Late Dining Ascent

[WHITELINEN]

Booked last minute cruise on Ascent. Paperwork and App say late dining. Can we go to any of the dining rooms earlier or do we have to try to change once we board?

[Arizona Wildcat]

3 minutes ago, WHITELINEN said:

Booked last minute cruise on Ascent. Paperwork and App say late dining. Can we go to any of the dining rooms earlier or do we have to try to change once we board?

Lots easier to simply go to any MDR on boarding and let the MaitreD get you your preferred seating.  Trying to use the app likely just frustrating. 

[keesar]

1 hour ago, WHITELINEN said:

Booked last minute cruise on Ascent. Paperwork and App say late dining. Can we go to any of the dining rooms earlier or do we have to try to change once we board?

Just got off the Ascent.  It is Anytime Dining.  Just show up to any dining room and they will seat you.  Ignore what that says.

[mark71mark]

On 3/16/2024 at 3:24 PM, keesar said:

Just got off the Ascent.  It is Anytime Dining.  Just show up to any dining room and they will seat you.  Ignore what that says.

 
To build on this, Ascent has 4 separate Main Dining rooms, each with a slightly different motif… Greek, French, Italian, and cosmopolitan.  All of the dining rooms offer the exact same “base” menu, but each dining room adds on a few extra entrees that are unique (and only available) to that particular dining room, and they all change daily.

 

Every morning, we would use the app to review the menus of each dining room (to see the specialty items) and then decide which one we would be dining at that evening.  You can either call and make a reservation (for a specific time, table, or server), or just simply show up for the next available table.

Edited March 18 by mark71mark

[Miaminice]

Despite what the IT says, there are no assigned dining times on Ascent. Go whenever you like.

[keesar]

In addition, you may get a card in your room with an assigned MDR and suggested time to arrive.  Ignore and go where and when you desire.

[jelayne]

13 hours ago, mark71mark said:

 
To build on this, Ascent has 4 separate Main Dining rooms, each with a slightly different motif… Greek, French, Italian, and cosmopolitan.  All of the dining rooms offer the exact same “base” menu, but each dining room adds on a few extra entrees that are unique (and only available) to that particular dining room, and they all change daily.

 

Things have changed and you can order any of the exclusive menu items in any of the 4 MDRs, so be seated in Normandie and order something from Tuscan, Cyprus or Cosmopolitan with no prioblem.

[PostcardJar]

Just off the Ascent. We had the 8:30 time, but wound up booking unlimited specialty dining and eating at various times, otherwise I'd have asked about moving our time. But reading the replies here, I'd feel comfortable just showing up and enjoying. 

It's a little off topic here, but Le Voyage is FABULOUS.

Edited March 18 by PostcardJar

[Georgia_Peaches]

19 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Things have changed and you can order any of the exclusive menu items in any of the 4 MDRs, so be seated in Normandie and order something from Tuscan, Cyprus or Cosmopolitan with no prioblem.

This is good news!  I'm guessing they did this to alleviate back up in some dining rooms vs others based on popularity of the exclusive items in one MDR over another.  On our Ascent cruise, the Tuscan dining room was very popular with a wait at the door while Cypress had immediate seating.

[Georgia_Peaches]

4 minutes ago, PostcardJar said:

unlimited specialty dining

Just wondering how this worked...did you make all your reservations once you boarded?  And unlimited specialty dining includes all the specialty dining venues?  Just for dinner, or lunch too?

Edited March 18 by Georgia_Peaches

[PostcardJar]

12 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Just wondering how this worked...did you make all your reservations once you boarded?  And unlimited specialty dining includes all the specialty dining venues?

Yes, once on board we made the reservations...all at once with the person who sold us the package. It's good for all of the specialty dining restaurants (you get up to $50/person at a la carte restaurants like Raw on 5 for dinner). Le Voyage still carries a $20/person uncharge (but it's $125/person normally, so it's basically $100 off). You also get lunches on sea days (only) at Raw on 5 or Le Gran Bistro with a $30/person allowance. Those require reservations, also.

 

If you book in advance, you also make the reservations once on board. Just find a reservations person and they will take care of you.

Edited March 18 by PostcardJar

[dreamer321]

2 hours ago, PostcardJar said:

Yes, once on board we made the reservations...all at once with the person who sold us the package. It's good for all of the specialty dining restaurants (you get up to $50/person at a la carte restaurants like Raw on 5 for dinner). Le Voyage still carries a $20/person uncharge (but it's $125/person normally, so it's basically $100 off). You also get lunches on sea days (only) at Raw on 5 or Le Gran Bistro with a $30/person allowance. Those require reservations, also.

 

If you book in advance, you also make the reservations once on board. Just find a reservations person and they will take care of you.

I booked the Unlimited Specialty Dining for my Apex transatlantic crossing in the Fall. Did you have any problems getting reservation once on the ship in the popular venues such as Le Voyage or Eden at a time you actually wanted to each at?  I'm a little worried that I'm going to be told that Eden is sold out except for 9:30 pm on a night I want to do something else. I know this is a risk I took when booking the package but the discounted price at the time seemed too good to pass up.

[Minorhawk]

We just got off the Ascent and thought we had an 8:30 reservation and that they would tell us the dining room once we got on board. There was no info when we arrived in our room, so we went and looked at all four dining rooms and picked the one we liked best. Then we went to a hostess, who was at the hostess stand during the afternoon, and made a reservation in Cypress every night at the time, and at the same table. Call us "old school," but I enjoy having the same server every night as they get to know you and make dinner so much smoother. It is also true that you can order any item from any of the four dining rooms, which we did almost every night. The food in the main dining rooms is the best I've ever had on the mainstream cruise lines and we thoroughly enjoyed evey meal. Enjoy the cruise...The Ascent is beautiful!