Flexible eating times?

[loman]

Those two top tables for mytime dining are about a foot apart , lol .

We usually end up chatting with the people next to us .

And its usually the same people each night.

I like mytime  because you dont have to wait for others to get their food before you can start to eat .

[reallyitsmema]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

so does MTD usually have long lines to get in?

 

There can be a long line for MTD, depending on what time you go.  There are usually two lines, one for those with reservations and one for those without.  Some ships just seem to deal with MTD better than other ships.

 

As far as the tables in MTD, you can get tables for two that are not on top of the tables beside you, you just have to ask.  We will not take a table that is by the entrance to the kitchen or squished too close to other tables.  Once we find a table we like and a waitstaff we like, we will stop at the podium on the way out of the dining room and request that table for the rest of the week as we always make reservations for the week.  Each night we then just have to check in at the podium and we always tell them what table we are going to.  

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, Hogbay said:

Traditional for us , no line-up , table ready same server's .Those twin tables are too close for me .Always have a chuckle at the big line up at MTD 🤣

No line up when we do MTD with reservations. Timing and class of ship has a lot to do with it. 

You mean like elbow to elbow on a shared table in TD. 🤣Some of the tables for TD are also close. Whether TD or MTD we always prefer a two top. Arrive and leave when we want. Eat at our own pace. No waiting for others to show up to get started. Boils down to personal preference. Can't go wrong with either. 

Edited April 5, 2021 by davekathy

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

so does MTD usually have long lines to get in?

If you don't have reservations there will be a line. Your wait time will depend on when you show UP. Reservation side moves as fast as the host checks you in. Also I would imagine the class of ship would have a lot to do with it also. 

Edited April 5, 2021 by davekathy

[Ashland]

2 minutes ago, davekathy said:

No line up when we do MTD. Timing.

You mean like elbow to elbow on a shared table in TD. 🤣Some of the tables for TD are also close. Whether TD or MTD we always prefer a two top. Arrive and leave when we want. Eat at our own pace. No waiting for others to show up to get started. Boils down to personal preference. Can't go wrong with either. 

We also do the MTD 2/top and hate that their so close together...We get in line just before the doors open and usually no wait....However we've been lucky many times and they've put just the two of us at a 4/top or the 2/top's along the wall.

[davekathy]

Just now, Ashland said:

We also do the MTD 2/top and hate that their so close together...We get in line just before the doors open and usually no wait....However we've been lucky many times and they've put just the two of us at a 4/top or the 2/top's along the wall.

We've also had some great two tops for MTD. We always scope out a table (location) on boarding day and request the same table each evening since we always have reservations. We've never sailed on any RC ships larger than the Freedom class. 

[Ashland]

3 minutes ago, davekathy said:

We've also had some great two tops for MTD. We always scope out a table (location) on boarding day and request the same table each evening since we always have reservations. We've never sailed on any RC ships larger than the Freedom class. 

We don't do reservations because many nights we prefer the WJ so we don't like to be a no show.

What happens to these good located 2/tops when you don't show up...how long do they hold them?

[davekathy]

17 minutes ago, Ashland said:

We don't do reservations because many nights we prefer the WJ so we don't like to be a no show.

What happens to these good located 2/tops when you don't show up...how long do they hold them?

I asked the host at the entrance once and was told 15 minutes. But that might vary depending on the Maitre D (?).

[Hogbay]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

We've also had some great two tops for MTD. We always scope out a table (location) on boarding day and request the same table each evening since we always have reservations. We've never sailed on any RC ships larger than the Freedom class. 

Have asked about the few good two tops always not available 🙄 seem to always get sided with a extra large person bumping elbows as we try to eat . My wife is 3 feet away on the other side ! Romantic Not. Have had people think they are Maxwell smart in the Cone of Silence .😆 😆😆 

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, Hogbay said:

Have asked about the few good two tops always not available 🙄 seem to always get sided with a extra large person bumping elbows as we try to eat . My wife is 3 feet away on the other side ! Romantic Not. Have had people think they are Maxwell smart in the Cone of Silence .😆 😆😆 

We've had other's interject themselves into our conversation...rude !! 

[Hogbay]

2 hours ago, Ashland said:

We've had other's interject themselves into our conversation...rude !! 

Will report abuse!! 

Respond to others quote....

[AF-1]

12 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

There can be a long line for MTD, depending on what time you go.  There are usually two lines, one for those with reservations and one for those without.  Some ships just seem to deal with MTD better than other ships.

 

As far as the tables in MTD, you can get tables for two that are not on top of the tables beside you, you just have to ask.  We will not take a table that is by the entrance to the kitchen or squished too close to other tables.  Once we find a table we like and a waitstaff we like, we will stop at the podium on the way out of the dining room and request that table for the rest of the week as we always make reservations for the week.  Each night we then just have to check in at the podium and we always tell them what table we are going to.  

Thanks for your tips.  Appreciate it

[AF-1]

15 hours ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

There can be a long line for MTD, depending on what time you go.  There are usually two lines, one for those with reservations and one for those without.  Some ships just seem to deal with MTD better than other ships.

 

As far as the tables in MTD, you can get tables for two that are not on top of the tables beside you, you just have to ask.  We will not take a table that is by the entrance to the kitchen or squished too close to other tables.  Once we find a table we like and a waitstaff we like, we will stop at the podium on the way out of the dining room and request that table for the rest of the week as we always make reservations for the week.  Each night we then just have to check in at the podium and we always tell them what table we are going to.  

Thanks for the response.  I thought my time dining was for people who want to show up when they want to eat.  No reservations; so you dine on your time  But seems like people end up making reservations anyway.  They don't want to stay with the ships assigned eating times; so they adjust it to their liking.  But if they make a reservation for my time dining;;then they are not just showing up to eat

[Ourusualbeach]

47 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Thanks for the response.  I thought my time dining was for people who want to show up when they want to eat.  No reservations; so you dine on your time  But seems like people end up making reservations anyway.  They don't want to stay with the ships assigned eating times; so they adjust it to their liking.  But if they make a reservation for my time dining;;then they are not just showing up to eat

You can also do a mix of times

 

You could make reservations for 3 nights at 7:00, 2 nights for 8:30 (maybe it was a late port stop) and leave a couple nights open and just show up whenever.  It's very flexible

[molly361]

56 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Thanks for the response.  I thought my time dining was for people who want to show up when they want to eat.  No reservations; so you dine on your time  But seems like people end up making reservations anyway.  They don't want to stay with the ships assigned eating times; so they adjust it to their liking.  But if they make a reservation for my time dining;;then they are not just showing up to eat

We tried the MTD when it first came out but like you said we were always eating at basically the same time (early) so we went back to fixed early dining.  We sailed on the Mariner a lot and had a favorite 2 top table NOT that close to any others and had been fortunate enough to reserve it each time we sailed.  Just seemed easier for us. 

[reallyitsmema]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

Thanks for the response.  I thought my time dining was for people who want to show up when they want to eat.  No reservations; so you dine on your time  But seems like people end up making reservations anyway.  They don't want to stay with the ships assigned eating times; so they adjust it to their liking.  But if they make a reservation for my time dining;;then they are not just showing up to eat

 

You can just show up or you can make reservations.  OP is sailing Anthem, which requires reservations for some shows.  Since we know when we will be attending a show, we will know when we need to eat dinner to make that show, so we make MTD reservations.  We can cancel our dinner reservation if we aren't going to the dining room and free up our table, but it is our preference to have reservations.  If you prefer to be totally flexible and not book any reservation, you can do that, but you might have a wait.  My time dining allows people to dine how they want, for us it is with a reservation.

[Ashland]

9 hours ago, Hogbay said:

Will report abuse!! 

Respond to others quote....

[island lady]

On 4/5/2021 at 2:47 PM, davekathy said:

We've never cruised on any ships larger than the Freedom class. I'll have to take your word on that one. Show off! 😛

 

I never paid attention to that either on the Oasis class ships.  We pretty much stuck to CK and the specialty restaurants.  Tried the MDR on those class ships at first...totally unimpressed.  

[island lady]

4 hours ago, AF-1 said:

Thanks for the response.  I thought my time dining was for people who want to show up when they want to eat.  No reservations; so you dine on your time  But seems like people end up making reservations anyway.  They don't want to stay with the ships assigned eating times; so they adjust it to their liking.  But if they make a reservation for my time dining;;then they are not just showing up to eat

 

MTD is really no different than what would be a  popular land based restaurant.  Most of those, you don't need a reservation, but if you choose to go at a popular time, the reservation is highly suggested.  Same thing.  

[AF-1]

Thanks to all who have replied to my statement regarding my time dining.  You have explained the entire process in detail.  Have a great day.