Booking time for dining reservations

[MomC]

I know you will laugh at me, BUT the day we can book specialty restaurant reservations is coming up.  Does anyone know if a person can book those reservations right after midnight via the computer?  If so, what time zone is the Regent home office in?

 

Mom C

[DaveFr]

43 minutes ago, MomC said:

I know you will laugh at me, BUT the day we can book specialty restaurant reservations is coming up.  Does anyone know if a person can book those reservations right after midnight via the computer?  If so, what time zone is the Regent home office in?

 

Mom C

You can book reservations online when it’s midnight in the eastern time zone.

 

Dave

[pingpong1]

MomC - Not a dumb or silly question at all!  😜   Regent is in the Eastern Time Zone (Miami).  Yes - you can book your dinner reservations when it turns Midnight (1 minute into the new  "magical day") on Miami time.  I do this all the time for our upcoming booked cruises.  Since I live in AZ, we're on Mountain Standard Time (AZ never goes to daylight savings time), so Midnight in Miami is 9PM in AZ during the summer (3 hours difference/earlier) and 2 hours difference (earlier) in the winter, when Miami goes off of daylight savings time.  If you're in CO, I think you'll always be 2 hours "behind" Miami...  Midnight in Miami will be 10 PM in Colorado.  Best Regards.  

[labonnevie]

Just did our 3 allowed dinner reservations for Explorer January 19 - February 4 cruise San Diego to Miami. Did online just after 9 PM PDT, very easy. Once onboard, you can make additional reservations at the specialty restaurants.

[daetchief]

There are numerous advantages to living in Honolulu, not the least of which is that the Regent website turns over at 6:00 PM the night before that sacred day.   We’ve even had Booking Parties to be ready for booking Excursions and Specialty Meals.    Next, there’s the weather…

[Timeflies]

Now I understand why some excursions and dining options "disappear" so quickly - we'd have to get up at 05.00am here in the UK to compete!

[ChucktownSteve]

5 hours ago, Timeflies said:

Now I understand why some excursions and dining options "disappear" so quickly - we'd have to get up at 05.00am here in the UK to compete!

 

That's not so bad for someone who's usually up at that time of day.   They have a hard time staying awake for the midnight witching hour. 😁

[darn88]

My dining reservations open on Thanksgiving Day in the US.  Anyone know if Regent changes the day to accommodate for that?

 

Just wondering...if I have to stay up late I will!!

[1982CruzStart]

I don't believe they change the date. We had shore excursion booking on New Year's Eve one time and it wasn't changed. It is all computerized so from their point of view there is no reason to change as no staff is required to be working. 

[DavidTheWonderer]

I only share the following information with a select few, i.e. you.  If you drop by a specialty resto at say 6 PM, if they have a cancellation they will be pleased to accommodate you. Similarly, if you drop by to see the maitre d' mid-afternoon, something may have opened up for that evening. If neither of these worked, you'll be forced to eat the swill in Compass Rose.
But don't share this top-secret info with the riff raff!

[bluestocking7]

When making a reservation as a solo traveller, can you request a shared table?  Or do you have to book a table for 1?

[Portolan]

You can indicate that you wish to share a table.

 

Also, in Compass Rose, our standard request is that we'd like to join or start a table.  If parties previously seated express a willingness to start a table and it hasn't been too long, they'll seat you at that table.  If you start a table and they don't have subsequent parties interested in sharing within a reasonable time (and they will often ask you if you wish to wait longer), they'll proceed with your dinner. 

 

Of course, every post these days needs to be assumed to be "the way it was."

Edited October 24, 2021 by Portolan

[Scout16]

I was a solo traveler on the the Navigator for the last two legs of the world cruise in 2019 and we we at Prime 7 several times with I believe the hostess arraigning the reservation at the last moment.  I am not sure if this works for all cruises and restaurants. 

[bluestocking7]

@Portolan@Scout16 Let's hope the new normal is like the old normal.  I was concerned when I read about an early Regent post-covid sailing where solo travelers had to eat alone--and even had to play trivia alone. 

[wcsdkqh]

11 hours ago, bluestocking7 said:

@Portolan@Scout16 Let's hope the new normal is like the old normal.  I was concerned when I read about an early Regent post-covid sailing where solo travelers had to eat alone--and even had to play trivia alone. 

Not sure who said solo travelers had to eat alone, but that is most definitely not correct. As has been the case in the past, solo travelers has the opportunity to meet other solo travelers daily in observation lounge for pre-dinner activities along with someone from Regent (CD, asst CD, dancers, etc, and then go to dinner together. Just the way it has been in the past.

[irishwitchy]

As for trivia,  folks will include others, because more heads are better than one.   Circle around and approach a possible team  -  mention your expertise in Art, Harry Potter,  the latest rapper? As for dinner,  we are flexible,  we have meet new friends at the bar and dinner has changed from 2 to 5.   Because of cruise critic,  we  have made connections with singles prior to the cruise and have done dinner and excursions with them.   Mind you,  I don’t want them for dinner every night, but that goes for best friends also.  COVID may have made this an issue,  but hopefully this isn’t a problem for a single.   Mind you some singles want to be alone -  that is very funny story, that I will share, if I’m ever on a cruise with you.  

[mochuck]

On 10/22/2021 at 3:45 AM, Timeflies said:

Now I understand why some excursions and dining options "disappear" so quickly - we'd have to get up at 05.00am here in the UK to compete!

Yes but good ofr those of us in Australia. We can book at 3pm.

[Frncie]

1 hour ago, mochuck said:

Yes but good ofr those of us in Australia. We can book at 3pm.

Number Three Daughter spent five years in Australia, first in Brisbane, then in Melbourne. Between the various time changes for Daylight Savings Time in Oz and California, not to mention the International Dateline, it was really hard to keep up. Good on ya. 

[Huggsy]

On 10/21/2021 at 5:45 PM, Timeflies said:

Now I understand why some excursions and dining options "disappear" so quickly - we'd have to get up at 05.00am here in the UK to compete!

Got my alarm set! 😴⏰

[scottie920]

Hi, Can anyone advise the number of speciality restaurants which can be booked on line prior to embarkation and does this vary depending on the suite that has been reserved? If more than one do these have to be different restaurants? Thank you in advance. 

[daetchief]

The expectation should be you’ll get one pre-arranged reservation in each of the specialty restaurants.
 

If you have back to back cruises, you should be allowed to reserve another evening for each specialty restaurant - as in one per segment.  
 

If you’re on a long cruise, say over seven days, it is likely you’ll be able to book additional specialty reservations in the specialty restaurants once you get on board.
 

As an example, on a soon to sail 18 night PC cruise, we could only prearrange one specialty restaurant reservation per venue, but have high expectations for receiving additional meals at P7 and Chartreuse once on board.

 

There may be some preference towards giving the name suites additional nights. I know that Master and Grand suites have near unlimited opportunities to request reservations in the two specialty restaurants.
 

As a general statement I think all Suites have a high probability, on cruises of sufficient lengths, to have more than one opportunity to dine in each specialty restaurants.

Edited November 11, 2021 by daetchief
Added preferential text.

[lisainarizona]

On 10/23/2021 at 5:22 AM, DavidTheWonderer said:

I only share the following information with a select few, i.e. you.  If you drop by a specialty resto at say 6 PM, if they have a cancellation they will be pleased to accommodate you. Similarly, if you drop by to see the maitre d' mid-afternoon, something may have opened up for that evening. If neither of these worked, you'll be forced to eat the swill in Compass Rose.
But don't share this top-secret info with the riff raff!

🤣"Swill in Compass Rose" Love it! Brits and us Canadians very much appreciate the sarcastic humor. Thanks for the chuckle!

[RetiredandTravel]

On 11/11/2021 at 9:51 AM, scottie920 said:

Hi, Can anyone advise the number of speciality restaurants which can be booked on line prior to embarkation and does this vary depending on the suite that has been reserved? If more than one do these have to be different restaurants? Thank you in advance. 

 

 

In addition to daetchiefs comments, your level of suite or being a frequent cruiser will determine the amount of  time prior to cruise that you have to make the specialty reservation.  If you are new to Regent I would seriously consider a concierge suite because it gives you higher priority (time prior) in specialty restaurant reservations and excursions.  If you are in a suite level that has no priority you will likely get a specialty reservation reservation but it may not be the most accommodating time and day.

 

Once you make "Silver" level the concierge suite is no longer necessary except for the wifi upgrade.