Specialty dining reservation times need to be fairly distributed.

[pinotlover]

14 minutes ago, chloemonkey said:

This leads me to wonder if all of those bartenders that people tip on the "first" day as they are certain that it enables them to obtain better service....or the cabin personnel/Butlers who accept tips as they are offered...are also in jeopardy of immediate termination?  

 

Tipping has been around since forever....and I doubt very seriously that this practice is treated as severely as you claim.....could be wrong?  And we have seen it done......also DONE it ourselves!  and never noticed any repercussions......just our experience I guess?

Doing it quietly and discreetly may be one thing, while coming on CC and bragging about doing it may produce different outcomes.

[basor]

26 minutes ago, chloemonkey said:

This leads me to wonder if all of those bartenders that people tip on the "first" day as they are certain that it enables them to obtain better service....or the cabin personnel/Butlers who accept tips as they are offered...are also in jeopardy of immediate termination?  

 

Tipping has been around since forever....and I doubt very seriously that this practice is treated as severely as you claim.....could be wrong?  And we have seen it done......also DONE it ourselves!  and never noticed any repercussions......just our experience I guess?

I was on a B2B cruise and this occurred on the first cruise of the B2B - so it is not a "claim" but first hand knowledge of actual incident...we do not tip anyone onboard a cruise ship before a service is rendered and receive appropriate service anyway.  Bartenders/wine servers/waiters bring us our requested items in a timely manner.  Restaurant maitre d"s sit us at an appropriate table in a timely manner based upon our reservation.  We go with the flow and understand we are just one of 650/1250 other people onboard and are no more or less important than any of them.

Edited Friday at 10:39 PM by basor

[chloemonkey]

5 minutes ago, basor said:

I was on a B2B cruise and this occurred on the first cruise of the B2B - so it is not a "claim" but first hand knowledge of actual incident...we do not tip anyone onboard a cruise ship before a service is rendered and receive appropriate service anyway.  Bartenders/wine servers/waiters bring us our requested items in a timely manner.  Restaurant maitre d"s sit us at an appropriate table in a timely manner based upon our reservation.  We go with the flow and understand we are just one of 650/1250 other people onboard and are no more or less important than any of them.

Nor have we ever offered a gratuity to any service personnel - but have read many reports of those who have.  My "question" had more to do with the immediate termination claim - as again, we have read/heard numerous stories of this practice but this is the first that I have ever heard of the immediate termination being carried out.

And for the record?  We also "go with the flow" and do not ask or demand anything to which we are not entitled.  But until they change the rules?  Those in the highest level suites do enjoy the earlier booking opportunity and is one of the perks that we do take advantage of.  And maybe Oceania will change their protocols at some point?  And that will make some happier, others maybe not so much.....

But as many have said on these Boards....if you are patient enough and speak to the reservation desk people and are just a "bit" flexible.....things usually work out.  

 

[basor]

In response to your question, I replied that I can vouch for it actually happening 1 time....and I also believe that people booked in higher suites should enjoy additional perks such as free admission to the spa area, earlier and more specialty dining reservations, earlier cabin availabilty on embarkation day....I never questioned those "perks" as I am not the OP.

This topic has evolved into a discussion on tipping/bribing which is what I commented on..

 

Edited Friday at 10:57 PM by basor

[chloemonkey]

29 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Doing it quietly and discreetly may be one thing, while coming on CC and bragging about doing it may produce different outcomes.

I have NEVER done it myself!  I was merely stating that MANY people DO come on these boards and recommend this tactic in order to receive preferential treatment/outcomes......just for the record.....my comment was in regards to the immediate termination of Matre D's accepting a tip.....

Geez......

[clo]

3 hours ago, chloemonkey said:

This leads me to wonder if all of those bartenders that people tip on the "first" day as they are certain that it enables them to obtain better service....or the cabin personnel/Butlers who accept tips as they are offered...are also in jeopardy of immediate termination?  

 

Tipping has been around since forever....and I doubt very seriously that this practice is treated as severely as you claim.....could be wrong?  And we have seen it done......also DONE it ourselves!  and never noticed any repercussions......just our experience I guess?

But it's a bribe, right? If you don't consider it a bribe, then what is it? Isn't a tip always afterwards for good food/service/etc.?

[clo]

2 hours ago, chloemonkey said:

I have NEVER done it myself!  I was merely stating that MANY people DO come on these boards and recommend this tactic in order to receive preferential treatment/outcomes......just for the record.....my comment was in regards to the immediate termination of Matre D's accepting a tip.....

Geez......

Well, since these are true corporations not some little mom and pop, I have to believe that the maitre de's and others have been instructed with the appropriate warnings.

[Harters]

8 hours ago, clo said:

I have to believe that the maitre de's and others have been instructed with the appropriate warnings.

I'm sure they have. 

 

I used to work for a government agency. Like all other arms of government, we had strict anti-corruption rules. No bribes (which would have been criminal offences), no gifts, no inappropriate hospitality, etc. Most folk followed them of course, but there were always "bad apples". 

[mozfoz]

2 hours ago, Harters said:

I'm sure they have. 

 

I used to work for a government agency. Like all other arms of government, we had strict anti-corruption rules. No bribes (which would have been criminal offences), no gifts, no inappropriate hospitality, etc. Most folk followed them of course, but there were always "bad apples". 

 

[mozfoz]

Maybe get back to the original post and give  reservation comments/advice/suggestions. Start another topic regarding tipping and ethnics.

[pinotlover]

57 minutes ago, mozfoz said:

Maybe get back to the original post and give  reservation comments/advice/suggestions. Start another topic regarding tipping and ethnics.

I have no idea what the imaginary word “ fair” is supposed to mean or intended to be defined by the OP. Defining fair is far more subjective than any discussion on food. It was easy to thread drift.

[CJANDH]

On 9/11/2024 at 6:31 PM, mozfoz said:

I did get 2 reservations for 8:00 and 2 for 8:30. As we never eat that late, we probably will not get to eat at a specialty restaurant.

If you don't plan on using them, why tie up the times and prevent people who do dine later from getting a reservation?

[durberville]

50 minutes ago, CJANDH said:

If you don't plan on using them, why tie up the times and prevent people who do dine later from getting a reservation?

Does anyone even dine later on Oceania?  We only managed to book 2 9:00 pms, an 8:00 and an 8:30. From what I’ve read I get the impression they start closing down the specialty restaurants after 8pm 😳 I don’t mind dining late (7:30- 8:00 would be ideal) but if we will be rushed or the last couple in the room I’ll be very, very uncomfortable. 😬

[clo]

1 hour ago, CJANDH said:

If you don't plan on using them, why tie up the times and prevent people who do dine later from getting a reservation?

I've found when traveling, sea or land, that we 'dine' later. Busy days, a little rest, a cocktail. Dinnertime sneaks up on us.

[Harters]

41 minutes ago, durberville said:

I don’t mind dining late (7:30- 8:00 would be ideal)

I don't really regard 8.00 as being late for dinner and that (or 7.30 earliest) is our usual time for reservations on land or sea. You do see people arriving after 8, of course, although not that many. When we've had 8pm reservations, there's still been a goodly number of people in the room when we are finishing. No sense whatsoever of feeling rushed or the restaurant closing down. 

[pinotlover]

The higher the percentage of Brits and European, the more late diners. The higher percentage American cruises the fewer. Lots of geriatrics, mostly early diners and room service. 
 

Typically there are still plenty of people in the Specialties at 8:00. The buffet line is a different story. 

[lorimay]

We had a very uncomfortable late dinner in Jacques on the Riviera. It was an “extra” reservation for either 8 or 8:30. I can’t remember which. Some tables must have lingered because we had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated. By the time they seated us, there were only a few tables left. Service was slow. At the main course there were only us and one other table. They left and the staff started resetting all the tables and using the carpet sweeper all around us. It was not a great experience. 

[Harters]

9 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Brits and European

Britons are Europeans.😀

Edited Saturday at 05:16 PM by Harters

[pinotlover]

15 minutes ago, Harters said:

Britons are Europeans.😀

😂 meant to say “Southern “ Europeans! 🥹
 

You did bail from the EU!!🤔

Edited Saturday at 05:32 PM by pinotlover

[mozfoz]

2 hours ago, CJANDH said:

If you don't plan on using them, why tie up the times and prevent people who do dine later from getting a reservation?

I never said I plan on not using them. I cannot predict tomorrow, let alone 45 days from now. I will do as feel like doing. I would not hold up people who do dine later from getting a reservation, but until I know for sure, I'll keep them. Happy sailings.

[Harters]

9 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

You did bail from the EU!

I'll not discuss that as it'd cross the "no politics" rule. But there are 16 European countries (according to the United Nations list)  that are not members of the EU

[LHT28]

Well I needed some humour in my sad little life so decided to check out CC  😉

Nothing has changed in 9 mths 🙄

 

Back to the OP

 We are always in the 45 day window

 What I do if I cannot get the earlier time slot is book something  then check back every few days to see if something more suitable opens up

Be flexible  on the day   you may have to juggle restaurants around to get the  earlier  seating

If all else fails go to the reservations desk  (deck 5)  on embarkation day & ask if they can get you a more suitable  to you  time slot

JMO

 

Enjoy

Lyn

 

[durberville]

2 hours ago, lorimay said:

We had a very uncomfortable late dinner in Jacques on the Riviera. It was an “extra” reservation for either 8 or 8:30. I can’t remember which. Some tables must have lingered because we had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated. By the time they seated us, there were only a few tables left. Service was slow. At the main course there were only us and one other table. They left and the staff started resetting all the tables and using the carpet sweeper all around us. It was not a great experience. 

This is what worries me. We have 9:00 pm reservations. I swear I read somewhere on this forum that the specialties had actually closed and shut the doors by 9:30! 😳 

[MarkWiltonM]

I used to agonize over specialty dining reservations. We usually book a B3 veranda and we like to eat early and we like a table for two. Good luck with that! I used to get up at midnight the first day I could book and rarely found anything before 8:00 or 8:30. We tried sharing tables at an earlier time but it was too hit or miss in terms of the company. I can now say that I'm grateful that we discovered that we don't actually like the specialty restaurants on Oceania. In fact, the only one we really like is Ember on Vista, which is routinely derided by what appears to be a majority. So no more worries for us! We enjoy the grand dining room and the Terrace buffet and the pizza in Waves and in-room dining. Plenty of options. If I want good Italian, or Asian, or a fancy steak house (except we don't eat much meat these days), I'll wait until I'm back home where the options are plentiful and the food is way way better. We have other reasons to cruise and Oceania is one of our favorite lines.    

[iowananny]

3 hours ago, durberville said:

This is what worries me. We have 9:00 pm reservations. I swear I read somewhere on this forum that the specialties had actually closed and shut the doors by 9:30! 😳 

On our last cruise we had two reservations at 8:00.  The original reservations were for 8:30 and 9:00.  We've had 9:00 reservations many times and they always end up being earlier once on board. We shared a table one night and had our own table one night.  Both nights we were in the dining room until after 10:00.  Yes, the staff was doing some cleaning but nothing like running the sweeper.  No one treated us rudely in an attempt to get us out early.  We never felt rushed.  As a matter of fact our waiters were very friendly when they didn't have as many people to take care of.  This was on Nautica but we've had similar experiences on other ships.

 

I'm also with @MarkWiltonM.  We like the dining room very much.  Last time my husband said the lamb chops he had in the DR were better than the ones in Polo.  You can also get Dover Sole which is just as good as what you get in Toscano and I like their lobster.  We like to use the same waiters for our entire trip.  It's just a little more personalized

 

We can also pick a time that works for us.  Last trip, one night we didn't get to the DR until 8:30.  There were still people coming in at 9:00.  They close at 9:30. When we left about 10:15 I was amazed how many people were still at the tables, especially those in a group who were chatting and having a good time with their tablemates.  There were no waiters glaring at them.

 

I realize many people prefer to eat earlier but for those of us who prefer to eat later, rest assured you will not be rushed out

 

My husband always makes the reservations and he says he is not going to be up late at night just for a reservation for a specialty restaurant.  We usually book a veranda but we've been in an Oceanview too and never had a problem getting a reservation.  We don't care for Jacques and Red Ginger so remember our reservations will be out there for those who love those specialties.