Did anyone else find the line for MTD annoying?

[lagunamama]

So, has anyone had problems with MTD on Radiance? We've never cruised RCI before, so I feel like a newbie even though I've sailed other cruise lines previously. Thanks for any info...

[love2vacation]

.

 

I did get a chuckle out of the guy who said they love MTD dining because they like to eat at 7:00. Gezz... it's vacation! Either go in a little late for 6:30 or just tell your waiter to slow things down so that you are eating at 7:00. No need to reinvent the wheel just because you "like to eat at 7:00."

 

In 2008 we had main seating and one of the couples at our assigned table would arrive anywhere from 15-40 minutes late for dinner more that 1/2 the time. They never notified the wait staff (or the table mates) so we never knew if they would show up or not. This left the rest of us to wait for them to arrive so we could order, or wait until it looked like they weren't going to show up and order without them. Then the wait staff would have to serve them separately and we where at different places in the serving sequence. Arriving late- besides being rude to the other diners and the wait staff, really rushes the wait staff who need to prepare the tables for second seating. This was one of our worst dining experiences ever on a ship and one of the reasons we choose MTD.

 

On a positive note- one of the nice things about dining on RC is you can choose traditional seating times or MTD. The choice is yours.

[Bakincakes]

In 2008 we had main seating and one of the couples at our assigned table would arrive anywhere from 15-40 minutes late for dinner more that 1/2 the time. They never notified the wait staff (or the table mates) so we never knew if they would show up or not. This left the rest of us to wait for them to arrive so we could order, or wait until it looked like they weren't going to show up and order without them. Then the wait staff would have to serve them separately and we where at different places in the serving sequence. Arriving late- besides being rude to the other diners and the wait staff, really rushes the wait staff who need to prepare the tables for second seating. This was one of our worst dining experiences ever on a ship and one of the reasons we choose MTD.

 

On a positive note- one of the nice things about dining on RC is you can choose traditional seating times or MTD. The choice is yours.

 

I would love to see them put extra tables in the MTD section for the late comers to traditional. Doors close 15 minutes AFTER your dining time. If you come late you either go to the MTD section or Windjammer. Period.

 

If pax want to create MTD by arriving when they feel like it for traditional then they should have to go eat in the MTD section. If they have to stand and wait for a table, too bad.

[G'ma]

Well, you can't have everything, I suppose.

 

Let's weigh this out:

 

Set dining times with assigned tables. You walk right in, sit down, are greeted by friendly waiters who remember your name...and remember you like a shrimp cocktail appetizer in addition to what you order. A fine meal is served at a leisurely pace with time for a little chit-chat with the wait staff.

 

Flexible dining times, where a majority want to eat "on the dot of (pick the time)" and all head for the dining room at the same time. Get in line, listen to the griping, whining and complaining. Others waiting for a seat glaring around wishing others would "hurry up" and finish. Frazzled waiters who get to listen to complaints and serve with clenched teeth ..... and also want the whole thing over as quickly as possible....

 

Let's see, which would I prefer??????:rolleyes:

[Mack2]

I tried My Time Dining on Princess... I didn't like it.

 

I mean, you have a line to get in, you have to make reservations, you're not guaranteed the same server each time...

I can do that on a land vacation.

 

I want a cruise vacation.

 

I mean, sure, My Time Dining, I'm not rushed to get dressed after leaving port, and making it to the scheduled time for dinner... but they're not holding up the Main Show for me while I'm ordering food.

So I still have to make it to dinner early or late to make sure we don't miss the show and beat the lines.

 

What's the point?

 

NCL pioneered the concept... the other lines should've let them keep it.

[Oville]

Flexible dining times' date=' where a majority want to eat "on the dot of (pick the time)" and all head for the dining room at the same time. Get in line, listen to the griping, whining and complaining. Others waiting for a seat glaring around wishing others would "hurry up" and finish. Frazzled waiters who get to listen to complaints and serve with clenched teeth ..... and also want the whole thing over as quickly as possible.:rolleyes:[/quote']

 

This can't be further from the truth. Yes there have been occasional problems with MTD(ie the Grandeur), but the (vast) majority of the time it works out perfectly for those who have booked it. Not sure why you've concluded what you did in your post, but it just isn't a fair assessment.

[Morecruisesplz]

This can't be further from the truth. Yes there have been occasional problems with MTD(ie the Grandeur), but the (vast) majority of the time it works out perfectly for those who have booked it. Not sure why you've concluded what you did in your post, but it just isn't a fair assessment.

 

Do you mean that all those who have been posting their night mare stories and say they'll never do MTD again are just confused? How can you know that the vast majority of the time it works?

[Morecruisesplz]

I would love to see them put extra tables in the MTD section for the late comers to traditional. Doors close 15 minutes AFTER your dining time. If you come late you either go to the MTD section or Windjammer. Period.

 

If pax want to create MTD by arriving when they feel like it for traditional then they should have to go eat in the MTD section. If they have to stand and wait for a table, too bad.

 

Yep -- that's the way to solve the problem. If you can't make it to your traditional seating time within a reasonable amount of time you are automatically "opted in" to MTD or the Windjammer. I think it will work!

[hithere]

We just got off the Monarch last week. This was our second experience with MTD on that ship. The first experience was awesome. I even reported the same on this site.

 

Our experience last week was not good. I told my husband that if that had been our introduction to RCCL dining we would have been very underwhelmed. One of the reasons we took our second cruise years ago was because of how special the dining room made us feel. The service most nights on this cruise was far worse than Denny's.

 

Our waiters looked frazzled, rushed and unable to handle the tables they had. They headwaiter was trying to help with drink pouring and rushing to the kitchen to get orders.

 

One night they served my main course and it was ten minutes before my husband got his. The waiter forgot it and had to go to the kitchen. It is uncomfortable to eat when the person across the table from you has nothing.

 

The last night they put us at a table for four next to the serving station. We didn't want company so the table was just for us. The wait staff used the two extra place settings as a "landing station" for the extra glasses, table settings, salt/pepper shakers, etc from other tables. They would put extras down. Then if they needed an additional water glass they would pick it up, along with any silverware they needed. Few minutes later another waiter would come along put more "extras" down. They went on through the entire meal. At one point while we were eating one waiter reached across in front of me to the other side of the table to grab extra butter holder that had been left. No excuse me... it was like we weren't even there. His entire body leaning across the table between my husband and myself to grab equipment needed for another table.

 

It is our habit to order a salad and an appetizer. One night they took 25 minutes after ordering to get us our appetizer and we had just started eating it and here comes the salad. They just put them on the table and left. It was plain to see that they didn't want to take the time to come back, clear away the appetizer and set in place the salad. When we finished with the salads there were dirty dishes on our table for 20 additional minutes. Then the main course showed up and they had no where to put it. So they made a stack of the four dirty plates and set the main course down. There they stayed. Piled up.

 

Only one night were we offered the ground pepper. Most nights it was slap the plates down and rush away. I had a terrible time getting coffee for the one night we stayed for dessert.

 

It was something to be endured rather than a nice, easy, well served dining experience.

 

Our first experience with MTD was wonderful our second was terrible. Would we do it again? We prefer to eat at a table for two so we might try it again and hope for a better result.

[babies12]

I keep hearing reports of waiters being frazzled, stressed, ect. What's the reason? I don't want to feel the need to be rushed during dinner nor do I want to see stressed out waiters during dinner either. Is this the norm? We will be sailing on the Mariner in 5/10 and I'm starting to rethink this whole MTD thing.

[Michuck]

I keep hearing reports of waiters being frazzled, stressed, ect. What's the reason? I don't want to feel the need to be rushed during dinner nor do I want to see stressed out waiters during dinner either. Is this the norm? We will be sailing on the Mariner in 5/10 and I'm starting to rethink this whole MTD thing.

 

I think the feeling of frazzled comes from the different stages of dining the different tables are at....we were waiting to order, the table next to us was being served their entree, the next table waiting for appetizers, perhaps the next table doing dessert. During traditional dining it seems less hectic because the staff are taking all orders at once, delivering all entrees at once, etc., etc. There doesn't seem to be as much noise either - we were eating while tables around us were being cleaned, so clanking dishes and silverware in the background was harsh sounding....

 

Could just be the maitre d' didn't have his act together - he should have been seating people in the same 'time zone' in the same area....with all the positive things I've heard, I think we just had one of the less positive experiences.

 

Disclaimer: These are my observations and opinions.... :-)

[love2vacation]

I think the feeling of frazzled comes from the different stages of dining the different tables are at....we were waiting to order, the table next to us was being served their entree, the next table waiting for appetizers, perhaps the next table doing dessert. During traditional dining it seems less hectic because the staff are taking all orders at once, delivering all entrees at once, etc., etc. There doesn't seem to be as much noise either - we were eating while tables around us were being cleaned, so clanking dishes and silverware in the background was harsh sounding....

 

Could just be the maitre d' didn't have his act together - he should have been seating people in the same 'time zone' in the same area....with all the positive things I've heard, I think we just had one of the less positive experiences.

 

Disclaimer: These are my observations and opinions.... :-)

 

I think you might be right. MTD takes more organization and orchestration than the regimented traditional. It seems some staff have adapted better than others.

 

As for waiting in line to be seated-only happened if we did not make reservations (first night). Since we made reservations the remainder of the cruise we walked right in and to our table every night at the reserved time. :D

 

I still feel that RC offering both options is great. Let everyone who wants to, keep their 6 or 8:30 dining times and let those who enjoy a little more flexible time sign up for MTD.

[Oville]

I keep hearing reports of waiters being frazzled, stressed, ect. What's the reason? I don't want to feel the need to be rushed during dinner nor do I want to see stressed out waiters during dinner either. Is this the norm? We will be sailing on the Mariner in 5/10 and I'm starting to rethink this whole MTD thing.

 

Hi, we've done MTD on a number of occasions and never experienced frazzled or stressed waitstaff. MTD has been in effect for a couple of years now on some ships, and more recently on others. I do not doubt that it has had its problems along the way and those who have posted negative experiences with it are telling the truth. Having said that, over the last couple of years there haven't been many complaints about MTD so it seems to working well most of the time. Thousands of people have tried MTD and I don't think there have been more than a few dozen complaints here on CC from those who have tried it and found it to be a disaster.

 

Hope this helps!!!!

[J18ktleo]

We're in the process of booking RCL on the Jewel for next year with friends. We just got off Princess and have done the 'Anytime Dining' for years and loved it. This last cruise I went to the Maitre D' the first nite and requested a quiet table (dh just recovering from throat surgery) at 6:30 each nite. Had a wonderful experience, same table, same waiter, great service every single nite! And they did have seperation at the door for those with or without reservations, although they also had a seperate dining room for anytime dining.

My challenge with traditional dining is that it's either too early after a long day in port or too late so this gives the choice in between.

 

Question...from everyone's experience, can you actually make reservations for a specific table/wait staff for the entire cruise???:rolleyes:

[swmichigan cruiser]

We have done it four times so far. We did it twice on the Freedom and loved it. Great service and the area set aside for MTD was quite nice and had plenty of elbow room. Did it on the Jewel and was very disappointed. The service was really bad and we always had a table for two and the tables were so close together we felt cramped. I think the tables for 4 were much better and more space between them and other tables.. We quit going and enjoyed the Windjammer more. We just did the Liberty and we enjoyed it. Most nights we ate early because we had 2 grandkids with us and they did a great job of taking care of us and getting us out fast so we could get them to Adventure Ocean. The two nights we wanted a table for two it was more of a problem. One night we showed up without reservations and were told to come back in 45 minutes. Not something I wanted to do. The other night we had a reservation for a certain table because we wanted our usual wait staff and they put us at a different table. I think for us we will probably use regular late dining when its just the two us and when we have grandkids with us we will use MTD. Obviously this is just my opinion as others on the same cruise may have had different opinions.

[Kurbanfan]

Once again i find myself putting this on a MTD thread! .... if only the other ships in the RCI fleet ran the MTD as they did on the Brilliance there would be no problems with people wandering around .... MTD is Not turn up whenever you want as some on these boards appear to think! and appears to have happened to the people in the the opening post of the thread.

 

MTD means that as on Brilliance you choose a time that suits you to eat! (not anytime dining as on Princess) and you turn up at your chosen time and are seated whether it be a table you chose for 2 or to sit with other passengers, the Main Man in our case on the Brilliance did not allow anyone into the MTD area unless they had a booking and for those that just turned up he told them to sit on the sofa provided and they would be accomadated as soon as he could.

 

Its not hard or difficult to understand the logic of MTD .... we chose a different time each night and sorted it out as we left the Dining room.

 

Making a reservation every night defeats the whole purpose of MTD......and that is not hard or difficult to undertand;) It should be called "My Reservation Dining" RCCL has no idea what they are doing and it is a joke.....and anyone who has had MTD on other cruiselines will tell you this....

Other lines know what they are doing......not sure why RCCL can't figure it out:rolleyes:

This from our experience on the Mariner.........

[Kurbanfan]

I keep hearing reports of waiters being frazzled, stressed, ect. What's the reason? I don't want to feel the need to be rushed during dinner nor do I want to see stressed out waiters during dinner either. Is this the norm? We will be sailing on the Mariner in 5/10 and I'm starting to rethink this whole MTD thing.

 

Hopefully they will get their act together before you cruise.......we have to remember this just started on the Mariner in May......we sailed a week ago and we were really disappointed.........

They really push the reservations issue.......if this is how they want to run it, they should not call it MTD IMO........Our experience with Carnival and Princess was awesome......never had to make a reservation, no waiting, great happy waiters........

[Oville]

We're in the process of booking RCL on the Jewel for next year with friends. We just got off Princess and have done the 'Anytime Dining' for years and loved it. This last cruise I went to the Maitre D' the first nite and requested a quiet table (dh just recovering from throat surgery) at 6:30 each nite. Had a wonderful experience, same table, same waiter, great service every single nite! And they did have seperation at the door for those with or without reservations, although they also had a seperate dining room for anytime dining.

My challenge with traditional dining is that it's either too early after a long day in port or too late so this gives the choice in between.

 

Question...from everyone's experience, can you actually make reservations for a specific table/wait staff for the entire cruise???:rolleyes:

 

Hi, we're going on the Jewel next week so can report after that. Last October on the Jewel we did MTD for the first time and had no problems at all. Based on our schedule, we did make reservations(not always at the same time) and had the same waitstaff every night and often the same table. It was a ten night cruise and it sold us on MTD.

 

I'll let you know if our experience next week is different, but it wasn't on the Liberty, Navigator or Independence.

[love2vacation]

Hi, we're going on the Jewel next week so can report after that. Last October on the Jewel we did MTD for the first time and had no problems at all. Based on our schedule, we did make reservations(not always at the same time) and had the same waitstaff every night and often the same table. It was a ten night cruise and it sold us on MTD.

 

I'll let you know if our experience next week is different, but it wasn't on the Liberty, Navigator or Independence.

 

We cruised on the Jewel at the end of April and had a good experience. After the first night we changed from a table for 2 to a table fo 8 (joined by others in our M&M) and had same waiters and table each night. I hope you still find it a pleasant experience.:D Have a geat cruise!

[Cruise_ology]

We just finished our Freedom cruise and found MTD Wonderful! Only 1 night of our 7 day cruise there as a small line. We took a walk and when we returned it had gone down. The hostess recognized us as a small party and took us on in. (It was a large table waiting).

 

Wait staff was excellent! Food was good. Fresh. Plenty of it.

 

Freedom was wonderful!

[Tempranillo]

We just finished a cruise today on the Enchantment, and I was very impressed with MTD on that ship. We never waited for a table at all, they had our same table ready every night as soon as we arrived.

 

The MTD staff worked together wonderfully as a team, and we've never had better service for dinner.

 

We had tried MTD on the Monarch previously, and I wasn't all that impressed, but we decided to give it another shot on the Enchantment. I'm so glad that we did, as it was excellent!

[Guest maddycat]

The MTD desk on Legend is outside the dining room, so people waiting to be allocated a table line up in the lobby area. MTDiners only enter the Dining room to be taken to their table.

 

That's exactly how it was done on the Explorer.

[J18ktleo]

Wonderful! I've convinced our travel partners to give it a try so we'll hope that over time it'll just get better and better!

[mzk90]

So they shouldn't call it My Time Dining because they ask people to make a reservation??? How selfish of RCI, can't they organise dining for thousands of people so they can just turn up and get a table, exactly the size they want, right there and then? What is the world coming to!

 

I'll pet my goat!

 

P.S. Did MTD on Navigator last month. Not overly impressed with it, but not as unimpressed as I am with some people's attitudes!

[The Big Booper]

The me, me, me generation at work here.