Different dining options...so confused!!

[Njab1]

Hi guys!

We booked our first cruise and are going on the Ovation of the Seas from Sydney in a few weeks.

I've opted for the My Time Dining option because we like a bit of flexibility, but I'm not too sure what that includes.

Is that to reserve dining in the MDR only? Or does it include all complimentary restaurants and Windjammer?

Also, does Windjammer require booking first or can we just show up?

I've been using the Cruise Planner to reserve specialty restaurants but it doesn't give me the option of reserving complimentary restaurants like Silk. Do I have to do this from the ship?

I tried asking Royal Caribbean all of these questions but they were useless on the phone!!

Thanks in advance!

[arebee]

My time is for the MDR.  You can go to the windjammer anytime its open.  Anything complimentary is first come first served.  No reservations needed.

[WAAAYTOOO]

I've not been on Ovation (or any Quantum class ship, for that matter) but on the other "big" ships, the first 2 decks of the MDR are usually the "fixed time" dining with the top level being the one for My Time Dining.  Since Silk is one of the 3 MTD venues then there are no reservations to go there.  You can only dine there if it happens to be where your dinner reservations are.

 

As Arebee said, all of the complimentary dining venues are first come, first served, so you can show up at the WJ or any other non-specialty restaurant any time.  The same is true for My Time, by the way.  You do not HAVE to have a reservation to eat at MTD.  You can just show up.  You might have to wait but my experience is that is generally not a long wait unless you show up at the super busy times (6:00 - 7:00 for Americans).

[Matt]

Here is an overview of MTD: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/06/04/what-you-need-know-about-royal-caribbeans-my-time-dining

[Njab1]

Thanks guys, appreciate the info :)

[DeeSquared]

Still confused...sorry! We are first-time RC cruisers too. We have MTD-just my husband and myself-and they have us down for 5:15 pm each night. That is too early in most cases, but we can still show up at a later time, right? I am not quite sure why he put us down for a time. Hoping it will not be a long wait in most cases for the two of us, assuming we can still go at any time? Thanks!

[Guest toodle68]

With MTD you can go into the cruise planner and reserve a time for $0. 

If it is a reservation through CP, you should be able to cancel or change it.  

 

On my last trip, I reserved a set time for MTD on the days I knew we would likely make it.. but it was no issue arriving a little later if it was around the 6 - 6:30pm time.  Every day we walked out after 7pm, there was a long line..  

[DeeSquared]

Thanks Toodle! We will be there no later than 6:30 and will feel it out from there. Great advice. Much appreciated!

[True Romance]

Does anyone have a matrix of specialty dining restaurants, and cost per class?

[coneyraven]

Still confused...sorry! We are first-time RC cruisers too. We have MTD-just my husband and myself-and they have us down for 5:15 pm each night. That is too early in most cases, but we can still show up at a later time, right? I am not quite sure why he put us down for a time. Hoping it will not be a long wait in most cases for the two of us, assuming we can still go at any time? Thanks!

 

When my wife and I were on our cruise a few months ago .... we too had My Time Dining ...... we never had a wait in the Main Dining Room, plus, we never had a reservation ....my wife figures, we have to follow a schedule at work .... not gonna happen when on vacation.

 

I think what really helped was that we were just a party of 2 ---- which allows for more flexibility on their part.  If you're a larger party, then I'm sure the wait time would be longer if you show up w/o a reservation..... just like in a land based restaurant.