Restaurant Reservation Time Windows

[toseaornottosea]

New to SS.  For the restaurants that require a reservation I see I can book "Early" 7pm - 8pm; "Regular" 8pm - 9pm or "Late" 9pm - 10pm.  If I were to book an "Early" reservation and show up at say 7:45pm is that acceptable or am I expected to show up at 7p for the "Early" reservation?

[Lois R]

47 minutes ago, toseaornottosea said:

New to SS.  For the restaurants that require a reservation I see I can book "Early" 7pm - 8pm; "Regular" 8pm - 9pm or "Late" 9pm - 10pm.  If I were to book an "Early" reservation and show up at say 7:45pm is that acceptable or am I expected to show up at 7p for the "Early" reservation?

You should be fine.🙂 They don't really expect everyone to show up at 7. Actually it is better that not everyone shows up at the exact same time

[Pies4u]

We recently had our first SS cruise - 22 nights on Dawn - and found the restaurant booking system to be absolutely hopeless. We opted for 7 - 8 and I was advised we’d be allocated specific times once on board. We discovered we’d been given 7.00 pm for every booking! Had to change them all, so why don’t SS do the same as every other cruise line that offers bookings and enable you to book a specific time on the quarter hour? Why inconvenience virtually every customer, and cause unnecessary changes left, right and centre?

 

Plus, having been waitlisted for 2, Kaiseki and La Dame, we found out hours prior to the booking that we now had a confirmed booking. On both occasions the restaurants were less than half full, all night! Apparently, La Terrazza had been fully booked every night prior to the cruise commencing - everyone was told they’d be “waitlisted”. Somehow you just know that was also complete nonsense. 
 

Thought it was one of the poorest aspects of our cruise tbh, together with embarkation, which was an utter farce in Barbados.

 

Pity, because many aspects of the cruise were excellent, particularly the excursion process - meeting shoreside instead of herding people into the theatre and issuing bus tickets like others do, the SS system was much more user friendly and practical.

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, toseaornottosea said:

If I were to book an "Early" reservation and show up at say 7:45pm is that acceptable…

Yes.  Just let your Butler know the day of your reservation that you plan to dine @ 7:45p that evening.

[toseaornottosea]

Thanks for the replies and the info.  Seems like an odd way to manage dining reservations but I'll go with the flow with the assistance of our faithful butler.

[Shawski]

I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I have a different question about booking. I will be traveling solo on Dawn in August and I was wondering if there is any way to indicate I would like to share a table when I’m booking a reservation only restaurant. 

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, Shawski said:

I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I have a different question about booking. I will be traveling solo on Dawn in August and I was wondering if there is any way to indicate I would like to share a table when I’m booking a reservation only restaurant. 

Hi🙂, I always sail solo and find it quite easy to meet others once on board. I have never seen a place on line indicating a place to share a table. But SS treat solos really well.......wait till you get on board and I am betting you will meet others to dine with. When are you sailing Dawn in August? I am sailing her then too!

[Stumblefoot]

4 hours ago, toseaornottosea said:

Seems like an odd way to manage dining reservations.

Yes.  It always has been.  But, it seems to work as lots of SS passengers have no desire to make reservations.

[toseaornottosea]

So are you saying there’s no reason to make a reservation in those restaurants that SS indicates “require” reservations?

 

[Stumblefoot]

10 hours ago, toseaornottosea said:

So are you saying there’s no reason to make a reservation in those restaurants that SS indicates “require” reservations?

 

No, I’m not saying that at all.  Just merely agreeing with your comment about “odd”.

 

Some like to submit their reservation requests the minute they become available online, whereas others choose to make them on the day they wish to dine in a particular venue on the ship.  Both work and appeal to the desires of different passengers.

[toseaornottosea]

This is good to know.  How difficult is it to get a reservation in the restaurant of one's choice at the time one desires on the day they wish to dine?  

[drron29]

16 hours ago, Shawski said:

I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I have a different question about booking. I will be traveling solo on Dawn in August and I was wondering if there is any way to indicate I would like to share a table when I’m booking a reservation only restaurant. 

We often indicate to the Maitre'D in Atlantide that we are willing to share a table. They have restarted this on the last leg of this present cruise. We have often hosted solo travellers.

[Clodia]

16 hours ago, Shawski said:

I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I have a different question about booking. I will be traveling solo on Dawn in August and I was wondering if there is any way to indicate I would like to share a table when I’m booking a reservation only restaurant. 

You usually meet other solos at the meet up in Panorama if you want to dine with others; I've often done this, and also been invited to eat with other people I've got talking to in Trivia or in the bars before dinner. Some nights I like to eat alone and usually book a time to do that. Silversea are very flexible for solos, unlike some lines.

[Lois R]

Actually, I met quite a few solos in Dolce Vita this cruise.....never met any in Panorama so there are multiple venues that you can meet other solos🙂

[Shawski]

Lois, I’m booked on the August 5 Norwegian Fjords cruise. Really looking forward to it and so nice to know Silversea is so good to solos. This will be my first solo cruise. I broke my kneecap last month so I’m really hoping I will have recovered enough to go. 

[jollyjones]

On the bigger ships - Spirit, Muse, Moon and Dawn - the solo meet is in Dolce Vita. 
The smaller ones don’t have Dolce Vita so the Panorama is the usual place for the solo meet 
It usually happens at 7pm or soon after, each evening. 

[Rothko1]

We've befriended solos on the cruises we've been on, and we've dined both in the main dining room, and also La Dame and Terrazza with them.  Very easy to do, and the staff is very accommodating. 

 

In the same vein, we've also had many dinners with other couples that we've met onboard.  And sometimes we dine alone.  

[A Tucson Guy]

I just made our dinner ressies for the Nova sailing leaving 8-21-23. I made 2 ressies for La Dame, which we love, and this time there was no mention of the $60 pp charge. I am not complaining but it is probably just an IT glitch. I had no problem getting all the ressies that we wanted. Looking forward to the Nova or I can hardly wait!!!

[Lois R]

7 minutes ago, A Tucson Guy said:

I just made our dinner ressies for the Nova sailing leaving 8-21-23. I made 2 ressies for La Dame, which we love, and this time there was no mention of the $60 pp charge. I am not complaining but it is probably just an IT glitch. I had no problem getting all the ressies that we wanted. Looking forward to the Nova or I can hardly wait!!!

You will have to tell us all about it upon your return🙂 I am sailing her in November!

[A Tucson Guy]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

You will have to tell us all about it upon your return🙂 I am sailing her in November!

Which cruise in Nov.? We are also going on the Nova 11-24, NYC to Barbados

[Lois R]

I am going on the crossing.Lisbon to NY, Nov 7th.

 

 

 

[A Tucson Guy]

Please leave some caviar and champagne on the ship. I get hungry and thirsty!

[Rothko1]

20 minutes ago, A Tucson Guy said:

Please leave some caviar and champagne on the ship. I get hungry and thirsty!

LOL   Could you imagine the uproar if they ran out!

[Lois R]

43 minutes ago, A Tucson Guy said:

Please leave some caviar and champagne on the ship. I get hungry and thirsty!

No worries about that........I am not a caviar gal so you can have all you want and as for the bubbly? I can take it or leave it. So you should be fine in that category too😀