How long to book speciality dining?

[Nattyg1723]

Hello,

I am about 144 days out from Eurodam cruise to Alaska and I still am unable to book speciality dining. Any ideas when this will be made available?

 

Thank you.

[DC1979]

I have a cruise in May and currently only able to book for Nami sushi. I did email HAL in December and was told that I should be able to select in January, but currently I am still unable to do so. 

[avian777]

30 minutes ago, DC1979 said:

... I did email HAL in December and was told that I should be able to select in January, but currently I am still unable to do so. 

 

Have faith ... January is not quite half over.  Keep checking online.

[JCBAY4]

Still not able to book.  Our Alaska cruise is in May.  I will try to book by phone if the website doesn’t allow me to book.

 

[dfish]

Hmm, I am able to book for my cruise in August.  Doesn't make sense, but the same thing happened last year.  Cruises later in the year were able to book before cruises earlier in the year.

[DC1979]

I checked again today and still unable to book for May on the Koningsdam. 

[fatcat04]

For our 2/3/19 cruise, we weren't able to book dining until end of Sept 2018, a little over 4 months out. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

There is no telling when HAL will open bookings for specialty dining -- no set system.

[Cruising-along]

3 hours ago, JCBAY4 said:

Still not able to book.  Our Alaska cruise is in May.  I will try to book by phone if the website doesn’t allow me to book.

 

That’s strange. I was able to book specialty dining for our May 26 Alaska cruise (but not yet for our September European cruise). 

[frankc98376]

I spoke to Ship Services today. He said that specialty dining is only open to purchase through the end of April.  May 1 and beyond will be available by the end of January.

[Crew News]

My June Alaska Westerdam cruise just opened Specilaty dining reservations this week.

[frankc98376]

1 hour ago, Crew News said:

My June Alaska Westerdam cruise just opened Specilaty dining reservations this week.

Good news- they are loading them- thanks!

[frankc98376]

Please note that I only spoke to one person at Ship Services. History has proven that if you speak to other HAL personnel you may get different responses. His answer was  OK at the time so I didn't call back- keeps the BP in  a good place 🙂 

[FlorenceItaly]

Does your Mariner Discount apply to the packages?  Thank you.  If so, I understand it is done at a later date when you are on board.

[frankc98376]

39 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Does your Mariner Discount apply to the packages?  Thank you.  If so, I understand it is done at a later date when you are on board.

Correct- it is applied to your on board account.

 

IMO they will probably never give it at time of booking.  If they discount when purchasing they are losing hard dollars.  When they give it back as OBC they only have the cost of the items you purchase. Makes perfect sense from a business perspective.

[FlorenceItaly]

Thank you, Frank.  It is available for booking on my Oct 28 cruise, however, it does not allow me to pick a dining date.  Is this typical?  Am I understanding correctly that since it is at a discount price online prior to boarding they also give the Mariner discount?  Essentially, we are obtaining two discounts.

[frankc98376]

It is also available on ours but only with no dates.  I'm waiting for the ability to book each day and our time.  All of our dinners are at PG.  We aren't big fans of crowds and noisy dinners so MDR and especially Lido aren't for us. Hard to enjoy a quiet dinner for two with a nice bottle of wine in the Lido  🙂

Edited January 24, 2019 by frankc98376

[Nattyg1723]

My itinerary now open for all speciality dining!

[Crew News]

2 minutes ago, Nattyg1723 said:

My itinerary now open for all speciality dining!

 

If you want a specific time and date, it is best to book ASAP.

[DC1979]

I thought I would check again since some of you seem to be having some luck.  Still unavailable for Koningsdam in May.  The only options listed for specialty dining are Nami sushi and Blend.  I’ve already booked the ultimate dining package but I wanted to book an additional day or two at the Tamarind.  Ship services said it should be available in January.  So there are still a few days left before they miss their deadline!!!!! 

[Sooz49]

7 hours ago, DC1979 said:

I thought I would check again since some of you seem to be having some luck.  Still unavailable for Koningsdam in May.  The only options listed for specialty dining are Nami sushi and Blend.  I’ve already booked the ultimate dining package but I wanted to book an additional day or two at the Tamarind.  Ship services said it should be available in January.  So there are still a few days left before they miss their deadline!!!!! 

Likewise for Nieuw Statendam in May ... will keep checking I guess

[HMSDingy]

I'm able to book a specialty dining package for my June 1st cruise, but I can't put in a specific date.  It only allows me for the the first night of sailing.  The package is for 3 restaurants. Can I reserve while onboard?

[Crew News]

You can wait until you are on board but will risk not having your favorite time/date available.

[frankc98376]

HAL just started loading dining on cruises from May until August (summer season).  If you buy a dining package you should receive an assigned date and time in your stateroom when you board (just like Explore 4).  If you don't like the date or time you can speak to the restaurant manager and hopefully change the time.

 

I know PG can be tough once on board due to all of the included dinners with Explore 4 promo.  One cruise we were on had 900 dinners to fulfill for the week. People trying to make reservations on embarkation day were being told the entire week was sold out.

[Cruising-along]

2 minutes ago, frankc98376 said:

HAL just started loading dining on cruises from May until August (summer season).

Oh good. I'm waiting for September, maybe it won't be too much longer and we can book our 50th anniversary dinner.