My Time Dining

[sunhoney64]

Do you reserve times or just show up? It seems silly to reserve it when the idea is not to have to be on a schedule. Now I am second guessing myself.

[rummenroman]

Do you reserve times or just show up? It seems silly to reserve it when the idea is not to have to be on a schedule. Now I am second guessing myself.

 

You can do either.

 

You can show up, but you may have to wait for a table to open up. The most I have waited was a few minutes.

 

You can make a standing reservation for the entire length of your cruise if you wish, or you can make a reservation each night for the next night.

[CruiseKeeper]

We just show up; have only waited 15 minutes, once. Yesterday someone was posting that they needed to make reservations every day but we didn't.

[sunhoney64]

Thanks!! :D

[coffeebean]

Do you reserve times or just show up? It seems silly to reserve it when the idea is not to have to be on a schedule. Now I am second guessing myself.

The great thing about My Time Dining is you can make a reservation for a different time each night of the cruise, depending on what activities you are interested in doing or shows you would like to see. There will always be conflicts with traditional dining time and you won't know about the conflicts until the day before when you receive your Cruise Compass. Even if there is a conflict of an activity and your traditional dining time, you can not change a traditional dining time for the Main Dining Room.

 

Oasis includes a Weekly Planner on embarkation day with all the favorite activities and shows at a glance for the entire week, times included. I've never seen this done before but it was fantastic to be able to plan our activities, dining and shows for the entire week and avoid conflicts. I wish all cruise ships would offer this advance look. Kudos to Oasis.

[karena1]

We never make reservations. We go when we feel like it. I can see where it might make sense for a larger group, but since it is the 2 of us, we go when we are ready. Rarely (and then only for a few minutes) have we had to wait. And we still get the same wait staff every night, so you still get that feel of "they know what you want". We love MyTime and will never go back to anything else.

[cb at sea]

If your party can fit at one table, there's less of a wait than if you need space for, say, 6 or 8.....if you have a large party, you SHOULD make reservations, at least by mid-day, or you may have a longer wait.

Personally, when I'm on vacation, I don't mind a wait...it's not like I have an appointment later! Bring a drink with you, just in case! Makes any wait nicer!

[insley]

We recently sailed on the Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan and used My Time Dining. This was the third time we have used it and this was not a good experience. In the past we have enjoyed the spontaneity of showing up whenever we wanted - sometimes early and sometimes late. We have always been seated within minutes. We like figuring out when we want to eat mid day after we have had time to study the daily compass.

 

However, on this cruise on the first night when we arrived for dinner, the concierge chastised us because we had not made a reservation. She informed us that we should make reservations for the rest of the nights. We experienced the same chastising the second night when we showed up without a reservation. We finally did decide to go along with her request about night three and then when we tried to get a reservation, the time we wanted was not available. It was frustrating as it seemed to defeat the spirit of My Time Dining. This happened several nights in a row.

 

Also in the past we have enjoyed,on some nights, being asked if we minded joining others for dinner. The first night we mentioned that we didn't mind being seated with others. That night we were seated alone and we were never asked us on any night after that if we wanted to be seated with others. I also noticed that the tables tended to be only 2s, 4s or 6s. There were no large tables that I noticed.

 

I suspect each ship has its own interpretation of My Time Dining. It was certainly a better experience on the Brillance and the Mariners.

[Addict]

We recently sailed on the Adventure of the Seas out of San Juan and used My Time Dining. This was the third time we have used it and this was not a good experience. In the past we have enjoyed the spontaneity of showing up whenever we wanted - sometimes early and sometimes late. We have always been seated within minutes. We like figuring out when we want to eat mid day after we have had time to study the daily compass.

 

However, on this cruise on the first night when we arrived for dinner, the concierge chastised us because we had not made a reservation. She informed us that we should make reservations for the rest of the nights. We experienced the same chastising the second night when we showed up without a reservation. We finally did decide to go along with her request about night three and then when we tried to get a reservation, the time we wanted was not available. It was frustrating as it seemed to defeat the spirit of My Time Dining. This happened several nights in a row.

 

Also in the past we have enjoyed,on some nights, being asked if we minded joining others for dinner. The first night we mentioned that we didn't mind being seated with others. That night we were seated alone and we were never asked us on any night after that if we wanted to be seated with others. I also noticed that the tables tended to be only 2s, 4s or 6s. There were no large tables that I noticed.

 

I suspect each ship has its own interpretation of My Time Dining. It was certainly a better experience on the Brillance and the Mariners.

 

I agree - the MTD experience on Adventure was not the greatest. Prior to our cruise, we had made reservations for the same time each night (as suite guests, we had received an email from the dining room manager, asking us what reservations we would like to make). Upon boarding the ship we found that no reservations were made for us - no big deal, we just booked for the time we wanted for the length of the cruise. When we turned up at the dining room at our time, we were told we had to join a queue which was very long. What is the point of making a reservation if you still have to get in line, and wait approx 30 minutes - then they could say you arrived late! We did talk to one of the head waiters about this after it happened again on the second night.

 

Princess do this better - they have two lines, one for guests without reservations, and another line for those that have booked. Works like a dream. I wish RCI would do it this way as there is no point making reservations otherwise - and it seems by the comments above that they prefer you to make reservations.

 

If you have to get in line and wait regardless of whether you booked or not, what is the point?

 

We gave up after two nights and ate every other meal in the Windjammer (a 14 night cruise).

[irv54]

We are going on a 14 day cruise and think we would like the flexibility of MTD but would like to sit with 6-10 people each night. If we wanted a 2 table we would eat at home.

 

Suggestions. Should we try MTD, can we try MTD and switch to fixed? I am not the worry about waiting a few minutes for dinner - Where else am I going to go?

 

Thanks all

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all

[island lady]

On our last Monarch cruise, we never had to wait at all. We did not make reservations, but were always flexible and agreed to be added to large/small tables of whatever was available to the obvious relief of the MTD host.

 

The MTD worked as a team of 5 waiters and the host. They told us that they assist the others with their passenger diners if the usual waiter you had on the first night was not available. They all pool their tip money, and told us they get along great as a team. :)

 

There was one man that was insisting on a table for two, and he ended up waiting. We noticed he finally was seated at a larger table, so he must have decided not to wait any longer.

Another person we heard in front of us one night told the MD that he had reservations and wanted to change to this earlier time. No problem, as was seated right away.

 

I have pre-made advance reservations every night (after looking at port visiting times) on my upcoming 10 night cruise, but know that I could always call to ask for a different time if available, should we need to change it.

[TrafficChick]

As everyone else has posted, you can either show up and possibly wait a few minutes or you can make your reservation each day. However, one thing to know is that the service for MTD is mostly sub-par.

 

Very few of the servers make an effort because they have already been "tipped" with the prepaid gratuities. If you show up without a reservation, the chances of having the same server each night is slim. You can ask for the same server, if you find one you like, when you schedule your dining time each night. That does slightly improve service.

 

It is possible to switch from MTD to a fixed dining time if the service is not up to your standard. I met a couple on my cruise last month who switched from MTD to fixed service after 3 days, and were much more satisfied with their dining experience. My first night of MTD was a complete disaster from start to finish. The rest of the nights were acceptable , but not up the level of service I have come to expect from RCI. I personally will never choose MTD again.

[Bothofus]

Very few of the servers make an effort because they have already been "tipped" with the prepaid gratuities.

 

 

I did not notice this at all. Our MTD experience (on Oasis) was outstanding, leading us to believe its the only way to go. We are waitlisted for it for our next cruise.

 

Rachel

[CruiseKeeper]

As everyone else has posted, you can either show up and possibly wait a few minutes or you can make your reservation each day. However, one thing to know is that the service for MTD is mostly sub-par.

Very few of the servers make an effort because they have already been "tipped" with the prepaid gratuities. If you show up without a reservation, the chances of having the same server each night is slim. You can ask for the same server, if you find one you like, when you schedule your dining time each night. That does slightly improve service.

 

.

 

This may have been your experience, but not mine. After going MTD several times, I have never found a sub-par experience. Not saying it's not possible, but yours was a blanket statement and does not match my encounters with MTD.

 

I hope that anytime anyone meets sub-par service in the dining room whether MTD or traditional, you mention it to your head waiter.

[island lady]

Count me in as another MTD fan. Our server/servers were great! They are proud to work as a team and will go out of their way to help the others in their team.

 

I am MTD for my upcoming 10 night. Will enable me to be flexible for various port times and show schedules.

[skylar.sutton]

Do you reserve times or just show up? It seems silly to reserve it when the idea is not to have to be on a schedule. Now I am second guessing myself.

 

We made reservations after breakfast each day based on the schedule of events for the evening. Some days there was something specific we wanted to do so the reservation came in handy... some days we had nothing to do and just knew when we would get hungry.

[FLACRUISER99]

This may have been your experience, but not mine. After going MTD several times, I have never found a sub-par experience. Not saying it's not possible, but yours was a blanket statement and does not match my encounters with MTD.

 

I hope that anytime anyone meets sub-par service in the dining room whether MTD or traditional, you mention it to your head waiter.

A lot of the folks who knock the service in MTD have never tried it!!

[teacherkim]

Another vote for the yeas! on mtd. We had a group of 6 on the Brilliance and we would make our reservation each night as we left dinner for the next night. By that time we knew what our plans were, had agreed on a time and it was early enough that we always got our preferred time within 15 minutes. Never had to wait when we showed up.

As for wait staff we liked our staff the first night and requested them thereafter with no problem. Service was impeccable. MTD was fairly new at that time and I asked our waiter about how the staff liked it and the tip situation. He said they were just as motivated because the tips were pooled and split amongst the wait staff and complaints affected them all (and he claimed that unsatisfied cruisers could demand a tip refund although I don't know in reality how easy that would actually be) also, waiters were always hoping for a "little extra" if the service was really good;)

[negc]

As everyone else has posted, you can either show up and possibly wait a few minutes or you can make your reservation each day. However, one thing to know is that the service for MTD is mostly sub-par.

 

Very few of the servers make an effort because they have already been "tipped" with the prepaid gratuities. If you show up without a reservation, the chances of having the same server each night is slim. You can ask for the same server, if you find one you like, when you schedule your dining time each night. That does slightly improve service.

 

.

That is totally contrary to our experience with MTD on a number of different ships. In our experience, the wait staff chosen for MTD service, was the cream of the crop. Wait staff, for the most part (there will always be an exception) seem to take great pride in their ability to provide quality service and the fact that tips have been pre-paid does not seem to enter the equation. If service is substandard, it is clearly a case where a word to the head waiter or the maitre'd might be required and that doesn't improve the situation, a negative comment on the guest satisfaction survey is in order. In my experience the staff is far more concerned about getting good reports on the guest's survey than the tip that they are guaranteed.:)

Making reservations is not necessary but being able to d so isn't contrary to the concept of MTD, if, for example, you want to schedule your meal at a time that varies from the traditional dining times. My experiences with Princess' Anytime Dining were far less favorable especially since it was forced on us because they would not alter their dining room configurations to fit the particular desires of the guests on our particular cruise.

[Mary09]

We had amazing service in MTD. Best on any cruise! And I did give our waiter a $20 at the end, on top of his pre-paid tip.

 

The first night I called the DR around 6 and said 4 of us were coming down. They said their next reservation wasn't until 7:30 but if we showed up at 7 they might be able to accommodate us. We showed up at 6:30 and were seated within minutes. ?? So we just showed up whenever each night and were always seated within minutes, in the waiter's station we asked for. Not sure if we got special treatment since we'd rented a suite or what. But others seemed to get the same.

[Albert Ross]

As everyone else has posted, you can either show up and possibly wait a few minutes or you can make your reservation each day. However, one thing to know is that the service for MTD is mostly sub-par.

 

Very few of the servers make an effort because they have already been "tipped" with the prepaid gratuities. If you show up without a reservation, the chances of having the same server each night is slim. You can ask for the same server, if you find one you like, when you schedule your dining time each night. That does slightly improve service.

 

I personally will never choose MTD again.

Each to their own. I totally disagree.

I've had MTD on RCI 6 times now and service is always excellant, we dine at our pace (being European we do not bolt our food in 45 minutes); we enjoy a leisurely glass (OK - bottle) of wine each night; we always get a table for 2; and we find the service to be better as they put their best waiters on to MTD.

I personally will never choose Traditional Dining again.

[island lady]

Each to their own. I totally disagree.

I've had MTD on RCI 6 times now and service is always excellant, we dine at our pace (being European we do not bolt our food in 45 minutes); we enjoy a leisurely glass (OK - bottle) of wine each night; we always get a table for 2; and we find the service to be better as they put their best waiters on to MTD.

I personally will never choose Traditional Dining again.

 

Totally agree on all counts....including that bottle of wine ;)

Like to take our time on dinner and have had wonderful service with MTD.

Could not get MTD on my upcoming last minute 3 nighter cruise, but will be able to

see the difference again between traditional late versus the MTD.

Have MTD for our upcoming 10 night.

[Disneyjunkie]

When is the latest you can sign up for MTD?

[island lady]

When is the latest you can sign up for MTD?

 

Depends on how many people sign up for it. Varies as to ship/demographics/and how full the booking for that date is.

Much like shore excursions.

[MrsPete]

ery few of the servers make an effort because they have already been "tipped" with the prepaid gratuities. again.

This was absolutely not our experience. We had the best waiters ever with my time dining. They were super attentive to our teens. In fact, on the first night, they noticed that one of the girls was shy, and they refused to take her dessert order . . . Instead, they made her a super fancy ice cream with brownies and hot fudge sauce, and for the rest of the week all the girls begged for the "shy girl special".

 

We had the same waiters for most of the week, but when we missed them, they'd come over and speak to us. They really made the trip for our girls.