pcur Posted August 25, 2023 #26 Share Posted August 25, 2023 19 hours ago, ampurp85 said: Be careful with this as they are cracking down and charging the cancelation fees. They have found that people who do this hack mess up the reservation listing. To clarify, I'm not cancelling the reservation for lunch the first day, I'm just showing that it's been paid for twice due to the UDP covering the charge, also. But, I will follow up with the Food and Bev Manager if they try to charge me a cancellation fee. Thanks for the info. If the UDP would include the choice for lunch on Day 1, there would be no need to go through the refund process at all. I keep expecting them to catch on to this, but I don't think it's happening enough to catch enough attention. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcur Posted August 25, 2023 #27 Share Posted August 25, 2023 1 hour ago, happy cruzer said: Vintages? Someone posted it is always excluded from UDP. I thought I had read that it is included. which is it? Thanks for sharing. For my sis and I next month on the Freedom, it's included. I think it's a cover charge type of thing, like PlayMakers: they give you a certain credit toward food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy cruzer Posted August 29, 2023 #28 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Regarding Vintages, any other recent comments on whether it is included in UDP or not? We have one yes and one no. Thanks for all reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danoconnl Posted August 30, 2023 #29 Share Posted August 30, 2023 yeah, it sucks how it is so inconsistent. We had it on odyssey march of 21 and it includes the wine bar, the pub food, everything. Now we're going on wonder next and it doesn't include the wine bar i've been told. Why playmakers and not the wine bar? I think from what I have gathered, it's whomever is in charge of dining on the ship Dan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soupchef Posted August 30, 2023 #30 Share Posted August 30, 2023 I dont have more to add beyond what others have said. But I will say, take it slow. The food is awesome and its so easy to god overboard (pun intended.) I found that having a big lunch (jonny rockets or Izumi) and then a specialty dinner I was done and in bed by 930pm. (Killed me worse than the drink package) I will also say, 150 Central Park is one not to miss. In fact we went twice on Symphony. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy cruzer Posted August 31, 2023 #31 Share Posted August 31, 2023 Yep, agree you want to say hungry/thirsty; that's why I am so curious about Vintages being an option to lunch/late lunch. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcur Posted September 1, 2023 #32 Share Posted September 1, 2023 On 8/30/2023 at 2:03 PM, soupchef said: I dont have more to add beyond what others have said. But I will say, take it slow. The food is awesome and its so easy to god overboard (pun intended.) I found that having a big lunch (jonny rockets or Izumi) and then a specialty dinner I was done and in bed by 930pm. (Killed me worse than the drink package) I will also say, 150 Central Park is one not to miss. In fact we went twice on Symphony. Couldn't resist, and in all good humor: You are not the boss of my tummy.................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcur Posted September 1, 2023 #33 Share Posted September 1, 2023 On 8/24/2023 at 4:04 PM, ampurp85 said: Be careful with this as they are cracking down and charging the cancelation fees. They have found that people who do this hack mess up the reservation listing. I'm failing to see why? I'm still there to eat my lunch and fulfill my reservation, I've just paid for it twice. It's not like I'm a no-show. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danoconnl Posted September 1, 2023 #34 Share Posted September 1, 2023 8 hours ago, pcur said: I'm failing to see why? I'm still there to eat my lunch and fulfill my reservation, I've just paid for it twice. It's not like I'm a no-show. well you are circumventing the rules. You are paying a reduced price for the specialty rest. and for getting that reduced price you are giving up the ability to make reservations before you board. You are creating paperwork for Royal to fulfil your cancelation. I believe that royal sells only so many packages and reservation so that they can deal with capacity issues and you are using that capacity twice. Dan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampurp85 Posted September 1, 2023 #35 Share Posted September 1, 2023 9 hours ago, pcur said: I'm failing to see why? I'm still there to eat my lunch and fulfill my reservation, I've just paid for it twice. It's not like I'm a no-show. Royal accounts for people with dining packages. They then account for people who purchase individual reservation. You are being counted as two separate covers. Now if you don't request a refund for holding the spot you are fine, but if you do, you have screwed them out of a paid cover, which they may not have time to try to fill. This is a loss of revenue for the restaurant and staff. You are saying you will pay twice for connivence, when most people don't and request refunds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeySailor Posted September 1, 2023 #36 Share Posted September 1, 2023 (edited) 15 minutes ago, ampurp85 said: Royal accounts for people with dining packages. They then account for people who purchase individual reservation. You are being counted as two separate covers. Now if you don't request a refund for holding the spot you are fine, but if you do, you have screwed them out of a paid cover, which they may not have time to try to fill. This is a loss of revenue for the restaurant and staff. You are saying you will pay twice for connivence, when most people don't and request refunds. Easy fix Let us who purchase the UDP make reservations ahead of time rather than on boarding day PITA TBH That will also free up all the staff on boarding day to deal with others making other kinds of dining reservations at the various restaurants. Problem solved However This does not apply when sailing in a Suite as the SL Concierge takes care of all the dining reservations week before (except Izumi) And they advise you to make a separate booking ahead of time for Izumi to lock in a time and get refunded when you dine there (with UDP obviously) So it is and always has been encouraged. In our experience anyways Edited September 1, 2023 by PompeySailor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcur Posted September 1, 2023 #37 Share Posted September 1, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, PompeySailor said: Easy fix Let us who purchase the UDP make reservations ahead of time rather than on boarding day PITA TBH That will also free up all the staff on boarding day to deal with others making other kinds of dining reservations at the various restaurants. Problem solved However This does not apply when sailing in a Suite as the SL Concierge takes care of all the dining reservations week before (except Izumi) And they advise you to make a separate booking ahead of time for Izumi to lock in a time and get refunded when you dine there (with UDP obviously) So it is and always has been encouraged. In our experience anyways THANK YOU! I continue to be puzzled about why the passenger is penalized because RCCL cannot allow Day 1 lunch reservations for UDP purchases. I've always thought the concept of customers is to accommodate their needs in order to generate more business and revenue. A temporary duplicate hold on a table at noon on Day 1 (when there are few passengers on board, and Chops is pretty much empty) should not be considered a penalty to the buyer. Plus, if enough passengers have to do this, then RCCL needs to adjust their booking policies. Edited September 1, 2023 by pcur 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcur Posted September 1, 2023 #38 Share Posted September 1, 2023 1 hour ago, danoconnl said: well you are circumventing the rules. You are paying a reduced price for the specialty rest. and for getting that reduced price you are giving up the ability to make reservations before you board. You are creating paperwork for Royal to fulfil your cancelation. I believe that royal sells only so many packages and reservation so that they can deal with capacity issues and you are using that capacity twice. Dan I have never been shown the rule about this by RCCL. I've never been refused my booking on Day 1. And, I've had the overcharge (and yes, it's an overcharge to me for the second booking because their system doesn't recognize UDP purchasers in the booking system) refunded promptly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcur Posted September 1, 2023 #39 Share Posted September 1, 2023 1 hour ago, ampurp85 said: Royal accounts for people with dining packages. They then account for people who purchase individual reservation. You are being counted as two separate covers. Now if you don't request a refund for holding the spot you are fine, but if you do, you have screwed them out of a paid cover, which they may not have time to try to fill. This is a loss of revenue for the restaurant and staff. You are saying you will pay twice for connivence, when most people don't and request refunds. Well, if I decided to not go to any other restaurant because I suddenly became wildly happy with the MDR menus and the Windjammer, I would have paid over $200 for that Day 1 lunch. So, there are lots of ways to look at this situation. If they gave me a way to NOT skew their bookings, I would GLADLY, HAPPILY follow that booking path. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampurp85 Posted September 1, 2023 #40 Share Posted September 1, 2023 I agree it sucks that you have to wait to board to get reservations. I am currently stressed because I have to coordinate a group of 8, all with the UDP, for an Oct Allure sailing. But in their mind, it is the tradeoff for the discount. Plus let's be real, Royal's IT is a mess. I feel like it would be a sh$%show to try to allow people with the UDP to book. I am not saying because they treat the reservations differently but because they would need special codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeySailor Posted September 1, 2023 #41 Share Posted September 1, 2023 1 minute ago, ampurp85 said: I agree it sucks that you have to wait to board to get reservations. I am currently stressed because I have to coordinate a group of 8, all with the UDP, for an Oct Allure sailing. But in their mind, it is the tradeoff for the discount. Plus let's be real, Royal's IT is a mess. I feel like it would be a sh$%show to try to allow people with the UDP to book. I am not saying because they treat the reservations differently but because they would need special codes. I’m not a coder by any means and Royal IT like adding new stuff But an additional Reserve button on each venue for those who have already purchased UDP in the app is not an impossible task You are already logged in and have selected the sailing you are trying to reserve items So system knows Booking ID and that UDP has been purchased Just an idea to anyone at Royal IT who fancies a very rewarding challenge which would be beneficial to your customers who are paying extra for food not included in cruise fare 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaTNT Posted September 4, 2023 #42 Share Posted September 4, 2023 Thanks for the info....my concern is that we just looked and for our sailing there are no more reservations available for Izumi. So we are going to pay for UDP and not be able to eat at all of the places....Really stinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mousemom11 Posted September 5, 2023 #43 Share Posted September 5, 2023 1 hour ago, BamaTNT said: Thanks for the info....my concern is that we just looked and for our sailing there are no more reservations available for Izumi. So we are going to pay for UDP and not be able to eat at all of the places....Really stinks. There's no need to do that. They hold back reservations so that there will be some available on the ship. Just be sure to go to Izumi immediately when you board to make you're reservation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilBlackDress Posted September 5, 2023 #44 Share Posted September 5, 2023 On 9/1/2023 at 10:31 AM, PompeySailor said: Easy fix Let us who purchase the UDP make reservations ahead of time rather than on boarding day PITA TBH That will also free up all the staff on boarding day to deal with others making other kinds of dining reservations at the various restaurants. Problem solved However This does not apply when sailing in a Suite as the SL Concierge takes care of all the dining reservations week before (except Izumi) And they advise you to make a separate booking ahead of time for Izumi to lock in a time and get refunded when you dine there (with UDP obviously) So it is and always has been encouraged. In our experience anyways On 9/1/2023 at 11:40 AM, pcur said: THANK YOU! I continue to be puzzled about why the passenger is penalized because RCCL cannot allow Day 1 lunch reservations for UDP purchases. I've always thought the concept of customers is to accommodate their needs in order to generate more business and revenue. A temporary duplicate hold on a table at noon on Day 1 (when there are few passengers on board, and Chops is pretty much empty) should not be considered a penalty to the buyer. Plus, if enough passengers have to do this, then RCCL needs to adjust their booking policies. Or let us make reservations 7 or 14 days before the cruise... It gives those paying full price plenty of time to make their purchases. I think it would be easier on the staff and the passengers 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrystalBlue Posted September 5, 2023 #45 Share Posted September 5, 2023 Was just on The Wonder last month and had the UDP. Booked my dinner and Sea day lunches reservations on the app when I boarded. Showed up on my calendar, never had an issue. The Mason Jar was open for lunch when we boarded. Didn't have a reservation, but they took us anyway and was a great way to start off our cruise. Izumi you have to book in person, not sure why when you can reserve every other restaurant on the app. Didn't get a chance to go there until Day 2 and they were all booked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danoconnl Posted September 5, 2023 #46 Share Posted September 5, 2023 11 hours ago, CrystalBlue said: Was just on The Wonder last month and had the UDP. Booked my dinner and Sea day lunches reservations on the app when I boarded. Showed up on my calendar, never had an issue. The Mason Jar was open for lunch when we boarded. Didn't have a reservation, but they took us anyway and was a great way to start off our cruise. Izumi you have to book in person, not sure why when you can reserve every other restaurant on the app. Didn't get a chance to go there until Day 2 and they were all booked up. What time did you board, and how long did it take you? Also, did you have any issues getting the times you wanted? what times were you looking for? Thanks Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seville2Cabo Posted September 5, 2023 #47 Share Posted September 5, 2023 We've never had a reservation for lunch on boarding day and never an issue getting seated. We go to which ever speciality restaurant is open, get seated and book our evening meals for the cruise. Usually wait to book sea day lunches the day before. Never an issue. But - here is a options for a new C&A Benefit. Pinnacle can book UDP reservations 10 days before sailing Diamond plus, 7 days Diamond - 4 days 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taglovestocruise Posted September 5, 2023 #48 Share Posted September 5, 2023 On 9/1/2023 at 9:40 AM, pcur said: I've always thought the concept of customers is to accommodate their needs in order to generate more business and revenue. Royal has tweaked their definition of a customer. A guest is a cash cow and needs to be milked hourly. We have made many pre purchased dining reservations over the years and then switched to a BOGO or package night price. Never been a problem and always a refundable OBC issued. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeySailor Posted September 5, 2023 #49 Share Posted September 5, 2023 4 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said: Royal has tweaked their definition of a customer. A guest is a cash cow and needs to be milked hourly. We have made many pre purchased dining reservations over the years and then switched to a BOGO or package night price. Never been a problem and always a refundable OBC issued. With ships now back at full capacity Recent experience (2 Days ago) only way to get Izumi Hibachi without being waitlisted - was to pre purchase and lock in a day and time Then get refunded (using UDP) Even people behind us who were in suite Sky class (concierge was unable to get them a booking for the whole week Appreciate this will differ from ship to ship and time of year and demographic of PAX Just wish when buying UDP all reservations could be made a month out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted September 5, 2023 #50 Share Posted September 5, 2023 2 hours ago, Seville2Cabo said: We've never had a reservation for lunch on boarding day and never an issue getting seated. We go to which ever speciality restaurant is open, get seated and book our evening meals for the cruise. Usually wait to book sea day lunches the day before. Never an issue. But - here is a options for a new C&A Benefit. Pinnacle can book UDP reservations 10 days before sailing Diamond plus, 7 days Diamond - 4 days I was going to wait till I get email from concierge but we are also diamond plus , do you know how we would get the reservation 7 days before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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