explore4 Complimentary dinner at Pinnacle Grill?

With the explore4 package is there any way to find out what day and time our complimentary Pinnacle Gill dinner will be before we board?

If not, does anyone know when it would "likely" be, i.e. a sea day? Can we change the day and/or time if we need to once we're onboard?

No way to tell before you get onboard. The reservation card with your allocated time will be in your stateroom at boarding.

You can ask for a change immediately after you board but that could be dependant on the number of Explore 4 packages sold on your cruise and availability of tables in the Pinnacle Grill.

If you are looking for a very specific date and time, you can always book and pay for it online and then try to get them to accept that reservation as your free Explore 4 dinner once onboard and reimburse your onboard account. That could be up the Pinnacle Grill Manager's discretion. We have heard of both successful and unsuccessful attempts.

We had the Explore4 package a year or so ago.

The card was in our cabin when we boarded. I had already booked the Pinnacle for the entire cruise.

I had quite a time getting back my money for the night of the Explore4 dinner.

We contacted Ship Services in Seattle with our requests for both the Pinnacle & Canaletto dining times & both were granted...no need to join the masses wanting to change.

I've never had the Explore 4 complimentary PG dinner, but I have had complimentary dinners in both PG and Canaletto. I have never had a problem changing the "assigned" time to one of my preference. The PG Manager actually in the Restaurant is the person with whom you should speak and not one of the Assistant Dining Room Managers or Supervisors in the Lido Restaurant (or via phone) where dining reservations are often made.

Any "gift" I have gotten from HAL has been at a time we don't dine -5:30 or 6:00 pm (we do main seating - consistently).

I suspect the dining times will be very early or very late -but you could be lucky.

Best thing to do is to check as soon as you are on board and, if you don't like the date or time, head to the specialty restaurant of concern, smile nicely and see if you can change it ;)

We were on a med cruise last year on the Zuiderdam. Before we left I booked several Pinnacle Grill dinners. Once on board, we received a complimentary dinner at the PG. I was able to change the time of the complimentary dinner to one of the dinners I had already booked and then cancel the booked dinner. Our account was credited the amount of the cancelled dinner. Doing it this way made sure that we got the time we wanted on a day that suited us.

There is a distinction to be made between a "complimentary" Pinnacle Grill dinner and an "Explore 4" Pinnacle Grill dinner which makes it easier to change the date and time of a "complimentary" dinner.

I doubt very much that anyone has ever boarded a ship where 50% or more of the passengers receive a "complimentary" dinner. That is basically what happens when the Explore 4 promotion is in force. So the Pinnacle Grill is basically overbooked and sometimes cannot entertain requests for changes.

There is a distinction to be made between a "complimentary" Pinnacle Grill dinner and an "Explore 4" Pinnacle Grill dinner which makes it easier to change the date and time of a "complimentary" dinner.

 

I doubt very much that anyone has ever boarded a ship where 50% or more of the passengers receive a "complimentary" dinner. That is basically what happens when the Explore 4 promotion is in force. So the Pinnacle Grill is basically overbooked and sometimes cannot entertain requests for changes.

That was our experience the one time we had Ex4. We asked the Neptune concierge about changing it and they said it was so booked up, it wasn't worth asking. We didn't mind the time we'd been given but it was the first night. We had fixed dining at a table for 4 and were sorry not to be there the first night. The funny thing was, the second night the other couple at our table apologized for missing the first night because they had their Pinnacle dinner the first night, too.

Thanks everyone. We've dropped the explore4 package from our booking. So no worries about that "free" dinner after all. ;)

Apparently kids are free in the PG (is that correct?) - so could we bring them along to our Ex4 'complimentary' dinner?

Apparently kids are free in the PG (is that correct?) - so could we bring them along to our Ex4 'complimentary' dinner?

I just researched this, so I can tell you. Our kids are 10 and 15. They USED to be free under 12, half price for teens. Now it is $35 pp regardless of age. We wanted to bring our kids with us and pay their way ( we have explore 4). Not sure we'll do that now.

We contacted Ship Services in Seattle with our requests for both the Pinnacle & Canaletto dining times & both were granted...no need to join the masses wanting to change.

Okay, but were these reservations in any way associated with the Explore 4 promotion, specifically the PG reservation?

I'm trying to determine whether a PG reservation can be made via Ship Services for the E4 PG dinner. The terms and conditions say that the day/time for the E4 PG reservation will be noted on a card in your cabin upon boarding.

The terms and conditions, along with Taxmantoo's comments seem to imply that advance reservations for PG under E4 are not possible.

Scroll up to my post (#4) --- as I said, we had no problem changing the days & times --- contact Ship Services.

Scroll up to my post (#4) --- as I said, we had no problem changing the days & times --- contact Ship Services.

Doesn't address my question, but okay never mind..

We had Explore 4 on Zuiderdam last March. I wanted dinner in the Pinnacle on a specific night so I booked (and paid) for the night I wanted.

After boarding our assigned date and time was on a card in our stateroom. I spoke with the concierge in the Neptune Lounge who arranged to have my package dinner 'assigned' the time I had already booked and my on board account was credited for the reservation payment I'd made before boarding.

It took all of two minutes to handle. The on board credit appeared on my account towards the end of the cruise...the concierge warned me it would take time and not to worry if I didn't see it right away.

Those Pinnacle dinners that one gets with Explore4 that I had in the past were always at strange times that never suited us. We would always get it changed on embarkation day to a day and time that suited us, and never had any problem doing so.

Those Pinnacle dinners that one gets with Explore4 that I had in the past were always at strange times that never suited us. We would always get it changed on embarkation day to a day and time that suited us, and never had any problem doing so.

I am sure they set the times for the "free" dinners after all the pre-paid ones are booked, plus they know when people are most likely to book once onboard, so they assign the free ones accordingly. At least that is how I would do it. Thus the "strange times".

Okay, but were these reservations in any way associated with the Explore 4 promotion, specifically the PG reservation?

 

I'm trying to determine whether a PG reservation can be made via Ship Services for the E4 PG dinner. The terms and conditions say that the day/time for the E4 PG reservation will be noted on a card in your cabin upon boarding.

 

The terms and conditions, along with Taxmantoo's comments seem to imply that advance reservations for PG under E4 are not possible.

Yes, both the meals were on the E4 promo.