Current Restaurant Reservation Situation

[zalusky]

We will going on our first Viking cruise in July and I see that the main restaurant has a reservation in MVJ.  What are current sailing people seeing with that?

If you walk in at 6PM Is the wait long?  We don't know even know what shore excursions are available yet so it's really hard to plan the day.

 

We also tend to be early eaters such we don't go to bed on full stomachs / GERD issues.

 

I read pre-covid you just showed up and it was not a problem.  I am assuming during Covid they reduced the number of tables and therefore reservations.

When I look at all the sea day slots they are booked out till 8 or 9PM.

 

Of course I know there is always the buffet and room service.

[LindaS272]

It’s not a problem, you don’t need to make reservations for the MDR. There have been a bazillion posts on this topic on CC since the Welcome Back cruises last summer. All posts by cruisers in real time since last summer, including our experience in March this year on a TA, have said you can be seated in the MDR whenever you want. Earlier tends to be best, sometimes a bit later you might have to wait a few minutes, but every cruise is different on when people like to eat. No worries. (The TA in March was our fifth Viking cruise, and the first since Covid.)

[Courtmatt]

We just got off the Jupiter and I had made the reservations for the MDR prior to cruising. All the times that were available were 8pm. I read on cruise critic not worry about it, you can just show up and that’s true. I didn’t need any of those reservations, we just went when we were ready and there is not usually much of a line.  Enjoy your cruise!

[mauimacho]

Does anyone know the time of day for the particular windows to start reserving specialty restaurants?

[MSEm]

The dates for making reservation will be on page 2 or 3 of your booking.

[Blackduck59]

On our cruise you couldn't reserve in advance, at least we couldn't. For the Restaurant that didn't matter, just line up at 6:00pm and you should be seated fairly quickly. We stopped dining in the Restaurant after the 3rd 1 1/2 hour long dinner ordeal.

When we went to book our "guaranteed" dinners in specialty dining there was no availability before 8:00 pm. That was in the morning the day after embarkation. There were also reports from our cruise where reservations were made in advance and no record of them were found on the ship. So if you can't make specialty reservations in advance di it as soon as you board the ship.

As with everything your experience may vary depending on the ship.

Edited May 14, 2022 by Blackduck59

[zalusky]

23 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

On our cruise you couldn't reserve in advance, at least we couldn't. For the Restaurant that didn't matter, just line up at 6:00pm and you should be seated fairly quickly. We stopped dining in the Restaurant after the 3rd 1 1/2 hour long dinner ordeal.

When we went to book our "guaranteed" dinners in specialty dining there was no availability before 8:00 pm. That was in the morning the day after embarkation. There were also reports from our cruise where reservations were made in advance and no record of them were found on the ship. So if you can't make specialty reservations in advance di it as soon as you board the ship.

As with everything your experience may vary depending on the ship.

 

After you stopped doing the Restaurant I am assuming you did the Buffet/Grill area.  How did that compare?  Did you miss anything?  Words of wisdom?

[Blackduck59]

52 minutes ago, zalusky said:

 

After you stopped doing the Restaurant I am assuming you did the Buffet/Grill area.  How did that compare?  Did you miss anything?  Words of wisdom?

I'm not sure about words of wisdom just a few observations. On our Pacific Coastal cruise aboard Orion the service in the restaurant was painfully slow. There were also other issues in the restaurant that caused us to dine elsewhere. 

There was always crab in the cold section of the world buffet and the sushi selection was on the opposite side of the ship. The hot selections were tasty and most importantly you didn't have to wait for 45 minutes for the entree to arrive. There were different selection on each night. 

Most importantly get your "specialty" reservations as soon as you can or you may not get them at all.

Please do enjoy your cruise. 

[Clay Clayton]

21 hours ago, zalusky said:

 

After you stopped doing the Restaurant I am assuming you did the Buffet/Grill area.  How did that compare?  Did you miss anything?  Words of wisdom?

Some folks enjoy the World Cafe more than The Restaurant.  We like them both and enjoy the option of eating al fresco provided in the Cafe but there are some dishes that are so good in The Restaurant that we will rearrange alternative venue reservations to be sure we don’t miss them.  I’ve posted a list of our favorite dishes aboard at the end of this post.  
 

A couple of things that aren’t obvious at the WC.  They will happily heat those cold crab claws and give you melted butter if you ask. Usually, some of The Restaurant’s dishes are also available in WC especially appetizers. There will be some example dishes displayed on the counter, you just ask for these and they make them for you “à la minute.”  Be sure and check both sides of the WC-often offerings are different on each side. Don’t forget to check out on the Aquavit Terrace if it’s a “special” night-they are usually preparing something tasty there. 
 

Favorite Viking Dishes

Breakfast:

Grilled lamb chops-The Restaurant

Raisin Pistachio Bun-The Living Room

Waffle-Mamsen’s

Potatoes Lyonaise-The World Cafe

 

Lunch:

Seared tuna-Pool Grill

(we have a salad made at the World Cafe while tuna is being prepared and then have the tuna on top)

Hamburger with Onion Rings-Pool Grill

Open Faced Sandwiches-Mamsen’s

Porcetta on the buffet

 

Afternoon Tea:

Scones with clotted cream-The Winter Garden

 

Pre-dinner:

Cold seafood and sushi-The World Cafe (then enjoy it at the Aquavit Terrace)

 

Dinner:

Chilean (NOT seared Mediterranean) Sea Bass -The Restaurant 

Cold Pea Soup-The Restaurant 

Lotus Menu - The Chef’s Table

Whole Split Lobster-The Restaurant not offered all the time

Steak Florentine-Manfredi’s 

Indian Ryazan broth - tomato soup (vegetarian)

 

Desserts:

Gelato-The World Cafe, try the sugar free flavors of ice cream and cookies-some we like better than full sugar ones

And had oatmeal cookie ice cream fir the first time on Sky in Iceland   So So good!

Cold Pea Soup-The Restaurant (seriously-it’s that good)