Which Dining is for you?

When it comes to cruising the dining is quite a big thing for lots of customers.  Most cruise lines now offer the flexibility of anytime dining as well as a fixed option.  Gone are the days of fixed two seating dinner times.  There is so much choice out there now as well as the normal buffet restaurants and speciality restaurants.  When I go cruising I much prefer to opt for the freedom dining.  If i am travelling with my husband we prefer to be on a table for 2 each evening and to go and eat when we are ready.  I have always found this works very well and if there are no tables for 2 available we are given a pager and then go for a drink before the table is ready.  A lot of passengers I speak to find it hard when having to pick early or late sitting on board the ship.  The early is too early if you  have been out on a trip all day and the late can be too late by the time you have come out of the restaurant.  Also you need to consider if you are wanting to take in a show.  Sometimes on freedom dining you could miss out depending on the time you eat.  If on fixed dining normally the shows are performed more than once so everyone gets to see it.  There really are pro’s and con’s for all dining options and at the end of the day it comes down to the individual.  Some passengers like meeting new friends and eating on the same table each evening where others like myself like to eat just with the other half.  I think it is very good that most cruise lines now give you this flexibility although not all cruise lines out there have this in place.  Do you always know which dining to go for?