Confused by MyTime Dining

[Flo71]

Hi, I am new to RCI and booked on a short cruise (5 nights) from Southampton next Oct.  I chose Mytime dining when I booked and can see an option in the cruise planner to select my dining times, the only times available are 6.30 and 8.30pm.  So should I book one of these for each night to ensure I get mytime dining? Can I then change it online in advance if I need to? Do I need to ask for a table for 2 or will it automatically give one as there are 2 of us?

Thanks in advance

[robandana]

My Time is exactly that, eat dinner when you want. Depending on the time you want to eat at is if you will need to wait a bit or not. My wife and I eat late around 8:30-9 so we never have to wait, If you eat at 6 you may have a wait. They will try to get you to book the same time every night and if you do you should not need to wait. You will get a table for 2 if you are 2. If your booking says My Time you do not need to do anything online. I would recommend speaking with the host the first night you go to eat dinner if you want to book a specific time.

[SuiteLady]

I always book MTD... it means u can choose to eat anytime between those hours.  When u book, there is a place to put in what time you would like to eat-a drop down menu.  It will show up in ur “items ordered” with the specific time u picked.  I say this, because ur calendar will just list MTD 6:30-9:30.  We always just show up at our time the first night, and ask for a table for two.... u can also go to the MDR when u board and ask ahead of time.

[Dat Cruisin Couple]

It's pretty much like eating out on land. Show up for dinner when you want(within the dinner hours) and they will seat you ASAP. Sometimes you wait (busy time, large party), sometimes they take you right to an open table. You can also setup a nightly reservation and that helps with getting seated quicker.

 

MyTime Dining = Eating at a restaurant on land.

[goneclear]

3 hours ago, Flo71 said:

Hi, I am new to RCI and booked on a short cruise (5 nights) from Southampton next Oct.  I chose Mytime dining when I booked and can see an option in the cruise planner to select my dining times, the only times available are 6.30 and 8.30pm.  So should I book one of these for each night to ensure I get mytime dining? Can I then change it online in advance if I need to? Do I need to ask for a table for 2 or will it automatically give one as there are 2 of us?

Thanks in advance

 

It seems the times you are are seeing are traditional seating times. Are you sure your My Time Dining was confirmed? Some times you get wait listed as they only have a certain amount of my time dining spots. If you are sure your My Time dining is confirmed then you can book the available times or you can just walk up to the my time dining desk when you are ready to eat. You may have to wait a couple of minutes. Just say you want a table for two and that is what you will get. 

[robandana]

One thing I forgot to mention, I think MTD has better tasting food....I mean the menu is the same but ever since we do MTD the food seems to taste better and seems to be hotter/juicer..... Not that fixed time was bad just the I get the impression that because they don't know when your going to be eating them make your order on the fly and it has not been sitting under a heat lamp for 10min.

 

Again just my opinion but we enjoy the food a lot more with MTD.

[OACAggie]

For my Oasis cruise in March 2020, I am seeing the exact same time choices...6:30 or 8:30. I have MTD. In the past with MTD, the time choices have been every 15 or 30 minutes beginning around 5:30. The MTD for my cruise only became available in the last week or so, so Maybe it will open up more times in the coming weeks?

[travelplus]

I booked our MTD times via the cruise planner for 6:00 or 6:15, PM depending on the return from shore excursions. I have found the food and service to be better in the MTD section. 

 

The reason why sharing a table may not be a good choice is because the waiter asks everyone at the table what they want, then you wait for the courses, some are slower and others are faster. 

 

I do not like Amtrak because you are forced to dine with others. I'm not anti social but there are times when all I want to do is eat and leave not to be rude. 

 

I did share a table for lunch on Royal and it was nice but the service was OK. If I'm tipping the servers then a reasonable request is for hot and delicous food and prompt service. 

 

Traditional dining is not like a restaurant and in return for sharing a table is tipping the full amount even worth it? Yes you can request a small table but it's not guaranteed. I think Auto Tipping should be removed and we can decide the amount. As Royal is an international company with people from various cultures Royal could increase wages. I know I know the price if the cruise may increase but at least the service would improve. I'm all for tipping but I will decide whom to tip, when and how much. Land based restaurants in the US do not include service but they do in Europe. If the service is good I tip more if not I tip less or leave no tip. 

 

I love MTD. My theory is make it all MTD and coordinate the shows around it. 

 

Sorry to turn this thread into tipping but poor service in Traditional dining with shared tables is no excuse. Land based restaurants don't ask you to share so why do it on a cruise or train? We're in the 21st Century and I don't like the conversations on Politics with strangers who I will only know for the length of the cruise unless we decide to share our contact info. 

 

To me shatnng a table violates privacy, relaxing times etc. If Royal went all MTD using technology woilf this be viable? 

Edited August 1, 2019 by travelplus

[travelplus]

5 hours ago, robandana said:

One thing I forgot to mention, I think MTD has better tasting food....I mean the menu is the same but ever since we do MTD the food seems to taste better and seems to be hotter/juicer..... Not that fixed time was bad just the I get the impression that because they don't know when your going to be eating them make your order on the fly and it has not been sitting under a heat lamp for 10min.

 

Again just my opinion but we enjoy the food a lot more with MTD.

It's one of the best things Cruise Lines did. I just wish the MTD was the norm from way back when. You don't share tables at land based restaurants and besides tables on cruises are close together but you are not obligated to talk with other diners. 

 

Sharing tables forces you to engage in order to be polite. Now I'm not antisocial but after a 10 hour day in Port all I want to do is eat and leave as I'm tired. MTD avoids the uncomfortable conversations etc. 

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, travelplus said:

It's one of the best things Cruise Lines did. I just wish the MTD was the norm from way back when.

The failure of Dynamic Dining seems to suggest many still prefer traditional, though MTD is making some headway.

[DoctorWhoGirl]

I just made reservations for MTD for our Symphony cruise in April. I only had 6:30 and 8:30 to choose from as well. My past cruises have offered times as early as 5:45. I’m hoping that as the cruise gets closer more time slots will open up so 

I can modify our reservations. Same thing happened when I made the initial MTD reservations for our December cruise. Within a few weeks of making those I was able to modify to the times we wanted. Just keep checking your cruise planner and most likely you will be able to grab the times you want.

[island lady]

On 7/31/2019 at 7:58 AM, goneclear said:

 

It seems the times you are are seeing are traditional seating times. Are you sure your My Time Dining was confirmed? Some times you get wait listed as they only have a certain amount of my time dining spots. If you are sure your My Time dining is confirmed then you can book the available times or you can just walk up to the my time dining desk when you are ready to eat. You may have to wait a couple of minutes. Just say you want a table for two and that is what you will get. 

 

I have never seen traditional dining first seating as late as 6:30.  

[travelplus]

12 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

I have never seen traditional dining first seating as late as 6:30.  

I have on the Serenade from San Juan-Barcelona a few years back. It may have to do with the sunset times or show times as well as time changes the ship goes through.

[island lady]

9 minutes ago, travelplus said:

I have on the Serenade from San Juan-Barcelona a few years back. It may have to do with the sunset times or show times as well as time changes the ship goes through.

 

Ahhh..that makes sense.  Probably also has something to to with other countries that traditionally eat later also.  

[Snit13]

9 hours ago, travelplus said:

I booked our MTD times via the cruise planner for 6:00 or 6:15, PM depending on the return from shore excursions. I have found the food and service to be better in the MTD section. 

 

The reason why sharing a table may not be a good choice is because the waiter asks everyone at the table what they want, then you wait for the courses, some are slower and others are faster. 

 

I do not like Amtrak because you are forced to dine with others. I'm not anti social but there are times when all I want to do is eat and leave not to be rude. 

 

I did share a table for lunch on Royal and it was nice but the service was OK. If I'm tipping the servers then a reasonable request is for hot and delicous food and prompt service. 

 

Traditional dining is not like a restaurant and in return for sharing a table is tipping the full amount even worth it? Yes you can request a small table but it's not guaranteed. I think Auto Tipping should be removed and we can decide the amount. As Royal is an international company with people from various cultures Royal could increase wages. I know I know the price if the cruise may increase but at least the service would improve. I'm all for tipping but I will decide whom to tip, when and how much. Land based restaurants in the US do not include service but they do in Europe. If the service is good I tip more if not I tip less or leave no tip. 

 

I love MTD. My theory is make it all MTD and coordinate the shows around it. 

 

Sorry to turn this thread into tipping but poor service in Traditional dining with shared tables is no excuse. Land based restaurants don't ask you to share so why do it on a cruise or train? We're in the 21st Century and I don't like the conversations on Politics with strangers who I will only know for the length of the cruise unless we decide to share our contact info. 

 

To me shatnng a table violates privacy, relaxing times etc. If Royal went all MTD using technology woilf this be viable? 

Our first trip to Germany many years ago I liked the idea of being asked to share a table.  Opportunity to meet new people and also got seated and served much faster.  I never book traditional dining as do not have a dining time at home, why on a ship.  I eat when my stomach says it is time to eat, not when the clock strikes 6.

[island lady]

Just now, Snit13 said:

Our first trip to Germany many years ago I liked the idea of being asked to share a table.  Opportunity to meet new people and also got seated and served much faster.  I never book traditional dining as do not have a dining time at home, why on a ship.  I eat when my stomach says it is time to eat, not when the clock strikes 6.

 

Kind of like happy hour.  Sometimes it's 5 or 6 pm...sometimes it's 3 or 4 pm.  😉 

[venicia]

I have friends that returned from Harmony about one month ago and they were very disappointed with MTD times.  As soon as dining opened they reserved 6 pm for every night.  When they boarded they were told their time was changed to 6:45 because there were too many persons with early fixed dining and they transferred many of them to the American Icon, the MTD room.  So persons that initially requested MTD and wanted to make reservations early got bumped.  Needless to say this caused issues with their reservations for the shows.  When they  dined at 6:45 the dinner took 2 hours and they missed their show that evening.  They had the same problem the next night even though they went around 6 pm, they had to stand in the no reservation line which was long.  They ate in the Solarium Bistro and Windjammer the rest of the week.

 

I have sailed Oasis class 8 times and this is the first I ever heard of this, but I as well cannot book anything before 6:30 for MTD for my cruise on Harmony in January.  I am with a group and a few of us wanted to have dinner together so we made reservations together in the Solarium Bistro.  The other evenings I will be in the Coastal Kitchen.  

[Snit13]

12 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Kind of like happy hour.  Sometimes it's 5 or 6 pm...sometimes it's 3 or 4 pm.  😉 

You got that right since "It's 5 o'clock somewhere."
 

[goneclear]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 

I have never seen traditional dining first seating as late as 6:30.  

 

I have. If I didn't I would not have mentioned it.

[GigiK]

1 hour ago, venicia said:

I have friends that returned from Harmony about one month ago and they were very disappointed with MTD times.  As soon as dining opened they reserved 6 pm for every night.  When they boarded they were told their time was changed to 6:45 because there were too many persons with early fixed dining and they transferred many of them to the American Icon, the MTD room.  So persons that initially requested MTD and wanted to make reservations early got bumped.  Needless to say this caused issues with their reservations for the shows.  When they  dined at 6:45 the dinner took 2 hours and they missed their show that evening.  They had the same problem the next night even though they went around 6 pm, they had to stand in the no reservation line which was long.  They ate in the Solarium Bistro and Windjammer the rest of the week.

 

I have sailed Oasis class 8 times and this is the first I ever heard of this, but I as well cannot book anything before 6:30 for MTD for my cruise on Harmony in January.  I am with a group and a few of us wanted to have dinner together so we made reservations together in the Solarium Bistro.  The other evenings I will be in the Coastal Kitchen.  

 

This happened to us as well a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't very pleasant as we weren't aware of it until we were seated and had already been served appetizers. The server then returned and addressed us by names not ours. When we said it wasn't us, he literally said we weren't supposed to be there and wanted us to leave. We just sat still and said nothing, waiting for what I don't know. He left, came back, and continued serving the meal. Much later, we found a card in one of our rooms that said our reservation had been moved to 9pm. We talked to a person with a clipboard, a person who looked us up on a computer, and then were shown to the table. Not a word was mentioned until the server called us by the wrong names. He was unhappy.

[venicia]

Oh my word!!!  This is awful and how rude of the server.   

 

It seems as if it is only on Harmony, never had this type of problem with Oasis or Allure.  

[GigiK]

It was an unpleasant experience for sure. But there didn't seem to be anything to do except wait and see. We assume he went to talk to the head waiter. The lesson I guess would be that just because you made reservations and it shows up on the Royal app in the calendar, you don't necessarily actually have reservations. Nobody contacted us except for the business card sized notice we found later in the room. It didn't even say that it was changed, only that we were confirmed for 9pm. And that was in only one of our rooms. That was the only reservation we had, so don't know what would have happened with more.

[island lady]

17 hours ago, Snit13 said:

You got that right since "It's 5 o'clock somewhere."
 

 

🥃🍷🍺  Indeed it is!  😄 

[island lady]

16 hours ago, goneclear said:

 

I have. If I didn't I would not have mentioned it.

 

See post #14. 

Edited August 2, 2019 by island lady

[OACAggie]

On 7/31/2019 at 11:54 PM, OACAggie said:

For my Oasis cruise in March 2020, I am seeing the exact same time choices...6:30 or 8:30. I have MTD. In the past with MTD, the time choices have been every 15 or 30 minutes beginning around 5:30. The MTD for my cruise only became available in the last week or so, so Maybe it will open up more times in the coming weeks?

More times have opened up for my cruise,  but still nothing earlier than 6:30.