Traditional dining vs My Time Dining on RC

[Justicedog]

Planning on booking on RC Freedom of the Seas for our first cruise. What's the difference between traditional dining ad my time dining? Are they the same restaurant? Same food?

 

Janelle

[Sauer-kraut]

Its the same menu. Traditional is you will be assigned a table and a dining time Early (6 pm) or Late (8 pm) and you will go to the assigned restaurant every night at the same time every night.

 

My Time Dining is going to the designated restaurant any time during the opening hours .... like going out to eat at a land restaurant. I think if you choose this option you will have to pre-pay your Daily Service Charge. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

 

If you want to experience the way cruising used to be go with the traditional dining. You'll have the same waitstaff every night and they will get to know things you like with your meal and will have it waiting for you rather than having to request every time. It is a very nice way to have a meal.

[Jimnbigd]

It is also the same restaurant on the Freedom of the Seas. The main dining room (MDR) is 3 levels but really one large restaurant. I think my-time-dining (MTD) is on level 5, but this might vary among RCI ships. Note that breakfast and lunch is always MTD, and probably only on level 3. I remember years agp when breakfast and lunch was also assigned dining times. And of course the buffet is always my-time, and casual (shorts allowed). Dinner in the buffet is very good -- much better than lunch I think -- and often much of the same food as the MDR. That said, the MDR experience is much better and more elegant.

[Jimnbigd]

There is only one main dining room (MDR) on the Freedom of the Seas. The MDR is 3 levels but really one large restaurant. I think my-time-dining (MTD) is on level 5, but this might vary among RCI ships. Note that breakfast and lunch is always MTD, and probably only on level 3. I remember years ago when breakfast and lunch were also assigned dining times. And of course the buffet is always my-time, and casual (shorts allowed). Dinner in the buffet is very good -- much better than lunch I think -- and often much of the same food as the MDR. That said, the MDR experience is much better and more elegant.

 

Sorry for the double post...Cruise Critic got a "data base error" -- I submitted this reply again because I did not see my first reply, then my first reply showed up.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Jimnbigd

[whataboutport]

Actually I think mostly all the major lines are doing auto grats now no matter if you're doing MTD or regular dining.

 

The thing to mention is that many people groan that regular dining is weird times. Early too early, and late too late. I agree. So they do MTD. But then everyone shows up between 7 and 7:30 and if you request a table for 2 many times you will wait upwards of 40 mins! If you do traditional dining you don't have to wait for your table. And if you are a table of two (or only your party) you can be a few minutes late and no big deal. If you have a large table it is rude to be late, bc the waiter will most likely wait until all are seated so it is easier on him to serve.

 

Now I will disagree that dinner is better than lunch in the MDR. We usually try to do lunch in the MDR bc most people will be at the buffet. It's usually very quiet and since there isn't as huge a rush as during dinner they servers aren't as stressed. I find the food is cooked better also. And lastly, the meal can be only 30-40 mins instead of dinner that can sometimes take over an hour.

[leaveitallbehind]

The restaurant is the same and MTD occupies the top level of the dining room. Pre-paid gratuities are no longer required with RCI for MTD. This changed recently.

[janetz]

I think MTD wording is confusing for some as you can make a reservation for a certain time or just show up. We always do MTD and never reserve. We have never waited more then 5 minutes at the most to be seated.

MTD gives you the option to just dine when you want. :)

[whataboutport]

Were you asking for two tops or first available? I said if you want a two top you may have to wait. We waited a long time for a two top.

[Euphemus]

Planning on booking on RC Freedom of the Seas for our first cruise. What's the difference between traditional dining ad my time dining? Are they the same restaurant? Same food?

 

Janelle

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

We always to MTD because as others have said, early seating is too early and late seating is too late.

 

Sometimes we reserve and sometimes we don't. We never wait for very long.

 

If you want the more 'traditional experience' but want the flexibility of MTD, here are a couple of things we do:

 

-If we find a waiter we like, we ask to be seated in that section every night. Most often, the maitre d' staff accommodates this. Thus, they get to know you and your preferences but you are not tied to a schedule or the same table mates.

 

-If you want to sit with others and meet people, just ask for 'sharing'. They will seat you at a larger table with others who also want 'sharing'. They try to seat everyone at about the same time so that the dinner service moves smoothly for the whole table. There are times when this is a faster option than asking for a particular size table or a particular waiter.

 

Have fun!

[Justicedog]

Thanks for the insight.

[cb at sea]

If you want tablemates (we love that!)..then do traditional...MTDers don't like sharing!

 

The menus, and dress code are the same.

Edited February 3, 2016 by cb at sea

[leaveitallbehind]

If you want tablemates (we love that!)..then do traditional...MTDers don't like sharing!

 

The menus, and dress code are the same.

 

Where do you get your information from?? We do MTD all the time for the flexibility of dining times and have often shared a table with others we don't know.

 

You can also request a table for whatever party size you have with traditional dining if you don't want to share a table. Ditto MTD. It is a personal choice by anyone and not just a stereotype as you indicate for MTD.

 

You spew out so much misinformation with your gazillion posts!!

 

Sorry mods, just very frustrating!

Edited February 3, 2016 by leaveitallbehind

[donaldsc]

If you want tablemates (we love that!)..then do traditional...MTDers don't like sharing!

 

.

 

Where did you get this totally wrong idea. We almost always do MTD and we always say that we want to share a table. Some times you get real winners and sometimes not as good but we almost never get to share with a real loser. We have even enjoyed sharing with people whose English is not so good because we always manage to communicate somehow. For example, on our last cruise, two night we got to share a table with a French Canadian family. Two of them spoke fairly good English and two of them spoke mostly French. The father owned a maple syrup company and we learned more about maple syrup than we had ever known before. Fascinating.

 

If you do traditional dining, you have the same tablemates every night. You get to hear the same boring stories every night. If one or more of your tablemates are total losers as they sometimes are, you are stuck with them for the entire cruise unless you request a table change which is sort of embarrassing.

 

Give me MTD any day.

 

DON

Edited February 3, 2016 by donaldsc

[spookwife]

Planning on booking on RC Freedom of the Seas for our first cruise. What's the difference between traditional dining ad my time dining? Are they the same restaurant? Same food?

 

Janelle

 

yes. with MTD you just have more flexibility when you eat to accommodate shore plans or even on board plans.

[Host Walt]

Dining on a cruise ship is unique. Except for wedding receptions and fund raising dinners we have never been asked to join others ("strangers") at a large table, so the decision about "traditional" vs. "anytime" is unusual.

 

We've done both and marginally prefer "traditional."

 

We also request a large table (6 or 8) which, for us, has always worked very well. Yes, occasionally we have less than satisfactory tablemates but interestingly those folks either come around and become more sociable or simply choose not to join us on later nights.

 

Our experience with "anytime dining" is that it is more of a crap shoot because you'll have no idea who you'll be joining and any connection you may make is temporary. We usually luck out on the first or second night and will coordinate our future "anytime" reservations which is sort of a self directed "traditional" dining.

[ZandZ]

We chose MTD. If I know the plan for the day, I will call and make a reservation to ensure I don't have to wait. Generally I find that even tho it's MTD we get seated in the same area with the same staff who always remember what we like, so it's still somewhat traditional. We ask for a table for two so there is no interaction with other pax, but that's my choice.... So, other than that, there is not much of a difference from traditional...

[wassup4565]

Here's the difference about tablemates. With traditional dining, you share the table with the same people every evening. We have had wonderful experiences with this when those people are interesting and friendly. After awhile it feels like you are meeting old friends after each busy day - so much to share and talk about. However, we've also been assigned to tables where people didn't get along (the public defender and the hard-line cop at the same table - yikes!) and one where an older gentleman insisted on telling me the same stories every evening.

 

With MTD, you can choose to share, but the people you share with will be different every evening. That means if you don't enjoy someone's company, you don't need to eat with them again.

[crabby5]

We went on the Oasis last August and we did MTD. On the first night, we got an awesome server and asst, so we made reservations to eat with them every night. You can make reservations, so it doesn't feel like a total free for all.

[jamessemaj]

MTD can vary. Reservations are encouraged to reduce wait time. You can put in a standard reservation for the same time each night, in which case the experience will likely resemble traditional dining with the same people in the same part of the dining room. If you don't make reservations and show up at various times, a wait is likely and you will be given one of those call things letting you know when a table is available.

[MicCanberra]

I prefer MTD, eat when I am hungry or when it suits me rather than at the set times.:D

[Clarea]

I prefer MTD, eat when I am hungry or when it suits me rather than at the set times.:D

I like set times because I don't want to wait and I like that the show times are convenient for my dining, without any planning on my part.

[MicCanberra]

I like set times because I don't want to wait and I like that the show times are convenient for my dining, without any planning on my part.

 

That is the beauty of having the options. Also, many people go MTD and then book in for the same times most nights anyway.:D

[whataboutport]

I think that is bc Early seating is too early, and Late is kind of late. We usually get early, but most of the time end up eating at the buffet anyway, bc we eat tiny dinners and don't like to spend over an hour for it when we only snack at night.

[hapster85]

We only had a problem getting a table one time on the Radiance last summer with MTD. It was the last sea day, and they booked up quickly. Only available times were late, so we just went to the buffet. My only complaint with that was, by the end of the week, the buffet was feeling repetitive, as we'd had breakfast and lunch there most days.

 

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