Booking specialty restaurants on Sirena

[shepherd really]

With all the drama, angst and handwringing about booking specialties at 12:01 AM EST on the day they open I would like to report that I got my preferred dates and times without a snag at a civilized time this morning.

 

Some things are not as difficult as they are made out to be.   

[AMHuntFerry]

54 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

With all the drama, angst and handwringing about booking specialties at 12:01 AM EST on the day they open I would like to report that I got my preferred dates and times without a snag at a civilized time this morning.

 

Some things are not as difficult as they are made out to be.   

The availability of preferred (fill in the blank...time, shared/private) seems to vary quite a bit unless you are booked in an A4 or higher. My last cruise was an 8-night on Regatta in September along the CA coast...full ship and huge percentage of repeaters. We were in the last group to book so I had the midnight time in my calendar and got online promptly; the problem was that I was 24 hours late...doh! The only tables left were 8 pm shared, except for a couple of 7:30 pm times in Toscana. Luckily we like to share, but we do like to see some of the shows and an 8 pm seating makes it more of a chore to finish in time to see the show (doable but I hate to rush).

It seems like the obvious variables (for B1 or lower) are number of nights, percentage of repeaters (who know to book early-ish), percentage of "cruisers" (mostly on ship) vs. "tourists" (explore ports for significant time and eat meals off-ship), and number of sea days (or port days where many don't go ashore much..."pseudo-sea-days?", e.g., Ensenada). The number of nights and (planned 😉 )sea days are known. The number of repeaters and cruisers may be somewhat predictable, especially for those with a lot of experience.

Are there any significant variables I missed?

 

Edited November 27, 2022 by AMHuntFerry

[LHT28]

I do not even try for seating on sea days

but yes the short cruises  have less options  IMO

 Supply & demand  😉

 

[pinotlover]

AMHuntFerry’s comments are so accurate! There is absolutely no set rules on what to expect when attempting to get Specialty reservations. The variables are huge. Therefore, anyone posting singular experiences across what is thousands of other experiences, across hundreds of cruises,  is just that. A singular experience amongst thousands.

 

A very simple example. On my last cruise, with over half the ship carrying over from one segment to the next, nearly all of the Specialty reservations were gone, for that Embarkment day before the newly boarded got on the ship. So claims about how easy it is into get a Specialty on Embarkment Day is silly.  However, after the ship rolled into Miami, several weeks later, and 90+% disembarked, the odds probably changed immensely. 

 

People need to look at their particular circumstances and events, and not attempt to project any outcomes over an entirely different set of circumstances. This applies to not only restaurant reservations, but also booking popular ship shore excursions, cooking classes, and spa treatments. The posted experiences of those previously cruising on half empty ships might not mirror what you encounter on a full ship.

[AMHuntFerry]

7 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

On my last cruise, with over half the ship carrying over from one segment to the next, nearly all of the Specialty reservations were gone, for that Embarkment day before the newly boarded got on the ship.

Aack, another variable that is difficult to predict! The recent cruise I referenced not only had a large number of repeaters (i.e., O-Club members who qualified for a round or two of free drinks) but it was the second 8-night CA-Fall-itinerary; many people combined the two 8-nighters to create a comfy 16-day cruise.

[ORV]

3 hours ago, shepherd really said:

With all the drama, angst and handwringing about booking specialties at 12:01 AM EST on the day they open I would like to report that I got my preferred dates and times without a snag at a civilized time this morning.

 

Some things are not as difficult as they are made out to be.   

What we don't know here is what your room category is and how many days out you were able to book. Always makes a big difference.

[shepherd really]

3 minutes ago, ORV said:

What we don't know here is what your room category is and how many days out you were able to book. Always makes a big difference.

B2 on an R ship

[shepherd really]

Just to add another data point, there were fewer open slots for two tops this morning then yesterday but with a couple of exceptions at later hours then I care to dine.

 

But I have my two reservations for the days I wanted at the times I wanted at the table size I wanted.  Your results may vary.

 

[Carol28]

This is our first Oceania cruise. We are on the Riviera in March. How do you sign up for Specialty restaurants? We are in a PH2 cabin.  On RCCL, the concierge writes an email a week in advance of the cruise and I then request my dinner reservations.  Does this happen on Oceania?  Please share the process to sign up.

I just read the menus on this site and all the restaurants look great.

[shepherd really]

3 minutes ago, Carol28 said:

This is our first Oceania cruise. We are on the Riviera in March. How do you sign up for Specialty restaurants? We are in a PH2 cabin.  On RCCL, the concierge writes an email a week in advance of the cruise and I then request my dinner reservations.  Does this happen on Oceania?  Please share the process to sign up.

I just read the menus on this site and all the restaurants look great.

Go to Oceania's website

sign into your account

load your booked cruise

hit manage my cruise

hit dining

 

Then you can choose from the available dates and times.  I don't recall how many days in advance a PH can do this, but you may be a little early yet.

 

[Carol28]

8 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

Go to Oceania's website

sign into your account

load your booked cruise

hit manage my cruise

hit dining

 

Then you can choose from the available dates and times.  I don't recall how many days in advance a PH can do this, but you may be a little early yet.

 

Thank you!  I see it opens 75 days in advance of the cruise.  Right now I can reserve La Reserve, but I think that may have a cost. I looked at the menus and they may be a bit too fancy for me.  What is the cost? I know the other four are free.  There's also one called Privee (or something like that.) That didn't open.  What is that?

Edited December 9, 2022 by Carol28
extra questions added.

[shepherd really]

21 minutes ago, Carol28 said:

Thank you!  I see it opens 75 days in advance of the cruise.  Right now I can reserve La Reserve, but I think that may have a cost. I looked at the menus and they may be a bit too fancy for me.  What is the cost? I know the other four are free.  There's also one called Privee (or something like that.) That didn't open.  What is that?

Privee is a private room that seats up to 10 people.  It costs $300 for the room, and you can tailor the menu to suit you.  La Reserve has 3 different menus each with a different per person cost.  The specialty restaurants, as you said, are included in your fare.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 11/27/2022 at 4:56 PM, LHT28 said:

I do not even try for seating on sea days

but yes the short cruises  have less options  IMO

 Supply & demand  😉

 

yep

 

[schmerl]

I made reservations for my March cruise on Riviera early this AM. Had no trouble getting times we wanted even on days at sea. 

 

[MEFIowa]

15 minutes ago, schmerl said:

I made reservations for my March cruise on Riviera early this AM. Had no trouble getting times we wanted even on days at sea. 

 

As ORV said above, "What we don't know here is what your room category is and how many days out you were able to book. Always makes a big difference."

[LHT28]

20 minutes ago, schmerl said:

I made reservations for my March cruise on Riviera early this AM. Had no trouble getting times we wanted even on days at sea. 

 

Usually Top suites   & P H do not have any issues

The lower cabin cat may have more restrictions on times available

The 7 day cruises are more problematic

[schmerl]

1 minute ago, MEFIowa said:

As ORV said above, "What we don't know here is what your room category is and how many days out you were able to book. Always makes a big difference."

 

However, the person asking the question stated they can gook 75 days out which means Penthouse which is what we have and had no problems getting reservations we wanted. They were wide open. 

It also helps if you check you will share a table. 

[schmerl]

That should say "book" 75 days out. 

[pinotlover]

I will add one more caveat to all this. Large groups. I just booked, at 75 days out, the dining reservations for our next cruise . At 3 minutes after reservations opening one of the restaurants had no openings until 8:30 and later. I simply changed things around and booked a different evening. What that told me was we’ll have a large college alumni group, wine group, or other organization aboard ship with us and the event was pre booked.

 

This was not a problem on a 20 day cruise, but if it had been a short cruise those in lower category cabins would see an effect.

[Lundboat]

We book a PH2 on the Marina typically.  Only had one cruise that the date/time became an issue.  That was Tahiti.  Never did figure out why booking was so difficult.  Seemed like 1/2 the USA was trying to book at the same time as I was.  Since then I take it for what it is and don't pre-figure that we must have Polo Grill at a certain time on a certain day.  (that is what I used to do).  Much less stress just to open a particular day and see what is available and decide right then and there to book or not.  I simply mark the days that work best for us for a specialty and go from there.  Much less stress and very few issues...... just saying.

[Redtravel]

Be flexible.  Last cruise I forgot to book specialty restaurant until a few days after it opened.  When I got online, there was nothing open in any restaurant for the first 4 days.  After that, there were lots of open times. 

[Norseh2o]

Thanks for this post! It reminded me to book my specialties today for our February Marina cruise.  Even midmorning, Pacific time when booking, I was able to get good times and dates.  

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I didn't read all the preceding comments, so hopefully I won't say something I don't mean, or that's incorrect.  However, here's my usual routine for shortish cruises:  The day before my reservation window opens (almost always third/last group; date is listed on Guest Statement) I pick out good days and bad days.  If it's a late day in port, or anticipated exhausting/long day in port, I'm aware of a lighthouse coming up at dinner time, or it's the first or last cruise night or a sea day, those are considered bad days.  Then I go in right after midnight (EST) on the day before my invoice says my booking period opens, which I believe is when Oceania's computer program allows me to book.  I just ask for shared tables, and look at what I think is the least popular restaurant (in the case of Sirena, I believe that to be Tuscan Steak, but who knows?)  I look for 7 to 7:30 slots on a good day and book one.  Then I look for something at least a few days before/after that and book it.  Usually I get pretty good slots, but my upcoming cruise is QUITE full, so I may not be able to get quite what I like.  But if I have to eat late, I periodically check online to see if any slots have opened up.  (People do occasionally change, either pre cruise or during).  If not, when onboard, I go to the onboard Dining Reservation person and ask about vacant slots.  (Cosara on Sirena last May was very helpful, but she may have gotten married and left Sirena or Oceania.)  If I still can't get anything I love, I eat a late lunch, have scones at tea time, or go to the Terrace for an appetizer. It all works out in the end!

 

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

 If I still can't get anything I love, I eat a late lunch, have scones at tea time, or go to the Terrace for an appetizer. It all works out in the end!

 

You do not eat in the GDR ?  🤔

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

You do not eat in the GDR ?  🤔

Sorry, I meant that if I don't find an earlier reservation for a particular day, I keep the reservation but may go to the Terrace for one or two appetizers if I'm hungry early on!  Or else I might order a shrimp cocktail from room service......