Unlimited dining reservations

[luckybecky]

Hello Cruisers!

 

I have a question about the unlimited dining package. I booked this package for $168 per person for our seven night June 2022 Greek cruise on Brilliance of the Seas. I think that is a good price from what I am seeing here on CC.

 

It seems that I cannot make any dining reservations in advance. My understanding is that our first night reservation will be made for us. As far as I can tell, we have no choice in that matter. Will we receive some notice in our stateroom telling us when/where we will be dining on the first night?

 

And then, I guess once we are onboard, we will make reservations for subsequent nights? Is that correct? We cannot make any reservations ahead of time in our cruise planner? Is that correct? If so, is it essential that we make these reservations right away? Do you do this as soon as you board?

 

I'm sorry if this has been asked and answered. I did a search for unlimited dining but couldn't find answers to my specific question. Thanks for your help.

Edited December 4, 2021 by luckybecky

[lovelife]

Reservations cannot be made in advance with the UDP.

 

We just had the UDP on Symphony (great price at $179). There was nothing in our cabin about a first night reservation. Upon boarding I headed straight for one of the open specialty restaurants and made the entire week's reservations. I had my written desired schedule in hand which helps. Enjoy!

Edited December 4, 2021 by lovelife

[Coralc]

The first night reservation does not seem to be a real or firm reservation. Once you board, head directly to any restaurant (they are all linked). And you can adjust your first night dining plans and make tentative reservations for the rest of the cruise. You must cancel or change future reservations in advance, but it is not difficult to do once you are onboard. 

[luckybecky]

43 minutes ago, lovelife said:

Reservations cannot be made in advance with the UDP.

 

We just had the UDP on Symphony (great price at $179). There was nothing in our cabin about a first night reservation. Upon boarding I headed straight for one of the open specialty restaurants and made the entire week's reservations. I had my written desired schedule in hand which helps. Enjoy!

 

Ok, that is very good to know! I will definitely plan my dining choices ahead of time and try to get them scheduled as soon as we board.

 

This is the info in our cruise planner that makes me think we will have something pre-arranged.  "A courtesy reservation will be made for the first night of your cruise based on your preferred dining time. You will receive your courtesy reservation confirmation in your stateroom on the first day of your cruise. All additional reservations or changes to your courtesy reservation must be made once onboard at any specialty restaurant."

[gumshoe958]

Yes, you will have a courtesy reservation made for you for either the first or second night. But you are perfectly welcome to change it if it doesn’t suit.

Just visit any of the restaurants as soon as possible after you board and you can make the rest of your reservations at the same time.

[Notaworryintheworld]

You can also make them in the app once on board (connect to ship wifi). I did it while enjoying chops lunch on embarkation day. 

[luckybecky]

Thanks everyone for the info. This has been very helpful. I probably would not have hurried to make our reservations right away, but now I know to make that a priority. Also good to know that I can change our first night reservation if desired. Thanks again!

[handbellplayer]

13 hours ago, lovelife said:

Reservations cannot be made in advance with the UDP.

 

We just had the UDP on Symphony (great price at $179). There was nothing in our cabin about a first night reservation. Upon boarding I headed straight for one of the open specialty restaurants and made the entire week's reservations. I had my written desired schedule in hand which helps. Enjoy!

How did you work around show reservations?  When we had UDP in the past, I already had entertainment reservations and made my dining plans around them, so it was easy to walk in with a list of my desired dining times and restaurants.  I'm not sure when we will get an entertainment schedule (in our cabin at 1:00?), so it won't be possible to make dining reservations as soon as we board.  This is disappointing, because we have a boarding time of 11:00.

[lovelife]

3 minutes ago, handbellplayer said:

How did you work around show reservations?  When we had UDP in the past, I already had entertainment reservations and made my dining plans around them, so it was easy to walk in with a list of my desired dining times and restaurants.  I'm not sure when we will get an entertainment schedule (in our cabin at 1:00?), so it won't be possible to make dining reservations as soon as we board.  This is disappointing, because we have a boarding time of 11:00.

You can find a weekly show calendar at Guest Services upon boarding on the large ships. I just boarded Mariner and they do not have show calendars.

[handbellplayer]

Just now, lovelife said:

You can find a weekly show calendar at Guest Services upon boarding on the large ships. I just boarded Mariner and they do not have show calendars.

Good to know.  We are on Harmony.  I guess our first hour on board will be spent running around making show and dining reservations!

[lovelife]

You can make your show ressies on the app as soon as you board. The sooner the better.

[luckybecky]

This is getting more complicated! So, we have to make show reservations in addition to dining reservations? I've been on a few cruises on other lines and never had to do that. You just show up for the show. Seating has always been first come, first served. 

So, how much time do you need to allow for dining before a show? For example, if I have a 6pm dining reservation, would an 8pm show be reasonable? I don't even know what time the shows are, so just guessing here.

[smplybcause]

Reservations for non Oasis or quantum class is a new since covid thing. Due to protocols the theaters are at lower capacity so you need to book a reservation to make sure you can get in. 

 

Whether this system is here to stay or just until full capacity/covid protocols are done is anyone's guess.

[Biker19]

7 hours ago, luckybecky said:

So, how much time do you need to allow for dining before a show? For example, if I have a 6pm dining reservation, would an 8pm show be reasonable?

Yes, and you can ask your waiter to speed things up to make a show if you have less time. 

[DAVLIB007]

20 hours ago, lovelife said:

You can find a weekly show calendar at Guest Services upon boarding on the large ships. I just boarded Mariner and they do not have show calendars.

how did you get a 11am  boarding time. our earliest was noon

[handbellplayer]

1 minute ago, DAVLIB007 said:

how did you get a 11am  boarding time. our earliest was noon

I logged on at 12:05 am on the day our boarding reservations opened.  Maybe it varies from ship to ship and port to port.  We are on Harmony out of PC.

[lovelife]

4 hours ago, DAVLIB007 said:

how did you get a 11am  boarding time. our earliest was noon

I think you meant this for handbellplayer.  FYI: suites and Pinnacles may check in one hour earlier or later than their scheduled time.

[luckybecky]

23 hours ago, smplybcause said:

Reservations for non Oasis or quantum class is a new since covid thing. Due to protocols the theaters are at lower capacity so you need to book a reservation to make sure you can get in. 

 

Whether this system is here to stay or just until full capacity/covid protocols are done is anyone's guess.

I am so confused! 

 

So we are on a Radiance class ship. I just looked that up because I had no idea it mattered. I'm not sure what to do with that information. 

 

I've been on a few cruises. Including two since covid. And we just walked into the theater on every one of them and took a seat. We have always been able to get a good seat if we arrived a little before showtime. I go to the nightly show pretty much every single night on every cruise I've ever been on, and never had to worry about it. 

 

I'm not sure I'm liking this about RC. So I have to reserve the shows in advance? Am I reserving a specific seat? One of the things I like about cruising is the flexibility -- the option to choose our activities. So maybe I'll go to the early show, or maybe the late one. Depends on what else we are doing that day/evening. Never had to worry about it before... we just show up to whatever activity we want. 

 

It is beginning to sound like between the dining reservations and show reservations, our evenings are going to be very structured and inflexible. I guess it is good to know that we need to plan all of this ahead of time, and forget about winging it. And I am actually a big planner. But this is feeling a little too structured even for me. I'm not sure this is going to work well for us. 

 

Any thoughts or advice?

[luckybecky]

Ok wait a minute. I am getting off topic on my own thread but this is starting to freak me out. 

So... we have to book theater in advance, apparently. And we have to get those restaurant reservations done ASAP. And now, as I am perusing the boards, I see people talking about how much they have to pay for the water park. WTH? 

Do you really have to reserve and pay for every activity separately? This is worrying me, because one of the things I love about cruising is the "all inclusive" and worry free aspect. I have been on a water slide or two on a cruise ship and never had to pay extra for access to this amenity. 

 

help!

 

[Coralc]

Radiance class ships don't have any water slides. Are you going to Coco Cay? If not, don't worry about water park tickets. There are also free beach and pool things to do on Coco Cay. Shows on Radiance class ships do not generally require reservations either. There are no pay extra general activities on Radiance class ships. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by Coralc

[smplybcause]

10 hours ago, luckybecky said:

I am so confused! 

 

So we are on a Radiance class ship. I just looked that up because I had no idea it mattered. I'm not sure what to do with that information. 

 

I've been on a few cruises. Including two since covid. And we just walked into the theater on every one of them and took a seat. We have always been able to get a good seat if we arrived a little before showtime. I go to the nightly show pretty much every single night on every cruise I've ever been on, and never had to worry about it. 

 

I'm not sure I'm liking this about RC. So I have to reserve the shows in advance? Am I reserving a specific seat? One of the things I like about cruising is the flexibility -- the option to choose our activities. So maybe I'll go to the early show, or maybe the late one. Depends on what else we are doing that day/evening. Never had to worry about it before... we just show up to whatever activity we want. 

 

It is beginning to sound like between the dining reservations and show reservations, our evenings are going to be very structured and inflexible. I guess it is good to know that we need to plan all of this ahead of time, and forget about winging it. And I am actually a big planner. But this is feeling a little too structured even for me. I'm not sure this is going to work well for us. 

 

Any thoughts or advice?

 

It's not a specific seat. It's just a spot in the theater. It might not be needed, but as the up capacity on the ships but still keep distancing in the theater there will not be enough seats in the theaters for everyone to see the shows. You might be on a sailing where not many want to see a show, but you might be on one that a lot want to see it. You won't know until you show up at the door.

 

I personally like it better than other ships where you have to wait in long lines otherwise they might not let you in. Give me a reservation over waiting 20+ minutes in line. I never made it to a comedy show on another ship because the line to get in started 30+ minutes before. No desire to spend that much time standing in a line. 

 

You could always cancel your dining package if you don't like structure. That's actually what's going to be the most inflexible part. Specialty dining venues have such limited capacity just wining it doesn't work. There's only two main show times a night anyways and a very small window where you could eat dinner and maybe choose which show you want to go to that night.