YTD dining or early dining

[S&LMom]

Suggestions please. I will be on the legend to Bermuda in May from Baltimore. Right now we have early dining 6pm. My issue is we leave port at 5 pm and I want to be on the top deck when we go under the bay bridge about 7 pm. I thought about changing to YTD dining but I like to have the same wait staff every evening or should I just skip the MDR the first night and eat elsewhere?

[ray98]

You sail away at 5.....what prevents you from making it to dinner 1 hour later?

[skrufy]

1 minute ago, S&LMom said:

Suggestions please. I will be on the legend to Bermuda in May from Baltimore. Right now we have early dining 6pm. My issue is we leave port at 5 pm and I want to be on the top deck when we go under the bay bridge about 7 pm. I thought about changing to YTD dining but I like to have the same wait staff every evening or should I just skip the MDR the first night and eat elsewhere?

YTD, you can request the same wait staff each night. It might at times delay your dining slightly waiting for a table in their area. Use the hub app and schedule each night the time you want to eat.

 

2 minutes ago, ray98 said:

You sail away at 5.....what prevents you from making it to dinner 1 hour later?

Can’t show up late for early dining. That’s a no-no

[csm5986142]

With the new app (used for checking in w/YTD) we have had the same dining staff each night (that was our experience in July (Breeze) and August (Mardi Gras) anyway, not sure if it varies by ship).  

[S&LMom]

6 minutes ago, ray98 said:

You sail away at 5.....what prevents you from making it to dinner 1 hour later?

I will make it to dinner at 6 just don’t think we will be finished in time to see us go under the bridge at 7

[SNJCruisers]

9 hours ago, ray98 said:

You sail away at 5.....what prevents you from making it to dinner 1 hour later?

There are no guarantees that they will be out of dinner by 700 in order to go up on deck to see the ship go under the Bay bridge.

[RWolver672]

We had early seating on the Paradise out of Tampa.  We just went topside until we got past the bridge, then went to the buffet for the first night.  

[kapcruiser]

On 11/4/2021 at 7:35 PM, csm5986142 said:

With the new app (used for checking in w/YTD) we have had the same dining staff each night (that was our experience in July (Breeze) and August (Mardi Gras) anyway, not sure if it varies by ship).  

Was there a place on the app to request the same staff by listing their names?

[knagl]

We have always done YTD, and once we've found a server/team we like we just ask to be seated in their section for the remainder of the cruise. We've always been accommodated, and as skrufy said above, it might just mean a small additional wait.

[IntrepidFromDC]

One night of Lido food won't cause scurvy.  You can eat the MDR slop the rest of the cruise, just like we did on Potemkin.  😁 🏴‍☠️

[Can'tWait2SetSail]

We always do YTD. We are not always hungry at the same time every night. As others have said, you can request the same servers, if you like them. With assigned seating what if you do not like your servers??

[crewsweeper]

And if you are still going through dinner just before 7P (most likely waiting for dessert),  just tell your waitstaff you'll be right back.  Head up topside and watch the ship go under the bridge.  Then pop back down and finish your meal.

 

But seriously if you can switch to YTD once on board, look to do so when they open up the dining reservations around 1P.  Might work out better all the way around. And if not allowed to move on 1st night, nothing wrong with the Lido.  Most of the  MDR menu is served there anyway.

 

 

[pinklucky61]

If you want to keep early dining, just skip it first night. But can stop by and tell maitre'd out of courtesy for the wait staff.  It's not unusual to see lots of empty tables first night.

[S&LMom]

On 11/12/2021 at 2:12 PM, crewsweeper said:

And if you are still going through dinner just before 7P (most likely waiting for dessert),  just tell your waitstaff you'll be right back.  Head up topside and watch the ship go under the bridge.  Then pop back down and finish your meal.

 

But seriously if you can switch to YTD once on board, look to do so when they open up the dining reservations around 1P.  Might work out better all the way around. And if not allowed to move on 1st night, nothing wrong with the Lido.  Most of the  MDR menu is served there anyway.

 

 

I thought about running up there real quick. Just didn’t want to seem rude. 

[mexicobob]

8 hours ago, S&LMom said:

I thought about running up there real quick. Just didn’t want to seem rude. 

It would not 'seem' to be rude. It would be rude and unacceptable. What if everyone chose to leave the dining room between courses to do something?

[CruisingAgain]

On the Horizon last week we had the same wait staff each night. We did not ask for them and I don't know if they always do that.  There is no place on the reservations app to request certain servers.  I don't know if the people saying they requested servers were doing that BEFORE you had to do the reservation on the app.  Or if they were assigned a table and then went to the dining room to request a change.

[crewsweeper]

10 hours ago, mexicobob said:

It would not 'seem' to be rude. It would be rude and unacceptable. What if everyone chose to leave the dining room between courses to do something?

People get up and leave and come back all the time.  You aren't chained to the chair.  A simple" Excuse me. I'll be right back" takes care of any rudeness.  Just don't be gone for 1/2 hour.

[Joebucks]

On paper, why would you choose anything other than YTD? In reality, I hate it. There is almost always a line. Sometimes it's not so bad. Sometimes is very annoying. Part of the experience of the MDR is having the same staff, especially when you bond well with them. I get it you can request the same people in YTD, but that's another hassle and wait. There is NOTHING convenient on waiting 30 minutes for something easily avoided. I get the whole "I don't want to be on a schedule". However, by 6 we are almost always showered and ready to go. It's time for me to eat and get on with my night. 

 

There have been plenty of times when we were out in under an hour. Be polite and tell the staff it's important you see it. Skip dessert. Get there as soon as it opens. You'll be fine.

[kapcruiser]

20 hours ago, CruisingAgain said:

On the Horizon last week we had the same wait staff each night. We did not ask for them and I don't know if they always do that.  There is no place on the reservations app to request certain servers.  I don't know if the people saying they requested servers were doing that BEFORE you had to do the reservation on the app.  Or if they were assigned a table and then went to the dining room to request a change.

Which seating did you have? Also is there only one dining room used for a early or late dining?

[naxer]

With YTD, it is possible to have the same wait staff.  Once, with a friend who liked that certain waitstaff, we just took a pager and hung out Alchemy for a little bit. 

[S&LMom]

1 hour ago, kapcruiser said:

Which seating did you have? Also is there only one dining room used for a early or late dining?

I have early dining 6pm. Yes 1 dining room for early, late and anytime dining.

[robc1972]

YTD for the win every time

[S&LMom]

10 hours ago, Joebucks said:

On paper, why would you choose anything other than YTD? In reality, I hate it. There is almost always a line. Sometimes it's not so bad. Sometimes is very annoying. Part of the experience of the MDR is having the same staff, especially when you bond well with them. I get it you can request the same people in YTD, but that's another hassle and wait. There is NOTHING convenient on waiting 30 minutes for something easily avoided. I get the whole "I don't want to be on a schedule". However, by 6 we are almost always showered and ready to go. It's time for me to eat and get on with my night. 

 

There have been plenty of times when we were out in under an hour. Be polite and tell the staff it's important you see it. Skip dessert. Get there as soon as it opens. You'll be fine.

I am hoping we will be done in time. I really want to keep the early dining and not eat buffet for dinner. 

[CruisingAgain]

21 hours ago, kapcruiser said:

Which seating did you have? Also is there only one dining room used for a early or late dining?

We had your time dining and the same wait staff.  If you have early or late seating you always get the same wait staff.