

However, I am wondering if I chose wisely? What are the advantages/disadvantages to "Anytime Dining" versus "Early Seating" or Assigned Dining?

[ama-sam]

The big advantage of anytime dining is that you get to CHOOSE to eat when you are hungry - not at a predetermined time.

If you still like meeting people you are given the choice to share a table - an option I do enjoy. It is nice to talk about your day, just with different people each evening instead of the same ones.

I find that the service is still wonderful and you can always request a certain server if you choose to do so.

[candigirl41]

I didn't find any disadvantages on my last cruise. We were on a short 3 day and went to dining room 7:00 first night and after 8:00 the second and about 7:15 the third night. We asked for the same wait team after the first night because they were so good and got them every night. It was nice to just go when we were ready. As above poster stated they will ask if you want to dine alone or with others. Have fun, I think you made the right choice, especially if the dining room location is important to you. I wanted the dining room near the Atrium because that is where are room was located and originally they had us in the rear dining room. It definitely worked well as I cannot walk very good and this helped me immensely.

 

Candi

[ms simba]

As mentioned previously "... you can always request a certain server if you choose to do so." So how does that work? Does your server have to run from wherever else he is in the dining room to serve you? Do you then have multiple servers at your table? Sounds like chaos!

[salty dingo]

As mentioned previously "... you can always request a certain server if you choose to do so." So how does that work? Does your server have to run from wherever else he is in the dining room to serve you? Do you then have multiple servers at your table? Sounds like chaos!

We are going to try the "Your Time" dining option on our next cruise. It sounds like a great idea for us.

 

Wait teams usually cover a set of tables which are located close to each other. I assume that if you request a particular team, they seat you in that area. I suppose it could be full, and then you would have to wait.

 

My guess is that there are dedicated teams for the anytime dining. Traditional dining requires the staff to bring out the same courses for everyone at about the same time. With anytime, they could be serving dessert to one table and a salad course to the next at the same time. I think thils would require different training and technique.

[ama-sam]

You will be seated in that server's section. We never asked for anyone specific, but doing so could result in a short wait if that section is full at the time you arrive. We only had to wait one night to eat for 10 - 15 minutes, we sat at the nearest bar and enjoyed a glass of wine and carried it in with us when the pager went off.

I believe, each table has a main server and an assistant and a member of the bar staff for alcohol.

Ally

[Froufie]

I much prefer traditional seating - I like the fact that I have the same wait staff who get to know my likes and dislikes (e.g. by the second night I have lemons on a plate for my water and my decaf cappucino magically appears after dinner :) ).

 

I am also very social so like meeting new people and it's great to build up a relationship and make friends with those you see every evening. While I know I can sit with others for 'anytime' dining' I would find it tedious to answer those same questions over and over again every night (where are you from? how many cruises? what do you do?, etc)

[Nunu]

I've only ever had anytime dining (on Princess) and loved it. I can't wait until Carnival has that option on all their ships.

[Skywench]

I'd like to try the anytime dining. For me, it would be a great plus. I don't care about having the same wait staff each day and I don't care about sitting with the same people each night. Actually, I would prefer to eat dinner just with the person or people I am cruising with. The other thing I would like is that I don't have to be on a set schedule for dinner. This set up might make me want to eat in the main dining room more often.

[livingitup]

Can you ask for anytime dining for just one night of your cruise?:confused:

[sallyb]

We are trying anytime dining on our next cruise. We have found that late dining is usually too late for us, but we are not always ready for early, so I am hoping this will be good. I do like having the same wait staff if they are good, but we've had good & bad. I also like the idea of sharing a table; in the past, we have only gotten this on our first cruise. We had a table for 2 on our third, and were always seated with people we booked with on all others. Every cruise is a new adventure and we are sure to enjoy each one.

[Cruzman]

The big advantage of anytime dining is that you get to CHOOSE to eat when you are hungry - not at a predetermined time.

If you still like meeting people you are given the choice to share a table - an option I do enjoy. It is nice to talk about your day, just with different people each evening instead of the same ones.

I find that the service is still wonderful and you can always request a certain server if you choose to do so.

 

I've been cruising since 1978 and we have always had the option of eating just about anytime I wanted to, even though I always opt for traditional dining. The optional venue was, and still is, called the Lido buffet.

[DDFla]

Getting to know the waiter, and fellow dinners (In most instances), over the course of the cruise has always been part of the total experiance for me. By the second night on our latest crusie, our waiter knew us, and greeted us by name, not only at the table, but when we saw him in other parts of the ship. Amazing.

[cb at sea]

You have to choose one or the other---you can't switch between the 2 types of dining.

[PlanoDebbie]

We opted for the Anytime Dining on our most recent cruise. We loved it!

 

If you are only a group of 4 or less, you will most likely get the same wait staff each night without a problem. When you arrive at the dining room, they'll ask for your room number(s). We were a group of six traveling together. There were only 4 tables in the dining room that could accommodate our size crowd. We never waited for more than a minute, and did manage to have the same wait staff for 5 out of the 7 nights.

 

Anytime Dining was nice for those port days. Last time we had early dining at 5:45. When you're in port until 6:00, it really cuts into your port time because you need to be back on the ship by 4:30 to start getting ready for dinner unless you want to eat on the Lido deck.

 

Each day we reviewed the capers to see what activities everyone was interested in doing. We planned dinner around our activities.

 

Two thumbs up for the Anytime Dining!

:)

[Shallow_Hal]

I have chosen Anytime Dining because it is very important that we are in the Fantasy dining room and that was the only way that I could be assured that we would be placed there.

 

However, I am wondering if I chose wisely? What are the advantages/disadvantages to "Anytime Dining" versus "Early Seating" or Assigned Dining?

 

You chose wisely. The wait staff is just as friendly whether you see the same people every night or not, but now you have the convenience of showing up when you want to, rather than ending up in a large line at the assigned seating. Unless you really value being able to socialize with your tablemates, there is no disadvantage to doing the open seating and the advantage of being able to tailor your dining time to fit within everybody's daily activities.

 

Having done Open Dining once now, I would never try the other.

[dce85]

My husband and I tried the "anytime" dining on our July 5 Legend cruise. It was perfect for us. The first night we shared a window table with one other couple and after that we always took a table for two. We never had to wait. I would say only 1/3 of the upper level was saved for anytime . . . I think it was only assigned to those who made the request. We varied the time we went . . . generally between 6:30 and 7:15. Our room steward adjusted to our schedule and we never saw him. If you want to be flexible, I wouldn't hesitate trying this option. For those of you concerned about the singing and dancing of waiters, it was done throughout the entire dining room, both floors (including our section to some extent).

[tarheelmjfan]

I hope the OP won't mind me asking a question on this subject, but not totally OT. :o How difficult is it to get assigned tables for 2 or 4 on CCL ships? We think both options have positives & negatives. Our only problem with assigned seating was once being assigned to a table with a couple who we weren't a good fit with. We did have tablemates once that we really enjoyed, but the bad experience was more recent. Now, we much prefer sitting alone. OTOH, I sailed on NCL last month & we were able to sit with only our party, but the service wasn't even in the same league as Celebrity's. (I've never experienced Celebrity's version of anytime dining.) We did have one comparable server, but that was late in the cruise. The others were just acceptable. After that experience, I'm not thrilled about the idea of anytime dining either. We would prefer set dining, with assigned servers, & a table for our party only. How difficult is it to achieve this on CCL ships? TIA for the help. We plan to book our 1st CCL cruise in the next week or 2. :D

[Skywench]

I hope the OP won't mind me asking a question on this subject, but not totally OT. :o How difficult is it to get assigned tables for 2 or 4 on CCL ships? We think both options have positives & negatives. Our only problem with assigned seating was once being assigned to a table with a couple who we weren't a good fit with. We did have tablemates once that we really enjoyed, but the bad experience was more recent. Now, we much prefer sitting alone. OTOH, I sailed on NCL last month & we were able to sit with only our party, but the service wasn't even in the same league as Celebrity's. (I've never experienced Celebrity's version of anytime dining.) We did have one comparable server, but that was late in the cruise. The others were just acceptable. After that experience, I'm not thrilled about the idea of anytime dining either. We would prefer set dining, with assigned servers, & a table for our party only. How difficult is it to achieve this on CCL ships? TIA for the help. We plan to book our 1st CCL cruise in the next week or 2. :D

 

When you board the ship, you will be able to see the Maitre D and if it's possible to change to a table for two. I never realized I could do that until my last cruise, and they were able to change it for me to that table for two. I much prefer that than sitting at a large table.

[Leafpeeper]

We love anytime dining over assigned dining because we don't have to think about when we are going to eat after a port. I get so stressed worrying about rushing back to the ship to make dinner.

 

I also hated missing sailaways on port days because we had to rush to the dining room. We don't like late dining because I have acid reflux.

 

We generally like to dine between 7 and 7:30pm, which is not available for assigned dining. When we get back to the ship on a beach day, we just want to kick back and relax and have a couple of drinks and take a shower and not worry about being on time for dinner.

 

We have never had a problem getting seated when we get to the dining room on our own schedule instead of an assigned one.

[tarheelmjfan]

When you board the ship, you will be able to see the Maitre D and if it's possible to change to a table for two. I never realized I could do that until my last cruise, and they were able to change it for me to that table for two. I much prefer that than sitting at a large table.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Next time we'll have 4, but sometimes it's only 2 of us. We may take a chance on asking the MD for a non-shared table. I really do prefer having the same wait staff all cruise.

[DDFla]

If I can have the same wait staff, it becomes more appealing. Now I have a question, If people are comming into the dinning room at all times, how does this affect the "Shows" with the wait staff and the Maitre D's routine? Is this now cut out or more like on a loop? Some people don't enjoy this part of the meal, I found it fun, but wouldn't want to hear the same lines twice during a meal. And, call me a Walmart shopping, Redneck, Carnival Cruiser, but, I won't hesitate jumping in the Conga line before desert. Just don't know if I'm up to several "performances" a night....

[osiebosie]

We prefer the traditional dining. We've sailed NCL and didn't really care for their freestyle dining. I am assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that anytime and freestyle are the same.

 

When CCL goes totally anytime dining in 2010, will all traditional be abolished?

 

Shay

[awhcruiser]

No

 

When CCL goes totally anytime dining in 2010, will all traditional be abolished?

 

Shay

[mj]

No

 

When CCL goes totally anytime dining in 2010, will all traditional be abolished?

 

Shay

 

They give you a choice of traditional seating - early or late and Anytime Dining. Traditional dining is not being abolished. Will be trying the open seating dining on the Liberty this year and see how it goes. Loved it on Princess.