Can I only book specialty dinner with OBC once I'm on the ship?

[1412p0oi]

So using the app and the website posted a charge to my credit card, which I wasn't aware of until today, although I have OBC and was able to book shore excursions with it. Is the only way to have OBC apply to a specialty dinner be to reserve it once I'm on the ship? Would I have to go to guest services to do that (and risking a long line) or is there a better method? By the way, would I get an automatic refund if I delete the reservation?

 

I just want to get a meal at Sabatini's, and since I'm traveling solo I'm hoping it'll be easier to score a table if timing gets tough.

[PacnGoNow]

3 hours ago, 1412p0oi said:

So using the app and the website posted a charge to my credit card, which I wasn't aware of until today, although I have OBC and was able to book shore excursions with it. Is the only way to have OBC apply to a specialty dinner be to reserve it once I'm on the ship? Would I have to go to guest services to do that (and risking a long line) or is there a better method? By the way, would I get an automatic refund if I delete the reservation?

 

I just want to get a meal at Sabatini's, and since I'm traveling solo I'm hoping it'll be easier to score a table if timing gets tough.

Obc is for “on board” use, except for excursions.

You can call the dine line from your room and book it once OB.

 

You can cancel your current reservation and it will refund your CC, usually takes about 5 days to see the credit.

 

We always wait until OB and call dine line/dining reservations on the cabin phone, NP.  You can also stop by the restaurant to book, but we don’t want to waste time. 🥴

[Hlitner]

Just a friendly warning.  We recently took a 14 day Sky Princess cruise (back to back 7 day voyages) where we had the Premiere Package and about $1500 in OBC.   Once aboard the ship (both our segments were at near capacity) it was impossible to get alternative restaurant bookings at the most popular times (6 - 8pm).  Even the latest time (8:40) was not available on most nights.

 

Hank

[1412p0oi]

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Just a friendly warning.  We recently took a 14 day Sky Princess cruise (back to back 7 day voyages) where we had the Premiere Package and about $1500 in OBC.   Once aboard the ship (both our segments were at near capacity) it was impossible to get alternative restaurant bookings at the most popular times (6 - 8pm).  Even the latest time (8:40) was not available on most nights.

 

Hank

wow, that seems really annoying. Were you able to use your OBC in the end with specialty dining? 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, 1412p0oi said:

wow, that seems really annoying. Were you able to use your OBC in the end with specialty dining? 

Once aboard (we did board early because of our Elite status) we quickly opened the app and managed to get a few reservations (mostly at 8:40 pm).  For our 2 weeks we ultimately dined twice in each of the venues.  We could only secure one reservation at the Crown Grill, but after chatting with the restaurant manager we were able to get in a 2nd time (as a walk in) about 8:45pm!  Fortunately, DW and I are fine with late dining.  2 of the six dinners were covered by our Premiere Package and our OBC was used for the rest.  Using OBC, while onboard, is not an issue since their accounting system handles that automatically.  

 

The problem with onboard reservations is that plenty of the cruisers are doing back to backs.  So you are competing with folks who have already been aboard and have access before you even board.  "Walk ins"  (getting in without a reservation) do happen, but it is a good idea to talk to each restaurants host or manager to find out the best way to increase your chances of getting in.  The most difficult reservations on our two weeks was for the Crown Grill (ironically, this is our least favorite venue).  I cannot say if most voyages have the high demand (for alternative restaurants) that we had on our voyages.  Our 2nd week we had a large group (I think about 800) from the Porsche Club of America, and these folks seemed to be comfortable spending money (or OBC) to go to the alternative restaurants.  Keep in mind that the Crown Grill and Catch by Rudi will cost a couple $92 (plus any add-ons they might choose).  We had so much OBC that we could have dined in those places every night of our cruise by just using OBC.  But getting those reservations would have been impossible.

 

As always, we did enjoy our cruise on Princess.  The line is not perfect, but for whatever reason DW and I have always enjoyed Princess and the recent Sky cruise was satisfying.  It was also our first cruise in over 2 years that had a full ship.

 

Hank

[1412p0oi]

On 12/21/2023 at 1:55 PM, Hlitner said:

Once aboard (we did board early because of our Elite status) we quickly opened the app and managed to get a few reservations (mostly at 8:40 pm).  For our 2 weeks we ultimately dined twice in each of the venues.  We could only secure one reservation at the Crown Grill, but after chatting with the restaurant manager we were able to get in a 2nd time (as a walk in) about 8:45pm!  Fortunately, DW and I are fine with late dining.  2 of the six dinners were covered by our Premiere Package and our OBC was used for the rest.  Using OBC, while onboard, is not an issue since their accounting system handles that automatically.  

 

The problem with onboard reservations is that plenty of the cruisers are doing back to backs.  So you are competing with folks who have already been aboard and have access before you even board.  "Walk ins"  (getting in without a reservation) do happen, but it is a good idea to talk to each restaurants host or manager to find out the best way to increase your chances of getting in.  The most difficult reservations on our two weeks was for the Crown Grill (ironically, this is our least favorite venue).  I cannot say if most voyages have the high demand (for alternative restaurants) that we had on our voyages.  Our 2nd week we had a large group (I think about 800) from the Porsche Club of America, and these folks seemed to be comfortable spending money (or OBC) to go to the alternative restaurants.  Keep in mind that the Crown Grill and Catch by Rudi will cost a couple $92 (plus any add-ons they might choose).  We had so much OBC that we could have dined in those places every night of our cruise by just using OBC.  But getting those reservations would have been impossible.

 

As always, we did enjoy our cruise on Princess.  The line is not perfect, but for whatever reason DW and I have always enjoyed Princess and the recent Sky cruise was satisfying.  It was also our first cruise in over 2 years that had a full ship.

 

Hank

Thank you for the information, Hank! I hadn't known a lot of people do back-to-back cruises. I just want one reservation at Sabatini's (there are enough steak restaurants in my city but not a whole lot decent Italian restaurants) and I'm traveling solo, so I'll talk to the restaurant manager to see if they can fit me somewhere. Though hopefully the earliest dinner time since I tend to eat very early.

[Hlitner]

4 minutes ago, 1412p0oi said:

Thank you for the information, Hank! I hadn't known a lot of people do back-to-back cruises. I just want one reservation at Sabatini's (there are enough steak restaurants in my city but not a whole lot decent Italian restaurants) and I'm traveling solo, so I'll talk to the restaurant manager to see if they can fit me somewhere. Though hopefully the earliest dinner time since I tend to eat very early.

When we boarded, we heard that over 500 were still aboard from the prior cruise.  For our 2nd week, we were told about 380 were on for the 2nd week.  The back to backs really have an inside track on restaurant reservations since the Princess app does work for the 2nd week.  Another advantage is for those who want to get space in the Sanctuary.  Those who do back to backs are the first to board (the 2nd week) so they can be the first to get to the Sanctuary to secure the available reservations.

 

DW and I would not even consider doing just a 7 night cruise and there are quite a few like us who consider 14 days a bare minimum.  To be very honest, we dislike back to backs and would prefer to do real 14 or 21 nights in late Nov/early Dec.  Princess used to have a true 14 day itinerary which we would book most years, but that was eliminated.  For next year, between Thanksgiving and Xmas we found a decent 14 day itinerary on Silverseas (a very good value) which we quickly booked.  We would love for Princess to go back to a true 14 day (no turn around days in a US Port) but they see advantages to their 7 day (with alternate itineraries) as advantageous for Princess.  It is the same with MSC (we love their Yacht Club).  It seems that to find a real 14-21 day Caribbean itinerary one must go to the luxury or premium lines.

 

Hank

[PacnGoNow]

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

When we boarded, we heard that over 500 were still aboard from the prior cruise.  For our 2nd week, we were told about 380 were on for the 2nd week.  The back to backs really have an inside track on restaurant reservations since the Princess app does work for the 2nd week.  Another advantage is for those who want to get space in the Sanctuary.  Those who do back to backs are the first to board (the 2nd week) so they can be the first to get to the Sanctuary to secure the available reservations.

 

DW and I would not even consider doing just a 7 night cruise and there are quite a few like us who consider 14 days a bare minimum.  To be very honest, we dislike back to backs and would prefer to do real 14 or 21 nights in late Nov/early Dec.  Princess used to have a true 14 day itinerary which we would book most years, but that was eliminated.  For next year, between Thanksgiving and Xmas we found a decent 14 day itinerary on Silverseas (a very good value) which we quickly booked.  We would love for Princess to go back to a true 14 day (no turn around days in a US Port) but they see advantages to their 7 day (with alternate itineraries) as advantageous for Princess.  It is the same with MSC (we love their Yacht Club).  It seems that to find a real 14-21 day Caribbean itinerary one must go to the luxury or premium lines.

 

Hank

Totally agree.  They are doing so many of the 7-10 money maker cruises, which attracts the blues.  It is working for them, we’ve seen an enormous amount of new cruisers on our shortest cruises.
 

We just did a 15 night and it was packed with blues with 90% on the beverage packages. It was a huge money maker for them and the casino made a fortune.  That is a short cruise for us. 😳

 

The next one, a b2b, was a 32 night. 60% purchased the beverage package and a lot less blues.  So, I can clearly see the way they are headed. Seems as those long cruises will be limited and more expensive in the future. JMO

 

[1412p0oi]

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

When we boarded, we heard that over 500 were still aboard from the prior cruise.  For our 2nd week, we were told about 380 were on for the 2nd week.  The back to backs really have an inside track on restaurant reservations since the Princess app does work for the 2nd week.  Another advantage is for those who want to get space in the Sanctuary.  Those who do back to backs are the first to board (the 2nd week) so they can be the first to get to the Sanctuary to secure the available reservations.

 

DW and I would not even consider doing just a 7 night cruise and there are quite a few like us who consider 14 days a bare minimum.  To be very honest, we dislike back to backs and would prefer to do real 14 or 21 nights in late Nov/early Dec.  Princess used to have a true 14 day itinerary which we would book most years, but that was eliminated.  For next year, between Thanksgiving and Xmas we found a decent 14 day itinerary on Silverseas (a very good value) which we quickly booked.  We would love for Princess to go back to a true 14 day (no turn around days in a US Port) but they see advantages to their 7 day (with alternate itineraries) as advantageous for Princess.  It is the same with MSC (we love their Yacht Club).  It seems that to find a real 14-21 day Caribbean itinerary one must go to the luxury or premium lines.

 

Hank

I also came across some of the longer cruises though I suppose they fall under the repositioning categories, and they go to places like Asia or Europe. I suppose long cruises are more enjoyable for retirees?

Edited December 23, 2023 by 1412p0oi

[PacnGoNow]

16 minutes ago, 1412p0oi said:

I also came across some of the longer cruises though I suppose they fall under the repositioning categories, and they go to places like Asia or Europe. I suppose long cruises are more enjoyable for retirees?

Definitely!  I feel flying roundtrip, hotels costs and all the prep, it’s really worth it to do the longer ones.

Of course, when we were working, would couldn’t get a month off at one time.  So, we did a lot of 14night cruises.

 

If we lived in a port city, it would be a different story.

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

We just did a 15 night and it was packed with blues with 90% on the beverage packages. It was a huge money maker for them and the casino made a fortune.  That is a short cruise for us. 😳

 

The next one, a b2b, was a 32 night. 60% purchased the beverage package and a lot less blues.  So, I can clearly see the way they are headed. Seems as those long cruises will be limited and more expensive in the future. JMO

I'm curious about who told you about the percentage of passengers with drink packages.  Cruise director?  Captain??  Guest Services rep?  Friendly barkeep?  I went to my first Platinum party and they gave other demographic items about our fellow cruisers, but not this.

[PacnGoNow]

23 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm curious about who told you about the percentage of passengers with drink packages.  Cruise director?  Captain??  Guest Services rep?  Friendly barkeep?  I went to my first Platinum party and they gave other demographic items about our fellow cruisers, but not this.

This was from the Food and Beverage manager, who knew the figures on the beverage packages on our current cruises.

 

He said on the average, about 70-75% buy the packages.  Higher on the shorter cruises.

 

What information were you given? Was it on a long cruise or short?

Just curious.

 

Sorry to the OP…we got off the subject.  🥴

[lx200gps]

8 hours ago, Hlitner said:

When we boarded, we heard that over 500 were still aboard from the prior cruise.  For our 2nd week, we were told about 380 were on for the 2nd week.  The back to backs really have an inside track on restaurant reservations since the Princess app does work for the 2nd week.  Another advantage is for those who want to get space in the Sanctuary.  Those who do back to backs are the first to board (the 2nd week) so they can be the first to get to the Sanctuary to secure the available reservations.

 

 

In our experience, it's even worse than that. On our last trip on the Sky, late last year, we raced on board to try and book the Sanctuary, knowing full well that B2Bers would have boarded ahead of us Elites. When we arrived at the Sanctuary, those of us who had made the mad dash were all informed that the Sanctuary was completely sold out for our week. Seems all 800+ B2Bers from the previous cruise were given the option to book the Sanctuary ahead of time, for the NEXT (our) cruise. So we never had a chance.

 

I wonder if B2Bers are given the option to book Specialty Restaurants using their OBC during the previous cruise like they can with the Sanctuary. That could be one reason why on board SD reservations are getting hard to book. Like many others, we have tons of OBC and prefer to book restaurants immediately upon embarkation, but if it's getting that tough to find the desired slot, we may have to consider booking, and paying, well in advance.

[AZjohn]

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Sorry to the OP…we got off the subject.  🥴

LOL... That's what we do here on CC 🙂 

[Hlitner]

26 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

.....

 

I wonder if B2Bers are given the option to book Specialty Restaurants using their OBC during the previous cruise like they can with the Sanctuary. That could be one reason why on board SD reservations are getting hard to book. Like many others, we have tons of OBC and prefer to book restaurants immediately upon embarkation, but if it's getting that tough to find the desired slot, we may have to consider booking, and paying, well in advance.

Yes, those of us on the Sky back to back had full app access to our 2nd voyage, as soon as we boarded the previous voyage.  This was the main reason why we were able to secure reservations for that 2nd week, although the most desirable times were already gone (we assume that is because the slots were taken by those who had booked (and paid) prior to their cruise.  We were able to use our OBC to handle any reservation regardless of whether it was for our first or second week.

 

Given this scenario, those who want the desired times in restaurants should probably book their times long before they board the ship.  This generally means you will need to pay for those slots, via credit card, long before your voyage.  Once aboard, you can head to Guest Relations and try to get credit back for those pre-paid reservations.  However, I do think the best that will happen is Guest Relations might apply OBC to those pre-paid reservations and refund the paid dollars to your OBC (hopefully it will be refundable OBC).  A pain in the neck, but at least you will have your desired reservation dates/times.

 

Another hassle we had was that we were not permitted to book our included (free) slots (we had the Premiere Package which included 2 free alternate dinners) prior to boarding.  Some here have reported they were able to secure those slots prior to booking, but for whatever reason, the system would not let us make those reservations (without pre paying).  Even a call to Princess could not correct that problem and they had no explanation.

 

Hank

[hllwdcruiser]

We had no problem booking the specialty restaurants once on board on our recent Enchantment cruise sailing at full capacity. Yes, the prime times were sold out, but early and late seatings were available. We chose to eat at an earlier time (5:30) because by the time we actually got our mains, it was closer to 6:30. There were still some 7:30 and later times available.
Our trick was to visit the restaurants when they were open. By doing this, we snagged a same day reservation at the Catch and a next day reservation at Sabatini's. The Catch only had one day that was truly sold out. The host at Sabatini's told us that even though they appear sold out on the app, they actually keep several tables open. 

We also never eat at the Crown Grill, so I cannot speak as to whether they had any availability.

Keep in mind that although there were many B2B passengers on this cruise, there may not have been as many as usual since it was the first sailing after the transatlantic.

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

This was from the Food and Beverage manager, who knew the figures on the beverage packages on our current cruises.

 

He said on the average, about 70-75% buy the packages.  Higher on the shorter cruises.

 

What information were you given? Was it on a long cruise or short?

Just curious.

Thanks for sharing and satisfying my curiosity.

 

My last cruise was a very short one (5 days) on the Ruby in April.  We were given the number of people on our sailing (full with some extras), the number of those who were new to princess (about two-thirds), and the number of Platinums and Elites (about 430 total, about 15% of those sailing).  They also give the sail days for the three most sailed cruisers onboard.

[PacnGoNow]

13 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Thanks for sharing and satisfying my curiosity.

 

My last cruise was a very short one (5 days) on the Ruby in April.  We were given the number of people on our sailing (full with some extras), the number of those who were new to princess (about two-thirds), and the number of Platinums and Elites (about 430 total, about 15% of those sailing).  They also give the sail days for the three most sailed cruisers onboard.

Right.  We went to the Elite party and like to hear the numbers.  So surprising they are increasing the new cruisers by these large numbers.  So, their marketing targets are working. 

 

 

[lx200gps]

44 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Yes, those of us on the Sky back to back had full app access to our 2nd voyage, as soon as we boarded the previous voyage.  This was the main reason why we were able to secure reservations for that 2nd week, although the most desirable times were already gone (we assume that is because the slots were taken by those who had booked (and paid) prior to their cruise.  We were able to use our OBC to handle any reservation regardless of whether it was for our first or second week.

 

Given this scenario, those who want the desired times in restaurants should probably book their times long before they board the ship.  This generally means you will need to pay for those slots, via credit card, long before your voyage.  Once aboard, you can head to Guest Relations and try to get credit back for those pre-paid reservations.  However, I do think the best that will happen is Guest Relations might apply OBC to those pre-paid reservations and refund the paid dollars to your OBC (hopefully it will be refundable OBC).  A pain in the neck, but at least you will have your desired reservation dates/times.

 

Another hassle we had was that we were not permitted to book our included (free) slots (we had the Premiere Package which included 2 free alternate dinners) prior to boarding.  Some here have reported they were able to secure those slots prior to booking, but for whatever reason, the system would not let us make those reservations (without pre paying).  Even a call to Princess could not correct that problem and they had no explanation.

 

Hank

That's the confirmation I was afraid of ;o( On the same trip last year, where we were unable to book the Sanctuary due to the massive number of B2Bers, we also had great difficulty booking our SD slots. We generally only eat in the SD restaurants and prefer the earliest possible times, as things are at their quietest, the waiters are comparatively fresh for the night, best availability of the few window seats, etc. When we embarked on that trip last year, we headed for the 3 SD restaurants to try and book our desired time of 5PM and were largely shut out, even for that early time. I fully expect it was because of the B2Bers from the previous trip having already booked their slots, so thanks very much for the confirmation.

 

Interesting about your inability to book ahead of time with the two free SD credits from the Premier Package. We have it for our trip in Feb, and I was able to make the two reservations using the credit a few months ago, albeit at the unpopular 5PM.

[lx200gps]

30 minutes ago, hllwdcruiser said:

We had no problem booking the specialty restaurants once on board on our recent Enchantment cruise sailing at full capacity. Yes, the prime times were sold out, but early and late seatings were available. We chose to eat at an earlier time (5:30) because by the time we actually got our mains, it was closer to 6:30. There were still some 7:30 and later times available.
Our trick was to visit the restaurants when they were open. By doing this, we snagged a same day reservation at the Catch and a next day reservation at Sabatini's. The Catch only had one day that was truly sold out. The host at Sabatini's told us that even though they appear sold out on the app, they actually keep several tables open. 

We also never eat at the Crown Grill, so I cannot speak as to whether they had any availability.

Keep in mind that although there were many B2B passengers on this cruise, there may not have been as many as usual since it was the first sailing after the transatlantic.

This is generally also what we do as well. Immediately upon boarding, we like to walk the ship and visit each restaurant in turn, making our bookings at each one in person. A few  times if we had boarded too early, the restaurant staff are not yet in place so we call the DINE line to make our bookings. As to B2Bers scoffing all the best slots on the previous voyage, I'm cautiously optimistic we should be OK on this trip, as the Discovery is just running continuous Mexican Riviera trips, probably keeping the number of B2Bers down. I know that on some Caribbean trips, where one the week it's Eastern, the next week it's Western, there can be huge numbers of B2Bers.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, lx200gps said:

That's the confirmation I was afraid of ;o( On the same trip last year, where we were unable to book the Sanctuary due to the massive number of B2Bers, we also had great difficulty booking our SD slots. We generally only eat in the SD restaurants and prefer the earliest possible times, as things are at their quietest, the waiters are comparatively fresh for the night, best availability of the few window seats, etc. When we embarked on that trip last year, we headed for the 3 SD restaurants to try and book our desired time of 5PM and were largely shut out, even for that early time. I fully expect it was because of the B2Bers from the previous trip having already booked their slots, so thanks very much for the confirmation.

 

Interesting about your inability to book ahead of time with the two free SD credits from the Premier Package. We have it for our trip in Feb, and I was able to make the two reservations using the credit a few months ago, albeit at the unpopular 5PM.

We had discussed this issue, here on CC, a few weeks ago (before our cruise).  It does seem that some folks can do it online and others do not get the option.  When we called Princess to cry foul, two different Princess reps tried to do it for us and were also unable to get it to work.  They had no explanation and both reps said they would "elevate" the issue.  As expected, we never heard another word from Princess.  I mentioned it to the Crown Grill manager on the Sky and he also had no explanation saying that stuff is handled by the main office in the US.  

 

I should reiterate that once aboard, the App worked well and we were able to get 5 or our desired 6 reservations through the app...although the dining times were all late.  Folks can also go directly to the various restaurants and try to make reservations, but on our cruise, there were simply no available slots in earlier times.  The best bet (with the app) was either 5 or 8:40.  For us, 5pm is still late lunch time or perhaps tea time.  But in recent years, it does seem like the early dining options are more popular, especially with Floridians who seem to think nothing about having dinner at 4pm :).  We met a few on the recent cruise who complained that they could not get dining reservations before 5.

 

Hank