MTD, time to just kill it off?

[island lady]

21 hours ago, doghog said:

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.

 

You two... and we as well at the same time, same ship.  OMG the MTD system was totally flawed on that cruise.  Happy we all switched!  🙂 

[twangster]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Who calls you? I have been on 75 cruises and on dozens of them have never stepped foot in the MDR. Frequently it’s because we bought the UDP and other times it is due to a combination of eating in a few speciality restaurants and the WJ. I have never been called asking why aren’t we in the MDR. We have never stayed in anything above a JS and I am only a D+. Maybe you are called because you stay in suites or you are a Pinnacle?

 

I think the allocation of daily service fees changes depending where you eat.  When you don't visit the MDR they don't get a cut.  Somewhere around 40% of the time I get phone calls asking why I am not eating in the MDR.  It's long been this way.  

 

When I worked remotely from ships I was in my cabin more so perhaps I was in my cabin when the phone rang more often.  They don't tend to leave a message so if you are not in your cabin when they call, you would have no idea they called.  

[SquishTheWhale]

On 3/19/2024 at 12:16 AM, irun5k said:

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")

 

NCL freestyle dining works exactly like this. We never waited to get a table and arrived whenever we felt like it with no reservations.

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

I think the allocation of daily service fees changes depending where you eat.  When you don't visit the MDR they don't get a cut.  Somewhere around 40% of the time I get phone calls asking why I am not eating in the MDR.  It's long been this way.  

 

When I worked remotely from ships I was in my cabin more so perhaps I was in my cabin when the phone rang more often.  They don't tend to leave a message so if you are not in your cabin when they call, you would have no idea they called.  

Thanks for the information. That makes a lot of sense about being in the cabin when they call. I literally am only in my cabin to sleep, change or shower. So it’s possible I have gotten calls before but was never in the cabin to answer the calls. 

[LobsterStalker]

22 hours ago, irun5k said:

I'm pretty familiar- or used to be.  I've been sailing since before it was even an option.  However, I was not familiar with the fact that they split a dining room for double duty.  I booked MTD based on memories of smoother days.  In my mind if you're exiting early dining and having to cut through lines wrapping around the floor of people trying to get in to MTD, it feels like there is room for improvement.  (this is where I think the 3rd dining time might be that improvement.)

I see same thing , Over and Over . Some are very reluctant to agree with the obvious for various reasons. Maybe to some waiting 10-25 mins. for example , is acceptable. For me the 10 end could be , but definitely not the latter end.... Also for the lucky (few) who are able to secure the coveted 6:45 spot , again , maybe that is great . But for the majority who do not , being stuck to the more likely times of 7:30,8,8:15... and beyond do not work well . To most of us , this is not what a smooth working MTD should look like , but rather a version of TTD (Thier Time Dining), with little flexibility .

Just my 2 Cents. Well... and many others also 

 

Cheers

[TheHawk1]

Was on Symphony last fall and MTD worked fine, up to a point. I made all MDR reservations months in advance of sailing.  For 4 of the 7 nights our reservation was 7:00 pm and we were always seated promptly, at the same table and with the same server, after night one.  So, it was almost like choosing a set dining time, only with the flexibility to not have to eat early at 5:30pm or late at 8:00 pm.

 

But where the process broke down was on the 3 nights I had made a reservation for 7:30 pm, because those were longer port excursion days and I didn't want to rush for dinner.  On those evenings, our "regular" table was gone and they scrambled to try and find us another suitable table, usually involving a wait. So their process isn't really set up to accommodate "My Time Dining" in the way I would expect it to work.

[jean87510]

6 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Who calls you? I have been on 75 cruises and on dozens of them have never stepped foot in the MDR. Frequently it’s because we bought the UDP and other times it is due to a combination of eating in a few speciality restaurants and the WJ. I have never been called asking why aren’t we in the MDR. We have never stayed in anything above a JS and I am only a D+. Maybe you are called because you stay in suites or you are a Pinnacle?

Using our example we have been called on our cruises by at least day 4.  We are D+.  We got calls when in an inside, balcony, JS, GS.  

[jean87510]

3 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Thanks for the information. That makes a lot of sense about being in the cabin when they call. I literally am only in my cabin to sleep, change or shower. So it’s possible I have gotten calls before but was never in the cabin to answer the calls. 

Messages were left for us.

[jean87510]

4 hours ago, twangster said:

 

I think the allocation of daily service fees changes depending where you eat.  When you don't visit the MDR they don't get a cut.  Somewhere around 40% of the time I get phone calls asking why I am not eating in the MDR.  It's long been this way.  

 

When I worked remotely from ships I was in my cabin more so perhaps I was in my cabin when the phone rang more often.  They don't tend to leave a message so if you are not in your cabin when they call, you would have no idea they called.  

We have had messages left.  Not daily.  Just 1x a cruise.

[CanobieFan]

On 3/18/2024 at 9:07 PM, 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. 

Haha, I feel this. We'll do the MDR maybe ONCE a sailing, but I'd much rather hang in the buffet and not spend two hours on a meal.... And they call almost daily remnding us to make a res. 

[kirlie]

On 3/18/2024 at 8:07 PM, 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. 

We did traditional dining on our first cruise and discovered that eating dinner with strangers isn't our thing and we preferred the Windjammer.  Our waiter called us a few times and was concerned that we were showing up to dinner.  On our last cruise, we booked MTD and just ate in the main dining room on one formal night.  We had no problems getting seated fairly fast.  This was much more suitable for us.  I booked our MTD reservations today for our June cruise.  We'll probably eat in the main dining room once or twice.  Also, the traditional times either seem too late or too early for us.  6:45pm MTD seems like the sweet spot. 

[island lady]

14 hours ago, kirlie said:

We did traditional dining on our first cruise and discovered that eating dinner with strangers isn't our thing and we preferred the Windjammer.  Our waiter called us a few times and was concerned that we were showing up to dinner.  On our last cruise, we booked MTD and just ate in the main dining room on one formal night.  We had no problems getting seated fairly fast.  This was much more suitable for us.  I booked our MTD reservations today for our June cruise.  We'll probably eat in the main dining room once or twice.  Also, the traditional times either seem too late or too early for us.  6:45pm MTD seems like the sweet spot. 

 

We always request, and are granted a "two top" for our traditional dining.