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Dining on Anthem


Broons77

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In general what are the busy times for dining on Anthem?  All in our group of 9 have chosen My Time Dining, most tend to eat on the early side and I'm wondering when the lines start forming.  I've seen on many reviews that while there may be lines to get into the dining rooms, they move fairly quickly and it didn't seem to make much difference if you had a reservation or not, is this really the case?  We'd all like to get a table together for the first and last night's of the cruise in one of the regular dining rooms and I'm wondering if we're showing up to eat these nights by 6:15 - 6:30 do I really need to worry about making reservations right away once we board the ship?

 

Also, we're the only ones of our group booked in a suite.  If we asked the concierge to make reservations in the MDR or one of the other complimentary rooms for 9, will he only be able to do that if all 9 of us were in a suite?

 

Lastly, are the menus somewhat consistent across the fleet?  Will the menu on Anthem for Chops be the same menu as the Chops on Adventure or Liberty?  There doesn't seem to be too many recent uploads for the menus on Anthem and I'm wondering if I can just look at the menus from another ship.  If anyone has any recent menus to share, please do.  We're 20 days out from our sailing, and I've pretty much exhausted the internet for anything Anthem related! ?

 

Thanks in advance!

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Menus are fairly consistent across the fleet.  Jamie's Italian varies slightly ship to ship.  Chop's not nearly as much.  Even the MDR menus are mostly consistent fleet wide.  They might present different combinations or menu items on any given night but many of the same items that appear will be the same as other ships. 

Peak My Time is usually 6:15pm to 7:30pm.  This can vary slightly.  On formal nights that might be 6pm to 7:45pm.  

I'd suggest you make reservations now, before boarding.  You may find times available on board somewhat limited, especially for larger groups.  Visit the MDR as soon as you board may yield better results compared to waiting to talk to a suite concierge who may not be able to deal with large groups as easily later in the day.  

What kind of suite are you in?  Junior Suites do not have access to a suite concierge so I'm assuming you are in a grand suite of better.  Keep in mind you have access to Coastal Kitchen but your non-suite friends will not.  If you are in a grand suite or higher you should get an email from your suite concierge approx. one week before sailing.  Reply and ask them about My Time dinner reservation.  Make sure you have the other guest's booking numbers and their names when you reply.    Technically they are not obligated to make reservations for your friends but they might be willing to.  This can vary so be prepared to handle it yourself if needed.  

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Thanks ever so much @twangster ! That pretty much answered my questions.  We are in a grand suite, and I knew going in the concierge didn't have to help.  And based on the FAQs I saw, I didn't expect them to be able to do anything.

 

Since I posted, I was able to go into Cruise Planner and miracle of miracles, I figured out how to make reservations for the group in the MDR.  It's a bit confusing in that the actual reservation time doesn't show on my calendar unlike my reservations at Chops, Chefs Table,  and Coastal Kitchen.  I'll definitely confirm as soon as we're on board.

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8 minutes ago, Broons77 said:

How do the other complimentary dining rooms work as far as these reservations go?  Are the reservations I have good at any of them or just the MDR?  Assuming the latter, but if that's the case, why don't they allow you to specify?

 

Thanks again @twangster

For a GS on Anthem, your complimentary dining rooms are CK or MDR.  You need to make reservations for both but those reservations are not linked.  Meaning if you have a 6pm reservation at MDR, you don't have one for CK unless you make one.  You can make CK reservations with the concierge or directly with CK once on board.  The other complimentary dining venues on Anthem (Cafe 270, WJ, Sorrentos, etc.) you don't need reservations for.  Those are all first come, first serve.

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Hi @Lovetocruise2002 , thanks!

 

I was actually talking about the restaurants like Silk, Chic, American Icon.  Are our MDR reservations good there?   We're the only ones in our group in a suite so we're doing CK another night for just me and my wife.

Any experience doing a Chef's Table?  We're doing that on night 2.

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5 minutes ago, Broons77 said:

I was actually talking about the restaurants like Silk, Chic, American Icon.

Those are all part of the overall "Main Dining Room"; Anthem and the other Quantum class ships are different in that regard, as when they first came out they got rid of traditional MDR dining and had what they called "Dynamic Dining" instead. That's gone now, and you'll simply be assigned to one of the four room as your specific "MDR" for all meals. The only difference between them now is the decor; the menu is the same for all of them.

7 minutes ago, Broons77 said:

Any experience doing a Chef's Table?  We're doing that on night 2.

You are going to have an amazing time! If you want to read a detailed review, I posted one here a while back:

The menu seems to be similar across the fleet, based on some others' postings about it after my review. Not sure how often they change it out. And be aware you're completely free to ask for an extra glass (or two, or three,...) of any wine that you particularly enjoyed.

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One more tip is to go to the MDR and ask upon embarkation if they have a different desk to seat larger parties. That way you won't need to wait in the long line that forms.  It isn't hard to make the reservation online and like others have said I strongly suggest you do that.

Silk, Chic and American Icon are the names of the MDR restaurants.  You will be assigned to one MDR restaurant.  You do not get to choose between Silk, Chic or American Icon.  Basically 1 of those will be used for MTD and the others will be used for Traditional.  Your Sea Pass card will tell you which restaurant you have been assigned.

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24 minutes ago, Broons77 said:

Hi @Lovetocruise2002 , thanks!

 

I was actually talking about the restaurants like Silk, Chic, American Icon.  Are our MDR reservations good there?   We're the only ones in our group in a suite so we're doing CK another night for just me and my wife.

Any experience doing a Chef's Table?  We're doing that on night 2.

Exactly as @JLMoran.  Before Anthem was set up for Dynamic dining and those were all separate venues.  They have now done away with those and they are all part of the MDR.  Usually MTD will be in one and the other two will be for traditional dining times.

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Thanks to all, @Lovetocruise2002@JLMoran , & @melski94. This all makes more sense now.  I do have reservations for our group for those nights we'll be dining together so we'll see where we end up!

 

@JLMoran , I saw a picture of the table setting for Chef's Table, I don't know I've ever seen so many wine glasses on a table in my life.  Very much looking forward to that meal, we'll have to see if I'll be able to get through another glass, given the 5 that comes with it.  The most recent CT menu I saw was from June on Harmony and it looked totally out of control.  Can't wait!?

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32 minutes ago, Broons77 said:

Very much looking forward to that meal, we'll have to see if I'll be able to get through another glass, given the 5 that comes with it.

The meal takes about 3 hours, and each glass (except for the little dessert wine one) is only filled about 1/4 - 1/3 of the way, so it's actually not as "bad" as the place setting might suggest. ?

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3 minutes ago, ellcee said:

I'm doing Chef's Table on Anthem next month. Should be interesting since I have a low tolerance but reallllly love wine.

Ditto for us, this could be absolutely hilarious by desert time.  We're booked or the night of the 14th. @ellcee, If you're booked prior to that please let me know how it is, and I promise to do the same if we go first!

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@ellcee , then park yourself at the Schooner Bar around 9ish.  My wife has mobility issues over distances, so we'll have her wheelchair.  Despite her challenges, I'll probably be half in the wrapper and arguing that it's her turn to push me for a change.  I'm Chris and she's Jamie.  Say hello and I'll be happy to deliver my review in person!

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@Broons77, you're sailing Anthem on the 13th? You won't just have Ellcee visiting you at the Schooner Bar around 9 as well on night 2. ?

This "mini group cruise" is turning into more of a full-blown "gotta set up a meet and greet event" cruise! @ellcee, is that five RCBlog members on our sailing now? Six? I still only see you and me on the Master Members Cruise List, but I know there are at least 3 others we've seen post as being on this sailing.

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