How to decide what time to eat

[rjsretired]

We are going on the Allure for the first time during the busy Christmas week. Should we sign up for any time dining or get a specific time to dine. Is early dining 5:30?

[champagne123]

Depends on your routine. We are all different. Us: We don't like rushing back from ports, showering and dressing to be on time for an early dinner. We usually eat lunch at 1 or 1:30 and are not really hungry for the early seating either. The early seatings usually have most of the children and we prefer a more relaxed and quieter dinner.

[ARandomTraveler]

The early seatings usually have most of the children and we prefer a more relaxed and quieter dinner.

 

 

That’s a good point. Kids don’t bother me, but I can see how a dining room full of them could be a little less pleasant for some people.

 

We don’t like early dining because our bodies still kind of eat on our own time zone, which is 2-3 hours behind the Caribbean, so 5:30/6:30 is basically still lunch for us.

 

We usually come back from the ports at 4, and eat lunch at the windjammer or on the promenade, then eat dinner at late seating (8:30). It seems like a lot of people like early seating though.

 

 

 

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[cb at sea]

If you do MTD, you can choose the time you want to eat on a daily basis....it can revolve around the shows if you wish. You can either eat at the same time nightly, or just go by your belly and eat when you're hungry....the downside to MTD (IMO) is you won't have tablemates....diners are seated alone with only their own party.

[Tee & Chilli]

We try to keep a similar schedule as if we were home. Between 6:00 - 6:30 works for us and gives us time for the show afterwards.

[Merion_Mom]

We are going on the Allure for the first time during the busy Christmas week. Should we sign up for any time dining or get a specific time to dine. Is early dining 5:30?

Yes, 5:30 on the Allure.

 

https://issuu.com/hochmania/docs/allure_of_the_seas_7-night_eastern_

[dplusd]

We eat at 6:00 at home. But when cruising we eat later, at 8:00 or 8:30 for a couple of reasons. First, we tend to eat more during the day than at home so we get hungry later. Secondly, we really enjoy the ship between 6:00 and 8:00 as it's much less crowded once early dining begins. If we are going to a show, we also prefer it before dinner...not after.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

If you do MTD, you can choose the time you want to eat on a daily basis....it can revolve around the shows if you wish. You can either eat at the same time nightly, or just go by your belly and eat when you're hungry....the downside to MTD (IMO) is you won't have tablemates....diners are seated alone with only their own party.

Has this changed or are you giving out wrong information? When we've done MTD, we've been asked if we want to sit with others.

[champagne123]

Has this changed or are you giving out wrong information? When we've done MTD, we've been asked if we want to sit with others.

No it has not changed. She is notorious for being incorrect.

[Merion_Mom]

Has this changed or are you giving out wrong information? When we've done MTD, we've been asked if we want to sit with others.

 

No it has not changed. She is notorious for being incorrect.

She actively believes that people in MTD do not want to eat with others. Or so she says repeatedly.

[ndabunka]

We generally prefer an earlier dinning time so that we can go to the shows after dinner. When we have eaten late, we realize that we have to go to the shows BEFORE dinner which had become a problem for us in the past. On NCL we did the my time dinning which allowed us to eat as late as 7pm (our normal dinner time) but there were problems getting good seats at the shows as we were always coming in late so we are back to an early dinning for this next cruise.

[bsblindab]

what is the earliest you can eat dinner on MTD

[Merion_Mom]

what is the earliest you can eat dinner on MTD

Which ship? Usually 5:30

[Desert Cruizers]

We generally stay with the normal dining time that we eat at home. Although 5:30 is earlier then normal we can and have done it. 6 Pm seems to be are preferred time an still allows us time to see the shows. Since the daughter & I will be on our first Allure sailings in 2020, I will need to check the show times and book the times we think will be good.

[big al]

For us, we like to dine around 6:30 for MTD...we normally eat around 6:30 anyway, but for us, seeing the early shows instead of 10 pm shows is better..we are both early risers anyway, so staying up till midnight or later due to the shows is rare...we do the same for specialty dining. I coordinate the dining with the shows..TIP: Specialty dining tends to take more time, so IF you want to see the 8:30 or 9 PM show, go to specialty dining that night by 6 or 6:30 pm and tell them you are trying to make the XX show..most of the time they will make an effort to get you out in time to see the show..also, if you have GERD or acid reflux, dining late is a no no, and you should know that...:)

 

Big Al

[yuvraj]

I prefer to mix it up on a 7 day cruise with the odd night in WJ, one or two speciality dinning treats and a few visits to the MDR on days when the menu appeals (doesn't always appeal btw). So for someone like me who doesn't want to stick to a rigid schedule, MTD suits.

 

If you like to eat regularly in the dinning room, share a table with the same guests then early or evening dinning is better IMO. I used to prefer this in the past. The only other consideration then is whether you are an early eater or a later eater. As I have got older, I have found eating late not for me so I have no option but to go for early sitting even if it is too early for me.

[Laurin612]

The nice thing about MTD is that you can either show up whenever you want for dinner OR you can make reservations in advance for whenever you want My husband has severe GERD and he can't eat late or he suffers all night, so we usually try to eat fairly early. (We made reservations for 6:00 for MTD for our upcoming cruise.) On previous Royal (and Carnival) cruises we have done MTD (or the Carnival equivalent) without reservations and have never had to wait more than a few minutes, but that is probably because we always eat before 6:30. If you like to eat between 6:30 and 8:00, that seems to be the busiest time.

[griffy116]

On our Med cruises, we chose late dining because of coming back to the ship later. By the time dinner was over, we were so pooped, we pretty much went straight to bed to get some sleep before starting another very early day. On our upcoming cruise we started out with MTD at 6, but waitlisted for the early traditional seating at 5:30. We were notified that we now have the Traditional Early dining. While we would prefer 6 or 6:30, we are usually back on the ship in the Caribbean in enough time to clean up and get to dinner early, then we can change clothes, scatter out and everyone gets to do what they enjoy in the evenings. If we do late dining, a few of us will have broken down and gone to get something to eat around 6 and we aren't hungry by dinner. We get together at dinner and discuss what everyone's plans are for the next day, what we did during the day and head out to each enjoy our night. No confusion on what time we are having dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday, etc.

[rncruiser]

I’ve had varying experiences with MTD. Several times we have asked to be seated with others and still ended up at a table by ourselves as no one else wanted to be seated with others. One night we even waited 45 mins and there was still no one to sit with us. We have pretty much given up on MTD unless we are traveling with friends.

 

 

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[alfaeric]

No it has not changed. She is notorious for being incorrect.

 

She actively believes that people in MTD do not want to eat with others. Or so she says repeatedly.

 

For once, that is true. We never want to sit with anyone else, and making reservations for MTD makes sure that we only have a table for 2. MTD is pretty much the only area where you can easily find a table for 2.

[champagne123]

For once, that is true. We never want to sit with anyone else, and making reservations for MTD makes sure that we only have a table for 2. MTD is pretty much the only area where you can easily find a table for 2.

This is what she states:

 

...the downside to MTD (IMO) is you won't have tablemates....diners are seated alone with only their own party.

 

 

This is not true. When approaching the podium at busy times, we have been asked if we wanted to sit with others or wait for a two top.

[Merion_Mom]

For once, that is true. We never want to sit with anyone else, and making reservations for MTD makes sure that we only have a table for 2. MTD is pretty much the only area where you can easily find a table for 2.

 

 

 

Of course it is true for some. But hardly for all. [emoji4]

 

 

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[alfaeric]

This is what she states:

 

...the downside to MTD (IMO) is you won't have tablemates....diners are seated alone with only their own party.

 

 

This is not true. When approaching the podium at busy times, we have been asked if we wanted to sit with others or wait for a two top.

 

Of course it is true for some. But hardly for all. [emoji4]

 

 

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My point is that the statement wasn't as wrong as 99% of other posts that is made by that poster.

 

When we go to eat, we see far more tables of 4 with one family than tables of 10 that slowly fill. And HUGE numbers of tables for 2 that you never see in the traditional areas. So it's far more likely to dine on your own for MTD than anywhere else.

[mcatmcat]

No my time

830pm for us

We did Europe once and it was 9pm [emoji1305][emoji1]

 

 

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