Specialty restaurant question

[Spideysmum]

Newbie cruisers here who have just discovered that our TA gave us a night at a specialty restaurant. It's fine, whatever it is but will we have to call for reservations or since its "free" do you think we will just be assigned a time? I hope I hope

 

I, personally, hate mad rushes and scrums to get in line for reservations and would probably have forgotten all about it if I hadn't seen an old email about it.

 

 

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[IECalCruiser]

There are promotions that include a complementary specialty restaurant dinner and with those your are typically assigned a restaurant and day/time. We were able to change both the restaurant and day/time when on board. With a comp from a TA you will probably just get a voucher in you cabin. You can call the DINE line from your cabin to make a reservation. Since you will be a new cruiser, you will probably want to tour the ship after boarding. There is typically a reservation table set up in front of one of the specialty restaurants on embarkation day where you can also make reservations with little or no line.

Edited July 18, 2016 by IECalCruiser

[caribill]

If it is truly a gift from your TA (vs being from Princess but claimed as a gift by your TA), you will need to call once on board to make a reservation at the specialty restaurant of your choice at the day and time you want.

 

If this was part of a Princess promotion where many of the booked passengers have this amenity, Princess will have selected the restaurant, day and time, but you can call once onboard to request a change.

 

Either way there should be a card in your cabin on embarkation day about this.

[Colo Cruiser]

Newbie cruisers here who have just discovered that our TA gave us a night at a specialty restaurant. It's fine, whatever it is but will we have to call for reservations or since its "free" do you think we will just be assigned a time? I hope I hope

 

I, personally, hate mad rushes and scrums to get in line for reservations and would probably have forgotten all about it if I hadn't seen an old email about it.

 

 

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If you have an idea when you want to go I would stop by the restaurant you want on embarkation day and speak with the manager. ;)

[satxdiver]

When you first get to your cabin, there may be a notice as to the time and place for your specialty restaurant which would signify that the perk was actually a Princess perk and not form your TA. If the perk was truly from your TA, then you should have something from the TA attesting to the perk and who paid for it. In that case you should call as soon as possible to make a reservation at one of the specialty restaurants of your choice and the time. The quicker you do this, the more likely you will get your first choice.

 

If the perk is from Princess which I strongly suspect and you do not find the restaurant and/or time to be your desire, call and get it changed. Princess will do their very best to satisfy your request but it needs to be done early before all the spots are taken.

 

Nice perk and I hope you like it no matter who gave it to you.

[reedprincess]

Newbie cruisers here who have just discovered that our TA gave us a night at a specialty restaurant. It's fine, whatever it is but will we have to call for reservations or since its "free" do you think we will just be assigned a time? I hope I hope

 

I, personally, hate mad rushes and scrums to get in line for reservations and would probably have forgotten all about it if I hadn't seen an old email about it.

 

 

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As it's from your TA, (and I prefer to think it is and give your TA the benefit of the doubt that they are not claiming a Princess perk as their own), you should have a note card in your cabin with a message of sorts - thank you for booking wirh us or some such - and their travel agency name, that's how it's always worked from our TA...

We then go to the reservation area for specialty dining, present our card and make a reservation for restaurant of choice. There are no long lines or mad scrums, for what it's worth... It's very civilized, there may be one or two people in front of you, if that.

It's usually not a problem getting a reservation for the restaurant of choice, provided your somewhat flexible on time and date...

It's a perk. If you opt not to use it, there's no monetary value for it, and do thank your TA always, and perhaps let them know that maybe a bottle of wine or tray of chocolate strawberries or the like would be a better thank you gift in the future, if specialty dining turns out to not be your thing... However, as you're newbie cruisers, it's a great perk to be able to give e a specialty restaurant a try without being our of pocket.

It's very easy and calm to make a reservation, we like to do it in person as we like to be out and about the ship the first fay.

Enjoy your cruise!

[Spideysmum]

Thanks everyone. I had read on another thread a question about what people do first thing on a cruise and a lot of answers were to make specialty resto reservations so I pictured a rock concert mentality.

 

That said we aren't really "foodies" and pizza is pretty much our staple so don't really care where meals are served. However it will be great when and wherever. If I'm assigned a time all the better. Lol

 

Maybe it is a princess perk as we also get a bottle of wine and paid gratuities. Husband made the booking so long ago and I never really looked at it until I was putting details into Tripit the other day.

 

 

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Edited July 18, 2016 by Spideysmum

[JimmyVWine]

Thanks everyone. I had read on another thread a question about what people do first thing on a cruise and a lot of answers were to make specialty resto reservations so I pictured a rock concert mentality.

While it is true that on some cruise lines the reservation process for specialty dining can be a contact sport, that is definitely not the case with Princess. It never needs to be any more competitive or complicated than picking up the phone in your cabin and dialing DINE. Obviously, the earlier in the cruise that you do that the more availability you will find.

 

I remember sailing on the Disney Magic back in 1998 during its inaugural season, (maybe the 10th cruise or so) and word leaked out about how competitive it was to get into Palo, their "adult only" specialty restaurant. It was so bad that people were renting cars to drive from WDW to Port Canaveral instead of taking the Disney buses so that they could beat the crowd to the pier. Once on board, people rushed to the restaurant to form a line for reservations. (Back then they were only offering 3 or 4 day cruises so seating was limited given how few diners were served.) I was about the 10th person in line and still waited over an hour to make my reservation, and a crew member walked through the line informing anyone who was not in the first third of the line that they would likely not get a reservation. It was chaotic. Thankfully, Princess is nothing like that (for dining...for the Sanctuary, that is a different story!).

[JF - retired RRT]

Maybe it is a princess perk as we also get a bottle of wine and paid gratuities. Husband made the booking so long ago and I never really looked at it until I was putting details into Tripit the other day.

 

 

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What you've described is the "three for free" promo from Princess. It was offered last year. We booked a cruise in July 2015 and got that promo. Not sure when it ended.

[Spideysmum]

Lol JimmyVWine -what you described on the Disney cruise is exactly what I pictured (same thing during the race weekends at Disneyland trying to get fast passes for Racers) and that's what I try to stay away from.

 

JF - thanks that clears up the mystery of who gave us those nice things. [emoji106]🏻

 

 

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[reedprincess]

Thanks everyone. I had read on another thread a question about what people do first thing on a cruise and a lot of answers were to make specialty resto reservations so I pictured a rock concert mentality.

 

That said we aren't really "foodies" and pizza is pretty much our staple so don't really care where meals are served. However it will be great when and wherever. If I'm assigned a time all the better. Lol

 

Maybe it is a princess perk as we also get a bottle of wine and paid gratuities. Husband made the booking so long ago and I never really looked at it until I was putting details into Tripit the other day.

 

 

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Ahh, OK - that makes a difference...sounds like maybe the Princess "three for free" or whatever promo it was... In which case, you'll have a cars in your cabin on arrival with your assigned restaurant and dining time. If you're happy with that assignment, norhing else needs to be done, just show up at said restaurant at said time ready to go. If you'd rather try somewhere else or a different date or time, then you'll need to either call the DINE line or head down to the specialty restaurant booking station to change it up... Very easy and calm to do so.

You don't have to be a foodie or anything to enjoy the variety the specialty restaurants offer, BTW.. As it's a perk, give it a go, the atmosphere and service is (usually) quite different from the main dining room...

Enjoy your sailing!!

[skynight]

Newbie cruisers here who have just discovered that our TA gave us a night at a specialty restaurant. It's fine, whatever it is but will we have to call for reservations or since its "free" do you think we will just be assigned a time? I hope I hope

 

I, personally, hate mad rushes and scrums to get in line for reservations and would probably have forgotten all about it if I hadn't seen an old email about it.

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As others have mentioned there will be a gift card in your cabin when you board. What I would do is have the itinerary in hand, so you know your schedule and sailing times. You probably would not want to schedule a special dinner if the ship is sailing late evening. Then during your boarding day walk around stop by the restaurants, there will probably be two of them, speak with the host, and make your reservation. There will not be any lines or crowds.

[Spideysmum]

You probably would not want to schedule a special dinner if the ship is sailing late evening..[/mQUOTE]

 

 

Uh please forgive my neophyte question....but why not ? LOL I'm intrigued now. [emoji3][emoji3]

 

 

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[Thrak]

Our last complimentary specialty dining was listed on the in-cabin card for Sabatini's on a specific date. I just picked up the phone and called and changed it to a different night at Crown Grill. It's done all the time and is not a problem. Just be sure to take the card with you when you go to eat as they need to take it in lieu of payment. :)

[metairiegal]

Good to know this is a possibility. I'd like to change our complimentary specialty dining to the 3rd night of our cruise, which is our anniversary. I will give it a try - all they can do is say no.

 

I would like to go to the MDR on the 1st night. We've requested a table for 2, but I'd like to check out the location and meet the waiter.

Edited July 19, 2016 by metairiegal

[keithm]

Newbie cruisers here who have just discovered that our TA gave us a night at a specialty restaurant. It's fine, whatever it is but will we have to call for reservations or since its "free" do you think we will just be assigned a time? I hope I hope

 

I, personally, hate mad rushes and scrums to get in line for reservations and would probably have forgotten all about it if I hadn't seen an old email about it.

 

 

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If a time has not been selected for you(or no restaurant has been selected, either)Visit the Maître D & select a time of your choosing. We found the steaks on Princess nothing to write home about(we're in the food industry & I'm the buyer)The seafood, however was generally excellent. There is nice ambience in Sabatini's/Crown Grill. I'm using the Regal as our example. There are differences on a fleet the size of Princess.

[JF - retired RRT]

I would like to go to the MDR on the 1st night. We've requested a table for 2, but I'd like to check out the location and meet the waiter.

 

You can definitely check out where your assigned table is located, but I'm pretty sure you won't meet your waiter until you go to dinner.

[riclop]

Newbie cruisers here who have just discovered that our TA gave us a night at a specialty restaurant. It's fine, whatever it is but will we have to call for reservations or since its "free" do you think we will just be assigned a time? I hope I hope

 

I, personally, hate mad rushes and scrums to get in line for reservations and would probably have forgotten all about it if I hadn't seen an old email about it.

 

 

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Once on board you make your reservation.