dining times - pros and cons

[rannoch]

Just picked up our tickets for Med. cruise on Independence of the Seas in Sept.

I assumed that the fixed dining times would be 6.30 and 8.30 (we had chosen the earlier sitting (didn't want the flexi version).

Now find the first sitting is 6.00 which seems a bit early - especially if we have been a tour.

I'd appreciate any advice on the pros and cons of both sitting.

Many Thanks,

Rannoch.

[yogimax]

We usually wind up eating a late lunch or snack and find that the earlier time comes too close to our afternoon meal

[sailingawaysoon]

We prefer the later seating because we don't have to rush back from ports and on sea days don't have to leave the pool area etc to get ready for dinner. We don't have children, so there's not a real need for us to eat earlier and we've found it always to be much easier. On sailaway we like being able to stand on the deck and watch the ship go out to sea and having the earlier seating, we would be limited w/that also. If you aren't happy w/the time you choose, just change it on the first day right when you board the ship. Have a great cruise!

[stretch44]

Just curious, why would you not want My Time Dining? Eat at the time you want! The only downside I see is if you like sitting with the same people each night. From what I've read most can even get the same waiter so that's not a problem. Is it the prepaid tips that people dislike?

[andynlala]

We had the earlier time on our last cruise, and we ended up eating in the dining room only 3 of the nights. It was too hard to get back on the ship, then have to rush and get showered and ready for dinner. We wanted to make the most of every port, and we enjoyed swimming in the pool once we got back on the ship. On the at sea days, it was hard to break away from the relaxing and playing to go and get ready. On our next cruise, we chose the my time dining because the late seating is too late, especially with kids. This way you can go when you are ready, and I hear that you can even reserve the same time every night of the cruise, and get the same table & waiter. You do have to pre-pay your gratuities, but I think that that will be better, not having to scramble for cash at the end of the trip.

[EaglesRock]

Just picked up our tickets for Med. cruise on Independence of the Seas in Sept.

I assumed that the fixed dining times would be 6.30 and 8.30 (we had chosen the earlier sitting (didn't want the flexi version).

Now find the first sitting is 6.00 which seems a bit early - especially if we have been a tour.

I'd appreciate any advice on the pros and cons of both sitting.

Many Thanks,

Rannoch.

We've always chosen the 6:00 pm seating and never felt rushed getting ready for dinner, even when in port. We're used to having dinner around that time at home so the early seating just seems natural to us. We tried the late seating once and didn't like it at all; it left us with an overstuffed feeling all night that didn't go away even if we stayed up for the late shows.

[OV8]

How do ppl deal with a full schedule of activities on board, @ port & a MDR meal & then the shows?

 

Trying to plan my MTD around all the activities & it seems what RCL has laid out - with their fixed early/late scheduling - something that would allow one to fit everything in ie it works!

Finding out...I am actually tracing their path more as I pour over the daily planners :cool:

 

Of course not every1 wants to do everything. :)

[sailawayjack]

Just picked up our tickets for Med. cruise on Independence of the Seas in Sept.

I assumed that the fixed dining times would be 6.30 and 8.30 (we had chosen the earlier sitting (didn't want the flexi version).

Now find the first sitting is 6.00 which seems a bit early - especially if we have been a tour.

I'd appreciate any advice on the pros and cons of both sitting.

Many Thanks,

Rannoch.

 

:cool:Med cruises are very shore intensive. You will want to take excursions since you may not get back. After a long day, it's nice to have time to relax and not be rushed. We did a lot of walking, arrived back, and hit hot tub to have our feet "power massaged". If you are hungry, there are many options to tide you over. You will look forward to the break and not feel rushed:cool:

[SingingPixie]

:cool:Med cruises are very shore intensive. You will want to take excursions since you may not get back. After a long day, it's nice to have time to relax and not be rushed. We did a lot of walking, arrived back, and hit hot tub to have our feet "power massaged". If you are hungry, there are many options to tide you over. You will look forward to the break and not feel rushed:cool:

 

While I understand what you're saying, I also want to mention that after a port-intensive itinerary (and fairly exhausting activities in those ports), we (a group of 20-somethings, so not little kids or older folks) had a hard time staying awake for late seating dinner. We came back from port, showered (because we were gross from sweating as we climbed ruins, etc), and then tried to stay awake while we waited for it to be our time to go to dinner.

 

This time I'll be doing early seating, as I'm traveling with my family and my dad is very used to dinner being served between 5 and 5:30. 6 is late enough for him as it is. So, we'll see how it goes, and I'll see which works better for me. My instinct, though, is that I'd rather keep going so that I can crash once I get to relax.

[peteranddan]

You don't mention if you are travelling with children. Most children will never make it to late dining.

 

With that being said, and I don't mean any disrespect, but we prefer the fact that there are few children at the later dining hour.

 

We have found that when doing European itineraries, the later dining time suits us much better. If we are not due back to the ship until later, we can enjoy a more leisure pace in port and almost always come back to the ship for a shower and short nap before dinner.

 

If we find ourselves peckish when we get back to the ship, we will sometimes order a fruit and cheese plate from roomservice. More than enough to tide us over until dinner.

 

You will find that most Europeans do not eat dinner much before 8:00PM, and that is even quite early for them. In Barcelona, very few restaurants open in the evening for dinner before 7:00PM.

 

"She gets too hungry for dinner at 8:00. That's why the lady is a tramp."...:eek:

[arb711]

I've always chosen late seating; although it's a little too late, it's closer to when I usually eat. But what I haven't liked is that by the time I finished dinner (at least 10:00) I was so full and tired that all I wanted to do was go to sleep. Plus, when there's been a midnight buffet, I have never wanted to eat anything!:eek: So I've never really done any evening activities (except of course a little gambling before bed...).

 

So this time I'm trying early seating - 6:00 seems SO early to me, but what I'm hoping is that if I'm really tired I can rest for a while after dinner and then have enough energy to partake of some of the many night-time activities. I'm doing AOS to Southern Caribbean - in 9 days!!! :D - so I can let you know how it goes when i get back.

[tahoemc]

We prefer late seating so we don't have to rush after port excursions. So nice to relax at the pool or solarium after returning to the ship. Last cruise we did early dining to accomodate our daughter, and I did not care for it.

 

Hope to try MTD next time. There are some days when an earlier dining time would be nice, just not at 6pm.

[Got2Cruise]

I am not familiar with the Indy itinerary, but most likely you will have to get up very early most mornings as we did on the VOS to get to the tour, or just to catch the train and have a full day of touring. The dining room is used to people coming back from tours late, and our waiter told us just come directly to the dining room, don't worry about changing if you are back late. I would rather relax after dinner, than having to go to bed on a full stomach knowing that I have to meet my tour at 7:30 a.m. the next morning. But to each their own. . .

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

Just picked up our tickets for Med. cruise on Independence of the Seas in Sept.

I assumed that the fixed dining times would be 6.30 and 8.30 (we had chosen the earlier sitting (didn't want the flexi version).

Now find the first sitting is 6.00 which seems a bit early - especially if we have been a tour.

I'd appreciate any advice on the pros and cons of both sitting.

Many Thanks,

Rannoch.

 

 

We always choose standard late seating. We really enjoy the chance to meet new people and spend the whole cruise getting to know them. We have never had a bad experience with our table mates. My time dinning appears on most ships to be "we think 6 is to early and 8 is to late so we want 7" The lines are long at 7 pm. I also want to use OBC to pay tips and if you register for my time early you have to pay tips. If you register on board, 7 pm is usually full and you have to eat a either 6:30 or 7:30 and that almost defeats the advantage of my time.

[Toddcan]

Different strokes for different folks, that's for sure.

 

This next cruise is with our kids, but even when we cruised as a couple, we still did the early sitting. We are normally just too tired at the end of a day since we are morning people, and get up early. So, a late sitting would feel way too late for us.

 

Mind you, we alter our eating habits on board (who doesn't!?!), so we tend to eat a hearty breakfast and skip lunch (or eat very light), so by 6pm, we are ready for dinner.

[rannoch]

Thanks for your replies.

We are in our mid-50s travelling ourselves. Quite happy to be seated at a 8-10 seat table.

 

6.00 just seems too early, and the point about 6.00 being too early on a tour day is certainly in our minds.

8.30 might be too long a wait, and finishing a meal around 10.00pm may cause digestive issues for my wife. Our other main concern about 8.30 is that we may miss some of the entertainment shows, but I don't know if that's the case.

 

The thoughts behind not going for the "My Time Dining" is based on a cruise five years ago with NCL and experiencing their flexi-dining. We did not appreciate having to queue to get our name taken by the maître d, and then wait another half hour to get a table (everyone wanted 7.00pm).

 

If it was a case of saying can we book a regular time-slot for 7.00pm and then be seated with the same people each night that would be great, as another advantage of fixed times means that after a couple of nights you see familiar faces to talk to for a couple of hours (assuming you all get on OK).

BTW We have already paid tips in advance.

[rannoch]

An addition to previous reply (edit not available)

Just started looking through the tours, start times, and duration. So far one of the tours gets back to the ship at 7.00pm!

 

Can anyone explain how the "My Time Dining" works. Are you able to book a time in advance (say 7.30pm), and just walk in - i.e. no queueing.

[stretch44]

Thanks for your replies.

We are in our mid-50s travelling ourselves. Quite happy to be seated at a 8-10 seat table.

 

6.00 just seems too early, and the point about 6.00 being too early on a tour day is certainly in our minds.

8.30 might be too long a wait, and finishing a meal around 10.00pm may cause digestive issues for my wife. Our other main concern about 8.30 is that we may miss some of the entertainment shows, but I don't know if that's the case.

 

The thoughts behind not going for the "My Time Dining" is based on a cruise five years ago with NCL and experiencing their flexi-dining. We did not appreciate having to queue to get our name taken by the maître d, and then wait another half hour to get a table (everyone wanted 7.00pm).

 

If it was a case of saying can we book a regular time-slot for 7.00pm and then be seated with the same people each night that would be great, as another advantage of fixed times means that after a couple of nights you see familiar faces to talk to for a couple of hours (assuming you all get on OK).

BTW We have already paid tips in advance.

 

I have to admit I too am a little afraid of My Time Dining based on our experience with freestyle on NCL. However after reading this board it seems to be a much better experience and that the wait times are very short, if any. When we cruise FOS in Sept I'm hoping this is true.

[cb at sea]

It's all personal preference...unless the ship is staying in port REALLY late, you have to be onboard 1/2 hour before she leaves port....you'll have plenty of time to get to dinner. And remember, if you plan on going to the shows, late seating goes BEFORE dinner, so you still have to be ready at about the same time....!

[steveru621]

Just picked up our tickets for Med. cruise on Independence of the Seas in Sept.

I assumed that the fixed dining times would be 6.30 and 8.30 (we had chosen the earlier sitting (didn't want the flexi version).

Now find the first sitting is 6.00 which seems a bit early - especially if we have been a tour.

I'd appreciate any advice on the pros and cons of both sitting.

Many Thanks,

Rannoch.

 

We just got back from the Med. We found there are actually 4 seatings. 6p, 6:30p, 8:30p, and 9p. The seating times were based on the floor you were assigned.

 

We enjoy the 8:30p seating. No rushing back from late excursions.

[rannoch]

It's all personal preference...unless the ship is staying in port REALLY late, you have to be onboard 1/2 hour before she leaves port....you'll have plenty of time to get to dinner. And remember, if you plan on going to the shows, late seating goes BEFORE dinner, so you still have to be ready at about the same time....!

 

I'm assuming that the times of the shows are geared to the times of the main dining times - i.e. early (6.00pm) meal time will allow time to get to the second run of the show, and late (8.30pm) means that we need to go to the first time of the show.

What that also implies is that any "My Dining" variations (say 7.00pm or 7.30pm) will mean that we miss both shows.

[rannoch]

We just got back from the Med. We found there are actually 4 seatings. 6p, 6:30p, 8:30p, and 9p. The seating times were based on the floor you were assigned.

 

We enjoy the 8:30p seating. No rushing back from late excursions.

 

Are there different "main" restaurants depending on desk number - we are on desk 10. I read an RCI info brochure which seemed to suggest that the "My Dining" tables are in a separate area from the main dining rooms.

[Got2Cruise]

Are there different "main" restaurants depending on desk number - we are on desk 10. I read an RCI info brochure which seemed to suggest that the "My Dining" tables are in a separate area from the main dining rooms.

 

I can only speak about the Voyager, but the MTD was on one of the three floors of the dining room. It you are familiar with the Voyager class ships, the dining room is huge, three floors, and each floor is given a different name. The MTD was on the third floor of the main dining room.

[rannoch]

Thanks for all your information - very grateful.

Final questions - when do the theatre shows and ice shows start and finish, and can you book the ice shows without queuing.

Thanks,

Rannoch

[vtxriders]

6 PM is too early and 8:30 is a tad late.

 

We always choose the late sitting since we don't want to be rushed on the front end. However, we would prefer the late sitting to be at 7:30 as 8:30 is a little late. By the time we finish eating and are stuffed, we don't really feal like staying out any later.

 

We are currently debating on whether to do the MTD on our trip in September. Our fear is that we will miss the much enjoyed interation with the wait staff.