macpiper Posted May 5, 2008 #1 Share Posted May 5, 2008 We are just off the Serenade of the Seas after 14 nights and had the extreme pleasure of choosing My Time dining. The dining experience could hardly have been any better. Nothing but the word ‘yes’ to every one of our requests. Window table any time we asked. Table to share, “My pleasure” from the head waiter. Seating before our reservation, ‘yes’. Seating after our reservation, ‘of course’. Seating overlooking the main dining room floor, ‘yes’. Same servers every night making sure we have everything we could possibly want, ‘of course’ Meet new friends on board and join them for dinner, ‘yes’. Etc., etc. etc.!!! Our head waiter, Ernest, and his assistant, Christine, were the most active, attentive, and accommodating head waiter and assistant we have ever seen on any of our cruises. They did everything that you can possibly think of to make My Time dining a true success! The best part, aside from the flexibility of dining times every night (they take your reservation for the following night as you are enjoying your dessert), is that it allows both those who want traditional dining to choose traditional as well as those who are going to have a different schedule each day the opportunity via My Time to be flexible. It is all about choices and the option of MyTime dining provides that. We had absolutely no downsides at all nor did we meet anyone who did. And as a group the My Time diners were thrilled with their service every night. Can’t say it enough ways that My Time was absolutely fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiserbryce Posted May 5, 2008 #2 Share Posted May 5, 2008 glad it worked out for you...we had the anytime dining thing on Princess and had onkly minor issues with it...when they open it up to a whole ship you end up eating very early or very late in order to avoid crowds and waits...cant imagine this on Genesis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macpiper Posted May 5, 2008 Author #3 Share Posted May 5, 2008 glad it worked out for you...we had the anytime dining thing on Princess and had onkly minor issues with it...when they open it up to a whole ship you end up eating very early or very late in order to avoid crowds and waits...cant imagine this on Genesis Yeah, we had the anytime thing on NCL and really could take it or leave it. We've got friends who also had issues on Princess. That's what makes My Time so great is that it gives you plenty of options including choosing Traditional Seating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvseashells Posted May 5, 2008 #4 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Yes I agree..anytime dining is the best. We also were yessed to anything we wanted and even more. Nothing was never a problem. We also had the pleasure of meeting Ernest and Christine and they were the best. Also we can not forget to mention Yasur...... We had the best dining experience ever!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEIx15x8 Posted May 5, 2008 #5 Share Posted May 5, 2008 So with my time dinning is there a time on the first night or do you just walk in? At the end of the first night could you theoretically just ask for the same everything for the rest of the cruise so that you would still get the same traditional dinning experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macpiper Posted May 5, 2008 Author #6 Share Posted May 5, 2008 So with my time dinning is there a time on the first night or do you just walk in? At the end of the first night could you theoretically just ask for the same everything for the rest of the cruise so that you would still get the same traditional dinning experience? You can either sign up before your cruise for My Time or after you have boarded the ship. They ask for the following nights reservation each night, but if your plans change they are always more than accommodating. Never an option to predesignate through the entire cruise, only one night at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixCruiser Posted May 5, 2008 #7 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Great news!!! Thanks for sharing your experience with us :D ### Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SA Traveler Posted May 5, 2008 #8 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I'm glad to hear this worked out for you. We have friends who have been on 17 Princess cruises and just had their first experience with Anytime dining and they thought it was great - never a wait and had the same wait staff every night. Since we're pretty much RCI exclusive these days I have been anxious to hear good things from their program. I've always thought I wouldn't like it but I'll certainly be willing to give it a try now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coralc Posted May 5, 2008 #9 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Lori & Russ, never did meet you. We met Steve & Leslie. Are you on the DVD? I'm glad you enjoyed mytime dining....I'm sorry we never made introductions. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moeve Posted May 5, 2008 #10 Share Posted May 5, 2008 You obviously got lucky - on the Jewels TA is was a total disaster. According to the reports on another board too. Many folks who wanted tradional dining couldnt get it because of the open dining and then had to wait for long periods of time - some even ended up eating after 9pm because the M'd couldn't get his act together on almost all nights. This open dining thing will probably really only work on ships explicetly built to cater for this option. Trying to use existing facilities especitally on the Radiance class and make it work for ALL passengers will probably be very difficult if not impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyukuk Posted May 5, 2008 #11 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Likewise on the Brilliance TA, it was a total shambles. However, now you have got me worried, RCCL (UK) have just "assured" me that Jewel is not part of the MTD trial. I am on her in June and I do not want a repeat of last months chaos. on BOS.:confused: Luv Cy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakincakes Posted May 5, 2008 #12 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I'm not sure why the OP thinks anything is settled because they had a positive experience?:p Pax still complain about not being able to get traditional seating if they want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isujim Posted May 5, 2008 #13 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I'm not sure why the OP thinks anything is settled because they had a positive experience?:p Pax still complain about not being able to get traditional seating if they want it. Very MIS leading thread title.............trust me......from the info I have from my TA's Regional Rep.........this is far from settled......in fact from what I hear it better pick up........soon.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC2OC Posted May 5, 2008 #14 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I'm sure it would work well for some and be a disaster for others.If you walked in at 830 and asked for a table by the window overlooking the lower dining room it would be not trouble.At 7pm it would be another story.Heard good and bad from friends.I prefer traditional but flexible.As a vet the 'hurry up and wait' part of anytime would be annoying.No wait,no trouble.........Frank:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser2101 Posted May 5, 2008 #15 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I'm happy for those who prefer the my time dining, but please don't mess with my traditional dining option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonnieSte Posted May 5, 2008 #16 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Glad to hear some positive notes on anytime dining. We had it on Princess and loved it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Jake Posted May 5, 2008 #17 Share Posted May 5, 2008 It seems to me that most think anytime dining is a disaster.I guess that should end the argument Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truffles2 Posted May 5, 2008 #18 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I'm sure it would work well for some and be a disaster for others.If you walked in at 830 and asked for a table by the window overlooking the lower dining room it would be not trouble.At 7pm it would be another story.Heard good and bad from friends.I prefer traditional but flexible.As a vet the 'hurry up and wait' part of anytime would be annoying.No wait,no trouble.........Frank:) Hate to be knit-picky but no table by the window will overlook the lower dining room:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC2OC Posted May 5, 2008 #19 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Hate to be knit-picky but no table by the window will overlook the lower dining room:rolleyes: Whatever:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ1VIKES Posted May 5, 2008 #20 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Toataly agree with you on Ernest and Christine, but do not forget the waitstaff. We had Jay for 6 of the 7 night and he was fantastic. He came over to us when we were eating lunch in the windjammer one afternoon and he even offered his help at lunch time. At first when we signed up for anytime dinning we thought we made a mistake, but after the first night, I knew we made the right decision. Dave J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madforcruising Posted May 5, 2008 #21 Share Posted May 5, 2008 If RCCL can implement MTD in a way being flexible enough to get all people that want traditional in the traditional seating and all those that want MTD into MTD then it´s great. However all these tests do not show the reality to me. The majority of people reports it being great, no waits, yes to all requests etc. However I´m sceptical if this will hold truth once this is enrolled fleetwide and gains more demand. To really rate these reports about MTD it would be interesting to know what percentage of cruisers choose the MTD in relation to how much space in the DR was set aside for MTD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NautiqueBelle Posted May 5, 2008 #22 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Our My Time dining experience was nothing short of A+++. We felt such freedom not having to show up every night at the same time. Phoning for reservations was simple. We always got the time we requested, the table we requested, and the same waiters. It worked perfectly for our group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macpiper Posted May 5, 2008 Author #23 Share Posted May 5, 2008 If RCCL can implement MTD in a way being flexible enough to get all people that want traditional in the traditional seating and all those that want MTD into MTD then it´s great. However all these tests do not show the reality to me. The majority of people reports it being great, no waits, yes to all requests etc. However I´m sceptical if this will hold truth once this is enrolled fleetwide and gains more demand. To really rate these reports about MTD it would be interesting to know what percentage of cruisers choose the MTD in relation to how much space in the DR was set aside for MTD. You ask some great and pertinent questions and I'll try to provide some details on our cruise. There were 114 seats set aside for My Time dining on the 5th deck with approximately 220 people signed up for My Time. I don't recall the seating capacity of the whole dining room but I know that you are very familiar with this class ship. We had approximately 2100 guests on this sailing. Hopefully this will provide some insight for you.:) Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieGator Posted May 5, 2008 #24 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I'm happy for those who prefer the my time dining, but please don't mess with my traditional dining option. Big second. I want nothing to do with mytime dining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madforcruising Posted May 5, 2008 #25 Share Posted May 5, 2008 You ask some great and pertinent questions and I'll try to provide some details on our cruise. There were 114 seats set aside for My Time dining on the 5th deck with approximately 220 people signed up for My Time. I don't recall the seating capacity of the whole dining room but I know that you are very familiar with this class ship. We had approximately 2100 guests on this sailing. Hopefully this will provide some insight for you.:) Thanks, Very interesting numbers, thanks for providing. It sounds like very reasonable and well thought planning on RCCL´s side as it´s roughly the same like with traditional. The capacity is about half the amount of people signed up, so they need to seat every table twice like with traditional. If RCCL is succsesful in implementing MTD I think this will be the reason compared to their competitors. I don´t know how Princess handles this, but on my NCL cruise it was very obvious that every table had to be served multiple times a evening to feed all passengers and not just twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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