What if I miss our MTD reservation time?

Sorry, I've never sailed RCI before, and am having a hard time grasping the dining reservation concept for MTD. I'm confused because I have "My Time Dining," but was strongly encouraged to specify our desired dining times for each evening of our cruise. This seems contrary to the concept of MTD. :confused:

So what happens if I make our reservations online now, but then when onboard we want to dine earlier or later than the times we chose? I'm assuming that the reservation thing works something like "Call Ahead" seating at some of our local restaurants, but I'm not sure. I'm used to flexible dining on Carnival ships, when you just show up sometime between 5:30 and 9:00 and ask to be seated - no reservation required.

My puny little brain just can't work out the point of reservations. Can someone please explain?

Thanks!

While they encourage reservations you do not need them. You can show up whenever you would like to. If you know you will not make your reservation just give them a call to cancel.

While they encourage reservations you do not need them. You can show up whenever you would like to. If you know you will not make your reservation just give them a call to cancel.

Although.....there seem to be two lines when you show up. One line is for those who have made specific time reservations...they get seated right away. The other line is for those who just show up. They wait for available seating, I'm presuming.

:D

Although.....there seem to be two lines when you show up. One line is for those who have made specific time reservations...they get seated right away. The other line is for those who just show up. They wait for available seating, I'm presuming.

 

:D

True.

In addition, we did not make reservations online. We would make reservations for the following night on our way out since we had a pretty good idea what we would do the next day.

And the Windjammer buffet is always an option. It is usually very good at dinner and not crowded.

No need for confusion - MTD is exactly the same as a restaurant on land. You can make reservations, which is a good idea if you have a large group or you really want a particular time. If not, you just turn up and see what the wait is.

I've never made a booking. And have never waited more than 15 minutes!

Raina

And the Windjammer buffet is always an option. It is usually very good at dinner and not crowded.

We have found the same, plus it is quieter in Windjammer at dinner.

Thanks all! Makes sense now! :-)

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Thanks. I was a little confused about this also. I like the idea of making the reservation the day before. What's the point of MTD if you have to make them weeks in advance!

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Our last RCI cruise was May, and while there was the option to make reservations, we never did. We never waited for more than a couple of minutes to be seated at a table for two. YMMV if you go at prime time, whenever that is (7:30-8, maybe?). We usually eat on the early side.

Now, all bets are off if you have a larger group wanting to be seated together. I've never been in that situation, but I would guess it might be better to reserve in advance, even if it's just the morning of.

We've only had MTD once, and that was on Allure. It was the only way to work in dinner around our reservations for shows so the dinner reservation times were different for each of the 7 nights. I didn't like it at all. It was a PITA to keep up with all those different dinner times.

The main reason I didn't like it, however, is that although we reported to the dining room a few minutes ahead of our reservation time each night, on two nights we had to wait 15-20 minutes because another group was at 'our table' and they were slow finishing dinner. One night we could see the people sitting at the table, clearly finished with dessert, chatting and taking their time over coffee while we stood and waited for about 20 minutes.

We were a group of six, so it wasn't like we needed a huge table. Just one of the round ones that can seat six, and there were lots of those. We had NOT asked to be at the same table every night. So I never understood why we had to wait for one particular table on those two nights. I also noticed that other pax in the 'no reservations' line were being seated while we waited. Huh??

That happened 2 years ago, so maybe it's gotten better now. I can't say since we've never tried MTD again and enjoy having a consistent dinner time each night. Am I a dinosaur? Maybe…:o…not sure how much I'll like Dynamic Dining either!

Judy

What is Dynamic dining??

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What is Dynamic dining??

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Quantum/14037847_QN_Class_Culinary_FAQs.pdf

Thanks. Looks like it's just for Quantum class ships.

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We've only had MTD once, and that was on Allure. It was the only way to work in dinner around our reservations for shows so the dinner reservation times were different for each of the 7 nights. I didn't like it at all. It was a PITA to keep up with all those different dinner times.

 

The main reason I didn't like it, however, is that although we reported to the dining room a few minutes ahead of our reservation time each night, on two nights we had to wait 15-20 minutes because another group was at 'our table' and they were slow finishing dinner. One night we could see the people sitting at the table, clearly finished with dessert, chatting and taking their time over coffee while we stood and waited for about 20 minutes.

 

We were a group of six, so it wasn't like we needed a huge table. Just one of the round ones that can seat six, and there were lots of those. We had NOT asked to be at the same table every night. So I never understood why we had to wait for one particular table on those two nights. I also noticed that other pax in the 'no reservations' line were being seated while we waited. Huh??

 

That happened 2 years ago, so maybe it's gotten better now. I can't say since we've never tried MTD again and enjoy having a consistent dinner time each night. Am I a dinosaur? Maybe…:o…not sure how much I'll like Dynamic Dining either!

Judy

Wow, that's awful! There's only 3 of us, so may be I'll cancel the reservations I made online and take my chances on random dining times. Hmmm...

On a side note, Are reservations for shows available on all ships? We sail 3 weeks from today, but I see nothing about show reservations on the site.

I agree with the other posts. We always do MTD. Aside from Allure, I have never made MTD reservations. We just show up and have never waited that long.

On the Allure, there were 4 of us and I scheduled times to fit with the entertainment. I found I had a lot more planning to do...but I saved it all as a screen shot on my phone and it was really easy to stay on schedule. That is not my preferred way to travel, but it worked fine for us for that one cruise. I would not do it on any other class of ship (maybe Quantum) though. There really is not a need because you don't have to schedule all of your entertainment on other ships (except, again, maybe Quantum).

Although.....there seem to be two lines when you show up. One line is for those who have made specific time reservations...they get seated right away. The other line is for those who just show up. They wait for available seating, I'm presuming....

We thought the same but it must vary by ship. On our recent Explorer cruise, there were two lines but they weren't "different" and there was no signage. Each manager was handling an equal number of guests, regardless of them having made reservations or not. You gave your cabin number and it went from there.

...plus it is quieter in Windjammer at dinner.

Yeah... about that... I'm not disagreeing with you but again, as an example on our recent Explorer cruise, the WJ was chaotic at dinner too. It seemed noisy, rushed, crowded... man, I was a little disappointed. :( I guess the larger ships (say, larger than Radiance class) are always going to be busier at night than what we have come to expect, just with the sheer number of passengers. *shrug*

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Sorry, I've never sailed RCI before, and am having a hard time grasping the dining reservation concept for MTD. I'm confused because I have "My Time Dining," but was strongly encouraged to specify our desired dining times for each evening of our cruise. This seems contrary to the concept of MTD. :confused:

 

So what happens if I make our reservations online now, but then when onboard we want to dine earlier or later than the times we chose? I'm assuming that the reservation thing works something like "Call Ahead" seating at some of our local restaurants, but I'm not sure. I'm used to flexible dining on Carnival ships, when you just show up sometime between 5:30 and 9:00 and ask to be seated - no reservation required.

 

My puny little brain just can't work out the point of reservations. Can someone please explain?

Thanks!

Just got off the Vision this past weekend. Like you, this was my first RC cruise.....not impressed with the MTD.....it was just kayos the whole week!! Lines every night, minimum of 30 min wait to an hour!!! We had no choice regarding making reservations before the cruise, only MTD was offered. We showed up the first night for dinner and there were about 40 people ahead of us in the "reservations" line and only a few in the other "no reservations". One of the waiters came out and told us it would be an hour and half before anyone would be seated....:eek: I guess they wanted more people using the Speciality restaurants!$$$ Then we were told we needed reservations :confused: like what's that all about? The reason we had MTD was to eat when WE wanted during the time offered!! No one could explain the 2 lines at all. Like why would someone come to the "no reservations" and get seated before someone who has reservations? It didn't make any sense to anyone. I have completed the survey that comes out after you sail. Ido hope everyone completes it and voices their opinions about it!!!

The ship was full but from the time we got to the terminal everything was lines lines and more lines! If you get an e mail requesting you to show up a particular time than I suggest waiting as late as you can. Everyone showed up to this cruise the same time....it was just a mess. No one seemed to know what they were doing.

Just got off the Vision this past weekend. Like you, this was my first RC cruise.....not impressed with the MTD.....it was just kayos the whole week!! Lines every night, minimum of 30 min wait to an hour!!! We had no choice regarding making reservations before the cruise, only MTD was offered. We showed up the first night for dinner and there were about 40 people ahead of us in the "reservations" line and only a few in the other "no reservations". One of the waiters came out and told us it would be an hour and half before anyone would be seated....:eek: I guess they wanted more people using the Speciality restaurants!$$$ Then we were told we needed reservations :confused: like what's that all about? The reason we had MTD was to eat when WE wanted during the time offered!! No one could explain the 2 lines at all. Like why would someone come to the "no reservations" and get seated before someone who has reservations? It didn't make any sense to anyone. I have completed the survey that comes out after you sail. Ido hope everyone completes it and voices their opinions about it!!!

The ship was full but from the time we got to the terminal everything was lines lines and more lines! If you get an e mail requesting you to show up a particular time than I suggest waiting as late as you can. Everyone showed up to this cruise the same time....it was just a mess. No one seemed to know what they were doing.

This scares me. If it was that chaotic for Thanksgiving, I can only imagine the issues for Christmas! [emoji15]

I guess I will keep my reservations and see what happens the first night. If it's a similar situation, then I'll cancel my ressies for the remaining evenings. Hopefully, Explorer will run smoother, though, as it will be difficult for my 8-year-old to wait in line that long.

We always use MTD and just pre-book the same time each night (usually 6:30 PM) unless we have a late port day. Then if we change our minds on board we just change the reservation when we leave dinner the night before or even call MTD to change on the same day. No problem at all.

Here is a dirty little secret. If something comes up last minute and you miss your reservation they will still seat you later on (perhaps with a short wait). I don't recommend this but stuff happens and missing your reservation time does not mean you have to go to the Windjammer (although that is not a bad choice either). You can also show up early and they will seat you and cancel your later reservation.

The system is not all that rigid. No reason to cancel reservations that you have already made. Just adjust them as needed once on board.

I have prebooked our dining , does this mean I will get my table for two ?

I have prebooked our dining , does this mean I will get my table for two ?

Most of the MTD tables are for two. They will ask you if you want a sharing table or a table for two. Some of the tables for two are adjacent to other tables for two so you may still have company.

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