My Time Dining.......but not really?

[rg123]

It does appear that the majority of people prefer an early time to eat, thus the full early traditional time slots. But those opting for MyTime seem to like the earliest times the best as well so all those slots are filled, too. Our 7:30 time is not going to work for us. 😏. We are dealing with timed medicines and timely meals so I guess we’ll go to the dining room first thing in hopes of finding a resolution (other than WJ each night-which we enjoy-just not every evening)

[nelblu]

5 hours ago, Tatka said:

Question is… why traditional is at 5:30? If it was at least at 6:15 more people would be booking it rather than MTD.

Try 5PM on some ships.  On my recent Anthem sail the printed time for traditional was 5:30, but they kept announcing that early dining was at 5:15pm.  In the early stage of the cruise, I did not pick the announcement up as the PA is not necessarily clear and when I showed up at 5:30 the waiter was already taking diners orders.

[Tatka]

21 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Try 5PM on some ships.  On my recent Anthem sail the printed time for traditional was 5:30, but they kept announcing that early dining was at 5:15pm.  In the early stage of the cruise, I did not pick the announcement up as the PA is not necessarily clear and when I showed up at 5:30 the waiter was already taking diners orders.

 

5 is too early. We like Diamond lounges.

We did arrive earlier than MTD opened and they put us in Traditional Dining room on several occasions on Anthem.

[cruiseboy89130]

10 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Why would they need more staff for MTD than traditional?  

manage table times, assign tables, show tables to diners.....all extra staff involved.

With traditional it is done once and done - with MTD they need Staff every night to manage the tables times and seating!

 

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

1 hour ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

manage table times, assign tables, show tables to diners.....all extra staff involved.

With traditional it is done once and done - with MTD they need Staff every night to manage the tables times and seating!

 

On our last cruise, there was still what seemed a full staff at the entrance to MDR every night.  This was for early traditional.  And since our table was next to the entrance, I saw there were staff at the entrance throughout.  

[cruiseboy89130]

8 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

On our last cruise, there was still what seemed a full staff at the entrance to MDR every night.  This was for early traditional.  And since our table was next to the entrance, I saw there were staff at the entrance throughout.  

That doesn't mean anything! You can't deny it takes more staff to run the MTD organization with all the bookings, changes and assignments!

[CruizinSusan70]

On 3/23/2023 at 4:56 PM, monorail81 said:

Pre-COVID, MTD was fantastic. They started seating people at the same time as the first seating. After the reopen, they started MTD later to accommodate traditional dining’s distancing. They’ve never gone back. I’m rationalizing in my mind it has to do with a lack of staffing. Maybe one day they’ll go back to earlier MTD. 

Why does RCI have such a problem handling this when all of their competitors post Covid handle MTD with no problem whatsoever starting about 530?  On Carnival you check in on their app and you're given an approximate time you need to wait.  When your slot clears, you get a confirmation.  We spent 12 days on the Oasis last June and switched to early on board.  When we were done about 645-700 each night, the line snaked all over the place.  This, combined with Dynamic Pricing with the drinks package is what makes us book more cruises with other lines.

[Starry Eyes]

3 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Why does RCI have such a problem handling this when all of their competitors post Covid handle MTD with no problem whatsoever starting about 530?  On Carnival you check in on their app and you're given an approximate time you need to wait.  When your slot clears, you get a confirmation.  We spent 12 days on the Oasis last June and switched to early on board.  When we were done about 645-700 each night, the line snaked all over the place.  This, combined with Dynamic Pricing with the drinks package is what makes us book more cruises with other lines.

As a couple of us have mentioned, the new MTD scheme started before covid.  I experienced it on Harmony before Covid.  Another poster shared a 2019 pre-covid Symphony experience with the new MTD scheme.  I assure you: RCI conceived the idea and rolled it out before they heard of covid.  

[rg123]

Seems like that would have given them ample time to iron out the kinks. Still seems problematic.

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

5 hours ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

That doesn't mean anything! You can't deny it takes more staff to run the MTD organization with all the bookings, changes and assignments!

And when MTD started, and for years after, RCI had no problem pulling it off.  No, I'm not convinced it takes more staff for MTD.  

 

Regardless, RCI has found a way to Royally screw it up.  

[HappyTexan44]

13 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

And when MTD started, and for years after, RCI had no problem pulling it off.  No, I'm not convinced it takes more staff for MTD.  

 

Regardless, RCI has found a way to Royally screw it up.  

 

Not being a cheerleader, just throwing this out there.   Maybe in the early days much less people used it because they'd never heard of it?   

 

 

 

[CruizinSusan70]

48 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

As a couple of us have mentioned, the new MTD scheme started before covid.  I experienced it on Harmony before Covid.  Another poster shared a 2019 pre-covid Symphony experience with the new MTD scheme.  I assure you: RCI conceived the idea and rolled it out before they heard of covid.  

The bottom line is that as it stands, MTD on Royal is a joke.  I have cruised with similar programs on Celebrity, Princess, NCL and Carnival and they all do a much better job and they all start well before 645 pm.

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

20 minutes ago, HappyTexan44 said:

 

Not being a cheerleader, just throwing this out there.   Maybe in the early days much less people used it because they'd never heard of it?   

 

 

 

That's possible.  But it's been around for a while.  DW and I used it on our first cruise on Oasis in 2013.  And is it an issue because too many people are using it or too many people are using traditional?  

 

Keep in mind, "My Time Dining" is really anything but if you're limited to when you can use it.  

 

IMO, Royal is trying to make everyone happy and in the process is making no one happy.  

[Starry Eyes]

55 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

The bottom line is that as it stands, MTD on Royal is a joke.  I have cruised with similar programs on Celebrity, Princess, NCL and Carnival and they all do a much better job and they all start well before 645 pm.

I agree and it is NOT because of covid.

[cruiseboy89130]

4 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

No, I'm not convinced it takes more staff for MTD.  

That is just plain silly!🙄

[paulco]

Was on Crown Princess last fall and both mtd and fixed were both a mess in terms of unknown how it was going to work out each evening.  Food and service was fine once sealed.

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

1 hour ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

That is just plain silly!🙄

That's ok... if you make a scene, I'm sure it will be OK. 😉

 

[cruiseboy89130]

1 hour ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

That's ok... if you make a scene, I'm sure it will be OK. 😉

 

I'm totally fine with MTD the way it is! Keeps the riff raff at early traditional!

[taglovestocruise]

11 minutes ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

I'm totally fine with MTD the way it is! Keeps the riff raff at early traditional!

The riff riff, the eat quick and get out, those that have to have a two top, the families with children, people who have no idea of what decorum is are what makes up MTD. Last cruise on Quantum we had a little chit chat with the head waiter, he said about 30% of the guests request MTD and for the most part they all want to eat at 6:45, by 8:00 MTD is dead.   Happy you enjoy it. We like the long 2 hour late traditional setting with a few specialty nights thrown in. 

[LobsterStalker]

13 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

The bottom line is that as it stands, MTD on Royal is a joke.  I have cruised with similar programs on Celebrity, Princess, NCL and Carnival and they all do a much better job and they all start well before 645 pm.

Agreed , It NEEDS fixing or it needs to be abandoned !

[CruizinSusan70]

18 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

As a couple of us have mentioned, the new MTD scheme started before covid.  I experienced it on Harmony before Covid.  Another poster shared a 2019 pre-covid Symphony experience with the new MTD scheme.  I assure you: RCI conceived the idea and rolled it out before they heard of covid.  

Doesn't matter when it started or whether covid influenced things or not.  As it stands, Royal's version of My Time Dining is a joke and a disgrace compared to how their competitors handle it.  And, they all start substantially before 645 PM.  If they started at 530, then that would give them another 75 minutes to spread the crowds out.  Now, at 645 it's a total cluster.

This isn't cruising of 25 years ago when you had two seatings and two shows to see.  With the varied entertainment options on board, dining choices need to be varied as well.  Royal is dropping the ball with this.

[Starry Eyes]

5 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Doesn't matter when it started or whether covid influenced things or not.  As it stands, Royal's version of My Time Dining is a joke and a disgrace compared to how their competitors handle it.  And, they all start substantially before 645 PM.  If they started at 530, then that would give them another 75 minutes to spread the crowds out.  Now, at 645 it's a total cluster.

This isn't cruising of 25 years ago when you had two seatings and two shows to see.  With the varied entertainment options on board, dining choices need to be varied as well.  Royal is dropping the ball with this.

You are repeating yourself, so I will repeat my agreement.

 

I dislike Royal’s MTD system.  I never, ever write about it on CruiseCritic as an advocate of the new system but rather to alert people to the change.  Some people erroneously link the change to covid and thus think it will magically disappear soon; that’s unrealistic as the change predates covid.

 

I hope you are able to convince RCI to change their system.

[ckfred]

My wife and I booked on the Wonder yesterday for April 16th, because we decided Paris is looking a little too much like it's 1789.  We could not get a first or second seating, and My Time Dining is showing first seating at 8:15 most nights, with a couple at 7:45.  I'm resigning myself to eating in the Windjammer every night.

[jeh10641]

On 3/23/2023 at 12:31 PM, gail-s said:

Coming back to RCI after a long time of not cruising.  Can someone explain MTD?  I was under the assumption you could dine when you wanted to like on Norwegian.  Yes, sometimes you had to wait, but normally it wasn't bad.  How long before your trip can you sign up for the times?  And what happens if you want to change them?  My thought was to do it because I may want to eat early one night but later another and make the decision on the fly.  

Hi, gail-s,

We booked MTD for 6:45 more than 6 months ahead of our 10/15/23 transatlantic on Anthem.

[jeh10641]

As I was reading the comments, I had another thought. Silly me! Anthem does not have three floors of dining but it does have four MDRs on two decks. I have read that two are traditional and two are MTD. Am I correct in that? Second, Anthem has the Solarium Bistro which is a combination of buffet (starters) and sit-down (main courses) with dessert a buffet. To me that sounds like a viable option.