Will I have issues with booking with UDP on holiday sold out cruise?

[chiguypaul]

I am on the Wonder for the Dec 31st sailing. I have had UDP before but never during a holiday sailing.  I plan on booking dinners as soon as we get on with our 1130 boarding time. 
 

Does anyone think I’m going to have an issue with getting dinner slots if I book when we get onboard at that time?  Had read a story that someone had UDP and wasn’t able to book meals, but you can’t believe everything you read.  

[Biker19]

11 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

Does anyone think I’m going to have an issue with getting dinner slots if I book when we get onboard at that time?  Had read a story that someone had UDP and wasn’t able to book meals, but you can’t believe everything you read.  

You won't know till you try it - yes, some have cancelled their UDP on board when they couldn't get the times they wanted.

[chiguypaul]

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

You won't know till you try it - yes, some have cancelled their UDP on board when they couldn't get the times they wanted.

Sure but many of those stories are from people who waited until day 2. 

[crzndeb]

Here’s a hint…got to Izumi’s, Deck 4 Aft, to make all your reservations when you board. Most people go to Deck 8 at one of the speciality restaurants there. I had 5 night package on TA, and got all my times immediately. No wait.

[MichiganMan4]

For Spring Break ‘22 on Symphony we were worried about the same.  Had 11am boarding time and made a bee line to Izumi with a printout of wanted restaurant / dates / times.  Had to rejiggle a couple but got it all done as we wanted.  

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, chiguypaul said:

I am on the Wonder for the Dec 31st sailing. I have had UDP before but never during a holiday sailing.  I plan on booking dinners as soon as we get on with our 1130 boarding time. 
 

Does anyone think I’m going to have an issue with getting dinner slots if I book when we get onboard at that time?  Had read a story that someone had UDP and wasn’t able to book meals, but you can’t believe everything you read.  

Just so you know you won't be able to book Chops, Giovsnnis or 150 CP for NYE, possibly NYD as they raise the prices for special holiday dinners.  You'll have to go to one of the other restaurants those dsys. 

[chiguypaul]

40 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Just so you know you won't be able to book Chops, Giovsnnis or 150 CP for NYE, possibly NYD as they raise the prices for special holiday dinners.  You'll have to go to one of the other restaurants those dsys. 

 

Thank you for mentioning this. I wasn't aware of that. Crap. I tried to book MTD for NYE (the first night), but it wouldn't let me because I have the Unlimited Dining package blocked on my schedule. I'm worried that customer service might mess it up if tweaking with it. Hmmm... Any suggestions from anyone? Thanks again.

[chiguypaul]

1 hour ago, MichiganMan4 said:

For Spring Break ‘22 on Symphony we were worried about the same.  Had 11am boarding time and made a bee line to Izumi with a printout of wanted restaurant / dates / times.  Had to rejiggle a couple but got it all done as we wanted.  

 

We're indifferent on times so seems like as long as we're flexible we should be OK. Hoping...

[chiguypaul]

43 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Just so you know you won't be able to book Chops, Giovsnnis or 150 CP for NYE, possibly NYD as they raise the prices for special holiday dinners.  You'll have to go to one of the other restaurants those dsys. 

Hey, Ken. One more question. So you think going to Hooked, or Mason Jar or Izumi would be non-holiday spots? Those would be fine for the night.

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

Hey, Ken. One more question. So you think going to Hooked, or Mason Jar or Izumi would be non-holiday spots? Those would be fine for the night.

Those restaurants are all fine.  Only the 3 I mentioned are excluded. 

[ARandomTraveler]

Yes I think you're gonna have some issues. I was on Symphony during Thanksgiving week and I had the UDP. I got on the ship at 11:00 and booked something for every day at a time I was happy with, but a couple restaurants were completely sold out at all time slots already (Wonderland and the Izumi Hibachi) and I wasn't able to get my first choice restaurants some of the days.

 

I was able to get into Wonderland on a waitlist at 9pm later in the week, and I was able to do the hibachi because I pre-paid for it and booked a day and time before getting on the cruise (so I paid additionally for it on top of paying for the UDP). I was able to get that money refunded at the dinner after speaking with the restaurant manager. 

Edited December 11, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[chiguypaul]

1 minute ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Yes I think you're gonna have some issues. I was on Symphony during Thanksgiving week and I had the USP. I got on the ship at 11:00 and booked something for everyday at a time I was happy with, but a couple restaurants were completely sold out at all time slots already (Wonderland and the Izumi Hibachi) and I wasn't able to get my first choice restaurants some of the days.

 

I was able to get into Wonderland on a waitlist at 9pm later in the week, and I was able to do the hibachi because I pre-paid for it and booked a day and time before getting on the cruise (so I paid additionally for it on top of paying for the UDP). I was able to get that money refunded at the dinner after speaking with the restaurant manager. 

Thanks for your thoughts. Trying to put what you said in perspective. 1) My shows are not until later in the evening so lots of flexibility on time, 2) I don't care which day I go to what restaurant, and 3) independent of the show time, I'm pretty flexible on which restaurant on which night. Sounds like it all worked out for you even with the inconvenience of Wonderland in the beginning.

[ARandomTraveler]

7 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

Thanks for your thoughts. Trying to put what you said in perspective. 1) My shows are not until later in the evening so lots of flexibility on time, 2) I don't care which day I go to what restaurant, and 3) independent of the show time, I'm pretty flexible on which restaurant on which night. Sounds like it all worked out for you even with the inconvenience of Wonderland in the beginning.

Yes, you read that correctly. I had the same attitude and was happy with all the restaurants I was able to get into. But I was a bit annoyed that I couldn't make changes later, and I would have been bummed not to be able to do the hibachi had I not paid for it ahead of time. 
 

For example, I booked whatever was available when I got on the ship at 11am, but I wasn't able to book some restaurants more than once because they were booked on all the other days (like 150 Central Park and Izumi sushi). 
 

I also booked early dinner times and there were several days where we weren't ready to eat at that time. I would try to change the dinner time to something later, and was unable to because every restaurant was booked solid.
 

Not having any flexibility with dinner reservations was the only downside to the UDP, but I'd still recommend it as long as you go in with that knowledge and a good attitude. 

Edited December 11, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[chiguypaul]

8 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

Yes, you read that correctly. I had the same attitude and was happy with all the restaurants I was able to get into. But I was a bit annoyed that I couldn't make changes later, and I would have been bummed not to be able to do the hibachi had I not paid for it ahead of time. 
 

For example, I booked whatever was available when I got on the ship at 11am, but I wasn't able to book some restaurants more than once because they were booked on all the other days (like 150 Central Park and Izumi sushi). 
 

I also booked early dinner times and there were several days where we weren't ready to eat at that time. I would try to change the dinner time to something later, and was unable to because every restaurant was booked solid.
 

Not having any flexibility with dinner reservations was the only downside to the UDP, but I'd still recommend it as long as you go in with that knowledge and a good attitude. 

Out of curiosity, what time was considered early for you and your family?  For us I think it would be anything earlier than 545 or six.  
 

[ARandomTraveler]

6 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

Out of curiosity, what time was considered early for you and your family?  For us I think it would be anything earlier than 545 or six.  
 

We had 5pm or 5:30pm dinner reservations every day. By the time I got on the ship, everything between 6pm-7:30pm was booked. Even with the 5pm and 5:30pm time slots, there was only 1 day available for 150 Central Park, and there was only 1 day available for Izumi Sushi. Wonderland was fully booked at every time slot every day, and so was the Izumi Hibachi. 
 

Like I mentioned before, we did end up being able to get into Wonderland by being willing to go at 9pm when we got on a waitlist. I think there's probably opportunities to get reservations that way if there's something you aren't able to book on the first day. 
 

If there's anything you really want to go to, I'd just pay for it separately now so you can secure a day and time, and then see if you can get your money back once you're on the ship, with the expectation that you may not be able to get it back.

 

I honestly assumed that making reservations would be easier because I thought most people would be traveling in large groups and therefore wouldn't buy the UDP, but I was wrong. 

Edited December 11, 2022 by ARandomTraveler

[chiguypaul]

@ARandomTraveler were you able to make reservations for unlimited dining through the application? Some people have said on the forms they were able to do that.  

[jean87510]

The UDP has been great for us in the past but booking has been interesting to say the least.  I'm glad to see some ships are allowing pre booking shows and restaurants.  I was prepared before my Allure sailing and as soon as I could log into the ship's wifi, I got what I wanted.  However, I probably won't do it again unless 1. on an Oasis or Quantum class 2.  board early, or 3.  Able to pick pre cruise.  I think UDP with the amount of money spent on the package, should have a time frame pre cruise (3-5 days prior) where they can pick their timeslots.  It really isn't worth it if all you can get is 9pm.  I guess it's because the ship makes more money from the single bookings.  If I could only get 9pm all week and no lunches, I'd cancel it as well.

[ARandomTraveler]

8 hours ago, chiguypaul said:

@ARandomTraveler were you able to make reservations for unlimited dining through the application? Some people have said on the forms they were able to do that.  

No, I wasn't. I tried when I got on the ship to do it, but no available times populated in the app. I had to go to a kiosk they had set up on the promenade and have one of the employees make all my reservations for me. Then, none of those reservations even showed up in the calendar on my app until day 2 (the employee had warned me that this was normal though). 
 

I did try after day 2 to make changes to my reservations on the app, but because everything was fully booked, I always got the message that said I needed to go to guest services to make any changes. 
 

I also had to go to guest services one night when I wanted to cancel a dinner reservation because we were too tired and not hungry enough to eat at our 5pm reservation time. The app wouldn't allow me to cancel on my own, I had to go to guest services and have them do it. 

[chiguypaul]

Thank you for the response. When I had UDP on the Allure last year I had the same experience with the dining not showing up on the app until later (saying this for the benefit of others).

 

I'm going to make the best of it and I'll chime in on the thread after my trip to follow up for anyone else who is following or curious. I've stressed myself out enough about this so I just need to chill and then make the mad dash when I board and monitor for any openings during the week. I can't schedule MTD as a backup at this point because they are all conflicting with the shows I booked. 

[wreckem2013]

I was going to do UDP on Allure for Xmas but I decided to just pay per restaurant to ensure I got the reservations I wanted. I had to rearrange stuff to get all the reservations I wanted with UDP on Odyssey at thanksgiving. 

[chiguypaul]

11 minutes ago, wreckem2013 said:

I was going to do UDP on Allure for Xmas but I decided to just pay per restaurant to ensure I got the reservations I wanted. I had to rearrange stuff to get all the reservations I wanted with UDP on Odyssey at thanksgiving. 

How much extra, as a premium, do you think you paid going that way over UDP?

 

[Bead Pirate]

It is a good practice to just book direct during holidays and high occupancy cruises. We love the UDP but lament not being able to get in to select venues during these busy cruises. Better to pay a little extra and get the times and locations wanted.

 

Was on Wonder last week and using the UDP was a struggle (the ship was full) and I should have expected that (but did not). 

 

I will warn about the Mason Jar lunch. We arrived at 2 PM with 4 other couples who had made online reservations (UDP does not work for lunch) and were greeted with the sad news that "we ran out of food and closed the kitchen at 1:30".

 

A good bit of the food at the Mason Jar takes a longer prep time and when it is gone, they "86" the item. Just a warning to not take those late reservations in that rather small location.

 

On Edge for Christmas and New Year's, have had the meal reservations since the day they appeared online. Good Luck and enjoy your cruise! 

[taglovestocruise]

1 hour ago, chiguypaul said:

How much extra, as a premium, do you think you paid going that way over UDP?

 

You save about $15 pp pm for the 3 night package and around $25 pp pm  for the UDP if you include lunches.  If you book ahead and pay full price there is no problem switching that night over to a package meal, we have done this many times on various ships as we always cruise on our anniversary day  . You will receive a fully refundable OBC.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

1 hour ago, Bead Pirate said:

It is a good practice to just book direct during holidays and high occupancy cruises. We love the UDP but lament not being able to get in to select venues during these busy cruises. Better to pay a little extra and get the times and locations wanted.

 

Was on Wonder last week and using the UDP was a struggle (the ship was full) and I should have expected that (but did not). 

 

I will warn about the Mason Jar lunch. We arrived at 2 PM with 4 other couples who had made online reservations (UDP does not work for lunch) and were greeted with the sad news that "we ran out of food and closed the kitchen at 1:30".

 

A good bit of the food at the Mason Jar takes a longer prep time and when it is gone, they "86" the item. Just a warning to not take those late reservations in that rather small location.

 

On Edge for Christmas and New Year's, have had the meal reservations since the day they appeared online. Good Luck and enjoy your cruise! 

Curious why UDP doesn't work with Mason Jar lunch/brunch? I don't see anything in the UDP description about that. We have the UDP for Wonder end of April. 

Edited December 11, 2022 by suzyluvs2cruise

[jrapps]

I was on the Wonder of the seas for Thanksgiving week and we got all the restaurants we wanted (UDP, never set foot in the MDR once the entire cruise). We had the very first boarding time and my plan was to get on and run straight to Izumi, as others have said they are usually empty and very easy to make all your reservations. Turned out we didn't even need to do that. Once we got inside the terminal, I was able to connect to the Wonder-Guest wifi, restarted the Royal app and said I was onboard, and it let me book everything right away. I had all 7 nights of dinners booked before we ever stepped foot on the ship!

 

Once onboard we went straight to Mason Jar for Brunch. We decided to move a few dinners around once we saw what the show times were, still had no issues doing that even an hour after we got onboard

 

Good luck!