ok here's a ? 'bout types of dining...

[V]

& I'm sure some are rolling their eyes becuz this has been discussed in some other areas, but I didn't see them right off, so here I am...what type of dining is good on the Golden/any princess IYO? We are sailing Sept 29-Oct 6 for the Mexican Riveria and due to the popularity of the Traditional Dining (I think) it was booked & they were going to put on some type of stand-by...I am not familiar w/Princess @ all and need some experienced advice.
TIA!

[SD Cruiser]

They will also have anytime dining in a dining room that is a twin to the one that had the fixed seating. You can come (or make reservations) any time. A lot of people prefer this flexibility. If you are planning to eat at 7:00 or 7:30, know that these are the popular times, and an advance reservation is best. The only disadvantage is that you will not always have the same wait staff, so of course, they will not learn your preferences and all will not necessarily be equally good. However, we did Anytime Dining on the Golden, and once we found a waitstaff we really liked, we made a reservation for their table every day.

[KAWS]

Originally posted by SD Cruiser:
They will also have anytime dining in a dining room that is a twin to the one that had the fixed seating. You can come (or make reservations) any time. A lot of people prefer this flexibility. If you are planning to eat at 7:00 or 7:30, know that these are the popular times, and an advance reservation is best. The only disadvantage is that you will not always have the same wait staff, so of course, they will not learn your preferences and all will not necessarily be equally good. However, we did Anytime Dining on the Golden, and once we found a waitstaff we really liked, we made a reservation for their table every day.

We just got off the Crown in July and we had anytime dining. First of all you cannot make reservations between 6:15 and 8:00. Those are first come first served. You can sometimes shorten your wait time if you will eat with others at a larger table but if not you could get lucky and walk right in or you might have to wait a bit and get one of those buzzer things that alerts you (like they have in the restaurants). We waited anywhere from right away to one hour one night.

We also did not like that we had a different server and different locations each night. The atmosphere just wasn't the same as it is for traditional dining. The waiter didn't joke with you the same way or know any of your preferences - all the things that makes cruise dining what it is.

We booked another Princess cruise while sailing but specified traditional dining. We chose late dining (usually 8 or 8:15) so that we wouldn't ever feel rushed after a port. We have found that this is a good time to eat on a cruise (unless you have small kids with you) because you have time for a leisurely back to the ship, shower, change, drink before dinner, etc. Works out perfectly. And the late show is for the later diners so there's time for that too.

Personally I'd never do the anytime dining again.

Kim

[f-mattox]

I don't know if it is because Traditional is more popular or because they only devote one of the three main dining rooms to it, but it usually fills up first. My wife is waitlisted for her October 6 cruise and since her number is in the 200's, she will probably just go to Anytime.

As SD Cruiser points out, there are two sides to Anytime. On the plus side, you have maximum flexibility; you can go anytime between 5:30 and 10:00; but you will have a different wait staff and tablemates unless you make a reservation. We like to meet new people so we enjoyed Anytime for the first time on our last cruise.

The Horizon Court is always good for a casual diner. Some ships have table service during diner hours, but I'm not sure about Golden Princess.

And you should try one or both of the specialty restaurants, Sabatini's and Sterling Steakhouse. There is a service charge; $20 for Sabatini's, $15 for Sterling Steakhouse, but we feel it is well worth it--especially Sabatini's; it's a multi-course, very leisurely diner with outstanding cuisine and superb service.

Hope that gives you a few ideas. Have a great cruise.

[KAWS]

I second that about Sabatinis. We thought it was a wonderful dining experience. The whole meal took about 2 hours. I could hardly walk out of there I was so full!

But oh boy did we feel pampered and special throughout that meal. It was a bargain at $20 pp we thought. We loved it so much we tipped on top of that.

Kim

[f-mattox]

That's an interesting point KAWS; we didn't think of the $20 as a tip; we thought it was just what they called it--a service charge, which to me is different from a tip. So we also tipped generously on top of the $20. But we talked to others who assumed the $20 was the tip and left nothing extra. I think they could have made it clearer what was expected. But yes, we went over two hours also and thought it was one of the highlights of the cruise.

Rick

[V]

thank you so much for the wealth of information, I don't know I would have had those points on it without you two sharing, it is invaluable & much appreciated!