Has anyone tried the "My Time dining"?

[OV8]

My opinion of MTD on the FOS 8/23 cruise:

 

1) Limited to 1 floor (5th - upper of MDR on FOS)

2) Wait staff was excellent (once we latched on to the gr8 1's) & quick unless they are really busy

3) Food quality was mixed just like main/2nd seatings

4) We tipped nominally more in addition to the prepaid grats

5) No reservations needed unless u are walking in with the main/2nd herds

6) Even then - very little wait if no reservation was made

 

 

All in all happy with MTD while it did allow more flexibility, with all the events going on that we wanted to catch, we will still felt somewhat rushed.

[grammyandpoppy]

We are signed up for MTD on the upcoming cruise.

I hope they will not rush us through dinner, having only 45/60 minutes for dinner would be a real nightmare to us :( We like to enjoy our food, and I am a slow eater.

 

We didn't realize we could sign up prior to boarding. On previous cruises, we had been told we had to sign up after boarding.

 

Please let me know how you did this. Thank you

[sandravb79]

I booked through the rccl website, and it was one of the options: early dining, late dining or MTD.

 

MTD was the "answer" to the question when I wanted to dine, because I had given that up as my preference in my user profile (same with the bed configuration).

 

Then, when we had to go to TA for the payment (when you book from Belgium, you can only make a courtesy hold through the website and then you have to go to a TA), they checked again of we wanted early/ late or MTD.

 

As far as I understand, it can fill up, so when you board the ship and all MTD spots are already taken, you're out ot luck.

[swanlady2000]

Just booked a cruise on the Mariner with MTD and really hoping they iron out all those kinks over the next few months (we sail in 3mths). I cruised for the 1st time with princess last year and loved there anytime dining. Just used to turn up when we were ready and timed it around shows we wanted to see, it sometimes meant getting a pager and a wait for 10 minutes but we just had a pre-dinner drink. We always got a table for 4 (our party size). Great service on the whole. So I was pretty much hoping that MTD would be pretty much the same - hope I'm not too disappointed.

[Kurbanfan]

Just off the Mariner and was highly disappointed with "My Time Dining":(

We chose it because we loved it on Princess and family members said it worked out great on Carnival...........

Although we never had to wait in line or were given a pager........once we were seated the service was horrible to say the least.......waited at least 20 minutes to even take our order......waiters seemed scrambled and frazzled........even though we had 3 servers........if I was at a land restaurant I would have left........

It was a shame because besides this......all other service on the ship was fantastic!

RCCL needs to seriously rethink this dining option IMO!!!!

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Just off the Mariner and was highly disappointed with "My Time Dining":(

We chose it because we loved it on Princess and family members said it worked out great on Carnival...........

Although we never had to wait in line or were given a pager........once we were seated the service was horrible to say the least.......waited at least 20 minutes to even take our order......waiters seemed scrambled and frazzled........even though we had 3 servers........if I was at a land restaurant I would have left........

It was a shame because besides this......all other service on the ship was fantastic!

RCCL needs to seriously rethink this dining option IMO!!!!

 

 

I totally agree, we found the service very bad and we also had to wait sometimes 20-30 minutes for a table if we hadnt made a reservation. I wouldnt do it again.

[DEL67]

We've done it twice. On the Majesty it was great - we got to eat when we wanted and the food was actually hot! We liked our first waiter so we made a standing reservation with him.

 

Last week on the Navigator, it was fine, but not as good as on the Majesty. The first night it was a mess, probably because we reserved a table for 6:45 on a ship full of Europeans who eat very late. After that we ate at 7 PM and it was fine, but not as good as the Majesty.

[JSR]

We had an inconsistent experience on the Freedom. The first night we had a great waiter and a large table with another family. The following nights we had different waiters even though we requested certain times the night before we could not always be seated because the people dinning before us were still eating. Once we ate by ourselves and really did not like that. From then on we would coordinate with the family we meet on the first night and arrive together to be seated together. My husband and I prefer late seating but because of the teen program my dds would prefer to be at the teen club before late seating is over. We have done early twice and really do not care for it, I always feel rushed.

[Brewster]

We did MTD on the Mariner last week. We made reservations as soon as we got on the ship. At that time, we were able to make reservations for the entire week. We ate on Sunday at 6:00 PM (wanted to see the 7:45 pm Welcome Show) and made 6:45 PM reservations the rest of the week.

 

Service was great. We had our own table for the entire week (this was fine with us). I am sure if we asked for a larger table it would have been accomodated. Our table was not in the best spot in the dining room but our waiter/asst. waiter service was great. The Matri'D did make an effort to place us by the window on a few nights (which we appreciated) but we ultimately asked to be switched back to our original location because we liked our original waiter.

 

My only complaint is that the photographers did not take any table photos the whole week due to our "off time." However, we did manage to avoid large lines for photo opportunities outside the dining room due to our dining time (between the early and late seatings).

 

For us, MTD worked great. We never waited more than a minute to be seated and the service was above average overall. In the future, I would definitely do this again.

[Kurbanfan]

 

For us, MTD worked great. We never waited more than a minute to be seated and the service was above average overall. In the future, I would definitely do this again.

 

I would imagine that is because you made reservations for the whole week.........not most peoples idea of my time dining........

[akcruz]

We did MTD on the Mariner last week. We made reservations as soon as we got on the ship. At that time, we were able to make reservations for the entire week. We ate on Sunday at 6:00 PM (wanted to see the 7:45 pm Welcome Show) and made 6:45 PM reservations the rest of the week.

 

I would imagine that is because you made reservations for the whole week.........not most peoples idea of my time dining........

 

OK, I know I am being 'thick' here but if they made a reservation for 6:45 which is NOT one of the RCI scheduled dining times, then they did have My (Their) Time Dining. They chose to eat at 6:45 instead of 6:00 or 8:30 (the RCI times), right???

 

The reason a lot of people choose MTD is because 6:00 is too early and 8:30 is too late and this lets them choose Their Time to Dine.

[Kurbanfan]

OK, I know I am being 'thick' here but if they made a reservation for 6:45 which is NOT one of the RCI scheduled dining times, then they did have My (Their) Time Dining. They chose to eat at 6:45 instead of 6:00 or 8:30 (the RCI times), right???

 

The reason a lot of people choose MTD is because 6:00 is too early and 8:30 is too late and this lets them choose Their Time to Dine.

 

You mean they had "My Reservation time":D They would still be stuck to a schedule of a specific time..........all other cruiselines that offer this do not encourage making reservations.......they actually have "my time" "anytime" "freestyle" "personal choice" dining.........which means you walk in anytime during dinner..........not at a specific time;)

The reason people choose this type of dining is to be able to dine anytime.......and not have to rush because you might be late for your reservation..........

[akcruz]

You mean they had "My Reservation time":D They would still be stuck to a schedule of a specific time..........all other cruiselines that offer this do not encourage making reservations.......they actually have "my time" "anytime" "freestyle" "personal choice" dining.........which means you walk in anytime during dinner..........not at a specific time;)

The reason people choose this type of dining is to be able to dine anytime.......and not have to rush because you might be late for your reservation..........

 

I do see where you are coming from, but am going with the let's agree to disagree mantra.

 

I did MTD on our last 2 cruises and while I made standing reservation for the week on Mariner, each day we would look at the upcoming activites and as a family decide whether that was the time we wanted to eat or not. If it was, great we showed up at our reservation time. If not, I called and changed it to a time I wanted. Did I have to do that, no I did not. I could have showed up when I was hungry and potentially waited for a table but I didn't feel like doing that. I did have my dinner at my time each night, and no we did not eat at the same time every night.

[Kurbanfan]

I do see where you are coming from, but am going with the let's agree to disagree mantra.

 

I did MTD on our last 2 cruises and while I made standing reservation for the week on Mariner, each day we would look at the upcoming activites and as a family decide whether that was the time we wanted to eat or not. If it was, great we showed up at our reservation time. If not, I called and changed it to a time I wanted. Did I have to do that, no I did not. I could have showed up when I was hungry and potentially waited for a table but I didn't feel like doing that. I did have my dinner at my time each night, and no we did not eat at the same time every night.

 

We didn't make reservations and we never waited for a table........but we had to wait way to long for service........and they kept encouraging us to make reservations:rolleyes:

It seems they want to offer what other cruiselines offer.......except they have no idea what they are doing IMO..........

If you have ever experienced this type of dining on other cruiselines you would understand more clearly what I mean.......

I am only speaking from our experience on the Mariner......maybe other RCCL ships are better........

[Guest maddycat]

We did MTD on the Explorer in May. We loved it. We showed up between 6:15 and 7:00 every night. We never made reservations. We never had to wait for a table. We always were given a table for 2 which was just what we wanted. The service was excellent. There seemed to be extra assistant waiters. We were never rushed. We're looking forward to MTD on our next cruise on the Explorer in October.

[EBFURR]

We just got off Enchantment yesterday and had MTD. We never made reservations and never waited for a table - as in not even 10 seconds. When we walked up, they asked if we had a reservation and we would say no. They would say that they had no tables for two (used up by those who made reservations) and would need to seat us with others, which was fine. We would go straight to the table - always a very good location. The service was very quick and we were always done in 30-45 min. They did not rush us, the food just came very fast when we ordered.

 

If you prefer a table for two, you probably need a reservation (but not always). We were perfectly fine with the way it worked out. Unfortunately, the food was not up to par with prior cruises, but that had nothing to do with MTD.

[lappy22]

From reading another post, the Mariner My Time host desk was staffed by only one person. He did everything, took names, asked for room numbers, answered the phone, quoted wait times, escorted the guests to their tables, etc. There was nobody else to help. I wonder if this had something to do with the poor service. Some of the My Time area would be nearly empty, but wherever we were sat, it was quite full. It seemed he would fill up the tables on one side before moving over to the other. On other lines they always had someone always at the desk and 2-3 seaters, like a standard restaurant has during busy times.

[sandravb79]

The more I read about it, the more I'm getting worried.

They get you through dinner in 30 - 45 minutes??

 

Holy F! :eek:

 

If they'll do that to us, I won't be a happy cruiser :(

[Connecticut35]

So if we were to make a standing reservation ahead of time and request a table of 2 it is likely that we could sit alone?

[akcruz]

So if we were to make a standing reservation ahead of time and request a table of 2 it is likely that we could sit alone?

 

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.

[EBFURR]

The more I read about it, the more I'm getting worried.

They get you through dinner in 30 - 45 minutes??

 

Holy F! :eek:

 

If they'll do that to us, I won't be a happy cruiser :(

 

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.

[EBFURR]

So if we were to make a standing reservation ahead of time and request a table of 2 it is likely that we could sit alone?

 

That is the way it was on Enchantment. We did not make reservations, but talked to some that did. They set up a time and requested a table for two and it was ready for them. They had to wait a few minutes one night, but not very long. One night they were late and were still seated right away.

[sandravb79]

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.

 

Thanks for the explanation, I'm a bit less stressed now.

I'm a typical European, I need my time to eat. I needed an hour for my salad for lunch today! :)

[OV8]

Still a work in progress on some ships as can be seen above.

But on our FOS cruise last week, I never had to wait unless there was the dinner rush or change issue.

 

& the only time I felt rush was our own doing because we scheduled out activities too close together (relative to dinner).

 

I was so happy with our MTD hostess & her efforts to accomodate us with our requests seating with out favored wait staff, that I tipped her @ the end of the cruise.

[Modena]

Just returned from Baltic Cruise on Jewel of the Seas and did My Time Dining. Had no problems. Never made a reservation, just turned up when we wanted and never waited more than a couple of minutes for a table. Service was excellent and we could request at which servers table we wanted to sit. Would definitely do it again and would never go back to traditional dining times as we found My Time to be more relaxing as we did not have to rush back from tours or other activities to make a specific time.