My Time Dining.......but not really?

[elaine5]

We do not want to eat late. We really liked MTD in Europe this Sept-no issues getting 6:30 reservation each night prior to boarding and 5-10 minute wait at most. We had level 4 open balcony circling 3rd floor which had fixed early dining.

We just selected MTD for a last minute Celebrity Carib. cruise as Early was sold out. I made a reservation for 6:15 each night at 20 days out. Fingers crossed.

[LobsterStalker]

1 hour ago, taglovestocruise said:

You are not factoring in that apparently 90% of MT diners want to eat at 6:45. We were on Navigator a few months ago, we had late dining with a table next to the balcony. Looking down two decks to the MTD room we could see it was virtually empty every night at 8pm. What stood out was the lack of space between two tops, what a joke. Waiter said there were people lining up at 6pm waiting for the 6:45 opening. 

Also curious when and why this trend changed so much then . To my knowledge before MTD ever started , Early and Late seatings seemed much more balanced... At least personally I never had issues getting Early ?

Where may I ask are you coming up with the 90% number ? Seems a bit of a stretch 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

3 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

You are not factoring in that apparently 90% of MT diners want to eat at 6:45. We were on Navigator a few months ago, we had late dining with a table next to the balcony. Looking down two decks to the MTD room we could see it was virtually empty every night at 8pm. What stood out was the lack of space between two tops, what a joke. Waiter said there were people lining up at 6pm waiting for the 6:45 opening. 

Correlation without causation.  You have no idea how many of those people lined up for the 6:45p opening actually wanted to eat EARLIER, but couldn't (at least in the MDR).

[CruizinSusan70]

9 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Head waiter also said they do not have this problem on X which is a sister cruise line.  Some like to eat quick, get out and enjoy the ship. Others like us look at dining as part of the cruise experience, we love a large table, late dining and a long 2 hour dinner. 

Besides X, they also don't have the problem on Carnival or Princess.  Both lines can handle MTD and traditional at the same time.  And there is no way that you can convince me that a higher percentage of people that cruise on RCI want early dining versus those that cruise on Carnival.

Large table, late dining and 2 hour dinners were great 20-25 years ago when the only entertainment options on board was either the lone show in the main theater or the casino.  Nowadays with the plethora of entertainment and drinking options on board, 75 minutes in the MDR is just fine for us.

[CruizinSusan70]

9 hours ago, LobsterStalker said:

Not quite understanding why that question was directed to me or how your cruising history relates to anything you are quoting me on , unless I am misreading something we are in agreement..

RCI's current dining structure is an Embarrassment  !

 

Cheers

We may be in agreement about the state of MTD on RCI, but I will fully disagree with you regarding who the main competition is for RCI.  You state it's NCL, who is number 3 in sales and I'll state it's Carnival, who is number 1.  Because of their freestyle policy, NCL walks to the beat of a different drummer and even though many Loyal Royals will disagree, RCI and Carnival are more similar than different.

The reason I brought up my cruise history is because how many lines a person has cruised on and how long they have been cruising gives them a different perspective over someone who has only been cruising for 10-15 years on a few lines.

[Pellaz]

2 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Besides X, they also don't have the problem on Carnival or Princess.  Both lines can handle MTD and traditional at the same time.  And there is no way that you can convince me that a higher percentage of people that cruise on RCI want early dining versus those that cruise on Carnival.

 

With many people wanting to attend the later-evening "adult" comedy shows on Carnival -- which are generally regarded as being one of the line's strengths -- I think a LOT of people on Carnival prefer early dining (whether early traditional or early YTD) so they can get out and see the shows.  I know our group has opted for c. 6 pm YTD for that exact reason, although our preference is 6:45 - 7 pm.  

Due to the way Carnival handles YTD, the "middle hours" tend to be busiest for YTD on average:  after all, if you wanted to eat early or late EVERY evening, you'd simply choose early or late traditional seating.  We like having the flexibility of being able to choose each night, and Carnival handles it well.  

 

Of course, on the Excel-class ships, choosing YTD is a no-brainer, since it automagically gives you access to the Italian and Asian-Mexican fusion specialty restaurants onboard as part of your standard complimentary dining choices, beginning with 5:45 pm bookings.  Traditional diners have to wait until 7 or 7:30 pm to reserve tables at those restaurants on the app.  

 

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

We may be in agreement about the state of MTD on RCI, but I will fully disagree with you regarding who the main competition is for RCI.  You state it's NCL, who is number 3 in sales and I'll state it's Carnival, who is number 1.  Because of their freestyle policy, NCL walks to the beat of a different drummer and even though many Loyal Royals will disagree, RCI and Carnival are more similar than different.

 

That ^^^ was my thinking in a nutshell.  NCL does things wholly differently with "Freestyle."  Some folks love it, some folks (hi, Mom!) HATED it.   

--But Royal and CCL have been closer together regarding dining operations for years...and it's a shame that Royal is having such a hard time implementing (or re-implementing?) MTD compared to their closest competitor.  

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by Pellaz

[LobsterStalker]

13 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

We may be in agreement about the state of MTD on RCI, but I will fully disagree with you regarding who the main competition is for RCI.  You state it's NCL, who is number 3 in sales and I'll state it's Carnival, who is number 1.  Because of their freestyle policy, NCL walks to the beat of a different drummer and even though many Loyal Royals will disagree, RCI and Carnival are more similar than different.

The reason I brought up my cruise history is because how many lines a person has cruised on and how long they have been cruising gives them a different perspective over someone who has only been cruising for 10-15 years on a few lines.

When I state who I believe to be their main competitor I am not referencing anything about sales .

My point is that I believe that if we were comparing demographics , that RCI and NCL passengers are the most similar of the 3. Therefore if RCI is gonna make a change to compete for customers the best target would be NCL . With all the stories I have heard about Carnival I would disagree with your assessment that their passengers are more similar than NCL's , and by your line above, ( bolded )  I guess I am not alone 

I am not claiming that to be fact , but that is my perception

 

Cheers

[LobsterStalker]

2 minutes ago, LobsterStalker said:

When I state who I believe to be their main competitor I am not referencing anything about sales .

My point is that I believe that if we were comparing demographics , that RCI and NCL passengers are the most similar of the 3. Therefore if RCI is gonna make a change to compete for customers the best target would be NCL . With all the stories I have heard about Carnival I would disagree with your assessment that their passengers are more similar than NCL's , and by your line above, ( bolded )  I guess I am not alone 

I am not claiming that to be fact , but that is my perception

 

Cheers

Rereading this , I Wanted to clarify the bolded line to read>>> " I would disagree IF your assessment is that their passengers are more similar than NCL's  " 

 

Cheers

[CruizinSusan70]

35 minutes ago, LobsterStalker said:

When I state who I believe to be their main competitor I am not referencing anything about sales .

My point is that I believe that if we were comparing demographics , that RCI and NCL passengers are the most similar of the 3. Therefore if RCI is gonna make a change to compete for customers the best target would be NCL . With all the stories I have heard about Carnival I would disagree with your assessment that their passengers are more similar than NCL's , and by your line above, ( bolded )  I guess I am not alone 

I am not claiming that to be fact , but that is my perception

 

Cheers

You have been on a total of 12 cruises, 11 on RCI and 1 on NCL.  Since I have cruised on both RCI, six with 4 more booked, as well as Carnival, which you have not, I can give a first hand experience comparison between the two lines.  You can only regurgitate what you have read on line or seen on a YouTube video about the Carnival cruise experience.  If cruising on Carnival was so bad, then why are they the largest cruise line in the world?   The typical NCL cruiser is into the freestyle philosophy and walks to the beat of a different drummer.  RCI and Carnival are more alike than different. My first hand experience can back that up.  Cruised on RCI for the first time in 2001 and on Carnival for the first time in 1986.

[LobsterStalker]

1 hour ago, LobsterStalker said:

When I state who I believe to be their main competitor I am not referencing anything about sales .

My point is that I believe that if we were comparing demographics , that RCI and NCL passengers are the most similar of the 3. Therefore if RCI is gonna make a change to compete for customers the best target would be NCL . With all the stories I have heard about Carnival I would disagree with your assessment that their passengers are more similar than NCL's , and by your line above, ( bolded )  I guess I am not alone 

I am not claiming that to be fact , but that is my perception

 

Cheers

Not sure why some are so against another's perspective but your perspective( 1 person's experience ) is not going to change my perception. And as you yourself stated "though many Loyal Royals will disagree" , Why am I supposed to bow to your super views ?

 

.... "You can only regurgitate what you have read on line or seen on a YouTube video about the Carnival cruise experience"

"If cruising on Carnival was so bad, then why are they the largest cruise line in the world? "

 

Why the hostility ? 

I am simply sharing my opinion on the matter . I'm glad you have had good experiences on carnival .

I have had countless others first hand opinions of why they will never sail Carnival again , as well as their reasoning as to why . 

Why is my speaking of their experience "regurgitation" , but you want me to listen to your experience as law ? 

I never stated it was Bad, rather my point ( which I've stated repeatedly now ), Is that the demographic is different .

 

Cheers

[Aquahound]

1 hour ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

If cruising on Carnival was so bad, then why are they the largest cruise line in the world?   

 

They're not.  Royal Caribbean is bigger than Carnival.  

[HappyTexan44]

On 3/31/2023 at 2:52 PM, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I don't know what they've changed, but on our 2013 cruise, there were two floors dedicated to traditional and one floor dedicated to MTD. They were all open the same hours.  If there were empty tables on the traditional floors, they would take someone waiting to be seated in MTD and send them down there.  Seemed pretty simple.  Why/how they're doing things now I don't know/understand.

 

"We are on a 13 day cruise in October and would like early dining. At this time we are waitlisted leaving us with My Time Dining which begins at 6:45. "

This was from the OP and is a perfect example of why they need three all three floors for early traditional.   All three floors are early traditional, and yet the OP can't get on it.   

 

No facts on this one, but I suspect that there is a lot of cross-over with early-traditional and MTD.   People that say, "5:00pm is a bit early, but 8:00pm is waaayyyy to late."   

 

 

[taglovestocruise]

14 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

 

"We are on a 13 day cruise in October and would like early dining. At this time we are waitlisted leaving us with My Time Dining which begins at 6:45. "

This was from the OP and is a perfect example of why they need three all three floors for early traditional.   All three floors are early traditional, and yet the OP can't get on it.   

 

No facts on this one, but I suspect that there is a lot of cross-over with early-traditional and MTD.   People that say, "5:00pm is a bit early, but 8:00pm is waaayyyy to late."   

 

 

Unbelievable that early traditional is waitlisted 7 months out. 

[HappyTexan44]

1 minute ago, taglovestocruise said:

Unbelievable that early traditional is waitlisted 7 months out. 

I booked more than a year out and got early traditional, but my TA commented that it was nearly full.   
Then you add in the person that mentioned here that they'd been confirmed for early traditional, and then *poof* they really weren't anymore.   
 

[CruizinSusan70]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

 

They're not.  Royal Caribbean is bigger than Carnival.  

Carnival Corporation is number one. Royal is two and NCL is three.

[Aquahound]

26 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Carnival Corporation is number one. Royal is two and NCL is three.

 

Well, that is true, but you said cruise line earlier.

[LobsterStalker]

1 hour ago, HappyTexan44 said:

I booked more than a year out and got early traditional, but my TA commented that it was nearly full.   
Then you add in the person that mentioned here that they'd been confirmed for early traditional, and then *poof* they really weren't anymore.   
 

Live , in the flesh... GL

And , booked again , (and confirmed ) for 2 more in Oct.... ?

Gl to me as well

[rg123]

2 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Unbelievable that early traditional is waitlisted 7 months out. 

It’s true! And the earliest time we could reserve My Time Dining is 7:30. Hopefully traditional will open up. If not, we’ll go to the dining room first thing when we board. Due to hubby’s health issues and scheduled medications, I hope we can come to some satisfactory time. 7:30 is much too late

[tvo7]

I will be going on the Adventure in a few weeks. 

I am going to straight to the MAitre d once boarding at 1130 to see if I can switch to from MTD to 5:30.  Anyone know what the success rates are? How do I find the Maitre d  on the ship?

 

 

 

 

[cruiseboy89130]

13 minutes ago, tvo7 said:

Anyone know what the success rates are?

up to 68,9%

[S.A.M.J.R.]

51 minutes ago, tvo7 said:

I will be going on the Adventure in a few weeks. 

I am going to straight to the MAitre d once boarding at 1130 to see if I can switch to from MTD to 5:30.  Anyone know what the success rates are? How do I find the Maitre d  on the ship?

 

 

 

 

Go to the dining room entrance and start talking to crew members.  They'll direct you to who can make the change.

 

However, I wouldn't hold my breath.

[taglovestocruise]

4 hours ago, tvo7 said:

I will be going on the Adventure in a few weeks. 

I am going to straight to the MAitre d once boarding at 1130 to see if I can switch to from MTD to 5:30.  Anyone know what the success rates are? How do I find the Maitre d  on the ship?

 

 

 

 

You should do it now rather than wait.  You can be put on the waitlist for early traditional.  Call or have your TA call. Two weeks from cruise is the sweet spot for emailing Royal for dining requests. 

rcldinig@rccl.com

[rg123]

UPDATE:   Our TA called this morning and we have been taken off the waitlist and now have early traditional dining. Yay! And it must be so as Royal sent a bunch of email cancellations of our MTD reservations- ones for myself and then my husband for every night we were booked!

So there’s still hope folks if you’d like traditional dining rather than My Time. Make sure you’re waitlisted. Much easier way to go than having to beg once onboard!!

[LobsterStalker]

7 hours ago, rg123 said:

UPDATE:   Our TA called this morning and we have been taken off the waitlist and now have early traditional dining. Yay! And it must be so as Royal sent a bunch of email cancellations of our MTD reservations- ones for myself and then my husband for every night we were booked!

So there’s still hope folks if you’d like traditional dining rather than My Time. Make sure you’re waitlisted. Much easier way to go than having to beg once onboard!!

"And it must be so "??  Don't want to burst your bubble , just want you to be prepared .... I'll repost (This is from post 25 on this thread )

 

"Problem is that it seems early is far and above peoples first preference . If they cannot offer enough early dining slots (which clearly never used to be a concern) , then they need to consider how to fix the issue .To make this much much worse they are also overpromising and confirming way too many people for early than they can accomodate. I did consecutive in the fall (Symphony/Explorer) and Wonder last month , and all 3 I had confirmed Early dining ( 2 of the 3 I had Email confirmations from RCL dining , with table numbers) .All 3 I showed up , headed straight to dining room to check my table only to find out I had none..... 

.... Embarassing the way things are being run at present . Hope they get their act together soon 1 way or another !

 

Cheers"

 

....Best of luck !

[rg123]

1 hour ago, LobsterStalker said:

"And it must be so "??  Don't want to burst your bubble , just want you to be prepared .... I'll repost (This is from post 25 on this thread )

 

"Problem is that it seems early is far and above peoples first preference . If they cannot offer enough early dining slots (which clearly never used to be a concern) , then they need to consider how to fix the issue .To make this much much worse they are also overpromising and confirming way too many people for early than they can accomodate. I did consecutive in the fall (Symphony/Explorer) and Wonder last month , and all 3 I had confirmed Early dining ( 2 of the 3 I had Email confirmations from RCL dining , with table numbers) .All 3 I showed up , headed straight to dining room to check my table only to find out I had none..... 

.... Embarassing the way things are being run at present . Hope they get their act together soon 1 way or another !

 

Cheers"

 

....Best of luck !

Waah! 😩. Yes, it’s all coming back to me now, LobsterStalker (love your name btw). I do remember reading this earlier. Guess we will hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Even so, I’ll be pretty upset if they gum this up. Will head to the dining room first thing to check out the table situation!