Tired of Reservations

Am I the only one tired of the need for endless reservations? Been cruising a long time and i guess its necessary as the ships get larger but this need to plan my food and activities in advance is what I'm trying to escape from on vacation. Cruising on the Anthem in August

I understand, and one solution is to stay with smaller ships.

Not much choice out of NY area DH won't fly. I do enjoy the smaller ships

Not much choice out of NY area DH won't fly. I do enjoy the smaller ships

Road trip, bus, or train to Florida as a jumping off point for the smaller ships, and even then they aren't that small - just no reservations needed. :)

I would rather make a reservation then stand in line for 1+ hours for dinner or a show where there is a limited amount of seats. I know it's a pain to pre-plan, but my time is too valuable to waste standing in a line.

I agree...I don't mind a bit of planning...actually, planning can be fun! BUT...having to schedule every minute of a VACATION is a bit ridiculous! You're supposed to be relaxing and enjoying yourself...not watching the clock and rushing to and fro...

Agreed

Not much choice out of NY area DH won't fly. I do enjoy the smaller ships

Serenade sails out of Boston in September and October to NE/Canada. Much smaller ship and no need to make reservations. We have done that route twice and would again if the price was right.

We are doing Anthem in September to try that port for a change. Show reservations were no big deal, dining has been another story though since we booked a week before final payment. We are hoping to be able to get the restaurants and times we actually want once we board.

I understand, and one solution is to stay with smaller ships.

Exactly! I do cruise on the large ships but love the smaller ships the most and this is one of the reasons why. Much more stress free, do what you want when you want. :)

I just booked and was able to easily get dinner reservations But we prefer later dining . From what I see, early dining is more difficult and its just two us. Seems like everyone is going with family and friends. Definitely jealous. Hoping to meet some nice folks!

You could always skip the MDR and just eat at the buffet - much less planning needed...

I would rather make a reservation then stand in line for 1+ hours for dinner or a show where there is a limited amount of seats. I know it's a pain to pre-plan, but my time is too valuable to waste standing in a line.

That's the great thing about the smaller ships, there is no line even without a reservation. Ok, there might be a line, but it about 10 to 15 minutes at most, at least on my cruises. But normally, no line.

I agree...I don't mind a bit of planning...actually, planning can be fun! BUT...having to schedule every minute of a VACATION is a bit ridiculous! You're supposed to be relaxing and enjoying yourself...not watching the clock and rushing to and fro...

I agree 100 percent.

I just booked and was able to easily get dinner reservations But we prefer later dining . From what I see, early dining is more difficult and its just two us. Seems like everyone is going with family and friends. Definitely jealous. Hoping to meet some nice folks!

Have you connected with your Roll Call thread yet?

You could always skip the MDR and just eat at the buffet - much less planning needed...

That's great, but Anthem doesn't have a MDR per se, it has dynamic dining which uses 4 complimentary restaurants that you can pick and choose or rotate from one to the next.

Road trip, bus, or train to Florida as a jumping off point for the smaller ships, and even then they aren't that small - just no reservations needed. :)

It's is funny how we all call them smaller ships, when actually they are large - LOL.

Haven't checked in at Roll Call. That's where all the big parties of folks are lol I'm not a buffet person . I like to be served. First real vacation in five years so I'm planning a little pampering. We did do a 2 night on the Breakaway when I didn't know about the reservation requirement and needless to say, it didn't go well. Probably the cause of my irritation.

I never make reservations for just that reason. I hate feeling like my time on vacation is planned down to the minute. BUT, I'm also really happy to just go with the flow. Can't get in to the restaurant I want...oh well...I'll find something else to eat. Can't get into the show I want....oh well....I'll go find something else to do.

I know my way isn't for everyone.

Like your attitude I'm always nervous about "the plans"

Any ship that requires ANY show reservations or any dinner reservation that is NOT at a specialty 'extra charge' dining spot will most likely never see my name on a manifest.

A cruise vacation for me is the ultimate in 'no plan' vacation. I've told my husband numerous times how much I appreciate not having to decide where to go to eat and when (we always do fixed seating MDR with maybe one night in a specialty spot) and knowing that we have a set time to see whatever show is on board for the evening entertainment.

These newer ships may be beautiful and full of varied and interesting activities and wonderful shows, but its just too much extra planning for me. And the tales of people who get everything set, and then the ship changes around the schedule which requires scrambling up your whole 'pre-planned' itinerary again? No thanks.

It seems like the new way

What ships are considered small to RCCL standards? Recently booked 2 cruises, one on Navigator of the Seas; the other, Freedom of the Seas. Do I need to make reservations to see a show? I am Princess Elite, we walk into the theatre, & see a show,. I have never had to make a reservation. When cruising on RCCL, if reservations are not made? then you can't see a show? Confused.

The only ships with the reservations are Oasis class and Quantum class.

That leaves a lot of other ships, no matter what you consider "small" or "large".

What's even worse than having to make reservations is when Royal's system keeps losing them. Happened to us last year on Quantum and twice on my current Anthem sailing. After they disappeared the first time called Royal and had them rebook for me. Didn't keep them from disappearing again. After that paranoia set in and had need to check cruise planner every couple of days for six months to make sure they were still there. Not fun.

It is definitely different than what we are used to as Carnival cruisers. But these big ships seem a little overwhelming with all the activities and restaurants so planning and organizing makes it easier to make sure we get to everything we want to. We have a tendency to have a bunch of plans to do stuff on our ships and then it falls by the wayside so perhaps this will help keep us on track.

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