Pro's and Cons of My Time Dining?

[twokids0204]

I booked a cruise for August, and the early dining is watilisted.

 

From experience, has anyone who's been waitlisted, actually gotten their choice?

 

Other option is My Time. I did NCL last year and they are all my time, and didn't find it an issue. But I kinda enjoy carnival's waitstaff entertainment, etc... For those who have done My Time Dining, what are your impressions of it?

[nwo4life]

I don't like waiting for a table, give me assigned time.

[desilennay]

I've been wondering this as well. My first cruise is in October so I wasnt sure if I should get the My Time or not.

[amyh13]

We just did Your Time Dining on the Valor. Our party size varied from 5 -8 with it being 7 on most nights and never had a wait at 7pm. We got a pager twice but it buzzed within 2 minutes.

 

And we were able to request the same servers most nights although most of our servers were great!

[GlendaleCruiser]

Pros of Early Dining: You get to eat early if you are used to that and you get to know your waiter and tablemates. If you don't like either, you can request to change tables.

 

Cons of Early Dining:You have to watch the time closely and make sure you get there at the appropriate time. There is always a line of people outside the dining room waiting for it to open because people are afraid of being late. In the past, they closed the doors 10 minutes after opening and you had to eat on Lido if you were late. They have pretty much relaxed that a lot now.

 

Pros of YTD: If you are meeting friends for dinner you can meet up around 6:00--ISH instead of having to eat with your assignment. My friends and I usually meet sometime between 6:00-6:30 in one of the public areas outside the dining room and go in together. Sometimes we decided to do something else. If we like the waiter, we ask for his/her section. If we don't, we ask for something else. Very flexible.

 

Cons of YTD: Waiting for a table........I've only had to wait for a table one time for 10 minutes and that's because there were 7 of us instead of 4 and it was Elegant Night. Being Platinum helps, though, I must admit, because Platinum goes to the front of the line.

Edited April 12, 2016 by GlendaleCruiser

[cruiselovin'momma]

We've had the YTD, and, we really liked it. We had a party of 3-5, and, only had to wait one night for maybe 5 mins. You can also request the same wait staff each night. We never did and were still seated in the same 2 sections all week long.

[chrislo]

We have had YTD on our last 3 trips. For us the biggest pro is the flexibility. Some nights we eat early and others we eat late depending on our days activities. The con's for us is never really getting to know your waitstaff.

[linbobky]

Pros of Early Dining: You get to eat early if you are used to that and you get to know your waiter and tablemates. If you don't like either, you can request to change tables.

 

Cons of Early Dining:You have to watch the time closely and make sure you get there at the appropriate time. There is always a line of people outside the dining room waiting for it to open because people are afraid of being late. In the past, they closed the doors 10 minutes after opening and you had to eat on Lido if you were late. They have pretty much relaxed that a lot now.

 

Pros of YTD: If you are meeting friends for dinner you can meet up around 6:00--ISH instead of having to eat with your assignment. My friends and I usually meet sometime between 6:00-6:30 in one of the public areas outside the dining room and go in together. Sometimes we decided to do something else. If we like the waiter, we ask for his/her section. If we don't, we ask for something else. Very flexible.

 

Cons of YTD: Waiting for a table........I've only had to wait for a table one time for 10 minutes and that's because there were 7 of us instead of 4 and it was Elegant Night. Being Platinum helps, though, I must admit, because Platinum goes to the front of the line.

 

Platinum does not go to the front of the line. if you did this you, you bucked the line!

Edited April 12, 2016 by linbobky

[nc2sc]

I dont know the cause/effect for this, but I felt like our YTD dinners took FOREVER most nights. We had a group of 10, and never waited once to be seated. That was something I feared, but was very relieved to not experience. However, there would be long gaps of time between courses.

 

My 'thought' is that we were caught just after the 6pm Fixed Dining rush everynight, (arriving around 6-630) so we were last for every app/entree, etc...Or, it could be the odd timing of the other tables at same wait station caused the waiters to be inefficient. Not sure why, but it definitely felt slower.

 

The couple of nights (once with 5, once with all 10) that we ate 7-730, it felt like our dinner was smooth and timely.

[GlendaleCruiser]

Platinum does not go to the front of the line. if you did this you, you bucked the line!

 

You are wronger than wrong...................

 

There are two lines and someone at the beginning of the rope divider. When you show your Platinum or Diamond card, you are directed to the other side and directly to the desk.

 

Sorry you don't know that yet. :cool:

 

I just got off Imagination in January and it worked SWELL. We also asked for our favorite waiter and sat in his section each time.

Edited April 12, 2016 by GlendaleCruiser

[trvlgirlmq]

We have done only YTD on all of our 5 cruises and I would never do assigned seating. I like that we can eat early if we happen to be hungry or wait until later if are not. We don't have to hurry back from excursions to make our seating. We also prefer to just eat as a family. We have also never had to wait more than a few minutes to be seated and if we find a wait team we click with we just request them each night with no problem.

[RuthlessBoss]

You are wronger than wrong...................

 

There are two lines and someone at the beginning of the rope divider. When you show your Platinum or Diamond card, you are directed to the other side and directly to the desk.

 

Sorry you don't know that yet. :cool:

 

I just got off Imagination in January and it worked SWELL. We also asked for our favorite waiter and sat in his section each time.

 

Yet:eek: When did this come into effect:confused:?

[Wndrwomn]

I booked a cruise for August, and the early dining is watilisted.

 

From experience, has anyone who's been waitlisted, actually gotten their choice?

 

Other option is My Time. I did NCL last year and they are all my time, and didn't find it an issue. But I kinda enjoy carnival's waitstaff entertainment, etc... For those who have done My Time Dining, what are your impressions of it?

 

Me and my sisters chose the My Time Dining. One night we went to dinner around 7:45, but most days we were at the dining room between 6 and 6:30. We waited *Once* for a table but only five minutes.

Last time I cruised with a friend and the same thing, basically just walked into the restaurant, sat down and ate dinner :) Never a problem.

Also, I have a GF allergy and needed to order my meals the night before. My meals were always fresh and ready for me!

 

Black Pearl Deck 3 is for My Time Dining. Black Pearl Deck 4 and Gold Pearl are for those with regular early/late seating.

[GlendaleCruiser]

Yet:eek: When did this come into effect:confused:?

 

 

No idea. Just the way it was on Imagination in January. Rope divider. Hostess at the divider. Asked to see everyone's card. Sent us to the left and the desk and the rest of the line was to the right.

[tlw440]

Yet:eek: When did this come into effect:confused:?

 

I didn't know this either. :confused::confused::confused:

[Schoifmom]

No idea. Just the way it was on Imagination in January. Rope divider. Hostess at the divider. Asked to see everyone's card. Sent us to the left and the desk and the rest of the line was to the right.

 

Interesting. I experienced this as well; however, it was near the seating times for fixed dining. They would direct the fixed dining persons through one side and YTD through the other.

[GlendaleCruiser]

Interesting. I experienced this as well; however, it was near the seating times for fixed dining. They would direct the fixed dining persons through one side and YTD through the other.

 

We were in a dining room for YTD only.

We'll see what happens on Vista in October.

[kako14]

Our last cruise was on HAL and we did YTD, however on our cruise on Friday with Carnival we have late seating. Here's my reasoning:

 

YTD (HAL) - it was my husband and I only and we wanted flexibility. It ended up that we were eating around late seating, give or take a half hour. We liked some waiters, others not. We liked some tables, others not. We ended up always requesting the same table, same waiter, around the same time. There was never a wait on HAL.

 

Late (Carnival): we are sailing with 7 people, I planned it, and I hate disorganization or having to communicate instructions. Having assigned dining means everyone knows where yet need to be every night if they want to eat in the dining room. If our table or waiter is good or bad we can request a change and it will be in effect for the whole cruise. Plus we like getting to know our waiter. We chose late bc we are just late people and like to nap in the afternoon[emoji1]

[jakeT]

With YTD you have to be carefull when you eat, don't go at the start of regular early or late dining and when the shows ends. Lot of people see the show then go to eat after. That when it gets busy and you have to wait. Other than those times there little wait.

[Rosefloater]

No idea. Just the way it was on Imagination in January. Rope divider. Hostess at the divider. Asked to see everyone's card. Sent us to the left and the desk and the rest of the line was to the right.

 

It wasn't because you are Platinum. It is because the dining room you went to had both regular and YTD.

[bar1068]

No con's....all pro's.

[mzlinda]

I prefer assigned dining time. When I'm looking over the Fun Times and making my plans, I know exactly when I'll be eating and I plan activities around that fixed dinner time.

[TheTravelista]

You are wronger than wrong...................

 

There are two lines and someone at the beginning of the rope divider. When you show your Platinum or Diamond card, you are directed to the other side and directly to the desk.

 

Sorry you don't know that yet. :cool:

 

I just got off Imagination in January and it worked SWELL. We also asked for our favorite waiter and sat in his section each time.

 

I did not know this. I absolutely love YTD. The only thing less than perfect about it was the very short wait. I didn't wait more than 3-5 minutes for my table on the Breeze.

 

Anyway, there are no cons to YTD. Its amazing and I'll never go back to assigned again. I love being able to eat whenever I want vs 6 or 8:15. I find myself eating on the Lido more because I don't want to miss a movie or show, or I just don't feel like it. Way less pressure when you have YTD. No one cares if you show up or not.

Edited April 13, 2016 by TheTravelista

[Warm Breezes]

We will only do YTD unless we sail with a larger (7+) group of people. The pros are flexibility to eat when and with whom you want to. If you get a table and/or wait staff you enjoy you can ask for them. If you get a table and/or wait staff you don't enjoy you can request to be seated somewhere else. We have rarely had to wait for a table and never more than 15 minutes.

[cruzelover55]

We have had YTD on our last 3 trips. For us the biggest pro is the flexibility. Some nights we eat early and others we eat late depending on our days activities. The con's for us is never really getting to know your waitstaff.

 

We have had YTD every since it was offered. As you said, we love being flexible. And as far as getting to know your waitstaff, if that is important to you, you can request them. Knock wood, so far, we have never had to wait for a table. But, it is probably easier with a party of 2. We love to socialize, but, not while eating. That's why assigned dining never worked for us. Happy cruising for all!