Al La Carte or Freedom Dining

I speak to a lot of customer everyday regarding cruise requirements and specifically their dining options. Some customers prefer to have a set time to sit down every evening to eat where as a lot of customer now seem to prefer the anytime dining, should this be available on the cruise. It seems to becoming ever so much more popular for guests to want the anytime dining and to a certain extend I can see their reasoning for this.

Some customers will say that having a set dining time and table may distract them from earlier shows and also may not want to sit with the same guests every night. Some will even say they have asked to be moved to a different table due to not getting on with the guests they are sharing their table with, although I have not heard of this happening very often.

Anytime dining seems to give guests a lot more choice as to when to dine, also giving them the time to be late back from excursions or going to an early evening show. And another great part of the anytime dining means that you can dine with the same friends or different friends that you have met on-board.

I speak to a lot of customer everyday regarding cruise requirements and specifically their dining options. Some customers prefer to have a set time to sit down every evening to eat where as a lot of customer now seem to prefer the anytime dining, should this be available on the cruise. It seems to becoming ever so much more popular for guests to want the anytime dining and to a certain extend I can see their reasoning for this.

Some customers will say that having a set dining time and table may distract them from earlier shows and also may not want to sit with the same guests every night. Some will even say they have asked to be moved to a different table due to not getting on with the guests they are sharing their table with, although I have not heard of this happening very often.

However, the set dining times can be great for couples travelling together that want either early or late dining with a particular table size meaning they will not have to wait for a table each evening. It seems that this particular service is preferred by long loyal customers with favourite cruise lines to travel with. But with more and more cruise lines now offering the anytime dining it seems to becoming more popular. And also for families traveling together which means they can then just go into the restaurant as and when they want, albeit they may have to wait a short time for a larger table which most families do not have a problem with.

Generally I like the anytime dining option more than the set dining times, but if I had to choose between the early or the late, it would definitely be the late option. What are your thoughts on dining options? Do you have a preferred option?