My time dining... Times are booked?

[aearly]

Hi All,

 

I went online today to make dinner reservations for a 9/22 cruise (we have MTD) thinking I'd be ahead of the game.

 

It seemed as though everything after 5:30 and before 8:30 almost every night was booked!

 

My question is... Is this reservation system bogus and we can eat whenever we want once on-board or are those times really gone?

 

Thanks!

[PLEIKU68]

As soon as you get on the ship go to the dining room for MTD and there is usually someone there who can take care of you. If you are staying in a suite e mail the CL and ask them for help. :)

[nb125]

I'm confused now. We have booked My Time Dining and thought that meant we didn't have to book a time but could just turn up when we liked. Have I got it wrong?

[Big Kev]

I'm confused now. We have booked My Time Dining and thought that meant we didn't have to book a time but could just turn up when we liked. Have I got it wrong?

 

1/. You can pre-book on board if you wish, and they will try and match you to a table for your time, (even with same people), if you want to dine at same time each night ..

 

2/. You can book for next night on way out each night.

 

3/. You can just "arrive" whenever you like, ask for shared table, or ask for table for 2, and be seated as you wish.. (Maybe a short wait at peak times).. That is what we are happy with.

 

S and P..

 

 

.

[nb125]

1/. You can pre-book on board if you wish, and they will try and match you to a table for your time, (even with same people), if you want to dine at same time each night ..

 

2/. You can book for next night on way out each night.

 

3/. You can just "arrive" whenever you like, ask for shared table, or ask for table for 2, and be seated as you wish.. (Maybe a short wait at peak times).. That is what we are happy with.

 

S and P..

 

 

.

 

Thanks, that's what we want just to turn up and have a table for 2.

[PLEIKU68]

Thanks, that's what we want just to turn up and have a table for 2.

 

Just showing up and asking for a table for 2 can be difficult, not impossible, but you could end up waiting for a bit. In my experience if you want the table for 2 , make it at a set time...6:30, 7:00, 8:00, etc. :)

[Cruisin MarcnFran]

We're on the 9/22 sailing of the Freedom. I tried weeks ago to book MTD reservations and all the 6:00-8:00 time slots were gone. I also prefer a booking, so I'll attempt to do this as soon as we board that day. I hope we both have good luck.

[JMG]

When we were onboard we were told that they try to get 2 seatings per table so they do not take reservation for 7pm which is what we wanted. I forget the exact time span but it was something 6:30 to 8 that they did not take reservations.

 

We made a reservation for the first night and then just showed up at 7pm. We had some problems on one cruise but the next cruise things worked out fine.

[Sanborn306]

We're on the 9/22 sailing of the Freedom. I tried weeks ago to book MTD reservations and all the 6:00-8:00 time slots were gone. I also prefer a booking, so I'll attempt to do this as soon as we board that day. I hope we both have good luck.

 

Ah.. Jump over to our roll call thread!

I'm on same ****.

. And I'm leaving my times blank and just showing up

 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4

[nanwel]

To me the name My Time dining is just too confusing, they almost always want you to book a time,and I understood it to mean when you want dining, but only if you want to eat at the same time.

We were on Allure in March, and had no reservation, so we had a 35 min wait the first night, we called in each day to the front desk of the dinning room to ask for our "time" and were very surprised that we had the same table and wait person for the whole week. Because we were a party of 5, we never had table mates, just the same table for 6.

We had anticipated that we would have a different table and spot each night, and were mildly dissappointed in the fact that we did not. May as well of just booked the dinning room. We had hoped to eat at at least a different spot with different staff - kind of change it up a little.

But, to your question, you may, like us, have a wait on the first night, that is the way they book my time, they do no seem to put the options available online.

Perhaps giving us the same staff is to allow for tipping to be to one person, but, we were in a suite, and had to prepay tipping upfront anyway.

Not sure how it works on other ships/cruise lines.

[Froggitt]

Allure this month - MTD we showed up different times (although mostly before 7pm)without bookings every night, and had the same table/waiter. No delays in being seated....after a couple of nights our assistant waiter always picked us up from the lobby area and seated us.

[JMG]

they almost always want you to book a time,and I understood it to mean when you want dining, but only if you want to eat at the same time.

... and were very surprised that we had the same table and wait person for the whole week. Not sure how it works on other ships/cruise lines.

 

Yes, this is so true. On Princess, you arrive at the dining room and are seated. People are seated at what ever table is available and when the table is full they start seating at another table. Exception would be someone that wants a table for 2 or 4 and does not want to sit with others. Princess does not attempt to place you with the same waiter every night.

 

On RCI, they have to look up your name in their computer and then they try to put you with the same waiter all the time. That process takes time which is partially why there is a waiting line to be seated and once seated, why it takes a while for the table to fill.

 

We definitely prefer Princess's way of doing the MTD dining but other than that...we prefer RCI.

[Starry Eyes]

To me the name My Time dining is just too confusing, they almost always want you to book a time,and I understood it to mean when you want dining, but only if you want to eat at the same time.

We were on Allure in March, and had no reservation, so we had a 35 min wait the first night, we called in each day to the front desk of the dinning room to ask for our "time"...

We had anticipated that we would have a different table and spot each night, and were mildly dissappointed in the fact that we did not. May as well of just booked the dinning room. We had hoped to eat at at least a different spot with different staff - kind of change it up a little.

But, to your question, you may, like us, have a wait on the first night, that is the way they book my time, they do no seem to put the options available online.

Perhaps giving us the same staff is to allow for tipping to be to one person, but, we were in a suite, and had to prepay tipping upfront anyway.

Not sure how it works on other ships/cruise lines.

Everybody on MTD has to prepay tips, whether in a suite or a regular stateroom. They do seem to try to give people the same waitstaff. that gives the staff a chance to perhaps learn some names and perferences and to perhaps earn an extra tip if they perform very well. There may not be many tables for six in your waitstaff's section; combined with timing, that may have resulted in the same table each night. and many people like that. If you get a table or wait staff that you do not particularity like, ask to move.

[Langley Cruisers]

Just showing up and asking for a table for 2 can be difficult, not impossible, but you could end up waiting for a bit. In my experience if you want the table for 2 , make it at a set time...6:30, 7:00, 8:00, etc. :)

 

Alternatively, and perhaps a better option, is to show up at an off-peak time such as 6:47 or 7:23, something like that. The times you mentioned are very busy - going to dinner when there is less chance of others wanting that same time might be a better plan. :)

[Cruisin MarcnFran]

Ah.. Jump over to our roll call thread!

I'm on same ****.

. And I'm leaving my times blank and just showing up

 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4

 

Already signed up! :D

[Sanborn306]

I must of said shi.. Instead of ship. Lol

 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 4

[Cruisin MarcnFran]

Everybody on MTD has to prepay tips, whether in a suite or a regular stateroom. They do seem to try to give people the same waitstaff. that gives the staff a chance to perhaps learn some names and perferences and to perhaps earn an extra tip if they perform very well. There may not be many tables for six in your waitstaff's section; combined with timing, that may have resulted in the same table each night. and many people like that. If you get a table or wait staff that you do not particularity like, ask to move.

 

 

We've done MTD with the pre-paid tips since it started. Obviously, we're very happy with it.

[KGSB11]

Yes, this is so true. On Princess, you arrive at the dining room and are seated. People are seated at what ever table is available and when the table is full they start seating at another table. Exception would be someone that wants a table for 2 or 4 and does not want to sit with others. Princess does not attempt to place you with the same waiter every night.

 

On RCI, they have to look up your name in their computer and then they try to put you with the same waiter all the time. That process takes time which is partially why there is a waiting line to be seated and once seated, why it takes a while for the table to fill.

 

We definitely prefer Princess's way of doing the MTD dining but other than that...we prefer RCI.

 

DW and I also prefer Princess's Anytime Dining over Royal's MTD. I think you hit all the points spot on. When we sail Royal again in April, we probably will do Traditional Seating as the best night (service) of our recent Allure cruise was when we were seated with the traditional dining people because MTD dining room was full.

 

I suspect that the MTD waiters possibly slack a little bit since there is a low probability of repeat tables (though obviously it does happen). Of the 4 nights we ate in the MTD dining room, we had a different wait-staff everytime; and we typically ate within the same 1/2hr time window every night.