Why do you choose the dining option you do?

[living in vacationland]

My DH and I have selected Traditional Dining for our upcoming Jewel cruise, early seating. Now we are second guessing that decision.

 

Understanding that each option is subjective and has a pro and con (or perhaps not) that fits your needs. Why do you choose the dining option (Traditional, early or late seating and My Time Dining) that you do?

 

Thanks.

[Retired LEO]

MTD=Flexibility

[Clarea]

Traditional. Zero wait time to get seated and automatic convenience for the show schedule.

[caseymorgan]

In Europe or other port intensive cruises, traditional late. For all other traditional early-- there is never a wait for anything and it allows more flexibility in attending shows. etc.

[iamcsm]

We had a few days of MTD our last cruise then got switched to Traditional early. We aren't late people and are used to eating early so that's an easy choice. But we like Traditional WAY better than MTD because we get the same wait staff with Traditional which made the service much better. With MTD we got switched around to different tables and areas and wait staff.

[KiwiGal117]

We like MTD. Especially with port intensive cruises in Europe where you are likely to be off on tours and things all day. Early seating is a rush to get back for. And if you are jetlagged, Late can be too late on the first day or two. Our last cruise with MTD we were given the same section every night so had the same wait staff. Not always the same table mates, but it made it fun.

[garnetpalmetto]

We prefer traditional early for the most part. We like going to dinner and then a show, we like having the same wait staff each night who knows our likes and dislikes, and we generally like getting to meet other people on our cruises and have become friends with tablemates we've had in the past. The first cruise that we're not doing traditional early is our cruise on Rhapsody next year where we're opting for traditional late in order to take advantage of drinks at the Concierge Club.

[Mama24]

We've begun opting for MTD. We prefer a table for two, and it seems easier to get this with MTD.

[Summerknight]

We prefer traditional late. It's too much rushing to get ready for traditional early. We tried MTD for two cruises when it first came out. We felt the servers were crazy busyband distant so we switched back to traditional.

[davekathy]

We always do Early Traditional table for two. Fits perfect with our schedule and have never felt rushed to get ready.

Edited October 13, 2015 by davekathy

[steveru621]

Traditional late seating large table. (We love to meet new people)

 

I want to schedule once!

 

Always fits with shows.

 

I can relax after getting back from an excursion.

 

My wife ;) doesn't have to start getting ready for formal night @ 4PM.

 

DL or CL empties out at 5:30.

 

Late seating just feels less rushed...

[N41EF]

Traditional Early. Not late people anyway, and want to eat and give it a few hours to digest before bed. We do the dinner then shows and sometimes a walk on deck to get dinner settled before bed.

 

Like traditional because we like to get to know the wait staff, and they us, so they know that if they bring me 6 cheese rolls I'll eat them.

 

After our first cruise we almost always eat in the MDR, did the Windjammer on Allure in Europe once or twice when our shore trip didn't get back in time. We have eaten in Chops, but have gotten in the habit of ordering the Chops meal in the MDR at a much better price.

 

We also enjoy being seated with people we don't know, and a chance to make new friends.

[molsonschooner]

We like traditional late. Due to my work schedule we have to eat early quite a bit. It is nice to eat late when we have the opportunity. With late dinning there is no rush to get ready after coming back from excursions

[MAHA]

Traditional Late seating at a large table. If sailing with our adult children, it's still late seating, but at a table for the family.

 

We enjoy having time to get ready for dinner without rushing after a day in port or at sea and then having time to go to the Diamond lounge before dinner.

 

Mary Anne

[Bookish Angel]

MTD=Flexibility

 

I have no desire be locked into a fixed dining time, especially on port days.

 

I also want to dine with just my husband as it is our time to focus on one another, reflect and relax.

Edited October 13, 2015 by Bookish Angel

[OCruisers]

Interesting thread. Fun reading why others pick what they do.

 

MTD is our choice because of the flexibility. Also, we tend to have dinner at a specialty restaurant very frequently and would not be at our TD table most nights. :)

 

LuLu

[Daghis]

I prefer My Time Dining due to its flexibility and because I prefer to get a table just to ourselves because my husband is hard of hearing and he cannot really participate in conversations at larger tables where he can't hear the person sitting across from him with all the background noise.

[GBM]

Same for us. We do the traditional early, since we prefer dining earlier, rather than later in the evening. Then we do the shows after dinner, and maybe walk around, etc.

We also like to meet new people, and then dine with them nightly. Some of the table-mates we've had in the past (we've done 4 cruises so far), we might not have specifically chosen, but we had a great time with. On our last cruise, one evening the other 2 families (they knew each other prior to cruise) had other dinner plans, so we were alone that evening. The waiter asked us where the rest of our family was. He was surprised when we told him we hadn't met them before the first evening.

We also usually do one evening meal per cruise at one of the specialty restaurants.

[Fouremco]

Traditional early for two. We generally eat a bit later at home, but the late seating is just a bit too late for our tastes. We've tried all the variations, and while we enjoy flexible times on port days, we usually have plenty of time to freshen up, change if necessary and have a pre-dinner drink on our balcony.

[rum & monkey]

Traditional late

No rush on port days

Not as many families with young kids

We like the interaction with new people (we request a table for 6-8)

It's fun to hear about everybody's day and share your day

So far we have never had a bad experience with traditional

We have done MTD and made our reservations online beforehand but once onboard decided we wanted to eat later and changing our reservations onboard just became a hassle as times we wanted were already full

[Anita Latte]

MTD. Like another PP said, flexibility to eat when we want and at the pace that our family eats at. We've never waited to be seated and rarely make reservations.

 

I like to eat on an upper deck too. For all my MTD venues, it has been on the upper floor of the MDR.

 

Also...don't want to worry about how our alternative to MDR plans might affect table mates...so prefer to plan to eat with just our family.

 

Also...may be dealing with allergy dining, which is a PITA so don't always do it and just risk the consequences (more digestive issues than anything else). When dining with table mates, it isn't comfortable to deal with the allergy thing and all the preordering and sometimes excessive waiting that accompanies the ordeal.

[ChollaChick]

We do traditional late seating for many of the same reasons others have posted. Early seating is just too early in my opinion and would make me feel rushed because I like to enjoy my afternoon and then have time to primp for dinner and enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail. We like meeting new people on the cruise so we enjoy a large table, and prefer having the same waitstaff. Plus, there's usually less kids at late dinner.

[Bevv]

My husband does not like to eat in the Main Dining Room at night so we do MTD and eat dinner in the buffet. MTD means they do not keep chairs for us in the dining room.

 

We often eat breakfast or lunch in the MDR. We go against the flow since most passengers eat in the MDR at night and the buffets for Breakfast and Lunch.

[reney313]

MTD. We typically only eat in the MDR 2-3 times on a typical 7 day cruise. Sometimes only once. This way we don't have to worry about seats being saved for us with a group that chose Traditional Dining to have others at their table.

 

We also like the flexibility to eat when we feel like it. Sometimes we have a late lunch and so dining earlier doesn't work well. Sometimes we are starving by 5:30 and enjoy going to dinner early before all the activities for the night. Often, we opt for the Windjammer or a casual venue instead.

[LuCruise]

Our first cruise where we had a choice but we selected MTD because we're coming with our kids and so all late shows are out. Thus, we can coordinate dinner around the shows. If it was just Dh and I, then we'd probably select traditional, early seating.