How's Your Time Dining?

[maggiew]

I wanted to know how anyone that's experienced it has enjoyed Carinval's open dining setup. I'm a fan of freestyle cruising on NCL and wanted to know if Carnival is getting it right, or if it's better to wait and let them get used to running that format.

[cityJane]

I like having assigned seating so that I don't have to wait for a table and have the same wait staff each night. I think that it adds something nice to the cruise by doing that. I tried the open seating on Carnival the past cruise I went on. It wasn't bad, I just prefer the assigned type of style.

[lovz2cruz]

I too am a NCL and Princess fan because of the "anytime dining" they offer.
This will be our second Carnival cruise (The Dream). Our first was on the Glory in 2005. On the Glory we were lucky to request a table for two and received it!! I've heard from friends that Carnival seems to be doing OK with it, however, the longest wait times are between 7:30 and 8:30pm. Our plan is to hit the dining room early enough to ensure a calm and leisurely dinner and still make it to whichever show we decide to catch on time.
Have fun !!