jwh Posted October 13, 2015 #1 Share Posted October 13, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 13, 2015 #2 Share Posted October 13, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
take us away Posted October 13, 2015 #3 Share Posted October 13, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJSULIBRARIAN Posted October 13, 2015 #4 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Once on board, you can also call the dining reservation number and make a reservation for the first night and the second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalcruisers2 Posted October 13, 2015 #5 Share Posted October 13, 2015 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted October 13, 2015 #6 Share Posted October 13, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean1946 Posted October 13, 2015 #7 Share Posted October 13, 2015 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising-along Posted October 13, 2015 #8 Share Posted October 13, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip Flops Always Posted October 14, 2015 #9 Share Posted October 14, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwh Posted October 14, 2015 Author #10 Share Posted October 14, 2015 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare POA1 Posted October 14, 2015 #11 Share Posted October 14, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakrewser Posted October 14, 2015 #12 Share Posted October 14, 2015 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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