Unable to make dining reservations?

[Lee117five0]

Just went online to book dining reservations for Arvia K313. It said a week ago that dining reservations could be made from the 11th. Right at midnight they've changed the date to the 12th. Bit disappointed really as I was hoping to try and book a few restaurants.

 

Just wondering if everyone else has the same problem?

 

Many thanks

Lee

[PurpleMoonlight]

Not criticising, but is it really necessary to book restaurants two weeks before departure these days?

[AndyMichelle]

2 hours ago, PurpleMoonlight said:

Not criticising, but is it really necessary to book restaurants two weeks before departure these days?

Not necessary, but so many stories of passengers not being able to book what they want for celebrations etc, so I understand why it's done.

Andy 

 

 

[Fionboard]

3 hours ago, PurpleMoonlight said:

Not criticising, but is it really necessary to book restaurants two weeks before departure these days?

Only on the big ships.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

Not necessary, but so many stories of passengers not being able to book what they want for celebrations etc, so I understand why it's done.

Andy 

 

 

FOMO rules!!!!

[AndyMichelle]

4 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

FOMO rules!!!!

Yep, and surely understandably so? 

I want to take Michelle to the Epicurean on her birthday, of course I don't want to miss out... 

Andy 

[Guest ccpm]

32 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

FOMO rules!!!!

Totally economics for me - 10% discount plus peninsular discount for booking early. I have other uses for OBC

[Eglesbrech]

56 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Yep, and surely understandably so? 

I want to take Michelle to the Epicurean on her birthday, of course I don't want to miss out... 

Andy 

Hope you get sorted Andy.

 

[Son of Anarchy]

5 hours ago, PurpleMoonlight said:

Not criticising, but is it really necessary to book restaurants two weeks before departure these days?

We were on Arvia in May.  Most of the pre 1830 MDR slots went online within 48 hours of online booking.  The latest early MDR slots: 1830,  went within 24 hours.

[terrierjohn]

6 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

We were on Arvia in May.  Most of the pre 1830 MDR slots went online within 48 hours of online booking.  The latest early MDR slots: 1830,  went within 24 hours.

But the virtual queue was still available, and on our 2 cruises despite all the bookable slots being full, we were still able to dine between 6:00 & 7:00 with hardly any wait or long queues.

[Cathygh]

5 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

But the virtual queue was still available, and on our 2 cruises despite all the bookable slots being full, we were still able to dine between 6:00 & 7:00 with hardly any wait or long queues.

Yes that's fine if you want to eat early. It depends how busy the ship is and how well staffed they are. I can only go by my experience on Iona G316, where waits for the MDR could be 2 hours or more. 

 

One night (not celebration night, that's a differnet story)we checked the virtual queues at 6.30 - there were long waits and the queues then became full so we couldn't join them. At 7.45 we went to Coral and we were told there were 300 people in the queues ahead of us. After complaining that the system was ridiculous we were shown to a table for 2 (we were happy to share) staright away. We were surprised to see lots of empty tables and also table that had not been cleared. 

 

The expereince on Iona was the opposite of what we had on Azura in Octoober 2022 where we could just walk in whenever we wanted. On Virtuosa in April, which is a similar size to Iona, we could also walk in when we wanted but TBH Virtuosa was not full. 

 

Just to mention, some of our family who were on Iona like to eat early, so they joined the virtual queues when they opened at 5.15. The restaurants opened at 5.30 and most nights they were called between 6 and 6.15.

[PurpleMoonlight]

31 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

We were on Arvia in May.  Most of the pre 1830 MDR slots went online within 48 hours of online booking.  The latest early MDR slots: 1830,  went within 24 hours.

 

Is fixed dining not available on the new large ships?

[Son of Anarchy]

3 minutes ago, PurpleMoonlight said:

 

Is fixed dining not available on the new large ships?

Nope, hence the rush for the early slots.  When we went in May, only slots up to 1830 could be booked pre-boarding (MDR).  Apres 1830 (MDR) you have to book on the day via the "app", or go as a walk in.

[Megabear2]

25 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

But the virtual queue was still available, and on our 2 cruises despite all the bookable slots being full, we were still able to dine between 6:00 & 7:00 with hardly any wait or long queues.

Arvia's virtual queue in May did not open until 6.30pm as all dining between 5.30 and 6.30 was prebooked.  There was a walk up queue to the right but only a handful from there were admitted before pagers started to be handed out.

 

As there are only two MDR the pressure on Olive Grove and the Diner was also high with the virtual queue filling as soon as they opened.

 

[PurpleMoonlight]

1 minute ago, Son of Anarchy said:

Nope, hence the rush for the early slots.  When we went in May, only slots up to 1830 could be booked pre-boarding (MDR).  Apres 1830 (MDR) you have to book on the day via the "app", or go as a walk in.

 

Oh well, another reason to avoid them then lol.

 

I went on Britannia in 2015 and it was painfully obvious then that there were too many people for the facilities available. Seems to have got even worse.

[Cloudyrain]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

But the virtual queue was still available, and on our 2 cruises despite all the bookable slots being full, we were still able to dine between 6:00 & 7:00 with hardly any wait or long queues.

I think it’s more the alternative dining options. We found the MDR fab and easy to access. Also we were able to get reservations on board for all of the upgrade dining restaurants, but the times were limited in availability: so we could get a Olive Grove lunch by booking on board, but wouldn’t haven’t been able to go in the evening if we hadn’t of booked pre-boarding unless we were able to get a last minute cancellation. Beach House seemed to have more availability, but usually first of last slots (which might not work for some people if they have been on excursions or have child care issues to juggle).

[Lee117five0]

7 hours ago, PurpleMoonlight said:

Not criticising, but is it really necessary to book restaurants two weeks before departure these days?

This is only our second cruise. Our first was on Iona back in October. By the time we boarded (just before 1) and figured out how to use the app most stuff was already booked. We didn't realise just how important it was to book everything that we wanted to do right then and there because everything gets fully booked up.

 

There were a few restaurants we wanted to try this time that we didn't last time, like Sindhu and beach house, and we didn't want to miss out again. Same for booking the MDR for an early slot on celebration night. We're on a 14 night cruise and we've booked 6 evenings. I don't think that's too selfish really.

 

I get that booking early makes the problem worse, but until they significantly increase staffing levels on these big ships there is just going to always be a need for a mad rush to book things. It's even more unfair on regular passengers when people board early and book things like epicurean every day of the cruise. When we were on Iona we spoke to a lady who had literally done just that. How are other people supposed to have any sort of a chance?

 

Many thanks

Lee

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, Lee117five0 said:

This is only our second cruise. Our first was on Iona back in October. By the time we boarded (just before 1) and figured out how to use the app most stuff was already booked. We didn't realise just how important it was to book everything that we wanted to do right then and there because everything gets fully booked up.

 

There were a few restaurants we wanted to try this time that we didn't last time, like Sindhu and beach house, and we didn't want to miss out again. Same for booking the MDR for an early slot on celebration night. We're on a 14 night cruise and we've booked 6 evenings. I don't think that's too selfish really.

 

I get that booking early makes the problem worse, but until they significantly increase staffing levels on these big ships there is just going to always be a need for a mad rush to book things. It's even more unfair on regular passengers when people board early and book things like epicurean every day of the cruise. When we were on Iona we spoke to a lady who had literally done just that. How are other people supposed to have any sort of a chance?

 

Many thanks

Lee

I completely agree with you.  I think that booking 6 nights is very reasonable of you.  Myself I booked 13 nights  out of 14 before sailing as I eat early every night and the chances of getting a reservation were very slim if not reserved in advance.  The app queue doesn't open until 6.30pm on Arvia although you can join a physical queue or take the pager up until that time.

 

You are not making the problem worse, you are actually doing what P&O want you to do which is why they open those slots early before sailing.  Things like Olive Grove are quite difficult to get from my experience and if slots are available and you want to try it, I'd suggest you book if the spaces are open, you can always cancel.

 

The 14th day I had no booking for was due to a cancelled all day excursion with a lunch.  Despite trying all cruise to get a reservation anywhere for that Sunday it proved impossible and I went to the Quays.  Certainly don't feel any guilt about booking in advance, it's P&O's system that creates the inequalities not you.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[cruising.mark.uk]

40 minutes ago, Lee117five0 said:

This is only our second cruise. Our first was on Iona back in October. By the time we boarded (just before 1) and figured out how to use the app most stuff was already booked. We didn't realise just how important it was to book everything that we wanted to do right then and there because everything gets fully booked up.

 

There were a few restaurants we wanted to try this time that we didn't last time, like Sindhu and beach house, and we didn't want to miss out again. Same for booking the MDR for an early slot on celebration night. We're on a 14 night cruise and we've booked 6 evenings. I don't think that's too selfish really.

 

I get that booking early makes the problem worse, but until they significantly increase staffing levels on these big ships there is just going to always be a need for a mad rush to book things. It's even more unfair on regular passengers when people board early and book things like epicurean every day of the cruise. When we were on Iona we spoke to a lady who had literally done just that. How are other people supposed to have any sort of a chance?

 

Many thanks

Lee

If  our experience is anything to go by, ignore the App if it tells you that specialist restaurants are fully booked and go and speak direct to the staff.  On Arvia, we ate in speciality restaurants every night and had only booked Limelight Club in advance and then Epicurean at the terminal.  On at least 7 of our 14 nights, we just joined the virtual queue on board and we never waited more than an hour for a table to become available, and most times between 20 and 30 minutes.   And, at an estimate, none of the restaurants was much more than 50 or 60% full when we arrived and the staff were accepting walk-ins.    I think the only restaurant that didn't apply to was Epicurean.  So, on our cruise, everybody had a chance and the only major issues with queues / delays happened on formal nights in the 2 MDRs, alleviated slightly for the second of those when they also served the MDR menu in Olive Grove.

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Cathygh said:

Yes that's fine if you want to eat early. It depends how busy the ship is and how well staffed they are. I can only go by my experience on Iona G316, where waits for the MDR could be 2 hours or more. 

 

One night (not celebration night, that's a differnet story)we checked the virtual queues at 6.30 - there were long waits and the queues then became full so we couldn't join them. At 7.45 we went to Coral and we were told there were 300 people in the queues ahead of us. After complaining that the system was ridiculous we were shown to a table for 2 (we were happy to share) staright away. We were surprised to see lots of empty tables and also table that had not been cleared. 

 

The expereince on Iona was the opposite of what we had on Azura in Octoober 2022 where we could just walk in whenever we wanted. On Virtuosa in April, which is a similar size to Iona, we could also walk in when we wanted but TBH Virtuosa was not full. 

 

Just to mention, some of our family who were on Iona like to eat early, so they joined the virtual queues when they opened at 5.15. The restaurants opened at 5.30 and most nights they were called between 6 and 6.15.

What you are describing is not a problem with the app, but they can probably be attributed to the pre booking system where many tables are being held for future time slots, rather than be allocated to the next people in the virtual queue.

I know that the 2 new ships are much bigger, and therefore will need a more organised MDR system to ensure everyone is to be able to dine without enduring long queues. However pre booking is, IMO, not the best way to achieve this, all that happens is that too many tables are left unoccupied for unnecessary lengths of time, and passengers who have not been able to pre book are subjected to long queues. If the virtual queue system was the only option, no pre booking, no walk ups and no pagers, and if everyone only joined the virtual queue when they were ready, then I feel that this would result in much shorter wait times, with no need to physically queue at all, until your table was ready.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

What you are describing is not a problem with the app, but they can probably be attributed to the pre booking system where many tables are being held for future time slots, rather than be allocated to the next people in the virtual queue.

I know that the 2 new ships are much bigger, and therefore will need a more organised MDR system to ensure everyone is to be able to dine without enduring long queues. However pre booking is, IMO, not the best way to achieve this, all that happens is that too many tables are left unoccupied for unnecessary lengths of time, and passengers who have not been able to pre book are subjected to long queues. If the virtual queue system was the only option, no pre booking, no walk ups and no pagers, and if everyone only joined the virtual queue when they were ready, then I feel that this would result in much shorter wait times, with no need to physically queue at all, until your table was ready.

Arvia virtual queues are apparently opened at 6.30pm, and did on my cruise.  The hour before was the only prebooked slots, the theory being according to the restaurant manager that the meal experience would be 1 1/2 hours and therefore the 6.30pm joiners would be seated around 15-20 minutes after joining.  In reality the meal was lasting nearer to 2 hours even without coffee being served which led to an instant app queue.  The restaurant staff were extremely busy and clearing tables didn't seem to be high priority leading presumably to more delays for those waiting to come in.

[Drivencruise]

Hi , we are also on k313 . The restaurant bookings did open at midnight on the 10th/11th . We have booked a few restaurants including Limelight. It’s worth trying again if you failed

[Showingthatgame]

Does anyone know when the Olive Grove opens for bookings? Most restaurants on G320 have opened for booking but the olive grove still says coming soon. 

[cruising.mark.uk]

On our cruise on Arvia in April, you couldn't book the Olive Grove before boarding.  But we never had a problem booking on the day on board or just turning up.

[Cathygh]

5 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

What you are describing is not a problem with the app, but they can probably be attributed to the pre booking system where many tables are being held for future time slots, rather than be allocated to the next people in the virtual queue.

I know that the 2 new ships are much bigger, and therefore will need a more organised MDR system to ensure everyone is to be able to dine without enduring long queues. However pre booking is, IMO, not the best way to achieve this, all that happens is that too many tables are left unoccupied for unnecessary lengths of time, and passengers who have not been able to pre book are subjected to long queues. If the virtual queue system was the only option, no pre booking, no walk ups and no pagers, and if everyone only joined the virtual queue when they were ready, then I feel that this would result in much shorter wait times, with no need to physically queue at all, until your table was ready.

P&O did not say there were problems with the app, and neither did I. On the first night the MDR manager told us preboooking of the same dining time is only available between 5.30 and 6.30 on Iona. A few days later we discovered you can prebook a later time by getting a pager every day by 6pm. This put an end to the uncertainty of when we woud get to eat.

On formal night you could only join a virtual queue ( 2/4 virtual queues were closed by 6.30 and did not reopen) no walk ins, no pagers, 2 hour wait  and agin lots of empty tables were ready and lots more waiting to be cleared.

On Iona and Arvia P&O need to revisit how they manage the MDRS when the ship is full and even offer fixed dining in one restaurant.