Dining Issues- is this normal?

[Dallas_Lady]

Cruised on the Allure out of Galveston last Christmas. It was our first time on RC and it was our least favorite cruise that we've been on (previously done Disney and Carnival cruises.) The biggest issue was dining- on a 5 night cruise we were only able to get into the main dining room once, and that was at 9:45pm. It was already booked solid before the cruise even began. Likewise, all the shows and the comedy clubs were booked up in advance. I cruise so I don't have to plan every minute (it's not Disneyworld!) and we never had those issue on other cruise lines. Granted, Disney does set time dining but on Carnival (Vista, a large ship) we were always able to be seated within 10 minutes of arrival. And on both, getting into the shows just meant showing up early for a good seat.

Fast forward to planning an Alaskan cruise and the Ovation and Quantum seem to be the best option for us. However, I do NOT want the same dining and show experienced. Should I look at another cruise line? Disney is too pricey and I don't like Carnival's Alaska ships.

Thanks!

 

[peacefrogdog]

Select fixed time dining, or if going the route of my time dining you can preselect dining times for each night well in advance of boarding.

we used to be able to prebook shows but I think they got rid of that during Covid. That said, Ive not had similar issues getting into any show even on the large Oasis class ships. We sailed Freedom over Christmas - a slightly smaller ship but the theatres had tons of empty seats by show time.

Did they not let you in at all or were there no seats to accommodate the size of your travel party ? When did you arrive for the shows?

 

[deadvc]

100% do fixed dining. We also made the mistake on Symphony of doing My Time Dining thinking we could just arrive and eat within a reasonable time frame. Instead we were met with hour+ waits. We didn't realize My Time Dining required us to make advanced reservations... which feels a bit counterintuitive to the concept. We're sailing Royal again next year but we're going with a fixed dining time.

You're right you need to book your shows. If you decide not to go to the show because you don't feel like it, just don't go. Or you can attempt the stand-by queue, which they'll use to fill empty seats if people with reservations don't show. But the easiest is definitely to just pre-book it. I know you want to avoid planning too much of your day but for Royal you kind of need to for dining/shows.

 

[peacefrogdog]

the options for fixed time dining were too early (530 seating) or too late (830) for our schedules And preference. My time dining was great for us because we booked 7 pm every night; each time we waited at most 5 min to get in, we got the same table, same waitstaff each night just like if we had fixed dining.

 

[Erica1016]

During our one experience on RC, we had chosen fixed dining. Up until days before our trip, that was what was showing in the reservation on our app. Once onboard, I realized I didn't know how to find our table number and figured out that it had somewhow changed to MyTime dining. By then, everything was booked. The first night, we got a reasonable reservation time. The next night, we couldn't get one, so we had to show up and wait...for an hour+. By night 3, we gave up and just ate at Windjammer (which I enjoyed!).

I have an upcoming sailing with my mom (DH has no interest in sailing on RC again) for a 5-night. We're currently assigned fixed dining and I'm hoping it sticks this time!

 

[sam_gordon]

Cruised on the Allure out of Galveston last Christmas. It was our first time on RC and it was our least favorite cruise that we've been on (previously done Disney and Carnival cruises.) The biggest issue was dining- on a 5 night cruise we were only able to get into the main dining room once, and that was at 9:45pm. It was already booked solid before the cruise even began. Likewise, all the shows and the comedy clubs were booked up in advance. I cruise so I don't have to plan every minute (it's not Disneyworld!) and we never had those issue on other cruise lines. Granted, Disney does set time dining but on Carnival (Vista, a large ship) we were always able to be seated within 10 minutes of arrival. And on both, getting into the shows just meant showing up early for a good seat.

Fast forward to planning an Alaskan cruise and the Ovation and Quantum seem to be the best option for us. However, I do NOT want the same dining and show experienced. Should I look at another cruise line? Disney is too pricey and I don't like Carnival's Alaska ships.

Thanks!

Royal has done something to screw with the dining setup. From what I've been reading elsewhere, MTD is VERY hit or miss. It currently doesn't technically start until 6:45 and is dependent on early diners finishing their meals and leaving their tables. Imagine going to your favorite restaurant, they fill every table at 5:30p, then you show up at 6 (along with hundreds of your closest friends). You have to wait for those tables to clear before they can start seating people.

As far as shows, my understanding is as follows:
* Only the Oasis class (and probablly larger) ships utilize show reservations
* With the exception of the Comedy show, while reservations are accepted, and they may max out, usually about 10-15 minutes before the show starts, you'll be allowed in. Whether you find enough seats together, or where you want may be a different story.
* Comedy show is a small venue and reservations are all but required.

 

[deadvc]

During our one experience on RC, we had chosen fixed dining. Up until days before our trip, that was what was showing in the reservation on our app. Once onboard, I realized I didn't know how to find our table number and figured out that it had somewhow changed to MyTime dining. By then, everything was booked. The first night, we got a reasonable reservation time. The next night, we couldn't get one, so we had to show up and wait...for an hour+. By night 3, we gave up and just ate at Windjammer (which I enjoyed!).

I have an upcoming sailing with my mom (DH has no interest in sailing on RC again) for a 5-night. We're currently assigned fixed dining and I'm hoping it sticks this time!

Where did you see dining time on your reservation?

I selected early dining during booking but I can't figure out where to go to confirm I have it.

 

[Erica1016]

Where did you see dining time on your reservation?

I selected early dining during booking but I can't figure out where to go to confirm I have it.

In the app, if I click on the little head icon at the top when I’m in my reservation…I can scroll down and see the details including dining time.

 

[cutigerlady]

I've had varying success, depending on the ship. For most Oasis and Quantum class ships, you can reserve times for the shows in advance. They just appear one day in your cruise planner. For most other ships, you can begin reserving shows once you are connected to the RCL wifi (although recently I haven't needed reservations at all, it just adds the show to your calendar).

As for dining, I do believe 6:45 is the first MTD slot. I've been on some ships where the MTD line with reservations winds down the hall, around the corner and it was a mess every night and other ships where we walk right in and get seated. Once you book your cruise and request MTD, you can pick your MTD time by going to the Dining tab of the cruise planner and at the very bottom it has MTD with a $0.

If you can't get the times you want, I always go to the dining room as soon as I board and make my requests there. I haven't had a problem swapping the times around or requesting an individual table when we booked last minute and MTD wasn't an option. There is also a phone number you can call to reserve shows onboard (they hold back some reservations for those that didn't book in advance).

 

[platamama]

This month was the first time I've sailed RC. I got off the Brilliance this month, and the dining times were totally messed up for us. On my original booking I requested early dining. As the trip approached and I was figuring out excursions, I called my TA and listened to her call with RC as she requested a switch to MTD for me. What I didn't realize then was that I was stuck with available dining spots for the rest of the cruise which were way later than I wanted (these were not viewable until after I made the switch), but having made the switch on the phone call I was stuck now with MTD. I went ahead and made reservations through my online Cruise Planner for dining times each day and they showed up on my RC app. Only the MTD reservations showed up on my app.

We get on the ship...and find that RC has us double booked each day for both early dining and MTD. I was thrilled with Day 1 because I wanted early dining for that day the most, but I didn't want other days because of excursions. Dining services didn't care what our RC app showed, and said we had to pick one or the other for the rest of the cruise. After trying to explain why I didn't want early dining every night (excursions!) the rep at Dining Services said that the most important nights to show up at early dining were the at-sea days and lobster night. Port days would be easier to fit us in at a different time if we showed up later. So in the end it all worked out but not without stress at the beginning of the trip. We were only a party of 2 though, so I think this would have been much more difficult as a group.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Thanks everyone. I’m thinking maybe Royal’s big ships just aren’t for us. We went with My Time Dining so we wouldn’t have to make reservations. I’m okay with a wait but it was bad, like over an hour. We tried to follow the advice of booking as soon as we got on the ship only to find that the shows were booked up well in advance of the cruise even starting.

We’re looking at Holland or Princess for our Alaska cruise.

 

[Minniesgal]

We are sailing on Princess next week and have had all our dining times booked for months. What’s left to book is very slim pickings. I think. Most cruise lines you need to book dining in advance

 

[tidefan]

We are sailing on Princess next week and have had all our dining times booked for months. What’s left to book is very slim pickings. I think. Most cruise lines you need to book dining in advance

We did a 12 night British Isles on Princess a little over a month ago. We never booked dining in advance. Just showed up when we wanted to eat and were sat usually within 5 minutes.

That said, the buffet on that ship (Regal Princess) was very good, so we ate there a bit too, especially if we got back late from excursions. We really liked our cruise on Princess.

 

[lady9]

We just got off Oasis of the Seas. We chose late dining which was 7:30. When we boarded and got our stateroom keys they showed MTD. We went directly to the main dining room and were able to switch but that was because we were a party of 2. The same thing happened to the family in front of us. They were a group of 7 and they were given a table for that night only and told they would have to come every night to see what was available. Our experience in the main dining room was awful. Food was mediocre at best and our server was more concerned with her larger tables so getting drink refills was not an option. We only saw the asst. server once when he brought me the wrong drink. The server apologized but never brought the correct one out. We gave up after the 2nd time we tried it and stuck with the specialty restaurants which we enjoyed very much and Windjammer which we also enjoyed.

For shows, the website says they can be reserved 30 days in advance but our main shows like Aqua 80 and Cats opened up 45 days in advance and filled quickly. Make the reservations especially if you are going during a busy cruising time. You can always skip it if you want but it's better to have it.

 

[mjkacmom]

We are sailing on Princess next week and have had all our dining times booked for months. What’s left to book is very slim pickings. I think. Most cruise lines you need to book dining in advance

I think for mtd NCL wins. We are a family of 7, never made reservations in the MDR, and never waited more than 10 minutes for a table. You do need reservations on the newer bigger ships for shows.

 

[ILuvDisney78]

We did a 12 night British Isles on Princess a little over a month ago. We never booked dining in advance. Just showed up when we wanted to eat and were sat usually within 5 minutes.

That said, the buffet on that ship (Regal Princess) was very good, so we ate there a bit too, especially if we got back late from excursions. We really liked our cruise on Princess.

I agree. We just sailed an Alaskan cruise on Princess and were able to walk up to any of the restaurants and have a private table with no more than a five minute wait. The buffet was also delicious!