Dinner reservations with onboard credits

I am trying to book some specialty dining reservations and have a $400 on board ship credit. I don't see any option to apply the credit to the cost of the dinners. I am being asked for a credit card..... does anyone know how to book specialty restaurants and have it apply to the onboard credit?

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Sorry -- on HAL you can not pre-book any specialty restaurant (or any excursions) using shipboard credit.

Shipboard credit can only be used to purchase items once on the ship.

That is unfortunate.... thanks.... guess we will be enjoying some nice bottles of wine.

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Your shipboard credit can also be used to pay your Hotel Service Charge -- which can take quite a chunk of that money depending on the length of your cruise.

Your shipboard credit can also be used to pay your Hotel Service Charge -- which can take quite a chunk of that money depending on the length of your cruise.

I checked my cruise reservation and it indicates that I have pre-paid hotel service charges, a prepaid Journeys ashore discount... not sure what the discount is .... and $400 onboard credits. Guess I will just have to take my chances and hope I can get a reservation after boarding.....my previous experience on other cruises (limited experience) is that the specialty restaurants get booked up very quickly.

Thanks for everyone's quick response - I am so impressed with how helpful and informative everyone is!!!

On our recent 32 days in the Caribbean on the Rotterdam there was no problem making a reservation in the Pinnacle or the Caneletto. In fact from announcements being made by the CD it seemed like they were advertising to try and get people.

I checked my cruise reservation and it indicates that I have pre-paid hotel service charges, a prepaid Journeys ashore discount... not sure what the discount is .... and $400 onboard credits. Guess I will just have to take my chances and hope I can get a reservation after boarding.....my previous experience on other cruises (limited experience) is that the specialty restaurants get booked up very quickly.

Thanks for everyone's quick response - I am so impressed with how helpful and informative everyone is!!!

When you book specialty restaurants on board, the extra charge will be added to your account and it will will wash against your OBC credits. I did 4 HAL cruises in the last 12 months,and only had a problem booking the specialty restaurants when I tried to book the same day I called and sometimes, had to be flexible on the time I wanted i.e. wanted 7:00 PM and had to settle for 6:30 PM

You should not have trouble getting a Pinnacle reservation once on board. We never pre-reserve and always wait until on board. With $400 OBC, you should be able to enjoy more than one Pinnacle dinner - with a nice bottle of wine. Enjoy!

Thanks for your reply and good to know that I can likely get reservations once on board. I guess 'ONBOARD' credit really means one has to be 'onboard'.

~ Pat