My time dining

[Jods00]

We just booked our next cruise on the Oasis for April, and was told that there was only MY TIME DINING available/left. The RCI agent told me that you can go into the MDR and eat dinner any time without a reservation, may just have to wait to be seated a few minutes.

 

He also said there is a possibility to change to the late seating by going online and checking availability at a later date, due to people making changes all the time.

 

In the past on the first day of our cruise we have switched from early to late dining. On the first day of our cruise with the head waiter.

 

Should we just wait till the first day of our cruise?

Whould like more info on the MY TIME DINING. If any one wants to share there experience with it I would appreciate it.

 

Thanks in advance, it has been a few years since our last cruise.

 

Also there is 3 in our party if that makes a difference.

[papakaiser]

Have experienced My Time dining on two ships so far, the first time on Independence and the second time on Monarch.

 

On the Independence, MTD was a disaster. It was run poorly by the staff, and the wait staff seemed to be running all night long just to keep up. The Monarch seemed to flow much better, and the wait staff performed their jobs in a much calmer manner. Your experience will depend on the ship you will be sailing on.

 

Having 3 in your party should make little difference in getting seated. The way MTD works, you are not required to have a reservation to be seated, but you may have a bit of a wait if you don't. That would depend on what time you show up and ask to be seated. If you want to eat at a popular time like 7PM, I would suggest a reservation to avoid a long wait. You'll receive instructions on where to call to make a reservation. You can either do it by the day, or for the cruise.

 

You may also be seated with other passengers at your table. If you have ever eaten lunch or breakfast in the main dining room, MTD is run in a similar manner. Hope all this helps.

[Jods00]

Thanks, I was thinking it sounded similar to breakfast in MDR.

Hopefully by April most the flaws will be worked out on the Oasis and dinner will run smoothly.

[pickytraveler4]

My DH and I just returned from RCI's Explorer cruise to Bermuda. We were in the same position as you in that we only had MTD as an option. This was our experience with the benefits and drawbacks as we saw it:

 

Benefit: We could eat dinner in the MDR at any preferred time. The Explorer's 3rd floor is dedicated to MTD.

 

We did make reservations the previous night except for the last night. This seems to work very well as we picked our time and did not have to wait on any night that we made a reservation. I felt that the host/hostess was 'kicken butt' to get everyone seated in a very short period of time. We did see a short line for those that did not make reservations. Suggestion: The later you make reservations the later the time that is available.

 

Drawback: On previous (Carnival) cruise, we enjoyed our wait staff and they added to the enjoyment of the cruise. Because you have different wait staff each night the MTD experience is simply similar to eating in a new restaurant vs being a regular and having a waitress that knows your preferences. While I was super impressed with the host and seating process, I wasn't super impressed with the waiters. With MTD the tips are pre-paid so I wonder if that takes away from some of the effort?

 

Benefit: We enjoy meeting other people so it was nice to have a mix of guests each night along with having just the 2 of us on other nights.

 

I was initially disappointed being assigned MTD, then I found the flexibility nice. On future cruises I would request early seating and if unavailable I would go with MTD.

 

Hope this helps.

[nycruiser80]

Have experienced My Time dining on two ships so far, the first time on Independence and the second time on Monarch.

 

 

You may also be seated with other passengers at your table. If you have ever eaten lunch or breakfast in the main dining room, MTD is run in a similar manner. Hope all this helps.

 

I sailed the Legend this August and this was not the case. Travelled with four people but on some night my partner and I wanted a table for two as the other party was not joining us and and were seated alone. You can ask to be seated with others but they just don't put you at a table with others (unless it is different on each ship). I liked my time and would do it again.

[karena1]

We have had MTD on 4 cruises now. For all of them, we have had the same waitstaff every night, we never make reservations, and have had zero issues at all. Absolutely love it and will never go back to the other way. It is so nice to eat when we want to and we have found we actually love having 2 tops vs the large tables we always had when we did regular dining. So MTD has worked out wonderfully for us.

[Fisherlady48]

I tried my time on my last cruise on the Monarch (NEVER AGAIN). The last night I ended up virtually alone for dinnner. Pretty sad..

 

I travel solo and like meeting and greeting lots of people. The best meal of the trip ended up being breakfast on the last morning, sat with 4 strangers and enjoyed the meal and conversation.

 

K

[printingchick]

My experience on MTD, which was also on a newer ship (Freedom) was wonderful. We never waited, we always sat in the same section (same waitstaff), we were seated at a table for two every night, we never made reservations - we just went to eat whenever we wanted to.

 

It was very relaxing not to have to plan our day around our assigned meal time. We absolutely LOVED it and are signed up for it again on our next cruise. I hope Serenade handles MTD as well as Freedom.

[Jods00]

What about the formal night. Did it still feel as nice. I look forward to the formal night and getting dressed up.

[fleckle]

.........We absolutely LOVED it and are signed up for it again on our next cruise. I hope Serenade handles MTD as well as Freedom.

We did MTD for the first time on Serenade last summer. We were also very pleased with it and would definitely choose it again. The service was every bit as good as the main dining room, if not even better. They had just started MTD on Serenade and we heard that some of the ship's best waiters had been assigned to it.

 

Some nights we made a reservation and other nights we just showed up, but never had to wait long. We were on an Alaska cruise, so it was great to have the flexibility of being outside for sailaways and scenic areas, eating either earlier or later as we wished.

[LilPony]

Hi All - We havent cruised since MTD started - Is it now available on all ships - we were thinking of Freedom next summer

 

Thanks

[lakette3]

I was on the Magesty this past April and the Enchantment last week. We had absolutely no problem with MTD. Same staff each night and same table except for one night we were one down.

[Beth_55]

Since tipping is prepaid with MTD, do you just give the vouchers to the waiters on the last night ? Even if you did not have them the rest of the nights ? I know they get the tip regardless of the vouchers.

[negc]

What about the formal night. Did it still feel as nice. I look forward to the formal night and getting dressed up.

 

MTD is held in a section of one deck of the main dining room so there is no difference in "feel" on formal nights if you are in MTD as opposed to traditional dining. The dress code is the same regardless of your dining option and if you enjoy getting dressed up, nothing will change for you if you are in My Time Dining.

We have used MTD twice, once on the Navigator of the Seas and once on Jewel of the Seas. In both instances we were with another couple. We usually, but not always, had the same wait staff and found that service was just as friendly and good as what we have experienced in traditional dining. We sometimes indicated, in advance, when we expected to dine the following evening, but even when we just showed up to dine, we didn't experience any more than a minute's wait to be seated, and on the one occasion when my wife and I elected to dine by ourselves, we were able to be seated at a table for two with an excellent server.

On some ships, MTD may still be a relatively new experience for the staff but they seem to work out the kinks pretty quickly and the problems that some may have experienced in the early going should have been eliminated by now. Overall, though, it appears that many more people have had a good experience with MTD than a poor one.:)

[mamasue]

Since tipping is prepaid with MTD, do you just give the vouchers to the waiters on the last night ? Even if you did not have them the rest of the nights ? I know they get the tip regardless of the vouchers.

 

 

We actually asked about this on our recent Monarch cruise.....

yes, the staff get paid anyway if you've booked MTD.... but you can use the envelopes if you want to give extra.

The staff don't 'cash in' the vouchers or anything!!

 

We tried MTD... and it worked out just fine!! We booked our time during the day.... never had to wait more than 5 minutes, despite requesting a table for 2 every night... and requesting the same waiter!

We're going MTD again on out transatlantic cruise on the Independence next month!!