Can we change our dining time once onboard the ship

[The Floaties]

We are signed up for early dining, but are thinking about changing to open dining. Can we do that once we are on the ship? We didn't do it when we made our reservation, because our TA told us that if we chose open dining we couldn't use our OBC for tips.------the tips would have to be paid in advance. Does anyone know how this works?

 

Thanks,

[Hlitner]

You do not mention which cruise line, but as a general rule if you are on a line that has both Anytime Dining and Traditional Dining and you would not have a problem switching to Anytime dining once you are on-board. On most ships there will be a dining room maitre'd on duty during your embarkation day in the afternoon. All you need to do is stop by the dining room and make your wishes known. However, once you make this switch it would be very difficult to change back to traditional. As to your OBC it really depends on the cruise line has a specific rule which says you cannot use it for tips (we have never heard of this on any line). As a general rule the credit is simply applied to your on-board account and would be offset by any charges including tips (if you are on a ship that has auto tipping where a specific amount per day is put on your account).

Hank

[Putterdude]

See the Maître'd once on board in all likelihood there will be no problem in changing as there is generally a waiting list of people wanting early dinning.

[KirkNC]

Going TO any time dining should not be a problem. If you were trying to go to fixed, that may or may not get done.

 

Kirk

[geoherb]

If you know you want anytime dining, go ahead and have your TA make the change now. That way someone on the waitlist for traditional dining will be able to get their table assignment when they get on the ship. You won't have to stand in line to see the maitre d' and neither will they.

 

The way tips work on Princess and Holland America is that they're charged automatically to your onboard account. On our Princess cruise last month, it was $10.50 per passenger per day for regular cabins. I think the charge for full suites is slightly higher. Any onboard credit you have can pay for tips.

[phoenix1181]

If you know you want anytime dining, go ahead and have your TA make the change now. That way someone on the waitlist for traditional dining will be able to get their table assignment when they get on the ship. You won't have to stand in line to see the maitre d' and neither will they.

 

The way tips work on Princess and Holland America is that they're charged automatically to your onboard account. On our Princess cruise last month, it was $10.50 per passenger per day for regular cabins. I think the charge for full suites is slightly higher. Any onboard credit you have can pay for tips.

 

Your information doesn't help. The OP is sailing Royal next month & they DON'T automatically charge the onboard account.

 

OP, you should be able to make the change once you board. Get there as early as possible & be patient.

[Krazy Kruizers]

OP

 

Most cruise lines are happy to change you to Open Seating as there is always a wait list for the fixed dining times.

 

If you don't get it changed by the time you cruise -- you can certainly do it once on the ship.

[Hlitner]

Your information doesn't help. The OP is sailing Royal next month & they DON'T automatically charge the onboard account.

 

OP, you should be able to make the change once you board. Get there as early as possible & be patient.

 

The OP did not say which cruise line so we assume you know the person. But if cruising on RCI, they now require anyone choosing their anytime dining plan to pre-pay gratuities which are simply added to their on-board account. One could argue that "required tips" are not truly tips (just a hidden price increase) but that is a different argument.

 

Hank

[navybankerteacher]

There is never a problem switching to anytime -- that's the point: you just need to show up "anytime" to feed your face - no attendance taken, no assigned table, just what you want, where you want it at the time you want it.

 

However , as a courtesy to your fellow passengers, many of whom are on a wait list for assigned seating, you should let the maitre d' know you have switched. Whatever you do --do not try to have it both ways by keeping your assigned table and using anytime when you want. Your tablemates would be left hanging, people wanting assigned dining would be deprived, and the staff would be trying to juggle.

[The Floaties]

Sorry, I left out that we are on Celebrity Solstice. When I made our arrangements with our travel agent, he said that if we signed up for anytime dining, we would have to pre-pay the tips. But if we signed up for a regular dining time, we could use our OBC for our tips.

 

My question is, can we change our early dining assignment to anytime dining and use our OBC to pay the tips.

 

I would never try to use both anytime dining and an assigned dining time.

 

Thanks for you help.

[navybankerteacher]

I'm pretty certain that when they say "pre-pay" the tips, they mean have them added to your on board account (meaning that your OBC would offset them), as opposed to giving cash to assigned waiters at a fixed time table.

[phoenix1181]

The OP did not say which cruise line so we assume you know the person. But if cruising on RCI, they now require anyone choosing their anytime dining plan to pre-pay gratuities which are simply added to their on-board account. One could argue that "required tips" are not truly tips (just a hidden price increase) but that is a different argument.

 

Hank

 

Nope. I don't know the OP & I misread their signature. They're on Celebrity next month, not Royal & I have no clue how Celebrity handles anything.

 

That said, when you choose MTD with Royal the prepaid gratuities are paid before boarding as part of your final payment. They're only added to your onboard account if you change to MTD after boarding or complete the necessary paperwork requesting they be add them to your account.