Speciality restaurants - Booking Before Departure

[Son of Anarchy]

3 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Well, if ever proof were needed that, at times, P&O cannot organise a p**s up in a brewery, the email that I have just received confirms it. As well as stating that bookings for shows are now open (which they aren’t - I’ve clicked on the ‘book now’ button and they still aren’t there), as for speciality restaurants (all of which I booked at midnight Friday night) it states;

 

Speciality restaurants, excluding the Limelight Club, are not currently bookable before your holiday. Please speak to the teams on board who will be pleased to advise you about the most up‑to‑date availability.
 

Well anyone following that advice is going to be mightily unhappy. What a farce. 

Incredulous!

 

Or could it be that all the pre-bookings are now full?

 

Either way, yep you could stage a west end show based on it. 😃

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Or could it be that all the pre-bookings are now full?

No, because when they are full you can still see them, but it shows ‘Sold Out’. At least that’s how it worked on our recent Britannia cruise. I assume that the system is the same for Iona. Besides, I’ve been checking for days and they have never appeared for booking. 
 

I can see the funny side of it, but how hard is it to get these things right? It’s as if they are a start-up business doing all this for the first time!
 

The email clearly states that entertainment bookings are open (which they aren’t) and that pre-bookings for speciality dining aren’t possible (which they are). Hopeless! 😂 

[bee-ess]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Thanks. Yes, my intention of the post was to help others to understand that you have to pounce very quickly if you want to secure the days and times that you want, which I guess is especially important for those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries. I can’t say that I like it, as it’s a level of hassle that holidays are meant to alleviate, but it’s satisfying when your strategy pays off 😂 

 

Unfortunately, as mentioned on another thread, bookings for the show still haven’t been activated yet, even though we are now 13 days from departure. It’s anybody’s guess what’s going on there. 
 

As you say, at least I won’t have to be pouncing on the app the moment that my bum hits the seat in the embarkation lunch (as I did on Britannia recently) - assuming, of course, that the theatre shows eventually activate pre cruise. I will take a look at the 710 Club, as we found the Live Lounge to be too crowded on Britannia, whereas I know that the 710 Club is limited. Am I right in thinking that you can only book each day on the day, rather than the whole cruise on day 1 as you can with the main theatre and restaurants?

On Arvia you could book 710 for multiple days. I booked ours from the terminal using the last 6 characters trick for the App and managed to get several. For me it was the best entertainment on the ship. You can Q 30 mins before the shows for entry if there are any no-shows, we got 3 of those.

Edited August 6, 2023 by bee-ess

[bee-ess]

48 minutes ago, bee-ess said:

On Arvia you could book 710 for multiple days. I booked ours from the terminal using the last 6 characters trick for the App and managed to get several. For me it was the best entertainment on the ship. You can Q 30 mins before the shows for entry if there are any no-shows, we got 3 of those.

This worked OK from Southampton but we are flying to Caribbean next and that will be a lottery, it will all depend on getting an early flight on the Friday, Saturday people will find everything booked up I think.

[Presto2]

1 hour ago, bee-ess said:

This worked OK from Southampton but we are flying to Caribbean next and that will be a lottery, it will all depend on getting an early flight on the Friday, Saturday people will find everything booked up I think.

Not according to PO .. they are saving lots back for us late arrivals. I'll let you work out how much sarcasm there is in my voice when I read that aloud!

[Angel57]

@Selbourne - I cannot find the posts on here or the other media site, but I’m sure the same thing happened to Arvia bookings for entertainment a few weeks ago and P&O said there might have been an IT issue as the bookings went live later on the Monday.

[sweep2907]

Utterly useless, fast becoming the worst budget cruise line going. I remember the good old days before covid where you wander around the ship and if you fancied Sindhu or Epicurean that evening, you'd pop in and book. Most of the time they'd entice you in with cheap offers of free bottle of wine. Now it seems every person panics and books everything as soon as they board. By 6pm day one, most reservations are gone as Most speciality restaurants only operate at half capacity at that. What has happened to P&O? It's so disappointing and I really don't mind paying more if we can get back to a semblance of what they were a few years ago. Sorry for my rant but this sort of email from them just annoys me as their right hand doesn't speak to their left hand. They give the impression of amateur hour.

[Presto2]

20 minutes ago, sweep2907 said:

Utterly useless, fast becoming the worst budget cruise line going. I remember the good old days before covid where you wander around the ship and if you fancied Sindhu or Epicurean that evening, you'd pop in and book. Most of the time they'd entice you in with cheap offers of free bottle of wine. Now it seems every person panics and books everything as soon as they board. By 6pm day one, most reservations are gone as Most speciality restaurants only operate at half capacity at that. What has happened to P&O? It's so disappointing and I really don't mind paying more if we can get back to a semblance of what they were a few years ago. Sorry for my rant but this sort of email from them just annoys me as their right hand doesn't speak to their left hand. They give the impression of amateur hour.

I feel like I am turning into a moaner but to be honest I totally agree with this and where you are coming from. 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Presto2

[ParisHilton]

7 hours ago, bee-ess said:

On Arvia you could book 710 for multiple days. I booked ours from the terminal using the last 6 characters trick for the App and managed to get several. For me it was the best entertainment on the ship. You can Q 30 mins before the shows for entry if there are any no-shows, we got 3 of those.

And what is this last 6 characters trick of which you speak?

[Selbourne]

5 minutes ago, ParisHilton said:

And what is this last 6 characters trick of which you speak?

To register your My Holiday app for use, you need to input the last 6 digits from your cabin key card. However, the number is the same as the number under the bar code on your boarding pass. This means that you can start using the app as soon as you are in the terminal or board the ship, before you are in possession of your key card. 

[Minnie29]

Great tip. Thank you.

on our first P & O cruise in September and wondered if, when booking the dining 2 weeks pre-departure do you book each restaurant reservation separately? Or do you put them all into your basket at once?

if you could explain the process that would be so helpful….thank you

[Selbourne]

1 minute ago, Minnie29 said:

Great tip. Thank you.

on our first P & O cruise in September and wondered if, when booking the dining 2 weeks pre-departure do you book each restaurant reservation separately? Or do you put them all into your basket at once?

if you could explain the process that would be so helpful….thank you

You can add them all to your basket and then make one payment. However, some have reported that by the time they went to the checkout one or more of their time slots had been taken, so I did the first 4 most important bookings as one transaction and then the next 3 as a second transaction. 

[Minnie29]

Thank you. Great advice.

Makes sense to perhaps do the bookings in 2 transactions.

Which restaurants can I pre-book? 
Thank you

[Selbourne]

5 minutes ago, Minnie29 said:

Thank you. Great advice.

Makes sense to perhaps do the bookings in 2 transactions.

Which restaurants can I pre-book? 
Thank you

It varies by ship. Which ship are you on?

[Minnie29]

Iona

[Selbourne]

1 minute ago, Minnie29 said:

Iona

On Iona cruises you can pre-book Limelight Club, Epicurean (including the Norwegian Tasting menu on one night of the fjord cruises), Sindhu, Beach House & Chefs Table. All others are book on board.

[Minnie29]

Thanks.

what about the 710 club? Is that something you have to book daily onboard?

Also we would like to try Olive Grove and Keel and Cow. Are these bookable once onboard or do you join a virtual queue when you are ready to eat?

[Selbourne]

1 minute ago, Minnie29 said:

Thanks.

what about the 710 club? Is that something you have to book daily onboard?

Also we would like to try Olive Grove and Keel and Cow. Are these bookable once onboard or do you join a virtual queue when you are ready to eat?

Apparently 710 Club can be booked for the whole cruise on the day you board. I believe that Olive Grove and Keel & Cow are virtual queue on the day, but someone will correct me if I am wrong. If the virtual queues are like the ones we had on Britannia, you might need to join the queue quite a long time before you are ready to eat!

[Fionboard]

12 hours ago, sweep2907 said:

Utterly useless, fast becoming the worst budget cruise line going. I remember the good old days before covid where you wander around the ship and if you fancied Sindhu or Epicurean that evening, you'd pop in and book. Most of the time they'd entice you in with cheap offers of free bottle of wine. Now it seems every person panics and books everything as soon as they board. By 6pm day one, most reservations are gone as Most speciality restaurants only operate at half capacity at that. What has happened to P&O? It's so disappointing and I really don't mind paying more if we can get back to a semblance of what they were a few years ago. Sorry for my rant but this sort of email from them just annoys me as their right hand doesn't speak to their left hand. They give the impression of amateur hour.

You can pay more and get back to a semblance of what things used to be by cruising on the smaller ships. Just avoid the biggest ones. 

[terrierjohn]

8 hours ago, Minnie29 said:

Thanks.

what about the 710 club? Is that something you have to book daily onboard?

Also we would like to try Olive Grove and Keel and Cow. Are these bookable once onboard or do you join a virtual queue when you are ready to eat?

Olive grove can be booked once you are on board, but it does fill up quickly.

[Selbourne]

5 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Olive grove can be booked once you are on board, but it does fill up quickly.

Can you book Olive Grove and Keel & Cow on embarkation day for any day of the cruise, rather than just on the day?

[Ardennais]

Selbourne - I understand your frustration. Shame I can’t book on your behalf as I never go to bed before 1am!! 

[ParisHilton]

47 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Can you book Olive Grove and Keel & Cow on embarkation day for any day of the cruise, rather than just on the day?

 

I'm thinking of getting some kind of wifi repeater that connects the wifi from the ship to the cellular network so I can book on the way down!

[thornegirl]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Can you book Olive Grove and Keel & Cow on embarkation day for any day of the cruise, rather than just on the day?

Keel & Cow is only bookable on the day, We would always try and get there by 6pm to get a decent table.

[Minnie29]

Thanks so much for all the info. Best to be prepared.

I feel sorry for those without prior knowledge!!! Going to be difficult for them to navigate all this!!!