lisa7977 Posted March 2, 2014 #1 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Can someone explain my time dining to me? We are booked in April on explorer and first seating is not available. We have two 6 year olds and can not eat dinner at 8:30! Are early my time dining reservations hard to get? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted March 2, 2014 #2 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) Can someone explain my time dining to me? We are booked in April on explorer and first seating is not available. We have two 6 year olds and can not eat dinner at 8:30! Are early my time dining reservations hard to get? I would first try to get on the wait list for early seating. I would also send an email to rcldining@rccl.com 2-3 weeks before the cruise requesting early seating. If neither of those two options work, then visit the MTD desk as soon as you board and try to get an early MTD time. The last resort would be to show up to MTD when you want to eat. You are not required to have reservations for MTD, and many people report little or no wait time. Edited March 2, 2014 by clarea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa7977 Posted March 2, 2014 Author #3 Share Posted March 2, 2014 We are already on the wait list for first seating. Thank you so much. That helped ease my nervousness. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted March 2, 2014 #4 Share Posted March 2, 2014 You do not have to have reservations for MTD. You may imply show up and they will get you a table. There may be a short wait. If you have a set time that you prefer to eat you can also make reservations once on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted March 2, 2014 #5 Share Posted March 2, 2014 You do not have to have reservations for MTD. You may imply show up and they will get you a table. There may be a short wait. If you have a set time that you prefer to eat you can also make reservations once on board. But you do have to be SIGNED UP for it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa7977 Posted March 2, 2014 Author #6 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Can I sign up for mtd once I am on the ship if I don't get my first seating choice? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisingwithminions Posted March 2, 2014 #7 Share Posted March 2, 2014 We signed up for MTD for our upcoming cruise. Here's my question. If I made reservations, but decide I want to eat earlier, can I just show up or do I need to stick with the reservation that I made for that day? Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roce48 Posted March 2, 2014 #8 Share Posted March 2, 2014 While on the Liberty my DW and I showed up when we ready for dinner and never had a wait, but that was for a table for two. There were two lines outside the MTD, one with reservations, and one without reservations that never seemed to have a line. In the past we found that showing up right after a show was getting out that we encountered a line for MTD, but that still had us seated within 5-10 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa7977 Posted March 2, 2014 Author #9 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Thanks everyone for the help. I have cruises royal so many times, but have never booked this last minute and not had my first choice for dining. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted March 2, 2014 #10 Share Posted March 2, 2014 We signed up for MTD for our upcoming cruise. Here's my question. If I made reservations, but decide I want to eat earlier, can I just show up or do I need to stick with the reservation that I made for that day? Thanks! If you want to eat earlier than your reservation, you can just show up and tell the MTD person that you have a later reservation. If you want to eat later than your reservation, you should call the MTD desk and tell them so they can release the table to others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix1181 Posted March 2, 2014 #11 Share Posted March 2, 2014 Since late seating doesn't work, you might want to change to MTD now. You will have to pay gratuities with your final payment but with two 6 year olds, an early dining time is necessary. Once you've got MTD squared away, you can make reservations online for a dining time that works for you. If you find you need to change it after you board, it's easy to do. You can also request the same wait staff with MTD so you'll have a dining experience similar to traditional dining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa7977 Posted March 2, 2014 Author #12 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I was actually going to just switch to mtd now but I'm trying to hold out for 1st seating because we want to use the option where the kids club comes to pick them up and we can finish our dinner. That option is only available if you have first seating. I'm so torn, I don't know what to do. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropicalgal2 Posted March 2, 2014 #13 Share Posted March 2, 2014 We signed up for MTD for our upcoming cruise. Here's my question. If I made reservations, but decide I want to eat earlier, can I just show up or do I need to stick with the reservation that I made for that day? Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Forums We did go the MDR as soon as we could to make sure that all was OK with with our MTD. With MTD you just show up when we wanted to eat. There was never a wait. Some other times we did we a wait of maybe 5-10 minutes. MTD is the best way to eat when you want. IF you have an idea of what time you want to eat each night, you can make the reservation even with MTD. We did that after the first night for every night since we knew what time was best for our family. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted March 2, 2014 #14 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I was actually going to just switch to mtd now but I'm trying to hold out for 1st seating because we want to use the option where the kids club comes to pick them up and we can finish our dinner. That option is only available if you have first seating. I'm so torn, I don't know what to do. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Under your dining preferences there is a separate box to check for MY Family Time Dining. Not sure that if by checking this if it will open up the early seating. As Bob stated in one of the first posts I would try sending an e mail to rcldining@rccl.com and let them know that you would like the My Family Time Dining and see how that goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CouponMom Posted March 2, 2014 #15 Share Posted March 2, 2014 We just booked last minute on Liberty - we were told the only dining time is 8:30 which is not really a problem I guess since we don't have kids with us. But what exactly is MTD and if we wanted to eat earlier would that help? Is there an extra fee for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken at the beach Posted March 2, 2014 #16 Share Posted March 2, 2014 We just booked last minute on Liberty - we were told the only dining time is 8:30 which is not really a problem I guess since we don't have kids with us. But what exactly is MTD and if we wanted to eat earlier would that help? Is there an extra fee for it? With MTD you can dine in the main dining room (they have a separate area, actually deck 5) at the time of your choice between 5:30 and 8:30. You can make reservations for the same time every day or different times for each day or just show up. There is no extra charge. Same menu as in the regular dining room. If you change to that your gratuities ($12pp per day) must be paid in advance with your final payment instead of being added to your Seapass card on a daily basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTownNick Posted March 2, 2014 #17 Share Posted March 2, 2014 You don't necessarily HAVE to be signed up for MTD. Last cruise, we had second seating and on the last day, around 4-5, we went to the MTD desk and requested a 5:30 MTD table. It worked beautifully. No wait when we got there at 5:30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CouponMom Posted March 2, 2014 #18 Share Posted March 2, 2014 If you change to that your gratuities ($12pp per day) must be paid in advance with your final payment instead of being added to your Seapass card on a daily basis. We've already paid for the entire cruise, wonder if we can still switch to MTD? And, are there a certain amount of passengers that can do MTD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted March 2, 2014 #19 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) We've already paid for the entire cruise, wonder if we can still switch to MTD? And, are there a certain amount of passengers that can do MTD? Yes, there are limits to the number of MTD guests. Call whoever booked your cruise and ask them to move you to MTD. You will be charged gratuities immediately if they are able to move you. Edited March 2, 2014 by clarea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CouponMom Posted March 2, 2014 #20 Share Posted March 2, 2014 I just emailed her, crossing my fingers. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa7977 Posted March 3, 2014 Author #21 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Thanks to everyone for your help. I emailed to the email address you all suggested and they switched us to first seating. I am going on now to confirm my booking!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted March 3, 2014 #22 Share Posted March 3, 2014 Thanks to everyone for your help. I emailed to the email address you all suggested and they switched us to first seating. I am going on now to confirm my booking!!!! Thanks for reporting back, and I'm glad it worked out.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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