Unlimited Dining Plan Dining Hours

[Tm4646]

Hello forum cruise experts.  My apologies if this has been covered before but I tried to search and couldn't find it.

 

1.  I was told (by calling RCI customer service) that, by purchasing the unlimited dining package, I am limited to dinner reservations at 6, 6:30, 8:30 and 9 pm. 

2.  I was told that this is because the "prime dining hours" are for those cruisers who are paying whatever the full price is for dining at that specific specialty restaurant. 

3.  A fellow cruiser told me that those specific hours only apply to first night reservations with the UDP when you are making first night reservations in advance.

4.  My fellow cruiser also told me that, once onboard, you can make your dining reservations with the UDP for the rest of the evenings at whatever time you choose, including in the "prime dining hours" of 6:45-8:30 pm. Can anyone weigh in on this with their expertise?  Thanks in advance.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, Tm4646 said:

Hello forum cruise experts.  My apologies if this has been covered before but I tried to search and couldn't find it.

 

1.  I was told (by calling RCI customer service) that, by purchasing the unlimited dining package, I am limited to dinner reservations at 6, 6:30, 8:30 and 9 pm. 

2.  I was told that this is because the "prime dining hours" are for those cruisers who are paying whatever the full price is for dining at that specific specialty restaurant. 

3.  A fellow cruiser told me that those specific hours only apply to first night reservations with the UDP when you are making first night reservations in advance.

4.  My fellow cruiser also told me that, once onboard, you can make your dining reservations with the UDP for the rest of the evenings at whatever time you choose, including in the "prime dining hours" of 6:45-8:30 pm. Can anyone weigh in on this with their expertise?  Thanks in advance.

On board you can make them for any open time that is available.

 

 

[Norwich Cruiser]

54 minutes ago, Tm4646 said:

Hello forum cruise experts.  My apologies if this has been covered before but I tried to search and couldn't find it.

 

1.  I was told (by calling RCI customer service) that, by purchasing the unlimited dining package, I am limited to dinner reservations at 6, 6:30, 8:30 and 9 pm. 

2.  I was told that this is because the "prime dining hours" are for those cruisers who are paying whatever the full price is for dining at that specific specialty restaurant. 

3.  A fellow cruiser told me that those specific hours only apply to first night reservations with the UDP when you are making first night reservations in advance.

4.  My fellow cruiser also told me that, once onboard, you can make your dining reservations with the UDP for the rest of the evenings at whatever time you choose, including in the "prime dining hours" of 6:45-8:30 pm. Can anyone weigh in on this with their expertise?  Thanks in advance.

We’ve never had any problems with booking any restaurant any time any day.

 

Allways try and make your reservations for the trip at any restaurant when boarding.

[CruiszBug]

Also, you can dine at these restaurants for lunch, if you choose. 

[Ourusualbeach]

8 minutes ago, CruiszBug said:

Also, you can dine at these restaurants for lunch, if you choose. 

If a restaurant is open at lunch then in my experience it is covered under the UDP.  There will be more open on sea days but on port days a couple will usually open at 2 or 3

[Seville2Cabo]

If you are in a suite, the concierge can make reservations for you before you get on the ship

[twangster]

That time is only for night one in theory.  If you board the ship and do nothing that is the time they'll use to assign you something.   Most people board the ship and make reservation once on board for whatever time and place suits them.

 

UDP is a lot of food.  I stopped booking early times because I'm often still full from lunch on those days when a lunch is available.    I'm normally an early diner but when I get the UDP that changes.

[HicksRA]

Has anyone ever not been able to obtain a reservation under the UDP based on no availability?  

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

Has anyone ever not been able to obtain a reservation under the UDP based on no availability?  

At a specific restaurant on a certain night yes.  Just had to pick an alternate night.  It was Hibachi that was fully booked. 

[xpcdoojk]

3 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

At a specific restaurant on a certain night yes.  Just had to pick an alternate night.  It was Hibachi that was fully booked. 

Agree, but I have never had a day if I wanted a restaurant I couldn’t get in at all, just might not get the time I prefer.  Of course, I am booking the entire cruise right after lunch before the ship leaves the harbor for the first day.  

[Sail n Snow]

On 3/20/2021 at 7:04 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

At a specific restaurant on a certain night yes.  Just had to pick an alternate night.  It was Hibachi that was fully booked. 

yes we just had this happened for Chops last night. Being on a 3 night sailing (Quantum cruise to nowhere). We wanted Chops - Wonderland - Chops.  
 

Chops was fully booked the first night so we booked Wonder - Chops - Chops.  Fortunately  the times were not showing up in the app so about 2 hours later I went to confirm and an opening for Chops opened up at 5:30pm. So we changed it.  
 

It was our first time at Chops and it was good. I’m still on the fence between it and Costal Kitchen from our last cruise.  

[Tm4646]

Thank you everyone!  While I am not that concerned about food, my - italian - husband plans his whole cruise around what he's planning to order at which restaurant on each night. Even still, we can be flexible but we are going with first-time cruisers and want the experience to be great for them so we wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible.  Thanks for all your input!

[Sheal]

15 minutes ago, Tm4646 said:

Thank you everyone!  While I am not that concerned about food, my - italian - husband plans his whole cruise around what he's planning to order at which restaurant on each night. Even still, we can be flexible but we are going with first-time cruisers and want the experience to be great for them so we wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible.  Thanks for all your input!

LOL.  I'm right there with your husband.  Only thing that messes me up is when they change the menu every 5 years or so.