"Christmas Vacay Symph OT Seas

[SSBrickNJ]

My wife and I have recently booked a 7 night cruise out of Miami for Dec 22nd - Dec 29th 2024. To keep costs down I selected an Inner Stateroom on Deck 8 that should be a "quiet room". It has a stateroom above and below it ( Decks 7 & 9 ). I had been pursing Wonder of the Seas for these dates but then I came to the conclusion those two ships had these things in common: The Boardwalk, a Central Park, and a reputation for great entertainment and even parades. I booked with COSTCO  Travel. For some reason the price was $147 less than my AAA Travel agent quoted. Additionally, 10 to 14 days after our cruise ends, Costco will give us a $200 plus ( I forget the exact amount) digital card ...like a gift card...free money to spend at Costco was a nice perk for booking with them. So here come my questions....1) I selected the 5pm My Time Dining for my wife and I. Yet truthfully when we are on a NON "At Sea Day" we will not want to arrive to the MDR until 5:45pm. Upon boarding on Day One, do you think I could approach MDR front podium staff and request a table for two for 5:45pm for the entire cruise. Same table...same servers...5:45pm all 7 nights. Might they put that in place for me if I ask nicely? #2  We will want to see the main theater show, the ice skating show and the aqua show. Since we will be on a Dec 22nd cruise, at what point do I start to reserve those? I am told I need to reserve my entertainment.  I have never done that but I assume I would accomplish that on the app? Thanks for taking the time to read this and for helping me. Steve ( from NJ )

Edited March 2 by SSBrickNJ

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, SSBrickNJ said:

I selected the 5pm My Time Dining for my wife and I. Yet truthfully when we are on a NON "At Sea Day" we will not want to arrive to the MDR until 5:45pm. Upon boarding on Day One, do you think I could approach MDR front podium staff and request a table for two for 5:45pm for the entire cruise. Same table...same servers...5:45pm all 7 nights.

Unfortunately that won't work as it then interrupts guests scheduled after you.  I would just go somewhere else to eat those other nights or switch to MTD and eat at 6:30 / 6:45 every night

Edited March 2 by Ourusualbeach

[OCSC Mike]

7 minutes ago, SSBrickNJ said:

Since we will be on a Dec 22nd cruise, at what point do I start to reserve those? I am told I need to reserve my entertainment.  I have never done that but I assume I would accomplish that on the app?

 

There is no set date but entertainment reservations usually open early in the month before your cruise month... so early November in your case. You can use the app or the website. I prefer the website for booking entertainment.

Edited March 2 by OCSC Mike

[firefly333]

You said you selected MY TIME 5 pm. Either it's a set time or its anytime dining, not both.

 

I go to the buffet the nights I dont want to eat at the set time. It opens at 6 pm

[SSBrickNJ]

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

You said you selected MY TIME 5 pm. Either it's a set time or its anytime dining, not both.

 

I go to the buffet the nights I dont want to eat at the set time. It opens at 6 pm

Yes, if memory serves me right, I was offered "My Time Dining" in which there were only two options..an early seating ( 5 pm ) and a later seating ( I think was 6:45pm ) We certainly don't want 6:45pm because we want to be going to entertainment venues...selecting our seats around 7:45pm. So 5pm My Time Dining is a large block of guests all hitting the MDR all at once...correct? If I am included in that 5pm list of people...but...my wife and I show up at 5:30pm...what will happen?

[firefly333]

31 minutes ago, SSBrickNJ said:

Yes, if memory serves me right, I was offered "My Time Dining" in which there were only two options..an early seating ( 5 pm ) and a later seating ( I think was 6:45pm ) We certainly don't want 6:45pm because we want to be going to entertainment venues...selecting our seats around 7:45pm. So 5pm My Time Dining is a large block of guests all hitting the MDR all at once...correct? If I am included in that 5pm list of people...but...my wife and I show up at 5:30pm...what will happen?

My time is anytime you want to eat. It's not a set time. 3 options. Early late and my time dining. 

 

Early dining usually 5 pm is a set time. They been clearing them out and seating anytime dining in between settings. You aren't both early dining and mytime.

[RobInMN]

When we did the Arctic Circle and Iceland & Ireland B2B on Jewel in '22, we had early seating (don't recall if it was 5:00 or 5:30). There were a few port days where we weren't scheduled to get back until later. The first time this was going to be an issue, we wanted to let our servers know that we would not be at dinner the next night. They told us that if we were able to get there within about 30m they'd hold it, if not we could check in with MTD. Pretty sure that a couple times that worked for us and we told them we'd be there within that window and there was no problem. I think we did an ad-hoc seating with MTD once, and probably just hit WJ a couple times. (not 100% sure)

I'm sure this probably varies from ship to ship.

[SSBrickNJ]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

My time is anytime you want to eat. It's not a set time. 3 options. Early late and my time dining. 

 

Early dining usually 5 pm is a set time. They been clearing them out and seating anytime dining in between settings. You aren't both early dining and mytime.

 I think I understand your explanation...but I admit that I don't know for sure my status. I can ask Costco Travel(I booked with them) to explain this to me. Yet I assume from your explanation that I am "Early Dining" at 5pm because that what I remember choosing on my device's screen. Unlike booking in person with a Travel Agent or over the phone in a conversation...I was booking on line and it SEEMED to me that I only had two choices using the Costco Travel software...5pm or 6:45pm

So....what IS "My Time Dining"? Can I switch to that IF it allows me to dine at 5:30pm or 5:45pm?

Edited March 2 by SSBrickNJ

[firefly333]

43 minutes ago, SSBrickNJ said:

 I think I understand your explanation...but I admit that I don't know for sure my status. I can ask Costco Travel(I booked with them) to explain this to me. Yet I assume from your explanation that I am "Early Dining" at 5pm because that what I remember choosing on my device's screen. Unlike booking in person with a Travel Agent or over the phone in a conversation...I was booking on line and it SEEMED to me that I only had two choices using the Costco Travel software...5pm or 6:45pm

So....what IS "My Time Dining"? Can I switch to that IF it allows me to dine at 5:30pm or 5:45pm?

When you board you can go to a dining pedestal and ask to change to any time dining and ask for a time where you eat at a set table, or anytime allows you to stand in line and eat when you are ready each  night. It's not as good as carnivals. Carnival you just push a button in the app and the computer matches you to a table whenever you want to eat. 

 

You cant have both early and anytime. One or thr other. If you have early someone said they were allowed to come up to 30 minutes later. If you are seated with others it can hold up the table ordering. I'd let the table know the night before if you will be late if you are early dining. So the waiter takes others orders and then when you arrive does yours. 

[SSBrickNJ]

22 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

When you board you can go to a dining pedestal and ask to change to any time dining and ask for a time where you eat at a set table, or anytime allows you to stand in line and eat when you are ready each  night. It's not as good as carnivals. Carnival you just push a button in the app and the computer matches you to a table whenever you want to eat. 

 

You cant have both early and anytime. One or thr other. If you have early someone said they were allowed to come up to 30 minutes later. If you are seated with others it can hold up the table ordering. I'd let the table know the night before if you will be late if you are early dining. So the waiter takes others orders and then when you arrive does yours. 

Your first sentence is what I did on Holland America Cruise Line....August 2023. I went up to the dining pedestal within the first 90 minutes I boarded on Day 1 and requested a table for 2 every night at 5:30pm. My request was granted.

Edited March 2 by SSBrickNJ

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, SSBrickNJ said:

So....what IS "My Time Dining"? Can I switch to that IF it allows me to dine at 5:30pm or 5:45pm?

My time fining starts at about 6:30 or 6:45 depending on the ship. 

[Ourusualbeach]

36 minutes ago, SSBrickNJ said:

Your first sentence is what I did on Holland America Cruise Line....August 2023. I went up to the dining pedestal within the first 90 minutes I boarded on Day 1 and requested a table for 2 every night at 5:30pm. My request was granted.

Roydl used to be that way but changed and now MTD does not start until later as thry use all dining rooms for early 5pm seating. 

[firefly333]

3 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Roydl used to be that way but changed and now MTD does not start until later as thry use all dining rooms for early 5pm seating. 

I have heard a few get earlier times in person once onboard after they see if they have any unused tables for set early time dining. 

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I have heard a few get earlier times in person once onboard after they see if they have any unused tables for set early time dining. 

 

We kinda wound up doing that on Allure in October but not on purpose. We were switched from early to MTD (multiple MDR managers blamed "the computer" which is certainly possible; it wasn't just us). So we were told to just show up at 5-5:15 every night and we'd be seated quickly, just not at the same table. They handled it well, we never waited more than 5-10 mins, and we didn't care about having different tables/servers as long as we always had a 2-top, which we did.

 

So we basically had MTD at 5:00 but it was because they were correcting a mistake. Whether or not they would do it just b/c you request it I'm guessing would vary by ship/sailing (like so many things).