My Time Dining - I don't like it

[Prettygirl]

The ability to dine when we want and with whom we want is a deciding factor for DH and I when we book a cruise. We like a table for two when we don't want to put up with other people. We also don't like running our vacation on someone else's schedule.

[alicam]

we really like sitting at large tables so we get to meet a lot of new people. Is that possible with mtd?

yes

[alicam]

MTD on the Jewel in November was great, I've said that countless times on these boards. It is beyond me why anyone would want to deny the "option" to those who want it. I plan to use it again, every time we cruise, but for those who want Traditional seating, well that's fine too...there's room for all of us in this world and to act as though RCCL has done something horrible for offering the option is pretty close minded. They have implemented it very well from what I can see, using small section of dining room, the program in NO WAY dominates the dining area, there were only 90 seats on the Jewel reserved for this option, which of course may grow if more want it, but really 90 seats in a dining room that seats, what over 1000? Not really a big deal I would think.

 

If you don't want to try it, well fine, but don't act as though it was a horrible thing for RCCL to try, it wasn't, it isn't and suspect it won't be in the future either.

Hear, hear...just what I think as well....

[atb]

How is MTD different than breakfast and lunch in the dining room? We rarely eat in the dining room for breakfast and lunch because of issues with seating, service, and wait staff not knowing our likes / dislikes.

We like it - even in the Windjammer - when the staff recognizes us - and know that we don't want ice with our water - but do want iced coffee.

[missbogota]

We love My Time Dining! We do a great deal of entertaining due to my husband's job, and trust me, we love sitting at a table of two for our vacation! Works great for us!

[MDSue]

MTD on Royal Caribbean had absolutely no impact on those who didn't choose this option so it really isn't anything to be concerned about. We sailed the Serenade when they were first experimenting with the MTD option. We chose regular dining and therefore the MTD option didn't affect us in anyway. There were two floors for dining and they were seated on another floor. So if you don't want that option, just don't chose it and it won't affect you at all. It is probaly a nice option for those who like the idea and no problem for those who don't. You are not forced to change.

[Gracie115]

atb-

We had the same wait staff/table in MTD for all nights except one. We had our drinks waiting for us on the table when we arrived. The wait staff and bar waiter were among the best we've ever had. They all knew our names after the 1st night and the one night we weren't able to be seated with them they all came to our other table apologizing and promising it would not happen again, and it wasn't their fault we didn't get our normal table.

 

THIS is much different than the dining room for breakfast and lunch.

 

It was the BEST dining experience for dinner in the main dining room we have EVER had. We even cancelled reservations for Portofino's because we so enjoyed the wait staff that we had with MTD. I can' speak for any other ship than the Jewel, but they sure sold us on the concept!!!

[kendy]

We are trying to decide whether to do MTD on our 2/22/09 Voyager cruise. WE are down for the early but 5:30 is really almost too early.

My question is ::What about the singing waiters and their shows toward the end of the meals in the main dining rooms. Do they do this in the MTD areas? We have never been a fan of these and this answer might decide it for me.

 

#2 What are your chances of getting the MTD if I wait to sign up for MTD once I am onboard. I have a good amount of OBC and would like my tips [service charges ] to go against the OBC and not be charged to my cc before the cruise.

 

Thanks

[dprestayko]

My DH and I just got back from the IOS 8 night cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed MTD. It worked perfectly for us. We had the same wait staff each and every night, along with a table for 2! We showed up anytime between 7 and 8:30 each night and they were easy to accomodate us. The longest wait we had was 10 minutes. I highly recommend this, especially when travelling with children who go into AO at 7pm!

[TexCruise371]

My DH and I just got back from the IOS 8 night cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed MTD. It worked perfectly for us. We had the same wait staff each and every night, along with a table for 2! We showed up anytime between 7 and 8:30 each night and they were easy to accomodate us. The longest wait we had was 10 minutes. I highly recommend this, especially when travelling with children who go into AO at 7pm!

 

I'm glad to hear it worked great for you! :)

 

We tried it on Indy on the Jan 18th cruise. I don't know if we just showed up at the wrong time or what but we had to wait for up to 15 minutes even with reservations. Don't get me wrong.....we don't mind waiting but they seemed completely disorganized. The poor gal out front was greeting diners and also setting up tables herself and the waiters seemed in a run and seemed frustrated also. I really felt sorry for her.

 

We like the idea of MTD but we did not have a great experience with it.

[akcruz]

We are trying to decide whether to do MTD on our 2/22/09 Voyager cruise. WE are down for the early but 5:30 is really almost too early.

My question is ::What about the singing waiters and their shows toward the end of the meals in the main dining rooms. Do they do this in the MTD areas? We have never been a fan of these and this answer might decide it for me.

 

#2 What are your chances of getting the MTD if I wait to sign up for MTD once I am onboard. I have a good amount of OBC and would like my tips [service charges ] to go against the OBC and not be charged to my cc before the cruise.

 

Thanks

 

While the waiters still do the singing for the cruisers who have regular seating, they do not do it for the MT diners. On Freedom the areas are close together so we could see them and a few actually got up to walk over and watch but they were not intrusive at all.

 

As far as waiting until you board to sign up, if you really don't care either way wait. If you really want MTD I would do it ahead of time. I keep seeing people who waited then were shut out when they got on board as it was full.

 

In hindsight, I wonder if I should be telling people I liked it. If nobody knows or most feel that they don't want it I can then be assured of a space when I do :D.

[Pomperaugrr]

While the waiters still do the singing for the cruisers who have regular seating, they do not do it for the MT diners. On Freedom the areas are close together so we could see them and a few actually got up to walk over and watch but they were not intrusive at all.

 

As far as waiting until you board to sign up, if you really don't care either way wait. If you really want MTD I would do it ahead of time. I keep seeing people who waited then were shut out when they got on board as it was full.

 

In hindsight, I wonder if I should be telling people I liked it. If nobody knows or most feel that they don't want it I can then be assured of a space when I do :D.

 

 

Two weeks ago on the Serenade, the wait staff did the same singing and dancing as the rest of the dining room staff. We were surprised how much we ended up liking the My Time Dining. :cool:

 

Eric

[PEGLEG]

The Windjammer can accommodate you for 5:30

 

AND you do not need a reservation.

[jplotts865]

Janet...the major problem was that the ship was absolutely packed! I've never been on a ship so crowded...every bed, berth, bunk was booked. It was very difficult to find a chaise at the pool - and if you did get one you were cheek-to-jowl with about a thousand other passengers. It just wasn't all that pleasant. The lunch buffet was difficult in that though there was usually no long line for food it was hard to find a table. I came away from the cruise feeling that the crew was essentially overwhelmed with all the passengers and simply couldn't provide the level of service I've known before of Celebrity (food was only so-so in the dining room and the shows were really awful). There were also a lot of young children (365+) and quite a few (well behaved, I will say) 20-somethings on "Christmas Break" from school. It was just not a good cruise...primarily because it was nearly impossible to find a quite spot...did manage to find some peace by finding a chair (one of very few) on the promenade deck (under the lifeboats) and at the stern (found some lounge chairs tied up, untied them and dragged one to a spot out of the wind). But I really was happy to be off the ship once we got back to Miami and this...for one who (used to) love to cruise was a real first. If crowds are a problem for anyone I say nix a Christmas or other holiday float.

[Gracie115]

jplotts865-

Your experience on a Christmas cruise is precisely why we won't ever take one over the holdidays. It is MUCH more expensive and far too crowded for us.

 

kendy-

 

The waiters in MTD on Jewel did not do the singing but they did pause their service so that if we wanted to step up to the 2nd floor rail we could watch it.

 

I also noticed that, at least for our cruise, the photographers that wander around the dining room never came into the MTD area.....a plus in my book!!

[printingchick]

I was hesitant to try MyTime Dining, being a veteran of many traditional dining cruises. It's hit and miss, but we sometimes lucked into a great dining table group and made great friends. I hated to give up those social aspects of cruise ship dining.

 

But...we gave it a try on FOS recently and LOVED it.

 

Here's how it works:

• Unlike going to breakfast in the dining room, where you are seated at a table with other guest who have just arrived, MyTime diners are seated in a specific section of the dining room, set primarily with smaller tables. You will be seated with the party with whom you arrive. We were seated at a table for two every night.
  
• You will be seated in the same section - perhaps even the same table - each night. You WILL get to know your waitstaff, just like with traditional dining. You do NOT sacrifice having a waiter who knows your name and how you take your coffee.
  
• You can make reservations, or you can just show up. We never made a reservation and we never had to wait.
  
• You can eat whenever you choose. We found that fitting our dinner around our activities was absolutely wonderful. We never missed a show or activity because it conflicted with our dinner time. We never felt rushed to get to the dining room because we knew our tablemates were waiting. We never had to eat when we weren't hungry, or go hungry waiting for our scheduled time to dine.
  
• You will NOT see your own waitstaff perform. With everyone eating at different times, it's not possible for the staff to stop everything to sing and dance. On our cruise, people went to the railing to look down at the lower dining levels to watch waiters perform. However, with rare exceptions (such as the parade of the kitchen staff), you will not see staff performing in the MyTime Dining area.
  
• Dress codes still apply for MyTime Dining. Formal night is still formal night and the photographers will still be snapping photos. The only thing that changes is that YOU choose when you go eat.
  

We will definitely do Mytime again. I had never realized how constraining it can sometimes be when you're locked into a given time for dinner - having to choose between events you'd like to attend or eating in the dining room. Dinner doesn't take as long when you're eating with a smaller group, so we found we had a lot more time to enjoy our evenings doing MyTime Dining. We found the advantages far outweighed the disadvantages.

[Albert Ross]

While the waiters still do the singing for the cruisers who have regular seating, they do not do it for the MT diners. .

Thank God for that! Another reason to select MTD from me then;)

[DireMongoose]

We also don't like running our vacation on someone else's schedule.

 

This is puzzling to me. Aren't most aspects of cruising on someone else's schedule?

 

You don't pick when the ship docks or leaves port. Most excursions and on-board activities are offered once -- you get to decide to do them or not, but not when. Most of the shows have a fixed late and early seating (like traditional cruise dining, ignoring the Windjammer option for the moment).

 

I know people who absolutely don't want to vacation on someone else's timetable; they don't cruise.

[negc]

Most of those who use the "I don't want to have their schedule dictated by someone else" tend to ignore the obviousness of what you have described.

Where they claim confinement, most of us would describe it as "structure" and carried out to its logical conclusion, their preferred style would be "anarchy".:rolleyes:

[Cruising Elly]

We tried MTD on the 1/10/09 voyage of the Serenade but didn't enjoy it at all. There was constant activity of people coming in and out. It was on Deck 5, Port Side, and only half of that section. The other side was regular assigned seating. Most of the tables for four were near the very large work station or right next to another table so you could hear the conversation. For our 1/17/09 voyage we switched to 8:30 pm seating and had a table on Deck 4 in the middle of the ship. Much better.

[Gracie115]

Obviously it's not for everyone, but the fact that RCCL is willing to try it and offer different options is wonderful. We love it and we know others who love traditional dining, so it's just great that we both end up happy on a ship together with everyone satisfied with their choice.

 

I say "three cheers" to RCCL for this move, it hurts NO ONE and makes many very happy!!!!

[bigtoeswim'n]

Personally, I would prefer My-Time. DH and I were on the Sovereign last Oct 2008 and two out of the nights we were sitting alone at a table set for 8, side by side. DH didn't mind, but I sure felt "rejected" somehow. Good thing DH and I enjoy each other's company, though. We enjoyed the delicious meal just the same. I would also like to say that the one time we did have company, the lady had this plunging V-neckline and seemed overly proud of her "girls" hanging out for all to see. I didn't care for that. Oh well.