needdining reservation help

We are new to Regent, but have cruised on Oceania many times. I know how to make dining reservations on O's site, and wonder if Regent is the same. That is, I choose the date and time, add the other couple dining with us, and say no to sharing. Is this the same procedure for Regent? Right now, since the res window is not open, I can't find any info. Thanks, Marlene

Hi Marlene,

While we have sailed on Oceania, I have no idea how to make dining reservations. However, based on what you indicated in your post, it sounds similar if not the same as on Regent. If you are booking for another couple, you will need their reservation number. Below is copied from the Regent website:

"Dining reservations may be reserved online beginning 75 days before your cruise sails, or 90 days for guests eligible for our Concierge Amenities, at Midnight Eastern US Time. To do so, please create an account via the My Account section of our website and access the Dining Reservations link for your cruise via your Booked Cruises.

Guests may pre-book one dinner reservation in Prime 7 on voyages aboard all ships, one dinner reservation in Signatures on voyages aboard Seven Seas Marinerand Seven Seas Voyager, and one dinner reservation in Chartreuse and Pacific Rim on Seven Seas Explorer. Multiple pre-booked reservations in each restaurant are permitted only on Grand Voyages, with one reservation allotted per voyage segment. Guests may contact the Maître D' once onboard to request additional reservations, if available. Compass Rose and Sette Mari At La Veranda do not require reservations. "

Having traveled on both many times, the procedure is the same.

After wonderful experiences on many Windstar, Crystal, Seabourn and SilverSea cruises I decided to try Regent this fall. When online Prime 7 reservations opened for me on the 3rd I booked a table and as I saw the Guest option entered the name and other ID for another couple I knew would be on that cruise too. Imagine my surprise when my friend texted me today to say they were denied a reservation of their own because they were already listed as dining with us on another evening. Both the online system and a call to RSSC customer service was basically " too bad, try again on board, or cancel the reservations with your friend". Now I'm wondering what other "luxury level" surprises lie in store.

Having traveled on both many times, the procedure is the same.

Now that's the right way to answer:). Simple yet right!

After wonderful experiences on many Windstar, Crystal, Seabourn and SilverSea cruises I decided to try Regent this fall. When online Prime 7 reservations opened for me on the 3rd I booked a table and as I saw the Guest option entered the name and other ID for another couple I knew would be on that cruise too. Imagine my surprise when my friend texted me today to say they were denied a reservation of their own because they were already listed as dining with us on another evening. Both the online system and a call to RSSC customer service was basically " too bad, try again on board, or cancel the reservations with your friend". Now I'm wondering what other "luxury level" surprises lie in store.

Regent permits one advanced reservation for each dining venue to insure that everyone can dine once at each specialty restaurant. Since your friends are dining with you they have used their one reservation. Once onboard the ship you can usually get an additional reservation.

Below is a link to FAQ's on the Regent website. This will help to avoid other surprises. Hopefully you booked with a TA that regularly books Regent cruises and they can also answer questions for you.

https://www.rssc.com/frequently-asked-questions/you-sail

Specific to your question, I copied and pasted the Dining Reservation section:

Dining reservations may be reserved online beginning 75 days before your cruise sails, or 90 days for guests eligible for our Concierge Amenities, at Midnight Eastern US Time. To do so, please create an account via the My Account section of our website and access the Dining Reservations link for your cruise via your Booked Cruises.

Guests may pre-book one dinner reservation in Prime 7 on voyages aboard all ships, one dinner reservation in Signatures on voyages aboard Seven Seas Marinerand Seven Seas Voyager, and one dinner reservation in Chartreuse and Pacific Rim on Seven Seas Explorer. Multiple pre-booked reservations in each restaurant are permitted only on Grand Voyages, with one reservation allotted per voyage segment. Guests may contact the Maître D' once onboard to request additional reservations, if available. Compass Rose and Sette Mari At La Veranda do not require reservations.

[Regent permits one advanced reservation for each dining venue to insure that everyone can dine once at each specialty restaurant. Since your friends are dining with you they have used their one reservation. Once onboard the ship you can usually get an additional reservation.]

Thanks for the reply Travelcat2. I have learned a lot about RSSC from your posts, including that for you, Prime 7 isn't all that special since you can sample the same menus in the CR. I was making the reservation just to see if the ambience was worth it. But I feel misled by the online registration process. Obviously the cruise line refers to all of us as guests, but when I am making dinner reservations and am asked do I want to include a guest I'm not thinking in terms of asking some one else to "spend" their reservation to eat at my table. A warning that will happen at the time I selected the guest option might have prevented me from putting our friends in the position of backing out ( if they have special night in mind) or accepting my choice.

As for the "other surprises" I have also noticed from the other threads that RSSC seems to be a state of flux as to what kind of service they are willing to provide. Just saying........

vinojones - really curious as to what you meant when you posted ".....RSSC seems to be a state of flux as to what kind of service they are willing to provide...".

vinojones - really curious as to what you meant when you posted ".....RSSC seems to be a state of flux as to what kind of service they are willing to provide...".

I meant( in a good way) that there is a lot of chatter on this board such as your own posts # 3 in the Have Things Improved thread,and #12 in Regent Cruise is not the same after Norwegian Purchase, or the TS in Beware:5 star Cruise-1 star Flights (I would have had similar feelings if I had not learned enough from you and other posters to get around the TA/Regent perfunctory flight offers); Sorry for the list, but I have not gotten the hang of copying out of sequence posts.

I don't mean this as criticism in any way- you are definitely THE Ambassador for Regent around here!

I believe it to be true, as I have read on other threads, that all cruise lines go through cycles. With the increasing popularity of cruising they are all trying be beat the competition and improve the bottom line with varying success.

I meant( in a good way) that there is a lot of chatter on this board such as your own posts # 3 in the Have Things Improved thread,and #12 in Regent Cruise is not the same after Norwegian Purchase, or the TS in Beware:5 star Cruise-1 star Flights (I would have had similar feelings if I had not learned enough from you and other posters to get around the TA/Regent perfunctory flight offers); Sorry for the list, but I have not gotten the hang of copying out of sequence posts.

 

I don't mean this as criticism in any way- you are definitely THE Ambassador for Regent around here!

 

I believe it to be true, as I have read on other threads, that all cruise lines go through cycles. With the increasing popularity of cruising they are all trying be beat the competition and improve the bottom line with varying success.

While I do not consider myself an Ambassador for Regent, we truly enjoy sailing with them. Since no one or company is perfect, I understand that Regent makes some missteps from time to time. Still, I find that more luxury cruise lines copy Regent than the other way around.

Thank you for letting me know what threads that you have read that could have caused concern. The #1 misconception is that Regent is not as good as it was prior to being purchased by NCLH (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings) since the opposite is true. While there is something about being under the "NCL" name that still bothers me, if it were not for them, I don't know if Regent would have one new ship with another one in the process of being built.

Agree about cruise lines going in cycles and cruising is definitely becoming more popular.

Having cruised on Oceania and having read posts from Oceania passengers that have sailed on Regent, the results have been mixed. Some people think that Oceania's food is better than Regent while I find Regent's food to be better (except for Jacques which is clearly better than Regent). Other specialty restaurants on Oceania are pretty comparable to Regent. I truly hope that you enjoy your Regent experience.