We know booking a cruise can be a complicated process, so if you need any help or would even like us to fill out your information for you please get in touch. If you continue to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies. 0000417013 00000 n 0000006450 00000 n If you have a smaller party, you might find that you do not have to wait as long as larger parties. You can eat anytime between 6:00 pm and 9:30 pm. Heres my confusion: I understand prepaid gratuities is required for My Time Dining. 0000420293 00000 n I think the crew would let it be know if they were not receiving their share of the gratuities. That said, some people do leave a little extra for crew members who go above and beyond. No reservation is needed, but Royal Caribbean strongly encourages you to get a reservation if you dont want to spend a lot of time waiting when you go to dinner. To this day it still references dynamic dining in the cruise planner even though that is long gone. However, a lot of people do uphold the dress code, so if you turn up in a t-shirt and shorts then you may look out of place. The annual airline fee statement credit can be complicated to take advantage of compared to the broader travel credits offered by competing premium cards. $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Royal Caribbean "My Time Dining" Review - Direct Line Cruises I'm travelling with guests from another stateroom who selected Traditional Dining. . Note, however, that this means you may not be able to have as flexible of a dining experience as you might be hoping for, especially if prime reservations have been secured in advance by other guests. My Time Dining is one of the options youll get to choose from when you book your cruise. You can disable the usage of cookies by changing the settings of your browser. Many smaller and higher-end cruise operators are folding tips and gratuities into their base fares. Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. My Time Dining is now a choice within the booking process. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu. My Time Dining - Gratuities?? - Cruise Critic Community A lot of cruisers were actually upset when they heard about My Time Dining and vowed to never sail with Royal Caribbean again if this was the only option. 0000014874 00000 n 0000005051 00000 n The high annual fee is only worth it if youre taking full advantage of the cards benefits. If you dont like tipping in advance to your service, and you would rather leave generous tips individually, there is nothing stopping you from going the extra mile to tip your waiter or waitress each night you use the My Time Dining option. 0000901784 00000 n If you opt out of daily gratuities your account will not be charged for them. Someone else that pays more will take up the slack for you. Search Multiple Sites at Once With your support, we can create more exciting content and share with everyone! My Time Dining is therefore available to anyone who wants to mix things up. You can wait to make your My Time Dining reservations until you board your cruise ship. Flexible seating works very much like standard restaurant seating. Looking for the Best Cruise Deals? Check here before booking an award fare. A world of culinary exploration awaits you onboard Royal Caribbean. If you are adjusting a gratuity charge downward, expect to be asked about the reasons behind the adjustment. 0000911056 00000 n All rights reserved. Breakfast in the Main Dining Room is first come, first serve, regardless on whether or not you selected My Time or Traditional Dining. 0000003388 00000 n Tipping on a cruise does not have to be complicated, but you need to understand the big picture to budget for your vacation appropriately. Your browser is outdated and does not support many of the modern features of this website, 0000002916 00000 n Royal Caribbean Dining. Royal Caribbean My Time Dining: What You Must Know! Understood, and many passengers also feel this way. My time dining and gratuities - Royal Caribbean International - Cruise That is not the case anymore but Royal is not great about updating their website information (I've heard they still talk about Dynamic Dining on Quantum class ships which only lasted one year). Related: Use these credit cards to maximize your next cruise vacation. You need to contact your TA and have her add it to your invoice in order to prepay gratuities. MY FAMILY TIME DINING MY TIME DINING DAILY RESERVATIONS Awards FOLLOW US JOIN CROWN & ANCHOR SOCIETY CALL US NOW +971 4 331 4299 Can I participate in My Time Dining but make a reservation for a specific time? Online, you can only book My Time Dining for up to eight guests. And that's before you add in any additional tips you wish to give to your room service or favorite bartender or autogratuities tacked on to bar, restaurant and spa bills. The standard gratuities of $13.50 per person per day for JS and below, and $16.50 per person per day for GS and better. The old way of MTD had forced you to prepay gratuities but that changed some time ago. Details: Gratuities are included in the fare. The standard gratuities of $13.50 per person per day for JS and below, and $16.50 per person per day for GS and better. Aside from formal nights, there is no enforced dress code except that bare feet and tank tops are not allowed in the Main Dining Room. *Please see all applicable Terms & Conditions for Promotions. The guest relations staff will want to know if youve experienced particular service issues. A lot of people still prefer the idea of traditional dining where you sit for dinner at the same time every evening, with the same party and with the same waiter. Learn more. It isn't a hidden charge, since we all know about the charge and of course it subsidizes the wage bill. When making a reservation you will be offered "My Time" or traditional dining times (i.e., 5:30 pm & 8:00 pm). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Dine as you want, when you want. 0000423354 00000 n However, if you dont sign up for My Time Dining within the first two days of your cruise, then youre stuck with traditional dining times. There is a $9.75 gratuity per day that is required and this actually covers not only the wait staff but your room steward as well. If you have selected My Time Dining for your next Royal Caribbean Cruise vacation, here's everything you need to know about how to book My Time Dining and secure your nightly dining reservations. That means, if you decide to visit the Main Dining Room on day 3 of your cruise, you wont be able to choose your time. If you want to change to My Time Dining, youll need to speak to Guest Services within the first two days of your cruise. I did find My Time Dining rather a contradiction as theoretically you could dine anytime between the hours of 6.30 9.30, but, its best to make a reservation, as it turned out the waiting time was approximately the same for both cases. That's because some cruise lines tack daily service fees onto passenger bills yet many travelers still hand out additional cash gratuities, either as a matter of course or for exemplary service. This website uses cookies in order to offer you the most relevant information. Display as a link instead, The folks who WERVE YOU are the ones who get your tips. Unlike Traditional Dining, you will not be seated at the same table with the same wait staff if your choose My Time. And, unlike the typical service fee or resort fee found at a land resort, they are not per room. 0000022522 00000 n 0000419103 00000 n There is a $9.75 gratuity per day that is required and this actually covers not only the wait staff but your room steward. However, many people now prefer to enjoy more flexibility with dinner, so cruise lines have either done away with traditional dining altogether or set up an alternative option. 0000892388 00000 n Instant Real Time Pricing Ships registered in the Bahamas. 0000417308 00000 n Callummck Still, not all lines have service fees that high. Main Dining Room on Allure of the Seas Even if you only plan to eat in the Main Dining Room a couple of times during your cruise, it often makes sense to choose My Time Dining so that you can pick the time you want. If youre not someone who has cruised before, you might not be aware of traditional dining times on cruise ships. 0000690334 00000 n That explains it and answers my question- youre right, it does still say it on parts of the website. 0000005096 00000 n Also, once you have been seated and your meal is being served, no other guests will be sat at your table. When making a reservation you will be offered "My Time" or traditional dining times (i.e., 5:30 pm & 8:00 pm). At most lines, you can pay your service charges in advance of sailing (at the same time you pay your cruise fare). Im really asking the opposite - We havent prepaid gratuities, but the agent has booked us in for My Time Dining! Royal Caribbean recently added "My time dining" as a dining option. Every Royal Caribbean ship includes meals at many included restaurants, including the main dining room and the buffet. 0000828837 00000 n All of the gratuities are divided equally among the wait staff. Automatic Gratuities were added to lessen the event of "skipping out" on tips and to make sure MTD waiters were tipped. Suggested read: 6 Things You MUST Know About Formal Night on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. 0000897170 00000 n This can trick many cruisers into tipping twice. The menu for My Time Dining is still the same, so you will get the same quality meals. Once you have decided on the perfect ship and itinerary, you are ready to move forward with the cruise booking process. You do have to prepay your gratuities in order to sign up to My Time Dining. You will be seated with whomever you arrive to the dining room with. Join 40,000 cruiserswho readmy email each week Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Upon checkout, you will be charged $0.00, unless you are also purchasing other add-ons. You can then make reservations for your restaurant, or just turn up at the restaurant between 6 pm and 9.30 pm and wait for a table to be available. 0000736746 00000 n You definitely won't go hungry during your sailing, even if you don't purchase any dining extras. Improve earnings, maximize rewards and track progress toward dream trips. You can disable the usage of cookies by changing the settings of your browser. Well, this is NOT the only option and you can still choose to eat in the traditional manner. Started August 27, 2021, By 0000417581 00000 n For more cruise guides, news and tips, sign up for TPGs new cruise newsletter. You can, however, always tell your waitstaff that you have other plans, and they will do their best to serve you as quickly as possible. Itll be one less thing on your final bill at the end of the cruise. Should they have been paid at the time of booking? Be sure to join my email list for my best cruise tips and handpicked deals each week. That is not the case anymore but Royal is not great about updating their website information. 0000901423 00000 n E{3bEi_,FdTneL m!TlmJ=&esmh~rqbo)q9V'{7_LA74us i%@MZC1twwBjkC%{'BLTzP64Z{C@gC;qdF\u4:}NiIYmKzuu>k&dOWd1ydzW ]EhWJt*iLAcGMUyhvjw%m&_I;jxt' jg|zn~7_{ksiY15M HHnV6@,,TnMv9GU{$ If you opt out of daily gratuities your account will not be charged for them. It is more difficult for the Main Dining Room to accommodate larger groups with My Time Dining, as there are fewer tables set for bigger parties. To request a call back from one of our cruise experts, kindly provide us with the details requested bellow and we will get back to you as soon as possible. 0000006636 00000 n So therefore it does not show on our invoice. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? I take any thread older than a year (sometimes less) with a grain of salt. In that sense, the current system is more equitable than the old system of cash tipping, which favored certain workers, lines say. Jon lives in the foothills of North Carolina and wishes there were a cruise port that far inland. (Enrollment required for select benefits.). Then, Norwegian Cruise Line decided to shake things up a bit with "freestyle dining", an innovation that allows guests to eat dinner anytime . You may find that you are split up at different tables that are not located near each other. In this case, no gratuities will be charged to your onboard account. But whether My Time Dining works for you or not really depends on what your preferences are. Cruisers should also bring cash to tip the porters who bring their bags onto the ship (usually $2 per bag), as well as tour guides in port ($5 to $10 per person for half-day tours, $10 to $20 for full-day excursions and $2 for non-guide drivers). If not, just leave blank, How to book My Time Dining on Royal Caribbean, What you need to know about Royal Caribbean's My Time Dining, Royal Caribbean My Time Dining versus Traditional Dining. Traditionally, dinner on a cruise ship has been served at two specific seating times. 0000426236 00000 n There is no need to remove the "pre=paid" or "included" tips. Still, some critics see the charges as a sneaky way for cruise lines to make their fares appear lower than they really are. If you want, you can even try to switch onboard. 0000916414 00000 n Once you have made your My Time Dining reservations, they will appear in your cruise calendar, both on Cruise Planner tab and Royal Caribbean's app.