When it comes to the main dining room on a cruise ship, the early seating can seem too early and the late seating can be –well, too late.
Cruise lines came up with a more user-friendly option (with various names) that allowed passengers to eat at any time they wanted.
But along with this flexibility came a few issues. We’ll dig into those issues and provide some useful cruise tips as well.
I’m a big fan of My Time or Anytime dining on a cruise ship. There’s something about that flexibility that appeals to me.
However, there are a few drawbacks to this popular style of dining that often frustrate first-time cruisers.
Some people love traditional dining on a cruise ship. Others can’t stand to be locked in a timeslot and prefer a more flexible approach to the evening meal.
Royal Caribbean has “My Time Dining” and Carnival calls it “Anytime Dining”. Norwegian Cruise Line doesn’t even offer a traditional dining option and instead provides the whimsical traveler with “Freestyle Dining”.
Whatever a specific cruise line calls it, there is often an option to enjoy dinner at various times each night.
You just have to make sure you show up during the hours of operation for this flexible dining option. This is usually between 5:30pm and 9:30pm but could vary depending on the ship.
It’s also recommended you make a reservation, but we’ll get into that a little more below.
1. Not making reservations or getting in line (virtually)
This one depends on the cruise line. If using My Time dining with Royal Caribbean, you should make a reservation.
When you hear the term “My Time Dining,” you might think it’s a little silly to make a reservation. After all, the name implies that you can just show up whenever it suits you—and voilà, dinner is served.
While you can still get a bite to eat in the MDR (Main Dining Room) without a reservation, Royal Caribbean recommends using the app to make a reservation anyway.
This ensures a table for your group will be available and will cut down on wait times.
These reservations can be made ahead of time or you can make a reservation after you get on board.
With Carnival you can just use the Hub App to let the ship know you’re ready for dinner and this will put you in a queue. You will receive a notification when your table is ready. Easy-peasy.
You can even “check in” from your cabin or while walking around the ship and wait for your table.
The only time I’ve had long wait times with Carnival’s Anytime Dining is when I showed up right at the start of dinner.
Of course, there are a myriad of other cruise lines we could talk about as well. But if there is an option to make a reservation or use an app to get in line you should go ahead and do it.
2. Longer waits based on when you arrive
I’ve been on some cruises where the lines for My Time/Anytime were very short, and other times they were very long.
This often depends on the ratio of passengers that opted for traditional versus the flexible option. If a certain cruise ship has a large majority that want My Time Dining, then you can expect longer waits, especially at peak times.
Typically, the peak times for flexible dining are when it first opens and shortly before dinner closes. But this can also depend on what shows are playing that night around the ship or what time most people got back to the ship from a day at a port of call.
For me, I often choose a dining time based on what shows or venues I want to enjoy that night. It’s always a nuisance to miss a great ice show or Broadway style performance because I was in the middle of dinner.
If I’m already tired from doing excursions all day, I might opt for an early dinner and relax the rest of the evening.
In my experience, it’s the very opening time of dinner that is the busiest. But if there is a long wait, you can always grab a snack at the buffet and wait a bit.
Some cruisers recommend showing up right in the middle of early and late dining (around 7pm), but again, this really depends on the ship.
You can read reviews of the same ship, and you will read of some waiting in line for My Time dining for an hour and others will say they walked right in and sat down. That being said, the size of the ship matters and the duration of the cruise matters, as it will often change the demographics on board.
Want to read more on how to avoid cruise dining mistakes? Read our article here.
3. Trying to get a table for a large group
My Time and Anytime Dining aren’t really geared for large groups. And trying to get a table for a large group will likely make for a longer wait as well.
That being said, you can still dine with a group, as long as it’s not excessively large.
Many cruise lines – Royal Caribbean in particular – limit the number of people in a group to 8 or fewer when trying to make reservations with this style of dining.
A better option may be to split up the group into smaller groups that are still relatively nearby.
Ideally, talking to the maître d’ ahead of time is always best when trying to get a table for a lot of people.
4. Not having the same wait staff each night
For the more traditional cruisers in our midst, this one can be a deal breaker.
With traditional dining, you have the same waiter or waitress each night. You can develop a rapport and get to know the entire wait staff on a personal level.
With “Dine Whenever You Want” you are unlikely to get the same waiter. This can be both good and bad depending on how well you enjoyed your previous night’s service.
This was a bigger deal before the auto gratuity as well. Tipping individual wait staff was –and still is– part of the cruise experience for some. But when having a different waiter/waitress each night, most rely on the prepaid gratuities to take care of it all.
You can still request a specific waiter, but it really depends on that crew member’s availability and open tables in their area.
I know some cruisers who liked their waiter on the first night so much that they requested the same table at the same time for each night. This isn’t always possible, but it’s worth asking about.
Read more: 10 foods these cruisers say to avoid on a cruise ship
