Pressure to make reservations for My Time Dining

[kac0426]

On my recent cruise, we had My Time Dining. We love MTD because we like the flexibility of being able to eat when we want. We never know, from day to day, when we will feel like eating, so it works for us. Recently, when we boarded the Freedom, a crew member asked to see my seapass card. I showed it to him and he saw that we had MTD. He told me I needed to go immediately to the reservations desk to make reservations for the week. I asked if we HAD to make reservations. (I've had MTD before and never made reservations.) He said yes. I said, "Is this new?" and he just smiled but didn't say yes or no but I also didn't know if he understood what I was asking. Well, we didn't make reservations and never had a problem showing up and being seated right away. I know it helps them to know when you are coming and I want to be respectful of that. But at the same time, it's my vacation and if I purposely choose MTD, shouldn't I be allowed to eat when I want? Have you been pressured to make reservations for MTD and if so, how did you handle it? It just irked me that he told me I HAD to make reservations when I obviously didn't.

[bingo3]

In my opinion, it is not my time dining if I have to make reservations in advance. I may not know until that day when I want to eat and reservation times are usually booked way before then. I'm not making reservations next cruise and if they get perturbed, so be it. I have no problem waiting if I need to, just like any other restaurant on land. :)

[4Suzyq]

During our November cruise, it seemed that RC wanted us to sit with the same servers each night no matter what time we arrived for dinner. I wondered if servers were hoping for additional tips at the end of the cruise if they built a relationship with us during the cruise. It was the only reason I could figure why seating staff encouraged us to reserve our future dining time before we were even seated for the current evening meal. Just a thought.

[Beth_55]

Cruised last week on the Adventure. I never make reservations because My Time Dining should be just that ! I never know when we will go to dinner. I always ask for a table for two and other cruises, that is what we got. Not this time. They said we had to share a table for 4, so we did. And it was OK but not what I wanted. One other night we went when it opened. Room was about empty. Nope, had to share a table for 6 they said . Ended up at a table for TEN ! Again, it was fine but unexpected. The other people were shocked also. We never ate in the main dining room the rest of the cruise. So, I guess we should have made reservations for a table for TWO ! :o

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Cruised last week on the Adventure. I never make reservations because My Time Dining should be just that ! I never know when we will go to dinner. I always ask for a table for two and other cruises, that is what we got. Not this time. They said we had to share a table for 4, so we did. And it was OK but not what I wanted. One other night we went when it opened. Room was about empty. Nope, had to share a table for 6 they said . Ended up at a table for TEN ! Again, it was fine but unexpected. The other people were shocked also. We never ate in the main dining room the rest of the cruise. So, I guess we should have made reservations for a table for TWO ! :o

I'm not anti social but on my cruise I want to sit with my wife and nobody else.

 

I only see my wife on the weekends because we work different shifts so we have a lot of catching up to do.

 

If I was forced to share a table I would leave and go to the buffet and it would be the last time I booked a cruise with RCI.

 

Bill

 

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[Lady Chew]

We started choosing MTD as soon as it as offered, and have never looked back. We never make reservations ... we'll eat with anyone or by ourselves, whichever will get us seated faster! We've met some wonderful people that way, and if one night they're not so wonderful, well, it's a big ship, we don't have to see them again!

 

If we were celebrating something special, or were with a group, we might make reservations ... but they'd most likely be for one of the specialities!

[waterlegs]

First cruise is in May and our TA gave us MTD and recommended that we reserve our times online for at least the first day or two. Easy enough on day one as reckon we will want an early night. After that I haven't a clue.

[nets33]

Cruised last week on the Adventure. I never make reservations because My Time Dining should be just that ! I never know when we will go to dinner. I always ask for a table for two and other cruises, that is what we got. Not this time. They said we had to share a table for 4, so we did.

 

I would have refused to do so. There is no reason that you should "have to" share a table if you don't want to. If you still got the run around I would have asked to speak to the restaurant manager. The beauty of MTD is being able to sit with who you want when you want.

[CruisinCrow]

I agree with you - having to make reservations defeats the purpose of MTD. This happened to us on Enchantment. The host was very insistent about making reservations. We just ignored him and didn't have any problems getting a table.

[ptf2009]

I'm not anti social but on my cruise I want to sit with my wife and nobody else.

 

I only see my wife on the weekends because we work different shifts so we have a lot of catching up to do.

 

If I was forced to share a table I would leave and go to the buffet and it would be the last time I booked a cruise with RCI.

 

Bill

 

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Ditto.. we only want to sit together...alone:) We are friendly to everyone we encounter throughout the day, but for our meals we want to be alone. Luckily we have always been granted a table for two and at the WJ we only look for a table for 2. Happy Cruising!

[BamaGuy44]

Have you been pressured to make reservations for MTD and if so, how did you handle it? It just irked me that he told me I HAD to make reservations when I obviously didn't.

 

I'm sure it's easier for them to plan, etc if most MTD people make reservations, so I can see why they would "encourage" it. But I'm with you, I would be irked if I felt pressured or they acted like I had to.

 

I've done MTD twice and both times it was a good experience. We had a reservation maybe 25% of the nights. If I get pressured like you did I will not hesitate to let them know I don't appreciate it.

[kac0426]

We ate lunch a few times in the Main Dining Room and always asked for a table for 2. It seemed to throw them off balance. We would usually have to say it 3 times, once to the man at the door, and then twice to the person seating us. Every time, even after asking to sit by ourselves, they would try to put us with other people. I just kept saying, politely, "No, we want a table just for 2 please." One time the person seated had a disgusted look on his face and said to another crew member, "They want to sit by themselves!" like we were horrible people for wanting to do so. I consider myself to be a polite, friendly person, but I am an extreme introvert and making small talk is not comfortable for me. But even more than that, I always get the tutti salad bar for lunch. So I can get it immediately, have it eaten in 10 minutes, and be out of the dining room and off to my next activity. When I have shared a table, sometimes it's taken 1 1/2 hours to eat lunch, and I just don't care to spend that much time on a meal. I just wish the crew would be a little more understanding that not everyone wants to share a table. Especially at lunch when there are a million open tables everywhere!

[moonltnite]

I have to wonder if the pressure to make reservations with MTD is tied to them trying to spread out the MTD'ers over the evenings, as they have fewer dining staff than they used to have.

 

The last time we cruised, we had MTD and ate in the MDR 5 of the 7 nights. We made reservations - as we wanted the same wait staff for those nights. This coming cruise in March - we are only eating in the MDR twice. We have specialty restaurant reservations the other five nights. I did go ahead and make reservations for the two nights in the MDR, but it is annoying to feel you have to do so if you don't want to wait.

[Scotty G]

We have used MTD for quite some time now and always reserve a time online before boarding. I can understand why the MT Dining Room Manager would like as many as possible have reservations. It allows them to take better care of their guests through scheduling with no extreme backups.

 

I have observed many folks in line waiting for seating and some being annoyed that those with reservations are being seated ahead of them. There always seems to be a backlog of those without reservations - at least between MT opening and around 7PM.

 

Even though we usually use the same time and servers each night (at a 2 top) if we want to change the time or cancel for a Specialty restaurant we simply let the MTD receptionist know so he/she can adjust their schedule or availability of seats.

[cruzinlisa]

I agree the reservations defeat the purpose of MTD. I like the flexibility. What if we have 7:00 reservations and my daughter falls asleep. We either have to miss dinner or wake her up (and trust me you don't do that). Or some days after being in port we get back early and I am starving. And other days I am zonked and just want a nap. I could not tell you in the morning when I got up what time I wanted to have dinner that night, much less for the whole week.

[Scotty G]

I agree the reservations defeat the purpose of MTD. I like the flexibility. What if we have 7:00 reservations and my daughter falls asleep. We either have to miss dinner or wake her up (and trust me you don't do that). Or some days after being in port we get back early and I am starving. And other days I am zonked and just want a nap. I could not tell you in the morning when I got up what time I wanted to have dinner that night, much less for the whole week.

 

Actually if you have reservations you can still go later (or earlier) so this should not be a problem. Or not make reservations at all! If you are on the ship e.g., in your cabin and your daughter is sleeping you can call MTD and let them know and ask when is the latest you can come that evening.

 

They are rigidly flexible ;)

Edited January 31, 2017 by Scotty G
add clarification

[molly361]

Cruised last week on the Adventure. I never make reservations because My Time Dining should be just that ! I never know when we will go to dinner. I always ask for a table for two and other cruises, that is what we got. Not this time. They said we had to share a table for 4, so we did. And it was OK but not what I wanted. One other night we went when it opened. Room was about empty. Nope, had to share a table for 6 they said . Ended up at a table for TEN ! Again, it was fine but unexpected. The other people were shocked also. We never ate in the main dining room the rest of the cruise. So, I guess we should have made reservations for a table for TWO ! :o

 

I would have refused to do so. There is no reason that you should "have to" share a table if you don't want to. If you still got the run around I would have asked to speak to the restaurant manager. The beauty of MTD is being able to sit with who you want when you want.

 

I also would have asked to see the manager if this happened to us

[mustangjoe]

We make reservations for night 1. After that, we go when we want. I don't mind waiting for a table, as long as I have a drink in my hand.

 

 

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[JCMass.]

We had the same experience as soon as we boarded, we were asked for our sea pass and told to go immediately to make reservations for the week. We declined and he looked very surprised we would not do this. We also like to decide day by day when to eat dinner. If it works for us, we will go to the dining room during the day and make reservations in person for the time we want. Other times we just take a chance.

 

The only time I notice any long waits are the first night. There seems to be new people with MTD who think that they can show up and be seated immediately and they are surprised to find a line. We have started to eat in the Windjammer the first night, where it is very quiet with the same food. Once people understand how it works things calm down. Though MTD in the main dining room has become more of a rush than in the past. The waiters seem to be running back and forth to serve people. We are eating here less and less.

[johnjen]

When it comes to dining, we're the minority - want the large table. We've tried going back to the large table of ten persons but we are always stuck with the table for two. We just like meeting others and have found that the table for two people are often not getting the same amount of attention at the larger tables. We'll email this time to that "rccl dining" entity where as before, we've realized that verbally asking the call center agents is a complete waste of time.

 

Have to admit though, finding preferential treatment for everyone is about nearly impossible but there's always room for improvement.

Edited January 31, 2017 by johnjen

[Ashland]

Ditto.. we only want to sit together...alone:) We are friendly to everyone we encounter throughout the day, but for our meals we want to be alone. Luckily we have always been granted a table for two and at the WJ we only look for a table for 2. Happy Cruising!

 

Same with us...however I do wish the WJ's would have more tables for two...even if we have to sit at a table for 4...I don't want someone else sitting with us.