Spirit: On-board Specialty Dining Reservations

[DRedmond]

How difficult is it to make Specialty Dining Reservations once you are on board the Spirit?  Are all of the prime times reserved in advance?  I would like to be able to play some dining reservations by ear but don't want to be eating dinner at 9:00 or 10:00 pm.  Any advice?

[KeithJenner]

It’s impossible to tell really, as it can vary from cruise to cruise.

 

If you were intending to make the reservations on the first day then you should be fine, as they keep some back for onboard reservations, but as you appear to be intending to make them during the cruise then you may find that things do fill up, sometimes days in advance.

 

Being the Spirit, which has fewer speciality restaurants (and they are generally smaller than other ships), there is the chance that places fill up quicker as there are less spaces to go around.

 

On the other hand, I believe you are on the 15 day trip aren’t you? That means that people have more days to spread their meals out in these restaurants. For example, we are planning the same number of meals for this trip as we are on our upcoming 7 day cruise. Generally I find these restaurants to be a bit quieter on longer trips, I assume for that reason.

 

One thing to be aware of is that Teppenyaki isn’t usually made available to book online for the Spirit, so it has to be reserved onboard. There is just one table, so that does tend to fill up quickly once people get onboard. I always make booking that my first job when I board the Spirit.

Edited February 22, 2019 by KeithJenner

[DRedmond]

Thank you KeithJenner!  Yes, we will be on the 15 day cruise with you.  You know everything... I probably should have just asked you directly. Haha!!  Yes I was hoping to make reservations as we go, maybe a day or two in advance depending on MDR menus and tours scheduled for the day.  But It doesn't seem like that is possible.  Do you think it is worthwhile to book the specialty restaurants at all or is the MDR a good enough option for all meals or will we get sick of it?

[KeithJenner]

I wouldn’t say that it isn’t possible to book things a few days out. In fact because of the length of the cruise you would probably be ok. It just isn’t guaranteed, so it it was important to you to be sure that you get in then I would always recommend reserving. If you won’t be disappointed if you can’t get in then I’d just go with it.

 

As for whether the speciality restaurants are worth it, that’s very difficult to say. We always go for a few nights as our son enjoys some of them, and we don’t get the opportunity to eat out all that much outside of holiday time. Others happily eat in the MDR every night.

 

I’m not convinced that the quality is much better in the speciality restaurants than the MDR. Some people say it is, some don’t. I do think that the service is usually better though. We always enjoy our meals there.

 

If you are unsure then maybe just try one early on in the cruise and also try the MDR. At that point, if you enjoy it then you should still be able to get reservations for later in the cruise.

 

One other place to consider is Shogun, the Asian place. It doesn’t have an additional charge (except for the Sushi), and doesn’t need reservations. I like it there, and will probably go two or three times during the 15 days. It’s a change from the MDR if you don’t want to spend on the speciality restaurants.

[DRedmond]

Thank you for the great advice!  Lots to think about.

[sandysk]

Carney’s is excellent. If you can’t get a reservation go directly to the restaurant in the evening you want to eat there. Many times during our two week cruise they were able to fit the two of us in.

 

[lamchops]

I just got off the Spirit 3 days ago and there were plenty of opportunities to book reservations at the specialty restaurants. The reservation screens showed “green” (available) most of the day and didn’t turn to “yellow” (filling up) till the late afternoon. “Red” (full) sections only started being displayed after 5:00pm. Europeans tend to eat later than North Americans.