My Time Dining Experiences.

[Illmaxict]

Ok, so my girlfriend and I are booked on the Harmony of the Seas in august. Upon booking the option to select traditional dining was not available, so I'm assuming it's full. I've always done traditional dining and enjoyed meeting new people and having a set time, same table, and the same wait staff and what not.

 

Is there a chance that once aboard the ship we could possibly slide into a traditional dining slot? or are those chances slim to none? Also, for my time dining, are you seated in different sections every night with different staff? What are your experiences with MTD?

 

My girlfriend and I have discussed it a bit, and honestly we are a bit torn. We like the idea of an early dinner (6:30), but at the same time we definitely would enjoy soaking in the last bit of sunshine at 5:30 on the pool deck on some days, rather than going to get ready for dinner. So in that regard, MTD seems appealing. So we are a bit torn as to what to do...

[abbflex]

Ok, so my girlfriend and I are booked on the Harmony of the Seas in august. Upon booking the option to select traditional dining was not available, so I'm assuming it's full. I've always done traditional dining and enjoyed meeting new people and having a set time, same table, and the same wait staff and what not.

 

Is there a chance that once aboard the ship we could possibly slide into a traditional dining slot? or are those chances slim to none? Also, for my time dining, are you seated in different sections every night with different staff? What are your experiences with MTD?

 

My girlfriend and I have discussed it a bit, and honestly we are a bit torn. We like the idea of an early dinner (6:30), but at the same time we definitely would enjoy soaking in the last bit of sunshine at 5:30 on the pool deck on some days, rather than going to get ready for dinner. So in that regard, MTD seems appealing. So we are a bit torn as to what to do...

 

We had the oposit "problem", wanting MTD, but was full so had to be put on 18:00 tradisional. Our Travel Agent just called RC customer service and a couple of hours later they had changed it to MTD. Might work the other way aswell. Can be a status on the homepage that is not updated or wrong.

[ReneeFLL]

If you choose to change do it as soon as you get on board. I think they sent Mike to either the Windjammer or the dining room. Ask where to go asap because others will be doing the same.

We did the regular dining and liked it for the same reasons you stated. We did MTD and have never looked back. The flexibility far outweighs everything else. If you want to get the last rays of sun or have had a long day in a port and don't want to rush to shower, change, etc to be there at a certain time then MTD is the best. We usually ended up at the same table with the same people. It turned out this way because we usually ate about the same time give or take 30 minutes or so. Sometimes there would be a different couple at the table. Several times we asked to be seated by ourselves so we could enjoy each other's company. This also works great if you want to eat and not have to wait for others to finish each course. It also takes less time so you can go and do what you want.

 

I have only been on the Radiance & Vision class ships. They are much smaller than the Harmony so I don't know if this makes a difference. I think you should at least give it a try sometime.

[Clarea]

... Is there a chance that once aboard the ship we could possibly slide into a traditional dining slot? or are those chances slim to none? Also, for my time dining, are you seated in different sections every night with different staff? What are your experiences with MTD? ...

There is a chance you can to switch to traditional dining onboard. Go to the dining room as soon as you board.

 

With regard to MTD, if you are eating at the same time each night, you have a good chance to have the same table and wait staff.

[gooners1968]

I prebooked 7.30pm every night before we left, then made changes onboard if we needed to. We ended up with the same table and wait staff each night. The only problems we encountered were the long queues, some nights we had to wait 30mins in the queue even though we had booked.

[Illmaxict]

Several times we asked to be seated by ourselves so we could enjoy each other's company. This also works great if you want to eat and not have to wait for others to finish each course.

 

Did you ask to be seated by yourselves upon arriving at the dining room? That's another thing I don't understand about MTD. Do you have to set your time every day? Or do you make your reservations on the first day for the entire week?

[jlajla]

When we booked Oasis for an upcoming trip in May, we were given MTD, but they ended up pulling us off of a waiting list and we are now in the traditional timeslot we requested. I cannot remember how we found out.... maybe just call periodically and check.

 

You will get LOTS of opinions on MTD vs. Traditional here, but here is my 2 cents - I tried MTD once and really, really hated it. I like the consistency of having the same wait staff, who knows exactly what I like and do not like. Also, we ended up making "reservations" most nights (usually the night before), but when we would arrive, there was sometimes a wait. Not a big deal, but I like just knowing where my table is, going in and flopping down in "my" seat. I guess I am a creature of habit! The wait staff in the MTD area also just did not seem as friendly, but maybe that was just because we never got time to know them as well.

 

That said, ANY meal that you have on a cruise is better than any meal you have off a cruise, so enjoy. ;)

[SargassoPirate]

She Who Must be Obeyed and I love MTD and would be hard-pressed to return to traditional. The key being flexibility. We've had some early morning excursions and we have the flexibility to move our dining time accordingly. With traditional dining we've ended up next to a large table of extremely loud people who dominated the waiter's time and attention. With MTD, we can avoid the areas with the larger tables by asking for a table in a particular area. When we find a MTD table and/or waiter that we enjoy, we stop by the maître d's station on the way out and reserve our time and table for the following evening. We've found that the MTD waiters appreciate us returning to their table/area and are even more attentive. They make an effort to learn our likes and/or usuals.

 

MTD rocks!

[Sitzmark]

Ok, so my girlfriend and I are booked on the Harmony of the Seas in august. Upon booking the option to select traditional dining was not available, so I'm assuming it's full. I've always done traditional dining and enjoyed meeting new people and having a set time, same table, and the same wait staff and what not.

 

Is there a chance that once aboard the ship we could possibly slide into a traditional dining slot? or are those chances slim to none? Also, for my time dining, are you seated in different sections every night with different staff? What are your experiences with MTD?

 

My girlfriend and I have discussed it a bit, and honestly we are a bit torn. We like the idea of an early dinner (6:30), but at the same time we definitely would enjoy soaking in the last bit of sunshine at 5:30 on the pool deck on some days, rather than going to get ready for dinner. So in that regard, MTD seems appealing. So we are a bit torn as to what to do...

 

We had MTD and made no reservations on Oasis. We've eaten at restaurants with other people at the table but after having a bizarre group sit with us on the Disney Fantasy decided that was not for us anymore. When we decided to eat we simply went and our longest wait for a table was about 5 minutes. We got to watch sunsets (which we missed on the Fantasy because of the dinner times) and we did not miss any shows that we had scheduled. Dinner typically took about 45 minutes to finish from the time we arrived, but we usually don't bother with dessert.

[Sitzmark]

Did you ask to be seated by yourselves upon arriving at the dining room? That's another thing I don't understand about MTD. Do you have to set your time every day? Or do you make your reservations on the first day for the entire week?

 

it's just like any restaurant experience, you walk up, they take your name, and a moment later walk you to a table.

[Illmaxict]

it's just like any restaurant experience, you walk up, they take your name, and a moment later walk you to a table.

 

thank you, and if I wanted I could reserve a time earlier in the day or the day before?

[Sitzmark]

thank you, and if I wanted I could reserve a time earlier in the day or the day before?

 

Yes, or before you get onboard, but we figured we didn't think we'd know in advance when we'd want to eat. When you arrive (at least on Oasis) there were two queue lines, left for those with reservations, right for those without. Neither line ever had more than a few people in it when we were there.

[Moonarino]

After being locked into traditional dining for my first 2-3 cruises but then experiencing the flexibility of MTD, I've never looked back. One thing I hate when I'm on vacation is being excessively obligated, so MTD suits me wonderfully.

 

I've never tried (specifically) to get the same wait staff every night on MTD, although I have asked (successfully) to not get assigned to a less-than-satisfactory table again (didn't like the waiter, too exposed to traffic, whatever). Unless I get an exceptionally likable wait staff and location, I appreciate the variation from night to night and getting to know more of the crew.

 

Most of the time when we ask for a window table or in some other certain area, we're accommodated. We may have to wait a little longer, but after the first night or two we've figured out when is the best (or worst time) to get a table.

 

The Big Thing for me is being able to go to dinner (generally) when I feel like it, rather when I must. If I ever got forced into a fixed dining schedule again, I'd probably experience something close to an anxiety attack.

 

A coupla times I've had to wait till check-in to be confirmed for MTD, so I think it's imperative to go for dining preference right up front at the check-in counter.

[Moonarino]

... Do you have to set your time every day?

 

To be 100% clear on that specific question: No, you can eat whenever you want from one day to the next. That's been true for every ship I've been on. You can be as flexible as you want for the entire cruise.

[goneclear]

Since Royal Caribbean introduced MTD we have used it exclusively with no regrets. We love the flexibility. We enjoy a couple pre dinner drinks in various lounges and don't like to have to keep checking on the time for when we have to go to dinner.

Occasionally the pre dinner drinks go on longer than usual and then we just get pizza or room service.

We are on vacation so time is never an issue.

[melski]

Did you ask to be seated by yourselves upon arriving at the dining room? That's another thing I don't understand about MTD. Do you have to set your time every day? Or do you make your reservations on the first day for the entire week?

 

If you want a set time every night, then you can go online and make reservations about 45 days out. If you don't want a set time, then you can walk in, make a reservation that day or on day 1 for the week. However it's like any restaurant, if they are booked you may not get the time you want or you may have to wait for a table to open. We didn't like how early the first seating was on Liberty (5:30) so we made reservations at 6:15 every night. We had the same table and wait staff. However, we changed our minds on 2 nights about eating in the MDR due to shows and wanting to eat a Chops. I liked that I could easily cancel my reservation that morning and give someone else my table rather than it going empty.

 

They had 2 lines, one for reservations and one without reservations. The only time I saw any line was at 7:30 the first night.

[MR_BUTCHIE]

How does MTD work out for a group of 10

[Sitzmark]

How does MTD work out for a group of 10

 

There were several large tables, so while I don't have first hand experience I presume it was similar. I suspect that without a reservation a larger group might have a slightly longer wait if they had to clear a large table or put some small tables together.

[Tonda]

We have had My Time Dining twice and both times were able to get the same table/team each night and around the same time as well. We waited to see if we liked the original team and when we did, we kept asking for their table.....it is easy to get a specific table/team when you are going at the beginning of the dinner time (6pm) as they have not already been sat.

[cb at sea]

Part of the OP's thing was having tablemates...and you won't get that in MTD...so go to the DR when you board, and request the change. If you can get on the waitlist for traditional now, do it!

 

We, too, prefer tablemates!

[Moonarino]

Using MTD, we've conversed with some very nice dinner mates while seated at a table for 2. But being at a table for 2 we could also more conveniently ignore the not-so-nice "mates". :)

[hancock]

Have slipped through the cracks in MTD twice, once on the Vision of the Seas & once on the Summit. Ended up waiting 2 hours each time. On the VOTS, the pager was broken.. On the Summit, we were seated in the cocktail lounge. Person paging us walked right by my husband because I had gone to the little girls room.By the time we were finally seated, I was absolutely fuming!