MDR early dining time

[scottraveller]

On Explorer in June with one of my daughters and her family. Was going to book my time dining for us all (7 of us) but the earliest time available is 6.45pm. Does anyone know what time the main dining room starts please? I’m hoping it’ll be earlier than 6.45pm as we have three children with us. 
Thanks

[KansasK]

We have early dining on the Harmony next April and the early dining time is 5:30.

 

[davekathy]

10 minutes ago, scottraveller said:

On Explorer in June with one of my daughters and her family. Was going to book my time dining for us all (7 of us) but the earliest time available is 6.45pm. Does anyone know what time the main dining room starts please? I’m hoping it’ll be earlier than 6.45pm as we have three children with us. 
Thanks

RC has screwed up MTD times. We were on the Explorer in March (B2B) and originally had MTD for 6:00 PM but changed to early (6:00 PM) TD (before the cruise) due to RC changed the time for MTD to a later time.  Early TD started at 6:00 PM and that's what we took. 

Edited November 8, 2022 by davekathy

[Starry Eyes]

Yes, early dining has been opening before MTD on most ships for a while now.  I do not know the opening time for Explorer next June.

 

If it helps, here’s the reason.  They seat early traditional dining on all three decks of the dining room (3,4 and 5), quickly filling all the seats; I think they find it an efficient way to use the seating early in the evening. As the early traditional diners on deck 3 finish their meals and vacate tables, those tables are quickly cleaned and used for MTD guests…starting about 6:45 and continuing on deck three the rest of the evening.  Deck 4 and 5 are used for late traditional.

[KeroTravel]

For our cruise in April 2023 we had originally decided on MTD, but since we have a little one (3 years old), we decided to switch to traditional.  The 1st seating on our cruise is 6:30, a little later than his usual dining time, but at least with traditional we know for sure we are guaranteed to be eating at the same time every night.  We didn't want to risk MTD and having to wait too long for a table, in case that would happen on our cruise. 

[taglovestocruise]

1 hour ago, KansasK said:

We have early dining on the Harmony next April and the early dining time is 5:30.

 

That would be traditional, MTD is pretty much a 6:45 start time fleet wide now. OP should think about switching to early traditional with the little kids. 

[IslandHppy]

On the Grandeur recently, MTD opened at 5PM, Traditional at 5:15PM.   Check the RCCL Blog archived Cruise Compass postings or the RCCL app.  

[HappyTexan44]

That 6:45 start time for MTD was why I switched to early dining.   I understand the logic of the late start time since they can fill the dining room with early diners.  I'd been attracted to MTD to give us some wiggle room if we want to unwind before dinner when we return from port.  But, worst case we will just eat at WJ those evenings.  
 

 

[Starry Eyes]

1 hour ago, IslandHppy said:

On the Grandeur recently, MTD opened at 5PM, Traditional at 5:15PM.   Check the RCCL Blog archived Cruise Compass postings or the RCCL app.  

It is nice that your recent cruise on Grandeur had that MTD setup, as so few ship still do.  Sadly ships regularly change to the new (not improved) MTD system, therefore I would not recommend checking old archived posting on blogs.
 

If there are no MTD reservation slots before 6:45 fore a June cruise, it is a decent bet that Explorer will be on the new MTD system.  If the OP’s party of seven wants to dine earlier for the kids, they should consider switching to early traditional dining.
 

[SplashOfWater]

Early traditional dining time varies by ship. On Independence it was 5:30pm. On Harmony it was 5:00pm.

[blueslily]

4 hours ago, scottraveller said:

On Explorer in June with one of my daughters and her family. Was going to book my time dining for us all (7 of us) but the earliest time available is 6.45pm. Does anyone know what time the main dining room starts please? I’m hoping it’ll be earlier than 6.45pm as we have three children with us. 
Thanks

For somewhat more accurate information for your specific cruise, it's probably better to contact Royal to ask or ask your TA to ask for times for your cruise. Responses here will he all over the place since the times on ships is all over the place 😉

[Merion_Mom]

3 minutes ago, blueslily said:

For somewhat more accurate information for your specific cruise, it's probably better to contact Royal to ask or ask your TA to ask for times for your cruise. Responses here will he all over the place since the times on ships is all over the place 😉

 

Calling RC customer service is unlikely to elicit the correct information.

 

Better to ask someone who is currently on board.

[blueslily]

4 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

Calling RC customer service is unlikely to elicit the correct information.

 

Better to ask someone who is currently on board.

Oh, that's interesting. My traditional early dining was scheduled by calling Royal. The time appears on my docs and in the app. Should I assume that the time listed will not be accurate when I cruise next month?  If so, who should I contact to get an accurate dinner reservation? Thanks

[Merion_Mom]

3 minutes ago, blueslily said:

Oh, that's interesting. My traditional early dining was scheduled by calling Royal. The time appears on my docs and in the app. Should I assume that the time listed will not be accurate when I cruise next month?  If so, who should I contact to get an accurate dinner reservation? Thanks

 

It *may* be correct on your invoice.  Mine a few months ago was not.  It said 5:30.  On board, it was 5.  This happened to me twice, on different ships.

[nelblu]

1 hour ago, SplashOfWater said:

Early traditional dining time varies by ship. On Independence it was 5:30pm. On Harmony it was 5:00pm.

On Oasis October sail it was 5:15 PM.  However, MTD (on the 3rd level) had exceptional long lines and grouped by their assigned times.

 

Also, I found that traditional dining some come at 5:30-5:45 PM with no consequences.

 

 

[blueslily]

3 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

It *may* be correct on your invoice.  Mine a few months ago was not.  It said 5:30.  On board, it was 5.  This happened to me twice, on different ships.

Ok. Well for now, I'm going with what is reserved for me. I will check it out Day 1 at the dining room like I usually do. No worries. Doesn't seem to be a problem for now. 

[Merion_Mom]

4 minutes ago, blueslily said:

Ok. Well for now, I'm going with what is reserved for me. I will check it out Day 1 at the dining room like I usually do. No worries. Doesn't seem to be a problem for now. 

 

The one thing you can be sure of is that it will be either 5 or 5:15 or 5:30.  🙂 

[blueslily]

1 minute ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

The one thing you can be sure of is that it will be either 5 or 5:15 or 5:30.  🙂 

Ok. We are not going to be too stressed about a few minutes different. We are going on a cruise!  We don't get bent out of shape about little things like that!  Woohoo cruising! 🛳🏝🌞🤗   Just four weeks to go! 

[Merion_Mom]

4 hours ago, scottraveller said:

On Explorer in June with one of my daughters and her family. Was going to book my time dining for us all (7 of us) but the earliest time available is 6.45pm. Does anyone know what time the main dining room starts please? I’m hoping it’ll be earlier than 6.45pm as we have three children with us. 
Thanks

 

Friend currently on board says early traditional dining is at 5:30.  🙂 

[cha4244]

Traditional dining on Harmony is 5 pm seating.

[ONECRUISER]

2 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

It *may* be correct on your invoice.  Mine a few months ago was not.  It said 5:30.  On board, it was 5.  This happened to me twice, on different ships.

At least 5 times last 4yrs Times changed for my Ships including just last Month. One time Royal even had our Cards printed with wrong time, showed up to MD and we were all 30min early. Seen 515, 530 and 6 in last 7 Months for early seating on the 2 Ships was on, also on these 2 Times changed week to week on my B2B's. All my sailings this yr did have My Time at 6:45

Edited November 9, 2022 by ONECRUISER

[scottraveller]

Thanks for the responses. Was hoping that the traditional MDR options out of Ravenna would have been 6pm and 8.30pm like it used to be. The dining times seem to be different for the fleet. Probably contact my TA to get them to find out what the early time is. 

[blueslily]

1 hour ago, scottraveller said:

Thanks for the responses. Was hoping that the traditional MDR options out of Ravenna would have been 6pm and 8.30pm like it used to be. The dining times seem to be different for the fleet. Probably contact my TA to get them to find out what the early time is. 

Sounds like a good plan. Good luck. 

[Sunshine3601]

2 hours ago, scottraveller said:

Thanks for the responses. Was hoping that the traditional MDR options out of Ravenna would have been 6pm and 8.30pm like it used to be. The dining times seem to be different for the fleet. Probably contact my TA to get them to find out what the early time is. 

Ask your TA to request the early seating for Traditional dining, not My time dining.  

[Starry Eyes]

8 hours ago, scottraveller said:

Thanks for the responses. Was hoping that the traditional MDR options out of Ravenna would have been 6pm and 8.30pm like it used to be. The dining times seem to be different for the fleet. Probably contact my TA to get them to find out what the early time is. 

While your TA can ask what the planned early dining time is for your cruise 7 months from now, the answer, however sincerely intended, is subject to change (see onecruiser’s post for examples).  

 

For those who prefer to dine in the earlier side, the new MTD system leaves many with a decision. Many of these people feel  (option A) early traditional dining starts a bit earlier than they would like to dine (whether 5, 5:15 or 5:30 on the various ships) but (option B) MTD on those ships does not start until about 6:45 and one may have to wait in line (potentially a long line) for a table, even if you have a reservation…and that might seem a bit late/unpleasant to some.  Pick option A or B, whichever your gang thinks works better for you.  If you have little kids who are used to eating early and if you hope to catch the shows (which tend to be timed well for traditional dining), I’d suggest early traditional, but you do you.

(Those who naturally like to dine later do not have so much if an issue, though they might it might not experience lines if they select MTD)