My Time Dining VS Late Dining

[GAgaltravel]

My daughter and I are cruising in June on Oasis of the Seas out of Barcelona. The early dining is already booked. The late dining is at 8:30. We are currently scheduled for MTD. I've read previous posts about issues being seated for MTD, long wait times, etc. I do like having the same wait staff every night, too, so the 8:30 might be a better option (if I can stay awake that long!) Any advice? Would MTD be difficult with only the two of us? 

[bretts173]

No, the stories you hear are a few and only from those with an issue. The thousands like myself who are mostly satisfied with MTD have no need to post. Never waited more than 10 minutes for a table.

[GAgaltravel]

Thanks for the feedback. Do you book your time on the app each day or just show up during the designated MTD time frame?

[Norwich Cruiser]

On any “ o “ class ship sailing from Barcelona trust me you will be waiting anything from 30 to 60 minutes maybe more on the first night plus the La Spezia and Civitavecchia ports when cruisers are late getting back to the ship and missing there booked times. 

[Norwich Cruiser]

Following on.

 

We’ve tried second MTD twice on “ o “ doing this Barcelona itinerary and now always book traditional second sitting when cruising on it and it’s never been an issue your table and servers are always waiting for you. 
 

I’d definitely go this way.

[Norwich Cruiser]

53 minutes ago, bretts173 said:

No, the stories you hear are a few and only from those with an issue. The thousands like myself who are mostly satisfied with MTD have no need to post. Never waited more than 10 minutes for a table.

That’s rubbish you should see the complaints and lines especially on certain nights a total shambles.

[GAgaltravel]

Thanks for the insight. My thought is we’ll be nibbling on all the yummy food at our stops and won’t mind the 8:30 dinner time. 

[Baron Barracuda]

We actually enjoy late traditional.  No need to rush back from shore.  Less crowded, better tables available and allows us to see the early  show.  Then we change, enjoy a couple of cocktails and head off to dinner. 

Edited January 13 by Baron Barracuda

[c-leg5]

3 hours ago, GAgaltravel said:

My daughter and I are cruising in June on Oasis of the Seas out of Barcelona. The early dining is already booked. The late dining is at 8:30. We are currently scheduled for MTD. I've read previous posts about issues being seated for MTD, long wait times, etc. I do like having the same wait staff every night, too, so the 8:30 might be a better option (if I can stay awake that long!) Any advice? Would MTD be difficult with only the two of us? 

 

As this is a med sailing and not a TA I am surprised early dining is fully booked and late is available. What time would be your preference?

 

If you do MTD at a regular time we have never had a problem requesting the same staff every night.

Edited January 14 by c-leg5

[rncruiser]

We have done MTD for many years. They always try to seat you with the same wait staff. On our recent Odyssey cruise they apologized when they had to seat us with different wait staff on 2 of our 8 nights. They gave us the same wait staff for both of those 2 nights and our “regular” waiter came over to chat with us. 

[bretts173]

11 hours ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

That’s rubbish you should see the complaints and lines especially on certain nights a total shambles.

Never had an issue, we book 7 every night, turn up at 6:55, seated by 7:05, 95% of the time. Drinks cart in line, easy.

[GAgaltravel]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! Lots to consider!

[LeeW]

We like to eat between 6:30 and 7:15 and even with the "MTD doesn't start until 6:45" we have had 30 cruises with the same wait staff.  Occasionally they will put us at a different table in the same area.  In one case they put us in an adjacent area and our wait staff swapped tables with that staff to serve us.

[Norwich Cruiser]

12 hours ago, bretts173 said:

Never had an issue, we book 7 every night, turn up at 6:55, seated by 7:05, 95% of the time. Drinks cart in line, easy.

Try it on “ o “ class from Barcelona or Civitavecchia you’ll soon change your mind.

[RG306]

Late traditional in Europe is perfect actually, we found ourselves on a completely different schedule in the med. 

[c-leg5]

6 minutes ago, RG306 said:

Late traditional in Europe is perfect actually, we found ourselves on a completely different schedule in the med. 

along with most others I would have thought which is why I was surprised early dining was full. Perhaps they reduce capacity?

[pharmdawg]

 Never used my time dining. Can I make a standing reservation for every night at one time or do I have to make a reservation daily? 

[Biker19]

12 hours ago, pharmdawg said:

Can I make a standing reservation for every night at one time or do I have to make a reservation daily? 

Either should work - every night may not have the same time slot available.

[Mick B]

Hi,

We would normally try to book MTD for the 1845 slot.

We would then on day 1 go down to the desk at MTD when it opens and ask if we can get an earlier slot. We are at first told no, but we then explain that we are happy to have the same table or any table if it helps and are not bothered where it is situated. Suddenly we get given a slot at 1830. Not much difference you say, but you can then  turn up at 1815 to find either your table is ready or there is a good chance that another close by is free if you are not fussy. This is because the early diners sometimes decide at last minute to go to the WJ because they are late back from a trip and cannot get changed properly in time, or because they have booked chops grill that night or something. 

Point is, as long as you are not bothered about where the table is or or the servers are, then you should be able to get in earlier.

I too prefer the early shows, but 1715 is too early to eat for us. We don't mind going to the late shows either, but sometimes they may clash with something else we want to see or do. So on certain nights when we know what the menu is going to be, if we get in early enough we can enjoy our MTD without rushing and make the 8pm show. 

Some of this comes down to forward planning, and some comes down to treating the staff the same way you would want them to treat you.

 

I have witnessed too many times people arguing with the staff because the table is going to be a few minutes late or its not the table they had last night or the server. If you really want those things to be guaranteed then you would be better off going for traditional dining. 

 

I have 15 nights on the Jewel coming up this April with MTD at 1845. I will let you know afterwards if I had any issues getting in earlier.

 

Mick.