Breakaway dining : do we really need to book ahead for dinner?

[OutdoorGirl]

Really looking forward to our cruise on the Breakaway and like the sound of freestyle anytime dining. I had assumed that this meant we didn't need to book ahead, that we can decide on the day what time we fancy eating and at that point go to a particular restaurant. However, just been into 'my account' and looked at the Dining options and all the complementary restaurants say 'booking highly recommended.' The only options for a table for two in the Manhattan Room, Taste and Savour the entire week are bookings for 5.30pm and 8.30pm. Does this mean lots of folks are pre-planning their meals for the whole cruise BEFORE they sail? Have we missed our chance for a 7.30 table? Really disappointed if this is the case. Would welcome advice and comments please.

[Guindalf]

In most cases, the MDR doesn't need to be booked, but you may have to wait for a table at the busiest times. Usually, it's less than 15-20 minutes, so no, there is no need to book unless you really want to eat at a specific time in the busy period or want to eat in a specialty restaurant that has much less capacity.

[Cruzinnana47]

I'd recommend you consider pre-booking if you want a table at a specific time in the MDR. Our personal experience was that when we showed up for dinner (about 6:30 - 7:00pm), it was a busy time and there were long waits. Would agree that showing up at the MDR by 5:30pm or after 8:00pm would make it easier to be seated without having reservations. If you don't want to book online now, you can wait until you're onboard the ship and do it then.

 

The BA is a large ship with over 4000 pax. IMO, the freestyle concept works better with the smaller ships, when it comes to NOT having to feel it necessary to make reservations. We booked dining & entertainment venues ahead when we sailed to avoid disappointment.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise. The Breakaway is a pretty ship with a lot of great features. :)

[spidybabe]

We found on the BA only the Manhattan room had a wait (due to music and dancing) but the other MDR's had no wait at all. Great food and service

[vicocala]

With limited space available in the specialty dining establishments and large numbers of passengers expected on both of my cruises, I not only made my reservations for dining but also for shows.

 

It is still freestyle for me in that I picked the times I wanted. Common sense says if you have that many people on board it might be wise to book ahead.

[SailAwayInAugust]

It only makes sense to book your dining reservations (especially in the lower capacity & more desired specialties such as Cagneys). If everyone showed up at the same exact time without reservations, it would be impossible to accommodate everyone - especially around peak times. That would cause nothing but frustration beyond belief. I know I would be. I still consider it "freestyle" even though I have to make reservations. For me, at least, it is a piece of mind knowing I'm not going to show up at a specialty at 7:30pm, get put on a "first come first serve" waiting list & end up waiting 2 hours to eat. Not cool. Especially for me- an impatient New Yorker!

[geegee1]

...Does this mean lots of folks are pre-planning their meals for the whole cruise BEFORE they sail? Have we missed our chance for a 7.30 table? Really disappointed if this is the case. Would welcome advice and comments please.

 

Yes it does. I had all of our dinner reservations booked a month before we sailed. I ended up canceling one and rescheduling another when we were on the ship. You might get lucky and have some openings as people do make changes once they are on the ship. Good luck.

[1stTimeRoyal]

It was my understanding, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, that not 100% of the tables can be prebooked, not even close to that number.

 

I would guess that if you went to a dining room when you got on the ship and said you wanted a table at a certain time (the same time) every night, I would imagine they could work it out for you.

[OutdoorGirl]

Thank you very much to everyone who has taken the time to reply to my query.

All very useful advice and interesting to hear of the different experiences.

 

Our first time with NCL was on the Sun to Alaska last September and on that occasion we didn't make any advanced bookings except for the Bistro one night.

We never had to wait more that a couple of minutes for a table for two in one of the 2 MDR's, even at popular times. Also the 'live availability boards' showed spaces most of the time, except on the last night. I guess we were lulled into a false sense of security by this!

 

So, following on from the helpful comments, we've now made bookings for the first four nights and I think it will mean we'll be more relaxed about the dining as a result.

 

Really looking forward to our cruise, not long now as we sail on 10th May!

[mypleasure]

You are right to think that this is not what Freestyle is about. However, a lot of vocal people spoke and said they wanted their meals at a set time and so it became that it was allowed to pre-book dining times.

 

The good news is that not all seats in the dining room are allowed for pre-booking. You do not have to make reservations at all as something like 70% or more places are open for those who just walk up. This applies to the speciality dining rooms too by the way for booking them before the cruise commences. For speciality dining it is possible to just walk up but pre=book if it is a special event.

 

You need to consider the sort of time you want to dine. If you want to eat early, before 6:30PM then you will be in competition for tables with those who also want to eat that early. Early dining appears to be very popular with some people particularly those from the US.

 

If you take a more relaxed view and are happy to come home from a day on shore, enjoy a drink while the ship sails away and then go to your room and get ready for dinner, enjoy a pre-dinner drink and then go for dinner sometime after 7:30 or even later things will be far easier.

Edited May 2, 2015 by mypleasure

[OutdoorGirl]

That certainly is good news, thanks very much for that information; does seem to make a lot of sense too. Couldn't quite believe that all the tables in the 3 MDR's only had tables at 5.30 or 8.30, so reassuring to hear that that's not the case!

 

Definitely a relaxed approach is the way to go, and seeing as we have the drinks package we could always have another drink or two whilst we wait for a table!

Edited May 3, 2015 by OutdoorGirl

[JPV072900]

We got the dining package for our upcoming July cruise. I was surprised that I could book a table for 1,2,3,4,5,6, or 8 people!!! The number I actually wanted was SEVEN!!

 

Also, I could only book 5:30 or 8:30 more the specialty restaurants! I'm glad I made the reservations. I feel better knowing I don't have to worry. Also, I'd rather eat around 5:30 anyway!!