Complimentary meals - transferable?

[emmtee]

My mom has been on two HAL cruises before, and when she booked our upcoming cruise she was given two complimentary meals at the Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto restaurant for the two of us. My two sisters are also coming with us and sharing our cabin (Yes it will be tight, but we get along well).

 

From what I've read here on CC, when we board we will find some sort of cards in our stateroom with our assigned dining times, and if the times don't work for us, we can race to the restaurant and possibly (but not definitely) get the time changed.

 

My mom isn't really all that interested in using her cards and thought she might give them to my sisters, but I'm not sure if they can be used by a sister or if they must be used by the person they're assigned to.

 

Of course, I think Mom would actually enjoy it, and it would be nice for all of us to dine together every night. I noticed on the HAL website that there is a "Signature Dining Package" that covers one meal each at the Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto for only $35 total. I think it would be nice to just buy those for my sisters.

 

So here are my questions:

 

1. Are the complimentary meals transferable to another person in your party?

2. If we buy the dining packages for my sisters, can we have them linked somehow to our complimentary meals? I want to make sure the reservations are all at the same time. Can this be done before we sail, or do we need to ask the Maitre d to put us all together. (This may be a problem because we don't plan to board until the afternoon. HAL is taking care of our airfare and we don't arrive till the morning of the cruise. We'd like to take a quick tour of Rome on our way to the port in Civitavecchia).

[Krazy Kruizers]

The complimentary meals are not transferable.

You can pre-purchase the dining packages and select the day and time you want. But you will have to wait until you are on the ship to change the day and time of the complimentary dinners as they can not be linked beforehand.

[POA1]

Call Holland America and try to get the email address for the ship's coordinator. Give him or her all your information and ask if they can help you to link the reservations. If you are on a cruise where a lot of people have the compliment complimentary meals, the restaurants will usually load the reservations in advance. If you are buying single meals online, you can pick your date & time. If you are buying the package, you aren't given the choice during checkout.

[aqua]

My parents and daughters had complimentary Pinnacle Grill dinners last year from the Explore 4 promotion. My husband and I dined with the girls instead of my parents without a problem. We simply gave the hostess the cabin numbers that the reservations were made in. My mother gave me her cruise card to scan at the restaurant, but I don't believe it was needed.

[sail7seas]

My parents and daughters had complimentary Pinnacle Grill dinners last year from the Explore 4 promotion. My husband and I dined with the girls instead of my parents without a problem. We simply gave the hostess the cabin numbers that the reservations were made in. My mother gave me her cruise card to scan at the restaurant, but I don't believe it was needed.

 

I think that is the way for OP to technically transfer the dinners. Whomever dines gives the cabin number for the person who received the free meals.

 

[emmtee]

Thanks! I'm actually glad that they aren't transferable because it will force my mom to indulge herself for a change. (She's always putting other people before herself). I just went and put two of the dinner packages in our shopping cart for my sisters. I did notice that the package description said that reservations would be made after we board, so I don't think it will be a problem to seat us all together. On our 11-day cruise, there are only two nights that we sail after 5:00 and one where we spend the night in port, so any of the other eight nights would work for us.