CruzintheBL Posted May 3, 2020 #1 Share Posted May 3, 2020 I purchased the Unlimited dining package for myself and my companion. After I purchased it new dining options appeared the next day for purchase to individual restaurants. If I want to set a reservation for a specific dining time in those restaurants I have to pay individually for the restaurant; however they were included in my package. How can I be assured I will get seated in those restaurants if others are making specific restaurant choices right now and all I have is a paid bill for unlimited dining that blocks my time but does not allow me to identify a specific restaurant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted May 3, 2020 #2 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Welcome to Cruise Critic! What cruise line are we talking about? From your previous posts, it looks like Royal Caribbean. Try over on the portion of Cruise Critic devoted to RCI, located here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/51-royal-caribbean-international/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruzintheBL Posted May 3, 2020 Author #3 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Yes. It's Royal Caribbean end of January 2021. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Kat Posted May 3, 2020 #4 Share Posted May 3, 2020 @CruzintheBL Howdy and welcome to Cruise Critic! To help you out I have moved your thread to the Royal Caribbean International forum. It is a more correct forum for your inquiry about your Unlimited Dining Package on a RCI cruise and where it will be more on-topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have sailed RCI frequent the forum and provide feedback there. Please browse through the thread titles on the forum looking for threads of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that will be of interest to you. Cruise Critic is a great resource for new as well as experienced cruisers and we are so glad you found us! Please feel free to browse the Cruise Critic Community Categories list. Read a few threads in the forums to get a feel for what each forum is about. Make sure you read any pinned threads on the top of the first page of threads in a forum. You will find very important instructions or information there. Anytime you need to start a new thread/topic on a forum, first make sure you are in the correct forum for your topic. Word your new thread title in a way to help the members know exactly the information you seek. This greatly helps the members browsing through the thread titles and if they know the information they will reply to you. It is best to limit each inquiry to only one topic or concerning one cruise line, one ship, one port of call, etc. and of course, on the correct forum. You will get more replies that way. Be sure to mention your cruise line, ship, port or sail date in your inquiry as that sort of information will help the members have the information they need in order to reply back to you. The Cruise Critic Roll Call thread for your line, ship and sail date is the place for you to get to know the other Cruise Critic members sailing with you BEFORE the cruise. Your fellow Roll Call thread members may have important information posted in your Roll Call thread, especially ones that have sailed your line, ship or itinerary before. Also, the Roll Call thread for your cruise is the ONLY place on Cruise Critic where you and your fellow Roll Call thread members are allowed to post personal ads about sharing private tours, excursions, transportation etc. with each other to save money. There is a "captive audience" since you are all sailing together! You will receive a much better response to your share request if you take some time to read the entire Roll Call thread, post an introductory post about yourself, and continue on with more posts back and forth to get to know the other thread members and allow them to get to know YOU first before you post your share request. That is the spirit of our Roll Calls. To explain our Roll Calls and finding the Roll Call thread for your cruise, please read What is a Roll Call? Everything you Need to Know and How To: Create A New Roll Call. For more information about our famous Roll Calls, please read the Roll Calls and Our Policy Regarding Facebook and Roll Calls sections in the Guidelines we all agree to follow when registering for our free Cruise Critic memberships. I sincerely hope all this information will be helpful. So sorry this is such a long post, but we are so glad to have you aboard the Cruise Critic message board and just wanted to give you some of the highlights about being a member! Happy sails, Host Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ourusualbeach Posted May 3, 2020 #5 Share Posted May 3, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, CruzintheBL said: I purchased the Unlimited dining package for myself and my companion. After I purchased it new dining options appeared the next day for purchase to individual restaurants. If I want to set a reservation for a specific dining time in those restaurants I have to pay individually for the restaurant; however they were included in my package. How can I be assured I will get seated in those restaurants if others are making specific restaurant choices right now and all I have is a paid bill for unlimited dining that blocks my time but does not allow me to identify a specific restaurant? One of the trade offs for getting a reduced rate per meal is that you have to book your reservations on board. Only those paying full price can book in advance. we have had the UDP many times and never had problems getting the times we wanted (within 1/2 hour). Book all your reservations as soon as you board. Edited May 3, 2020 by Ourusualbeach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruzintheBL Posted May 3, 2020 Author #6 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Where do you go to make the reservations once on Board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ourusualbeach Posted May 3, 2020 #7 Share Posted May 3, 2020 3 minutes ago, CruzintheBL said: Where do you go to make the reservations once on Board? Any specialty restaurant can make all your reservations. They will also have a podium set up on the promenade. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taglovestocruise Posted May 3, 2020 #8 Share Posted May 3, 2020 30 minutes ago, CruzintheBL said: Where do you go to make the reservations once on Board? Side note.. Check prices today, our Allure 14 night in Nov. just dropped $60.00pp on the UDP. Like Ken we always have at least a 5 night package and never a problem unless you need 6 -7 pm. If you are on a ship with a Wonderland go there to make reservations. Wonderland seems to never have a line, everyone goes to Chop's and stand in long lines. Make it your first stop and have all your times and days on a list, it makes it much easier. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruzintheBL Posted May 4, 2020 Author #9 Share Posted May 4, 2020 We will be on the Harmony, and it does have a Wonderland. I will take your advice and that will be the first thing we do when we board! - Thanks you for the responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adolfo2 Posted May 4, 2020 #10 Share Posted May 4, 2020 13 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said: One of the trade offs for getting a reduced rate per meal is that you have to book your reservations on board. Only those paying full price can book in advance. we have had the UDP many times and never had problems getting the times we wanted (within 1/2 hour). Book all your reservations as soon as you board. Yes, people paying "full price" for specialty restaurants get first crack at them. Those with the dining package get the left-overs. One thing positive about NCL is that dining "package" people are treated the same when making advance reservations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saturngrl Posted May 4, 2020 #11 Share Posted May 4, 2020 On Royal Caribbean, the posters are correct about the process. On Cruise Planner, choose Day 1 or 2 and the time. Upon boarding head to a Specialty Restaurant on Deck 8 or Wonderland on Deck 12 to make your reservations. On our past January 2020 cruise, we were able to book all of our preferences immediately, because we were first in line at Giovanni's on the Allure. Hope this works for your cruise next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taglovestocruise Posted May 4, 2020 #12 Share Posted May 4, 2020 6 hours ago, CruzintheBL said: We will be on the Harmony, and it does have a Wonderland. I will take your advice and that will be the first thing we do when we board! - Thanks you for the responses. One little tip on Oasis Class, no charge breakfast at JR before 10:30. Tip 2, be sure to make all your show reservations as soon as they open in the cruise planner and get there at least 15 minutes early as they open the standby line 10 minutes before show time. . happy cruising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruzintheBL Posted May 5, 2020 Author #13 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Thank you, everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty nut Posted May 5, 2020 #14 Share Posted May 5, 2020 Don't panic when you board and see long lines at the specialty restaurants. You can make all your reservations for any specialty restaurant, virtually anywhere on the ship. 1. Pick up any phone on the ship and press customer service. 2. Main dining room podium. 3. Any specialty restaurant. 4. Customer service desk. 5. If you are Diamond, the DLC can book your reservations. 6. The specialty restaurant podium in the promenade. 7. Heck, I think even a bartender at any bar can make your reservations. 8. This might be a stretch, but I think even your room steward can do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigrednole Posted May 26, 2020 #15 Share Posted May 26, 2020 On 5/4/2020 at 12:07 PM, taglovestocruise said: One little tip on Oasis Class, no charge breakfast at JR before 10:30. Tip 2, be sure to make all your show reservations as soon as they open in the cruise planner and get there at least 15 minutes early as they open the standby line 10 minutes before show time. . happy cruising Thanks for this and to OP for asking. So, book shows on Cruise Planner the first chance we can. If we choose to buy the 3 meal package, book those immediately when we board. If I had to guess, we are looking at Chops, Izumi, and Wonderland or Johnny Rockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ourusualbeach Posted May 26, 2020 #16 Share Posted May 26, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, bigrednole said: Thanks for this and to OP for asking. So, book shows on Cruise Planner the first chance we can. If we choose to buy the 3 meal package, book those immediately when we board. If I had to guess, we are looking at Chops, Izumi, and Wonderland or Johnny Rockets. Don't waste 1 night of your dining package at Johnny Rockets. It's only $10pp to eat there while all the other places are around $40. Edited May 26, 2020 by Ourusualbeach 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suebussy Posted May 26, 2020 #17 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Any idea if you can book each night once you get onboard using your cruise planner (on quantum ships)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted May 26, 2020 #18 Share Posted May 26, 2020 34 minutes ago, suebussy said: Any idea if you can book each night once you get onboard using your cruise planner (on quantum ships)? You no longer have access to the planner on the ship - you have access to the RCI app. Booking the initial reservation is probably limited to a host at one of the venues - you might be able to move an existing reservation, if you see it in the RCI app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly333 Posted May 26, 2020 #19 Share Posted May 26, 2020 On 5/4/2020 at 11:07 AM, taglovestocruise said: One little tip on Oasis Class, no charge breakfast at JR before 10:30. Tip 2, be sure to make all your show reservations as soon as they open in the cruise planner and get there at least 15 minutes early as they open the standby line 10 minutes before show time. . happy cruising Oh I had forgotten how good the hash browns were at Johnny rockets. A whole meal by themselves for my size appetite, but free for breakfast on oasis class. A bit of a wait as very popular unless you eat early. Thanks for the reminder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucefan21 Posted May 26, 2020 #20 Share Posted May 26, 2020 How difficult is it to get a specialty restaurant dining time for a group of 14? I would assume we would need two tables but is it a problem getting them at least next to each other? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted May 26, 2020 #21 Share Posted May 26, 2020 2 minutes ago, brucefan21 said: How difficult is it to get a specialty restaurant dining time for a group of 14? Depends on the venue, time, host and maybe some other factors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucefan21 Posted May 26, 2020 #22 Share Posted May 26, 2020 We were looking at booking Chops and the hibachi at Izumi. We aren't too limited as far as eating a specific time. This is on Symphony of the Seas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted May 26, 2020 #23 Share Posted May 26, 2020 10 minutes ago, brucefan21 said: We were looking at booking Chops and the hibachi at Izumi. Chops might be doable but Izumi, especially for hibachi, for that many will tough - you'll need to be real flexible on timing and book as soon as you board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucefan21 Posted May 26, 2020 #24 Share Posted May 26, 2020 32 minutes ago, Biker19 said: Chops might be doable but Izumi, especially for hibachi, for that many will tough - you'll need to be real flexible on timing and book as soon as you board. Thank you for your insight! We may do the Chops +1 option which looks like at least we can book the Chops time when we purchase it in the cruise planner. Then we can make a beeline to book Izumi once we board and hope for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker19 Posted May 26, 2020 #25 Share Posted May 26, 2020 4 minutes ago, brucefan21 said: Then we can make a beeline to book Izumi once we board and hope for the best. Not sure if Chops+1 includes hibachi, might be just regular Izumi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now