Booking speciality, only 9 pm available!

[di T]

Hi, yesterday the 5th May was the first opportunity to book our two speciality meals for our June cruise on Nautica. This is our first Oceania cruise, So I went online early morning but there wasn’t many days available and the ones that were all had late dinning at 9 pm. Usually we eat around 7.30 on our cruises, maybe it was the fact I wanted a table for two! What would be the chance to alter these times once onboard? Thanks,Dianne

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, di T said:

Hi, yesterday the 5th May was the first opportunity to book our two speciality meals for our June cruise on Nautica. This is our first Oceania cruise, So I went online early morning but there wasn’t many days available and the ones that were all had late dinning at 9 pm. Usually we eat around 7.30 on our cruises, maybe it was the fact I wanted a table for two! What would be the chance to alter these times once onboard? Thanks,Dianne

Just keep checking 

Maybe select sharing   then once onboard  go ask for an earlier time  slot

 

 

[di T]

2 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Just keep checking 

Maybe select sharing   then once onboard  go ask for an earlier time  slot

 

Thanks will do!

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

There are plenty of other times/dates available. Just choose “sharing.” You’ll usually meet very interesting folks on O.

Also, once onboard, you can add/change reservations on a daily “space available” basis.

[Harters]

Di - we also have a June cruise on Nautica, which we only booked on 14/4. Having sorted out when we might want specialities, we looked on 17/4, also for a table for 2 at around 7.30. We had to change a couple of days, as the only availablity was either much too early or late, but we were able to get tables at reasonable times. Good luck with getting something suitable sorted 

[shank63]

We have made specialty reservations requested sharing and I been seated at a 2 top.  I recommend reserving the desired time, even if it requires sharing and check with the specialty concierge once on board for a two place reservation.

[schmerl]

Just check you'd be willing to share. We checked that and were only put at a "shared" table three times out of our eight specialty restaurant reservations. The rest were just the two of us. 

[di T]

20 hours ago, Harters said:

Di - we also have a June cruise on Nautica, which we only booked on 14/4. Having sorted out when we might want specialities, we looked on 17/4, also for a table for 2 at around 7.30. We had to change a couple of days, as the only availablity was either much too early or late, but we were able to get tables at reasonable times. Good luck with getting something suitable sorted 

What date in June? Our date for reservations was the 5th May, I got up really early to try and book 7.30 or there about! 9 is late for us but if we can’t change it, won’t be too much of a problem. Really looking forward to try a small ship, after 40 plus cruises mostly Celebrity.

[di T]

19 hours ago, shank63 said:

We have made specialty reservations requested sharing and I been seated at a 2 top.  I recommend reserving the desired time, even if it requires sharing and check with the specialty concierge once on board for a two place reservation.

Will try that thankyou

[di T]

17 hours ago, schmerl said:

Just check you'd be willing to share. We checked that and were only put at a "shared" table three times out of our eight specialty restaurant reservations. The rest were just the two of us. 

 

17 hours ago, schmerl said:

Just check you'd be willing to share. We checked that and were only put at a "shared" table three times out of our eight specialty restaurant reservations. The rest were just the two of us. 

Thanks for the advice, will do this

[di T]

19 hours ago, shank63 said:

We have made specialty reservations requested sharing and I been seated at a 2 top.  I recommend reserving the desired time, even if it requires sharing and check with the specialty concierge once on board for a two place reservation.

👍

[Harters]

21 minutes ago, di T said:

What date in June?

19/6.

 

We've booked a Penthouse so I presume reservations had already been open for a while. It was sea days where we found an issue with only very early/lates being available. Not really a hassle to shift to other days but wasnt first choice.

[di T]

2 minutes ago, Harters said:

19/6.

 

We've booked a Penthouse so I presume reservations had already been open for a while. It was sea days where we found an issue with only very early/lates being available. Not really a hassle to shift to other days but wasnt first choice.

Ha that make sense I believe top suites get to book earlier! We are just in a C2.

[di T]

Just now, di T said:

Ha that make sense I believe top suites get to book earlier! We are just in a C2.

Same date though😀

[Harters]

We'd been unable to book anything earlier (medical issues prevented us from getting any travel insurance) but we'd been thinking about a different cruise. As soon as we were able to book that one, we found it had become  "wait listed" overnight. We spotted this one in the recent " extraordinary savings" sale and went for it.

 

See you on board.

 

(I knew your username sounded familiar - must have spotted it on the roll call. )

Edited May 7, 2023 by Harters

[KBrote]

Regarding the reservation process...we will be making our reservations for the specialty restaurants 45 days out since we are in a B1 cabin. We are traveling with friends. I will be making the reservations for the 4 of us. I have their names, cabin number, and booking number and was told I can make the reservation for the 4 of us. My question is do I pick "sharing" and then make the res for 4 of us or is there an option for picking a table for 4? Thanks for any advice.

[nadalina]

Hey Y’all, forgive me if this has already been discussed but what about tipping in the specialty restaurants?  It will be my first with Oceania.  On other lines’ specialty restaurants, depending on the service and extent of the courses served, I would typically tip $20.  What do you recommend?

[Harters]

Tips are included in the cruise fare (by way of being  automatically added to your onboard account) so it wouldnt have occured to me to double tip.

Edited May 7, 2023 by Harters

[nadalina]

I suppose I was thinking the daily gratuities are for the main dining room personnel, not the specialty restaurants, but I’m sure Harters is correct.  By the way, I know each guest is guaranteed at least one dining experience in each specialty restaurant but if I wanted to have dinner in one of them more than once and there is room available to seat me, may I do so for an additional charge?

[shank63]

1 minute ago, nadalina said:

I suppose I was thinking the daily gratuities are for the main dining room personnel, not the specialty restaurants, but I’m sure Harters is correct.  By the way, I know each guest is guaranteed at least one dining experience in each specialty restaurant but if I wanted to have dinner in one of them more than once and there is room available to seat me, may I do so for an additional charge?

No additional charge for the specialty restaurants regardless of the number of times booked.  Enjoy!

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 minutes ago, nadalina said:

I suppose I was thinking the daily gratuities are for the main dining room personnel, not the specialty restaurants, but I’m sure Harters is correct.  By the way, I know each guest is guaranteed at least one dining experience in each specialty restaurant but if I wanted to have dinner in one of them more than once and there is room available to seat me, may I do so for an additional charge?

You may want to take the time to search here on CC. Your questions have been asked/answered many time and a search will save you needing to post, wait for replies, etc.

in any case, all o’s dining venues are the same when it comes to quality and food prep. The only difference is the ambiance of the space and the focus of the menus. 
No need to tip extra unless you want to reward a particular crew member who went out of their way for you over the course of your cruise. Even then, it should be done at the end of your cruise.

There’s no charge for more specialty reservations. You can ask daily and it’s on a space available basis. 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, nadalina said:

I suppose I was thinking the daily gratuities are for the main dining room personnel, not the specialty restaurants, but I’m sure Harters is correct.  By the way, I know each guest is guaranteed at least one dining experience in each specialty restaurant but if I wanted to have dinner in one of them more than once and there is room available to seat me, may I do so for an additional charge?

You can go to Desk on deck 5 & ask if any opening  for thar night   to dine in a Specialty

you may need to try daily

If in a PH or above you Butler can help   or dine in your cabin with meals from the Specialties

[SSFrance69]

27 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

You can go to Desk on deck 5 & ask if any opening  for thar night   to dine in a Specialty

you may need to try daily

If in a PH or above you Butler can help   or dine in your cabin with meals from the Specialties

We found the desk on deck 5 was no help at all. We were successful at getting additional reservations or requesting a table for two instead of shared by speaking directly with the MD as soon as they opened.

[nadalina]

Thank you, All, for your valuable advice and information. And for being patient with me as I learn the details about this wonderful cruise line. I’m excited for the firsthand experience!

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, SSFrance69 said:

We found the desk on deck 5 was no help at all…..

I find that to be highly unusual.

Sure, on sea days, it may be a touch harder to find extra prime time spots. But, from personal experience (and plenty of it 😉), I’ve seldom not been able to get a sufficient number of extra specialty reservations.