My time dining question

[alpha0meqa]

Hello all,

 

Forgive my stupidity. I've only cruised on Carnival Cruises in the past. When previously doing My time dining, I just showed up whenever. At the "free" restaurants on board. According to this e-mail I got.

"Thanks for signing up for My Time Dining, the flexible and easy way to plan your dinner schedule throughout your cruise. Make sure you log on and select your dinner time for every night of the cruise."

So....I don't actually have my time, I have to select it ahead of time???

[taglovestocruise]

You can do whatever. Just show up anytime you like, reserve a time for each day, ask to have the same table or waiter all week. Usually less than a 10 minute wait for a table for two. If you must eat at the 6:30 or 8 pm time slot with a table for two you may have a slightly longer wait time without reservations. happy cruising

[BekkaW]

My time really just means you can eat at a time other than the 2 traditional times. It doesn't fundamentally mean just turn up whenever you like.

 

It's like a land restaurant, you can just turn up but you will wait if it's busy. If eating at a specific time is important to you then you should reserve.

[alpha0meqa]

Okay, that makes sense. What time is the alternative then? What time can't I show up at? Is it 6:30 or 8 as @taglovestocruise mentioned?

[DonnaK]

Okay, that makes sense. What time is the alternative then? What time can't I show up at? Is it 6:30 or 8 as @taglovestocruise mentioned?

You can show up anytime, or you can make reservations. During prime dining times, which is in the range previously mentioned, the demand on the MTD dining room is greater, so the chance that you'll have a longer wait increases.

 

Note that on Anthem, the space allotted for MTD is very small, so the demand is very high at prime dining times. You are better off making a reservation on Anthem, unless you plan to show up outside the prime times.

[alpha0meqa]

What's the liklihood of the pay restaurants being really packed every single night? Would you recommend making a reservation now vs while on the boat?

[Clarea]

What's the liklihood of the pay restaurants being really packed every single night? Would you recommend making a reservation now vs while on the boat?

We've always been able to make reservations for pay restaurants on board. You may not get your first choice, but if you are flexible, you should be OK.

[Bruin Steve]

I've never made advance reservations for dinner...

The reason we do the My Time thing is that our times vary--depends on hours in port, when we return, the evening's entertainment schedule...and when we've finished our pre-dinner drinks in the Diamond Lounge. It usually ends up being somewhere in the 6:30-7:15 range...but we've never had much of a wait for a table (except on Princess--where their "anytime" is poorly managed).

We try to make it a bit easier by being a bit flexible--We tell them that we can eat by ourselves but we would gladly share a table with others...

 

I certainly hope it's not just that we've been lucky in the past as I have made zero dinner reservations for our upcoming back-to-backs!

[alpha0meqa]

Thank you everyone, appreciate all the help. 2 weeks to go :D :D