Has anyone tried the "My Time dining"?

[OV8]

Absolutely.

 

I think the bottom line with MTD is if you want a specific time, table size or location, make a reservation. If you don't care about the above, just show up and you will be seated somewhere. You may need to wait a bit, but it shouldn't be too long. Disclaimer, it does seem a few ships do not follow this policy so check before deciding on MTD.

 

As for the other poster asking about time. If you want a leisurely dinner tell the waiter and they will oblige. If you want to get in and out quick again let them know. Most are very willing to work as you want, not all but most.

 

This sums it up as to what exactly happened last week on our FOS cruise.

[Kurbanfan]

Sorry, do not want to scare you. I am just saying that our waiters were very attentive and took our orders right away (as soon as we were ready) and the food came quickly and was hot. Perhaps we eat fast, but also the portions are not as large as they used to be. That is not a problem because we had plenty anyway. Some of our table mates ordered multiple entrees and desserts and that was no problem. Once my wife asked for mashed potatoes instead of the rice and she got a separate plate full of (very good) mashed potatoes. In other words, they did not rush us at all - they were just very efficient and the service was very good. Believe it or not, our MDR staff was more attentive than Chops, which we visited one night.

 

My comment about the time was due to my habitual (I used to be an engineer long ago) checking of my watch. Each night after dinner I would notice that it was only 30-45 minutes after we entered the MDR as we were leaving. That pace was purely at our choosing and we never felt any pressure to "move along". We are just the type that like to finish up a meal and move about rather than linger. If I do not get up and move around after a full meal I tend to get sleepy and lazy.

 

I cannot speak for the other ships, but Enchanment does a very good job with the My Time Dining. My comments were intended to be positive, but I can see where some might interpret it the other way.

 

This is the way it should be.......this is the way it has always been on other cruiselines with us...........the Mariner is truely lacking in this area.........:(

[akcruz]

This is the way it should be.......this is the way it has always been on other cruiselines with us...........the Mariner is truely lacking in this area.........:(

 

Did you ask for different wait staff when it wasn't up to par on the first night? Our first night on Mariner we were not happy with the table location, wait staff was fine, so asked for a different area the next night. We hit the jackpot that second night and then requested the same section again for the rest of the cruise which was granted. We were in and out of the dining room on average in 45 minutes every night and so happy with the waiter we gave him extra at the end of the trip!

[OV8]

Did you ask for different wait staff when it wasn't up to par on the first night? Our first night on Mariner we were not happy with the table location, wait staff was fine, so asked for a different area the next night. We hit the jackpot that second night and then requested the same section again for the rest of the cruise which was granted. We were in and out of the dining room on average in 45 minutes every night and so happy with the waiter we gave him extra at the end of the trip!

 

Good lord - you had the exact same situation as me on a different ship.

1st nite the AMD put us with a bunch of waiters who kept pushing us drinks & making asinine menu recs & worse we were put @ a table for 8 with no other guests.

 

Next night, we asked to be seated @ a table for 2 & struck gold with a new crew.

Stuck with them & had a great time. The waitress even helped recommend her bf @ Chops as a server we should ask for & that turned out to be fab also.

 

That type of service begets more grats from us for sure at the end.

[Kurbanfan]

Did you ask for different wait staff when it wasn't up to par on the first night? Our first night on Mariner we were not happy with the table location, wait staff was fine, so asked for a different area the next night. We hit the jackpot that second night and then requested the same section again for the rest of the cruise which was granted. We were in and out of the dining room on average in 45 minutes every night and so happy with the waiter we gave him extra at the end of the trip!

 

We were given a different table and waitstaff the second night...

[transam84]

I just got a nice call from RCCL customer relations regarding my comment card that I filled out regarding my dissatisfaction with MTD on my recent cruise. They were very very nice and appreciative of the feedback. So, they are listening and hopefully on those ships where MTD is working less than optimally it will improve. Kudos to RCCL. :D