5:15 Dinner is too early!

[5thgirl]

Any options to wait list for a preferred my time dining time? I'm trying for a 6pm but none available. I thought dinner times were different last few times I sailed, like 6pm and 8:30. Are the 5:15 and 8pm times just on these larger ships? I can't imagine having lunch then such an early dinner not to mention having to hustle on formal nights to get ready when you still have activities you want to do! If I recall correctly, they usually have formal nights on a cruising day right? I also want to catch all the evening shows but 10 is too late for me. 

[QueenofKrakatoa]

I don't think it has anything to do with the ship size, if anything I see those early times on Serenade class ships. And yes, formal nights tend to be on sea days (2nd and 6th nights on a 7 day cruise, for example) but not always. If this is a 7 day cruise you should be able to catch all the shows you want even if the dining time is super early. If you're still worried about not making it to a show on a particular afternoon/evening, you can always eat in the WJ or a specialty restaurant that day. There's options.

[Clarea]

6 minutes ago, 5thgirl said:

Any options to wait list for a preferred my time dining time? I'm trying for a 6pm but none available. I thought dinner times were different last few times I sailed, like 6pm and 8:30. Are the 5:15 and 8pm times just on these larger ships? I can't imagine having lunch then such an early dinner not to mention having to hustle on formal nights to get ready when you still have activities you want to do! If I recall correctly, they usually have formal nights on a cruising day right? I also want to catch all the evening shows but 10 is too late for me. 

 

No way to waitlist MTD times.  Visit the MTD desk as soon as you board and try to make reservations there.  Otherwise, just show up when you want to eat.

[sellwingri]

I just booked Harmony in September and requested early MDR seating.  My document says it’s at 5:15.  I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually turned out to be 5:30 when we sail.  On our recent Jewel 16 day cruise, our document said 6pm but it actually was 5:30.  All our recent cruises ended up being 5:30 regardless of what our document said. 

 

We enjoy early seating because it allows us to spend more time at evening events on board.  On most days, we skip lunch or just eat a light one.  Just our preference...

Edited March 21, 2019 by sellwingri

[chelles24]

Yes, you should be able to join the waitlist for My Time. I had to pick 5:15 for my upcoming cruise on Allure in April because it was all that was available at time of booking. I agree it's way too early, so I was disappointed!! I asked my TA if I could switch to My Time and they said they had called Royal and put me on the waitlist. Probably 10-12 days later I noticed in my cruise planner I was in My Time. Now I'm able to pick different times for each night of the cruise in the planner. Yay! 😁

 

Talk to your TA or Royal if you booked directly with them.

Edited March 21, 2019 by chelles24

[tonyweir]

You're on vacation!

Just show up when you want to eat and enjoy! We never had to wait more than a few minutes to get a table on Navigator two weeks ago.

Don't stress about It!

 

I saw several grumpy people on the cruise. Grumpy for one reason or another, why? It's a vacation. Enjoy it!

[katiel53]

3 hours ago, chelles24 said:

Yes, you should be able to join the waitlist for My Time. I had to pick 5:15 for my upcoming cruise on Allure in April because it was all that was available at time of booking. I agree it's way too early, so I was disappointed!! I asked my TA if I could switch to My Time and they said they had called Royal and put me on the waitlist. Probably 10-12 days later I noticed in my cruise planner I was in My Time. Now I'm able to pick different times for each night of the cruise in the planner. Yay! 😁

 

Talk to your TA or Royal if you booked directly with them.

The OP already has MTD, but can't get the time she wants.  There is no way to wait-list a specific time with MTD.  She was given correct info to either go to see the Maitre D' when she boards or just show up when she wants.  There may be a wait, but there may not be.

Edited March 21, 2019 by katiel53

[chelles24]

16 hours ago, 5thgirl said:

I thought dinner times were different last few times I sailed, like 6pm and 8:30. Are the 5:15 and 8pm times just on these larger ships?

 

8 minutes ago, katiel53 said:

The OP already has MTD, but can't get the time she wants.  There is no way to wait-list a specific time with MTD.  She was given correct info to either go to see the Maitre D' when she boards or just show up when she wants.  There may be a wait, but there may not be.

 

That's fine if that's the case, just disregard my post then! 😃 The OP post is confusing though because they asking about my time dining but then mention the fixed dining times (on Allure at least), which are 5:15 and 8pm. My time dining doesn't even open until 6pm. It's a little confusing but hopefully something that has been provided will answer the question they have.

[katiel53]

16 minutes ago, chelles24 said:

 

 

That's fine if that's the case, just disregard my post then! 😃 The OP post is confusing though because they asking about my time dining but then mention the fixed dining times (on Allure at least), which are 5:15 and 8pm. My time dining doesn't even open until 6pm. It's a little confusing but hopefully something that has been provided will answer the question they have.

Sorry to disagree again, but MTD starts at 5:30 now.

[chelles24]

8 minutes ago, katiel53 said:

Sorry to disagree again, but MTD starts at 5:30 now.

 

Interesting...directly from my cruise planner for an April cruise on Allure -

 

[katiel53]

5 minutes ago, chelles24 said:

 

Interesting...directly from my cruise planner for an April cruise on Allure -

 

Your planner is newer than my info from previous cruises and Cruise Compasses.  Thanks for correcting my info.  I can't look at the actual times for my June cruise as we have the UDP.  Thanks for correcting my info.  It will be interesting to see what my Compass will show when we board.

[5thgirl]

Thanks everyone! Sorry if my post was confusing to some. I was trying to get a 6pm MTD time to give myself more time to do things and yet still catch the 8pm show. If I chose the 8pm, I'm stuck with a 10pm show which is too late for me. I'll be stuck with 5:15 for now, but it's not the end of the world. I'll try and talk to the folks when I get onboard.

[er345]

On my cruise planner I can book MTD as early as 5:00 and as late as 9:30.

 

However there is a 5:15 and then it jumps to 7:00.  I don’t know if all of the times in between are taken.  Or maybe they they are forcing people to come early so they have time to clean and reset the tables for the 7:00 and later.  Because if there was a 6:30 reservation they would have to keep that table open until then. This was they can accommodate walk ins early and still get them out for the later seating. 

 

I also think 5:15 is way too early for me and I disliked our 8pm set time on Symphony.  We were always exhausted getting out of dinner at 10pm. 

[Midwestgal]

3 hours ago, katiel53 said:

The OP already has MTD, but can't get the time she wants.  There is no way to wait-list a specific time with MTD.  She was given correct info to either go to see the Maitre D' when she boards or just show up when she wants.  There may be a wait, but there may not be.

Okay I’m confused...MTD you have to pick a time? Where do I do this? We’re booked for April 2020

[Denise W]

29 minutes ago, Midwestgal said:

Okay I’m confused...MTD you have to pick a time? Where do I do this? We’re booked for April 2020

Just go into your cruise planner under dining. You will be given available times to reserve. You don't have to make a reservation but we always do, and then change or cancel it if our plans change.

Denise

[Biker19]

53 minutes ago, Midwestgal said:

Okay I’m confused...MTD you have to pick a time? Where do I do this? We’re booked for April 2020

It might be too early to book dining - keep checking the planner. 

[cb at sea]

If you have MTD, they don't allow you to book IN ADVANCE the "popular" times.  So...just go to the dining room when you board the ship, and request the time you want.    EVERYONE wants to eat between 6:45-7:30 or so....

[5thgirl]

8 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

If you have MTD, they don't allow you to book IN ADVANCE the "popular" times.  So...just go to the dining room when you board the ship, and request the time you want.    EVERYONE wants to eat between 6:45-7:30 or so....

Interesting, the earliest time I found online was 6:45 and some for 7, 7:30, so those were available but not enough time for me to enjoy my dinner before the show 

[sellwingri]

16 hours ago, katiel53 said:

Sorry to disagree again, but MTD starts at 5:30 now.

You’re correct.  It started at 5:30 on my Jewel Cruise 2 weeks ago and in November and on my Adventure Cruise in January.  Start time must have changed in the past year.

[jor3334]

23 hours ago, tonyweir said:

You're on vacation!

Just show up when you want to eat and enjoy! We never had to wait more than a few minutes to get a table on Navigator two weeks ago.

Don't stress about It!

 

I saw several grumpy people on the cruise. Grumpy for one reason or another, why? It's a vacation. Enjoy it!

Maybe they were grumpy because they did what they were supposed to do and selected their times they wanted to eat, showed up at the dining room when they were supposed to do and then had to wait  because there were no tables available because of people just showing up when they felt like it. Last time on the Anthem (7th one) the line for no reservations was as big as the reservation one  

[CrusingRuthing]

Just so you know, you can just show up instead of making a reservation. If you want to eat around 6, show up at the dining room around 5:30-5:45 to account for any line. Just because you can't make a reservation doesn't mean you can't eat at that time.

 

The reason you cannot select the other times is because people made reservations for those times earlier than you did. Its one of those cases where it actually helps to book earlier rather than waiting it out. Best of luck to you

[CrusingRuthing]

20 hours ago, cb at sea said:

If you have MTD, they don't allow you to book IN ADVANCE the "popular" times.  So...just go to the dining room when you board the ship, and request the time you want.    EVERYONE wants to eat between 6:45-7:30 or so....

They do allow you to book these times, they just "sell out" faster. I have MTD and have a reservation every night for 6:30 on the ship and had every single time available to me when making the reservations

[CrusingRuthing]

23 hours ago, er345 said:

On my cruise planner I can book MTD as early as 5:00 and as late as 9:30.

 

However there is a 5:15 and then it jumps to 7:00.  I don’t know if all of the times in between are taken.  Or maybe they they are forcing people to come early so they have time to clean and reset the tables for the 7:00 and later.  Because if there was a 6:30 reservation they would have to keep that table open until then. This was they can accommodate walk ins early and still get them out for the later seating. 

 

I also think 5:15 is way too early for me and I disliked our 8pm set time on Symphony.  We were always exhausted getting out of dinner at 10pm. 

Its most likely that those times are already taken as when I booked for a different cruise I had all times available

[CrusingRuthing]

3 hours ago, jor3334 said:

Maybe they were grumpy because they did what they were supposed to do and selected their times they wanted to eat, showed up at the dining room when they were supposed to do and then had to wait  because there were no tables available because of people just showing up when they felt like it. Last time on the Anthem (7th one) the line for no reservations was as big as the reservation one  

MTD has suggested reservations but not required. I would not say "supposed to do" as you have the option to not do it. Reservations are recommended and they should be seating those reservations before the walk-ins. I would be surprised if all of those walk-ins got seated before the reservations

[Bean2010]

You can just walk up when you want to eat and they seat you, sometimes you have a wee wait but not for earlier times I found. We went to see them onboard and booked a regular 7.30  time slot. We were seated in the same section every nigh and only has short waits. In other words...Don't worry.