haven't cruised since well before COVID - questions about how things are done now

[Snolan57]

A few questions:

1) we are cruising with RC in July and got the "my time dining".  Do we need to make a reservation each day or just show up and get seated (just 2 of us cruising)

2) how does MTD work with going to see the shows in the theatre?

3) when booking flight home, what's the earliest to book - flying out of FLL

4) do the shows require reservations as well now? assigned seating?

5) what nights are the formal nights on the eastern caribbean 7 day cruise?

Thanks for any guidance. Will be interesting to see how different cruising is pre/post COVID.

[Biker19]

22 minutes ago, Snolan57 said:

1) we are cruising with RC in July and got the "my time dining".  Do we need to make a reservation each day or just show up and get seated (just 2 of us cruising)

2) how does MTD work with going to see the shows in the theatre?

3) when booking flight home, what's the earliest to book - flying out of FLL

4) do the shows require reservations as well now? assigned seating?

5) what nights are the formal nights on the eastern caribbean 7 day cruise?

1. Either way.

2. You eat dinner and then go to the show.

3. At least 4 hours after scheduled arrival.

4. Depends on ship. No,

5. 2 and 6, usually.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Biker19

[firefly333]

24 minutes ago, Snolan57 said:

A few questions:

1) we are cruising with RC in July and got the "my time dining".  Do we need to make a reservation each day or just show up and get seated (just 2 of us cruising)

2) how does MTD work with going to see the shows in the theatre?

3) when booking flight home, what's the earliest to book - flying out of FLL

4) do the shows require reservations as well now? assigned seating?

5) what nights are the formal nights on the eastern caribbean 7 day cruise?

Thanks for any guidance. Will be interesting to see how different cruising is pre/post COVID.

Without knowing which ship you booked or which port you are sailing from idk some answers. Oasis class yes book ahead. ..for instance.

 

My experience with Mtd wasnt good. I hate waiting in line. I switched to early dining on royal. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by firefly333

[Ourusualbeach]

27 minutes ago, Snolan57 said:

A few questions:

1) we are cruising with RC in July and got the "my time dining".  Do we need to make a reservation each day or just show up and get seated (just 2 of us cruising)

2) how does MTD work with going to see the shows in the theatre?

3) when booking flight home, what's the earliest to book - flying out of FLL

4) do the shows require reservations as well now? assigned seating?

5) what nights are the formal nights on the eastern caribbean 7 day cruise?

Thanks for any guidance. Will be interesting to see how different cruising is pre/post COVID.

The biggest difference is that MTD does not start until about 6:45.  No longer can you walk up at 5 or 5:30 and get into MTD.

 

If you want to eat any earlier than that you will need to switch to early dining

[nimbex1970]

which ship are you sailing please.

[Snolan57]

we are on Adventure of the Seas out of FLL. the only dining option when I booked (yesterday) was MTD.  So I assume we make reservations for the 645pm MTD, eat quickly to see the 8pm shows?  Or do we have to have a reservation for Adventure of the Seas shows?

[voyager70]

Not sure what’s going on with MTD but reviews for a while now have been pretty bad. As @Ourusualbeachsaid there is also no early availability anymore either.

 

[Biker19]

47 minutes ago, Snolan57 said:

So I assume we make reservations for the 645pm MTD, eat quickly to see the 8pm shows?  Or do we have to have a reservation for Adventure of the Seas shows?

Adventure has no reservations for shows and as long as you know what you want and tell the waiter about the show, you can easily make the 8PM show.

[little britain]

Why not eat dinner at leisure, instead of bolting it down, and go to the later show.. or skip the show altogether?! They are usually pretty weak. Apart from any Jersey Boys tribute… I wouldn’t miss that!!!

 

We had no issues with 7:30/45 MTD time in recent 15n cruise. We were always seated within minutes. For some reason they always want to seat us in the same area… but we aren’t fussed where we sit! 

 

 

[karena1]

2 hours ago, Snolan57 said:

A few questions:

1) we are cruising with RC in July and got the "my time dining".  Do we need to make a reservation each day or just show up and get seated (just 2 of us cruising) You can make reservations or show up when you want.  We never make reservations

2) how does MTD work with going to see the shows in the theatre? Look at the show times and plan your dinner around them, that is what we do.

3) when booking flight home, what's the earliest to book - flying out of FLL Depends what ship you are on, but the airport is only 10 minutes away. We are normally off the ship a little after 7, but I still would not book a flight to early

4) do the shows require reservations as well now? assigned seating? Again depends on the ship, but as a rule, not reservations needed and no assigned seating.  If on an Oasis Class, you will need to reserve some shows.

5) what nights are the formal nights on the eastern caribbean 7 day cruise? Again, depends on the ship and the itinerary.

Thanks for any guidance. Will be interesting to see how different cruising is pre/post COVID.

We have cruised multiple times since Covid and love everything about it.  See my answers above, would help to know what ship you are on, then my answers could have been more specific.  Really does not matter, you will have an amazing time.

[karena1]

1 hour ago, Snolan57 said:

we are on Adventure of the Seas out of FLL. the only dining option when I booked (yesterday) was MTD.  So I assume we make reservations for the 645pm MTD, eat quickly to see the 8pm shows?  Or do we have to have a reservation for Adventure of the Seas shows?

no show reservations required on Adventure, just eat around show times

[moposh]

If you want to eat earlier, you can get the first dinner seating in the MDR.  It's around 5:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.  I was always able to make the early show.  One time I had to finish dinner early because I had a medical appointment.  I explained this to my waiters.  I skipped the appetizer, ate my entree, and then they gave me my dessert (and my daughter's meal) to go.  Just putting this an example that if you need to make a certain time, just tell your waiter.  They will do what they can.