We booked our dining as AnyTime Dining option. Please, explain to me how it works. Do you have your table assigned or you getting different table every time?

Anytime dining for dinner works very much like breakfast and lunch works in the dining room.  When you show up, you are escorted to the next available seats.  If there are none, you might be asked to wait.

Now, as with anything during your cruise, you can ask for something special, like a particular table or waitstaff.  They will do their best to accommodate you, but be prepared that this might involve you having to wait.

At least to me, anytime dining is like waking into a busy restaurant without a reservation.  You take your chances.

Yep, Walt pretty much summed that up.  You have more flexibillity with anytime dining, but you also have the chance of having to wait and gettting different wait staff each time. 

To those who have experienced anytime dining, what did you see as peak time for having to wait? 

 I think this is a good option as we have always done the early seating but always feel so rushed to get ready and be on time.  Plus, if you get stuck with poor wait staff, as we did on our last cruise, at least you have the chance to be better accommodated.

We did the Anytime dining on the Imagination. Each night we went between 7 and 7:30. No waits, we were seated right away.

The draw back to Anytime dining is, you do not develope that relationship with the wait staff. I left our table one night and went over to visit with the waiter who had been with us on the Fascination.

 I disagree with the comparison of anytime dining with the restaurant without reservation. here you are guaranty to be seated. and another thing, 6pm is too early and 8pm is too late and between 7pm amd 7:30pm is just perfect.

How you dine is now a personnal choice, however, when you went to an all exclusive vacation, whether on a ship, or at a resort, the number one thing that made it special, is that the staff got to know you, and you were treated "special".  Anytime dining, takes that away.  I'm not really sure how you good really feel rushed on a ship, and I have had both early and late seating.  I personnally like the early seating, since it matches my usual dinner time.  I though about anytime dining, but than the evening shows are geared around the dinner times plus, I really never want to give up the personnal attention we have always received.

It doesn't mean everyone will enjoy it, but it is a plus to receive the extra attention.

HavingFun2009:

How you dine is now a personnal choice, however, when you went to an all exclusive vacation, whether on a ship, or at a resort, the number one thing that made it special, is that the staff got to know you, and you were treated "special".  Anytime dining, takes that away.  I'm not really sure how you good really feel rushed on a ship, and I have had both early and late seating.  I personnally like the early seating, since it matches my usual dinner time.  I though about anytime dining, but than the evening shows are geared around the dinner times plus, I really never want to give up the personnal attention we have always received.

It doesn't mean everyone will enjoy it, but it is a plus to receive the extra attention.

Very well put!

We, too, usually head out for dinner at 6:00pm when at home, and like you, the 6:00pm seating matches up with that perfectly.  Plus, I like that there is an exact table all ready and waiting for us.

Natasha:

I disagree with the comparison of anytime dining with the restaurant without reservation.

The comparison is appropriate

here you are guaranty to be seated.

At the restaurant you will, as well, unless you're trying to squeeze into Maxim's or something.  You might be at the bar for a few hours, but you'll get seated.

6pm is too early and 8pm is too late and between 7pm amd 7:30pm is just perfect.

That's the point.  On a ship there's 2.500 people who need feeding and dining room space for 1,250 of them at a time.  If everyone had their choice, 7 to 7:30 would see 2,500 people descending on the dining room.  Which means there would be half the ships passengers mightily pissed each night.

Ergo, split the passengers in half and have two seatings, one on each side of that prime 7 to 7:30 time slot.

 My children would say it's because we're old people, but we like to eat early, 530 being ideal. Since it takes quite awhile to have all the courses, it gets us out in time for the shows, and gives our food time to digest before bedtime. :-)

There is also one advantage to the anytime dining no one mentioned. Remember that cruise when you got seated at the table with someone who, bless their heart, was just trying to be friendly, but drank a little too much and ended up being obnoxious. And because you had assigned seating you were stuck by them for a week? With anytime dining, you won't have to be by him but once! Next time, all new folks. :-)

 I would not mind waiting for my seat to dine in perfect for me time. And I am not looking forward to get really personal with the waiting staff. I am on vacation with my friend and this will be enough for me. Plus, I would probably enjoy more to dine every day with different people, then stuck with someone I might not like too much.

I've heard that you can order a bottle of vine, and they save it for you for the next meal. Does it apply for  Anytime dining? Or we have to go around with the opened bottle of vine? :)))

I love anytime dining.  It gives you some real flexibility without pressure.  Although I have never done it on Carnival we have on NCL.  We never waited for a table, the staff was always on top of their game and we got to meet different people all the time.  There will be 6 of us this time so odds are that no one else will be seated with us. 

Since you get a different table everynight you also get a different perspective on the dining room, views and ambiance.  Have a great trip!

I liked this thread.  The points brought up helped me decide that I'm more of 'anytime dining' kind of girl.  I'm kind of introverted so I wouldn't get too close to the staff anyway, and this way I won't feel like I have too.  Anyway, to each their own.  It's our first cruise, perhaps by our second one, and having a better handle on the whole cruise experience, I'll opt for one of the other options. 

I found out last night that we DO have anytime dining instead of early seating. My concern was that my sister and I would end up at a table for 2 and we very much wanted other table mates to talk with. Our PVP ( now that we have one, Daniel Decade ) told me that just because you have anytime dining does not mean you are seated at a table for two. You will have other tablemates. Is this correct information from him? Also, does anyone else have Daniel as a PVP? What can you tell me about him? Is he good or not etc. Happy Sailing

What is a PVP?  Thanks-