MDR dining

[kstom1]

Have 5:30 dining on Mariner.  One of our excursions gets us back at the ship after 6pm.  Will we be able to use My time dining and walk in without a reservation to the MDR?

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, kstom1 said:

 Will we be able to use My time dining and walk in without a reservation to the MDR?

Unlikely.

[Corby114]

You can only do one of the dining room scenarios during your sailing. On excursion day when you return to the ship head over to the Windjammer for dinner. The Windjammer is usually open for dinner between 6:00PM and 9:00PM.

[LMaxwell]

windjammer is usually better than mdr.  secret secret.  

 

if mdr is priority speak w dining room manager day before; depending how full ship is they may be able to accommodate.  

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Talk to your waiter or the head waiter at least the night before.  See if they'll accommodate you.  They did for us.  

[rudeney]

Or, if you were considering trying a specialty restaurant, do it that night and choose a later time.

[Diver2014]

We were on Mariner last month with 5:30 dining.  They always closed the doors at 5:45 but people still came in after that and went to their tables.  Like S.A.M.J.R. suggested, talk with your waiter or the head waiter the night before just so they know what to expect.  I don't see why you can't be accommodated.   Or, go to the Windjammer - they usually have some of the same food as the MDR.  You won't go hungry.

[yogimax]

On that evening, just go to the restaurant that is hosting MTD and get in the line that says

"Guests Without Reservations."

[Joseph2017China]

Plenty of food on the ship.....When I have this happen, such on last cruise, we ate off the ship, and made our own "specialty restaurant" which was great.  On vacation and in different schedules, sometimes you just need to row with the flow.

[davekathy]

We plan our day(s) around going to the DL in the evening for C&A HH for pre dinner drinks and a snack and our dining time. 

[karena1]

5 hours ago, kstom1 said:

Have 5:30 dining on Mariner.  One of our excursions gets us back at the ship after 6pm.  Will we be able to use My time dining and walk in without a reservation to the MDR?

As a rule no.  If you have traditional dining, they normally will not let you use MTD  If they are not busy, maybe.  Best bet will probably be WJ.

[karena1]

22 minutes ago, yogimax said:

On that evening, just go to the restaurant that is hosting MTD and get in the line that says

"Guests Without Reservations."

They still know you are scheduled for Traditional Dining.  So depending on how busy they are, they may or may not let you in.

[yogimax]

48 minutes ago, karena1 said:

They still know you are scheduled for Traditional Dining.  So depending on how busy they are, they may or may not let you in.

Sorry, but I can't imagine them turning anyone away.

[mrpayroll]

3 hours ago, yogimax said:

Sorry, but I can't imagine them turning anyone away.

You might not be able to imagine it, but it happens.

[yogimax]

1 hour ago, mrpayroll said:

You might not be able to imagine it, but it happens.

Has it happened to you?

[Ret MP]

5 hours ago, yogimax said:

Sorry, but I can't imagine them turning anyone away.

It hasn't happened to me.  BUT, I can imagine that since there are a lot of other dining options on the ship that don't add any extra expense to you or anybody else, yes, I can imagine them turning you or anybody away.  YMMV

[GTO-Girl]

7 hours ago, yogimax said:

On that evening, just go to the restaurant that is hosting MTD and get in the line that says

"Guests Without Reservations."

If you are assigned Traditional Dining then that is the dining room where you are supposed to dine.

 

You don’t get to flip back and forth at your convenience… 

[PQI]

29 minutes ago, yogimax said:

Has it happened to you?

 

Saw this happening myself on Anthem. Itinerary had a late departure from one port, and several people on Early TD missed their dining time and decided to enter the MTD No Reservation line. There was a HUGE line that day, and as most people on MTD scheduled a later dinner due to departure time the MDR was packed and they were turning away anyone that was on TD. People on MTD without reservations or with earlier reservations were allowed to wait for a table, but there were plenty of people in that situation that night.

[BirdTravels]

11 hours ago, Diver2014 said:

We were on Mariner last month with 5:30 dining.  They always closed the doors at 5:45 but people still came in after that and went to their tables.  Like S.A.M.J.R. suggested, talk with your waiter or the head waiter the night before just so they know what to expect.  I don't see why you can't be accommodated.   Or, go to the Windjammer - they usually have some of the same food as the MDR.  You won't go hungry.

If the OP shoreex ends at 6:00, by the time the dump their stuff in their room, change for dinner, they will be over an hour late to dinner.... the dining room won't want to see them. We always book MTD for this reason. 

Edited July 28, 2022 by BirdTravels

[joeyancho]

Just go to the MTD dining room.  They will accommodate you.  That is their job.

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by joeyancho

[karena1]

15 hours ago, yogimax said:

Sorry, but I can't imagine them turning anyone away.

I read have many instances where it has happened.  Maybe not so much post Covid, but pre-Covid yes.  You were held to whatever dining you signed up for.  So hopefully not so much now, but I do know it happened before.

[sowhat]

Be careful  when asking a table for two in the main dinning  room, they are only  6 inches   apart  and no room to get out.
 

 

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by sowhat

[papaflamingo]

The problem with going into MTD an hour late is that it will likely run you into the second seating.  That's why they likely won't allow it.  They only allot 2.5 hours for dining so a 1.5 hour dinner would be rushed at the very best.  Your safest bet is to plan dining somewhere else that night.   We did this in 2017 when we did a family cruise.  We were in suites so had access to Coastal Kitchen.  We fed the kids (all under 12) with room service that night and we adults had a great late dinner.  

I'd simply plan an alternate dining experience, either specialty dining or Windjammer. That will take all the stress out of it.

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by papaflamingo