To prebook speciality dining or not

[JeanKC]

Hi all

We have been on a couple of cruises but never availed of speciality dining but we it now have a meal as part of our Free-at-sea, and I am wondering whether to pre-book a speciality restaurant or just wing it. I know that everyone probably has different preferences and experiences on this but I would just like to get an idea as to whether we would miss out by not pre-booking. As in, have people who have not pre-booked or only pre-booked some speciality, generally been able to get in to the restaurants if willing to wait a while or are not fussy about the time they sit down? There's only two of us. 

 

Why do I not want to just pre-book something -

1. I don't want to commit to anything as I don't know what we'll feel like, when we'll want to eat or what the atmosphere will be like in the different restaurants without having a look in the door! 

2. We'll be on the Viva in August and currently the only thing that can be booked online is Los Lobos so I'd have to phone NCL to book anything else. I hate phoning people...........so really don't want to (that's probably my primary reason 😂)

 

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

[cruiseny4life]

We always make reservations ahead of the cruise. We have also changed at least one reservation on each cruise we've been on. 

 

Some will say you must book your specialty dining exactly 120 days ahead of your cruise. If you really, really, really want a specific restaurant/specific time or have a large party (5+) then this is probably good advice. 

For us, we like having the reservations, but we're also flexible enough to change them up depending on what we're in the mood for and how our day is going, plus whatever entertainment is occurring. You'll know some of the entertainment 21 days out (if not Haven/upper level Latitudes - 26 for them), but not all the entertainment is known until the evening before (Freestyle Daily). 

 

Try using the virtual chat agent. I've made (and canceled) reservations that way. I'm averse to phone calls as well! 

 

If you do have your heart set on some restaurant, then you should try to book it ahead, but if not available, you can probably make the booking when you board. 

 

Best of luck and enjoy V!va! Let us know how it is as I think you'll be on one of the first sailings! 

[KforKitty]

Personally I would pre-book unless you want to eat really late.  Our recent NCL cruise was booked only 5 weeks out and when I came to book the specialty dining, I could only find later slots (after 8 and even 9pm for one).  Not too much of an issue for us.

 

Catherine 

[omahabob]

We never pre-book, not to say that we never will. We prefer to remain flexible. We've never followed a 'standard' eating schedule anyway, so it was rare for us to find long lines. When we did, we just went elsewhere. There were enough places with good food to suit us. We love good food, but we aren't gourmets, and we couldn't care less about presentation, so flexibility works fine for us. It really depends on your personal preferences and priorities.

Edited June 28, 2023 by omahabob

[SpacemanSpiff]

2 hours ago, JeanKC said:

We'll be on the Viva in August and currently the only thing that can be booked online is Los Lobos so I'd have to phone NCL to book anything else. I hate phoning people...........so really don't want to (that's probably my primary reason 😂)

 

I assume this is some kind of glitch, maybe because it's a new ship.  The restaurants are available for reservations, but you'll need to call them to make the reservations at this time.  The times/restaurants you want might already be gone, but don't worry, I understand that they only reserve a minority of the dates and times available prior to sailing.  You might want to go ahead and reserve something (think of it as a placeholder), but you can see what's available when you board the Viva, cancel the first and book the new one.

[cruiseny4life]

Oh! I would like to add that if you absolutely want to try Teppanyaki (or whatever the new name on V!va) is for it, then you should attempt to reserve it prior to the cruise. On four cruises (three over school break or New Year's) I've never seen any restaurant totally sold out, except for the hibachi restaurant. 

[RB9643]

 

We book in advance whenever possible, but it's just a "placeholder" to make sure we don't get locked out of our favorite places.  We change them if they conflict with a show or other entertainment we don't want to miss.

 

In August, on Viva (I assume you mean Prima), you can assume the specialty dining will be sold out -- except for very late dining.

 

You will not like the long lines on embarkation for specialty dining. Try to accomplish it any other way.

 

 

 

[Red-Sol]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Try using the virtual chat agent. I've made (and canceled) reservations that way. I'm averse to phone calls as well! 

 

Thanks so much for that!...I never knew it was an option!

[JeanKC]

28 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

We book in advance whenever possible, but it's just a "placeholder" to make sure we don't get locked out of our favorite places.  We change them if they conflict with a show or other entertainment we don't want to miss.

 

In August, on Viva (I assume you mean Prima), you can assume the specialty dining will be sold out -- except for very late dining.

 

You will not like the long lines on embarkation for specialty dining. Try to accomplish it any other way.

 

 

 

It's Viva, not Prima. I might talk to himself and see if we can agree on something and then book.....or not. Living on the edge. Thanks all for your advice 😃

[Red-Sol]

35 minutes ago, RB9643 said:

 

We book in advance whenever possible, but it's just a "placeholder" to make sure we don't get locked out of our favorite places.  We change them if they conflict with a show or other entertainment we don't want to miss.

 

In August, on Viva (I assume you mean Prima), you can assume the specialty dining will be sold out -- except for very late dining.

 

You will not like the long lines on embarkation for specialty dining. Try to accomplish it any other way.

 

 

 

 

You have basically stated what we do as well. When we are able to we will make reservations for as many specialties as we are entitled to (However many we get from Free at Sea, the 2 from platinum, and if we purchase any additional.) We will also make all of them as early as possible which usually is 5:30 It isn't so much that we always want to eat that early as much as not wanting to conflict with some of the early entertainment shows. We may end up keeping all or we may end up changing or cancelling some...but having them as placeholders makes things much easier later if needed.

Edited June 28, 2023 by Red-Sol

[omahabob]

43 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Oh! I would like to add that if you absolutely want to try Teppanyaki (or whatever the new name on V!va) is for it..

 

It's still Teppanyaki.

[The Traveling Man]

As others have stated, we usually book placeholder reservations as soon as possible.  In more than 30 NCL cruises, I don't think we have gone an entire cruise without cancelling and re-booking at least one reservation.  It's really not a big hassle to change them.  It just serves as a Plan B in case you find that a restaurant is fully booked some other day.  It gives you a convenient fall back position.  And yes, Teppanyaki and Cagney's frequently sell out weeks before departure day, so get those reservations in early.

[www3traveler]

Since there is only the two of you and this will be a brand new ship, I would not worry about pre-booking.  If you go when the trestaurants first open, they probably will be able to seat you within a few minutes.

 

Don't stress out and just enjoy

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, JeanKC said:

Hi all

We have been on a couple of cruises but never availed of speciality dining but we it now have a meal as part of our Free-at-sea, and I am wondering whether to pre-book a speciality restaurant or just wing it. I know that everyone probably has different preferences and experiences on this but I would just like to get an idea as to whether we would miss out by not pre-booking. As in, have people who have not pre-booked or only pre-booked some speciality, generally been able to get in to the restaurants if willing to wait a while or are not fussy about the time they sit down? There's only two of us. 

 

Why do I not want to just pre-book something -

1. I don't want to commit to anything as I don't know what we'll feel like, when we'll want to eat or what the atmosphere will be like in the different restaurants without having a look in the door! 

2. We'll be on the Viva in August and currently the only thing that can be booked online is Los Lobos so I'd have to phone NCL to book anything else. I hate phoning people...........so really don't want to (that's probably my primary reason 😂)

 

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Dining reservations opened in March/April and you have waited too long. Pre-cruise dining reservations are sold out and not available by calling NCL. 
 

You should book as soon as you embark. Early cruises on the Prima sold out all of the specialty dining quickly on embarkation day (unless you want to dine at 9:30), especially for new and popular restaurants. Ships are sailing with a much higher capacity now, so expect specialty dining to sell out. 

[Cjonthesea]

How about for solo diners?  Easier or harder to get in at last minute?

[JeanKC]

15 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Dining reservations opened in March/April and you have waited too long. Pre-cruise dining reservations are sold out and not available by calling NCL. 
 

You should book as soon as you embark. Early cruises on the Prima sold out all of the specialty dining quickly on embarkation day (unless you want to dine at 9:30), especially for new and popular restaurants. Ships are sailing with a much higher capacity now, so expect specialty dining to sell out. 

Gonna wing it so, I reckon.....we only booked the trip a couple of weeks ago so likely speciality sold out before that......but people on the other social media site got it recently.....so maybe not!! But, I'm decided now....gonna just chill and see what happens. Not like we'll ever go hungry on a cruise ship 🤣

[Asawi]

12 minutes ago, Cjonthesea said:

How about for solo diners?  Easier or harder to get in at last minute?

In teppanyaki, absolutely possible/likely! Even when marked sold out there often are single seats available around the 8 (?) seat table since bookings only is in even numbers!

Edited June 28, 2023 by Asawi

[RB9643]

1 hour ago, JeanKC said:

It's Viva, not Prima. 

 

 

My mistake. My brain gets scrambled remembering all the sail dates of the new ships.

 

But yeah, at this point, you won't be able to book anything more online. Once on Prima, we found the NCL app to be worthless. Some had success at the touch screens near the elevators, but most stood in a 300-person line for an hour after embarkation.

 

Best of luck to you.