Traditional vs anytime dining on cruises?

Question

So I finally booked an Alaska cruise through princess for my family, and we have two options. Traditional dining (early 6-630 or late 8-8:30) and anytime. Im thinking about early dining because my family will want the night to do anything, however, i do like the option of any time dining (so we won't be forced to cut port excursions early and what not). I'm just trying to see what is the major disadvantage of one over the other: I.e.

1) What would happen if i chose early dining and wanted to eat later that night?

2) What happens if I choose anytime dining, and want to eat during early/late dining hours?

From what i understand the only advantage of traditional over anytime is you have a reserved seat over waiting for a table ( how long is the wait anyway)..and you get the same server every night (which could end up being bad if you end up with a bad server). Any thoughts opinions etc?

~G

Answer 1

Norwegian and Princess offer a buffet which is excellent and you just show up when you want. Plus, there are other choices. You may want to read your brouchure more or call the cruise lines and ask about all the dining choices. Alaska is a great cruise.  Do not book your excursions until you are in port and if you go on whale watching make sure it is guaranteed that way if you do not see any you will get most of your money back.

Answer 2

Personally we prefer late traditional.  We get a waitstaff that gets to know us.  We don't want to wait to get seated as sometimes does happen in Anytime (if you want to eat at a popular time).

Do note that on just about every Princess ship, you are not allow to switch back and forth between t.d. and a.d.  On the first night, you can ask the mait'd to switch you but then that's your assignment for the week.

And you may want to note what times you'll actually be in port.  On our cruise which was an Inside Passage one, we were in only one port (Victoria) past five.  So the dining issue didn't come up for us.  We actually did make it to the dining room even on the Victoria night -- just barely.  But many diners often will book a later time in the specialty restaurant that night or go to the buffet (or eat in Victoria) on that night.

If you want the flexibility, then go with anytime.

Answer 3

I prefer to book anytime dining on Princess. I really don't know what the disadvantage of it is and I'm surprised more people don't use it. It is nice not to have to be set to one set time.

Question 1). If you have one of the traditional dinings you are not allowed to come in and eat during one of the other dinings. Also, they do have a cutoff for when you are allowed to come in. You don't have to be there right on the dot and a lot of people come in a little later, but if you are too late and get too close to the other time, they may not let you in. So if you are not sure of when would be the better time for you to dine, you may want to do anytime. I usually go with late dining so that I am able to spend time in port and do as I like, early dining is a little too early with lunch and prots and things. The problem with late dining is that you will not be hungry if they have a special late night event, like a chocolate buffer.

Question 2). I have never waited much longer than 5 or 10 minutes for a table. You can eat anytime during the hours they list on their website for each restaurant. If you choose one of the traditional dining times, your wait may be a little longer. You are also more likely to get your table size when you do anytime dining, so you can sent alone if you like.

I like anytime dining, never really had a problem with it. I think I have done that on just about every Princess cruise I have been on.

Have a great time!

Answer 4

Hi G!

Book the late traditional dining. This way, if you get back from port late or take too long of a nap, you can walk right in to your table at 8 -8:30. Then you can switch to "anytime dining", any night that you want. Princess is very flexible with this. Plus you have the specialty restaurant, the buffet (24 hrs a day, only on Princess), and like, FCI said, "room service is great".  

Princess has some of the best ranked food of any line. I have been very impressed with it but I have not sailed them since 1999. As an aside, I think they are the last of the "regular" lines to have a "medley of caviar" as a starter.

As far as booking shore tours....if you want a little more concrete idea than booking at the dock, use the Internet. I used cruisecritic and cruisemates message boards for referrals, then I contacted a dozen companies in Alaska to get the best experience for my family. It was worth it!

Take care,

=CD=

Life's a cruise. Relax!

Answer 5

We always book the late dining.

If you book early it cuts into your afternoon travels and time around on excursions.

You do not have to attend the formal dining as food is available at all times.

Room service is great.

Having a reserved seat just helps get the dining done in a reasonable amount of time. The server gets to know you quickly and the personal greetings and service are extraordinary.

I have not yet met someone who has has a cruise that complained about service.

If you choose the early dining and want to eat later, just get room service. After a long day, eating in your room is a great way to unwind. Believe me we have been there.

If you have any problems at all, speak up to the head waiter, and they will correct it quickly.

The biggest problem we have on cruises is the weight gain. I gained 12 pounds on the last one. We use to question why they had a gym on board. Now it's a part of the daily routine whenever we go.

Have fun. We always do.

Answer 6

I would do late dining. Knowing families they snack and stuff all day that by 6 they arent even hungry.