Specialty Restaurants/Mariner

[smg4412]

I just had an interesting experience and am wondering if I'm missing something here. My wife and I are sailing on the Mariner this summer... cruising the Black Sea. The web site for this cruise states that reservations will start to be accepted for the Specialty Restaurants (Signatures and Prime 7) on April 24th. Being that I work nights occasionally I went on-line at 12/midnight (East Coast time) on the 24th to see if they were accepting reservations. Indeed they were. Problem was that the two nights I was interested in were no longer available. This was at about 2 minutes after midnight. These two nights were the "sea days" on this cruise. In the two minutes this site was open could 100 people already have booked tables ahead of me? And, do these two nights have some special significance I'm not aware of? Those of you more experienced with Regent have any idea on what is happening here?

[journeyfan]

Reservations open at midnight in the central time zone or 1 AM east coast time, so my guess is that reservations weren't open when you were on the site. Have you tried since then to book reservations?

[smg4412]

Reservations were open...but the two sea days were already filled or unavailable two minutes after they opened. I was able to book reservations on other days.

[wristband]

It is possible both nights are "reserved" for special events. This would be most likely at Signatures, as I have seen private functions 'close' the restaurant for the evening (e.g. Park West VIP customers). This is not a frequent occurrence so it does seem odd both 7 & Signatures were not available to you on both nights.

 

Might your TA contact Regent directly about securing a reservation on the night you desire?

[Travelcat2]

If the restaurant is not reserved for a special event, there is a good chance you can get a reservation once you are on board. It is also a good idea to check again in a couple of days. I agree that it is highly unlikely that the reservations went so quickly. For future reference, reservations open up on the west coast at 10:00 p.m.

[EZ99B5]

If the restaurant is not reserved for a special event, there is a good chance you can get a reservation once you are on board. It is also a good idea to check again in a couple of days. I agree that it is highly unlikely that the reservations went so quickly. For future reference, reservations open up on the west coast at 10:00 p.m.

They must have changed something recently, as according to the FAQ on the Regent website, they open at midnight eastern. But I do recall a time when it was 1am eastern (which never made much sense to me):

 

http://www.rssc.com/frequently-asked-questions/before-you-sail/default.aspx

 

Dining reservations may be reserved online beginning 75 days before your cruise sails, or 90 days for guests eligible for our Concierge Amenities, at Midnight Eastern US Time. To do so, please create an account via the My Account section of our website and access the Dining Reservations link for your cruise via your Booked Cruises.

[Travelcat2]

They must have changed something recently, as according to the FAQ on the Regent website, they open at midnight eastern. But I do recall a time when it was 1am eastern (which never made much sense to me):

 

http://www.rssc.com/frequently-asked-questions/before-you-sail/default.aspx

 

Dining reservations may be reserved online beginning 75 days before your cruise sails, or 90 days for guests eligible for our Concierge Amenities, at Midnight Eastern US Time. To do so, please create an account via the My Account section of our website and access the Dining Reservations link for your cruise via your Booked Cruises.

 

I suppose they changed it again. It was 9:00 p.m. a couple of years ago (west coast time) -- then it changed to 10:00 p.m. because they were using the central time zone. Has anyone verified the new time?

[smg4412]

I believe it is 9:00PM, as I made my reservations last night at 9:02PM West Coast time.

[Travelcat2]

I believe it is 9:00PM, as I made my reservations last night at 9:02PM West Coast time.

 

Thank you -- really appreciate the updated information:)

[OrpingtonT]

And, do these two nights have some special significance I'm not aware of? Those of you more experienced with Regent have any idea on what is happening here?

 

Were they not available at all on the nights you wanted or just at specific times? I believe that only so many are accepted for 6.30, another batch for 7.0 and so on to avoid overloading the kitchens. Also space is held back for on-board bookings

[smg4412]

None were available at all for both of the nights.

[pjsportsmom]

The same thing happened to me. I'm sailing n 5 weeks on the mariner and I went on immediately to make reservations at prime 7 for a sea day and it wasn't available. I think regents blocks out sea days.

[smg4412]

That's bizarre!! I'm wondering why they would do that?

[tubeamps]

I had the same experience for a 4/4 departure on the Mariner. I could book Signatures but couldn't book Prime for any night. We didn't take that cruise but accepted a voluntary bump to an alternate date with a nice upgrade.

 

I think they have to hold a lot of slots open for Penthouse Suites and above since they are supposed to get priority in reservations, at least that is what my brochure says.

 

We will be in a Penthouse Suite for a Sept sail date, we book reservations 6/4. I will be interested to see if I can get into Prime on that date.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Why doesn't somebody call Regent and get to the bottom of this? Something just doesn't sound right to me--it can't be that the "named suites" and PH's have taken all the slots on those nights, at least I find that hard to believe.

[Travelcat2]

Agree ..... calling Regent will answer the question. I do not believe it has anything to do with upper level suites. We always stay in penthouse and above suites and still have difficulty booking tables for two in Signatures and P7 on certain nights. They do block these restaurants for special events but those events do not always coincide with a sea day.

 

I also recommend booking what you can online and do not assume you can walk downstairs and they will have an opening. Then, when you get onboard, you can check and see if the night you want is available. If it is, you can cancel the reservation you made online. As the saying goes, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" (have no idea has that relates but it seems like it should:D

[tubeamps]

Travelcat, you have a lot more experience with Regent than I do, this will be our first Regent cruise, but I have to ask....if it has nothing to do with leaving a certain amount of availability for upper end suites then what?

 

Again, the brochure states that PH & above have priority on shore excursions and dining reservations. If this is the case how do they accomplish this? beyond setting aside a certain number of slots for these rooms?

 

Not trying to be difficult here, but it seems kind of obvious that they do block out seating for something, and not necessarily special events.

[DaveFr]

Travelcat, you have a lot more experience with Regent than I do, this will be our first Regent cruise, but I have to ask....if it has nothing to do with leaving a certain amount of availability for upper end suites then what?

 

Again, the brochure states that PH & above have priority on shore excursions and dining reservations. If this is the case how do they accomplish this? beyond setting aside a certain number of slots for these rooms?

 

Not trying to be difficult here, but it seems kind of obvious that they do block out seating for something, and not necessarily special events.

Anyone in a Concierge Suite (Category E on the Mariner & Voyager, Category D on the Navigator) or anyone who has sailed at least 21 nights previously on Regent ships, has priority online shore and excusion reservations. Regent does not set aside dinner slots or excursions as a means of giving those passengers priority. Instead, it allows them to reserve excusions 240 days before the cruise, while the remaining passengers may only reserve excursions 180 days before the cruise. Similarly, priority dining reservations may be made 90 days before the cruise instead of 75 days before the cruise for everyone else.

 

The fact that you could not reserve any night in Prime 7 leads me to believe that the problem was computer related and resulted from slipshod programming. If the system is not ready to accept reservations, I've received messages saying the excursion or dining night was sold out, instead of a message saying that reservations were not yet available and to try again later. That might have been what happened to your attempt to reserve at Prime 7.

 

Also, sometimes tables for two have all been booked while tables to share are still available. You should check both possibilities. In any event, on my upcoming Alaska cruise in May, I was able to book a table in Prime 7 on a sea day. I am not in a Concierge Suite or above so the theory that all dining slots were reserved for upper level suites is not correct.

 

Hope this helps.

[Travelcat2]

Travelcat, you have a lot more experience with Regent than I do, this will be our first Regent cruise, but I have to ask....if it has nothing to do with leaving a certain amount of availability for upper end suites then what?

 

Again, the brochure states that PH & above have priority on shore excursions and dining reservations. If this is the case how do they accomplish this? beyond setting aside a certain number of slots for these rooms?

 

Not trying to be difficult here, but it seems kind of obvious that they do block out seating for something, and not necessarily special events.

 

Agree with DaveFr. The way that Regent gives "priority" reservations to passengers is to allow early booking for passengers in Concierge and above suites. They also give priority booking to Silver Seven Seas Society Members (passengers who have at least 21 nights on Regent). IMO, this is silly since most of the passengers qualify for this benefit. On our last cruise 85% of passengers were repeat customers. I much prefer the first come, first served method of booking.

 

In any event, Regent does save openings for people who did not book online (perhaps they do not have a computer). Regent tries to give everyone an opportunity to dine in the specialty restaurants once. However, this does not mean that you will get the time and/or table size that you wish.

 

I suggested calling Regent (or your TA) because this does sound like a computer glitch that may be easy to straighten out.

 

For me, the bottom line is that we have voluntarily skipped both P7 and Signatures at least twice. Compass Rose offers a menu item from both reservation only restaurants every night. Plus, the menu on "special nights" (Captain's Reception - Captain's Farewell and the Seven Seas Society event) is, IMO, better than dining in Signatures or P7.

 

Rather than a sea day, when we book a specialty restaurant, we always pick the first and last evenings. They are less crowded and the menu in CR isn't special.

[solysol]

we are on the navigator in August for 33 nights, not sure how many nights you can book speciality restaurants i have been told to book them on the 7th June but not been given any time or how many we can book can anyone help, we will be calling from uk

[OrpingtonT]

we are on the navigator in August for 33 nights, not sure how many nights you can book speciality restaurants i have been told to book them on the 7th June but not been given any time or how many we can book can anyone help, we will be calling from uk

 

You can pre-book one sitting at each speciality restaurant ( Signatures and Prime 7) by going into your online account. It is a straightforward procedure. You will need the booking numbers of any other guests if you want to share. I am not sure what you mean when you say "calling from the UK" the procedure is done on-line.

[solysol]

what i meant from calling from UK i will be doing it on line but when i read all the

answers to this question they give time in the USA when the online booking will be open

at a certain time.

[OrpingtonT]

what i meant from calling from UK i will be doing it on line but when i read all the

answers to this question they give time in the USA when the online booking will be open

at a certain time.

 

Oh, I see. On the date you have been given, 7 June, log on as early as you can and the reservation slots will be open. Your cruise of 33 nights should give you the opportunity to make further reservations when on board. That is, if you wish to do so. I, personally, am very happy with Compass Rose and Sette Mari.

[xrvlcruiser]

Assuming that the 33 days is more than one cruise, I think you can pre-book one reservation per segment in each restaurant.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Just a correction, there's only one restaurant on Navigator that requires a reservation, and that's Prime 7.