Forgot to book dining time

[CreamsicleCatMom]

I forgot to book the dining time. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. The only time left was late 8pm. I checked the wait list for My Time. The ship is the Miracle. 
 

I heard people say go to the dining room when you are on board and ask if you can change dining times. When do you do this? When you first get on? Do you still go in if the dining room is closed ? 
 

Thanks for any advice. I’m so sad. We just are not late people so if 8pm is our only option we just won’t be eating in the MDR. We really enjoyed the MDR our last trip with My time. 

[MisterOJ2]

25 minutes ago, CreamsicleCatMom said:

I forgot to book the dining time. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. The only time left was late 8pm. I checked the wait list for My Time. The ship is the Miracle. 
 

I heard people say go to the dining room when you are on board and ask if you can change dining times. When do you do this? When you first get on? Do you still go in if the dining room is closed ? 
 

Thanks for any advice. I’m so sad. We just are not late people so if 8pm is our only option we just won’t be eating in the MDR. We really enjoyed the MDR our last trip with My time. 

 

I did the same thing on my cruise last month. I booked it a year and a half in advance, then forgot to choose the dining time and had to pick late dining when I did my online check-in.

 

BUT... I was able to get it switched to My Time once I got on board. Just go to the MDR after you've done your muster drill. There will be someone there taking care of requests and ask to be switched. They might not be able to give you what you want, but I've done it twice before and got it changed. Good luck!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

"Your Time 5:30-9:00

 Edit Dining

 

does this mean I have "my time dining"?

Do I get to make a reservation for a certain time, say 6 pm or 6:20 pm, like we do on Princess and RCI through the app?  How does it work on Carnival? We'll be on the Horizon.

Edited January 16 by Itchy&Scratchy

[nwo4life]

29 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

"Your Time 5:30-9:00

 Edit Dining

 

does this mean I have "my time dining"?

Do I get to make a reservation for a certain time, say 6 pm or 6:20 pm, like we do on Princess and RCI through the app?  How does it work on Carnival? We'll be on the Horizon.

Request a table on the app when you are ready to eat.

[dabomb6608]

I can't speak for how well it works on smaller ships but on the Mardi Gras we did "Your Time Dining" last week and were more than happy with it. The only downside is getting a different waiter/waitress each night. I was a bit nervous about not getting early dining but after this cruise we both agreed that we would do it this way for now on. 

 

We would put in for a table 15 mins before the restaurant opened (5:30p) and would be sent a notification before they even opened saying our table was ready. This did sometimes lead to a little bit of a confused group of people in line at the entrance before they opened but once they start seating people it moved quickly. Maybe that is just growing pains with the whole system and notification timing. 

 

I don't know about the Miracle, but for us on the Mardi Gras this dining was perfect. We actually only ate in the MDR 3 nights of 7. Due to the other choices available onboard. (Steakhouse, Pigs & Anchor and the Italian restaurant.) 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

6 minutes ago, dabomb6608 said:

We actually only ate in the MDR 3 nights of 7. Due to the other choices available onboard. (Steakhouse, Pigs & Anchor and the Italian restaurant.) 

are these complimentary?

[jsglow]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

are these complimentary?

No. All are either set 'up charge', or in the case of P&A, a' la carte pricing.

[dabomb6608]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

are these complimentary?

Complimentary'ish

 

P&A has free items. My wife ate from that list and I chose the $12 Prime Rib. 

 

Steakhouse as always is an upcharge. Currently priced at $48 per person.

 

The Italian restaurant (Cucina Del Capitano) I thought was free the first time and $8 per person the other time...however looking at my statement I was not charged for our second time eating dinner there. I can confidently say the first time is free, but the second time I can't confidently say if they were supposed to charge or not. 

[theckenlady]

It doesn't hurt to grease the palm of the person you are trying to talk into changing your dining time. We passed a $10 and within 5 min it was changed from late to anytime dining. 

[dabomb6608]

28 minutes ago, theckenlady said:

It doesn't hurt to grease the palm of the person you are trying to talk into changing your dining time. We passed a $10 and within 5 min it was changed from late to anytime dining. 

I can't imagine why that would need any kind of monetary persuasion. If anything that would be the easiest kind of dining arrangement to get changed into.

[staceyglow]

28 minutes ago, dabomb6608 said:

I can't imagine why that would need any kind of monetary persuasion. If anything that would be the easiest kind of dining arrangement to get changed into.

I agree.  I have never heard that bribes were necessary.

[jerseygirlinAZ]

So glad you posted this!  Just went to check on a cruise my husband booked and found that only 8:15 p.m. is open.  I didn't realize he hadn't made a selection at the time he reserved the cruise.  Hopefully we can make a change on board (cruise is in June) because 1. we have an 8-year old and 2. we are cruising with my parents and I am certain that they have already booked early dining. 

 

If not, we'll deal.  🙂

[bg2310]

7 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

are these complimentary?

 

5 hours ago, jsglow said:

No. All are either set 'up charge', or in the case of P&A, a' la carte pricing.

 

5 hours ago, dabomb6608 said:

Complimentary'ish

 

P&A has free items. My wife ate from that list and I chose the $12 Prime Rib. 

 

Steakhouse as always is an upcharge. Currently priced at $48 per person.

 

The Italian restaurant (Cucina Del Capitano) I thought was free the first time and $8 per person the other time...however looking at my statement I was not charged for our second time eating dinner there. I can confidently say the first time is free, but the second time I can't confidently say if they were supposed to charge or not. 

True, the P&A has a mix of complimentary and upcharge items. The Steakhouse has gone up to $49 though, a whole $1!

 

As for Cucina (Italian), from what I read I believe for dinner anyway there will now be a $8 charge per person after the first person on the Mardi Gras and Celebration. It will be free for the first visit (only the first 2 people) on Jubliee, with a $8 charge per person for every visit thereafter.

 

The Mardi Gras and Celebration originally had the same policy, but was recently changed with only the Jubilee retaining the original one for at least its inaugural year of sailing (so through the end of 2024).

 

OT: Indeed just go to the MDR once onboard and after muster and request to be changed over if it'savailable.

 

Or, perhaps try to get on the wait list for YTD on the website if it's an option.

Edited January 17 by bg2310

[MisterOJ2]

10 hours ago, jerseygirlinAZ said:

So glad you posted this!  Just went to check on a cruise my husband booked and found that only 8:15 p.m. is open.  I didn't realize he hadn't made a selection at the time he reserved the cruise.  Hopefully we can make a change on board (cruise is in June) because 1. we have an 8-year old and 2. we are cruising with my parents and I am certain that they have already booked early dining. 

 

If not, we'll deal.  🙂

 

If your parents already have early dining reserved, you can probably get switched to that now. Just call and have them link the reservations.

[bigdog1958]

12 hours ago, dabomb6608 said:

I can't imagine why that would need any kind of monetary persuasion. If anything that would be the easiest kind of dining arrangement to get changed into.

Because its full. If they just keep letting people go to your time, then the wait time for a table becomes an hour versus 10 to 20 min. how is that right that the people who chose this option when booking now have to wait a longer time. They mark it sold out so people dont wait too long for tables.

[dabomb6608]

6 minutes ago, bigdog1958 said:

Because its full. If they just keep letting people go to your time, then the wait time for a table becomes an hour versus 10 to 20 min. how is that right that the people who chose this option when booking now have to wait a longer time. They mark it sold out so people dont wait too long for tables.

 

That is an accepted consequence of choosing Anytime/Your Time Dining. It is "first come, first serve" and as such can result in a wait time during peak times. Obviously there comes a point where it would be an "over-booked" dining choice but I don't think it has reached that point as an option. Early Dining is almost always sold out first.

[shof515]

49 minutes ago, bigdog1958 said:

Because its full. If they just keep letting people go to your time, then the wait time for a table becomes an hour versus 10 to 20 min. how is that right that the people who chose this option when booking now have to wait a longer time. They mark it sold out so people dont wait too long for tables.

 

i always hate it  when the hub app says the wait time is only like 10 minutes and then when i make the reservation the wait time never changes. eventfully after 30-45 minutes i get the alert the table is ready to proceed to the mdr 

[PaulieG13]

15 hours ago, bg2310 said:

 

 

As for Cucina (Italian), from what I read I believe for dinner anyway there will now be a $8 charge per person after the first person on the Mardi Gras and Celebration. It will be free for the first visit (only the first 2 people) on Jubliee, with a $8 charge per person for every visit thereafter.

 

The Mardi Gras and Celebration originally had the same policy, but was recently changed with only the Jubilee retaining the original one for at least its inaugural year of sailing (so through the end of 2024).

 

 

Not sure what you are trying to say above with the statement about "after the first person" and "(only the first two people)". Maybe you meant to say "after the first meal"?

 

Directly from Carnival website:  "Great news: on Carnival Celebration and Mardi Gras, your first meal at Cucina del Capitano is on the house… and additional visits are just $8! Extra-great news: on Carnival Jubilee, they’re all free!"

 

We were on Mardi Gras last May and everyone was able to eat at cucina once for free and $8 each time after the first free meal.

 

Looks like Jubilee is free for multiple visits by all passengers (similar to the first year on Mardi Gras).

[bg2310]

3 hours ago, PaulieG13 said:

Not sure what you are trying to say above with the statement about "after the first person" and "(only the first two people)". Maybe you meant to say "after the first meal"?

 

Directly from Carnival website:  "Great news: on Carnival Celebration and Mardi Gras, your first meal at Cucina del Capitano is on the house… and additional visits are just $8! Extra-great news: on Carnival Jubilee, they’re all free!"

 

We were on Mardi Gras last May and everyone was able to eat at cucina once for free and $8 each time after the first free meal.

 

Looks like Jubilee is free for multiple visits by all passengers (similar to the first year on Mardi Gras).

I meant the first meal. The website would not allow me to edit after a certain time had passed, so I cannot fix or edit my post.

 

I was not aware that for the Jubilee it would be free for multiple visits, at least for its first year. Thanks for the info and clarification!

[jsglow]

And just for clarification, Cucina is only complimentary on the 3 Excel Class ships. Everywhere else it's something like $24pp. (Don't quote me; just went up from $18.)

[bigdog1958]

23 hours ago, dabomb6608 said:

 

That is an accepted consequence of choosing Anytime/Your Time Dining. It is "first come, first serve" and as such can result in a wait time during peak times. Obviously there comes a point where it would be an "over-booked" dining choice but I don't think it has reached that point as an option. Early Dining is almost always sold out first.

Then why is it marked sold out for the poster and on many other cruises. If its accepted to wait any length of time, carnival would not list it as sold out. They do it, so the waiting time is acceptable to most.