My Time Dining vs. Traditional - Need Help!

[Sun Lover]

We've been on 4 previous cruises and have always had the traditional dining. For our upcoming cruise in February we just found out they changed the earlier traditional dining time to 5:30, which is a little earlier than we would like. The RCI reservationist suggested the My Time Dining and said we could just show up between 6 and 9 and it would only be a 3-5 min. wait for a table. I'd like to get input from people who have done this and if it's true it will always be that short of a wait each night and also the pros and cons of each type of dining. Thanks for your help.

[RobinCruiser]

I've only done the MTD once and it was on our March sailing on AOS but it was fabulous! We met a server in the WJ who was amazing - super attentive, really great and he mentioned that he noticed we were doing MTD dining. He said if we were happy with him, we should make a reservation and ask to be seated in his section. So we went to the dining room and made a reservation for that evening. The attendant asked if we wanted the same time/same table all week. We said yes, sure. And so we never had a wait really at any time since we had a reservation and we had the same wait staff all week, just like with regular dining. It was great and we're doing it again on our next sailing.

Edited December 23, 2016 by RobinCruiser

[davekathy]

We've been on 4 previous cruises and have always had the traditional dining. For our upcoming cruise in February we just found out they changed the earlier traditional dining time to 5:30, which is a little earlier than we would like. The RCI reservationist suggested the My Time Dining and said we could just show up between 6 and 9 and it would only be a 3-5 min. wait for a table. I'd like to get input from people who have done this and if it's true it will always be that short of a wait each night and also the pros and cons of each type of dining. Thanks for your help.

 

You can always go into your Cruise Planner and book the time you prefer for each evening for MTD. It's easy to do.

[Sun Lover]

Unfortunately, if I had known, I would have done that months ago. Now it's only 8 weeks out and I just checked and every single dining time is either 5:30 or 8 p.m. and later. If we just show up without a reservation between 6:30 - 7:00, do you know typically if it would be a long wait for a table?

You can always go into your Cruise Planner and book the time you prefer for each evening for MTD. It's easy to do.

 

 

I should add that we'll be on Allure.

Edited December 23, 2016 by Sun Lover

[cb at sea]

We prefer traditional dining..because we enjoy having tablemates! you are unlikely to get tablemates with MTD. What you choose depends on your likes!

[davekathy]

Unfortunately, if I had known, I would have done that months ago. Now it's only 8 weeks out and I just checked and every single dining time is either 5:30 or 8 p.m. and later. If we just show up without a reservation between 6:30 - 7:00, do you know typically if it would be a long wait for a table?

I should add that we'll be on Allure.

 

Bummer. Show up early for the dining time you like and hope for the best each evening. Enjoy your Cruise. BTW I grew up in the Mohawk Valley.

[Sjb0704]

We love My Time Dining...we did not have to wait to be seated on our cruise this past July. Each day we would call the reservation line and reserve a table with the same waiter each night. We were able to choose 6pm each night.

[Clarea]

We've been on 4 previous cruises and have always had the traditional dining. For our upcoming cruise in February we just found out they changed the earlier traditional dining time to 5:30, which is a little earlier than we would like. The RCI reservationist suggested the My Time Dining and said we could just show up between 6 and 9 and it would only be a 3-5 min. wait for a table. I'd like to get input from people who have done this and if it's true it will always be that short of a wait each night and also the pros and cons of each type of dining. Thanks for your help.

The wait time will vary by cruise, but our wait was 5-10 min on our recent Brilliance cruise.

[packercruising]

One of my favorite topics, food. :) MTD beats traditional hands down! Make a reservation for whatever time you want or just show up. If you like your servers/table, request them again. As for meeting other people, your opportunities are the same as with traditional, without the obligations.

 

When are you sailing? We are on the Allure Feb 19.

[generalchadwick]

We've been on 4 previous cruises and have always had the traditional dining. For our upcoming cruise in February we just found out they changed the earlier traditional dining time to 5:30, which is a little earlier than we would like. The RCI reservationist suggested the My Time Dining and said we could just show up between 6 and 9 and it would only be a 3-5 min. wait for a table. I'd like to get input from people who have done this and if it's true it will always be that short of a wait each night and also the pros and cons of each type of dining. Thanks for your help.

Need more info. How many in your party? What ship?

 

If it's just 2 of you I would highly recommend MTD. It worked great for DW and I on Oasis last month. I made a reservations for a few of the nights before the cruise. We went 2 nights without reservations and waited 4 mins once and maybe 8 mins the busy night.

 

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[Sun Lover]

We'll be on it the week before you, Feb. 12 - 19.

[Sun Lover]

Need more info. How many in your party? What ship?

 

If it's just 2 of you I would highly recommend MTD. It worked great for DW and I on Oasis last month. I made a reservations for a few of the nights before the cruise. We went 2 nights without reservations and waited 4 mins once and maybe 8 mins the busy night.

 

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We'll be on Allure. There's just two of us but we were hoping to maybe be seated at a larger table so we could meet other people to talk with at dinner. But if we were crunched for time, it would probably be faster to ask for a table for 2. Did you request a certain waiter or section of the dining room? Thanks

[mets07]

Just off Navigator. Had MTD. No reservations. Seated immediately other than formal night when we waited all of 10 minutes. They try to sit you with same wait staff every night but if you prefer otherwise just say so. Enjoy.

 

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[Sun Lover]

That sounds great. What time did you usually go to dinner?

[mets07]

Ranged between approximately 6:20 and 7:30. First two nights we did not eat in MDR.

 

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[Coralc]

They seem to change to an earlier fixed dining time during the winter months. I think it is because it gets dark earlier. MTD is a great option, because you can dine when you wish.

Edited December 23, 2016 by Coralc

[KeywestK]

We'll be on Allure. There's just two of us but we were hoping to maybe be seated at a larger table so we could meet other people to talk with at dinner. But if we were crunched for time, it would probably be faster to ask for a table for 2. Did you request a certain waiter or section of the dining room? Thanks

 

We had MTD recently on Allure, and made the reservations the day we boarded this ship. We were able to get 6:45 for the entire week, and that was great for us. The line for people who did not have reservations was very long most evenings, but, in all fairness, I was informed that the lines moved quickly. We liked our serving staff the first night, and requested that section for the entire week. Most nights, it did work out that way.

[eleang]

We have done MTD and felt it was a good experience, we not always had reservations but never had to wait to long, maybe 5 or 10 min sometimes. What you loose: you might not have the same waiters and table every night.

 

 

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[davy jones]

We do MTD and reserve a 6:30 table for 2 every evening before sailing. You usually (but not guaranteed) get the same table and wait staff each night. It becomes kind of the best of both. You can also change your reservation for a specific evening onboard to accommodate your schedule.

[davekathy]

...What you loose: you might not have the same waiters and table every night. Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

And sometimes that's a good thing.

[Desert Cruizers]

Our last cruise, we did MTD with two other couples we knew so even though I was able to book our table through the Planner, I had to wait until our first night to let them know we had two other couples. We were accommodated and had the same table and wait staff throughout the cruise. Each evening, walked in at our assigned time. If it is just my husband & I then we prefer to be at a table of 6 to 8.

[negc]

We prefer traditional dining..because we enjoy having tablemates! you are unlikely to get tablemates with MTD. What you choose depends on your likes!

 

If you are cruising with friends who also have MTD you can definitely have tablemates and if you make friends onboard you can always invite them to dine with you if they have mtd. No need to confine yourself to the two traditional dining times, especially if one is too early or too late. We were skeptical of MTD when it was first introduced due to a less than auspicious experience with Princess, but gave it a try and have been going with MTD ever since. When we took traditional dining we usually had excellent tablemates but on occasion we had tablemates who were definitely less satisfactory and in some instances we actually had to ask to be moved to another table. RCI usually did a good job of assigning compatible guests to a table but once in a while they were unsuccessful. I can think of at least one frequent advocate of traditional dining with whom I would not want to share a table.;)

[packercruising]

We have done MTD and felt it was a good experience, we not always had reservations but never had to wait to long, maybe 5 or 10 min sometimes. What you loose: you might not have the same waiters and table every night.

 

 

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We have never had a problem requesting the same wait staff, if we wanted, and most of the time could get the same table, if requested with our reservation.:rolleyes:

[generalchadwick]

We'll be on Allure. There's just two of us but we were hoping to maybe be seated at a larger table so we could meet other people to talk with at dinner. But if we were crunched for time, it would probably be faster to ask for a table for 2. Did you request a certain waiter or section of the dining room? Thanks

We were just open to whatever they gave us.

 

I doubt with MTD you will be sat at a big table with other people. However I think you will like how we were sat. It was 4 - 2 top tables next to each other where one side was a booth and the other a chair. (See cured drawing.) The tables were just far enough apart to squeeze between. So you had a couple sitting next to us we could converse with but we weren't a slave to their eating pace as you would if we were all at one big table.

 

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[packercruising]

Exactly right and why we prefer MTD. :)