Specialty dining reservations

[jwh]

Travelling with friends and want to make some dining reservations for us.  Is it possible to book say table for 6 when there are just 2 of us on this booking but we plan to have others join?   Is there somewhere to add their names/cabin etc or what is the procedure?

[Gourmet Gal]

I know you can book for at least 4.  No need to indicate cabin numbers.

[Stickman1990]

I’m interested in the answer as I have 4 other friends we want to book for - ie 6 in total and they’re spread over 3 booking references

[Gourmet Gal]

Just checked on MySilversea.  When booking dining reservations just indicate how many more guests you’re booking for up to 7 additional.  No names or cabin numbers needed.

[pf778c]

Usually travel as a solo and do this all the time.  Enjoy your cruise!

[jwh]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

[Stickman1990]

A couple of related questions re dining reservations 

 

Does anyone know what time (and what time zone) dining reservations open up at. I know it’s say 120 days before sailing but what I’m trying to find out is what time on that day do they open up from eg Noon GMT or 3pm New York etc 

 

Is that something anyone knows?

 

Also when do they actually charge for the fees at say Kaiseki? Is that at the time of reserving or does it get added to your account on board (or taken from OBC if you have any?)

[Observer]

14 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

A couple of related questions re dining reservations 

 

Does anyone know what time (and what time zone) dining reservations open up at. I know it’s say 120 days before sailing but what I’m trying to find out is what time on that day do they open up from eg Noon GMT or 3pm New York etc 

 

In my experience, it has been midnight GMT or very shortly thereafter.

 

14 minutes ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

Is that something anyone knows?

 

Also when do they actually charge for the fees at say Kaiseki? Is that at the time of reserving or does it get added to your account on board (or taken from OBC if you have any?)

 

The charge is imposed after consuming the meal. One signs a form at the end of the meal. The cost is added to one's onboard folio, and it can be taken from OBC.

[Daveywavey70]

I Can’t answer the first question but the fees for dining up charges are added to your account when you actually attend on the night. 

[Stickman1990]

On 10/13/2022 at 8:35 AM, Observer said:

In my experience, it has been midnight GMT or very shortly thereafter.

Thanks - well I can confirm it is indeed 12 midnight GMT that the clock ticks over. I just did ours today and within a minute of it ticking over to the equivalent of 12mn GMT the reservation system opened up

 

Pleased to say I got all my preferred dates and times for our specialty dining requirements including adding slots for another couple were travelling with (it only needed number of additional diners not their names or booking details so that was easy  - so all we have to do now is wait 120 days before we board Silver Muse

[Pies4u]

Just as a slight deviation to this thread - which restaurants, other than the “additional cost” options, do you need to book in advance?  We are on our first Silversea cruise in March (Silver Dawn) and the dining booking opens up soon.
 

I’ve read various things re: booking but they’ve been varied and inconsistent. As you can’t reserve Atlantide it seems that Silver Note & La Terraza are the only ones you need to bother with - yet plenty of folks suggest you have no problem booking them on board.

 

Interested to hear any suggestions & thoughts on the matter. Thanks in advance.

[jdc]

Silver Note, La Terraza, and the Grill  are reservation along with La Dame and Kieseki.  S.A.L.T., Atlantide, and the pizza place are open seating.

[Pies4u]

Yes, thanks, I understand that. My concern was more about whether you actually need to bother making advance bookings or not. I assume, possibly incorrectly, that you can easily get a table in La Terraza, for example,without booking it prior to boarding. I don’t want to predict where I want to eat 3 moths before boarding if I can avoid it.
 

Having said that, I appreciate you need to reserve La Dame & Keiseki if you want to certain of dining there.

[Lois R]

21 minutes ago, Pies4u said:

Yes, thanks, I understand that. My concern was more about whether you actually need to bother making advance bookings or not. I assume, possibly incorrectly, that you can easily get a table in La Terraza, for example,without booking it prior to boarding. I don’t want to predict where I want to eat 3 moths before boarding if I can avoid it.
 

Having said that, I appreciate you need to reserve La Dame & Keiseki if you want to certain of dining there.

Hi, your logic is correct but to be honest, sometimes the restaurants can fill up quite quickly. I can understand not wanting to make specific reservations so far in advance but if you happen to want Terrazza and just walk up, there is a possibility of a wait. And on occasion they are fully booked. But the Maitr'd will normally try to accommodate you. Atlantide is always easy but La Terrazza, they do fill up. 

[Stickman1990]

37 minutes ago, Pies4u said:

My concern was more about whether you actually need to bother making advance bookings or not. I assume, possibly incorrectly, that you can easily get a table in La Terraza, for example,without booking it prior to boarding.

What have you got to lose by booking in advance?

 

You can always cancel or change them  (subject to availability) once on board - but then there’s the risk of non availability on the date and/or time that you want 

 

My logic is get something confirmed that looks appropriate then work from that base 

[Dolcevita Diva]

Silver Note also books up ahead of time, if you want to dine there.  
I was never able to get a reservation while onboard, but was able to pop in after dinner to enjoy the entertainment. 

[mchell810]

2 hours ago, Pies4u said:

Yes, thanks, I understand that. My concern was more about whether you actually need to bother making advance bookings or not. I assume, possibly incorrectly, that you can easily get a table in La Terraza, for example,without booking it prior to boarding. I don’t want to predict where I want to eat 3 moths before boarding if I can avoid it.
 

Having said that, I appreciate you need to reserve La Dame & Keiseki if you want to certain of dining there.

 

While I am no SS expert I want to share my experience.  Like you I don't like making dinner choices months in advance.  For my cruise I made a reservation for Kaiseki and one in La Dame (ultimately I cancelled it), but didn't make any others.  I never had a problem getting a table, sometimes on my own and sometimes with new friends (who also had no reservations).  I never did try Silver Note (the menu doesn't call me); I think this may be a place to make a reservation if you really want to get there.

 

I hope this helps.

[Lois R]

3 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

 

While I am no SS expert I want to share my experience.  Like you I don't like making dinner choices months in advance.  For my cruise I made a reservation for Kaiseki and one in La Dame (ultimately I cancelled it), but didn't make any others.  I never had a problem getting a table, sometimes on my own and sometimes with new friends (who also had no reservations).  I never did try Silver Note (the menu doesn't call me); I think this may be a place to make a reservation if you really want to get there.

 

I hope this helps.

Hi, you usually travel solo, right? I always do.......and for 1 person? They normally can find a table. You would definitely need one to dine in Silver Note though.......that restaurant fills up every night.

[mchell810]

7 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Hi, you usually travel solo, right? I always do.......and for 1 person? They normally can find a table. You would definitely need one to dine in Silver Note though.......that restaurant fills up every night.

 

Yes,  I did recommend reservations for Silver Note.

Yes, I was traveling alone; however, finding a table for one is the same as finding a table for two.  Some evenings I ended up with others; we just turned up asking for a table for 4 or 6 and it was never a problem.  I was most impressed the night our group swelled to 10: we went to the grill and we told it would be a 20 minute wait --- totally understandable.  Turns out it took only 10 minutes bc they set up a new table just for us. (Clearly, that could only be done bc the restaurant is on the pool deck.)  Excellent service and much appreciated.

 

Edited October 15, 2022 by mchell810

[Lois R]

2 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

 

Yes,  I did recommend reservations for Silver Note.

Yes, I was traveling alone; however, finding a table for one is the same as finding a table for two.  Some evenings I ended up with others; we just turned up asking for a table for 4 or 6 and it was never a problem.  I was most impressed the night our group swelled to 10: we went to the grill and we told it would be a 20 minute wait --- totally understandable.  Turns out it took only 10 minutes bc they set up a new table just for us.  Excellent service. 

 

Glad you were able to get a table without a reservation. 

[Pies4u]

That’s all very helpful, thanks, I appreciate the responses.

 

The conclusion is that it is sensible to make a couple of bookings for the restaurants that particularly appeal and chance the rest. (I see absolutely no sense at all in cramming dates in when I have no idea how I’ll feel or what/where I might prefer to dine). 
 

I am also far less keen on making loads of bookings in advance then simply cancelling them later - that is what unnecessarily fills up restaurants in advance & can prevent everyone else who wants to dine there making reservations!  It seems somewhat selfish to me but I know a lot of people do it. Why book something that you probably have no intention of fulfilling? Still, each to their own.

[dawntrdr]

31 minutes ago, Pies4u said:

I am also far less keen on making loads of bookings in advance then simply cancelling them later - that is what unnecessarily fills up restaurants in advance & can prevent everyone else who wants to dine there making reservations!  It seems somewhat selfish to me but I know a lot of people do it. Why book something that you probably have no intention of fulfilling? Still, each to their own.

 I agree.  I tried to make reservations for two specialty restaurants  (one each) one week after the reservations opened.   Any day and any time I tried was already waitlisted.  It really is the equivalent of a small group putting a book or towel on every lounge at the pool weeks in advance.