Not available to book Specialty Dining Restaurants @ 120 days

[Acruzaholic]

Currently booked on Getaway for 01/19/2021-9 Nights in a Club Suite.

Tried to book @ 125 days prior to sailing-Cagney's, etc came up as unable to book till 09/21/2021.(120 days prior to sailing). Should have been able to book as that is a benefit of booking a Club Suite.

Went to book yesterday-09/21/2021 and all Specialty restaurants now "Not available to book"

Did an on-line chat w/NCL representative-response was:  "At this time all quests on this sailing will have to make the reservations on board."

When I asked why they are changing the ability to book @ 120 days or less prior to sailing on-line I received the following response: "At this time that information has not been communicated. Very sorry for the inconvenience.

 

Has anyone else experienced this problem-I am going to try calling NCL to book directly.

[Middleager]

Cannot book.  Same with Epic or Getaway sailings in Europe or TA.

[Carnac767]

Despite its name, there are no suite perks associated with a Club Suite.  

[BirdTravels]

18 minutes ago, Acruzaholic said:

Currently booked on Getaway for 01/19/2021-9 Nights in a Club Suite.

Tried to book @ 125 days prior to sailing-Cagney's, etc came up as unable to book till 09/21/2021.(120 days prior to sailing). Should have been able to book as that is a benefit of booking a Club Suite.

Went to book yesterday-09/21/2021 and all Specialty restaurants now "Not available to book"

Did an on-line chat w/NCL representative-response was:  "At this time all quests on this sailing will have to make the reservations on board."

When I asked why they are changing the ability to book @ 120 days or less prior to sailing on-line I received the following response: "At this time that information has not been communicated. Very sorry for the inconvenience.

 

Has anyone else experienced this problem-I am going to try calling NCL to book directly.

Online often lags making a call to the call center. What people find is that if they wait for the online system to "turn on", others are gobbling up reservations by making a call and talking to a live person (gasp!). That being said, I would assume the chat has the same access as the telephone call center, but it is worth a call. 

[Sand and Seas]

38 minutes ago, Carnac767 said:

Despite its name, there are no suite perks associated with a Club Suite.  

That is true, but OP was pointing out that Club Balcony category is supposed to be allowed to book dining & entertainment at 125 days.  

[Sand and Seas]

I also called at 125 days (Club Balcony) for our Jan 5th Getaway.  It also said to come back at 120 days.  And, just like OP reports, at that point it says unable to book.  

 

I called NCL on ours and supervisor confirmed that Getaway sailings into January are on a "stop sale for dining".  

 

It is frustrating for those of us who like to plan ahead😒

Edited September 22, 2021 by Sand and Seas

[Sand and Seas]

3 minutes ago, Sand and Seas said:

That is true, but OP was pointing out that Club Balcony category is supposed to be allowed to book dining & entertainment at 125 days.  

Exclusive Club Balcony Suite Amenities

• Option to pre-book onboard entertainment and dining as early as 125 days prior to sailing
• Complimentary treats delivered to your stateroom
• Complimentary bottle of sparkling wine
• Complimentary choice of one valet laundry or pressing service
• Bliss Collection by Norwegian™ featuring fine linens, pillows and a memory foam mattress or mattress topper
• Room Service menus offering delicious options for breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Coffee and tea set-up
• TV, refrigerator, safe and hair dryer
• Sitting area
• Lower beds arranged as a queen-size bed

[pbenjamin]

At 130 days out from our 1/22/22 cruise on the Escape I got "too early to book" when attempting to make reservations online.   We will be in the Haven.  I called both the regular reservations line and the concierge desk and neither were able to book them for me.  I tried several times going forward but no luck.  Late last night, at 122 days out, I tried again and it worked.

Edited September 22, 2021 by pbenjamin

[pghflyer]

120 days from my Jan 2022 Jewel sailing and they have dutifully switched over to "unable to book"....

[ociana]

Just tried at my 120 day mark for a Feb trip on the Star and also unable to book. The prepurchase of a thermal spa pass is open today though. 

 

Since this is an older thread, hoping a bump to the front page will get some other recent feedback on if dining bookings are available.

[Cruise Gopher]

We are on the Epic January 16th and can’t book any restaurants either. 

[Sobro]

A recent Epic passenger reported that all reservations were made available on embarkation day. 

 

The poster said that the App worked and that there were also kiosks available to make reservations. 

 

I would rather plan ahead, but with the spate of cancelations it's much better from an accounting perspective to only allow those who actually show up to make reservations. 

[RRSeeker]

I am 120 days out on the February 13th encore sailing in a club balcony. Booked dining online at 125 days.
 

Can not book shows until on board. I called today to see why I could not book shows and that is what I was told. Of course there was only one show listed that should’ve been bookable at 120 days, The Cavern Club.

[ggTexasGal]

We are booked on a January 9-day out of Miami on GETAWAY.  Cannot book Dining or Shows due to "Stop Sale" (per phone reps).

  Can book almost everything that has Pre-payment required!!!  (some things might be "sold-out")

 

So, based on reading multiple posts, my observations regarding this situation are:

A) Ships already in service currently in USA, are NOT encountering this situation.  (Encore, Gem, Bliss?)

B) Ships currently in Europe, but due to come to USA, are in this situation.

C) Potentially speaking, cruises longer than 7 Days are subject to "stop sale" of onboard reservations.

                      (I am not referring to Back-to-Back cruises!)

Other criteria might be in play, but, so far, that is what I have gathered.

[Happy-48]

You will have to wait...

Don't worry : it will come good

I was on the sept 23 Getaway cruise

Edited October 16, 2021 by Happy-48

[AtlantaCruiser72]

The following is a summary from a webinar hosted by my companies BDM for our agents:
 

Any ship currently operating in Europe (or any non US port) has the pre-cruise specialty dining reservation system turned off for all voyages.  This is due to EU capacity restrictions for indoor venues. The NCL IT system related to dining cannot be turned on/off by voyage date, but it can by ship. Once the ships leave Europe and are back in US ports they will have the specialty dining pre-cruise reservation system turned back on.

Any ship currently operating from a US port, or planned to initially re-enter service in a US port, should have pre-cruise specialty dining reservations available as normal.

 

For the near future MDR reservations may not be available online, but may be available by calling NCL or your travel agent.

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by AtlantaCruiser72

[flyguyjake]

Sailing 12/12/21 on Bliss. We would like to buy additional specialty dining meals. Should I buy now on NCL website or wait to buy onboard? 4 meals is currently $136.80 on the site.

 

Thanks!

[AtlantaCruiser72]

50 minutes ago, flyguyjake said:

Sailing 12/12/21 on Bliss. We would like to buy additional specialty dining meals. Should I buy now on NCL website or wait to buy onboard? 4 meals is currently $136.80 on the site.

 

Thanks!

 

Historically the pre-cruise pricing and onboard pricing has been the same.  The only benefit to waiting and paying onboard is if you have a significant amount of onboard credit you want to use toward additional dining nights.

[flyguyjake]

43 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

Historically the pre-cruise pricing and onboard pricing has been the same.  The only benefit to waiting and paying onboard is if you have a significant amount of onboard credit you want to use toward additional dining nights.

Would that also apply to upgrading our Prem Bev Pkg to Plus? Online shows $29 pp/pd $243.60 week

[AtlantaCruiser72]

57 minutes ago, flyguyjake said:

Would that also apply to upgrading our Prem Bev Pkg to Plus? Online shows $29 pp/pd $243.60 week

 

NCL has always been consistent with pre-cruise vs on-ship pricing being the same, unlike Royal, Carnival, etc

[Topdog52]

On 9/22/2021 at 6:42 PM, Sand and Seas said:

I also called at 125 days (Club Balcony) for our Jan 5th Getaway.  It also said to come back at 120 days.  And, just like OP reports, at that point it says unable to book.  

 

I called NCL on ours and supervisor confirmed that Getaway sailings into January are on a "stop sale for dining".  

 

It is frustrating for those of us who like to plan ahead😒

I complained about this several times before. Yes it is frustrating plus you pay extra for this Perk!! I like to book my dinners around shows and other things happening on board. If we can not do this then charge us a Balcony Suite Price.

[MoCruiseFan]

On 9/22/2021 at 6:44 PM, Sand and Seas said:

Exclusive Club Balcony Suite Amenities

• Option to pre-book onboard entertainment and dining as early as 125 days prior to sailing
• Complimentary treats delivered to your stateroom
• Complimentary bottle of sparkling wine
• Complimentary choice of one valet laundry or pressing service
• Bliss Collection by Norwegian™ featuring fine linens, pillows and a memory foam mattress or mattress topper
• Room Service menus offering delicious options for breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Coffee and tea set-up
• TV, refrigerator, safe and hair dryer
• Sitting area
• Lower beds arranged as a queen-size bed

 

[MoCruiseFan]

'As Early As' means exactly that.  The reservations MAY open up at any point on or after the 125 mark.

[Topdog52]

1 hour ago, MoCruiseFan said:

'As Early As' means exactly that.  The reservations MAY open up at any point on or after the 125 mark.

I don't think so. That was one of the Perks for the Club Balcony Suite and why it cost more. As early as 125 means just that and not having to wait until 120 days which balcony suites have too. Also you do not sell a room for more money telling people you can book early, then all of a sudden you can book at all until you board.

Edited October 17, 2021 by Topdog52

[dobiemom]

Maybe it depends on the ship? I’m on the Breakaway in Jan. Made dining reservations at 123 days before sailing.