Restaurants

[brian_uk]

We are on Marina in a few weeks in a PH and wonder whether we can leave reserving Speciality Restaurants until on board.

We prefer to eat around 8pm which in the past has made it easier.

I welcome your views.

 

Brian

[LEESRE]

We are on Marina in a few weeks in a PH and wonder whether we can leave reserving Speciality Restaurants until on board.

We prefer to eat around 8pm which in the past has made it easier.

I welcome your views.

 

Brian

 

You must by now be able to book your restaurants, if it is only a few weeks away.

I would suggest you book before you get on board, then you have a better chance of getting the time you require. We found that people who left it till they boarded were a little disappointed that they did not get what they required.

[Andromeda93]

We are on Marina in a few weeks in a PH and wonder whether we can leave reserving Speciality Restaurants until on board.

We prefer to eat around 8pm which in the past has made it easier.

I welcome your views.

 

Brian, we were happy to have made all the reservations we could before embarking to our PH cabin on a recent cruise on Marina. We front-loaded the reservations, thinking that if we wanted to add more later in the trip it might be possible (based on other CC forum comments on this subject). This sailing we were able to add a few more specialty restaurant reservations beyond our allotment later in the trip, although this was not the case on our prior Marina voyage when it was very hard to get a table in any of the four venues beyond our minimum allocation.

 

Later in the trip we also chose to dine with new friends in the GDR or Terrace a few times. Lastly, on sea days and days with earlier port departure times, the specialty restaurants tend to book up faster; you may want to plan your reservations accordingly. It's easy to make changes to any existing reservations at the restaurant desk in the main lobby, although there may not always be availability at the new date/time you prefer.

 

I second LEESRE: I don't see a reason not to at least have some 'placeholder' reservations you can revise once on-board if your plans change.

[LHT28]

I agree book some ahead of time you can always change or cancel onboard

 

Keep in mind the online booking reservations close 7 days prior to sailing

[hondorner]

We are on Marina in a few weeks in a PH and wonder whether we can leave reserving Speciality Restaurants until on board.

We prefer to eat around 8pm which in the past has made it easier.

I welcome your views.

 

Brian

Brian, I've done just that for years. Usually, I had no problems. I did it because I often meet folks on board and would like to dine with them. On our last cruise on Riviera, however, for the first ime, I didn't get everything I wanted. I was happy with what we were able to get, but there were fewer choices than in the past. For our upcoming relatively short 7 day Alaska cruise, I did book ahead, as the ability to get what you want goes down as the cruise gets shorter.

 

However, despite being in the lowest class and being last to reserve, I did get exactly what I wanted. I don't expect to get any extras, however, due to the shortness of the cruise. On the other hand, I really don't want any extras, because we love the GDR.

[Jancruz]

We are on Marina in a few weeks in a PH and wonder whether we can leave reserving Speciality Restaurants until on board.

We prefer to eat around 8pm which in the past has made it easier.

I welcome your views.

 

Brian

 

Brian you should not have a problem..have a great cruise!!

Jancruz1

[brian_uk]

Jan

 

You mean when on board ?

 

Hope you both well x

 

Brian

[fairbourne]

Just wanted to let you all know if it hasn't been mentioned already, but now on the R ships in the GDR, they feature a dish every night from Jacques and Red Ginger. So luckily for me, I was able to enjoy the famous Miso Glazed Sea Bass twice on our recent Alaska cruise :D. And a lovely shrimp dish from Jacques.

 

The Sea Bass most certainly and without any doubt whatsoever lived up to its well deserved reputation. According to the F&B Director on board, this is a recent initiative so everyone who sails on O, on any ship can enjoy a taste of all their speciality restaurants - and as O newbies it was a lovely choice to have.

 

I actually don't think if people had not been on the bigger ships or read CC, that they actually realised what these menu additions were. But I did!! LOL!

 

We pre-booked our speciality restaurants and were also offered additional speciality bookings on board - I think it very much depends on where people choose to eat, if the GDR is packed when you turn up, sometimes they will offer you a table in the SR's - if you want to go there of course.

[marky63]

in the past (on other lines) I have waited on the specialty restaurants until we board so I can decide if I like the menu in the GDR. is that not possible?

[JimandStan]

in the past (on other lines) I have waited on the specialty restaurants until we board so I can decide if I like the menu in the GDR. is that not possible?

 

I believe that was the original intention, Mark, when the Specialty Restaurant concept was conceived.

In practice, however, people see the ability to make advance reservations as a Right rather than a Benefit, and the vast majority make it a point to book as soon as in humanly possible.

The Cruise Line does hold back some reservations, so a restaurant can't start a cruise fully booked, but unless you can be very flexible as to time and table size, I'd suggest making your reservations in advance.

[fairbourne]

Marky63 - the menu in the GDR changes every day, apart from the "Always available" section of that menu and you get a copy the night before with your copy of "Currents" the ship events newsletter.

 

So I suppose you could wait, but if you did and wanted an SR, there may or may not be availability for the next day. Every morning there was a desk in Terraces for booking the SRs, so you could wait and take what was available then. It's a bit of a game I suppose and if you don't mind not getting either the SR you want or the time, then you could take a gamble.

 

There is always a chance as well that if you book the SRs, there may well be something that you would have liked even more on the GDR menu, which is exactly the point you are making. I was glad not to have missed the Miso Sea Bass in the GDR on Regatta and think I would have cancelled any SR on Regatta to have not missed that delicacy! ;):D

[ronrick1943]

Why wait, book now-you can always change once on the ship. This way if it's really is full you have a table for sure. Better safe than sorry later.

Rick

[hypercafe]

On our first Oceania trip I booked them all in advance, we are going again soon and I do not feel it is all that important. I do not feel the food was any better, just different. I also saw some of the special dishes on the regular menus during the trip. This was on the Rivera.

[brian_uk]

On previous O cruises, because they were so port intensive, we were never really sure what we wanted each night weeks before we booked.

This time we are in the Baltic which again means going ashore nearly every day. After a day ashore we may just not want to get back,change for a speciality restaurant, and have silver service dining.

Then, I must ask myself, why on earth did I ask this question !!!

I have no life.

 

Brian

[wripro]

I do not agree that the food is not better, just different, in the specialty restaurants than in the GDR. I find it far better. And food is not the only reason I prefer the specialty restaurants. The GDR on Marina/Riviera is cavernous in my opinion and reminds me of a catering hall. I much prefer the small. more intimate atmosphere in the four specialty restaurants and the attendant better service.

[caviargal]

I do not agree that the food is not better, just different, in the specialty restaurants than in the GDR. I find it far better. And food is not the only reason I prefer the specialty restaurants. The GDR on Marina/Riviera is cavernous in my opinion and reminds me of a catering hall. I much prefer the small. more intimate atmosphere in the four specialty restaurants and the attendant better service.

 

While this will be our first O cruise, we most always opt for a more intimate dining experience. We look forward to experiencing the options on the Riviera in October.

[aliwanders]

As a newbie, I was wondering if people preferred to book a Specialty restaurant on days when a ship left a port early, or on days they stayed in port longer? Or does it really matter? I guess I'm thinking that on late port days it might be easier to go to Waves or the Terrace??

[TERRIER1]

As a newbie, I was wondering if people preferred to book a Specialty restaurant on days when a ship left a port early, or on days they stayed in port longer? Or does it really matter? I guess I'm thinking that on late port days it might be easier to go to Waves or the Terrace??

 

It's been my experience that you have a better chance of booking a Speciality restaurant on a late port day. Many people dine locally on shore when the ship doesn't leave a port until 9 or 10 pm. Also, on these later days many people take extended excursions and come back rather tired and prefer eating on the Terrace where they don't have change clothing the GDR where they are not tied to a specific reservation time or in their cabin. I have found you have a better shot at getting reservations if yu dine later (i.e. 8:30 pm or 9 pm)

[canuck.qc]

Prefer dining in the specialty restaurants on sea days or early departure ports. After a longer day of touring, we are not always up to changing before dining. We book all our dining online (table for 2) but during the cruise we often met persons who invited us to dine with them, we never had trouble being added to their table or adding them to ours. Also, in answer to your other post, I also don't care who the CruiseDirect., Captain or who ever else is on a certain cruise. We think Oceania is a great company. We purposely book port intensive cruises, take several privately organized tours and basically the ship is our 'hotel' not our destination.

[aliwanders]

Sorry Canuck.cq, I don't know what you are talking about re: cruise captain, cruisedirect, etc. I never made such a post...

[canuck.qc]

Intended for the Brian_Uk the OP!!

[Caroldoll]

My neighbor was just going on the Riviera and he had a Vista, One Penthouse and three balcony suites. He tried to book for 8 PM at the last two weeks before the cruise and couldn't get any reservations. I think it is better to book and change if you find you have other plans. My opinion only.

[TERRIER1]

My neighbor was just going on the Riviera and he had a Vista, One Penthouse and three balcony suites. He tried to book for 8 PM at the last two weeks before the cruise and couldn't get any reservations. I think it is better to book and change if you find you have other plans. My opinion only.

 

 

It is probably best to book as early as possible since you can always cancel and change your reservation if there are others open. I had a B4 which is allowed to book on line 45 prior to the embarkation date and we could only get one out of 4 reservations at 8 pm. The others were much later but if we showed up early and they had empty tables they accommodated us. Was everyone trying to eat together for your neighbor? This would be very difficult to book that close to sailing.

[Caroldoll]

It is hard with a big party, but it is always good to do this in advance.

[Jancruz]

Jan

 

You mean when on board ?

 

Hope you both well x

 

Brian

 

Yes, I am assuming you will be in a PH..so your butler should be able to get you anything you want especially as you and Jean eat late..regards to both of you and again, have a great trip!

Jancruz1