Current on board dining reservations policy

[pinotlover]

Just off the Marina, and the policy for making dining reservations while on board has been altered, or more aggressively enforced. These policies were also enforce the cruise before ours according to B2Bers.

 

1. On embarkment day. Only those cruisers that had not made their guaranteed reservations, prior to boarding, were allowed to do so upon arrival. No reservation requests for additional nights were accepted for that night.

 

Oceania has a policy on the number of specialty reservations a cruiser can make in advance, for any cruise, and that is all they are allowing them to make. Period.

 

The current policy allows for individuals, on a first come first basis, to request a (or additional) dining reservation to the guaranteed number, for that day, at the main dining reservations desk, starting a 8:00 a.m. in the morning. .The Specialty MDs will no longer speak with you. Period. (additional on this later).

 

The priority for receiving additional requested dining reservations is:

1. A request from a cruiser that has not received their guaranteed dining at that venue.

2. PH and above, that can receive unlimited bookings on a first come first basis.

3. All others on the first come first basis.

 

One is only allowed to request on venue per evening. So the request cannot be, for example, " I want Red Ginger and if I can't get in there I want on the list for Jacques". Pick A venue, and your name will be added there, only. Cruisers were typically notified by ~ around 1600 if their request had made it. It appeared that people could request to have their names placed on the venue list, up to the point the wait list was determined to be full without reason of hope. For PH and above, this cutoff time appeared to be around 1500.

 

We received one additional night in a specialty. We were lucky, many requesters, not in PH and above did not get any other additional bookings. We lucked into Red Ginger on a port day with a request for "any type table, any time, for two". Getting an additional evening on a sea day for anyone except #1&2 above was effectively impossible.

 

If one did not get a dining reservation, for that evening, at their requested venue, then they were put on a wait list for the restaurant. That wait list, with the order of priority was given to the individual restaurants each evening. If a cancellation occurred. The Maitre Di would call the next person on the provided list to offer them the cancelled table. They didn't even engage in conversation with those not on the wait list.

 

This policy was very strictly followed on board.

[pinotlover]

I was told the tightening on the policy was caused by two events:

 

First, cruisers, not in PH and above, were writing letters to senior management complaining that, for example, they had gotten 10 extra dining reservations on an earlier cruise and were only able to get 8 on this latest cruise. Did these yo-yos actually believe that senior mgt is their buddies? Senior management's response to the ships was how where these people even getting the 8 additional reservations.

 

Which lead to the next item. According to the MD " Some jerk wrote on Cruise Critic that they had been tipping the MD's to get additional reservations. Everything is in the computer. Mgt could/did identify the cruiser, checked out all his dining engagements and fired ship personnel over the events." She added on that " I like my job, and want to keep it! NO ONE gets into this restaurant without being on the already approved list. NO ONE.

 

She later added to the first item "Why do people believe, if we do them a favor once, they deserve that favor every time, and then complain to management. Why not just say thank you and go on?"

 

Let me make on correction to my first post. On embarkment day, or any other day, one can make an additional reservation, IF they cancel their original reservation, for that venue, and replace it with the new reservation.

 

Bottom line on all this: Going to the restaurant now, to see if you can get in, gets you nowhere. Either you, or your butler, needs to talk to the reservation desk starting at 8:00 a.m.

[Paulchili]

All of this is upsetting to me.

As is often the case, a few inconsiderate people (I actually want to say jerks) ruin a good thing for everyone else.

I always appreciated when we got extra reservations and understood that it was a favor and a privilege - not a constitutional right. Likewise, I would never even consider complaining if we didn't get any extra (or "not as many as last time") reservations in the specialties.

As everywhere else in life, it takes all kinds. :mad:

Edited March 4, 2015 by Paulchili

[ORV]

What I have an issue with is that on the Grand Voyage we are on next year it is treated as one cruise as far as Specialty restaurants go. So even though it is 2 cruises put together we only get one guaranteed reservation in each venue for the whole 32 days.

 

Something is wrong with that setup and needs looked into. With these new guidelines looks like it will be even harder to get extra nights.

Edited March 4, 2015 by ORV

[LHT28]

Just like everything else the few people that abuse the system hurts those that abide by the rules

 

What next?

 

I remember the thread on slipping the MD some cash some thought it was just fine that is how their world works for them :rolleyes:

 

Good thing we do not care about the specialties

 

Lyn

[Mura]

I was told the tightening on the policy was caused by two events:

 

First, cruisers, not in PH and above, were writing letters to senior management complaining that, for example, they had gotten 10 extra dining reservations on an earlier cruise and were only able to get 8 on this latest cruise. [snip]

 

Which lead to the next item. According to the MD " Some jerk wrote on Cruise Critic that they had been tipping the MD's to get additional reservations. Everything is in the computer. Mgt could/did identify the cruiser, checked out all his dining engagements and fired ship personnel over the events." [sNIP]

 

 

All I can say is: wow! When we get additional reservations we are pleased to have them but certainly don't expect to get the same number each and every time. We know that on some cruises you can get more than you can on others. It always seemed to us that additional reservations are easier on cruises where more passengers are like us: i.e., not demanding to be in a specialty restaurant each and every night.

 

But a double wow to the Oceania personnel going back and figuring out which passenger had paid to get his extra reservations and firing the personnel involved. That's a stiff penalty for the employees ... unfortunately it's not so easy to punish the person who caused the problem to begin with.

 

We have never seen anyone passing a bill to the staff, and it certainly has never occurred to us to do so. (But as I said at the outset, the specialty restaurants aren't a priority to us.)

 

The MD who was quoted certainly has it right: a simple smile and a sincere thank you can go a long way.

 

Mura

[Paulchili]

What I have an issue with is that on the Grand Voyage we are on next year it is treated as one cruise as far as Specialty restaurants go. So even though it is 2 cruises put together we only get one guaranteed reservation in each venue for the whole 32 days.

 

Something is wrong with that setup and needs looked into. With these new guidelines looks like it will be even harder to get extra nights.

 

Isn't the number of guaranteed reservations related to the length of the cruise (rather than per cruise)?

I thought that it doubled for cruises over 17(?) days.

I can't find these rules on the new website but I am sure someone has them from the old one to post

[StanandJim]

Isn't the number of guaranteed reservations related to the length of the cruise (rather than per cruise)?

I thought that it doubled for cruises over 17(?) days.

I can't find these rules on the new website but I am sure someone has them from the old one to post

 

The Reservations increase on cruises of 18 days and longer, but not for every cabin category:

 

-Owner's, Vista and Oceania Suites may make reservations 90 days until 7 days prior to embarkation.

Penthouse Suites may make reservations 75 days until 7 days prior to embarkation.

Concierge Level Veranda Staterooms may make reservations 60 days until 7 days prior to embarkation.

Veranda, Ocean View and Inside Staterooms may make reservations 45 days until 7 days prior to embarkation.

Number of reservations (Regatta, Insignia, Nautica):

Owner's Suite, Vista Suite, Penthouse Suite and Concierge Level Veranda

0-7 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant

8-17 Sailing Days: 2 reservations at each restaurant

18+ Sailing Days: 3 reservations at each restaurant

Veranda, Ocean View and Inside Stateroom

0-7 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant

8-17 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant

18+ Sailing Days: 2 reservations at each restaurant

 

Number of reservations (Marina and Riviera):

Owner's Suite, Vista Suite, Oceania Suite

0-7 Sailing Days: 1 reservation at each restaurant

8-17 Sailing Days: 2 reservations at each restaurant

18+ Sailing Days: 3 reservations at each restaurant

Penthouse Suite

0-7 Sailing Days: 1 reservation at each restaurant

8-17 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant

18+ Sailing Days: 2 reservations at each restaurant

Concierge Level Veranda, Veranda, Ocean View and Inside Stateroom

0-7 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant

8-17 Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant

18+ Sailing Days: 1 reservations at each restaurant

 

Number of guests per table:

All reservations have a maximum of 8 guests per table.

Edited March 4, 2015 by StanandJim

[Paulchili]

The Reservations increase on cruises of 18 days and longer, but not for every cabin category:

 

 

Thanks S&J - I knew I could count on you (or Lyn) :D

I guess I was thinking of R ships. This policy does suck for the O ships below PH - I see what you mean ORV :(

[ORV]

Thanks S&J - I knew I could count on you (or Lyn) :D

I guess I was thinking of R ships. This policy does suck for the O ships below PH - I see what you mean ORV :(

 

I can understand the policy on single 20-25 day cruises but when they actually put two or more cruises together for a GV then I think there should be a separate policy or exception made. Just curious what the rule is for the World Voyage for people in these categories. Since it's on an R ship do they only get 2 in each restaurant for the whole 180 days.

[Pirouette]

We are just finishing our cruise on Riviera. We have not experienced any rigid attitude regarding extra specialty reservations. I wonder if it depends on the cruise? We overheard one of the crew say that the restaurants had been told to be flexible on our current cruise. We have had no difficulty with dining where we wanted on any given night, and we had the same experience on Marina in September. We prefer to dine late and always request a table for two. It has never been a problem. Several Maitre-D's on Marina actually invited us to return several times. We never slipped anything to anyone, but as others have said, a smile and being polite goes a long way. Our experience on Riviera this time has been similar.

[LHT28]

What I have an issue with is that on the Grand Voyage we are on next year it is treated as one cruise as far as Specialty restaurants go. So even though it is 2 cruises put together we only get one guaranteed reservation in each venue for the whole 32 days.

 

 

Maybe they will make an exception for GV cruises

There are some 50+ days long I cannot imagine only getting 1 res per restaurant

[Toranut97]

I remember how arrogant the poster was who encouraged bribes. I hope he learns that he actually cost someone's job(s)!! This lowly cruiser does not mind finding this particular rule being enforced!

[Mura]

I don't know how they do these calculations ... BUT ...

 

On an 18+ day cruise a top suite gets 3 reservations per restaurant (as I recall, it does depend on whether you are in an OS/VS/OC on Marina or Riviera, or if you are in an OS/VS on an "R" ship). It is hard to believe that someone on a much longer cruise wouldn't get the extra benefit of specialty reservations if they wish to have them.

 

(And I'm quite sure that when I first read about the RTW cruise that passengers had many more reservations available.)

 

If I'm in a top suite (not always but we HAVE been there on occasion), I'm often happy to order dinner to be served in my suite ... And as I've said before, we aren't all that entranced with the specialty restaurants per se.

 

We DO love Jacques on the "O" ships, we don't care that much for Red Ginger (our personal preference, please don't tell me how much you love it!). But when we're on an "R" ship, we'll go to Polo once or twice, maybe Toscana once ... we'd just as soon go to the GDR or the buffet.

 

If we've had a long day on shore and are in a suite where we can order in to the suite, we'll do that rather than go upstairs ... It depends on if we are tired or are meeting other guests for dinner. We also like to just go the GDR and share a table ... or go up to Terrace. We're quite happy there as well, especially after a long day.

 

If you have the service of a butler, here is where they can really help out -- check out the thread about new policies regarding reservations in the specialty restaurants. I can understand why the policies changed, but I'm guessing that having a butler MAKE extra reservations can be a big difference.

 

On our last two cruises on Marina we were in an OC and a VS, and the butlers -- on their own -- booked specialty reservations that we often ended up cancelling. We probably used at most half of them ... The butlers assumed we wanted to be in specialty restaurants every night which in our case was NOT the case.

 

So it can all depend on what you want to do, how many passengers are battling for reservations, how long your cruise is, what level of cabin you are in ...

 

Mura

[LHT28]

I remember how arrogant the poster was who encouraged bribes. I hope he learns that he actually cost someone's job(s)!! This lowly cruiser does not mind finding this particular rule being enforced!

 

I doubt they even care :rolleyes:

[dfb]

On the cancelled Jan 10 WC, B1-Veranda passengers got 14 reservations per restaurant.

[hypercafe]

I also remember the topic about giving the MD a tip to get in. If I remember correctly more than just the OP felt it was a good idea. I am glad to see it has been stopped. We never tried to get more reservations however if you want to I think its better to have one place and one list, seems a fairer way to go.

[robbie21]

We were on the same cruise as the original poster, pinotlover. We noted the procedural changes but had no difficulty obtaining additional reservations.

 

When we wanted an extra specialty reservation we stopped by the reservation desk near the time they opened (8 AM) and asked to be put on the waiting list. We were permitted to ask for reservations in two or more venues on an "or" basis but not, as Pinotlover wanted, on an "if - then" basis. We were also given a choice of times or a range of times (6:30 to 8, for example) and the usual sharing option.

 

We requested extra reservations 5 times and received 3, two in Polo and one in Jacques. We also got one more Polo dinner by stopping by the Polo on the way to the GDR at 7:15 and asking the Maître d' if he had a no show which he did (we were on the wait list for that day). Bottom line 4 out of 5 is not bad:).

 

The policies were apparently fairly new and the reservation desk people were a little "rigid" at the beginning of the cruise but loosened up as the cruise went along - giving us "odds" on success and even suggestions on better times to ask for or venues that looked to be more likely to open up.

 

So, get your request in early, be flexible and willing to share and keep smiling :D

 

Robbie21

[Paulchili]

We were on the same cruise as the original poster, pinotlover. We noted the procedural changes but had no difficulty obtaining additional reservations.

 

When we wanted an extra specialty reservation we stopped by the reservation desk near the time they opened (8 AM) and asked to be put on the waiting list. We were permitted to ask for reservations in two or more venues on an "or" basis but not, as Pinotlover wanted, on an "if - then" basis. We were also given a choice of times or a range of times (6:30 to 8, for example) and the usual sharing option.

 

We requested extra reservations 5 times and received 3, two in Polo and one in Jacques. We also got one more Polo dinner by stopping by the Polo on the way to the GDR at 7:15 and asking the Maître d' if he had a no show which he did (we were on the wait list for that day). Bottom line 4 out of 5 is not bad:).

 

The policies were apparently fairly new and the reservation desk people were a little "rigid" at the beginning of the cruise but loosened up as the cruise went along - giving us "odds" on success and even suggestions on better times to ask for or venues that looked to be more likely to open up.

 

So, get your request in early, be flexible and willing to share and keep smiling :D

 

Robbie21

 

That's good to know - thanks for posting this.

[PaulMCO]

We had an issue on our recent Riviera cruise. We were number 4 in line in Polo and the other 3 in front of us had no reservations and were trying to get an opening. This annoyed many passengers behind us (us included) who had to wait. (and listen to an argument and negotiation). First it delay people that have a booking, and it also puts the staff in an awkward position (not wanting to argue).

 

Hopefully these new rules will prevent this...

Edited March 5, 2015 by PaulMCO

[Paulchili]

We had an issue on our recent Riviera cruise. We were number 4 in line in Polo and the other 3 in front of us had no reservations and were trying to get an opening. This annoyed many passengers behind us (us included) who had to wait. (and listen to an argument and negotiation). First it delay people that have a booking, and it also puts the staff in an awkward position (not wanting to argue).

 

Hopefully these new rules will prevent this...

 

I would have been annoyed as well, were I in your position.

Perhaps they should have separate lines - those with reservations and those on the wait-list; or just accommodate those with reservations first and then deal with those on the wait-list (after the reservations are seated).

[ORV]

We were on the same cruise as the original poster, pinotlover. We noted the procedural changes but had no difficulty obtaining additional reservations.

 

When we wanted an extra specialty reservation we stopped by the reservation desk near the time they opened (8 AM) and asked to be put on the waiting list. We were permitted to ask for reservations in two or more venues on an "or" basis but not, as Pinotlover wanted, on an "if - then" basis. We were also given a choice of times or a range of times (6:30 to 8, for example) and the usual sharing option.

 

We requested extra reservations 5 times and received 3, two in Polo and one in Jacques. We also got one more Polo dinner by stopping by the Polo on the way to the GDR at 7:15 and asking the Maître d' if he had a no show which he did (we were on the wait list for that day). Bottom line 4 out of 5 is not bad:).

 

The policies were apparently fairly new and the reservation desk people were a little "rigid" at the beginning of the cruise but loosened up as the cruise went along - giving us "odds" on success and even suggestions on better times to ask for or venues that looked to be more likely to open up.

 

So, get your request in early, be flexible and willing to share and keep smiling :D

 

Robbie21

 

Robbie, just curious which room category you were in? My personal experience has been when in a PH or above there have been no problems getting extra reservations. Even when the butler couldn't seem to get us extra. When I've been in rooms below that level it's been pretty rare getting extra nights.

[robbie21]

Robbie, just curious which room category you were in? My personal experience has been when in a PH or above there have been no problems getting extra reservations. Even when the butler couldn't seem to get us extra. When I've been in rooms below that level it's been pretty rare getting extra nights.

 

We were in a std Veranda, not even concierge. My experience in 7 cruises on Oceania is the opposite of yours. We are usually able to get additional reservations - certainly not every time we ask but, for example, on Nautica last summer we got an additional 5 reservations plus the normal 2 each venue for a 20 day cruise. I have found that if you are flexible and "pleasantly persistent" the reservation people and maître d's can be very helpful. I believe that graciously thanking the staff and complementing the chef help you to be remembered favorably. In my observation, not everyone subscribes to this policy ;) "You get what you give".

 

Robbie

[Waynetor]

Just a little clarification for the world cruise. The whole voyage included 8 segments. The number of reservations were based on segment length. We were able to book the whole voyage ahead of time based on cabin category so that an inside cabin doing the whole voyage would book a long time before a penthouse only doing the last segment. When we did the booking, we had to book the number assigned within the date range of that segemnt, meaning while you may get 21 for the whole voyage, you could not book them at any time but had to be on the per segment basis.

[pinotlover]

There is another part of this I didn't bring up before, because I didn't have the answer. Maybe Robbie, or someone else on the more recent cruises know. On about the 2nd day of the cruise, I was told by a group that Privee had been completely prebooked, before the cruise, for every evening, and they couldn't get a evening booking there. Waiting in line at reservations one morning, the reservationists was asking the names of all the people, from the person having booked the Privee, saying it would count as one of their specialty reservations. Later on, another person told me that they hadn't lost a specialty reservation because of their Privee evening.

 

If getting specialty reservations become difficult, putting together a group of 10 for an evening in Privee would be an easy way to get a couple more for Polo Grill or Toscano, imo. $25 for another reservation is actually fairly cheap. Even $31.25 each for a smaller group of 8 could seem like a good deal for many for an additional specialty evening without the troubles.