First night open dining

[jwh]

I understand the concept of booking in advance for open dining but not sure how it works on the embarkation night. Can we book this in advance somehow or do we need to see the Maitre 'd on the first afternoon or do we just arrive at the dining room that evening unannounced? Sorry if this has been addressed already... I found so many threads but no answer to this specific query. Many thanks.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You can only make reservations once on the ship.

You can either go to the dining room or to the podium set up near the doors of the Lido buffet.

Open Seating is from 5:15 - 9 on the lower level of the dining room. Reservations can be made only for the times between 5:15 - 6:15 and from 7:30 - 9 for any size table you want. You can make reservations for 3 days at a time.

[take us away]

Actually you can do either: just arrive at the dining room when you are ready to eat (which is the whole point of open dining) or stop by in the afternoon and ask about a reservation. Have never heard of booking in advance of embarkation but maybe someone has.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Once on board, you can also call the dining reservation number and make a reservation for the first night and the second.

[socalcruisers2]

I understand the biggest backup of walk-in passengers is generally around 6:45 to 7:00PM. Try to avoid that time if you can.

Edited October 13, 2015 by socalcruisers2

[Krazy Kruizers]

Once on board, you can also call the dining reservation number and make a reservation for the first night and the second.

 

Thank you for the reminder.

I always forget about that option as well.

[Jean1946]

On our last cruise in September, we found the perfect table and crew we loved. We reserved it after 2 nights, for the rest of the cruise. So, I think it depends on a lot of factors. Mainly, the young guy working at the podium, who seemed to enjoy talking and cutting up with us!

[Cruising-along]

On our last cruise in September, we found the perfect table and crew we loved. We reserved it after 2 nights, for the rest of the cruise. So, I think it depends on a lot of factors. Mainly, the young guy working at the podium, who seemed to enjoy talking and cutting up with us!

 

The same thing happened for us, except it was the Assistant Dining Room Manager. He asked on the 2nd night if we were happy with our waiters (we were) and he made it happen. It's wonderful when that happens, no more need to call for reservations and everyone is happy. We even got 7pm dining time.

[Flip Flops Always]

We never made reservations, though that is an option. We just showed up every night and they sat us. They did ask if wanted to sit with others or if we wanted our own table.

[jwh]

Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to respond and for your good advice. Much appreciated.

Edited October 14, 2015 by jwh

[POA1]

The last two times we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam, they had two podiums set up in the Explorer's Lounge to handle MDR requests on embarkation day. It seemed to work well.

[dakrewser]

The last two times we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam, they had two podiums set up in the Explorer's Lounge to handle MDR requests on embarkation day. It seemed to work well.

 

 

Saw this on our TA in 2012, so it's not new - maybe just rare?