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I was in my cruise planner for my Ovation cruise and chose My Time Dining as an option.  The screen led me to chose “date and time” which I did but when I look at my Calendar the Dining time that I picked does not show but “at your leisure”.   My questions are:

1) I’m 132 days out, is that affecting my inability to make a time reservation?

2) When CAN you make a time reservation for My Time Dining?

3) When I initially picked a time the earliest after all the 5pm times was 7:30, which led me to believe others had reserved the 6pm times.  So why do I only get “a your leisure”? 

4) Do I have to go in and make a separate My Time Dining “purchase” thru the planner for each day of the cruise?  Seems a bit archaic, am I doing something wrong?

5) Could my difficulties be I’m in a Gty stateroom right now?  

First time on Royal Caribbean...thanks for the help!

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It's a well known quirk of the Cruise Planner that it shows "At your leisure" even after making reservations.  In your purchase history it should show what you actually reserved (and I think there's another way to view it too).  But as long as you see it in your purchase history, you are good.  And yes, you do have to make a separate reservation for every night that you want one.  Remember, you can treat My Time Dining like a land restaurant and just show up and wait for a table.  (And like a restaurant, how long of a wait will depend on how many other people show up around the same time.)  If you do reserve the same time every night, it is highly likely you will be given the same table and wait staff each night.  Some people really like that.

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Just now, Spelds2 said:

Can you tell me how we can request a table for two? I would rather not sit with strangers (although, I'm sure they are very nice). ?

 

Do you have My Time Dining? If so it’s very easy. Make your reservations in the cruise planner, go to the MDR at that reserved time and let them know your room number for the reservation for a table for 2. Shouldn’t have any issues. We did MTD on our last cruise as we hate to eat with strangers, very uncomfortable, and we never had an issue with getting a table for two. 

 

Now if you have traditional, I’m not sure if it is possible to get a table for two, I’ve never tried it. Thanks and Happy Cruising. 

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@Sh2738 Did you go to the MDR ahead of time to request the two top table? Or just at the time of your reservation? In one of the prior podcasts I listened to @Matt recommended to send an email to the dining group.  I am in a similar situation, I want to get a two top table and have MTD.  I emailed the dining group and was told to go to the hostess when I get on board.   I'm just wondering which is the best way to go about it.

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4 hours ago, Sh2738 said:

Now if you have traditional, I’m not sure if it is possible to get a table for two, I’ve never tried it. Thanks and Happy Cruising. 

Totally doable with Traditional too, just call Royal 14 days out and they will hook you up!

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4 hours ago, spursfreak21 said:

@Sh2738 Did you go to the MDR ahead of time to request the two top table? Or just at the time of your reservation? In one of the prior podcasts I listened to @Matt recommended to send an email to the dining group.  I am in a similar situation, I want to get a two top table and have MTD.  I emailed the dining group and was told to go to the hostess when I get on board.   I'm just wondering which is the best way to go about it.

You can do that to be safe but we just went at our reservation time. And we never had an issue with it. But if you want one in a specific area or a window or something or same waiter etc I would check with the hostess but if not there shouldn’t be any issues with getting a table for two, especially if you have made reservations ahead of time for two. Thanks 

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7 minutes ago, laughterkt said:

so on my time dining, you have to reserve a time if you want?  or you can just go wait in line?

I am not sure what nights we want to eat at MDR, which nights we may do specialty and then maybe some just grab pizza.

Is it doable once onboard to just play it by ear?

You can do either.  If you're not sure at all, you can always just walk up and wait for a table, same as if you were at home at a land restaurant.  If you're that unsure I definitely would NOT recommend you sign up for traditional seating at all, so they aren't saving a dedicated table/space for you.

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36 minutes ago, DDaley said:

I have a related MTD dining question for embarkation day; I reserved a 5:45 MTD but on every Cruise Compass I have seen, the San Juan muster is at 5:45p for a departure at 8:30p. Would they let me schedule dinner if it were during muster? 

Would Royal's website let you schedule during muster?  Probably yes but I wouldn't worry about it.  The dining room will definitely be closed during muster and I highly doubt it is open before muster.  Just plan to head to the dining room after muster and they will take care of you.  You could also stop by the dining room when you board and update your reservation based on their recommendation.

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5 hours ago, laughterkt said:

so on my time dining, you have to reserve a time if you want?  or you can just go wait in line?

I am not sure what nights we want to eat at MDR, which nights we may do specialty and then maybe some just grab pizza.

Is it doable once onboard to just play it by ear?

For the nights that you are eating in the MDR you can either choose to make a reservation or just go to the "no reservation" line and wait to be seated.  My experience is that it does not take long to be seated, even without a reservation.

However....for nights that you plan on eating at a specialty restaurant, I highly recommend that you make reservations AND that you make reservations early in the cruise - as soon as possible.  The "best" hours at the specialties fill up quickly and the longer you wait, the less likely you will be eating at a time of your choice.  For the MDR nights reservations aren't that critical but for the specialty dining nights, it is.

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20 hours ago, Matt said:

Just a reminder, table requests via that email are only for traditional dinner times (early or late). If you are MTD, they assign tables when you arrive for your time.

Thanks for the clarification @Matt.

Was it just luck then when we got the same table for each of our 4 nights in the MDR with MTD on our last cruise?

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3 hours ago, FManke said:

Was it just luck then when we got the same table for each of our 4 nights in the MDR with MTD on our last cruise?

Probably not.  When we used to eat in the MDR we always requested the same table every night and with very few exceptions (as long as we showed up when we were supposed to !) we always got it.  It's easiest to get the same table when you generally eat at the same time every night.  When it is most difficult is if you eat early once, late once, in the middle somewhere, early, late, etc.  ....but that is also part of the appeal of MTD...to be able to eat whenever it is convenient.  So there are tradeoffs....

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2 hours ago, JennyB said:

We have always had the same table at MTD....maybe a fluke?  not sure.

We also had the same table for all of our cruises with MTD.  I don't think it's a fluke as I think they would like to keep you with the same wait staff, assuming you plan to eat around the same time each night.

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6 hours ago, JennyB said:

We have always had the same table at MTD....maybe a fluke?  not sure.

 

3 hours ago, melski94 said:

We also had the same table for all of our cruises with MTD.  I don't think it's a fluke as I think they would like to keep you with the same wait staff, assuming you plan to eat around the same time each night.

Definitely not a fluke.  They try very hard to keep you with the same wait staff and table where possible.

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Just to throw in a different anecdote, I just came off of Spectrum of the Seas and had MTD. Fully booked ship. Did not get the same table at any of the times we at the MDR. We did reservations for MTD the day before the day of the dinner we were booking for. Available times were generally on the earlier or later part of the schedules.

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4 hours ago, souledgar said:

Just to throw in a different anecdote, I just came off of Spectrum of the Seas and had MTD. Fully booked ship. Did not get the same table at any of the times we at the MDR. We did reservations for MTD the day before the day of the dinner we were booking for. Available times were generally on the earlier or later part of the schedules.

I think because you booked reservations the night before and not on the cruise planner, you weren’t able to have the same wait staff.  You were basically given space available spots, ie if I canceled my reservation to eat at specialty or you were stuck with 5:30 or 8 pm slots.  I typically book my dining reservations about 9 months before my cruise for the same time every night and get the same wait staff.  Only time I get a different table/wait staff is when I adjust onboard due to an activity which is when some lucky family gets my popular 6:30 time. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/21/2019 at 10:39 PM, melski94 said:

I think because you booked reservations the night before and not on the cruise planner, you weren’t able to have the same wait staff.  You were basically given space available spots, ie if I canceled my reservation to eat at specialty or you were stuck with 5:30 or 8 pm slots.  I typically book my dining reservations about 9 months before my cruise for the same time every night and get the same wait staff.  Only time I get a different table/wait staff is when I adjust onboard due to an activity which is when some lucky family gets my popular 6:30 time. 

Yup, I think so too. Just throwing a different experiences in the pot than the others for variety ?
I should note that I had an excellent experience with near every staff I interacted with in the MDR.

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