Specialty Restaurant? Cost???

[Smbruner]

We're booked on the Nautica for June 19. This will be our first Oceania cruise and we're really looking forward to the trip.

 

Because we have a PH room we can book our reservations the first week of April. What is the additional cost for the specialty restaurants and which ones should I go for?

 

Thanks for any help with this matter.

[TERRIER1]

The two specialty restaurants on the R ships are free. You should try both. You may be able to get additional reservations other than your 2 allocated.

[bbwex]

You can generally get more reservations after your first couple have been used. We were on a 14-day cruise and ate in specialty restaurants 7 nights.

[Smbruner]

Thanks - good to know they are free and that we should be able to get in. I think that in our PH we can have them serve us the menu from the specialty restaurants if we want.

[stuNYC]

I had to literally had to go the GM for a extra couple of reservations in M's 4 restaurants. Not logical twice the passengers; twice the speciality restaurants; fewer available reservations.

 

Constant irritation on my recent 12 day PH on M

[sldispatcher]

Be flexible, patient and persistent..they will happen (the extra reservations).

 

Personally, I think they could hack away at the MDR and add another venue. Oceania is really an enjoyable food cruise. I would say don't hesitate to go with it.

 

 

It is also a frequent topic on here that the Terrace Cafe is under utilized by guests.

[TERRIER1]

I had to literally had to go the GM for a extra couple of reservations in M's 4 restaurants. Not logical twice the passengers; twice the speciality restaurants; fewer available reservations.

 

Constant irritation on my recent 12 day PH on M

 

I really can't explain exactly why. It may have to do with the type of cruise you are on and not the ship. On port intensive cruises where the ship is in port late, there is more opportunity to get additional reservations since many cruisers do not come back to the ship for dinner and/or do not use their specialty reservation for that evening. They prefer the flexibility of just arriving back on ship when they tire of touring.

 

Also, flexibility plays into additional reservations. You need to be willing to take the restaurant that has availability at the times when the seats are available as well as be willing to dine with others at the same table. It's also easier to get additional reservations for 2 than for 4.

 

Rough sea days also see specialty restaurant reservations open up since many will cancel.

 

I know many people got additional specialty restaurant reservations on the Marina by going early in the morning and asking. I have gotten them by walking pass the restaurant (usually very late) and asking if there were any empty tables available. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. We never plan on an extra reservation - just go with the flow.

[wripro]

StuNYC,

 

When Marina first debuted I was pretty angry that reservations in the specialty restaurants for PH were limited to one each instead of two each and I stated so on these boards. I was actually more angry that they didn't tell us of this new policy in advance although they surely must have known. Some people tried to argue that since there are four restaurants we were still getting the same number of reservations as on an R ship but I never bought that argument. We should have been told in advance since some people booked PHs specifically for the extra reservations.

 

I was lucky because on my 19 day cruise I got to eat in those restaurants 12 times. I ate four times in the Terrace Cafe and only three times in the GDR which was more than sufficient imo.

 

Unfortunately, this is O's policy. I wouldn't let it ruin my trip. I think that the GDR on the R ships is much more inviting so people tend to be happier there.

[Smbruner]

Do you know if they offer the "food wine dinner pairing" on the R ships? I'm celebrating my 60th birthday while on board and this would make for a special dinner. I saw that they offer it on the Marina but not sure about the Nautica (I think the Nautica is a R ship, I'm new to Oceania so I'm not sure).

Thanks

[LHT28]

Do you know if they offer the "food wine dinner pairing" on the R ships? I'm celebrating my 60th birthday while on board and this would make for a special dinner. I saw that they offer it on the Marina but not sure about the Nautica (I think the Nautica is a R ship, I'm new to Oceania so I'm not sure).

Thanks

On the O class ships (Marina & Riveira) there is a special dining area for the wine parings

I have not seen any on the R-class ships (does not mean it doesn't happen) but this is something new to Oceania so maybe they have found way to do it on the small ships

 

Lyn