UDP

[alliecat1970]

I just booked the UDP, however I am unable to reserve the restaurantsI would like and the times. Is this normal, my check in for the ship is at 2pm and I am concerned restaurants will be booked up by then, any suggestions or experiences with this is welcome. Cruise is 12 days out.

 

 

                                          Janet

[GrandmaOhio]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the UDP?  I have seen it numerous times but have no clue what it means! 🤷🏻‍♀️

[firefly333]

4 minutes ago, alliecat1970 said:

I just booked the UDP, however I am unable to reserve the restaurantsI would like and the times. Is this normal, my check in for the ship is at 2pm and I am concerned restaurants will be booked up by then, any suggestions or experiences with this is welcome. Cruise is 12 days out.

 

 

                                          Janet

Yes it defaults and sets up first night.

 

When you board go first thing with your desired times to a restaurant or place in promenade where dining is set up. People who book individual restaurants get first dibs on times. You have to wait until you board. It's a good idea to do this right away before best times book up.

[Guest phd1003]

3 minutes ago, GrandmaOhio said:

what is the UDP

Unlimited dining package

[SteelCityCruiser10]

Unlimited Dining Package - UDP…

 

5 minutes ago, GrandmaOhio said:

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the UDP?  I have seen it numerous times but have no clue what it means! 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

[GrandmaOhio]

Thank you!  Sometimes the neurons take the long way around in this aging brain!

[SteelCityCruiser10]

6 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Yes it defaults and sets up first night.

 

When you board go first thing with your desired times to a restaurant or place in promenade where dining is set up. People who book individual restaurants get first dibs on times. You have to wait until you board. It's a good idea to do this right away before best times book up.

This ☝…

or if you happen to have a suite, let the concierge know you have the UDP & they will coordinate your reservation’s for you.

Edited February 27, 2023 by SteelCityCruiser10

[George C]

We have suite concierge make them, if not in suite book as soon as you board normally first two nights are the hardest . We loved it on last cruise.

[Starry Eyes]

I hate to say this, but  a lot of other people with dining packages will probably have boarded before your 2 pm time, snatching up many of the reservations.  Book as soon as you board.  Do not be too surprised if you need to be very flexible when booking at 2pm.

[taglovestocruise]

Where are you boarding. Last three cruises we took no one asked about boarding time, we were on Navigator three hours before our checkin time.  You should also be able to make your reservations with the App in the terminal if you are waiting to board.  

[alliecat1970]

Miami is where we board, I can be at port very early we fly In from TX day before, I just booked this trip very last minute, do they go by the times I do no the suites diamonds and they key go first Im emerald, and I got a gty room all they had left. New question if the times they have available not match with me, am I able to cancel whenI board Im on the fence now.      Thank You Janet

[ajtaylor29]

we had UDP on our Symphony cruise in December, very full ship. They automatically booked us the first night at Chops. As soon as we boarded, we went to one of the specialty restaurants and they helped us book all week (lunches and dinners). We accepted some early or late times because the prime dinner hour was completely booked. But, as the week went along we noticed half-full restaurants even during hours that were supposedly full, and on a couple of occasions we were able to shift our reservations. We ate one night at Wonderland at 7 (i think) and the restaurant was not full at all. So - try to be a little flexible and i think you'll be able to work it all out. We thought it was well worth the $$, we tried all the restaurants, and never went to the MDR or WJ all week!

[Jasukkie]

pro-tip: do not go to the restaurant that is open for lunch on boarding day to make your reservations. They will be busy. Go to the stand at any of the other restaurants and they will be happy to help you.

[nolimits]

Have your schedule of your reservations 

written out in advance. Tell whoever is setting up Res for you (kiosk or restaurant)

You want exact or close to times listed.

When there done just show up when you want if it’s not desired time ,They’ll get you seated eventually,You pd for it and it’s there Job 

[HBCcruiser]

5 hours ago, alliecat1970 said:

I just booked the UDP, however I am unable to reserve the restaurantsI would like and the times. Is this normal, my check in for the ship is at 2pm and I am concerned restaurants will be booked up by then, any suggestions or experiences with this is welcome. Cruise is 12 days out.

 

 

                                          Janet

Ditto to all that was stated above OR if you want REALLY want specific times and don't mind OBC, book and pay for the times you want now and get refunded onboard. You will not be able to book dinner on the first night but you can book the other nights and lunch on the first day. Yes, you will have to pay upfront but your money will get refunded as OBC once you speak to a restaurant manager. 

[Starry Eyes]

2 hours ago, alliecat1970 said:

Miami is where we board, I can be at port very early we fly In from TX day before, I just booked this trip very last minute, do they go by the times I do no the suites diamonds and they key go first Im emerald, and I got a gty room all they had left. New question if the times they have available not match with me, am I able to cancel whenI board Im on the fence now.      Thank You Janet

When we booked last minute and wanted an earlier boarding time, we each would recheck the available boarding times on the app a few times a day.  We always picked up earlier times that way.  We’d take an earlier time even if only one slot opened up; another one (or close) always seemed to open up for us.  That said, I have not sailed from POM recently and so do not know how/if they enforce the boarding times

[loupana]

My experience with UDP on Wonder Transatlantic. We were the first group boarding, went straight to Giovanni's and even then I couldn't get venues and times I wanted. I was able to make most of my bookings but not the times and dates I wanted and couldn't get the lunches I wanted. The couple of lunches I was able to booked were canceled and I couldn't rebook anything else. I was NOT able to make any changes throughout the cruise for any dinner reservations, I was always told everything is booked. I will never get the UDP ever again.

[LilBlackDress]

What no one has mentioned yet, you can try and go through the check-in process again. I was able to get an earlier check-in time on a couple of cruises since the restart. 

[LilBlackDress]

3 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

pro-tip: do not go to the restaurant that is open for lunch on boarding day to make your reservations. They will be busy. Go to the stand at any of the other restaurants and they will be happy to help you.

I have heard the opposite experiences. The specialty restaurant was able to seat people and take their weekly reservations and the kiosks were lines 30 mins to an hour long 

[Merion_Mom]

1 hour ago, LilBlackDress said:

I have heard the opposite experiences. The specialty restaurant was able to seat people and take their weekly reservations and the kiosks were lines 30 mins to an hour long 

 

I think that s/he means go to a restaurant that is not open for lunch that day. NOT the kiosk.

[LilBlackDress]

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

I think that s/he means go to a restaurant that is not open for lunch that day. NOT the kiosk.

I didn't think the restaurants that were not open for lunch were open for taking reservations either. Maybe depends on the ship... 

Edited February 28, 2023 by LilBlackDress

[alliecat1970]

I want to thank each and every one of you for these responses, Im still kinda torn its just my 13 yr old and I, on this trip but this is my highlight I enjoy the specialties, he will probably care less lol. Im going of sit if they cannot get me in I will go to front desk and cancel the plan after I visit the restaurants, I don't expect to get my exact time but I don't want to eat at 9 pm either.   Thank You again, Janet

[Jasukkie]

6 hours ago, LilBlackDress said:

I didn't think the restaurants that were not open for lunch were open for taking reservations either. Maybe depends on the ship... 

In my experience they have been and they were happy to help. I recall we had to book Wonderland at Wonderland when we had it on Anthem, but that may have been a problem with reservations that day. Other than that it was very efficient. Of course, I could be wrong and this may not be the case fleet wide but it can't hurt to try.

[Donsyb]

14 hours ago, ajtaylor29 said:

we had UDP on our Symphony cruise in December, very full ship. They automatically booked us the first night at Chops. As soon as we boarded, we went to one of the specialty restaurants and they helped us book all week (lunches and dinners). We accepted some early or late times because the prime dinner hour was completely booked. But, as the week went along we noticed half-full restaurants even during hours that were supposedly full, and on a couple of occasions we were able to shift our reservations. We ate one night at Wonderland at 7 (i think) and the restaurant was not full at all. So - try to be a little flexible and i think you'll be able to work it all out. We thought it was well worth the $$, we tried all the restaurants, and never went to the MDR or WJ all week!

The not full restaurants is probably because they don’t have enough staff (or experienced enough staff) to cope with a full restaurant.

[Donsyb]

7 hours ago, LilBlackDress said:

I didn't think the restaurants that were not open for lunch were open for taking reservations either. Maybe depends on the ship... 

Izumi was on oasis when we boarded