jjeffjb Posted January 17, 2012 #1 Share Posted January 17, 2012 How far in advance can you book La Reserve? Is it the same as the other specialty restaurants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janmitch Posted January 17, 2012 #2 Share Posted January 17, 2012 We sail on April 12 and I booked this before Christmas (online). You just have to be willing to have your credit card charged at the time you book. We're really looking forward to this! Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TERRIER1 Posted January 17, 2012 #3 Share Posted January 17, 2012 We sail on June 5th and I was able to book La Reseve on line. You need to pay for the reservation when you make it but the reservation can be canceled without penalty up to 36 hours prior to the date of the reservation. There were only 2 dates available for my cruise on the drop down menu selection. I called Oceania and they said that La Reserve is only open on those two dates for my sailing and that sometimes they open up another date. I thought La Reserve was an option throughout the cruise but I am wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bphman Posted January 17, 2012 #4 Share Posted January 17, 2012 We just did La Reserve and we also reserved on line. You have to be aware that there are two different menus but that they only serve one at each event with no choice. The food was very good but very rich so be prepared. I think I expected more of an explanation about the wines being served with the courses. They were quite good but the explanation was lacking. We did a pairing on Azamara which was fantastic with excellent wines and they were rather generous. La Reserve was rather "reserved." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
findacruise Posted January 17, 2012 #5 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Book as soon as you know you want to do it to make sure you get in. We found you can not depend on them opening other dates for sure as they use the venue to host others, e.g., the large suites, etc. The number of days can also depend on the length of your cruise. Our experience was different. We recieved explanations of each wine and why it was paired with the food. The pours were generous and we were offered more if our glass was empty. Perhaps things have changed. But if you want another pour or further explanation, I'd ask. Nothing ventured.... We are going again in February and hope it is a different menu, but if not, we will gladly indulge in what we had last time! Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksps cruise fan Posted January 17, 2012 #6 Share Posted January 17, 2012 There were only 2 dates available for my cruise on the drop down menu selection. I called Oceania and they said that La Reserve is only open on those two dates for my sailing and that sometimes they open up another date. I thought La Reserve was an option throughout the cruise but I am wrong. If the pull down menu is showing two dates available, those are probably the ones that haven't been filled up by the people who can begin booking at the earliest opportunity. (On our holiday cruise, those two dates were Christmas Eve and Christmas). There must be twelve reservations to hold a dinner; typically, Le Reserve doesn't have the demand to schedule a dinner on the last night of the cruise, but that varies by cruise. On the holiday cruise, the dinner was fully booked. On embarkation day, you'll probably find more dates have been added if they aren't already showing up online before then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkeyeCruisr Posted January 17, 2012 #7 Share Posted January 17, 2012 We just did La Reserve and we also reserved on line. You have to be aware that there are two different menus but that they only serve one at each event with no choice. The food was very good but very rich so be prepared. I think I expected more of an explanation about the wines being served with the courses. They were quite good but the explanation was lacking. We did a pairing on Azamara which was fantastic with excellent wines and they were rather generous. La Reserve was rather "reserved." I think the depth of information you receive might depend upon which sommelier is present at your dinner and how many passengers are being served. We ate in La Reserve twice during our May-June cruise. For the first seating, there were only about 10 pax and we were given extensive comments about both the food and the wine as it was served. At our 2nd seating, La Reserve was fully booked (24 pax) and there was less interaction between pax and staff. I don't think you get the best experience with a fully booked seating, but that's something you really have no control over. BTW, we were able to book both reservations on board. Maybe we were just lucky. I'm not sure I'll leave it to chance the next time I sail on an M-class. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda93 Posted January 17, 2012 #8 Share Posted January 17, 2012 We sailed on Marina last Oct-Nov on the Rome to Istanbul voyage, and were able to book a night at La Reserve well before the other dining options opened up for our cabin class (we were in a Concierge cabin). Call or try to book online as soon as you know you want to do this. We booked through our TA rather than using the O online booking engine, although we used the O system to book all our other dinner reservations as well as ship's tours. As others have mentioned, you must pay for the reservation (and the mandatory gratuity) at the time you reserve, but if it's cancellable until a couple of days before the date that may not be a concern to you. I never looked into the cancellation rules for LR. I think there were only two LR nights on our 12-night cruise. As both were sold out, I was surprised O did not add additional dates, but perhaps they can't do this once the ship is underway. The other posters are correct about the menu - there will be two menus displayed on easels ahead of time in the LR space, but only one of these will be offered the night of your reservation. There is also only one seating time (I think on our trip is was 7:30 or so?). One thing we wished O let people know is to show up a bit early, or at least not to be late. There was hosted champagne and nibbles offered at tables outside the LR dining space (in a covered outdoor space) for at least a half-hour before the 24 participants were seated (LR was fully booked on our cruise). It was a nice opportunity to meet others who were dining at LR that night. Only when all 24 people had arrived were we ushered into the actual dining area, so the last few guests didn't have much time to enjoy the champagne and amusees before going inside. And those of us who had been outside already for a half-hour were a bit chilled. Be aware that since the LR room is seldom used and has a full glass wall, during cooler weather you may want to bring a jacket or wrap to dinner. It was quite cool inside LR the night we were there. But dinner was delicious and the wine selections pretty good, although with a 'full house' the sommelier's comments about the wines were pretty limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreastman Posted January 18, 2012 #9 Share Posted January 18, 2012 On our Marina cruise last year, we were unable to book La Reserve online in advance (both scheduled evenings were already filled). However, once on board, we found that an additional night had been scheduled, so we signed up and had a wonderful experience. There were just 12 of us that evening. I think more nights were added later in the cruise. Suggestion: once you board, check with the main concierge desk on deck 5 to see if additional nights have been scheduled. If you love food and wine, La Reserve is not to be missed. For $75 per person, you'll enjoy a meal that would easily cost five times that much in a fine restaurant in a major U.S. city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TERRIER1 Posted January 18, 2012 #10 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I just booked La Reserve on line for our June 5th sailing and we are in a B class cabin. La Reserve is available for two nights during our 12 day cruise. The price is now $95 pp plus gratuity and not $75 pp. The reservation says to show up at 7 pm so I am wondering if that is for the champagne portion of the dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted January 18, 2012 #11 Share Posted January 18, 2012 We dined there with Andromeda in October and we were among the last to show up because we weren't aware of the "pre-dinner" treats. We assumed you should get there at 7:30 for a 7:30 dinner. (My recollection was also that it was 7:30 but according to my itinerary it was 7:00.) My feeling about the sommelier's comments was that between the speed of his speech and his fairly strong accent, he wasn't that easy to understand ... But a wonderful dinner! Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted January 18, 2012 #12 Share Posted January 18, 2012 It is great that Oceania has found a purpose for that underutilized terrace area just outside of La Reserve. It would be nicer still if at least some of those windows were french doors. Does anyone else find the entrance to La Reserve oddly cramped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted January 18, 2012 #13 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Jim, I looked pretty closely at those glass partitions, and I believe they are set up to slide out of the way. They were pretty securely locked and bolted, however, and I believe it would be a pain to open them. I'm with you -- in good weather, if the glass was opened, the combination of the space would be a great place to gather. I don't recall as many tables and chairs on the deck space as shown in your drawing; I was checking to see if that might be an alternative space for a meet & mingle if the weather was nice. In the drwaing I counted chairs for over 30; I seem to recall that the reality was under 20. It is a rather lonely place, most of the time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 18, 2012 #14 Share Posted January 18, 2012 The small space outside La reserve was usually busy on our cruise People playing cards or just enjoying a book I found the chairs too low to be comfortable (like other areas) & maybe some cushions on the backs would be nice I suspect it would vary by cruise & those onboard Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Hughy Posted January 18, 2012 #15 Share Posted January 18, 2012 We found during the days of our TA in Nov. that those glass doors were open and they had drop in wine tasting each afternoon. Then for our reservation we were seated at the out side tables for aan appitiser and a aperitife before going in for dinner, at which time they closed the sliding doors. The only improvement would be if they would close the curtains on all that glass so you don't feel like you are in a fish bowl. As for the overall experiance it was wonderful I just wish they would post which menu is on what date. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveTheSouth Posted January 18, 2012 #16 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Hi, Jeff and Randy. We will be on the Greek Glory part of your cruise, and I just posted on our Roll Call. I think you can make your reservation now, and I hope you take advantage of this wonderful dining experience! Leigh Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aruba Posted January 22, 2012 #17 Share Posted January 22, 2012 We did! Hope to see you there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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