Requested dinner reservations

[golfinlynn]

First time cruiser on Oceania, was on Sirena in a Concierge stateroom.  Prior to 12:01AM ET on the day reservations opened for me, I analyzed the shore excursions I had booked, had a list in front of me, so I knew what time I got back (approximately) onto the ship each day at port and what days were sea days.  With this list in front of me, I went online at 12:01am ET on the first day open to me for a Concierge stateroom, which is 60 days out.  My husband and I like to eat early, at 6:30PM.  Did I always get my first choice?  No, and one of the days was my birthday that I couldn't get my first choice, and I wanted Red Ginger 2 top, and couldn't get it unless we wanted to dine at 8:30pm on my birthday.   So I took the other specialty restaurant on my birthday at 6:30, for a 2 top, and booked red ginger a day earlier, and celebrated my birthday in Red Ginger the night before.  By being flexible, I was able to book at 6:30 for all 4 nights (2 nights in each specialty restaurant on Sirena) at a table for 2.  My "O" TA told me to call him on the day it opens on the phone, but I booked asap online at 12:01am ET because in a few seconds I could hunt for options still available and make quick decisions.  I also did not select embarkation day as one of my specialty restaurant dining days, as we were travelling to Europe from California and I didn't know how tired my husband and I would be.  As we took the "O" air itinerary, and the transfers, we arrived the day of embarkation and boarded the ship at 4:30PM (in the future, with the O flexible arrive up to 3 days ahead for no extra fee, we will arrive at least 1 day early).  I immediately walked up to the reservation desk and inquired if they had an extra reservation in Red Ginger at 6:30PM that evening, table for 2, and they did, so we had an extra night at a specialty restaurant, at the desired time my husband and I wanted to eat.

[roothy123]

We're almost always in the 45 day pre-cruise category, which applies to regular veranda, oceanview and inside staterooms.  And we're more of a 7 to 7:30 duo than a 6:30 duo.  But otherwise, my plan and experience is very similar to what golfinlynn has outlined. I like to spread out the reservations, avoid days when we're in port late or may have a really nice sailaway, and have no problem with sharing a table.  Obviously it depends upon how full a particular cruise is, but in my experience, it's been quite rare that I couldn't get good slots at the specialty restaurants. And if you're in a suite, you likely can get 100% of what you want.

 

Just in case you're wondering when you can book, here's a FAQ from O's website. The actual date is also printed on your invoice.  There's another FAQ on how many reservations you get, which is based on length of cruise in addition to room category.   https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005477713-When-can-I-make-reservations-in-the-specialty-restaurant

[Redtravel]

Relax. The specialty reservation system can be frustrating.  If you are in standard veranda, ov, or inside, you may not get your desired dates or times. Even in concierge cabins, desired dates and times can be a problem. Be flexible.  If you get lucky, you may get exactly what you want.  It all depends on the desires of the guests onboard.  In Europe, we always get early tables. In Caribbean, early tables are seldom available.  We take later times or share.  On those dates, we get a snack late afternoon. Tea in Horizons , room service, or visit Baristas.  Tables for 2 can happen on longer cruises. On shorter cruises, forget tables for 2.  Share a table usually gets you a reservation. We have met great people by sharing tables.  If everything fails, don’t fret. On the ship, the concierge reserves time slots for people who cannot reserve online.  Concierge might also get you extra reservations.  In January on Vista, I made reservations for the 4 restaurants. When I checked in at the dock, they handed me the slip with my reservations.  Only. 3 were listed.  What happened?  Nobody knows.  The concierge straightened it out. Gave me a table for 2 and offered an extra reservation. Went to Ember twice. Ribeye was excellent. Just relax.  

[MEFIowa]

You can really learn a lot about the issue IF you do a B2B in different cabin levels which we did off Riviera 10/30-11/19, 2023 in the Med. Trieste to Athens then Athens to Barcelona. Ship had about 1230 passenger on both legs. With a very heavy Asian contingent on both legs, too.

 

Learned there really was no "late dining" on either cruise. Very few passengers showed up to eat at or after 8:30 PM in the specialty restaurants. They were emptying out by 9 pm and pretty much empty by 9:30 PM. O actually changed our 9 pm reservation to an 8:30 one and I saw why. NO one showed up at 9 pm and only 3 couples showed up at 8:30

 

For our A3, no problem getting the early 6:30 or 7:30 reservation.

 

For our B3, no such luck. Was all 8 pm or later.

 

BUT we only wanted table for 2.

 

Something is OFF IF people can get table for 2s at say 6:30 pm added on the day of, when people in G-B cabins can't get those slots 45 days out! 

[MEFIowa]

And we quickly learned that IF we didn't want to be one of a couple couples left at the end of the evening, when it was obvious that the staff wanted to be gone, too, we'd tell our server right up front: NO bread and NO desert. We'd order our meal, all of it, and just have them bring it out as quickly as possible.

 

I do believe it highly possible that O knows that many G-B cabin passengers don't eat in the specialty restaurants for all their possible minimums due to the timing issue.

 

We've got F and C1 for our upcoming B2B on Sirena in the Baltic starting late Aug. I don't think we'll take any specialty reservation if all they offer is at 8:30 pm or later.

[roothy123]

11 minutes ago, MEFIowa said:

And we quickly learned that IF we didn't want to be one of a couple couples left at the end of the evening, when it was obvious that the staff wanted to be gone, too, we'd tell our server right up front: NO bread and NO desert. We'd order our meal, all of it, and just have them bring it out as quickly as possible.

 

I do believe it highly possible that O knows that many G-B cabin passengers don't eat in the specialty restaurants for all their possible minimums due to the timing issue.

 

We've got F and C1 for our upcoming B2B on Sirena in the Baltic starting late Aug. I don't think we'll take any specialty reservation if all they offer is at 8:30 pm or later.

I've had lots of experience in that 45-day category, mostly in insides or OVs on the smaller ships.  Just be willing to share a table (could be 4 person table, could large one) and be flexible, and you'll be fine.  I usually just select "sharing" and then once booked, immediately go back to see if there's a non-sharing slot on a day/time I like.  If so, I cancel my reservation at that venue & go back and rebook.  If not, I see if I can make any changes on board.  We love Sirena, by the way, and the small ships in general.  Red Ginger is not on the other small ships.  And there's not a thing wrong with those inside F's - great location, just no window!  Turn on the TV for the ship's bow cam....

 

[MEFIowa]

11 minutes ago, roothy123 said:

I've had lots of experience in that 45-day category, mostly in insides or OVs on the smaller ships.  Just be willing to share a table (could be 4 person table, could large one) and be flexible, and you'll be fine.  I usually just select "sharing" and then once booked, immediately go back to see if there's a non-sharing slot on a day/time I like.  If so, I cancel my reservation at that venue & go back and rebook.  If not, I see if I can make any changes on board.  We love Sirena, by the way, and the small ships in general.  Red Ginger is not on the other small ships.  And there's not a thing wrong with those inside F's - great location, just no window!  Turn on the TV for the ship's bow cam....

 

I'm clearly discussing TABLES for 2. We have no desire to eat with another couple.

 

And no amount of "flexibility" can make 6:30 or 7:30 specialty reservations magically appear at the 45-day window if O says "None are available". My wife tries to make them at 1201 AM on the 1st day we can.

[ORV]

Don't know where to even start with inflexible mindsets. 🤠

 

For those that don't really mind sharing keep in mind that in our experience many times we've selected sharing and wind up by ourselves. 

 

I've gone to the reservations person on the first or second day and had all of ours changed when I once forgot to book them until 2 or 3 weeks before the cruise. Yeah, I was distracted by more important things at the time. We had cruised previously with the person in charge of that, and she likes my wife, so we wound up with 6:30 2 tops for all 4 restaurants. My point is that all kinds of things are possible when you're not so rigid. 

[MEFIowa]

2 minutes ago, ORV said:

.... My point is that all kinds of things are possible when you're not so rigid. 

The primary issue is what is AVAILABLE for G-B cabins on the first minute they can make their reservations 45 days out. As couples. In advance, supposedly AFTER the A and higher cabins had their first crack at what is available.

 

And IF G-B cabin passengers are being DENIED tables for 2 45 days out when O knows they exist but are saving them, esp. desired earlier time tables for 2, for others later. Weird how so many seem to be able to just walk up on nearly any day during a cruise and snag a table for 2 when the G-B cabin passengers were told 45 days out, "NONE are available. NOT a one. NOT on any day you're cruising."

[ORV]

The real issue is what is possible, the rest is just noise. 

[MEFIowa]

2 minutes ago, ORV said:

The real issue is what is possible....

And that is controlled by O. Not passengers.

 

So, for example, when Southern Gary and I are on the same cruise on Riviera in the Med last Nov and he (apparently) can get ALL the specialty reservations he wants from his Suite, just asking any day, and I can't get any at a decent time, what is "possible" for him isn't "possible" for me.

 

Weirder still is being "forced" to take a 9 pm reservation 45 days out and then on the day of being told earlier in the day it has been changed to 8:30 and you see you and just 2 other couples show up at 8:30. There was no real "9 pm" slot. They just dumped you into it hoping you wouldn't take it or knowing they'd force you out of it anyway.

[goletans]

OK Gotta jump in here.

We're not rigid or would not have reserved our specialty restaurants at 9:01PM last night. About half of the nights there was nothing available for two. The others only had 9PM. We took them although we prefer 8PM or earlier.

I adhere to a vegetarian diet and have a problem when a fellow diner is having seafood or meat - especially red, juicy meat. This means sharing is too great a chance to try again.

Yes, we will try changing our reservations to an earlier time slot.

We will not rush our meals nor skip any course we want. If offered a 9PM time, we will stay and enjoy our meal. If we are the only ones in the restaurant, it will be quite peaceful and we will feel very special.

 

[MEFIowa]

2 hours ago, goletans said:

... We will not rush our meals nor skip any course we want. If offered a 9PM time, we will stay and enjoy our meal. If we are the only ones in the restaurant, it will be quite peaceful and we will feel very special.

And you'll get to "enjoy" the looks of the wait staff as they obviously want you gone and them getting out of there. You'll notice it. But then there are those who enjoy the misery of others.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Wow. Just wow.  

[iowananny]

We prefer to eat late and we prefer to share a table.  We have no problems making reservations. although we don't always get a table to share.  We've asked for shared tables many times and there have probably been only two that we weren't really that comfortable with but they sure weren't that bad   Quite often we meet people on board and enjoy them and we share a table.

 

Yes, if we make a reservation for 9:00 it usually is at 8:00 or 8:30 which is fine with us.  We've stayed late in the dining room and never felt uncomfortable with the staff wanting to get us out of there when most are gone.  They may be in the process of cleaning but they've always came to our table to make sure they weren't bothering us.  

 

I know many Europeans prefer to eat later in the evening.  In France many of the fine restaurants don't even open until 8:00 and in Spain it's even later.  

 

Don't be afraid to book a later time and feel rushed.  It has never happened to us and we have actually eaten later so we're going by our experience.

[goletans]

2 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

And you'll get to "enjoy" the looks of the wait staff as they obviously want you gone and them getting out of there. You'll notice it. But then there are those who enjoy the misery of others.

We have only ever had kind staff and wonderful service as is the Oceania way.

[EJL2023]

4 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

And you'll get to "enjoy" the looks of the wait staff as they obviously want you gone and them getting out of there. You'll notice it. But then there are those who enjoy the misery of others.

I’m beginning to think those “looks” were solely for you!! 

[riversights]

Fascinating topic.  What's so special about "specialty" dining scenes that it generates heat like this?  Okay, I confess to being one of those guys in youth who ran (literally) to the front of the festival concert crowd to get great seats for Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, and the Crystals.  It was the same for Hair, and for the Tonight Show, and for the Peppermint Lounge (obstructed view).  And I chased Bobby Kennedy and almost caught up to him (the girl in front of me got a cufflink).  Enough of this.  Now "we" are content slipping in to a dining room which the effusive talkers and big laughers have vacated.  The staff always seem indulgent.   

Edited Sunday at 08:20 PM by riversights
redundant term

[MEFIowa]

46 minutes ago, riversights said:

... What's so special about "specialty" dining scenes that it generates heat like this?....   

A big issue is whether and when G-B cabin passengers can actually book reservations in them on their cruise, since they have to WAIT and book them after the A and higher-level cabins have supposedly had their first cracks at booking.

 

So for the G-B passengers, tends to mean 8:30 and 9 pm reservations, if any, on a given day. And if O forced you into a 9 pm reservation slot, they'll reserve the right to then back you to a 8:30 slot because there are so few passengers with these late reservations.

 

Seems like many of the PH and higher passengers claim they could just make daily reservations in them at "good times" when the G-B passengers had already been told, "No reservation available at that time."

 

Learned the fascinating ins and outs from our B2B on Riviera that started off in an A3 for 10 nights but we then moved to a B3 for the 2nd 10 nights. We had nothing but undesired reservation times for the B3. No problems with the A3.

 

Hard to tell how "fair" the system is actually being applied to the various classes of cabins.

[iowananny]

And I thought we were the only ones.  My husband always books our specialty dining and I know he's not up at midnight to get the best seat in town.  We don't care for Jacques.  It's a 60's style supper club and nothing like real French cooking but many people like it and I respect their views of what they think French cooking is.  We decline and then others can have our spot.  We also don't like Red Ginger.  Some of the blandest Asian cooking I've ever tasted.  People go on and on about the Miso-glazed Sea Bass.  A lightly sweetened piece of fish in a leaf.  Not my idea of good food.  But again, that is my opinion and I respect those who think it is the greatest thing they've ever eaten.  We all have different tastes and thank goodness for that.

 

But I think many people on O get real excited about getting their reservations.  We have always had a decent meal in Polo and Toscano but then we've had decent meals in the dining room and Terrace also.  I guess we feel we have to have at least a couple of specialty meals because "we have to". 

 

I think a lot of it has to do with, it's only available to those who book the higher class rooms and why should they get what I want?  It's because they paid a lot more than you did.  When we fly business class we like the bigger and more comfortable seats but when dinner arrives we don't think the people in economy should eat what we're eating.  We paid a lot of money for our seats and why should they get what we paid for?  Yet there are many on O that are angry because the suite passengers can book as many nights as they want.  You pay the money and you can too.  It's pretty simple.  

 

The food is good everywhere on board and nobody is going to go home hungry.  Just enjoy yourselves and be happy you can afford to go on a cruise.  There are a lot of people who can't.

[MEFIowa]

4 minutes ago, iowananny said:

... I think a lot of it has to do with, it's only available to those who book the higher class rooms and why should they get what I want?  It's because they paid a lot more than you did... We paid a lot of money for our seats and why should they get what we paid for?  Yet there are many on O that are angry because the suite passengers can book as many nights as they want.  You pay the money and you can too.  It's pretty simple....

The only serious issue is whether G-B cabin passengers who are trying to book their reservations when their reservation window opens up are being denied reservation times and tables because O is keeping these available for higher-level cabins AFTER they already had their window open for their reservations.

 

And one notes how few suites and suite passengers are on say Riviera when she's got 1235 passengers. Compared to all the G-B cabin passengers. This isn't much of an issue for the suite passengers, assuming the G-B actually had a real chance at decent reservations when their window opened.

[GrammieK]

13 minutes ago, iowananny said:

And I thought we were the only ones.  My husband always books our specialty dining and I know he's not up at midnight to get the best seat in town.  We don't care for Jacques.  It's a 60's style supper club and nothing like real French cooking but many people like it and I respect their views of what they think French cooking is.  We decline and then others can have our spot.  We also don't like Red Ginger.  Some of the blandest Asian cooking I've ever tasted.  People go on and on about the Miso-glazed Sea Bass.  A lightly sweetened piece of fish in a leaf.  Not my idea of good food.  But again, that is my opinion and I respect those who think it is the greatest thing they've ever eaten.  We all have different tastes and thank goodness for that.

 

But I think many people on O get real excited about getting their reservations.  We have always had a decent meal in Polo and Toscano but then we've had decent meals in the dining room and Terrace also.  I guess we feel we have to have at least a couple of specialty meals because "we have to". 

 

I think a lot of it has to do with, it's only available to those who book the higher class rooms and why should they get what I want?  It's because they paid a lot more than you did.  When we fly business class we like the bigger and more comfortable seats but when dinner arrives we don't think the people in economy should eat what we're eating.  We paid a lot of money for our seats and why should they get what we paid for?  Yet there are many on O that are angry because the suite passengers can book as many nights as they want.  You pay the money and you can too.  It's pretty simple.  

 

The food is good everywhere on board and nobody is going to go home hungry.  Just enjoy yourselves and be happy you can afford to go on a cruise.  There are a lot of people who can't.

 

bingo!

[ORV]

I know better. 

 

So much spin and missing information. Not once have you mentioned your point of view is from booking a table for 2. You aren't being denied the times you want because they're holding them for those in the upper suites. Many people that don't really understand the system, either by being new to Oceania and it wasn't properly explained or they're not computer literate wait until they're onboard to book their reservations. Why do you think there's a line on embarkation day all afternoon? Not to try to get extras for that night. 

 

But those that pay more should get more, just like Iowananny mentioned above. I'd think a good capitalist like you would understand and appreciate that. 

 

FYI, I always get the times I want, but we're willing to share. But even at 45 days we've been able to get early 2 tops. Just not always the night I wanted. For the most part we book in the G-B category. 

Edited Sunday at 09:37 PM by ORV

[sunlover12]

@MEFIowa  Keep in mind that not everyone who is in a PH and above wants extra specialty dining reservations.  We book PH and have never asked for extra reservations.  We take our allotted reservations and that's all. We like dining in all the restaurants.  It's hard for me to believe that they're holding a bunch of slots open to PH and above just in case they ask for more. 

[MEFIowa]

4 minutes ago, ORV said:

... But those that pay more should get more, just like Iowananny mentioned above.... FYI, I always get the times I want, but we're willing to share. But even at 45 days we've been able to get early 2 tops. Just not always the night I wanted. For the most part we book in the G-B category. 

Those in suites do get more, and we both know it. I have little issue with the FEW suite passengers getting to live like royalty, assuming there is some equity in the actual reservation system.

 

As the saying goes, YMMV. We had 630 passengers on Sirena 11/2022. And only 719 on Riviera 12/2021. One was full, the other was "empty". Makes a huge difference. Riviera had the 1230s back in 10-11, 2023. So we experienced the reality of B3 versus A3.

 

Will be interesting to see what Sirena has for our upcoming 22 night B2B. The first half is showing "Available" today for ALL F-A cabins and "Guaranteed" for G. The 2nd cruise is and has been "Wait List" for ALL G-A cabins for as long as I can remember.