Specialty Dining Reservation

[Luv2CtheMouse9]

When I make the reservation for Crown Grille, I am being asked for a credit card.  No problem.  But, will I be charged at the time of the reservation or on the evening of dining? 

[Abercrombie2019]

2 minutes ago, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

When I make the reservation for Crown Grille, I am being asked for a credit card.  No problem.  But, will I be charged at the time of the reservation or on the evening of dining? 

You will be charged when you make the reservation.

[Luv2CtheMouse9]

Thank you for the feedback.  I will not be doing that I guess. I am not paying for a meal I will not be eating for 2 months.  😕  

[mtnesterz]

12 minutes ago, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

Thank you for the feedback.  I will not be doing that I guess. I am not paying for a meal I will not be eating for 2 months.  😕  

In the three cruises we've done in the past year, you could make a reservation by walking up to either Sabatini's or Crown Grill during any day you plan to dine. Especially as prices have gone up, few people seem to be eating at the pay venues unless part of a purchased package. We had great steaks at Crown Grill a year ago, but recent posters have not been impressed. Bottom line, I wouldn't worry about reservations. Talk to recent diners on the ship before you book.

[Steelers36]

32 minutes ago, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

Thank you for the feedback.  I will not be doing that I guess. I am not paying for a meal I will not be eating for 2 months.  😕  

Some folks like to know their preferred date and time is secured.

[1412p0oi]

1 hour ago, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

Thank you for the feedback.  I will not be doing that I guess. I am not paying for a meal I will not be eating for 2 months.  😕  

You can always cancel and have it be refunded to you as well - I did it without knowing. But I was also told, and recent reviews have told me, that dinner reservations for specialty restaurants run out quickly so waiting until you're onboard might be a bit tight if you're traveling with a bigger group or want a very specific time and date for specialty dining.

[57eric]

11 hours ago, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

Thank you for the feedback.  I will not be doing that I guess. I am not paying for a meal I will not be eating for 2 months.  😕  

Sure, as long as you know you'll be able to get a seat.  I agree with 1412p0oi.

[Rick&Jeannie]

11 hours ago, Luv2CtheMouse9 said:

I will not be doing that I guess. I am not paying for a meal I will not be eating for 2 months.  😕  

When you put it like that...yeah, it sounds a bit silly.  But...we view it as just a part of "the big picture" being the overall cruise and the costs involved.  We *know* we're always going to do some kind of SD so we prefer to pick the particular restaurant/day/time so that we are assured of getting what we want.  Also, for our past 2 cruises we booked Premier fare.  We really had NO interest in doing so since it first was introduced...but then we finally said "Let's give it a shot just to say we've done it."  Our concern was primarily the cost.  Surprisingly...we liked it!  We booked it again for the next cruise.  

 

You pretty much HAVE to use the same approach with shore excursions.  If you don't "pay" for them (either credit card or OBC) possibly months in advance then you may very well NOT be going on that excursion! They fill up. Same scenario.  If you really want to experience some of the things that are offered on a cruise...you have to be of the mindset that you'll be paying in advance.  After all...they don't let you pay for the cruise when you first board the ship!

 

You may think "Why the heck is this person rambling on about the fare package?  What does it have to do with the thread topic?"  Well, Premier includes 2 "free" (obviously not free...) SD reservations.  If you book Premier...you DO NOT have to pre-pay for those reservations.  The system *should* know that you have it and give you credits.  (I know, some people have had issues where the system did not recognize that they had Plus or Premier and they had to involve technical support...but by and large, the majority of people do not run into these issues.)

[memoak]

On our 50+ Princess cruises we have never had a problem getting seated at a specialty dining venue after 7:30 or so 

[57eric]

44 minutes ago, memoak said:

On our 50+ Princess cruises we have never had a problem getting seated at a specialty dining venue after 7:30 or so 

I'm sailing in two months and the Crown Grill is already showing 4 nights booked until 8:00 or later.  Whether this means one couldn't show up and be seated earlier, I can't say.

[Rick&Jeannie]

And there's always the general consensus that all of the SD restaurants "hold back" a few tables for walk ups.  MANY people here on CC have stated that this seems to be the case...even we have been able to do a walk up when we just had a wild urge to try and see if we could.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, 57eric said:

I'm sailing in two months and the Crown Grill is already showing 4 nights booked until 8:00 or later.  Whether this means one couldn't show up and be seated earlier, I can't say.

Not all tables are booked online.  They always hold some back for people like us who may look at the MDR menu in the morning and don’t see anything that strikes our fancy. 

[partybarbie]

We’re leaving in a little over a month and the app keeps saying that it’s too soon to book a specialty restaurant. We will just wait until we board the ship.

[memoak]

10 minutes ago, partybarbie said:

We’re leaving in a little over a month and the app keeps saying that it’s too soon to book a specialty restaurant. We will just wait until we board the ship.

We are cruising in18 days. Don’t like making too many plans ahead of time except for a few spa appointments.  This is strictly a getaway for some sun

[jagoffee]

8 hours ago, partybarbie said:

We’re leaving in a little over a month and the app keeps saying that it’s too soon to book a specialty restaurant. We will just wait until we board the ship.

That does not sound right.  I booked my at least 90 days in advance.

[partybarbie]

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

That does not sound right.  I booked my at least 90 days in advance.

It doesn’t seem right to me either. I’m not sure what’s going on with the app.

[57eric]

On 1/5/2024 at 2:07 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

And there's always the general consensus that all of the SD restaurants "hold back" a few tables for walk ups.  MANY people here on CC have stated that this seems to be the case...even we have been able to do a walk up when we just had a wild urge to try and see if we could.

On the other hand

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 minute ago, 57eric said:

On the other hand

 

When you hear of anecdotal experiences like given in that other thread, you really don't know all the facts.  Does one person's definition of "full" *truly* mean full...there are absolutely NO tables available at ANY restaurant for ANY time at ANY seating quantity.  I really doubt that.  Plus, you don't know when the actually tried to make those reservations.  In my experience, when we have done SD we have rarely seen the restaurant "full" and we have even been able to do a walk up when we did not have a reservation...on a "full" ship.  So...I take threads like that with a big grain of salt.  Plus...if by chance you booked Premier...they are holding tables for those bookings.

[wallyj]

@Rick&Jeannie, the OP did not state the length of sailing as this can affect SD availability. Last November on Discovery 4 day sailing, I asked shortly after boarding if any SD was available and was told they were fully booked, but they said they would put me on waitlist and I could check back in person everyday for possible cancellations.

 

When I passed by the restaurants, they were not full, so I assume they could not accommodate more passengers because of staffing/crew availability.

 

There was a previous thread discussing where you could not purchase Premier package on day1 because all SD was fully booked. I believe OP was still willing to get so they could get the higher priced drinks, but was denied.

 

Sold out SD is possible, especially on shorter sailings.

[Rick&Jeannie]

27 minutes ago, wallyj said:

Sold out SD is possible, especially on shorter sailings.

Quite correct!  My experience is limited to sailings 7 days or longer.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Our booking includes 1st night SD and with Premier 2 more nights of SD. In the app I have the ability to book 2 nights. Is there a way to get all 3 (including the Suite 1st night) booked? 

[shiner6]

On 1/5/2024 at 10:09 AM, Rick&Jeannie said:

When you put it like that...yeah, it sounds a bit silly.  But...we view it as just a part of "the big picture" being the overall cruise and the costs involved.  We *know* we're always going to do some kind of SD so we prefer to pick the particular restaurant/day/time so that we are assured of getting what we want.  Also, for our past 2 cruises we booked Premier fare.  We really had NO interest in doing so since it first was introduced...but then we finally said "Let's give it a shot just to say we've done it."  Our concern was primarily the cost.  Surprisingly...we liked it!  We booked it again for the next cruise.  

 

You pretty much HAVE to use the same approach with shore excursions.  If you don't "pay" for them (either credit card or OBC) possibly months in advance then you may very well NOT be going on that excursion! They fill up. Same scenario.  If you really want to experience some of the things that are offered on a cruise...you have to be of the mindset that you'll be paying in advance.  After all...they don't let you pay for the cruise when you first board the ship!

 

You may think "Why the heck is this person rambling on about the fare package?  What does it have to do with the thread topic?"  Well, Premier includes 2 "free" (obviously not free...) SD reservations.  If you book Premier...you DO NOT have to pre-pay for those reservations.  The system *should* know that you have it and give you credits.  (I know, some people have had issues where the system did not recognize that they had Plus or Premier and they had to involve technical support...but by and large, the majority of people do not run into these issues.)

No, My app shows that I have the premier package, however none of my sailing dates come up when I try to book. It will let me book a specialty dinner for tonight but not when I am on my cruise.

[Luv2CtheMouse9]

2 hours ago, wallyj said:

@Rick&Jeannie, the OP did not state the length of sailing as this can affect SD availability. Last November on Discovery 4 day sailing, I asked shortly after boarding if any SD was available and was told they were fully booked, but they said they would put me on waitlist and I could check back in person everyday for possible cancellations.

 

When I passed by the restaurants, they were not full, so I assume they could not accommodate more passengers because of staffing/crew availability.

 

There was a previous thread discussing where you could not purchase Premier package on day1 because all SD was fully booked. I believe OP was still willing to get so they could get the higher priced drinks, but was denied.

 

Sold out SD is possible, especially on shorter sailings.

We are on a 10-night cruise  🙂 

[memoak]

2 hours ago, wallyj said:

@Rick&Jeannie, the OP did not state the length of sailing as this can affect SD availability. Last November on Discovery 4 day sailing, I asked shortly after boarding if any SD was available and was told they were fully booked, but they said they would put me on waitlist and I could check back in person everyday for possible cancellations.

 

When I passed by the restaurants, they were not full, so I assume they could not accommodate more passengers because of staffing/crew availability.

 

There was a previous thread discussing where you could not purchase Premier package on day1 because all SD was fully booked. I believe OP was still willing to get so they could get the higher priced drinks, but was denied.

 

Sold out SD is possible, especially on shorter sailings.

If the restaurants were not full did you try to get a table ?  Odds are they would be able to seat you if it is late evening. We eat after 7:30 and never have an issue

[shiner6]

2 hours ago, wallyj said:

@Rick&Jeannie, the OP did not state the length of sailing as this can affect SD availability. Last November on Discovery 4 day sailing, I asked shortly after boarding if any SD was available and was told they were fully booked, but they said they would put me on waitlist and I could check back in person everyday for possible cancellations.

 

When I passed by the restaurants, they were not full, so I assume they could not accommodate more passengers because of staffing/crew availability.

 

There was a previous thread discussing where you could not purchase Premier package on day1 because all SD was fully booked. I believe OP was still willing to get so they could get the higher priced drinks, but was denied.

 

Sold out SD is possible, especially on shorter sailings.

It is a 10 day cruise to Panama Canal