MTD, time to just kill it off?

[irun5k]

We were just on the Allure and I was so happy we were able to change to early dining once on board.  I originally booked MTD based on pre COVID memories only to find that now it starts at 6:45.  Every time we left early dining, it was a MTD horror show outside the dining room!  The reservation line and standby lines were both extensive.  So, you have to stay on top of trying to get the reservation you want, and then you have to wait in line.  I really can't see how this would appeal to anyone.  If I recall, back in the day an entire dining room may have been dedicated to MTD for the entire night but now it starts after early dining.  I also remember it working pretty smoothly but maybe I'm misremembering. 

 

Anyway, I quickly gave up any minor complaints I had with a set dining time- I had a new appreciation for the ability to walk right in and sit down every night.   I think the ultimate cruise dream for many is a sailing where you can stroll in to a restaurant any time you like, on any night, and with no reservation, and at worst experience a minor delay.  Annoying realities like logistics and statistics seem to block the implementation of such a thing, at least on the mass market cruise lines with mega ships (I've never been on Norwegian though so I can't comment on their "freestyle dining")

 

I have heard RCI is introducing a 3rd dining time- do we know if this will kill off MTD?

 

 

[irun5k]

I should also say/ask- we're on Quantum this summer and I made the same MTD booking mistake.  We're now waitlisted for early dining.

 

Any chance MTD works better on Quantum?  This info may be dated but I understand there are 4 dining rooms and at least at one point two of them were (100%?) dedicated to MTD?

[Tz2989]

Funny, I am just off the Allure and had no issues with MTD. I booked reservations 45 days out and I was promptly seated within 10 mins of showing up for my designated time.

[Another_Critic]

7 minutes ago, irun5k said:

I should also say/ask- we're on Quantum this summer and I made the same MTD booking mistake.  We're now waitlisted for early dining.

 

Any chance MTD works better on Quantum?  This info may be dated but I understand there are 4 dining rooms and at least at one point two of them were (100%?) dedicated to MTD?

MTD rooms are American Icon and Silk (deck 4).  They are also used for early dining, prior to seating MTD guests.

[irun5k]

6 minutes ago, Tz2989 said:

Funny, I am just off the Allure and had no issues with MTD. I booked reservations 45 days out and I was promptly seated within 10 mins of showing up for my designated time.

Did you have a later time?  I wondered if there was just excessive demand for the 6:45 slot since that slot would capture everyone that would have taken an earlier time if they were still offered.

[Mum2Mercury]

8 minutes ago, Tz2989 said:

Funny, I am just off the Allure and had no issues with MTD. I booked reservations 45 days out and I was promptly seated within 10 mins of showing up for my designated time.

I could say the same -- about My Time on multiple ships.  We've never had to wait more than 5-10 minutes to be seated and have been very pleased with it.  

In December we took a last-minute, rock-bottom priced cruise and were forced to take Early Traditional Seating.  Reminded us of why we enjoy My Time.  

[Ashland]

We only eat in the WJ and wish RCI would have the option to opt out of MTD. We always get a call asking us where we are. 

[c-leg5]

4 hours ago, Ashland said:

We only eat in the WJ and wish RCI would have the option to opt out of MTD. We always get a call asking us where we are. 

Why if you don’t have a reservation?

We have done MTD from almost the beginning. If we have made a reservation and then decide to do WJ, or specialty, we have always let the MTD desk know previously out of courtesy to release the table until 2022 on Adventure when it seemed to cause more problems than it was worth. We gave up telling them on several cruises as they seemed unable to handle the information. If you don’t have a reservation I don’t understand why they would be checking.

 

 

Edited March 19 by c-leg5

[Ashland]

24 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Why if you don’t have a reservation?

We have done MTD from almost the beginning. If we have made a reservation and then decide to do WJ, or specialty, we have always let the MTD desk know previously out of courtesy to release the table until 2022 on Adventure when it seemed to cause more problems than it was worth. We gave up telling them on several cruises as they seemed unable to handle the information. If you don’t have a reservation I don’t understand why they would be checking.

 

 

I have no idea why they call but they do. I have never made a reservation. Perhaps it's because we only stay in the OS that their concerned enough to call. We always assure them it's just our preference. Long time cruisers and we're done with the MDR/MTD. I wish there was an option to opt out.

[lovesthebeach2]

9 hours ago, irun5k said:

Did you have a later time?  I wondered if there was just excessive demand for the 6:45 slot since that slot would capture everyone that would have taken an earlier time if they were still offered.

Possibly the early long lines for MTD are because some like to eat a bit earlier than the 6:45 start time, and weren’t able to book early dining, know when those that DID have early dining but are too late, or not coming at all because they’re eating at a specialty place, the MTD line gets their table.

Why else would someone with MTD stand in line starting at the early dining time.

[nelblu]

What I've noticed in my last sails on Oasis, Harmony and Anthem is that they seat MTD earlier than the posted 6:45.  Many times I never see the same passengers on tables around mine and many times the tables and seats are empty.

[shof515]

i would love if royal can do something like what carnival does where you make the reservation on the app and then app notifies you when the table is ready

 

royal mtd is too slow with very long lines on the ships i sailed on

[jeffr6596]

27 minutes ago, shof515 said:

i would love if royal can do something like what carnival does where you make the reservation on the app and then app notifies you when the table is ready

 

royal mtd is too slow with very long lines on the ships i sailed on

Every other cruise line I have experienced handles MTD without any real issues. The Carnival app being used to check in works very well in my experience.  Once they notify you that your table is ready you have 10 minutes to get there or they will release the table.  It allows you to let them know you are ready to eat without having to stand in a long line of impatient diners at the entrance.

 

I will say, on our recent cruise on the Adventure, my reservations (made when the window opened) were somewhat scattered with the times.  After the first evening our waiter came over and said if we wanted to skip the lines we could just walk in and come to the same table every night as long as we did so at the same time.  We dismissed the reservation times and showed up at 6:45 every night, walked right in and to our table where our waiter greeted us.  About the 3rd night they called our room and asked why we were not coming to the MDR.  When I told them we were and that we had been there every night at 6:45 at our same table, they said ok.  But from that night forward they had someone blocking the path that had previously allowed our seamless entry.  It wasn't a big deal.  They had someone ask our room number and then immediately allowed us to go to our table.  The only nights we waited more than 2-5 minutes were nights where we showed up before MTD opened.  On those nights there was a long line but within a few minutes of opening the door we were sitting at our table.

 

Overall though, based on reviews, it sounds like Royal has had greater problems making the MTD work.  

[Mum2Mercury]

7 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Why if you don’t have a reservation?

That makes no sense.  I thought lack of a reservation was their clue that you planned to eat in the Windjammer or elsewhere.

6 hours ago, Ashland said:

Long time cruisers and we're done with the MDR/MTD. 

False.  I've never had a moment's trouble with My Time Dining.  We are just a couple /not a group -- perhaps that makes a difference? 

2 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

Why else would someone with MTD stand in line starting at the early dining time.

I'd assume they don't understand their options.  

 

 

 

Edited March 19 by Mum2Mercury

[c-leg5]

7 hours ago, Ashland said:

I have no idea why they call but they do. I have never made a reservation. Perhaps it's because we only stay in the OS that their concerned enough to call. We always assure them it's just our preference. Long time cruisers and we're done with the MDR/MTD. I wish there was an option to opt out.

I would have thought a word with your concierge/ genie prior to, or at the beginning of, sailing could have easily taken care of this. I presume they only call you once? Is this one particular ship that you sail regularly or does it happen on different ships?
 

It really doesn’t make sense and something I would communicate early on if it happens regularly. In a suite I would have thought you would have had plenty of lines of communication open to avoid this if you find it happens regularly. 

[HxFx]

I did My Time Dining on Oasis a few weeks ago. It’s not too bad of a wait if you make reservations but that just doesn’t make sense to me. My Time Dining, to me, seems like the whole point is you don’t have to make reservations ahead of time (and you really need to make them far out from the cruise for anything before 8:30). You don’t even have the show schedule at that time. We ended up just making reservations for 8:30 (earliest available) after the first night in the MDR for the rest of the cruise.

 

We may as well have just gotten our standard late dining and just strolled to our seat without any waiting. We will do that from now on. The other lines I have tried definitely do that better; no reservations, check-in via the app or get a buzzer, and hang out at a bar until a table is ready. Many times, no wait at all. It’s not the end of the world since I don’t mind set time dining but I don’t understand why it’s so different on Royal.

[island lady]

I "Killed it off" years ago when they changed the system to one...IMHO...is a failed one.  

 

Since then we have been happy with going back to traditional set seating.  I love being able to just breeze by the host podium and walk straight to our table.  Most times our wait staff gets to know us so well, they are walking up behind us with our usual glass of wine of choice.  😉 

 

Actually a funny story related to this.  On one cruise, we decided to opt for Chops for dinner on night two.  I let the host know on night one, that we would not be at our table the next night and could release that for MTD pax for just that night, but we would be there the rest of the cruise. 

 

On night 3, we walked to our table as usual and seated ourselves.  A rude couple walked up to us and demanded that was THEIR table!!  I told them they were wrong.  The head waiter walked up to us when they complained and asked if we were sure that was our table.  I pointed to the table number, then pointed to my sea pass card.  "Well...what do you know...they match" I said with a wink.  

 

As it turns out the MTD couple loved our table so much on night two, they had demanded that be their table the rest of the cruise.  Ummm...no...sorry.  😉 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19 by island lady

[c-leg5]

13 minutes ago, island lady said:

I "Killed it off" years ago when they changed the system to one...IMHO...is a failed one.  

 

Since then we have been happy with going back to traditional set seating.  I love being able to just breeze by the host podium and walk straight to our table.  Most times our wait staff gets to know us so well, they are walking up behind us with our usual glass of wine of choice.  😉 

 

Actually a funny story related to this.  On one cruise, we decided to opt for Chops for dinner on night two.  I let the host know on night one, that we would not be at our table the next night and could release that for MTD pax for just that night, but we would be there the rest of the cruise. 

 

On night 3, we walked to our table as usual and seated ourselves.  A rude couple walked up to us and demanded that was THEIR table!!  I told them they were wrong.  The head waiter walked up to us when they complained and asked if we were sure that was our table.  I pointed to the table number, then pointed to my sea pass card.  "Well...what do you know...they match" I said with a wink.  

 

As it turns out the MTD couple loved our table so much on night two, they had demanded that be their table the rest of the cruise.  Ummm...no...sorry.  😉 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glad set dining works for you now. It is fine if you are happy with eating at 5/5.30pm and the same time every night. For us that cuts into our afternoon too much and is too much of a rush. If we had to opt for a set dining it would probably be the later time although that wouldn’t be our preference either. We are “middle of the road” folks so MTD still works reasonably well for us I think main problems are those people that want “early” but not as early as set dining. Those are the people that have to wait. Also many of them try to circumvent the system which just compounds the problem.
 

I have no idea why Royal have messed up so badly a system that used to work fine. I have no idea why they can’t have an allocated area for MTD with dedicated staff. I think the idea of doubling up MDR and MTD is disruptive to both types of diners and the waitstaff and leads to problems like you encountered.

 

I understand initially it was a staffing and experience problem. I think they have had time to rectify those issues.

[RFerrington]

I will join with the others who say that they have had few, if any, real issues with MTD.  The only negative (if you feel it is a negative) is that you might not get the same table and/or wait staff on any given night, but that is a plus to me, not a negative.  I have no particular need to have the same wait staff, night after night.

 

There has only been one instance since the restart, where there was a real delay in being seated and I don't even recall which ship it was.  But for the most part, the delay/line has been minimal and I much prefer a dining time around 6:30 than one at 5:00 or 8:00.

[loman]

We had 645 MTD on Harmony . 

We would show up at 6 pm and the concierge would find us a two top table on any of the 3 dining rooms and we we would be seated in minutes , as there were no shows from early fixed dining.

There were no lines and as long as you dont mind a different table and waiters it worked well for us . 

 

[island lady]

35 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Glad set dining works for you now. It is fine if you are happy with eating at 5/5.30pm and the same time every night. For us that cuts into our afternoon too much and is too much of a rush. If we had to opt for a set dining it would probably be the later time although that wouldn’t be our preference either. We are “middle of the road” folks so MTD still works reasonably well for us I think main problems are those people that want “early” but not as early as set dining. Those are the people that have to wait. Also many of them try to circumvent the system which just compounds the problem.
 

I have no idea why Royal have messed up so badly a system that used to work fine. I have no idea why they can’t have an allocated area for MTD with dedicated staff. I think the idea of doubling up MDR and MTD is disruptive to both types of diners and the waitstaff and leads to problems like you encountered.

 

I understand initially it was a staffing and experience problem. I think they have had time to rectify those issues.

Agree...and is why I think MTD system has failed.  When it first came out, there was a separate dedicated deck for just MTD.  It was great and we enjoyed it.  Now...anxious MTD pax waiting for the early diners to finish up to get their table.  

 

We used to eat later as well.  But now that we have joined the "blue plate special" crowd (and you have to be much older to know what that means 😄 ), and the early dining old farts dinner time...we are good with the 5-5:30 dining time.   Also means we have no problems going to the early shows.  

 

At home our happy hour is 4 pm, and dinner at 5-5:30.  It is simply what you are used to.  Plus time is relative.  Traveling internationally...you get used to various times as well.  

 

Thank goodness we are not all alike.  What would the world be like with just one flavor of ice cream at Baskin Robbins?   

[island lady]

31 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

I will join with the others who say that they have had few, if any, real issues with MTD.  The only negative (if you feel it is a negative) is that you might not get the same table and/or wait staff on any given night, but that is a plus to me, not a negative.  I have no particular need to have the same wait staff, night after night.

 

There has only been one instance since the restart, where there was a real delay in being seated and I don't even recall which ship it was.  But for the most part, the delay/line has been minimal and I much prefer a dining time around 6:30 than one at 5:00 or 8:00.

 

Ahh..the various "flavors of life".  😉 

[Engineroom Snipe]

15 hours ago, Tz2989 said:

Funny, I am just off the Allure and had no issues with MTD. I booked reservations 45 days out and I was promptly seated within 10 mins of showing up for my designated time.

May I ask if it was a set time for every night or did you vary the time from one night to the next?

[Engineroom Snipe]

3 hours ago, HxFx said:

We may as well have just gotten our standard late dining and just strolled to our seat without any waiting. We will do that from now on.

This what we ended up doing. We might reserve say, 8:15pm for every night but still had to wait in the "reservation queue" which was a line for people who had reservations. This was not awful at all but we ended up getting in line at about 7:50pm for our 8:15pm reservation on most nights.

 

We looked at each other during the third night and said, we will just go for the 7:45pm second seating for MDR next cruise and save those minutes in line for the Schooner bar which is just one flight of stairs away in most cases.

 

Best decision we ever made. We start leaving the Schooner Bar at 7:40pm and by the time we get there, the doors are open and people are moving directly to their tables.

 

Much better for us. If we know we will miss the meal for whatever reason, we call during the day or stop off at their reservation station and inform them. They appreciate that courtesy and we have never had a problem.

[doghog]

2 hours ago, RFerrington said:

I will join with the others who say that they have had few, if any, real issues with MTD.  The only negative (if you feel it is a negative) is that you might not get the same table and/or wait staff on any given night, but that is a plus to me, not a negative.  I have no particular need to have the same wait staff, night after night.

 

There has only been one instance since the restart, where there was a real delay in being seated and I don't even recall which ship it was.  But for the most part, the delay/line has been minimal and I much prefer a dining time around 6:30 than one at 5:00 or 8:00.

We went back to TD March 2022. Hated the new start time. Before that we did MTD when it was first introduced. I always made reservations (6:00) pre cruise in the CP. Once onboard we would go directly to the MDR, find a two top in a location we liked. Then I woud speak with the MD and request that table for the entire cruise. We were always accomandated. When doing B2B cruises before the end of the first leg the MD would always stop by our table and ask if we would like the same table for the second leg. Wait staff changed from leg to leg. We eat early at home (before 5:00) but prefrer 6:PM on cruises. We like stopping in the CL for a lite snack and a couple of drinks prior to eating.

Edited March 19 by doghog