Eric - Making reservations 45 days in advance

[Kim2629]

Hi, I'm hoping somebody can tell me which specific day of the week 45 days in advance you are able to login and make reservations for shows and dinners on the Epic. I've heard that it's around 7am that the window opens - and I leave for work at that time, so I need to make appropriate arrangements. Is it on the Wednesday or on the Thursday morning?

 

I'm traveling during Feb school vacation week, so I want to make sure that I am timely so that we can get the reservations we want.

 

Thank you for your help!!!

[coachnip13]

Hi, I'm hoping somebody can tell me which specific day of the week 45 days in advance you are able to login and make reservations for shows and dinners on the Epic. I've heard that it's around 7am that the window opens - and I leave for work at that time, so I need to make appropriate arrangements. Is it on the Wednesday or on the Thursday morning?

 

I'm traveling during Feb school vacation week, so I want to make sure that I am timely so that we can get the reservations we want.

 

Thank you for your help!!!

 

 

Honestly, don't waste your time trying to be the first one online to book reservations. We just did the Thanksgiving cruise on the Epic, and we were shocked at how many people didn't book a single thing until they got on the ship.

 

Unknowingly, I also logged in at 45 days out and booked everything. Later, though, maybe a week before the cruise, I logged in again and saw that I could still book anything I wanted.

 

Last week we got into Blue Man Group for a second time later in the week by booking it that morning.

 

My advice: don't stress over it and rearrange your day. You can log in when you get home and get the exact same stuff.

[dans0202]

My experience with prebooking was not as positive as the poster above. I am traveling the week of Dec 17th.

I logged on 6 hours after my window opened and was only able to get 1/2 of the dinner reservations I wanted at specialty restaurants. Shows were easier to get.

If you know what you want, log on first thing in the morning and make reservations. If you wait you may be forced to try and secure one of the spots held until the cruise starts.

 

My window opened Nov 3rd for my cruise Dec 18th cruise (45 days exactly). Given Jan has 31 days and Nov had 30 I think you are on a Thursday where I was on a Wednesday

 

Good luck

[silkhair1]

I am nervous about the booking and am going to try to get it done early tomorrow, but who knows!

[MiamiSpartan]

Our trip just opened up this morning at 7am Eastern time...we leave on 1/15...booked everything altho we may add one more night at a premium restaurant...

[Sailawaytoday]

Its 45 days before sailing, but since different months have different number of days ("30 days has September, etc."), not every cruise has the same day. The boards have shown that there is generally availability for most sailings. For the Christmas sailing, things filled up fast. If your sailing is a popular week, you can't hurt yourself by booking in advance. You can always modify your reservation once onboard.

 

 

Hi, I'm hoping somebody can tell me which specific day of the week 45 days in advance you are able to login and make reservations for shows and dinners on the Epic. I've heard that it's around 7am that the window opens - and I leave for work at that time, so I need to make appropriate arrangements. Is it on the Wednesday or on the Thursday morning?

 

I'm traveling during Feb school vacation week, so I want to make sure that I am timely so that we can get the reservations we want.

 

Thank you for your help!!!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Our trip just opened up this morning at 7am Eastern time...we leave on 1/15...booked everything altho we may add one more night at a premium restaurant...

 

I have 1/12/11 marked on my calendar (for our 2/26 sailing). I'll be ready at 7 AM!!

 

Tom

[silkhair1]

Booking for our cruise for 3 different groups was a nightmare trying to get everything in order! It took us about 1 1/2 - 2 hours to finish entertainment and we did not add our dinner reservations yet. Dreading that. At least we have our main things we had to see of our shows!

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

Just reading this thread makes me not want to book the Epic. This sounds like added hassle to a cruise! I am sure once I booked everything and got on the ship it would be fabulous, but is it worth it?

[cruisemainiac]

Booking for our cruise for 3 different groups was a nightmare trying to get everything in order! It took us about 1 1/2 - 2 hours to finish entertainment and we did not add our dinner reservations yet. Dreading that. At least we have our main things we had to see of our shows!

 

Booking dinners online is much easier if there's availability. You only need to go on and see what times are open and put in how many are in your party. You can change times/days if needed once on board because they open up more spaces on sail day.

[coachnip13]

Just reading this thread makes me not want to book the Epic. This sounds like added hassle to a cruise! I am sure once I booked everything and got on the ship it would be fabulous, but is it worth it?

 

 

I don't see the hassle. Yeah, it takes an hour or so to go through the shows and restaurants to see what you want and when you want it, but it isn't a terrible ordeal.

[Kim2629]

Thanks for all the feedback! I didn't even think of the whole 30/31 days in a month thing and therefore the 45 days being a different day depending on the cruise (silly me)...I'll probably confirm with NCL as it gets closer to get the exact day.

 

This is me and my husbands honeymoon trip (I work in the schools so my travel time is limited and we had to wait until Feb vacation), and so getting the reservations I want...especially for dinners...is really important. Going in late to work one day is not an issue, I just can't do it two days in a row...which is why I want to make sure I pinpoint the exact day that the portal opens.

 

I actually like the advance reservations feature, but I find that the 7ish-AM time is a little odd. That's 4am on the west coast! To hear that some people have had experiences where things have booked up...the time just seems weird. I know for most it's not been an issue, but I'm guessing that school vacation weeks are going to be busy busy busy on the epic! I'm eagerly awaiting the reviews of people traveling from Christmas - New Years week...I think that will be the best measure of what I can expect during Feb vaca.

 

Thanks again for all the helpful feedback!!

[Ask4Jay]

When we board the Epic on May 7 for out crossing to Barcelona, we will not have made one blessed reservation for either dinner or entertainment. It's Free-Style! We'll go with the flow and have a great time doing it. I am certain we'll find something to eat, and we do not need to be entertained. Just another style of cruising. We all do our own thing.

[albean99]

I don't know the exact time but it is a good idea to book entertainment and dining. It's a bit of a pain to use because it lets you pick the times you want for everything but then when you check out some may not be available. I only got the entertainment booked my first day and even then had to change Cirque Dreams. I changed it and added another 2nd City at the Box Office on the ship. Just don't be like the ladies ahead of me on day 3 who hadn't prebooked anything and were trying to get into shows. The dining was less important to us and we decided to wing it which was fine because we weren't all that interested in the pay restaurants.

[MiamiSpartan]

I have 1/12/11 marked on my calendar (for our 2/26 sailing). I'll be ready at 7 AM!!

 

Tom

 

This system makes it so much easier!

Usually, as soon as we get on the ship, we end up running around making reservations to all the premium restaurants...this way, we can relax on board with everything already taken care of....!

:)