Concierge level vs standard veranda cabins

I've read the differences in "amenities" between the two classes and the only one that potentially would have any value for me would be the priority to reserve in the alternative restaurants. I would like to be able to sample all the restaurants once in a 10 day cruise on Riviera. Can that be pretty much guaranteed by booking a regular veranda cabin?

Also, is there any bad location for veranda cabins on Riviera that I should be aware of (eg vibrations or any such thing)?

Thanks!

You should have no problem getting into each of the specialty restaurants during your 10 day cruise. You might have to be a little flexible with regard to time. We have back to back cruises coming up on Marina which are only 7 days each. I was worried, too, but are booked in all four restaurants for both cruises.

In fact, everyone is GUARANTEED at least one reservation in each specialty restaurant per cruise.

Many are able to get extra reservations once onboard.

The priority is the time before the cruise you are allowed to go into the online system and book your reservation. It is different for different levels of cabins. I would do it as soon as you can. Once on the ship it is based an availably.

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I echo everyone's else experience. We're on the Marina for a 7 day cruise in October - lowest reservation priority at 45 days and we got into all four specialty restaurants. We just had to be somewhat flexible on times but we're pleased with what we ended up with. That said, I suggest you make your reservations at the earliest time the rules will let you.

Thank you for the comments, good to know that.

While it is true that you only get advanced reservations for so many nights and upper levels get more, you will not have any problem getting additional reservations once on board

In a 34 day cruise, I got my regular 8. Once onboard I found that daily at noon you could pretty much get any thing you wanted every day if you were flexible and would share....

To me this is s non - issue that some get overly worked up over... In reality I have not found it s probem

The issue is not whether you can get additional reservations but you must be flexible about the time you dine and sharing to maximize your opportunities.

I know one couple who dined in the specialties EVERY NIGHT on a 14 day cruise. To me, it would be boring as hell -- I wouldn't keep going to the same restaurants over and over anywhere -- but they were thrilled.

I agree with Laraine that if you are flexible, you can get many more specialty reservations even if you are only in a B or C cabin.

We found that when the ship is in port for a longer day (maybe until 8 PM rather than 6 PM), many will return to the ship later, so you can grab a 6:30 PM reservation pretty easily on those days by stopping at the restaurant reservation desk on Deck 5 on the "O" ships. We returned to Jacques, which for some reason is the most popular book ahead specialty restaurant in our experience, in May when some still were in Rome on our Civitavecchia port day.

What if one is insistent on not sharing a table and wants to eat between 7 and 8 (ideally 7:30)? What are the chances of getting extra reservations?

What if one is insistent on not sharing a table and wants to eat between 7 and 8 (ideally 7:30)? What are the chances of getting extra reservations?

As it varies from cruise to cruise, one can only try and see - impossible to predict :)

Your chances would be better if you want to share and are flexible with time.

Also, if you stay in PH or higher, you can always dine in your suite from any specialty restaurant course by course and not worry about extra reservations :D

It really depends on the number of days of your cruise. We were on a 14-day on Regatta and ate in the specialty restaurants half of the nights, though it did require some flexibility. On a ten-day cruise on Riviera, we were not able to get a single extra reservation at any restaurant at any time no matter how flexible we were. They have to cycle everyone through all four restaurants guaranteed, and the fewer days there are, the less time they have to do it. All you can do is try.

What if one is insistent on not sharing a table and wants to eat between 7 and 8 (ideally 7:30)? What are the chances of getting extra reservations?

Then your chances are very limited Id say only a 25% chance tops..... maybe zero on shorter cruises of 10 days.

What if one is insistent on not sharing a table and wants to eat between 7 and 8 (ideally 7:30)? What are the chances of getting extra reservations?

In our experience, those are prime times and you have to be there at the right time for others to cancel in order to get that booking ( unless you are in an expensive suite and has early booking privileges). We've always taken, when offered, the really late ones ( 8:45, 9) when we requested extra reservations.

You can also just "show up" in the hope there will be no shows.

I know people who have successfully gotten extra dining opportunities using this strategy. I doubt, however, it will work for a 2 top at 7:30 but worth a try.

You can also just "show up" in the hope there will be no shows.

I know people who have successfully gotten extra dining opportunities using this strategy. I doubt, however, it will work for a 2 top at 7:30 but worth a try.

If you are willing to share, you have very good odds. We were 2 for 2 on or last cruise.

If you are willing to share, you have very good odds. We were 2 for 2 on or last cruise.

Good work

Another strategy some use -- when you are on line for the GDR ask the Maitre d if there are any openings in the specialties. They have it all at their fingertips and sometimes you can get lucky.

We stayed concierge level recently on Riviera. I don't think it helped at all with getting into the specialty once on board. I prebooked 2 and then we stopped at the desk 5 times and asked for openings...some days we got in (we shared a table once) and some days they were fully booked...we ended up in specialty 5 nights on a 10 cruise. I did enjoy the spa access and the lounge on r floor. Was it worth the extra money...not sure. I enjoyed it...hubby probably would have preferred the savings:)

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Some of the standard veranda cabins have extended balconies. We loved our extended balcony on Riviera.

We had no trouble booking 4 speciality restaurants 45 days out but we did have to be a little flexible.

I enjoy use of the spa as a bene. Another benefit is the concierge lounge. Having the newpaper to read, for me, was enjoyable. The part my wife liked best was that the internet service was 3-4+ times faster in the lounge than anywhere else on ship. She could go there, check her email at work, take care of problems and be quickly done. Attempting to do so in the room often was grueling at best.

On Regatta to Alaska this past summer, our TA advised against extra cost of concierge over standard veranda. We had no problem getting into specialties beyond our allowed pre-booking of restaurants.

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