How does dinner work? RCCL Harmony

[asamklove]

We just booked a cruise for Jan ‘19 on Harmony. I know some restaurants are upcharges & require reservations.
What’s the scoop on the MDRs? My time vs specific time? Pros/Cons of both, please! We are a party of 7: 2 grandparents, 1 couple w/2 kids ages 7 & 9, one single adult.
Thanks!!!

 

[starvenger]

MDRs are pretty much similar to any large group dining room. Some people like it, some don’t, at the very least you,l say it’s “fine”.

My Time gives you flexibility to work your dining time around activities and shows. For fixed dining, you’re working the activities and shows around the dining.

 

[accio]

Here is a list of the complimentary and specialty dining venues on Harmony:

Complimentary

• Park Cafe
• Mini Bites
• Cafe Promenade
• Main Dining Room (MDR)
• Windjammer Cafe (buffet)
• Solarium Bistro (breakfast, lunch ONLY)
• Johnny Rockets (breakfast ONLY)
• Sorrentos
• Vitality Cafe (food only)
• Dog House
• Coastal Kitchen (suite, Pinnacle guests ONLY)

Specialty

• Jamie's Italian
• 150 Central Park
• Sabor
• Chops Grille
• Wonderland
• Izumi
• Johnny Rockets (lunch and dinner)
• Chefs Table
• Vintages
• Solarium Bistro (dinner)

A number of these restaurants are open for lunch on sea days, check previous Cruise Compasses to verify. Reservations can be made through the Cruise Planner, Royal Caribbean offers a number of dining packages.

 

[asamklove]

Thanks! I was actually more curious about why I should pick a set dining time for the MDRs or if we should pick MyTimeDining? We will prob do MDRs most nights, so I don’t know if, for example, service is slower during the seatings at MDRs if your on MyTime?

 

[starvenger]

I’ve not done MTD, but I think it’s about the same as set times. I do know that if you’re doing a set time and are trying to get to something else, you can ask the server to speed things up a bit.

 

[HopperFan]

We like the set dining because part of what makes it all special is having the same exact servers every night. They know what everyone likes, they have things on the table ready for us on arrival, the often go above and beyond because we have established a nice rapport. Last cruise we did do one specialty meal but other 6 were same time, same table and same servers. We know we will walk in and sit down, no waiting and no new servers.

 

[accio]

Thanks! I was actually more curious about why I should pick a set dining time for the MDRs or if we should pick MyTimeDining? We will prob do MDRs most nights, so I don’t know if, for example, service is slower during the seatings at MDRs if your on MyTime?

I am also booked on a Harmony cruise in December 2019 and chose traditional early dining in the MDR. As Hopper commented, I also like having a dedicated serving staff with a set time, table; guess that's the DCL fan in me I honestly cannot imagine a difference in service between the two, MDR service is generally very good.

Here is a good introductory article on MTD, and, if you google traditional vs MTD, you will find TONS of threads posted on various message boards regarding this topic. (It's very popular LOL.) Some things to keep in mind with MTD is that your gratuities must be prepaid in advance and reservations are recommended to avoid a line-up outside the MDR.

Good luck and happy cruising!