tredin18 Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 First time cruise coming in March. Going on 4 night on Enchantment of the Sea. Any comments appreciated. We have My Time Dining. Is it still necessary to make a reservation and should we do it before getting on the ship? Comments about Chops. Is it better then main dining? Worth the extra cost? Any other helpful hints about this ship would be appreciated. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted January 18, 2016 Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 I think Chops is worth the extra costs, but personally I only have liked the filet mignon; I didn't care for the NY strip much. The sides and appetizers are also very good. Plus, if you dine on the first night, you usually score a 20% discounts. Definitely much better quality than the main dining room, although the MDR is also very good. I've never made a reservation for My Time Dining; however, I don't know if the situation is different on shorter cruises or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam P. Posted January 18, 2016 Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 First time cruise coming in March. Going on 4 night on Enchantment of the Sea. Any comments appreciated. We have My Time Dining. Is it still necessary to make a reservation and should we do it before getting on the ship? Comments about Chops. Is it better then main dining? Worth the extra cost? Any other helpful hints about this ship would be appreciated. Thank you From my experience with MTD, it is not necessary to pre reserve a time. In some cases it is actually faster to get in the dining room without one and not have to wait in the "reservation line". You can always reserve a time on a daily basis depending on how you feel and the things going on around the ship that day. Either way is not a bad option and the wait is usually minimal. As far as chops.. I ALWAYS try and eat there at least twice per cruise as it is never disappointing. Far better than the main dining room, but comes at a premium price as well. Worth it for us though. If you reserve three meals in specialty restaurants ahead of time on cruise planner, you will receive a discount as an onboard credit one you get aboard. I believe it is 20 or 30% off. I agree with Doc, the filet is the way to go. You can get as many appetizers and side dishes as you want so don't be shy if you want several as they are all great. The thick bacon is my favorite amongst those..... oh and the corn. The sides are served family style. Enjoy your first cruise as you will never forget your first! :) tredin18 and DocLC 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirby Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 I just made MTD reservations for cruise end of March...and disappointingly found slim pickings for time slots. Personally, I'm not interested in specialty dining as I can eat at those restaurants at home and not willing to pay premium for dining that is generally included in price of cruise. That being said - for those that have done MTD - I've read mixed about needing reservations vs showing up. Seems 6-8:30 is prime dining time and those time slots were practically gone (2-1/2 months before cruise). Granted it's Spring Break on such a big ship (Allure), but I was still surprised. Do you think those time slots are really gone, or are they held back by the cruise ship to accommodate people wanting to make reservations on the ship? Is it possible to switch times to accommodate our schedule better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted January 19, 2016 Report Share Posted January 19, 2016 I just made MTD reservations for cruise end of March...and disappointingly found slim pickings for time slots. Personally, I'm not interested in specialty dining as I can eat at those restaurants at home and not willing to pay premium for dining that is generally included in price of cruise. That being said - for those that have done MTD - I've read mixed about needing reservations vs showing up. Seems 6-8:30 is prime dining time and those time slots were practically gone (2-1/2 months before cruise). Granted it's Spring Break on such a big ship (Allure), but I was still surprised. Do you think those time slots are really gone, or are they held back by the cruise ship to accommodate people wanting to make reservations on the ship? Is it possible to switch times to accommodate our schedule better? My best guess is that they hold back reservations for booking onboard. We've only cruised one other line with a version of MYD during the holidays, and once we boarded they encouraged us to make a reservation for the week because it was a much more crowded cruise than normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abm234 Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 I just made MTD reservations for cruise end of March...and disappointingly found slim pickings for time slots. Personally, I'm not interested in specialty dining as I can eat at those restaurants at home and not willing to pay premium for dining that is generally included in price of cruise. That being said - for those that have done MTD - I've read mixed about needing reservations vs showing up. Seems 6-8:30 is prime dining time and those time slots were practically gone (2-1/2 months before cruise). Granted it's Spring Break on such a big ship (Allure), but I was still surprised. Do you think those time slots are really gone, or are they held back by the cruise ship to accommodate people wanting to make reservations on the ship? Is it possible to switch times to accommodate our schedule better? I might be on the same sailing as Kirby and having the same problem. We have small kids and the only times available on MTD are like 845 pm! I took them because it was all that was available. What are the chance we could just walk into the dining room every night at 530 and eat then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 I might be on the same sailing as Kirby and having the same problem. We have small kids and the only times available on MTD are like 845 pm! I took them because it was all that was available. What are the chance we could just walk into the dining room every night at 530 and eat then? At 5:30, you'll likely be seated without a wait. The peak times seem to be about 6:30-8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abm234 Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Good to know! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Good to know! Thanks! You might find this blog post helpful: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/06/04/what-you-need-know-about-royal-caribbeans-my-time-dining Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandPa Posted January 21, 2016 Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 We always book MTD when it first opens up. Start looking for it to open right after FP. Some ships block out 6:30 - 7:45, hoping the good soldiers will book up what's listed as available. Some ships like the Grandeur leave all times available and we book 7:30 for the whole cruise. I've heard some complain that when they tried to make Res onboard, they tell you only very early or very late is available. What they are really doing is leaving the prime times open for walk ins. So, when we see they are blocking out times to begin with, we become walk ins, rather than making Res. Works out OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tredin18 Posted January 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2016 Thank you for all the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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