Does my time dining get the same wait staff every night?

[bmarts]

Does anytime dining get the same wait staff every night in the main dining room?

Edited May 19, 2023 by bmarts

[davekathy]

4 minutes ago, bmarts said:

Does anytime dining get the same wait staff every night in the main dining room?

Yes, assigned wait staff for MTD like any other dining venue. If you have the same table each night for MTD then you will have the same wait staff. 

[poocher]

3 sailings with MTD including Harmony last week.  Always the same table & staff.

[mets07]

Not necessarily always.  You can request to be at same table or in same section. It may be available. There is also an effort to sit you in same section. 

 

However, you can also request a different section / waiters if you wish to .... or if the section you sat in previously is full, you might end up elsewhere in the MDR.

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, mets07 said:

Not necessarily always.  You can request to be at same table or in same section. It may be available. There is also an effort to sit you in same section. 

 

However, you can also request a different section / waiters if you wish to .... or if the section you sat in previously is full, you might end up elsewhere in the MDR.

This has been our experience. 

 

Sometimes you want to keep the same table/staff but the idea of MTD is you can have flexibility so the same table/staff may not be available. We usually make a booking for the following night as we leave but this is not necessary. If you regularly eat at the sane time chances are re you can have the same staff, however there have been times when we haven’t enjoyed the location and/or service and we request a change for the following night.

[Donsyb]

We were automatically seated at the same table the first few nights. Then one night they asked us if we wanted to be seated straight away, if so it would be in a different section, or we could wait for our usual table. We aren’t bothered about the same table/ staff so had a different table. They then gave us that table for the rest of the cruise.

[Reina del Mar]

We chose My Time Dining/Anytime dining on Sapphire in March/April. First night in Savoy dining room we sat at a table for two with two fantastic waiters. Spoke to the lady on reception and arranged same table for same time for remainder of cruise. We cancelled a couple of nights after being ashore and went to the buffet..but did give a few hours notice. Suppose it was like Traditional Dining really but suited us. 

[orville99]

3 hours ago, Donsyb said:

We were automatically seated at the same table the first few nights. Then one night they asked us if we wanted to be seated straight away, if so it would be in a different section, or we could wait for our usual table. We aren’t bothered about the same table/ staff so had a different table. They then gave us that table for the rest of the cruise.

We did this once pre-shutdown, and as soon as they seated us in the different section, our original waiter and assistant showed up to take our orders. 😇

[Giantfan13]

We always do MTD and we also always ask to be seated with the same wait staff every night. I don't care where we sit as long as we have the same waiter every night. With a polite request, it usually can be done. Of course, if you do this and you do not like the waiter for some reason, politely ask to be seated in a different section. It is YOUR choice.

 

Cheers

Len

[Jimbo]

I thought with MTD, booking ahead on the cruise planner, your times may be over an hour different on each night reserved, how can you have the same table and same waiter when MTD is set up like that?

 

Not possible is it?

[Traveling Library]

Not necessarily.  On our November and our February cruises we were seated in 3 different stations. We were ok with that. We did ask to be seated with a specific waiter but that was only possible 50% of the time. 

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

I thought with MTD, booking ahead on the cruise planner, your times may be over an hour different on each night reserved, how can you have the same table and same waiter when MTD is set up like that?

 

Not possible is it?

You would need to be flexible. It MAY or MAY NOT be possible. There are no guarantees but you can request on the ship.

 

If you pick random times in advance you will likely get random waiters and locations but that is the flexibility you choose.

Edited May 20, 2023 by c-leg5

[Jimbo]

7 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

You would need to be flexible. It MAY or MAY NOT be possible. There are no guarantees but you can request on the ship.

 

If you pick random times in advance you will likely get random waiters and locations but that is the flexibility you choose.

Not choosing the random times, that is all that seems to be available on our sailing on the cruise planner, rather have 7pm for all nights, but mostly all those  times are booked so only available times are are  all over the place after 8:15pm

 

So far not liking the MTD option, wanted early but it's only wait listed at this time.

Edited May 20, 2023 by Jimbo

[c-leg5]

13 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Not choosing the random times, that is all that seems to be available on our sailing on the cruise planner, rather have 7pm for all nights, but mostly all those  times are booked so only available times are are  all over the place after 8:15pm

 

So far not liking the MTD option, wanted early but it's only wait listed at this time.

 

MTD used to be excellent but as many have reported for whatever reason they seem to have chosen to ruin it. 
 

There were teething problems when it was first introduced many years ago but it had worked well for over 10 years. It is almost as though they have no record of past experience if it weren’t for the fact that people were reporting this change, to not starting MTD until after early dining, even before Covid, which is the fact that is difficult to understand. We were never aware of that but then we never eat that early.
 

We had several sailings on the same ship in 2022 and the first sailing was certainly the worst as far as organization. Our preferred time is 7.30 - 8pm so we are not as affected as some. We pick a time on the first night and if everything goes well set up same time/ same location for subsequent nights at the podium as we leave. If it isn’t to our liking we request a change. If ee pre- book on the planner I consider it more as a placeholder so we know we at least have a reservation, then change it once we board. 
 

Out of courtesy we have always cancelled our MTD reservation in advance if we book A specialty restaurant, or decide in WJ, but last year the coordinators were definitely not interested in knowing, which seemed very strange.

 

I would assume people who actually WANT to dine at different times each night, because of fitting in various activities, probably aren’t so concerned about the actual dining experience with the same wait staff and are more concerned about attending certain activities. 
 

Is this for a Caribbean sailing?

[Jimbo]

45 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

 

MTD used to be excellent but as many have reported for whatever reason they seem to have chosen to ruin it. 
 

There were teething problems when it was first introduced many years ago but it had worked well for over 10 years. It is almost as though they have no record of past experience if it weren’t for the fact that people were reporting this change, to not starting MTD until after early dining, even before Covid, which is the fact that is difficult to understand. We were never aware of that but then we never eat that early.
 

We had several sailings on the same ship in 2022 and the first sailing was certainly the worst as far as organization. Our preferred time is 7.30 - 8pm so we are not as affected as some. We pick a time on the first night and if everything goes well set up same time/ same location for subsequent nights at the podium as we leave. If it isn’t to our liking we request a change. If ee pre- book on the planner I consider it more as a placeholder so we know we at least have a reservation, then change it once we board. 
 

Out of courtesy we have always cancelled our MTD reservation in advance if we book A specialty restaurant, or decide in WJ, but last year the coordinators were definitely not interested in knowing, which seemed very strange.

 

I would assume people who actually WANT to dine at different times each night, because of fitting in various activities, probably aren’t so concerned about the actual dining experience with the same wait staff and are more concerned about attending certain activities. 
 

Is this for a Caribbean sailing?

14 nights,Jewel,Geenland from Bayonne in September

[superduper123]

On 5/18/2023 at 8:02 PM, bmarts said:

Does anytime dining get the same wait staff every night in the main dining room?

In our experience, no. We've done My Time twice so far (once Royal and once Celebrity), and in both cases, we were not at the same table each night, sometimes in a different section. Being new to My Time, we were a bit surprised by this. After we realized this, we did request same table and wait staff going forward each night. But still got shuffled around to other places. 

[Ourusualbeach]

10 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Not choosing the random times, that is all that seems to be available on our sailing on the cruise planner, rather have 7pm for all nights, but mostly all those  times are booked so only available times are are  all over the place after 8:15pm

 

So far not liking the MTD option, wanted early but it's only wait listed at this time.

Are you waitlisted?  Most bookings end up clearing the waitlist prior to sailing.

[Jimbo]

23 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Are you waitlisted?  Most bookings end up clearing the waitlist prior to sailing.

Yes