My Time Dining

[Dominique]

I was considering my time dining but also do not want to miss dinner being overcrowded or not finding the space for my family of 5.  This is our 1st cruise and we only have 1st night done right scheduled.  Can you please share feedback if I have my father who would prefer having a set time and the rest of the family who does not want to be obligated to a set time.  What are the pro and cons?  Thank you

[rjac]

52 minutes ago, Dominique said:

I was considering my time dining but also do not want to miss dinner being overcrowded or not finding the space for my family of 5.  This is our 1st cruise and we only have 1st night done right scheduled.  Can you please share feedback if I have my father who would prefer having a set time and the rest of the family who does not want to be obligated to a set time.  What are the pro and cons?  Thank you

We had a party of six last year on the Allure. We got stuck with MTD and it was a disaster every night for the staff trying to accommodate our group. We were suppose to have a 6:30 MTD every night and we had to wait at least 15-20 minutes before we were seated. However, I do think MTD is good for a couple (2 folks). I'm with your Dad. I, too, prefer a set time. What ship are you n and when do you sail? That will help others here give feedback....and probably tell me I'm full of beans (see how I did that....dining...beans).

By the way welcome aboard, feel free to ask away.  

[melski94]

If you don't have a set time, you may have to wait. While it is called My Time Dining that doesn't mean you show up and immediately get a table. The dining room typically gets full with the first seating by 6:15, then you have to wait until those tables clear out before they will sit you which could be as late a 7 -7:30.  You can make reservations from 5:30- 6:15 and 7:30 and later. Online you can't make them between 6:15 and 7:30.  We are a party of 6 and have always done MTD on 4 cruises and except for the first night on the last cruise we never had a wait for our 6:15 reservation. The first night is crazy but since you are doing the FNDR you should be ok. 

I like having a reservation and I like getting the same table and wait staff every night. They tend to know our drink orders and what my kids like a few days into the cruise. It is really easy to change our reservation if our plans change. I just called and told them so they don't hold the table. I suggest you make a reservation and can change that day if your family wants to do something different. 

[rjac]

1 hour ago, melski94 said:

I like having a reservation and I like getting the same table and wait staff every night. They tend to know our drink orders and what my kids like a few days into the cruise. It is really easy to change our reservation if our plans change. I just called and told them so they don't hold the table. I suggest you make a reservation and can change that day if your family wants to do something different. 

Amen!

[Dominique]

Thank you to all.  I believe I will make a reservation and if we are unable to make the dining hall at that time we will try to make the change.  My parents told me to make reservation but I never listen.  lol  I guess they have won this battle!  

I am traveling on the Allure of the Seas in December.  Are dining reservations made online through cruise planner?  

[WAAAYTOOO]

27 minutes ago, Dominique said:

Are dining reservations made online through cruise planner?  

Yes.  Dining reservations should be available now for December.

[vilana74]

MyTimeDining got me confused

My ticket says it is at 5.30. But when I go into actual 'cruise planner' on RC website, I am able to choose from many times. However, 1 day only...

This is my first ever cruise... any pointers?

Thanks, guys

[melski94]

9 hours ago, vilana74 said:

MyTimeDining got me confused

My ticket says it is at 5.30. But when I go into actual 'cruise planner' on RC website, I am able to choose from many times. However, 1 day only...

This is my first ever cruise... any pointers?

Thanks, guys

You have to add Day 1 to the cart then completely check out before you can move on to day 2. It really is a big pain that you have to check out for each day before you can make the next day's reservation. 

[coneyraven]

Go with My Time Dining ---- Then make reservations for a time that you all choose as a family ...... With a group of 5, you may be waiting for a table if you "just show up".  This could solve both issue ..... having a set time...... and it being your set time of your choosing.

[bhageerah]

On 11/1/2017 at 5:13 PM, rjac said:

We had a party of six last year on the Allure. We got stuck with MTD and it was a disaster every night for the staff trying to accommodate our group. We were suppose to have a 6:30 MTD every night and we had to wait at least 15-20 minutes before we were seated. However, I do think MTD is good for a couple (2 folks). I'm with your Dad. I, too, prefer a set time. What ship are you n and when do you sail? That will help others here give feedback....and probably tell me I'm full of beans (see how I did that....dining...beans).

By the way welcome aboard, feel free to ask away.  

We had MTD set up for one 7 day cruise for a group of 6 and just like @rjac stated it did not go so well, so we made sure that for the next year we had our regular set time in the MDR, as we usually did.  No comparison, and it was less of a headache as well!  If its just the two of us we don't care but more than that and we will always choose normal dining. 

[RestingBird]

We had a group of 5 on Enchantment, with a 530 MTD time arranged for the week.  Due to 1 of our sailing companions having no sense of time we ended up late all 4 nights, latest was 6.  We still ended up with the same table and waiters every night.

[Sarah]

Sorry to jump on this thread and ask a question.

I'm sailing with friends next year on the Navigator and trying MTD for the first time.  There are 5 of us and we'd like to dine together.

Can we book a time once onboard?  We'll probably stick to the same time each night apart from the nights we're in St Petersburg when I guess we may end up in the Windjammer. 

If we have a night or two away from MTD will we be able to get "our" time back again?  

Thanks for any advice you can give

 

Sarah

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, Sarah said:

Sorry to jump on this thread and ask a question.

I'm sailing with friends next year on the Navigator and trying MTD for the first time.  There are 5 of us and we'd like to dine together.

Can we book a time once onboard?  We'll probably stick to the same time each night apart from the nights we're in St Petersburg when I guess we may end up in the Windjammer. 

If we have a night or two away from MTD will we be able to get "our" time back again?  

Thanks for any advice you can give

 

Sarah

When you get on the ship on the first day, I recommend that you go to the dining room where you will be dining (it will be printed on your seapass card) and arrange for a specific table.  After your first night's dining is complete, and if you re HAPPY with your location and your wait staff, let the maitre'd know, on the way out, that you would like to keep that same table and time for the rest of your cruise.  If you are NOT happy with your wait staff then let the maitre'd know that as well and they will assign you another table.

If you are not going to be able to make it at your assigned time just let them know ahead of time so that they don't "save" your table for that night...and then you can resume your regular schedule for the other nights that you will be there.

They are remarkably good about allowing you to have the same table on consecutive nights.  We have only had a problem with this once, and one other time, we did not care for our staff on night #1 (rare, as we are usually pretty easy to please !) so we changed tables but after that, we were happy.

They absolutely WILL seat you all together (without any other "strangers") if that's what you want.

[Sarah]

WAAAYTOOO  - thanks so much for your very comprehensive and helpful reply.  I've only had fixed time dining before

[WAAAYTOOO]

2 hours ago, Sarah said:

WAAAYTOOO  - thanks so much for your very comprehensive and helpful reply.  I've only had fixed time dining before

You are very welcome. Enjoy MTD. We love it.

[mbk999]

On 11/8/2017 at 9:27 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

When you get on the ship on the first day, I recommend that you go to the dining room where you will be dining (it will be printed on your seapass card) and arrange for a specific table.  After your first night's dining is complete, and if you re HAPPY with your location and your wait staff, let the maitre'd know, on the way out, that you would like to keep that same table and time for the rest of your cruise.  If you are NOT happy with your wait staff then let the maitre'd know that as well and they will assign you another table.

If you are not going to be able to make it at your assigned time just let them know ahead of time so that they don't "save" your table for that night...and then you can resume your regular schedule for the other nights that you will be there.

They are remarkably good about allowing you to have the same table on consecutive nights.  We have only had a problem with this once, and one other time, we did not care for our staff on night #1 (rare, as we are usually pretty easy to please !) so we changed tables but after that, we were happy.

They absolutely WILL seat you all together (without any other "strangers") if that's what you want.

This was our experience on the Enchantment (albeit it was only for 2).  I made reservations 3 of the 4 nights, requested a table for two.  On embarkation, we went to the MDR to confirm times, table for two and said we'd prefer the same wait staff and a table by the window.  At the end of dinner on the first night, we let the waiter know we would be at Chops for Day 2, but back for days 3 & 4.   Showed up for Day 3 and the waiter and made notes or our previous drink order and just verified it, on Day 4 he just went and got them.  And we had the same table every night.   There was some variation on the people around us but we saw the same people at the adjacent tables on Days 3 and 4 

 

[DunkelBierJay]

On 11/10/2017 at 9:53 AM, WAAAYTOOO said:

You are very welcome. Enjoy MTD. We love it.

Have you ever Pre-reserved your MTD in advance on the CP? Also, how far in advance is the CP open for this. We’ve only used Traditional in the past. 

[melski94]

2 hours ago, DunkelBierJay said:

Have you ever Pre-reserved your MTD in advance on the CP? Also, how far in advance is the CP open for this. We’ve only used Traditional in the past. 

I always reserve a dining time on the cruise planner.  I reserved our Nov cruise in March..so that was about 8 months in advance.  I normally check around the 6 month point but was checking it for something else and saw it was available.

[DunkelBierJay]

1 hour ago, melski94 said:

I always reserve a dining time on the cruise planner.  I reserved our Nov cruise in March..so that was about 8 months in advance.  I normally check around the 6 month point but was checking it for something else and saw it was available.

Thanks...it was one of those if it was a snake it would have bit me things...as many times as I looked at the Dining link in the CP, I didn't see My Time Dining in the CP...my bad...

i went ahead and booked times when we are not doing specialty dining...there was a huge gap between 5:30 and 8:15 seating times...I guess those times were taken...and the comments about having to book each night one at a time are still true. I wish there was an option to book them all at once with a view of My Calendar.

[WAAAYTOOO]

4 hours ago, DunkelBierJay said:

Have you ever Pre-reserved your MTD in advance on the CP? Also, how far in advance is the CP open for this. We’ve only used Traditional in the past. 

Yes, we always pre-reserve our MTD  b/c we like to eat early and get dinner out of the way.  .but that’s part of the beauty MTD...you can change your mind if you decide you want to eat at a different time.

[Karma316]

First time on RCI in August, 2 people. Questions about MTD: 1. Are you randomly assigned to a dining room if you choose MTD? If you don't pick MTD for every night (only two or three that we need specific times because of a show) will they randomly assign you a time for the days you didn't specify? 

[melski94]

13 hours ago, Karma316 said:

First time on RCI in August, 2 people. Questions about MTD: 1. Are you randomly assigned to a dining room if you choose MTD? If you don't pick MTD for every night (only two or three that we need specific times because of a show) will they randomly assign you a time for the days you didn't specify? 

Welcome!  You are assigned a dining room for the entire cruise and you have MTD for the entire cruise. Dining rooms are dedicated to MTD or traditional and they do not tend to mix the 2.

My suggestion is to make a reservation for every night that you plan on eating in the MDR and change onboard if you change your plans. 

[JLMoran]

15 hours ago, Karma316 said:

If you don't pick MTD for every night (only two or three that we need specific times because of a show) will they randomly assign you a time for the days you didn't specify? 

If you don't make a reservation, you simply go to your assigned dining room at the time you decide to eat, and let them know you don't have a reservation. Then it will be like any land restaurant, where they will see what's available and, if all the tables are currently full, they'll tell you about how long a wait it will be until you're seated.

There are several here who only use MTD, and they pretty much all say that it's rare to show up with no reservation and wait more than 15-20 minutes. Unlike traditional dining times, where there's a somewhat fixed flow to the meal, MTD seems to be more focused on allowing people to complete their meal at whatever pace they indicate they want to go at. And by all accounts, that tends more towards "fast" than "leisurely". 

[Karma316]

21 hours ago, melski94 said:

Welcome!  You are assigned a dining room for the entire cruise and you have MTD for the entire cruise. Dining rooms are dedicated to MTD or traditional and they do not tend to mix the 2.

My suggestion is to make a reservation for every night that you plan on eating in the MDR and change onboard if you change your plans. 

Thank you. I'm unable to sign up for either the early or late seating only for MTD - I called and they said they could sign me up for early but that I'm being waitlisted for late - is it possible that late seating is full already?? I would think the opposite. We are generally pretty late diners so 5:30 isn't what would work for us.  I'm going to call again today. 

[Karma316]

20 hours ago, JLMoran said:

If you don't make a reservation, you simply go to your assigned dining room at the time you decide to eat, and let them know you don't have a reservation. Then it will be like any land restaurant, where they will see what's available and, if all the tables are currently full, they'll tell you about how long a wait it will be until you're seated.

There are several here who only use MTD, and they pretty much all say that it's rare to show up with no reservation and wait more than 15-20 minutes. Unlike traditional dining times, where there's a somewhat fixed flow to the meal, MTD seems to be more focused on allowing people to complete their meal at whatever pace they indicate they want to go at. And by all accounts, that tends more towards "fast" than "leisurely". 

Thanks for the reply. If I chose MTD will they assign me to one specific dining room or can I go to any of them? They look different in ambiance and I'd like to try different ones. Will they let me do that? 

[tiny260]

On 5/1/2018 at 7:39 AM, melski94 said:

Welcome!  You are assigned a dining room for the entire cruise and you have MTD for the entire cruise. Dining rooms are dedicated to MTD or traditional and they do not tend to mix the 2.

My suggestion is to make a reservation for every night that you plan on eating in the MDR and change onboard if you change your plans. 

See above on MTD, it is assigned 1 dinning room, you are not allowed to move around. On all ships the dining rooms are all one big room that covers multiple floor.

[JLMoran]

3 hours ago, tiny260 said:

On all ships the dining rooms are all one big room that covers multiple floor.

The one notable exception to this is the Quantum Class ships, which actually have four physically separate dining rooms. This was due to the original concept of Dynamic Dining that the ships were designed to offer, where there was no traditional dining at all and you actually rotated through the four rooms over the course of your cruise; each room had different decor and different menu theming (e.g., Silk was Asian-themed, while Chic was gourmet contemporary style)

Dynamic dining is now a thing of the past, but the ships couldn't just magically merge the four separate dining areas back into one combined dining hall. So there are two rooms reserved for traditional dining (Chic and The Grande), and two for MTD (Silk and American Icon). All four serve the exact same menu, even though the decor remains as it originally was in the days of Dynamic Dining. And as with the other ships, you can't change the room you're assigned to.

[tiny260]

2 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

This was due to the original concept of Dynamic Dining that the ships were designed to offer, where there was no traditional dining at all and you actually rotated through the four rooms over the course of your cruise; each room had different decor and different menu theming (e.g., Silk was Asian-themed, while Chic was gourmet contemporary style)

Thank you sir, had forgotten that part, when I first looked at booking Harmony, that same situation was in the literature, confused the crap out of me in 2015.

[Laurin]

My family greatly prefers MTD.  We like to eat on the early side, and as others have said, it seems that the MTD waitstaff are more attuned to meal pacing and determining whether people want a leisurely meal or to get in and out more quickly.

[Carlos A.]

On 11/10/2017 at 10:46 AM, mbk999 said:

This was our experience on the Enchantment (albeit it was only for 2).  I made reservations 3 of the 4 nights, requested a table for two.  On embarkation, we went to the MDR to confirm times, table for two and said we'd prefer the same wait staff and a table by the window.  At the end of dinner on the first night, we let the waiter know we would be at Chops for Day 2, but back for days 3 & 4.   Showed up for Day 3 and the waiter and made notes or our previous drink order and just verified it, on Day 4 he just went and got them.  And we had the same table every night.   There was some variation on the people around us but we saw the same people at the adjacent tables on Days 3 and 4 

 

Hi! How did you manage to request a table for two? I made my MTD reservations on Cruise Planner but I didn't see any option to request a table.

 

[mbk999]

On 5/14/2018 at 9:36 AM, carlosalonsor said:

Hi! How did you manage to request a table for two? I made my MTD reservations on Cruise Planner but I didn't see any option to request a table.

It was an option at the time I booked.  We also went to the MDR on embarkation to verify the request.

[Ray]

Not sure who mentioned it or what thread it was on but thanks anyway for pointing out that if cruise leaves at 8pm or there abouts it's best to eat earlier so we get the sail away. just reserved MTD for 5.30pm the day we cruise so we dont miss out. 

[JLMoran]

On 5/2/2018 at 6:26 AM, Karma316 said:

Thanks for the reply. If I chose MTD will they assign me to one specific dining room or can I go to any of them? They look different in ambiance and I'd like to try different ones. Will they let me do that? 

@Karma316, my apologies as I only just saw this question to me and realized I hadn't answered you yet. I'm assuming from your question that you're sailing on a Quantum class ship, where there are four separate dining rooms instead of one very large one that spans 3 decks.

As @melski94 indicated, you are assigned to one dining room for the length of the cruise. This didn't use to be the case on Quantum Class ships back when they had dynamic dining; in those days, you would automatically rotate through all four dining halls and get a chance to sample the then-different menus in each. Now that dynamic dining is no more, all four restaurants serve the same menu and there's no real effect on your dining experience beyond the decor.

The two "more upscale" venues -- Chic and The Grande -- are reserved for passengers using Traditional Dining. The other two venues -- Silk and American Icon -- are for guests in MyTime Dining. Since you indicated in one of your other posts that you are trying for the late-time Traditional Dining slot, you'll be assigned to Chic or The Grande and won't have the option to dine in Silk or American Icon.

[Carlos A.]

On 5/15/2018 at 10:47 AM, mbk999 said:

It was an option at the time I booked.  We also went to the MDR on embarkation to verify the request.

I couldn't find that option, I guess I'll have to go to the MDR on embarkation day to assure that. 

I already made the reservation process through the Cruise Planner to select a specific dinner time for every day according to the schedule of the Shows that I have also reserved. We are only two people, how punctual are they with the reserves in MTD? I do not want to have to hurry considering that I considered an approximate two hours for dinner.

Thanks!

 

[JLMoran]

6 minutes ago, carlosalonsor said:

I do not want to have to hurry considering that I considered an approximate two hours for dinner.

Two hours should be more than enough after the first night, when the staff are getting to know everyone and their preferences. I was in traditional dining, late slot, and dinner rarely took more than 90 minutes. MTD should be faster since it's geared towards folks who may prefer a faster-paced meal.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, carlosalonsor said:

We are only two people, how punctual are they with the reserves in MTD?

The My Time reservation has a +/- 15 minute window.  They try to place you with the same wait staff each night in the MTD sections.  They'll hold tables to accommodate this concept but if the line is out the door they have to let them go to folks without reservations at some point, so the +/- 15 minute window is a compromise. 

In theory if you show up 30 minutes late they may treat you as if you don't have a reservation.  I try not to do this out of respect for the system knowing there are folks without reservations potentially waiting for my empty table if I don't show up on time.

[melski94]

6 hours ago, carlosalonsor said:

.We are only two people, how punctual are they with the reserves in MTD? I do not want to have to hurry considering that I considered an approximate two hours for dinner.

 

Don't judge MTD based on the first night as it is a bit chaotic.  The first night I am always there 15 minutes before my reservation as there are long lines (unless you have a 5:30-5:45 reservation then it isn't too bad).  Have one person wait in the line and the other go get a few glasses of wine to bring into dinner.  After that first night, MTD will be smooth with no lines and your wait staff will know your preferences. I think our first night was 90 minutes and that was the longest dinner of the week.

[Carlos A.]

Thank you all for all the comments! I've always done the traditional dinner so this is a first for me. 

[Alex S.]

Chose MTD on our last cruise. While I understand the demand for it, I will not do it again. While the food was still very good, the wait staff as a whole seemed to lack attention to detail, appeared exhausted, and had the “I’m never going to see you again” type of attitude. I have only been on one other cruise, which was Oasis class as well, and it felt like morale was much higher.

This is pure speculation but they seemed to give off the impression that MTD was a sort of punishment. 

[Razerbkfan]

Just over 90 days before we board Allure.  Based on all of the comments we have already made dinner reservations for each evening for MTD dining.  My question is there a separate line for those with reservations when you go to the dining room?  On our other RCL cruises there was just one line that moved through pretty quickly. I'm just thinking with a lot more folks on board it could get confusing between those that had a reservations and those that just showed up.  We usually show up with a glass of wine in hand so a little wait is ok.  Just don't want to be standing in the wrong place and miss our reservation time.  Thanks for all of the help.