Oceania Specialty Restaurant reservations

[Wasasalad]

I’m on Regatta July 21st. I’ve been told May 23 I can make reservations for the four that I have. 

[MnDAL]

Newbie question. Searched for answer - sorry if I missed it.

 

My category says I can make 1 reservation at "each specialty restaurant". Does the website reservations page actually prohibit you from making more than one reservation at one restaurant if you stay within the 4 reservations total. (i.e  2 nights res at Polo and 2 nights res at Toscana)?

 

Has anyone tried and failed or succeeded in doing this?

[SATaxman]

15 minutes ago, MnDAL said:

Newbie question. Searched for answer - sorry if I missed it.

 

My category says I can make 1 reservation at "each specialty restaurant". Does the website reservations page actually prohibit you from making more than one reservation at one restaurant if you stay within the 4 reservations total. (i.e  2 nights res at Polo and 2 nights res at Toscana)?

 

Has anyone tried and failed or succeeded in doing this?

The site only allows to make the limit you have. You are not able to make additional ones on line. I have been told that you can try once on board. We have our first O cruise coming up this Fall.

 

[LHT28]

34 minutes ago, MnDAL said:

Newbie question. Searched for answer - sorry if I missed it.

 

My category says I can make 1 reservation at "each specialty restaurant". Does the website reservations page actually prohibit you from making more than one reservation at one restaurant if you stay within the 4 reservations total. (i.e  2 nights res at Polo and 2 nights res at Toscana)?

 

Has anyone tried and failed or succeeded in doing this?

 

If on an O or A ship

Make your  4  res  (1 in each)  then when you board  go to the reservations desk  & ask to swap the 2 you do not want  

[pinotlover]

10 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

 

If on an O or A ship

Make your  4  res  (1 in each)  then when you board  go to the reservations desk  & ask to swap the 2 you do not want  

Good luck with this plan!! 😂

 

On Vista, quite a number would be dropping Embers for a different reservation! Except on long cruises, it’s hard to get a second reservation in Jacques even with a butler. The quoted plan will have very little success today. 
 

Since it’s the OPs first time abroad, I’d recommend trying each of the venues to determine how they match up with your tastes. Experience them, before you judge them.

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, MnDAL said:

Newbie question. Searched for answer - sorry if I missed it.

 

My category says I can make 1 reservation at "each specialty restaurant". Does the website reservations page actually prohibit you from making more than one reservation at one restaurant if you stay within the 4 reservations total. (i.e  2 nights res at Polo and 2 nights res at Toscana)?

 

Has anyone tried and failed or succeeded in doing this?

The website does prohibit you from making more resevations at each restaurant than your booking allows.  But once on board, you can check to see if others are available.

[pinotlover]

This has been stated on multiple times and here goes again.

 

Additional Specialty reservations can be made on the day of the planned meal. Go to the Dining Reservation Desk, typically located on deck 5, and talk the the reservation clerk there. Best to go early in the morning, additional reservations are first come first served with some cabin status preferences. 

[AMHuntFerry]

Just an FYI...People often ask about sharing vs. 2-top availability, so I thought I'd share my recent experience.
My next cruise is 13 days on a full R-ship with Toscana and Polo; my specialty reservations were available 45 days before embarkation (B-G cabins), and I logged on right when reservations opened (first reservation at 12:02 am ET). We like to share, but just for information I checked the availability of 2-tops; the only time available every day was 9 pm. When sharing, the availability varied. On port days, almost every time had availability (7 pm was missing at a couple of ports). Sea-days had availability for 7:30 and later (with one Toscana at 7).
My previous (June 2023) cruise was 7 days on a full R-ship with Toscana and Polo; same 45 days out and logged on promptly. There were no 2-tops available any day (even embarkation), and no shared reservations on sea days. On port days there were no shared reservations before 7:30, and only one or two days had reservations before 8.
Luckily, our favorite restaurants are GDR, Red Ginger, and Jacques, so I'm fine with cancelling a specialty reservation if we want to eat earlier (which we did on the 7 day cruise). Trying to re-book onboard is also an option.

[EJL2023]

Since we are talking about specialty restaurants.  Question for anyone, we’ve never been on one of the R ships before and have an upcoming one on Sirena in a Penthouse Suite. Are you able to do Order/Dine in from the Specialty Restaurants? Or is that option only limited to the Owners and Vista Suites? 

[basor]

18 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Since we are talking about specialty restaurants.  Question for anyone, we’ve never been on one of the R ships before and have an upcoming one on Sirena in a Penthouse Suite. Are you able to do Order/Dine in from the Specialty Restaurants? Or is that option only limited to the Owners and Vista Suites? 

You can order from the GDR or Specialty Restaurants - course by course or delivered all at once,  We have done it many times on all of the R ships in a penthouse.  Enjoy!

[sunlover12]

18 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Since we are talking about specialty restaurants.  Question for anyone, we’ve never been on one of the R ships before and have an upcoming one on Sirena in a Penthouse Suite. Are you able to do Order/Dine in from the Specialty Restaurants? Or is that option only limited to the Owners and Vista Suites? 

Yes, you can order in from the specialties.  We were on Sirena last year in a PH and had dinner from one of the specialty restaurants in our cabin. It was wonderful.  Another thing worth noting is if you are on the beverage plan, you can also order your wine/beer to be brought to the cabin.  I ordered 2 glasses of wine and the butler brought both at the same time. 

[LHT28]

56 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Since we are talking about specialty restaurants.  Question for anyone, we’ve never been on one of the R ships before and have an upcoming one on Sirena in a Penthouse Suite. Are you able to do Order/Dine in from the Specialty Restaurants? Or is that option only limited to the Owners and Vista Suites? 

Be sure  to let your Butler know    with some advance notice  so he can organize  the meal delivery

They service several cabins & you may not be the only ones dining in that evening

[Smokeyham]

On 4/2/2023 at 3:09 PM, Woofa said:

Two things:

Try and make your reservations as soon as your time opens.  Higher level cabins will have already made their reservations and the earlier times/ two tops disappear quicker.

Remember to go and ask if you want more reservations or different days or times.  On our cruise I was able to get an additional reservation at Jacques and our preset reservation at Jacques for a shared table (no two tops were remaining) was turned into a two top when we arrived 20 minutes early and asked if it could be done.  There's never harm in asking, the worst they can do is say no.

I was speaking to a friend we made on day 9 who let me know he and his wife had eaten in a specialty every night so far.  He was in a similar cabin categories to us ( also B3) and said the secret is to make sure you reserve the sea days early, make sure to ask multiple times as reservations do open up, be open to eating later and be open to sharing tables.

Good advice!  On our recent cruise (first time in Oceania - in a B1 cabin) I waited for a couple of days after our pre-cruise window opened for dinner reservations.  I was only able to make a reservation in Polo Grill for one night on our 24-night cruise and that was for a 9:00 PM shared able.  We were on the last segment of a Round The World and they, and the suite guests, had priority above us.  

We were able to change that reservation to a 7:30 PM shared table once on board, but reservations were still pretty tight.   

Some nights we passed by Polo Grill and it seemed pretty quiet.  I don't know if we could have just turned up and got in.  

[Kristal Blade]

We are going to be in a concierge class cabin on Regatta. Previously we have had concierge class on Riviera. 
Is there a concierge lounge on Regatta and if so can the concierge there make dining reservations at Speciality restaurants?

It’s been a while since we did an Oceania cruise so this thread is answering lots of questions.

Thanks for any input

[shepherd really]

4 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Is there a concierge lounge on Regatta and if so can the concierge there make dining reservations at Speciality restaurants?

 

No, there is no concierge lounge on Regetta.   There is a concierge desk on deck on deck 4 available to all passengers. 

[Kristal Blade]

9 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

No, there is no concierge lounge on Regetta.   There is a concierge desk on deck on deck 4 available to all passengers. 

Thanks for letting me know,

I must admit I’m a little disappointed as we really liked that facility on Riviera. We could get snacks, drinks and check menus as well as get copies of newspapers.

Oh well, there are worse things that happen at sea!

[shepherd really]

Just now, Kristal Blade said:

Thanks for letting me know,

I must admit I’m a little disappointed as we really liked that facility on Riviera. We could get snacks, drinks and check menus as well as get copies of newspapers.

Oh well, there are worse things that happen at sea!

You're welcome. I really do prefer the O ships, but the smaller R ships have their own charm.   I've never lacked for snacks and drinks on any O ship and read newspapers online so for me it isn't an issue.  

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Kristal Blade]

9 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

You're welcome. I really do prefer the O ships, but the smaller R ships have their own charm.   I've never lacked for snacks and drinks on any O ship and read newspapers online so for me it isn't an issue.  

 

Enjoy your cruise.

We were on Sirena last year and really enjoyed it so I’m sure we will have a great time. We don’t sail till December 2024 and by then we will just be mega excited to get on board Oceania again.

[sunlover12]

5 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Thanks for letting me know,

I must admit I’m a little disappointed as we really liked that facility on Riviera. We could get snacks, drinks and check menus as well as get copies of newspapers.

Oh well, there are worse things that happen at sea!

Menus for all restaurants are available on your TV in the cabin.

[Kristal Blade]

9 minutes ago, sunlover12 said:

Menus for all restaurants are available on your TV in the cabin.

Thanks sunlover12,

good to know. I expect a lot of things have been modified post Covid. Maybe it was already done before, but I wasn’t aware.

[SATaxman]

Adding other passengers to our specialty reservations: does it really require their booking #?? Seems personal. Name and/or cabin/suite ## is not sufficient?

[pinotlover]

4 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

Adding other passengers to our specialty reservations: does it really require their booking #?? Seems personal. Name and/or cabin/suite ## is not sufficient?

You must have their booking #.

 

[SATaxman]

1 minute ago, pinotlover said:

You must have their booking #.

 

Thanks

[AMHuntFerry]

7 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Thanks for letting me know,

I must admit I’m a little disappointed as we really liked that facility on Riviera. We could get snacks, drinks and check menus as well as get copies of newspapers.

Oh well, there are worse things that happen at sea!

Baristas is on deck 5 (entry to GDR) on the R-ships. It has the same types of goodies as the lounge from early morning to late afternoon. If you just want espresso drinks or tea, there are machines in Horizons and Terrace Cafe. It's not as convenient, but at least there is something.

[pinotlover]

On 7/24/2023 at 2:11 PM, EJL2023 said:

Since we are talking about specialty restaurants.  Question for anyone, we’ve never been on one of the R ships before and have an upcoming one on Sirena in a Penthouse Suite. Are you able to do Order/Dine in from the Specialty Restaurants? Or is that option only limited to the Owners and Vista Suites? 

Your primary question has been well answered. I will add a second point which for some reason catches some unprepared.

 

Ensuite dining, from the Specialty restaurants or the GDR, from your butler is available: During the regular hours of that venue.

 

I have heard quite a number of past cruisers in despair because they couldn’t order in that Polo Grill meal at 4:30 in the afternoon. The restaurants don’t open until 6:30, so you can’t order until then.