Aggiekat

When we book, they tell us that traditional dining is not available...that they have limited spots and even though we book months in advance, we can never get it. They always tell us to show up at the podium on day one, but that leaves us usually sitting alone. If they seat us with others, it’s just for that one night. We’ve been watching the ads for Virgin Voyages...we are Diamond on RC, but the idea of having 20 different dining options without the pressure of the dining up-sell and lack of MTD is appealing. It sounds like they also have a stricter smoking policy, which has been an issue for us on RC on our recent cruises. That said, their cruises are shorter and more expensive, but that boat is pretty sexy!

I absolutely HATE My Time Dining. We work from home, so we don’t get a time to socialize, so for us, we want to sit with the same group and build a (short) relationship. I like comparing excursions and getting to know people...we’ve made great friends on cruises. I also enjoy having a relationship with our waiter and assistant waiter...it’s special when you get to dinner and your drink is waiting and they remember your preferences it’s totally different than our day-to-day dining back home. I like to compare MTD to SPEED DATING. It’s exhausting. And trying to get a table each night is stressful I just want to know when to show up, and if I miss it, there are other options. And last time, they stuck hubby and I at a “romantic table for two” and wouldn’t seat us with a larger table. We didn’t want to sit alone! It was pretty boring. I absolutely adore my husband, but getting to interact with new people is a treat. He’s a writer, and there are really interesting people with whom we wouldn’t interact with normally on our cruises. We’ve stopped going to the dining room and went to the Windjammer after day two, but you don’t get the opportunity to sit with others in the buffet. I think they’re trying to make dinner less enjoyable so you’ll go to the restaurants that charge more. The upselling is getting really old.