Dining Advice

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friedcfood

Guest
Hello, new member here!

Will be going on Golden Princess in April.
Any adive regarding dining choice.
Traditional at 6 v 8?
or Anytime dining?

Much help appreciated.
thanks
-jef-
 
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Beryl

Guest
Hi jef and welcome.

The difference between anytime dining and traditional dining is mainly whether you wish to be tied in to eating at a specific table at a specific time each evening or whether you think you would be best served by going to eat when you feel like it. Keep in mind with anytime dining that at busy times you may have a wait. In my experience the wait is generally a short one. Only once did we have a long wait. We were told it would be 45 minutes. We walked to the nearest bar, ordered a drink and the drink was delivered as our beeper went off to let us know our table was ready. No more that 15 minutes.

The other thing to remember with anytime dining is that you will not have the same wait staff or table mates each evening. If you really like to develop a relationship with those at your table or with your waiters this might be an issue. You can choose to eat at a table for 2 or you can ask to be seated at a large table with others if you choose anytime dining.

If you are travelling with a larger party (more than 4) you might find your wait times a bit longer.

The dining rooms are exactly the same but with minor decor changes and the menus are the same in both traditional and anytime dining rooms.

Hope this helps.
 
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friedcfood

Guest
Thanks for the info...helps a lot...seems like anytime dining is the way to go.

Do you any of you have any idea if we can switch from traditional to anytime during the cruise?

The first two days we are at sea and I figured we can do traditional seating and when we have out excursions, I wanted to switch over to anytime. Possible?
 
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Beryl

Guest
It is possible to switch from traditional to anytime dining but you cannot go back to traditional once the switch is made. I would really encourage you to choose one or the other. So many people are left on the wait list for traditional dining because the demand is high. It is debatable whether those left on the waitlist are ever informed when a space in the traditional dining room does become available because someone has switched to anytime. It just doesn't seem fair to take a space in the traditional dining room with the intention of switching after a day or two. You will leave your dining companions with empty seats once you switch and you will shut out people who really would prefer traditional for the entire cruise.
 
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friedcfood

Guest
Berly-

hmmm...i never thought of it that way. You're right. I should pick one or the other. I didn't know it would be a disservice to others. I really appreciate your input.

Looking over the pro's and con's of each, I think anytime dining would best suit our eating style. I'm really excited...can't wait! :)P)
 
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Beryl

Guest
If you don't like being tied in to someone else's schedule anytime is definitely the way to go! April is not too far off. Enjoy your planning and have a wonderful cruise!
 
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bearanddollie

Guest
With Anytime Dining our experience on the Grand Princess Sept 07 was that from our room we could phone to reserve for a specific time for the day on which we originated the call and for the next day. We were asked if we wanted to share a table or have a table for two. We always shared to meet a variety of people. Having a reservation, if there was a line, we did not have to wait in that line. We could go up to the Maitre d' and be escorted into the dining room immediately.

Unless our travel agent has a group aboard and can arrange a large table of compatible guests (which she did on a cruise last April and it was wonderful), we'll sign up for Anytime Dining anytime we book on Princess.
 
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12Cats

Guest
We have done anytime dining on the Diamond and the Golden. In both cases, once we found the dining room, server and table location we liked, we just requested the same for every remaining evening and we were always seated in that individual server's section, even at the same table on the Golden. We always like to eat late (8 or after), but we never had to wait at all on either cruise - just walked right in. The best part of this is that it works like traditional dining in that you can have the same table and server - but you have the advantage of anytime dining because you get to shop around first (if you need to) to choose your table or server that best suit you and your needs.
 
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kev

Guest
i recomend anytime also. and if u dont feel like waiting in lines. you can reserve a time, table and waitstaff everynight, so it feels like traditional but its any time.
 
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Donna - dsw

Guest
I used anytime dinning on our Star Princess cruise last March and loved it. I will go that way from now on if possible.
 
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