mtd - how hard is it to get the times you want?

hello I will be on jewel of the seas in april. I selected my time dining. do you choose when you will be dining for the next night, before you leave the dining room each evening? also, we are thinking about anywhere from 5:45 pm to 6:30 pm. not sure yet. are these times hard to get. its only 2 of us and want to sit alone. thanks

hello I will be on jewel of the seas in april. I selected my time dining. do you choose when you will be dining for the next night, before you leave the dining room each evening? also, we are thinking about anywhere from 5:45 pm to 6:30 pm. not sure yet. are these times hard to get. its only 2 of us and want to sit alone. thanks

You can choose your dining times pre-cruise, using the Cruise Planner on Royal's website.

hello I will be on jewel of the seas in april. I selected my time dining. do you choose when you will be dining for the next night, before you leave the dining room each evening? also, we are thinking about anywhere from 5:45 pm to 6:30 pm. not sure yet. are these times hard to get. its only 2 of us and want to sit alone. thanks

Earliest I saw for Jewel on our cruise next week is 6pm. I'm going to request earlier once on board. Concur with the advice above to check your cruise planner online.

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We are on the wait list for early dining and have been since we booked 8 months ago. Hope we can eat early, but won’t ruin our trip if we have to be late seating.

Not hard at all...they don't allow pre-booking of the popular times in advance. A 2-top isn't hard to seat...so you can show up and be seated at the next available table....just like in most restaurants. The earlier you eat, the less wait there is.

Earliest I saw for Jewel on our cruise next week is 6pm. I'm going to request earlier once on board. Concur with the advice above to check your cruise planner online.

 

 

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If 6pm is the earliest that may be when the dining room opens. MTD starts normally at 5:30 or 6:00. If it's 6:00 on your cruise then you can't request earlier.

If 6pm is the earliest that may be when the dining room opens. MTD starts normally at 5:30 or 6:00. If it's 6:00 on your cruise then you can't request earlier.

Yeah I've been afraid of that. Where I'm from 5pm is supper-time, 5:30 is late. Have a feeling I'll have a hard time convincing folks to eat in the dining room.

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Just got off of Anthem of the Seas. MTD started at 5 pm. If you like the table/waitstaff the first night then upon leaving ask the host to reserve the table for you each night (just tell them the table # you had). It might not be an ideal time though, but you'll have a table. The earliest mtd was earlier than the fixed assigned dining times. the subsequent nights you just walk into the dining room at the reserved time and go right to your table.

My experience with the MTD was horrible and all due to the host/hostesses or at least the system they have to work with. They use a computer to look at, I'm not sure what, and communicate with people via walkie talkie who walk the dining rooms with tablets to coordinate tables. It's disaster (at least for more than 2 people). Just use an old laminated floor plan. It's not just the mtd, it occurred at breakfast and lunch every single time I went. The staff inside were great but getting there was really bad. The system makes more work for the staff than they need to do. I've done NCL and Disney (Disney has open seating for b'fast and lunch). Never had an issue. Given my mini-rant don't be afraid to try the solarium dining (if your ship has that; the adults only section). It was a combo of buffet and table service. Really good food and quiet.

Yeah I've been afraid of that. Where I'm from 5pm is supper-time, 5:30 is late. Have a feeling I'll have a hard time convincing folks to eat in the dining room.

 

 

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We did a B2B Caribbean cruise on the Jewel April 2017. I booked MTD in our Cruise Planner prior to the cruise for both legs. I choose 6:00 PM (earliest time) as we like to eat early. Once we boarded the ship we went directly to the MDR to select a table for two in a specific location for MTD (upper level). The Maitre D put us down for that table for both weeks. He also advised us MTD early setting started at 5:30 PM and switched us (our request) from 6:00 to 5:30 every night for both legs. Early Traditional started at 6:00 PM. Never hurts to ask.

ok, I will go on line to see if I can pick 5:30 pm. if I cant I will pick earliest then go to maître D day of sailing and see if we can get a specific table at an earlier time. if he can, is this when I tip them? is $20 ok? or so I heard you tip them for a good table and time. thanks all