My Time Dining Questions

[dnewscruiser]

This will be our first cruise using MTD. I've read that you don't have to make reservations, that you can just walk up to the dining room, but if you do so, be prepared to wait a bit like at a restaurant. That is fine with me. But can you make reservations on some nights and not others? Can you also go any time within the timeframe the MDR is open for dinner? (I didn't know if MTD is for a certain time frame, say 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. or something). Also, when we walk right up, can we request to be seated at a table for four or do those reservations need to be made in advance? Any help clarifying this would be much appreciated! Down to checking off my last few questions before we cruise on 10/10!!! :)

[flcruzer03]

This will be our first cruise using MTD. I've read that you don't have to make reservations, that you can just walk up to the dining room, but if you do so, be prepared to wait a bit like at a restaurant. That is fine with me. But can you make reservations on some nights and not others? Can you also go any time within the timeframe the MDR is open for dinner? (I didn't know if MTD is for a certain time frame, say 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. or something). Also, when we walk right up, can we request to be seated at a table for four or do those reservations need to be made in advance? Any help clarifying this would be much appreciated! Down to checking off my last few questions before we cruise on 10/10!!! :)

 

1. Yes...you can make reservations on your way out for the next evening if you want...or not.

2. Yes, you can go anytime during the MTD timeframe..which is the same or very close to the reg. dining room times...

3. If you are a party of 4, you will be seated as a party of 4..unless you request to join other diners..

[alicam]

This will be our first cruise using MTD. I've read that you don't have to make reservations, that you can just walk up to the dining room, but if you do so, be prepared to wait a bit like at a restaurant. That is fine with me. But can you make reservations on some nights and not others? Can you also go any time within the timeframe the MDR is open for dinner? (I didn't know if MTD is for a certain time frame, say 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. or something). Also, when we walk right up, can we request to be seated at a table for four or do those reservations need to be made in advance? Any help clarifying this would be much appreciated! Down to checking off my last few questions before we cruise on 10/10!!! :)

Pretty much all your assumptions are true...you can walk up and be seated, but you might have to wait a little bit....you can also make reservations for what time you would like to dine...as for table arrangements, you can certainly request a table for 4 if you wish, it may not happen, but it might as well (likely will happen)...when we did MTD on Serenade 2 years ago, 1 night we were by ourselves, another with another couple and the rest with 2 other couples....put it this way, if you don't ask, the staff won't know

[CMM]

On the Explorer last week it was explained to us that if you choose to just walk up you will share a table with others. As it turns out, the 4 of us were seated at a table for 10 and they did not have anyone join us. They offered us this table for the remainder of the week at the same time. Since we enjoyed the service of this wait staff so much we did choose to book it for the rest of the cruise.

 

You can also make your reservations online prior to sailing and change them once on board.

[carbon]

We sail end of march, how soon can i make online reservations for MTD?

[carbon]

Does anyone know?

[alicam]

We sail end of march, how soon can i make online reservations for MTD?

You'll have to wait until it shows up on their website...we sail mid March and can't do it yet

[dotcomgirl]

Is it pretty easy to get a table just walking up at any time? We are just a party of 2. I was going to choose MTD, but heard that certain time slots fill up in advance anyway and so I was worried that we would get stuck eating at 9pm at night. I ended up choosing 6pm set time for the MDR, but if we can easily eat at any time day by day I'd rather do MTD. But I also don't want to pre reserve each day of MTD.

[negc]

Is it pretty easy to get a table just walking up at any time? We are just a party of 2. I was going to choose MTD, but heard that certain time slots fill up in advance anyway and so I was worried that we would get stuck eating at 9pm at night. I ended up choosing 6pm set time for the MDR, but if we can easily eat at any time day by day I'd rather do MTD. But I also don't want to pre reserve each day of MTD.

 

It may vary by ship or sailing date, but we never had a problem eating whenever we wanted and certainly were never forced to eat as late as 9pm when we wanted to dine much earlier. A party of two is usually accommodated easily. There might be an occasion when they can seat you more quickly if you are willing to be seated with others, but if you choose not to do so, the wait ought not to be terribly lengthy.:)

[cruisegirl1]

Be prepared to WAIT – especially the first night. We had an 8:15 reservation and were not seated until 8:40! We changed back to traditional dining for the remainder of the sailing.

Enjoy.

[Lorey2007]

We sail end of march, how soon can i make online reservations for MTD?

 

Our cruise is 1-30-11 MTD reservations & specialty reservations just opened up yesterday which was 120 days out. If you are linking reservations ours got mixed up and I had to end up calling. The CSR said after I entered the linked reservation # I should have done a search but I didn't see "search" any where:confused:. The CSR fixed it for me.

[printingchick]

If you want to make advance reservations, your sailing should be open soon. I booked mine yesterday for a late February cruise. Some time slots were already 100% booked!

 

I've done MTD using both the walk-in method and the reservation method and would happy to compare the two from my personal experience.

 

FREEDOM OF THE SEAS, 2009:

We made NO reservations for any night. We used the dining room like a restaurant. We showed up at drastically different times each night and we were ALWAYS seated in less than five minutes - often immediately. The host tried to keep us in relatively the same area, but we did not have the same table or the same waitstaff every night.

 

The flexibility was tremendous. Every night, we looked at our cruise compass and highlighted what we wanted to do the following day. We squeezed in dinner in a blank time slot.

 

SERENADE OF THE SEAS, 2010:

We made NO reservations for the first night, which is an odd-ball evening on a southern Caribbean cruise anyway because of the 8PM departure time and muster drill. We were seated at a table for two, located next to another table for two where a nice couple was already dining. We ended up talking with that couple throughout the meal. We ran into them again the following day and decided to go to dinner together that night. The host advised us that, if we wanted to come around the same time each night, he would assign us a table by the window and we could bypass the host station and go directly to our table. We would have the same staff each night.

 

I found this to be the best of both worlds. We chose a preferred dining time (NOT early OR late seating), we met great people, (which happens only SOMETIMES with traditional dining), and we had the same FABULOUS waitstaff the entire time.

 

I'm cruising with my teenage son in February. I reserved a time and requested a table for 2. If we meet people on the cruise we want to sit with, we can certainly request to be seated together. Otherwise, we'll sit on our own.

 

I find I really like having the same waitstaff all week. I find the familiarity adds to the service and you often form a great bond with your waiters. I think MTD is an awesome addition to cruise dining options!

[WMQueenie]

We (4 of us) had MTD on the Explorer last week and as CMM already said, on the first day they told us if we just showed up without a reservation we would be seated with others unless we wanted to wait for a table for 4. So we made reservations the first night and waited about 5 minutes, ate in the WJ the 2nd & 3rd night, had reservations the 4th night and waited in line for 20 minutes and did not get the same table that we had reserved. On the last night we were seated within 5 minutes at the original table we requested. This is our 2nd experience with MTD, we did it last year on Carnival's Miracle. From now on will be going back to the late seating, I miss just walking straight into the dining room directly to my table and having the same wait staff every time we are there. We missed a show or two because the showtimes are based around the main seating times and we had to take the reservations that were available. That's just my opinion! :p Thanks for listening!

[lindz0722]

My boyfriend and I just got off the Majesty of the Seas on Friday and decided to try MTD. We didn't make any reservations, just walked over to the dining room, and it worked out great; we loved it!

 

The first night we arrived around 8, did not request a table for 2, and were sat immediately at a 10-person table with others arriving around the same time.

 

The second night (formal night) we arrived around the same time but requested to sit alone, and had to wait about 10 minutes for a 2-person table to become available, which was fine with us. The third and fourth nights we showed up at completely different times, requested a table for 2 again, and were seated at the exact same table with the same (fantastic) waitstaff. Love that type of service.

 

We like to be friendly, so we did make conversation with the couple at the 2-person table next to us each evening. To me that was the best of both worlds. I would DEFINITELY recommend doing MTD and if you don't mind waiting 10 or 15 minutes (at least that was our longest wait on a smaller ship), I wouldn't get caught up with making reservations. The show times change each night, and we wouldn't have been comfortable picking dinner times before we saw what was going on each day.

[Jasperdo]

Don't know what ship you're going on, but here's what the MTD Desk looks like on the Mariner. It is manned for a few hours every day, so you can go up to it and make a reservation. Or, as others have said, you can just show up to the same desk during the open hours for MTD without reservations.

[poodlewamp]

Well to make a long story very short. We did book m/t dining for 4.....which ended up being for eight. So rather than stand in a line up waiting...we just picked the time we wanted to go, and make a "daily" reservation each morning...

 

Depending on what we were all doing....picked a time that suited everyone..and it worked out terrific !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

B.j.

 

( 19 cruises)

[kmcphee26]

Also new to my time dining I have a few questions...

 

Normally, we would just stick with our main seating however we found out that a waiter we have had in the past who we love is on my time dining, so we are thinking about switching... Have most people been able to request the same waitstaff night after night using my time dining?

 

If I switch, I would make reservations nightly- probably around 6:30 or 7. What is the general feeling regarding wait times for those with reservations, specifically on the Oasis?

 

 

Thanks!

[Albert Ross]

Be prepared to WAIT – especially the first night. We had an 8:15 reservation and were not seated until 8:40! We changed back to traditional dining for the remainder of the sailing.

Enjoy.

 

We had 7.45 dining reserved and we were seated immediately at this time every night of our cruise, and this has been our experience on last 5 cruises. No waiting at all. MTD is fab.:D

[Jasperdo]

Also new to my time dining I have a few questions...

 

Normally, we would just stick with our main seating however we found out that a waiter we have had in the past who we love is on my time dining, so we are thinking about switching... Have most people been able to request the same waitstaff night after night using my time dining?

 

If I switch, I would make reservations nightly- probably around 6:30 or 7. What is the general feeling regarding wait times for those with reservations, specifically on the Oasis?

 

 

Thanks!

I can't speak for the Oasis, but at least on the Mariner we were able to make a standing reservation for the same table and time. If you know a particular waiter by name, I would suggest going to the MTD desk as soon as you board the ship. I'm sure they will set you up with a standing reservation with this waiter.

[ccruisequeen]

Don't know what ship you're going on, but here's what the MTD Desk looks like on the Mariner. It is manned for a few hours every day, so you can go up to it and make a reservation. Or, as others have said, you can just show up to the same desk during the open hours for MTD without reservations.

 

Which deck is this on?

[karena1]

We have done MTD on Serenade, Freedom, Monarch, Majesty and have loved it every time.

 

1. We rarely - if ever - make reservations

2. We have always been able to get a 2 top

3. We have always had the same waitstaff

4. Only once did we have to wait maybe 15 minutes for a table.

5. On Freedom, I went online and did the reservations, but we never stuck to them, just went when we felt like it, so will not do online reservations again.

 

For us, MTD was the best thing they started. Now we can enjoy ourselves for the day, and go to dinner when we feel like it instead of at a set time every night.

[Jasperdo]

Which deck is this on?

Deck 5, outside the Sound of Music Dining Room.

[ccruisequeen]

TY- we're doing MTD & it's nice to know where to go ahead of time- no scavenger hunt needed!

[Jasperdo]

TY- we're doing MTD & it's nice to know where to go ahead of time- no scavenger hunt needed!

The MTD should be open when you board the ship if you want to make a reservation. It also has set hours during each day of the cruise where you can go and make a reservation for that evening if you want. The hours are posted right at the desk.