confused on My Time Dining

[Bucket29]

Question on MTD. Do we make reservations before we board (and if so- how) or do we make reservations each day on the ship (and if so- how).

Thanks in advance. (we are traveling on the Allure if that makes a difference)

[LilBlackDress]

I know you can call the dining room from the ship in the morning and call it in for that day (or I think also for all days).

 

When you get on board you can go to the MDR and speak with the hostess there for that night, and again I think all nights if you know in advance.

 

the 3rd option I know of is to just show up, from my understanding there may be up to a 15 or 20 min wait.

 

I am sure there is a way to call before you board but I am not aware of it since I have never don MTD

[edjny]

Before a recent cruise on Allure, we would never reserve a time for MTD till after we looked at the daily menu posting and decided we wanted to go that night. Then we would wander down to the dining room in the afternoon and make the reservation. Then we got 'burned' one formal night when we wanted to go and there was no room. They were completely booked. Since we did not want to get dressed up just to wait in the stand-by line in case someone did not show up, we just ate some place else.

 

Now I reserve EVERY night for MTD on the web site before the cruise. When we get on the ship and decide we are not going to the dining room that night, we just call and cancel the reservation for than night. Even if we did not cancel, they only hold the reservation for about 5-10 minutes and then give the table to someone in the stand-by line.

 

Just last week, I reserved MTD for every night of our 22 night B2B cruise to Quebec City and back.

[killtheump]

You can book before you cruise using the Cruise Planner.

You can book once on board or you can just show up if you don't mind a wait.

[dacsmom]

You can go under the dining section of my cruises on the website, it usually opens up about 90 days before your cruise. You can also book when you get on board through the TV or in person. Or you can just show up if you want, but during peak times you may have to wait a few minutes. If you don't have reservations there are screens around the ship that tell you how full a dining area is so you can decide where you want to eat.

[moshek]

I always book time slots on cruise planner before sailing and then if we want to amend time for following day we just ask to do so as we leave the restaurant. We don't use MTD to swap and change times that much but just because we prefer to eat at 6.30/6.45 but as we are not hanging around waiting for other guests to join us at the table service ends to finish at same time as 6pm set dining people. It's also perfect for our teens who come to dinner then excuse themselves just before 8 to go off to teen activities (occasionally they miss dessert but not often).

[Bucket29]

Thanks all!

[Scotty G]

You can book before you cruise using the Cruise Planner.

You can book once on board or you can just show up if you don't mind a wait.

 

Great answers. Why can't all responses be this good?

[negc]

You can book before you cruise using the Cruise Planner.

You can book once on board or you can just show up if you don't mind a wait.

 

That pretty much sums it up although I must say that in our experiences (mostly on Radiance class ships) we have never had a wait of more than 5 minutes when we just showed up (around 7:30) without making an advance reservation. When we have found an especially good team of servers we almost always booked their table for a specific time each evening, just to be sure of getting them for the duration of the cruise.

[Letsallcruise]

Is MTD in a separate dining room from the normal early and late seatings for dinner? We will be on Independence next week and are doing MTD for the first time.

[Clarea]

Is MTD in a separate dining room from the normal early and late seatings for dinner? We will be on Independence next week and are doing MTD for the first time.

Same dining room and menu as traditional dining. MYD is usually on deck 5.

Edited June 15, 2015 by clarea

[mollyeilis]

Same dining room and menu as traditional dining. MYD is usually on deck 5.

 

I see the different levels as being different dining rooms. Might not make sense to others, but they have different names.