Royal Caribbean Is Testing a Fix for My Time Dining—But Does It Go Far Enough?

Royal Caribbean’s My Time Dining was designed to give guests flexibility in how and when they dine, but the system has long faced criticism for falling short of that promise. Now, the cruise line is reportedly testing a new app feature that could improve the experience, but does it go far enough to truly compete with more streamlined options from other cruise lines? Let’s dive in.

My Time Dining on Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean offers three options for dinner in the main dining room: two traditional dining times at 5:30 PM and 8:30 PM, where you get the same table and waiter each night, and My Time Dining. With My Time Dining, guests can dine “anytime they like during dinner hours, according to availability.” While that sounds flexible, it really isn’t. According to Royal Caribbean’s website, “Reservations are strongly recommended.”

Before sailing, guests can make reservations using the Cruise Planner via the Royal Caribbean app or website. Prime times, typically 6:00 to 7:30 PM, fill up quickly. Once onboard, guests can still make reservations and even request the same waiter each night if they prefer.

However, if you don’t have a reservation, you’ll be placed in a separate line and wait until a table becomes available. And that wait can be rough. The standby line can take long since Royal Caribbean encourages most people to make reservations. Wait times range from just a few minutes to as much as an hour. (Personally, my longest wait has been 45 minutes on a Quantum Class ship.)

My Time Dining Isn’t Really Flexible

The problem is that this setup isn’t truly flexible. If you make your reservations months in advance, you won’t yet know the show schedule or onboard events, and you could easily double-book yourself. Or, maybe you get back late from an excursion and want to push dinner later than your original 6:00 PM time—too bad.

Royal Caribbean Testing Alerts in the App

A guest sailing on Independence of the Seas this week sent us a screenshot of a new feature being tested in the Royal Caribbean app. The guest had a 6:45 PM reservation in the main dining room, and ten minutes before, he received a push notification in the app.

The alert prompted him to either confirm he was “On My Way” or cancel his reservation. When he arrived with his party, they were seated immediately. According to the guest, the host mentioned that this feature was currently being tested on two ships.

The notification states that your table will be held for 15 minutes, consistent with Royal Caribbean’s standard practice over the past year.

From an operational standpoint, the new feature has a few clear benefits. It reminds guests of their reservations and gets them to start heading towards the dining room (which can be a hike on Oasis Class ships). It also allows them to cancel proactively, freeing up the table right away instead of forcing staff to wait 15 minutes for a no-show.

Other Cruise Lines Have Truly Flexible Time Dining

Royal Caribbean’s competitors have done a better job at delivering flexible dining. Carnival Cruise Line offers Anytime Dining, which is similar in concept to My Time Dining but doesn’t require reservations. When you’re ready to eat, you check in using the Carnival Hub app. It provides an estimated wait time and notifies you when your table is ready.

Waits can still reach up to an hour on busier nights (especially Elegant Night), but you’re free to enjoy the ship during that time. You can check in from your cabin while getting ready, grab a drink at a bar, or hang out on the promenade. When your table is ready, you receive your table number, and a line of waiters is ready to escort you; there’s no waiting in line. When I was on board the Carnival Celebration, I was really impressed with how well their system worked. Most times we had to wait 10-20 minutes, but we just went to a bar while we waited.

Norwegian Cruise Line also has flexible dining with their “Freestyle Dining” concept. All main dining room seating is open; you just walk up when you’re hungry. If there’s a wait, you’re given a pager and can head to a nearby lounge or bar until your table is ready. On my 10-day sailing on Norwegian Viva, we were seated immediately half the time, and the wait was under 10 minutes the rest of the time. On a previous Norwegian Prima sailing, we were able to check in through the app, although that feature now seems to be discontinued on Prima Class ships.

My Take: A Step In The Right Direction, But Not There Yet

Royal Caribbean pioneered the eMuster drill, saving us all from an hour of standing around in life jackets. They’ve offered online reservations for shows and activities for years. So how is the dining experience still so far behind?

Personally, I’ve never enjoyed My Time Dining on Royal. It’s either too rigid—with reservations you have to make months in advance—or too chaotic, with long wait times if you don’t.

Many experienced Royal cruisers know the system and pre-book everything, often getting the same waiter and table every night. But new cruisers? They can easily end up in a 45-minute line, leaving dinner frustrated. This new app notification might help turn tables faster but doesn’t fix the core problem.

Carnival has the better system here. Royal Caribbean should follow suit and develop something truly flexible, built around the way today’s cruisers actually move through their day.