Is it ok to switch dining options once onboard?

[joyus]

We have reservations for 8:30pm in the MDR. Although I'd like to do the MTD I do not want to pay the gratuities upfront since we have OBC and may use some of it to pay gratituies if we do not use it or use so little of it. My question is can we change to MTD onboard, especially if we see a conflict between our dinner time & the shows or should we just call to cancel our reservation ahead of time each night that we are not planning to dine in the MDR?

[negc]

You can probably still select MTD once you board the ship, if you go directly to the dining room to make that request. If you are successful, your gratuities will be added to your onboard account and you can pay them out of whatever OBC you have for your cruise.

However, show times are arranged so that traditional diners will always be able to see the performances, so if you are unsuccessful in changing to MTD there is no reason that you will need to give up your main dining room meal in order to see a show.

[joyus]

Thank you for the swift reply.

[joyus]

Bump

[cb at sea]

Actually, traditional seating means you'll NEVER have to miss a show, or worry about timing.....Main seating will see the shows AFTER dinner....Late seating sees the shows BEFORE dinner.....takes all the guesswork out of it!

There will be some "late night adult" shows....that happens at 10:30pm...well after ALL dinners have been completed.

[CruisinCrow]

Yes, you can switch after you get on the ship, if it's available. We did that once because MTD was full when we booked. As soon as we got on board, we went to the dining room and they were able to move us. What you can't do, is switch back and forth during the cruise.

 

I don't know which ship you're on, but on Monarch and Jewel, the MTD tables were in a separate dining room or section of the dining room than the traditional seating tables.

[akcruz]

The first question I would ask is what ship? Some ships have shows that are scheduled around dining times while others do not. The answer to your question is that you can switch to MTD once on board IF they have openings. Chances are they will, but you never know. If you really want MTD switch now.

[joyus]

We're on the Allure in November. With a 8:30 sitting, I'm guessing we'll need to go to the late show, however, I'm also thinking we may be too tired after a full day of activity to sit through a late evening show...oh well, see how things go.

[negc]

The first question I would ask is what ship? Some ships have shows that are scheduled around dining times while others do not. The answer to your question is that you can switch to MTD once on board IF they have openings. Chances are they will, but you never know. If you really want MTD switch now.

 

We have yet to be on an RCI ship that didn't coordinate their dining times and their show times, so whichever style of dining you select, you can see one performance or another of the shows in the theater.:) If you are in MTD, you may have to consider the show times when you choose a time for dinner, but it should never be a real problem.

[constable145]

Actually, traditional seating means you'll NEVER have to miss a show, or worry about timing.....Main seating will see the shows AFTER dinner....Late seating sees the shows BEFORE dinner.....takes all the guesswork out of it!

There will be some "late night adult" shows....that happens at 10:30pm...well after ALL dinners have been completed.

 

Not always true. Depending on the age demo of the sailing the cruise director can change it so that the shows are after dinner.

[CruisinCrow]

We're on the Allure in November. With a 8:30 sitting, I'm guessing we'll need to go to the late show, however, I'm also thinking we may be too tired after a full day of activity to sit through a late evening show...oh well, see how things go.

 

Usually the shows for the late seating are before dinner. See if you can find some Cruise Compasses for the Allure. They would list the show times and help you decide.

 

When we had MTD, our waiter always asked us if we were going to the show so he'd know if he needed to get us done and out by a certain time.

[marci22]

This is the only schedule currently showing on the Royal website http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/showtimes/showtimes_AL.pdf

 

Take a look at your itinerary (western or eastern) for a general idea about showtimes. When your schedule is eventually posted, it should be very similar.

[akcruz]

We have yet to be on an RCI ship that didn't coordinate their dining times and their show times, so whichever style of dining you select, you can see one performance or another of the shows in the theater.:) If you are in MTD, you may have to consider the show times when you choose a time for dinner, but it should never be a real problem.

 

Sorry, on Allure which is the ship the OP is sailing on, shows are not scheduled quite the same way. You do not have an early and late show each night. You will normally see 3 different shows during the week at various times. Can you do a set time for diner and get to all shows, yes, but you need to make reservations very carefully. It is much easier to do MTD and schedule dinung around the shows.

 

 

 

 

 

We're on the Allure in November. With a 8:30 sitting, I'm guessing we'll need to go to the late show, however, I'm also thinking we may be too tired after a full day of activity to sit through a late evening show...oh well, see how things go.

 

I see others have added the Allure show schedule that currently exists. Take a look and see what you think will work best for you, a set dining time (early or late) or MTD.