Dining options

[J L]

Hello, 

This is our 2nd cruise, but we didn't eat in the main dining room the first cruise.  I'm still a little fuzzy on the My time Dining and I think I'm still overthinking it.  The only times left are later  eating times for reservations.  If I'm understanding correctly, even if we make a reservation for a certain time, we can still show up at any time during the dining hours to eat, just may have to wait a bit?  Or am I not understanding correctly?

[FionaMG]

14 minutes ago, J L said:

Hello, 

This is our 2nd cruise, but we didn't eat in the main dining room the first cruise.  I'm still a little fuzzy on the My time Dining and I think I'm still overthinking it.  The only times left are later  eating times for reservations.  If I'm understanding correctly, even if we make a reservation for a certain time, we can still show up at any time during the dining hours to eat, just may have to wait a bit?  Or am I not understanding correctly?

Yes, you are understanding it correctly.

[ChessE4]

Yes, and even if you go at your reservation time, you may wait. It all depends on table availability.

[J L]

Thank you, we are sailing on the Icon and I'm wondering if we are going to be waiting either way as it's going to be packed.  Happy New Year!

 

[FionaMG]

3 minutes ago, J L said:

Thank you, we are sailing on the Icon and I'm wondering if we are going to be waiting either way as it's going to be packed.  Happy New Year!

 

That is very possible especially if you like to eat at a popular time. Go expecting at least short wait. We usually book our times and eat later once the rush is over but even then we've had to wait for a bit on occasion.

Happy New Year to you too!

[RCIfan1912]

I know everyone has a reason for what they do and everyone has different circumstances but I implore whoever can do traditional dining. After Oasis last summer where on the first night we never got into the MDR we swore we would never do MTD again. 2 cruises last year both traditional dining and it was a pleasure. No rush, no wait. 

[Dad2Cue]

49 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

we would never do MTD again. 2 cruises last year both traditional dining and it was a pleasure. No rush, no wait. 

We always do traditional dining.  It is the right choice for us and especially when we see long lines of people outside the MDR waiting for their "my time" dining.  We enjoy having dinner early and then go to a show around 8 p.m.  We show up in the MDR within a few minutes of our designated time and walk directly to our table.  We know where our table is so there is no need to check in.  We are greeted by the same wait staff each night and we get to know them well.  They have good nights and bad nights so they appreciate that we are easy to please.  

On our last cruise there were 3 other nice couples all in separate tables starting with the window table.  The couple at the window table suggested we all take turns at the window so we did musical tables for 4 nights.  By the end of the cruise all four tables were pushed together and we shared one big table.

Just as a courtesy, we tell the wait staff whether or not we will be eating in the MDR the next night.  They say our table will be held for a certain period of time if we change our mind but not for too long.  We can still go to the MDR at a later time and do "my time" if we don't mind waiting in line and getting a random table and waiter.

[RCIfan1912]

34 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

We always do traditional dining.  It is the right choice for us and especially when we see long lines of people outside the MDR waiting for their "my time" dining.  We enjoy having dinner early and then go to a show around 8 p.m.  We show up in the MDR within a few minutes of our designated time and walk directly to our table.  We know where our table is so there is no need to check in.  We are greeted by the same wait staff each night and we get to know them well.  They have good nights and bad nights so they appreciate that we are easy to please.  

On our last cruise there were 3 other nice couples all in separate tables starting with the window table.  The couple at the window table suggested we all take turns at the window so we did musical tables for 4 nights.  By the end of the cruise all four tables were pushed together and we shared one big table.

Just as a courtesy, we tell the wait staff whether or not we will be eating in the MDR the next night.  They say our table will be held for a certain period of time if we change our mind but not for too long.  We can still go to the MDR at a later time and do "my time" if we don't mind waiting in line and getting a random table and waiter.

Yes to all this, all this. I could not have said this better. Especially the part about telling the wait staff we won't be there. We always do the 3 night dinning package so we let them know the nights we won't be there. 

[Atlantix2000]

On 12/31/2023 at 1:17 PM, J L said:

Hello, 

This is our 2nd cruise, but we didn't eat in the main dining room the first cruise.  I'm still a little fuzzy on the My time Dining and I think I'm still overthinking it.  The only times left are later  eating times for reservations.  If I'm understanding correctly, even if we make a reservation for a certain time, we can still show up at any time during the dining hours to eat, just may have to wait a bit?  Or am I not understanding correctly?

The best way to think of My Time Dining is that it works like any normal land based restaurant.  You can walk in and put your name on the wait list or you can make a reservation.  But in either case, the wait is somewhat unpredictable because other diners sometimes stay longer than expected.  Like any restaurant the closer you want to eat to the most popular times, the harder it is to get exactly what you want.  What time is most popular on a cruise ship is also somewhat unpredictable depending on whether it's a port or sea day and whether there are activities and shows at the same time.

[J L]

Thank you to everyone who replied, this is very helpful