Joe B Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 Can you reserve a table for a dining time or do you show up and have to wait or fight for a seat? Joe B (First Time Cruiser) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 3 minutes ago, Joe B said: Can you reserve a table for a dining time or do you show up and have to wait or fight for a seat? Joe B (First Time Cruiser) You can reserve a time for MTD on your cruise planner as long as you are not within 3 days of sailing. You can also just show up and the wait would be like a land based restaurant. If it's peak dinner hours, the wait might be a bit longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe B Posted February 11, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 @sabrinaklai - thank you. I hate waiting in lines to eat but I understand that is the case on cruises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 1 minute ago, Joe B said: @sabrinaklai - thank you. I hate waiting in lines to eat but I understand that is the case on cruises. Even if you reserve a time, there is sometimes a 5 min wait or so. What ship? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted February 11, 2018 Report Share Posted February 11, 2018 We always get the early seating (5:30 or 6:00) in the MDR and have never had to wait. Just show up, go to your table and enjoy. Had a not so good experience with MTD two years ago on the Allure. There were six of us, had booked the 6:30 seating for MTD and still had to wait up to 30 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe B Posted February 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 18 hours ago, Sabrinaklai said: Even if you reserve a time, there is sometimes a 5 min wait or so. What ship? Ovation of the Seas. Our trip in not until June 2019. Ovation was sailing in China and Australia. Being reassigned to USA. We are trying to get a feel for cruising. Joe B 18 hours ago, Sabrinaklai said: Even if you reserve a time, there is sometimes a 5 min wait or so. What ship? strailia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 @Joe B, if you are booked in right now for MTD then I would keep an eye out on your cruise planner for dining to pop up. It varies by ship and sailing but I have seen it as far as about 170 days out. You can book all your dining then. Shows usually open up after that so you might have to adjust your dining time a bit once the entertainment comes out. Or just wing it and show up. You'll still get a table, you just might have to wait a bit. If you are with a large group you might want to make reservations though just to be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toodle68 Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 We do my time dining and reserve a time through cruise planner.. sometimes, the 6:15pm time we like is not available but we select as close to it as possible and turn up near the time when we are ready.. You can pretty much walk in around the 6pm time.. but when we leave after 7, the line can be long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe B Posted February 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 7 hours ago, Sabrinaklai said: @Joe B, if you are booked in right now for MTD then I would keep an eye out on your cruise planner for dining to pop up. It varies by ship and sailing but I have seen it as far as about 170 days out. You can book all your dining then. Shows usually open up after that so you might have to adjust your dining time a bit once the entertainment comes out. Or just wing it and show up. You'll still get a table, you just might have to wait a bit. If you are with a large group you might want to make reservations though just to be safe. There will be 4 of us so I don't anticipate a wait. By waiting I meant 1+ hours. 15 to 30 minutes is not bad. You have been a wealth of info. Any tios on what to do once on board. We will be at the dock at approx. 10:30am the day of the cruise. Las Vegas to Seattle is a 2 hour + flight. Thank you again Joe B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NS8VN Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 I know this seems like a silly question, but as it is your first cruise I want to make sure you aren't confusing something: Do you for sure have My Time Dining? Or do you have Traditional Dining? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 3 hours ago, Joe B said: There will be 4 of us so I don't anticipate a wait. By waiting I meant 1+ hours. 15 to 30 minutes is not bad. You have been a wealth of info. Any tios on what to do once on board. We will be at the dock at approx. 10:30am the day of the cruise. Las Vegas to Seattle is a 2 hour + flight. Thank you again Joe B Well, assuming you have booked all your activities already ahead of time then just grab a bite to eat, explore, and relax. If you have not or were not able to book all your activities and entertainment ahead of time then you'll want to take care of that right away as soon as you get onboard. As far as suggestions go, there is a great thread on that from a few days ago: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 4 hours ago, NS8VN said: I know this seems like a silly question, but as it is your first cruise I want to make sure you aren't confusing something: Do you for sure have My Time Dining? Or do you have Traditional Dining? This is a great point and important question. There are two options for the main dining room. Traditional dining and My Time dining offer the exact same food but in a different manner. Check out these blog posts: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/10/24/first-time-cruisers-dinner-royal-caribbean https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/08/08/food-royal-caribbean-cruise https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/06/13/top-10-insider-tips-royal-caribbeans-main-dining-room https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/05/04/avoid-these-ten-royal-caribbean-dining-mistakes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestingBird Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 On 2/11/2018 at 3:37 PM, Joe B said: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Crush Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 As first time cruisers, I recommend traditional dining. You keep the same table and servers and I think it adds to the overall experience. You don't also don't need to reserve times with traditional dining, you have a fixed time and assigned table every night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted February 13, 2018 Report Share Posted February 13, 2018 57 minutes ago, Orange Crush said: As first time cruisers, I recommend traditional dining. You keep the same table and servers and I think it adds to the overall experience. You don't also don't need to reserve times with traditional dining, you have a fixed time and assigned table every night. Agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe B Posted February 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 12 hours ago, Orange Crush said: As first time cruisers, I recommend traditional dining. You keep the same table and servers and I think it adds to the overall experience. You don't also don't need to reserve times with traditional dining, you have a fixed time and assigned table every night. Good advice. I like it when its structured. Thank You O C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 14, 2018 Report Share Posted February 14, 2018 2 hours ago, Joe B said: Good advice. I like it when its structured. Thank You O C If you want traditional dining and have not selected it yet, I would get on that asap. I have found from past experience that traditional dining fills up fast, even for cruises I booked almost a year out. Skid 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe B Posted February 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 21 hours ago, Sabrinaklai said: If you want traditional dining and have not selected it yet, I would get on that asap. I have found from past experience that traditional dining fills up fast, even for cruises I booked almost a year out. The Cruise Planner tells me it is to early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 5 minutes ago, Joe B said: The Cruise Planner tells me it is to early. Joe, I don't believe you can select traditional dining via the cruise planner. If that is the route you want to take you would either have to call your TA (if you used one) or call RC directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe B Posted February 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 38 minutes ago, Sabrinaklai said: Joe, I don't believe you can select traditional dining via the cruise planner. If that is the route you want to take you would either have to call your TA (if you used one) or call RC directly. E-Mailed Travel Agent and the dining has been changed to Traditional Dining with a 5:30pm reserved time. Lovetocruise2002 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 3 minutes ago, Joe B said: E-Mailed Travel Agent and the dining has been changed to Traditional Dining with a 5:30pm reserved time. Awesome! One check off the "to do" list ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 11 hours ago, Joe B said: E-Mailed Travel Agent and the dining has been changed to Traditional Dining with a 5:30pm reserved time Good for you Joe. One of the first things you do when you get on board, I recommend you go to the MDR and check out your assigned table. If the location is not to your satisfaction, ask to have it changed. You do not want to be seated near a service door (where the wait staff comes and goes with food orders, dirty dishes, etc) nor the main entrance. Not unless you enjoy a constant parade of waiters, waitstaff and cruisers. Lovetocruise2002 and Orange Crush 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Crush Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 2 hours ago, rjac said: Good for you Joe. One of the first things you do when you get on board, I recommend you go to the MDR and check out your assigned table. If the location is not to your satisfaction, ask to have it changed. You do not want to be seated near a service door (where the wait staff comes and goes with food orders, dirty dishes, etc) nor the main entrance. Not unless you enjoy a constant parade of waiters, waitstaff and cruisers. Another benefit of checking out your table as soon as you get on the ship--there can sometimes be a bit of a wait to get in the MDR as people line up to be shown to their table--especially on the first night. You will already know where yours is and can walk right to it. Skid, Digmenow and WAAAYTOOO 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted February 15, 2018 Report Share Posted February 15, 2018 2 hours ago, Orange Crush said: Another benefit of checking out your table as soon as you get on the ship--there can sometimes be a bit of a wait to get in the MDR as people line up to be shown to their table--especially on the first night. You will already know where yours is and can walk right to it. Excellent point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe B Posted February 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2018 15 hours ago, rjac said: Good for you Joe. One of the first things you do when you get on board, I recommend you go to the MDR and check out your assigned table. If the location is not to your satisfaction, ask to have it changed. You do not want to be seated near a service door (where the wait staff comes and goes with food orders, dirty dishes, etc) nor the main entrance. Not unless you enjoy a constant parade of waiters, waitstaff and cruisers. Thanks rjac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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