My Dining Time- do I understand correctly?

[casinitaly]

I think I understand how this works, but want to be sure. First time cruisers, we will be on Jewel of the Seas this summer.

 

If we choose MDT at, say, 7:45, I think this means that there is one section, (maybe the second deck?) of the MDR where we would be booked for the whole cruise, though we may not have the same table or wait staff.

Then, If we want to eat at another restaurant,  we can just cancel the MDR and book the other one.

Or we may  even be able to  book the other ahead of time .

 

Have I got that right?

 

Thank you.

 

 

[Elsie26]

Yes.  We just got off Liberty and had the same table all except one night. That night the previous guests had arrived late, so we were seated at one nearby. We decided not to eat there one night because we wanted to see a 7:15 show, so cancelled it that morning using the app and instead grabbed pizza later that night at Sorrento's.

 

I was kind of surprised how few people did MTD.  The line for those who didn't was much longer so they had a longer wait.  

[kernow]

Yes, we just got off Jewel this morning. They are currently using deck 4 for traditional and deck 5 for My Time.

[Roger88]

They cannot decline to serve you dinner or breakfast if you demand it. You have payed for a full day and it means that the whole thing is covered

[arcticfox209]

Not sure if it helps but you can choose different times for My Time Dining each night, you don’t have to have the same time for every night. I’ve changed mine daily to take into account our excursions that day or leaving a port early/late.

[dplusd]

4 hours ago, Roger88 said:

They cannot decline to serve you dinner or breakfast if you demand it. You have payed for a full day and it means that the whole thing is covered

???  What's that got to do with the OP's question???

[3eaglesfam]

I was on anthem last March and had a different table and waiter every night.  And they seemed disinterested in being there. First time I have ever had that issue.  Previous cruises with MTD were excellent and had the same wait staff each time. 

[1025cruise]

Think of MTD like any old restaurant. Either make a reservation or just show up.

 

[jagsfan]

6 hours ago, Roger88 said:

They cannot decline to serve you dinner or breakfast if you demand it. You have payed for a full day and it means that the whole thing is covered

I don’t understand. Where did OP mention being declined? 

[Lugger11]

I had a mix-up in my booking for Mariner last week, and somehow went from Early Seating, to "My Time". I didn't know this, and had no idea what My Time meant. I just assumed it meant the time I'd booked 8 months ago.

The Maitre'D gave me a hard time and some attitude, but did seat us. Then he kept saying I should come back after dinner to make a reservation for the rest of my trip. "But I did make a reservation" was my response. "Eight months ago, I reserved the early seating." I said. "Your card says My Time," he replied. "Yes, My Time is the early seating, that's what I booked." It went around in circles for a while. No one took the time to explain what "My Time" meant, and I really resented having to stand in ANOTHER lineup to make a reservation.

What he should have done is recognized my confusion and simply put my reservation in then and there for 530 without me having to ask. It was clearly what I wanted. That would be the kind of service I would expect from an experienced person intent on making my cruise awesome.

I did eventually make a reservation, but still resent it.

A cruise is supposed to be a step up. In my other cruises, I've had Maitre'Ds notice that I was a single parent, and sat me with other single parents without me saying a thing, as an example of a step above service.

But if you can't expect initiative from the staff, then understand that one of first things you should do when you get on the ship is go to the MDM and reserve your table, if you have My Time.   

[jagsfan]

1 hour ago, Lugger11 said:

I had a mix-up in my booking for Mariner last week, and somehow went from Early Seating, to "My Time". I didn't know this, and had no idea what My Time meant. I just assumed it meant the time I'd booked 8 months ago.

A cruise is supposed to be a step up. In my other cruises, I've had Maitre'Ds notice that I was a single parent, and sat me with other single parents without me saying a thing, as an example of a step above service.

But if you can't expect initiative from the staff, then understand that one of first things you should do when you get on the ship is go to the MDM and reserve your table, if you have My Time.   

Welcome to Cruise Critic. 

These boards can be a huge help. If you had been a member before the cruise you’d have known what My Time dining is and could have corrected the problem earlier. My Time is flexible dining as opposed to a time and table assignment. 

I’m sorry you had to go through the ordeal of standing in line to make reservations, but I’m sure you realize it wouldn’t be fair to the people who were already in line. 

I hope you enjoy all the knowledge you’ll get in the future from Cruise Critic members. 

[casinitaly]

Thank you everyone for your replies!   I am feeling more comfortable about how to make my choices now. This is great.

 

btw - I wasn't worried about being denied service at any point!  🙂

 

These forums are great!

[mpk]

One of the other lines calls it "Anytime Dining" which is more clear.  But Royal can't use that too, unfortunately.

[2Xtraveler]

I have a question regarding this too. I just tried to reserve "my time dining" online and it looks like the times we were thinking aren't available. Online reservations don't start until 8:15 which will probably mess up our show times we already have reserved. Does anyone know if we can get reservations for main dining room as soon as we board? Thanks for any info.

[taglovestocruise]

2 minutes ago, 2Xtraveler said:

I have a question regarding this too. I just tried to reserve "my time dining" online and it looks like the times we were thinking aren't available. Online reservations don't start until 8:15 which will probably mess up our show times we already have reserved. Does anyone know if we can get reservations for main dining room as soon as we board? Thanks for any info.

Yes. you can also make reservations for the week or if you like you can walk in anytime without reservations. 

[2Xtraveler]

Oh yay! That makes me feel much better! Thank you!

[Giantfan13]

Without a reservation, you might have to wait, maybe 5 minutes, maybe 1/2 an hour, depending on how full the dining room is. People with reservations are usually taken before those that just show up. We have done it both ways, and we usually want to share a table, so we never really have had a long wait, but we see people with those beepers all the time, outside the MDR, waiting for a table. 

 

Cheers

Len

[SG65CB]

If you like to go to the evening shows it can be  easier to use traditional fixed dining instead of My Time Dining. Traditional dining has two seating times, early and late. You have the same table and staff every night. The show schedule is usually set up around these two seatings. There is normally a late show for people who have the first seating and an early show for people who have the second seating.