quick: i need the lowdown on dining on the Breakaway

[dorito6778]

dinner...do we need reservations ahead of time like you do on the new RCCL Quantum? we are booking last minute so we have NOTHING planned. i'll assume, yes, reservations are necessary in the speciality restaurants but what about the complimentary like Savor, taste, Manhattn and Uptown.

[ColinIllinois]

dinner...do we need reservations ahead of time like you do on the new RCCL Quantum? we are booking last minute so we have NOTHING planned. i'll assume, yes, reservations are necessary in the speciality restaurants but what about the complimentary like Savor, taste, Manhattn and Uptown.

 

 

No reservations are required for either complementary or specialty restaurants but most suggest reservations for Teppanyaki due to limited seatings.

[punkincc]

dinner...do we need reservations ahead of time like you do on the new RCCL Quantum? we are booking last minute so we have NOTHING planned. i'll assume, yes, reservations are necessary in the speciality restaurants but what about the complimentary like Savor, taste, Manhattn and Uptown.

 

Funny, someone just assured me that reservations were Never required on Royal:).

 

No, reservations are optional at the specialty restaurants, and very recently you can also make them for the MDRs. But are they necessary? No. You can walk into any venue as a general rule with minimum to no wait. Most people don't bother with reservations or just make them the day of. Teppanyaki is an exception, as it has limited seating, and there are only a few seatings each evening. I would book the shows in advance of the cruise, and then just play it by ear for dinner before or after.

[johnql]

Since no one else has mentioned it, the Uptown Grille is not a sit-down venue (i.e., there's no wait service). It's more of an outdoor, smaller buffet with open seating.

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

Funny, someone just assured me that reservations were Never required on Royal:).

 

No, reservations are optional at the specialty restaurants, and very recently you can also make them for the MDRs. But are they necessary? No. You can walk into any venue as a general rule with minimum to no wait. Most people don't bother with reservations or just make them the day of. Teppanyaki is an exception, as it has limited seating, and there are only a few seatings each evening. I would book the shows in advance of the cruise, and then just play it by ear for dinner before or after.

 

Until Quantum sails and we see first hand how they plan to deal with walk ups, I am following their strong suggestion and making reservations. The info available is very unclear at this point about seating walk ups. From prior experience with MTD, some ships really wanted us to make a standing reservation at a specific time each night and reminded us every night while checking in at the hostess stand, while others seemed to have no problem seating us as walk ups at any random time. I don't think they quite have the hang of it yet.

 

I find it interesting that NCL is now offering reservations at the MDR's and wonder if those tables held in advance for possible no shows will negatively impact the walk up Freestyle experience.

 

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[punkincc]

Until Quantum sails and we see first hand how they plan to deal with walk ups, I am following their strong suggestion and making reservations. The info available is very unclear at this point about seating walk ups. From prior experience with MTD, some ships really wanted us to make a standing reservation at a specific time each night and reminded us every night while checking in at the hostess stand, while others seemed to have no problem seating us as walk ups at any random time. I don't think they quite have the hang of it yet.

 

I find it interesting that NCL is now offering reservations at the MDR's and wonder if those tables held in advance for possible no shows will negatively impact the walk up Freestyle experience.

 

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For our upcoming cruise, only one MDR was available for advance reservation, and only for a couple time slots, one early and one late. My guess is that most NCL cruisers never make any dining reservations to begin with, so this new option will likely not interest them. So I doubt that this new option will have any impact on availability of seats.

 

I know what you mean about MTD. It was My Time only if you made a reservation. If not, you were chastised or they tried to cajole you into sitting with others. From what I hear, many Quantum cruisers are frustrated with the res system and are finding themselves seemingly locked out of the times they want, with only very late seatings, or none, available. I guess it is unknown whether or not they are offering every seat for reservation, or holding back a large number for on board booking or walk ups, as with NCL. It will be interesting to see how it works out.

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

For our upcoming cruise, only one MDR was available for advance reservation, and only for a couple time slots, one early and one late. My guess is that most NCL cruisers never make any dining reservations to begin with, so this new option will likely not interest them. So I doubt that this new option will have any impact on availability of seats.

 

I know what you mean about MTD. It was My Time only if you made a reservation. If not, you were chastised or they tried to cajole you into sitting with others. From what I hear, many Quantum cruisers are frustrated with the res system and are finding themselves seemingly locked out of the times they want, with only very late seatings, or none, available. I guess it is unknown whether or not they are offering every seat for reservation, or holding back a large number for on board booking or walk ups, as with NCL. It will be interesting to see how it works out.

 

Hope you are right about the NCL guests skipping MDR ressies. I am not making any for my upcoming Breakaway sailing although all 3 restaurants, Taste, Savor and Manhattan room, are offering the option in my planner. Would much rather go Freestyle! I have the UDP for my upcoming Epic sailing and will only reserve the Cirque Dreams (first night free with UDP) and Teppanyaki since it's the most difficult to get due to the limited seating available. I'll Freestyle the rest or book onboard a day in advance if needed.

 

As an aside, I had no issues at all making my Quantum reservations. My only question about my bookings since I am a solo, is will I have the opportunity to request a shared table upon arrival? I fear I may be seated alone if I don't link them in advance to others from my sailing that might want to share. There is absolutely no information from RCI about how to request sharing under the new scheme. Good thing I have time to read the early reviews and make adjustments based on the actual onboard experience.

 

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[dorito6778]

Funny, someone just assured me that reservations were Never required on Royal:).

 

No, reservations are optional at the specialty restaurants, and very recently you can also make them for the MDRs. But are they necessary? No. You can walk into any venue as a general rule with minimum to no wait. Most people don't bother with reservations or just make them the day of. Teppanyaki is an exception, as it has limited seating, and there are only a few seatings each evening. I would book the shows in advance of the cruise, and then just play it by ear for dinner before or after.

 

see, and i heard the opposite so we we have every meal planned out for our Quantum sailing in Jan 2015!

 

just booked breakaway and its just me and MH, so i'm not going to worry too much....though the last time we sailed NCL was 10 yers ago for our honeymoon and that was on one of the "maiden voyages" of freestyle and it was AWFUL. hoping 10 years of experience has given them some practice!

[VickiD59]

Was happy when I received an email a few weeks ago saying that we could now make reservations for the MDRs on Breakaway. We enjoy a set dining time, and knowing that there is no wait to be seated for our large group of 8-12. I'm glad that we now have reservations for the nights we're at sea; the port days we'll play by ear.

SINGLE DIGIT dance! :D