Jump to content

Feedback on My Time Family Dining


Recommended Posts

DH and I are sailing w/ our 6-yo DS on the Mariner on 5/31. We have an early dining reservation in the dining room but I would love to hear some feedback on the MTFD program from those who have used it.

 

TIA.

 

(cross-post; also posted on the family board.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DH and I are sailing w/ our 6-yo DS on the Mariner on 5/31. We have an early dining reservation in the dining room but I would love to hear some feedback on the MTFD program from those who have used it.

 

TIA.

 

(cross-post; also posted on the family board.)

 

We just did my time dining on the Freedom. We loved it and will choose it on future cruises. We went to dinner when we wanted to. We always sat in the same section, with the same waiter. We got through dinner quicker than regular seating. The only negative we experienced was that we got there one night right after a party of 18 people, so that slowed down all of the tables around us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just did my time dining on the Freedom. We loved it and will choose it on future cruises. We went to dinner when we wanted to. We always sat in the same section, with the same waiter. We got through dinner quicker than regular seating. The only negative we experienced was that we got there one night right after a party of 18 people, so that slowed down all of the tables around us.

 

On our last cruise with regular dining our wait staff had a large table and that slowed down our service quite a bit. Several times during the cruise the head waiter actually earned his tip helping out the staff. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got back from Independence and had MTD, worst decision I have made, so bad in fact we only went for 2 nights. The first night, we had a reservation, the hostess kept dissapearing into the DR and it took 15 minutes to get seated, once inside, the wait staff seemed to have do many tables and were not organised, service was very impersonable and slow. Tried it again the 2nd night without a reservation, once again the hostess kept dissapearing from her stand and we waited 10 minutes before she even spoke to us, once inside the DR we waited another 15 minutes and still had no waiter, we literally had to grab a passing waiter and ask for service, then once again, very slow and unorganised, that did it for us, chops and the windjammer from then on:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got back from Independence and had MTD, worst decision I have made, so bad in fact we only went for 2 nights. The first night, we had a reservation, the hostess kept dissapearing into the DR and it took 15 minutes to get seated, once inside, the wait staff seemed to have do many tables and were not organised, service was very impersonable and slow. Tried it again the 2nd night without a reservation, once again the hostess kept dissapearing from her stand and we waited 10 minutes before she even spoke to us, once inside the DR we waited another 15 minutes and still had no waiter, we literally had to grab a passing waiter and ask for service, then once again, very slow and unorganised, that did it for us, chops and the windjammer from then on:(
Sounds like it hasn't changed one bit, since we tried it on the Independence in January of this year!:(
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like it hasn't changed one bit, since we tried it on the Independence in January of this year!:(

 

I think we knew her............................!!LOL

 

I'd still like to try it again on the Serenade, I hear more good than bad, about MTD........must be just the IOS!!??

 

g

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd still like to try it again on the Serenade,

 

Did MTD on the Serenade last year, Panama Canal Transit, table of four sometimes more, could not fault anything or anybody, different table mates always polite & interesting, the Maitre D,

assistant & serve staff could not do enough to please, could choose any table, any size, any time, as long as we pre-booked the evening before as we were leaving the dining room. Usualy we went for a time in-between first & second sitting about 7:00pm, at that time we were still involved in all the usual singing & dancing associated with first sitting. Sailing IOS this Oct & have not booked MTD, hope we get a good table!! without MTD what you get is what you have to put up with the entire cruise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd still like to try it again on the Serenade,

 

Did MTD on the Serenade last year, Panama Canal Transit, table of four sometimes more, could not fault anything or anybody, different table mates always polite & interesting, the Maitre D,

assistant & serve staff could not do enough to please, could choose any table, any size, any time, as long as we pre-booked the evening before as we were leaving the dining room. Usualy we went for a time in-between first & second sitting about 7:00pm, at that time we were still involved in all the usual singing & dancing associated with first sitting. Sailing IOS this Oct & have not booked MTD, hope we get a good table!! without MTD what you get is what you have to put up with the entire cruise.

 

Ditto

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ditto

 

Thank you......................I think we will try it again.

 

Our experience on the IOS was exactly like uksimonusa had.

 

Waiters were friendy but super busy and always rushed, in their defense.

 

We tried to eat at 7PM each night, didn't care about getting the same waiter.

 

But the problem was, just about everyone else on MTD wanted 7PM also!!

 

The seating hostess spent most of her time in the dining room clearing tables as the line outside the door grew! She once suggested we do no eat at 7PM.........

 

I think the secret is to book our reservation the night before!

 

Again, thanks for the input!

 

g

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just did MTD on Liberty last week and had a fantastic experieince. We were a group of 10. We had the same waiters and table every night and dined at a time that was conveneint for our group. Some days early some days later but we never waited to be seated. At the end of dinner each evening the head waiter (Carla) would come over and ask if we knew when we would like to dine the next evening. Based on our next days iternery we would discuss our plans and confirm a time. This worked out very well for us. We ate in the dining room all 7 nights, something we have never done before. Our meals were about 90 minutes, but there were fanilies with small children around us that were finished in about 1 hour. Our kids were all teenagers and enjoyed all the meals courses and often were eating multiple entrees. We would not hesitiate to do MTD again and would definently reccommened it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just did MTD on Liberty last week and had a fantastic experieince. We were a group of 10. We had the same waiters and table every night and dined at a time that was conveneint for our group. Some days early some days later but we never waited to be seated. At the end of dinner each evening the head waiter (Carla) would come over and ask if we knew when we would like to dine the next evening. Based on our next days iternery we would discuss our plans and confirm a time. This worked out very well for us. We ate in the dining room all 7 nights, something we have never done before. Our meals were about 90 minutes, but there were fanilies with small children around us that were finished in about 1 hour. Our kids were all teenagers and enjoyed all the meals courses and often were eating multiple entrees. We would not hesitiate to do MTD again and would definently reccommened it.

 

 

This was pretty much our exact experience on the Brilliance last summer with a party of 6. We really enjoyed being able to tailor each night's time based on the day's plans, specially in Europe where the port times varied wildly each day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you......................I think we will try it again.

 

Our experience on the IOS was exactly like uksimonusa had.

 

Waiters were friendy but super busy and always rushed, in their defense.

 

We tried to eat at 7PM each night, didn't care about getting the same waiter.

 

But the problem was, just about everyone else on MTD wanted 7PM also!!

 

The seating hostess spent most of her time in the dining room clearing tables as the line outside the door grew! She once suggested we do no eat at 7PM.........

 

I think the secret is to book our reservation the night before!

 

Again, thanks for the input!

 

g

 

We love MTD, and as long as the ship offers it, we use it.

 

The secret is to make your reservation the night before, when you have finished dining.

 

Just standing in line without a reservation for MTD is the makings of a disastrous dinner.

 

Rick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We love MTD, and as long as the ship offers it, we use it.

 

The secret is to make your reservation the night before, when you have finished dining.

 

Just standing in line without a reservation for MTD is the makings of a disastrous dinner.

 

Rick

Ditto

We were on Mariner for spring break, table for two always got the same table and waiters. Even first night without making reservation we only waited a couple minutes. Head waiter asked our opinion nightly to make sure we were happy, and to refine their methods. It was new way of doing things for wait staff but overall good service.:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had MTD on the Radiance in March and loved it! We did have a standing reservation for the same time each night (7:15) and told Subhash our Asst. Maitre D' if someone from the table of 6 was not going to be there the next evening. Cana our waiter even had to handle a no salt special diet and that was no problem. A couple evenings we ate later or earlier and that too was no problem as long as we communicated with the staff before dinner, but usually the night before. They changed the size of the table if someone went to Chops or Portofino. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I['m not sure, but I think the OP was talking about the new My Time Family Dining, not the regular MTD.

 

We tried the My Time Family Dining program on the Majesty last month. It's a different program from MTD. We still had traditional first seating dining, same time, same table, same waiter but they sped up service for the kids. There were served in 40 minutes and then we took them to the front of the dining room and they were picked up by the Adventure Ocean staff. We went back and finished dinner at our leisure.

 

It worked great! You do have to sign up in advance that day with Adventure Ocean. Sometimes the kids didn't have time for dessert served (in part I think because my kids ordered appetizers and soup from the regular menu) but we grabbed some cookies for them and had dessert at bedtime when all of us were actually hungry for it.

 

Let me know if you have any questions about our experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I['m not sure, but I think the OP was talking about the new My Time Family Dining, not the regular MTD.

 

We tried the My Time Family Dining program on the Majesty last month. It's a different program from MTD. We still had traditional first seating dining, same time, same table, same waiter but they sped up service for the kids. There were served in 40 minutes and then we took them to the front of the dining room and they were picked up by the Adventure Ocean staff. We went back and finished dinner at our leisure.

 

It worked great! You do have to sign up in advance that day with Adventure Ocean. Sometimes the kids didn't have time for dessert served (in part I think because my kids ordered appetizers and soup from the regular menu) but we grabbed some cookies for them and had dessert at bedtime when all of us were actually hungry for it.

 

Let me know if you have any questions about our experience.

 

What time did AO pick up the kids? If dinner is at 6 pm and AO opens at 7pm are they there before the start of the program and do you sign them in right there in the dining room?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry this may be a dumb question, but with the MTD is the dress attire the same as the main dining room - formal nights etc or can you wear what you want (like dress pants/golf shirt, sun dress)?

 

You follow the same dress code. It is meant for everyone in the dining room. If you want to eat whenever you want and dress however you want, try the Windjammer or Johnny Rockets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have been on seventeen cruises and until this past cruise always had second seating traditional dining. On the Independence of the Seas in February, we signed up for "My Time Dining" and are now converts. We loved it.

 

  • We never had more than a fifteen second wait on any of the nights. We never had a reservation and just walked up each night.
  • We ate at around 6:15 the first night and between 7 and 7:30 on the other nights.
  • Sevice was outstanding!
  • We found that we could and did ask for and get the same waitstaff each night.
  • The service was as slow or as fast as you wanted it to be. If you need to get out to a show, all you have to do is tell your waiter. We were never in a hurry and never felt rushed.
  • Although we did wear a jacket and tie on formal night, there are some who chose not to do so. It did not bother us in the least. Don't let the "Clothes Police" try to banish you to the Windjammer or Johnny Rockets!;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I['m not sure, but I think the OP was talking about the new My Time Family Dining, not the regular MTD. /quote]

 

Thank you -- I was inquiring specifically and only about My Time Family Dining. I appreciate your feedback very much! I didn't realize we had to sign up every day. Did you use the MTFD every day, or just occasionally during the week? We do plan to have DS do the Johnny Rockets dinner one night so DH and I can enjoy dinner at Chops.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

and absolutely loved it. Tables on the top floor of the dining room were set aside for MTD. Most nights we ate at 6:30 and were given the same table and wait staff. One night we ate later (8:00) since we attended a past passenger party. This stands out as one of the best dining experiences we had on ships - and we have done a total of 22.

 

I think it gives one flexibility and the staff works hard to make it work - I give it a 10.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What time did AO pick up the kids? If dinner is at 6 pm and AO opens at 7pm are they there before the start of the program and do you sign them in right there in the dining room?

 

They met the kids outside the main dining room at 6:40 pm. Adventure Ocean opened at 7 pm. The counselors had the sign-in sheet with them as well as a list of who had signed up. They were really great about it and did wait a few minutes to get all the kids who were signed up. Also flexible as one night my son wanted to stay with us for dessert and we went out at 6:40 and let them know he'd come up at 7 pm instead.

 

 

We did have to sign up each day on a day to day basis sometime during the morning. I'm not sure if you could sign up at the beginning of the week for the entire week - we wanted to give the kids a choice to stay with us if they wanted to (they mostly didn't :)) Basically the same process as when you sign the kid up to stay dinner - just let them know when you drop the kids at the club earlier in the day.

 

Our kids (and us) really liked Adventure Ocean on the Mariner. The kids enjoyed their Johnny Rocket dinner as well but it was usually on formal night and one other night. If those night's don't work out for you to go to Chops, you can make 7:00 reservations and drop your DC off and then go to dinner which also works well.

 

Have a great trip!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Save $2,000 & Sail Away to Australia’s Kimberley
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...

If you are already a Cruise Critic member, please log in with your existing account information or your email address and password.