Pre-Cruise Reservations

[NYHartChapp]

OK, Oceania newbie here...we're scheduled for the 12/3/12021 cruise out of Miami (can't wait to cruise the "Finest Cuisine at Sea"!).  When pre-cruise reservations open up 75 days prior, does one need to jump on the Oceania website at 12:01 a.m. to get preferred reservations, or is it OK to sleep into the a.m. and then book?

[Robjame]

3 minutes ago, NYHartChapp said:

When pre-cruise reservations open up 75 days prior, does one need to jump on the Oceania website at 12:01 a.m. to get preferred reservations, or is it OK to sleep into the a.m. and then book?

If you have preferred dates and specialty restaurants, do the 12:01 thing.

[NYHartChapp]

6 minutes ago, Robjame said:

If you have preferred dates and specialty restaurants, do the 12:01 thing.

Thanks, Rob.

[Roccaforte]

Since we like to eat early and those reservations seem to get filled first, I do the 12:01:thing.  The later dining times can cause you to miss the show.  Of course if you overindulge at the afternoon tea, dining at 6:30 won’t work too well.😁. Getting the reservations early gives you choices.

[Flatbush Flyer]

29 minutes ago, NYHartChapp said:

OK, Oceania newbie here...we're scheduled for the 12/3/12021 cruise out of Miami (can't wait to cruise the "Finest Cuisine at Sea"!).  When pre-cruise reservations open up 75 days prior, does one need to jump on the Oceania website at 12:01 a.m. to get preferred reservations, or is it OK to sleep into the a.m. and then book?

If you were going to be on my cruise, I’d say wait until the morning.😉

 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, NYHartChapp said:

OK, Oceania newbie here...we're scheduled for the 12/3/12021 cruise out of Miami (can't wait to cruise the "Finest Cuisine at Sea"!).  When pre-cruise reservations open up 75 days prior, does one need to jump on the Oceania website at 12:01 a.m. to get preferred reservations, or is it OK to sleep into the a.m. and then book?

you can wait if you want  just be flexible with date & times 😉

[mauibabes]

If in EST, a little after midnight will work but for me it has drug on sometimes 10-15 minutes after the hour. Like was said, just refresh if you are not getting through. We find booking to Share a table  is better than a table for two, just because there are more 4 and 6 tables then 2’s. 

If you get hung up at all, just call Oceania first thing in the morning and let the Specialist do it for you.

Since you are in a Suite, there should be plenty of availability in the specific restaurants at the desired times. Besides, Riviera will probably be sailing light as opposed to full so there should be less competition for restaurant seating. Just remember, your Room Service dinners can be delivered from the Specialty restaurants and served by your Butler.  Once on board, your Butler can also get additional Specialty Restaurant reservations based on availability. 
First timer, you are in for a treat.  We disembark Riviera on December 3 and we will be sure to leave some of the “Finest Cuisine At Sea” for you to enjoy. 
Mauibabes

[PhD-iva]

8 hours ago, mauibabes said:

If in EST, a little after midnight will work but for me it has drug on sometimes 10-15 minutes after the hour. Like was said, just refresh if you are not getting through. We find booking to Share a table  is better than a table for two, just because there are more 4 and 6 tables then 2’s. 

If you get hung up at all, just call Oceania first thing in the morning and let the Specialist do it for you.

Since you are in a Suite, there should be plenty of availability in the specific restaurants at the desired times. Besides, Riviera will probably be sailing light as opposed to full so there should be less competition for restaurant seating. Just remember, your Room Service dinners can be delivered from the Specialty restaurants and served by your Butler.  Once on board, your Butler can also get additional Specialty Restaurant reservations based on availability. 
First timer, you are in for a treat.  We disembark Riviera on December 3 and we will be sure to leave some of the “Finest Cuisine At Sea” for you to enjoy. 
Mauibabes

Mauibabies, when I reserved my specialty restaurant reservations for our November transatlantic cruise, I did not see where I could indicate that we (party of 3) wanted to share a large table. And my TA was not able to resolve it either. She said I should wait until I am on board. Were you able to indicate that you wanted to sit at a large table to share?

[mauibabes]

I was sharing with some friends traveling with us.  I did have an issue so I had to call O in the a.m. and she was able to book the 6 or 8 of us together.  So best idea, call in a.m. 

mauibabes

[jeno]

If our group of 10 is boarding on 11/7 and 2 more joining us on 11/17, are we able to add them to our group tables when we reserve next week? We are all in balcony cabins so no advance booking for any of us. 

[Kate-AHF]

2 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

Mauibabies, when I reserved my specialty restaurant reservations for our November transatlantic cruise, I did not see where I could indicate that we (party of 3) wanted to share a large table. And my TA was not able to resolve it either. She said I should wait until I am on board. Were you able to indicate that you wanted to sit at a large table to share?

 

I'm wondering if the inability request a large table might have something to do with onboard social distancing.

[LHT28]

39 minutes ago, jeno said:

If our group of 10 is boarding on 11/7 and 2 more joining us on 11/17, are we able to add them to our group tables when we reserve next week? We are all in balcony cabins so no advance booking for any of us. 

usually the largest table in the specialties is 8

 so maybe one person book  then invite 4 or 6 

have another book and do the same

option 3 cal O  have them book you  have the other parties booking numbers

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

Mauibabies, when I reserved my specialty restaurant reservations for our November transatlantic cruise, I did not see where I could indicate that we (party of 3) wanted to share a large table. And my TA was not able to resolve it either. She said I should wait until I am on board. Were you able to indicate that you wanted to sit at a large table to share?

Are you all in the same cabin?

Call Oceania  & ask them to book you all for sharing

 

[zteamtwo]

MAUIBABES--Have you heard anything about your cruise being cancelled?  We are leaving on Riviera on DEC 3 from Miami. Here is what Celebrity has posted:

 

Celebrity Cruises announced it has cancelled 4 sailings of Celebrity Summit between August 28 and September 11, 2021 because of the CDC's rule.

According to the CDC, the current requirements indicate that all ships operating with passengers outside of U.S. waters (i.e. ships with a homeport outside of the U.S.) will not be eligible to enter U.S. waters until 14 days after the last passenger disembarks.

A spokesperson for the agency told RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com,"At this time, there is no exception to this requirement; therefore, all ships planning to sail in U.S. waters under the conditional sailing order (CSO) will be required to sail without passengers for 14 days prior to entering U.S. waters."

 

Edited September 17, 2021 by zteamtwo
Wrong cruise line mentioned.

[zteamtwo]

OK---I found this info on the cdc.gov web page:

• CDC has provided an alternative to ships sailing out of foreign ports with passengers and repositioning to the U.S., in lieu of operating with no passengers for 14 days prior to resuming passenger operations in U.S. waters. Cruise ship operators may contact CDC at eocevent349@cdc.gov to request this information.

*Note: For cruise ship operators with ships that have not been in U.S. waters during the period of the No Sail Order (NSO) or CSO, or voluntarily withdrew their ships, the 60-day period will begin upon: (1) CDC’s confirming to the cruise ship operator in writing that the operator has a complete and accurate NSO response plan, including having submitted to CDC a signed Acknowledgment of No Sail Order Response Plan Completeness and Accuracy; and (2) submission of the EDC form for the 14 days preceding the cruise ship’s expected arrival in U.S. waters.

 

So perhaps your Med cruise will be ok.

[PhD-iva]

55 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Are you all in the same cabin?

Call Oceania  & ask them to book you all for sharing

 

Not in the same cabin, but I have their booking numbers and I was able to reserve 4 specialty dining reservations together at the same table.
What I was not able to do is to indicate that the three of us would like to be seated at a larger table to share with others.

Thanks for your help.

[LHT28]

2 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Not in the same cabin, but I have their booking numbers and I was able to reserve 4 specialty dining reservations together at the same table.
What I was not able to do is to indicate that the three of us would like to be seated at a larger table to share with others.

Thanks for your help.

Yes the online booking  system you can only do one or the other

 Call O & ask if they can link you together  then put your res as sharing

 Or once onboard talk to the dinner reservations desk  best to do it before your time slot

 

Once we did show up & ask the Maitre'd  to seat us with our friends who had the same slot   but they usually like to stick to their seating plan

Good luck

[Muushka]

16 hours ago, NYHartChapp said:

OK, Oceania newbie here...we're scheduled for the 12/3/12021 cruise out of Miami (can't wait to cruise the "Finest Cuisine at Sea"!).  When pre-cruise reservations open up 75 days prior, does one need to jump on the Oceania website at 12:01 a.m. to get preferred reservations, or is it OK to sleep into the a.m. and then book?

Being a newbie myself, same cruise with exact same question.  Thank you for asking it!

[NYHartChapp]

Thanks to all...looks like a late night for me Sunday 😴.

[NYHartChapp]

7 hours ago, Muushka said:

Being a newbie myself, same cruise with exact same question.  Thank you for asking it!

You're welcome!  Will see you on board!

[Cliff-FLL]

22 hours ago, mauibabes said:

"We find booking to Share a table is better than a table for two, just because there are more 4 and 6 tables then 2’s."

I agree that, traditionally, there have been more 4-6 tops than 2's but is anyone aware if Oceania has changed this configuration?  

NYHC - Generally, we haven't had any issues reserving the seatings we want, even when waiting 'til the next day.  On the one or two occasions that we couldn't get what we wanted, we spoke to the butler after boarding and they were always able to get us what we wanted.

[ronrick1943]

On 9/16/2021 at 6:29 PM, NYHartChapp said:

OK, Oceania newbie here...we're scheduled for the 12/3/12021 cruise out of Miami (can't wait to cruise the "Finest Cuisine at Sea"!).  When pre-cruise reservations open up 75 days prior, does one need to jump on the Oceania website at 12:01 a.m. to get preferred reservations, or is it OK to sleep into the a.m. and then book?

The food is good, but the “finest Cuisine at Sea” it is not.

[PhD-iva]

36 minutes ago, ronrick1943 said:

The food is good, but the “finest Cuisine at Sea” it is not.

Uh oh. Food fight commences. “Teacher, Teacher, I didn’t throw the first (food) punch”

[NYHartChapp]

On 9/19/2021 at 3:45 PM, ronrick1943 said:

The food is good, but the “finest Cuisine at Sea” it is not.

Thanks, ever so much, for the encouraging words.

[Rrehfe4969@aol.com]

On 9/19/2021 at 9:45 PM, ronrick1943 said:

The food is good, but the “finest Cuisine at Sea” it is not.

To answer your question I would get on computer at 12:01 am eastern time and book each of the 4 specialty and you can always change dates and restaurants once on board. 
richard