Am I too late to "MyTime"?

[RCCL Fan]

We are typically early seating diners.

 

Last year on Allure, there were no more spots in Early seating and so we had to do MyTime.   

 

Despite dozens of RCI cruises, it was new to me, I hadn't researched it and didn't do anything to prepare.

 

We got on board and just showed up in the dining room at 6:30 and were told no tables until 8:30 and no reservations until after 8:30 all week.

 

It was awful.  

 

We vowed no more MyTime dining.

 

However, I recently learned that I should have made reservations ahead of time at home. Apparently everyone else did and that's why  we couldn't find anything.

 

I am thinking about trying MyTime one more time.

 

We're 50 days out,  vision class ship, and we're in a suite....  so their in a concierge to help.   

 

Am I too late to switch to MyTime and be able to get a regular 6:30  or 7pm reservation?

[Merion_Mom]

Call your TA or RC (if you booked directly) and ask if that option is available.

[Dat Cruisin Couple]

27 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

We are typically early seating diners.

 

Last year on Allure, there were no more spots in Early seating and so we had to do MyTime.   

 

Despite dozens of RCI cruises, it was new to me, I hadn't researched it and didn't do anything to prepare.

 

We got on board and just showed up in the dining room at 6:30 and were told no tables until 8:30 and no reservations until after 8:30 all week.

 

It was awful.  

 

We vowed no more MyTime dining.

 

However, I recently learned that I should have made reservations ahead of time at home. Apparently everyone else did and that's why  we couldn't find anything.

 

I am thinking about trying MyTime one more time.

 

We're 50 days out,  vision class ship, and we're in a suite....  so their in a concierge to help.   

 

Am I too late to switch to MyTime and be able to get a regular 6:30  or 7pm reservation?

 

Go on embarkation day and set a reservation. Also the concierge might help, can't hurt.

 

Did someone say this repeatedly or just once? Did you speak with only one person? They really should have been able to accommodate, unless EVERYONE got there 5 minutes ago and just started eating. 

[h20skibum]

Ask them to put you on the waitlist if it is still not available.  Often, slots will open up. 

 

Our experience with Mytime on Oasis class ships has also been horrible.  It is better on the smaller ships

[Crism]

Oasis class My Time is a MESS I have found. There are too many people for the dining room to handle for My Time. It was much easier on Voyager class and Radiance class recently so you may have some luck on on the smaller ships as mentioned by others above.

[mickeygirl78]

We did my time on the symphony a few months ago and it was great. We showed up the first night at 5:30 and got a table right away, there were seven of us. Then we made reservations for the rest of the week at the same time/table. 

 

Id call and try it again. 

[RCCL Fan]

Let me try to explain more clearly.

 

"MyTime" is still an option on my upcoming sailing, I  already know it's available.

 

I was explaining that  my only experience with MyTime was horrible and someone encouraged me to try again.  They led me to believe I had a bad experience because I was on an Oasis class ship AND I did not make reservations online before I left home. 

 

So, my question is, if I switch from early to MyTime now, am I likely to find all the reservations are gone again?   I'm 50 days from departure and I wondering if in your experience you can still get a good time slot 50 days out.

 

If I switch to MyTime and I can only get after 8:30pm again I'll be annoyed.  So I was asking your opinion on my chances 50 days out of actually making a My Time reservation standing for the week a 6 or 6:15ish.

 

 

 

 

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, RCCL Fan said:

Let me try to explain more clearly.

 

"MyTime" is still an option on my upcoming sailing, I  already know it's available.

 

I was explaining that  my only experience with MyTime was horrible and someone encouraged me to try again.  They led me to believe I had a bad experience because I was on an Oasis class ship AND I did not make reservations online before I left home. 

 

So, my question is, if I switch from early to MyTime now, am I likely to find all the reservations are gone again?   I'm 50 days from departure and I wondering if in your experience you can still get a good time slot 50 days out.

 

If I switch to MyTime and I can only get after 8:30pm again I'll be annoyed.  So I was asking your opinion on my chances 50 days out of actually making a My Time reservation standing for the week a 6 or 6:15ish.

 

 

 

 

 

I would ask this on your Roll Call since it is likely dependent on your specific sailing.

[HicksRA]

Maybe see if there’s a group for your particular sailing and ask for someone there who has MTD to check the reservations in their cruise planner to see what’s still open. 

[RCCL Fan]

1 hour ago, Dat Cruisin Couple said:

 

Go on embarkation day and set a reservation. Also the concierge might help, can't hurt.

 

Did someone say this repeatedly or just once? Did you speak with only one person? They really should have been able to accommodate, unless EVERYONE got there 5 minutes ago and just started eating. 

 

The first night on the ship we went to the dining room at 6pm and the line just to get to the person taking your name for MyTime stretched out of the dining room waiting area, across the hall, past the elevators and wrapped around by the restrooms.   We waited 45 minutes to get to the host, and once there, we were told to come back in an hour and a half and they would try to get us in.

 

I asked if I could make a reservation for the week, I was told I had to call the reservations line in the morning. 

 

I called the next morning and was told there were no reservations available before 8:30pm all week.

 

That night as soon as the dining room opened I came back and tried to make a reservation.  I was there when the door opened.  dozens of us were,  we were told no more reservations were available before 8:30.  

 

I called again next day --- same thing.

 

I asked the diamond concierge, he told me that 88% of the ship was in My Time or Early seating.  He said, "it happens sometimes, you have to book your reservations ahead of time"  He helped us get in specialty restaurants which is where we ate all week because MDR was such a mess.

 

 

 

[Another_Critic]

Why go thorough the hassle to switch from Early (5:30 or 6:00) to My Time if you're going to make a standing reservation for 6 or 6:15?

[karena1]

2 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

We are typically early seating diners.

 

Last year on Allure, there were no more spots in Early seating and so we had to do MyTime.   

 

Despite dozens of RCI cruises, it was new to me, I hadn't researched it and didn't do anything to prepare.

 

We got on board and just showed up in the dining room at 6:30 and were told no tables until 8:30 and no reservations until after 8:30 all week.

 

It was awful.  

 

We vowed no more MyTime dining.

 

However, I recently learned that I should have made reservations ahead of time at home. Apparently everyone else did and that's why  we couldn't find anything.

 

I am thinking about trying MyTime one more time.

 

We're 50 days out,  vision class ship, and we're in a suite....  so their in a concierge to help.   

 

Am I too late to switch to MyTime and be able to get a regular 6:30  or 7pm reservation?

we have done MTD since it started and LOVE it. Would never go back to traditional.  We never make reservations, just go eat when we feel like it.  Like in San Juan next month, I did make reservations for 6:30 since we want to watch sail away at 8:30 but as a rule, go eat when we want and have no issues

 

[cured]

3 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

We are typically early seating diners.

 

Last year on Allure, there were no more spots in Early seating and so we had to do MyTime.   

 

Despite dozens of RCI cruises, it was new to me, I hadn't researched it and didn't do anything to prepare.

 

We got on board and just showed up in the dining room at 6:30 and were told no tables until 8:30 and no reservations until after 8:30 all week.

 

It was awful.  

 

We vowed no more MyTime dining.

 

However, I recently learned that I should have made reservations ahead of time at home. Apparently everyone else did and that's why  we couldn't find anything.

 

I am thinking about trying MyTime one more time.

 

We're 50 days out,  vision class ship, and we're in a suite....  so their in a concierge to help.   

 

Am I too late to switch to MyTime and be able to get a regular 6:30  or 7pm reservation?

Not sure if this is particular to the Oasis, but we just got off her on Thursday. We won our RoyalUp bid so were in a Crown Loft suite. We also had MTD. While I had made reservations for 6-8pm months ago in our planner, having only been on one 4 day Carnival cruise before, I sorely messed up the times that we would be ready for dinner. Half the time our reservations were for before we were even back on the ship. I think we made it at 6 once the whole 6 nights we ate there. (we were assured we could just show up whenever.)

 

There were 2 lines at the American Icon dining hall. The right line was for people with reservations, the left for no reservations.  We would get there and the person looking at our pass and seeing the yellow VIP sticker would tell the person behind him "suite guests" and they would march us up the middle of the two lines and to the third podium in the rear.  We would be immediately escorted to the "our" table, which happened to be the same table with the same unbelievable waiters, every night. There was a small section that was rarely full and we saw the same people in there every night. We were surmising that maybe they kept this section open for suite guests who showed up.

 

Not sure if they hold a section open for suite guests, more experienced cruisers can chime in here, but we never waited for a table. Ever. Even without reservations. And no matter what time we arrived, "our" table was waiting for us.  

 

I would also like to know if this is  normal as it spoiled us for life. That darn RoyalUp bid has now cost my budget $$$$$ because I don't think we can ever cruise without being in a Sky Class or above if this is the kind of convenience it brings. Either that, or the people that were moved up out of the suite we won were big, big VIPs and we were mistaken for them. FWIW, we never met the concierge, so this was just what happened when we showed up.

 

As we left there were always huge lines in the no reservation line waiting for tables.  I always thought to my self as we passed the line out that the RoyalUP bid was the best money spent on the whole cruise just to stay out of that line.

Edited August 17, 2019 by cured

[vacationlover_mn]

Sad to hear about your experience, and it makes me not want to try MyTime... we love to eat 5-6pm

[martikus]

We were told last year 90% of reservations are give out pre-cruise which is why it is so hard to get one on ship.  The staff member says it is so frustrating.  If they would move early dining back to 6pm instead of 5:30pm we probably would do that.

 

that said, as long as we make pre-cruise reservation we’ve had good MTD experience and if we like our server after night 2 are told we don’t have to check in.  Just go sit down.

 

 

[Lorey2007]

1 hour ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Sad to hear about your experience, and it makes me not want to try MyTime... we love to eat 5-6pm

We are 200 days out from our Symphony cruise.  About 3 weeks ago MTD reservations became available to book, you could only book 6:30 or 8:30. I made the 6:30 but thought it was weird since I have seen Compasses that said MTD opens at 5:15 so I called.  I was told it was already booked up for the earlier times. I'm going to call C&A and see if they can help just seems strange that you couldn't make a earlier reservation. 

[cb at sea]

Just book early seating, if that's when you'd like to eat.  Your table will be waiting for YOU, instead of the other way around!

[Dat Cruisin Couple]

4 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

He said, "it happens sometimes, you have to book your reservations ahead of time"  He helped us get in specialty restaurants which is where we ate all week because MDR was such a mess.

 

 

 

 

@RCCL FanI think the biggest difference is you are going to be on a vision class and not an oasis class ship. MTD seems more palatable on the smaller ships. 

[rncruiser]

A couple of years ago I booked Allure 5 days before sailing as my cruise on another line was cancelled last minute. There were 6 of us traveling together and we each booked with separate travel agents. Because we did not book together Royal would not allow one person to book dining for the others so we decided to book once we got on board. As soon as I boarded I headed straight to the dining room and had no difficulty getting dinner reservations. We also had no trouble booking specialty dining for the day and time we wanted as well as a cabana for Labadee. 

[cruisegus]

 Really this seems like one of the only times I have read of anyone having trouble getting into My Time dinning with less than a 5-10 minute wait.

We love my time., but it sound like form reading this thread, that they are overbooking the numbers allowed.  It has always seemed strange to me that they only have one of the 3 floors of dining for My time, especially after early service lets out.

[ONECRUISER]

5 hours ago, martikus said:

We were told last year 90% of reservations are give out pre-cruise which is why it is so hard to get one on ship.  The staff member says it is so frustrating.  If they would move early dining back to 6pm instead of 5:30pm we probably would do that.

 

that said, as long as we make pre-cruise reservation we’ve had good MTD experience and if we like our server after night 2 are told we don’t have to check in.  Just go sit down.

 

 

Depends on Ship and even week to week. I do B2B2B every yr with one sailing Early was 600, next sailing was 530. One sailing MTD was 5, another 530, 3rd the 530 was same as Early Main. WJ same, one sailing opened same as MD next week was 6 with MTD at 530.

Edited August 18, 2019 by ONECRUISER

[LeeW]

Allure and Harmony (at least) are now not opening MyTime until around 6:30, so in our case I made reservations for that time.  Apparently they are using that dining room for early Fixed Seating.  Hoping to go in on the first day and see if I can either change to that seating or be allowed in with the Fixed Seating folks (depends on space, but some folks have reported success with this).  In the past even on Oasis-class we have had the same table and servers every night, just not the entire dining room getting their food at once.  Have been able to get in and out in 45 minutes or so.

[jbethel11]

On 8/17/2019 at 2:34 PM, RCCL Fan said:

However, I recently learned that I should have made reservations ahead of time at home. Apparently everyone else did and that's why  we couldn't find anything.

What's the point of "My Time Dining" if you must choose a time IN ADVANCE? It essentially defeats the point then, doesn't it? What if I am onboard and say "I want to eat at 7:30pm today", but my reservation is at 6:45pm. And then, the only other non-reserved times are well after 8pm? Just doesn't make sense. Should be a first come, first served basis.

[RCCL Fan]

It sounds like our bad experience on MyTime may have been a fluke AND because we were on Oasis class.   

 

Thats why i think we will try it again, just to see.

 

I was thinking it had to be a fluke because i had never heard anyone complain, but for us it was awful, and that's why I'm hesitant to try again.

 

One more question...  since we typically do early seating, then head to the late shows.... if we're going to eat a bit later, will this mess us up for shows?

 

Those of you who do mytime typically,  do you just not go to shows or do you still make it?

[RCCL Fan]

20 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

What's the point of "My Time Dining" if you must choose a time IN ADVANCE? It essentially defeats the point then, doesn't it? What if I am onboard and say "I want to eat at 7:30pm today", but my reservation is at 6:45pm. And then, the only other non-reserved times are well after 8pm? Just doesn't make sense. Should be a first come, first served basis.

thats how i thought it worked too, but the one time we tried it, that didn't work for us.

 

maybe it was a fluke.