Traditional dining vs My Time Dining - RECOUNT

[codewize]

There ya go. A new poll just for you

 

I think this is a very important item in the future of cruising and should not be overlooked. The original poll was 638 to 232

 

Somehow I think you should only vote for MTD if you've experienced it on a RCI ship. They'll all be implemented differently so I'm not sure having done Freestyle on a Norwegian ship if a fair judge of things. I guess we'll have to work that out later.

 

If you vote for MTD please post and tell us where you tried it and when.

 

Thanks

[mamacat3]

I voted for MTD after trying it on the Jewel on 1/9 - 1/19. It was a wonderful experience and one I would definitely opt for again.:)

[VASOXFANN]

I voted for MTD after trying it on the Jewel on 9/20 - 9/27/08. DH and I loved it, and we are doing it again on the Radiance 5/22 - 5/29/09!

[yogimax]

Just off Liberty and it seemed as though no one was using the My Time option.

[seetosea]

B2B on the Jewel - 24 wonderful days. Baltics and Russia and then the Transatlantic.

 

Funny thing is, we swore we'd never try My Time Dining. RCI seems to have this one right. Best dining experience we ever had and ate at 7:45 most nights. Same table, same waitstaff, same excellent service.

[massfriends]

We did MTD on Jewel of the Sea's Repo. from Boston in Oct. 2008....:)

 

One word....."Perfect"....one of the best dining experience's on a ship to date.

 

Very happy they are extending MTD fleet wide....it will be our choice from now on!!!

Wish it was going to be available next week on Explorer.....:(

[Aprille]

I won't vote now as we haven't tried it yet but will do so on our Independence cruise next month.

 

I too thought this was something we would never want to do as we enjoy traditional dining but after reading all the positive reviews and discussing with DH we have decided to give it a try. Hope our experience is as positive as many of the reviews I've seen.

[Elizanessie]

I wonder if those who voted MTD would change their minds if there was more than 2 seatings for dinner?

 

Like can be found sometimes on Med cruises, 2 main seatings & 2 late seatings.

[JanineM]

There ya go. A new poll just for you

 

I think this is a very important item in the future of cruising and should not be overlooked. The original poll was 638 to 232

 

Somehow I think you should only vote for MTD if you've experienced it on a RCI ship. They'll all be implemented differently so I'm not sure having done Freestyle on a Norwegian ship if a fair judge of things. I guess we'll have to work that out later.

 

If you vote for MTD please post and tell us where you tried it and when.

 

Thanks

 

I don't understand why you are re-polling. Are you trying to convert someone? This isn't a scientific poll, so it really has no bearing on anything.

[massfriends]

I wonder if those who voted MTD would change their minds if there was more than 2 seatings for dinner?

 

Like can be found sometimes on Med cruises, 2 main seatings & 2 late seatings.

 

Nope.....:)

 

We arrived at the dining room around 7:45 to 8:15 each night. We loved the flexibility and.........

No mob scene pushing & shoving to get in

No waiting for late table mates to show up

No waiting for food to be served to 50 other's at the same time

No cold food....everything was hot right from the kitchen

No harried waitstaff....they just didn't seemed as rushed

NO loud voice's.....it was so quiet in the MTD section...:)

NO 2 plus hours to eat....longest meal was 1 hour 15 minutes

 

I know I could come up with more.....we just found the whole experience to be much better than traditional dining. It was like going to a nice quiet restaurant every evening......so relaxing & enjoyable!

[akcruz]

As I had put on the other thread with the original poll from over a year ago we did MTD on Freedom in November and will definitely do it again. We had the flexibility to go to the dining room at different times on different days depending on what we were doing. We still had the same sit down service you get with set times and even had the same waiters a few times. Never did we wait for more than 2 mintues for a table.

 

We had my 13 year old son with us and we let him help us decide on when we wanted to eat. The waiters were jsut as attentive to him as regular seating and remembered him from night to night.

 

I do think this poll did need to be redone as the original one that came to the top of the list was early on in the life of MTD when most were thinking of Freestyle. Now that people have tried it themselves I believe the results will be different. Can't say one will outweigh the other by a lot but I feel it will be much closer. This is why Royal needs to keep both options.

[codewize]

OK can someone please post how it all works with MTD? reservations? Times? How does it work?

[marci22]

I don't understand why you are re-polling. Are you trying to convert someone? This isn't a scientific poll, so it really has no bearing on anything.

 

Are any CC polls scientific?

[2many2count]

I would love to have MTD on RCCL ships. We have been on Princess many times and always choose the any time dining. You have the flexibility to eat anytime between 6:00 and 10:00. If you want to eat at a certain time you can make a reservation, you can request a certain table if you have a wait staff preference and you can dien with new friends if you choose. There is hardly ever a long line and all other aspsects of the dining experience are the same as the MDR.:rolleyes:

[springtxbill]

My Time on the Se4renade. Definitely all for it.:)

[Gracie115]

Did MTD on Jewel 11/7-17. IT WAS GREAT!! Will always choose this option.

 

codewize-

We went to MTD station in mid afternoon the 1st day, told them we'd be in about 7PM. They had table waiting. When finished 1st night we told host we would be in nearly all nights between 7 & 7:15, he said fine. Our table was there all but one night when we came in a little later, but we still didn't wait to be seated. We had same wait staff for all but that one night too. We enjoyed so much that we cancelled our Portofino reservations, the service was just great in MTD.

They seat tables from 6-9:30 every night. You can let them know when leaving each night what time to expect you the next night, or call during the afternoon and tell them. It was VERY organized on Jewel, don't know about fleetwide cause this is the only time we've tried it but they sure knew what they were doing on the Jewel!!!:)

[Pomperaugrr]

I have always been a staunch supporter of fixed seating times in the dining room. We had booked main seating on the Serenade cruise we took last week. We had asked for a specific waiter, Loyd Fernandes and were told he was working the "My Time" dining area, so we switched to that. It was awesome. The food was hot and fresh, and the Service team was outstanding. I would do the "My Time" again in a heart beat. We did not miss having the two person waiter and assistant team at all. The service was top notch. We still had the same table and service team every night. The teamwork displayed by Bijou, Christine, Kevin, Loyd and a couple others was excellent! RCI has definitely gotten this option right. I have been converted from fixed seating times to "My Time." We enjoyed being able to go to the dining room at 6:30, instead of 6:00, as it gave us a bit more time to get ready after coming back from shore trips and still finished early enough to make the shows.

 

I was surprised at how much we liked it, as I was very much against the concept when I first heard about it. I'm glad we tried it with an open mind. We were not disappointed.

 

Eric

[jules815]

OK can someone please post how it all works with MTD? reservations? Times? How does it work?

 

I would like to learn more about how it worked on RC ships too.

 

One of the things we enjoy about cruising is meeting up with our friends at the end of the day at dinner. We've been doing late seating because early just seems too early for us, but sometimes 8:30 seems a little late.

 

Are you saying with my time dining on RC ships, we could show up at 7:30 or make a reservation for that time and still all be seated together?

[Pomperaugrr]

I would like to learn more about how it worked on RC ships too.

 

One of the things we enjoy about cruising is meeting up with our friends at the end of the day at dinner. We've been doing late seating because early just seems too early for us, but sometimes 8:30 seems a little late.

 

Are you saying with my time dining on RC ships, we could show up at 7:30 or make a reservation for that time and still all be seated together?

 

Yes, you can make a reservation for any time between 6:00 and 9:00 for my time dining. We kept ours for 6:30 all week, but each evening the head waiter comes to your table and asks what time you plan to dine the following evening. You can vary the times, but you have to reserve the day before. Some folks just showed up, but RCI prefers reservations.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by the experience. You also need to pre-pay your gratuities when signing up for MTD, if you have not already done so.

 

My nice, cold, freshly shaken Bombay Sapphire martini was also waiting for me as soon as I got to the table each night. We did not notice any diminution in service or food quality, based upon our experience last week.

 

Eric

[Captain Jake]

I like Traditional but I would like both choices to be made available.We are sailing our next cruise with friends who like to dine early while we prefer late.My time would be a good compromise for us

[readytolose]

I've only done traditional so I won't vote however I think it would be really hard to do MTD on our next cruise with the 7 of us. I would never get all 7 to agree on a time to eat.

 

With the fixed seating I just tell the kids what time dinner is and there doesn't have to be any discussions about it!

[Captain Jake]

I've only done traditional so I won't vote however I think it would be really hard to do MTD on our next cruise with the 7 of us. I would never get all 7 to agree on a time to eat.

 

With the fixed seating I just tell the kids what time dinner is and there doesn't have to be any discussions about it!

 

Good Point!

[d&a Delaware]

We have not tried My Time Dining, but I have a question for those of you who have. We have always chosen late seating, table for 8, and like the experience of meeting and dining with new people. Does this work so well with MTD? Can you choose the time you want to dine on a particular night and ask to be seated at a large table? Perhaps even with the same wait staff even though you don't know in advance who else will be seated with you? How does that part work?

 

David

[codewize]

This is exactly my point. What 's the difference between that and regular formal dining?

 

You can go to the dining room as late as 7:00 so this is what I'm trying to understand.

 

1) You have to make a reservation so you're locking yourself in to a certain time.

 

2) The time you're choosing is within the normal dining hours.

 

So what's the point. What's the big thrill?

 

Personally I much rather be served by the same staff every night and I usually dine alone anyway.

 

 

Did MTD on Jewel 11/7-17. IT WAS GREAT!! Will always choose this option.

 

codewize-

We went to MTD station in mid afternoon the 1st day, told them we'd be in about 7PM. They had table waiting. When finished 1st night we told host we would be in nearly all nights between 7 & 7:15, he said fine. Our table was there all but one night when we came in a little later, but we still didn't wait to be seated. We had same wait staff for all but that one night too. We enjoyed so much that we cancelled our Portofino reservations, the service was just great in MTD.

They seat tables from 6-9:30 every night. You can let them know when leaving each night what time to expect you the next night, or call during the afternoon and tell them. It was VERY organized on Jewel, don't know about fleetwide cause this is the only time we've tried it but they sure knew what they were doing on the Jewel!!!:)

[codewize]

Are you being served stale cold food during formal dining?

Are you used to getting bad service during formal dinning?

 

Again, you can go to the dining room as late as 7:00. You don't have to be there right at 6:00. Maybe people don't know that?

 

I have always been a staunch supporter of fixed seating times in the dining room. We had booked main seating on the Serenade cruise we took last week. We had asked for a specific waiter, Loyd Fernandes and were told he was working the "My Time" dining area, so we switched to that. It was awesome. The food was hot and fresh, and the Service team was outstanding. I would do the "My Time" again in a heart beat. We did not miss having the two person waiter and assistant team at all. The service was top notch. We still had the same table and service team every night. The teamwork displayed by Bijou, Christine, Kevin, Loyd and a couple others was excellent! RCI has definitely gotten this option right. I have been converted from fixed seating times to "My Time." We enjoyed being able to go to the dining room at 6:30, instead of 6:00, as it gave us a bit more time to get ready after coming back from shore trips and still finished early enough to make the shows.

 

I was surprised at how much we liked it, as I was very much against the concept when I first heard about it. I'm glad we tried it with an open mind. We were not disappointed.

 

Eric