My Time Dining

[Sarah1974]

Sorry for asking a question that's probably been asked lots of times before... I've only had traditional dining with Royal Caribbean so far but for my forthcoming cruise on Anthem I have been allocated My Time Dining.  Do I need to make reservations before I sail or can I do it when I board or each day?  Any advice gratefully received.

 

thanks,
Sarah

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, Sarah1974 said:

Sorry for asking a question that's probably been asked lots of times before... I've only had traditional dining with Royal Caribbean so far but for my forthcoming cruise on Anthem I have been allocated My Time Dining.  Do I need to make reservations before I sail or can I do it when I board or each day?  Any advice gratefully received.

 

thanks,
Sarah

You can, if you wish, for some or all of the days of your cruise. You would do this in the cruise planner by going into the dining tab. Usually, you will have to scroll down to bottom, past the speciality dining option, to get to My Time Dining.

 

Alternatively, you can make reservations on board, although there may not be much availability at that point, or simply turn up when you're ready to eat and join the "no reservations" queue.

 

Lastly, if traditional dining is what you would prefer, you can ask to be wait-listed for it by contacting whoever you booked the cruise with. If it doesn't come through for you beforehand, go and see the maitre d' at the restaurant as soon as you board. They want you to be happy and will do everything possible to make it work for you.

[Sarah1974]

@FionaMG many thanks for your reply 🙂

[Mum2Mercury]

2 hours ago, Sarah1974 said:

Sorry for asking a question that's probably been asked lots of times before... I've only had traditional dining with Royal Caribbean so far but for my forthcoming cruise on Anthem I have been allocated My Time Dining.  Do I need to make reservations before I sail or can I do it when I board or each day?  Any advice gratefully received.

 

thanks,
Sarah

We always go with My Time Dining.  About a year ago we took a last-minute bargain cruise and were forced to take Traditional Dining ... it was okay, but it reminded us why we prefer My Time.  

 

Best practice is to make reservations (in the phone app) as soon as you reserve your cruise ... then change the time, if you want, later.  Most people want the earlier time slots, and they do fill up.  If you arrive a bit early /a bit late for My Time reservations, they'll work with you ... but if you don't have reservations, you'll wait. 

[Sarah1974]

2 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Best practice is to make reservations (in the phone app) as soon as you reserve your cruise ... then change the time, if you want, later.  Most people want the earlier time slots, and they do fill up.  If you arrive a bit early /a bit late for My Time reservations, they'll work with you ... but if you don't have reservations, you'll wait. 

The cruise is at the end of June - is the app open to me now to use?

 

And a non-dining question please if you might know the answer - do I need to make reservations for shows / entertainment?  I haven't cruised with Royal since 2018 and on those ships reservations were not needed

[Biker19]

5 minutes ago, Sarah1974 said:

The cruise is at the end of June - is the app open to me now to use?

Use the planner, not the app for pre-cruise bookings.

The show in 270 (spectra) is the only one that is bookable - you don't need a reservation but you risk not having a seat (venue is kinda small) if you go standby.

Edited April 4 by Biker19

[FionaMG]

1 minute ago, Sarah1974 said:

The cruise is at the end of June - is the app open to me now to use?

 

And a non-dining question please if you might know the answer - do I need to make reservations for shows / entertainment?  I haven't cruised with Royal since 2018 and on those ships reservations were not needed

 

For Anthem, the only show you need to book ahead of time is Spectra's Cabaret and that is because the venue is very small. All other shows on Anthem are first come first served.

 

Entertainment bookings usually open during the first few days of the month prior to the one you are sailing in, so in your case probably in early May. However, I would suggest checking daily from now on, as there have been a few reports of bookings opening up earlier than this (not necessarily for Anthem, though).

 

Again, this is something you do on the cruise planner, in the entertainment tab. When the bookings are open, it will show you the options in terms of days and times.

[Sarah1974]

@Biker19 thanks for the reply and the advice

[Mum2Mercury]

8 minutes ago, Sarah1974 said:

The cruise is at the end of June - is the app open to me now to use?

 

And a non-dining question please if you might know the answer - do I need to make reservations for shows / entertainment?  I haven't cruised with Royal since 2018 and on those ships reservations were not needed

I've made dining reservations more than a year in advance.  

 

Shows and entertainment don't appear as early.  

 

Are show reservations NEEDED?  Maybe, maybe not.  We only cruise in the fall, when crowds are smaller, and we've never been unable to get a seat.  Might not be the same in June.  Reservations are more important for smaller shows (comedy show, for example) and on larger ships.  

[RFerrington]

26 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Use the planner, not the app for pre-cruise bookings.

 

BRAVO !

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Use the planner, not the app for pre-cruise bookings.

 

I've used both the planner and the app to reserve MTD.

[Sarah1974]

Thank you for all the answers.  I have gone onto the website and booked a dining slot for each evening

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 4/4/2024 at 9:46 AM, Mum2Mercury said:

We always go with My Time Dining.  About a year ago we took a last-minute bargain cruise and were forced to take Traditional Dining ... it was okay, but it reminded us why we prefer My Time.  

 

Best practice is to make reservations (in the phone app) as soon as you reserve your cruise ... then change the time, if you want, later.  Most people want the earlier time slots, and they do fill up.  If you arrive a bit early /a bit late for My Time reservations, they'll work with you ... but if you don't have reservations, you'll wait. 

We always take my time. Last October we went on Oasis and found out they changed my time and we couldn’t eat earlier than like 7:30. Next time we will take early