Solo traveler - Specialty restaurant reservations?

[whoshwhosh]

I am a first time cruiser with Oceania and just booked Rome to Athens 2023 in a concierge Veranda cabin. I am trying to understand the process with Specialty restaurant reservations since it is different from other cruise lines I have been on.  Do I have to make reservations in advance of the cruise on-line or can I wait until I am on board. Since I am solo I like to share a table with others and enjoy meeting new people. If I make a reservation on-line can I stipulate I would like to share a table?  I appreciate any info you can share.

[Flatbush Flyer]

14 minutes ago, whoshwhosh said:

I am a first time cruiser with Oceania and just booked Rome to Athens 2023 in a concierge Veranda cabin. I am trying to understand the process with Specialty restaurant reservations since it is different from other cruise lines I have been on.  Do I have to make reservations in advance of the cruise on-line or can I wait until I am on board. Since I am solo I like to share a table with others and enjoy meeting new people. If I make a reservation on-line can I stipulate I would like to share a table?  I appreciate any info you can share.

On your Oceania invoice and in your O online account for your O cruise (you need to establish an O online account and then add the cruise booking number et al)., you’ll find your specialty restaurant booking window start date (on or after which you’ll be able to make your initially allocated reservations) The number per specialty restaurant depends on your cabin category and whether you’re on an R Class or O Class ship). DO NOT DELAY DOING THIS. When it’s your date (12:01 EST), you’ll look in the Dining section on the website for “Make Reservations” button where you’ll be able to ask for “sharing” for each restaurant and see the available times. Select what works best and you’re done.

On s “space available” basis each day of your cruise, you can add other reservations at no extra charge.

[LHT28]

I would recommend booking ahead when your time slot opens up  or you may not be able to get a reservation

 When you go to the booking area just click SHARING  & you will be seated with others  unless covid is still a problem  then  maybe not

 

You can always go to the reservations desk once onboard  & see if anything is available 

[whoshwhosh]

15 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

On your Oceania invoice and in your O online account for your O cruise (you need to establish an O online account and then add the cruise booking number et al)., you’ll find your specialty restaurant booking window start date (on or after which you’ll be able to make your initially allocated reservations) The number per specialty restaurant depends on your cabin category and whether you’re on an R Class or O Class ship). DO NOT DELAY DOING THIS. When it’s your date (12:01 EST), you’ll look in the Dining section on the website for “Make Reservations” button where you’ll be able to ask for “sharing” for each restaurant and see the available times. Select what works best and you’re done.

On s “space available” basis each day of your cruise, you can add other reservations at no extra charge.

I will be on the Marina

[pinotlover]

One correction to misleading information from above. Depending upon your cabin (Concierge in your case) every passenger is Guaranteed a certain number of reservations in each of the Specialty restaurants. Even if you choose to wait until boarding, the Guarantee still is in effect. Tables are held back in the initial reservation process to facilitate the process.

 

This in no way means you will dine at 6:30 every night in any of the restaurants. However, facilitating a single passenger wanting to share will be an easy process for them. 
 

I recommend that you do utilize the system and book at 60 days prior when your booking window opens. If you don’t, no worries, the Guarantee rules. Visit the reservations desk on Deck 5 after boarding, or on any morning,  and they’ll assist you in making your reservations.

[GeezerCouple]

You might also want to go to the Roll Call (here on CC) for your specific cruise (exact ship and date).

 

This is a great way to get to know a few of your fellow passengers in advance, and there are often plans to arrange private excursions, with small groups of passengers.

 

This might also be a way to see if there are other singles who would like to share Specialty tables with you, or others who would be happy to include you at their table.

 

Have a great time.

We love the Riviera, which is the sister ship to Marina.

 

GC

[PhD-iva]

I’m back from solo cruising on Riviera 17NOV Rome to Miami TA. I’m slammed w lotsa stuff going on right now, but before I get a chance to post more broadly about my solo experience on Riviera I wanted to let you know that O does a GREAT JOB taking care of solos! We had an associate cruise director, Cristina Hill, who hosted our Solo Traveler get togethers. The first one was early in the cruise and she hosted us 4 or 5 times throughout the cruise. We’d get together in Baristas at 6:30 and talk (open bar, but limited to barista’s limited alcohol). Cristina would organize our GDR table(s) for 7:15 and most would stay w the group to eat dinner together. Two bottles of wine were provided for each table. We had a group of about 15 each night, and the group would meet up at other times as well. I met some really nice people! I’m really appreciative of the solo experience provided by O and by Cristina!

[whoshwhosh]

Thank you all for the info. I have a much better understanding of the process. I am also happy there are options for solo travelers. I had heard that Oceania was not "solo friendly". I am used to traveling alone but it is always nice to meet others and have social opportunities.

[Homerody]

As I've been following all specialty dining threads with interest, I just looked at a bunch of them again to see if the specialty restaurant menus change during the longer sailings.  I remember seeing something about that, but cannot find it.  So am I making it up?

 

And what is the preferred strategy - book the specialties in the early part of cruise and go back to faves, subject to availability? 

[LHT28]

7 minutes ago, Homerody said:

As I've been following all specialty dining threads with interest, I just looked at a bunch of them again to see if the specialty restaurant menus change during the longer sailings.  I remember seeing something about that, but cannot find it.  So am I making it up?

 

And what is the preferred strategy - book the specialties in the early part of cruise and go back to faves, subject to availability? 

The Specialty restaurant menus  do not change 

They have rarely changed from year to year  so maybe you were thinking of another line

 

Book your allotted  reservations as soon as allowed

Then once onboard try for extra seating  for those that you prefer  unless you have a Butler  then queue at the reservations desk in the morning & ask to be put on the waitlist for that evening

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

The Specialty restaurant menus  do not change 

They have rarely changed from year to year  so maybe you were thinking of another line

 

Book your allotted  reservations as soon as allowed

Then once onboard try for extra seating  for those that you prefer  unless you have a Butler  then queue at the reservations desk in the morning & ask to be put on the waitlist for that evening

There have been some recent changes to the Specialty Menus as part of Oceania NEXT. But I agree that they have been the same for years and the “new” ones will probably be around for years to come.

 

FWIW: Note that, on “multisegment” cruises, your total allotment of initial reservations are split among the segments. So, you can’t do all the reservations of segments one and two during either single segment. Thus, 8 total would be made 4 during segment one and 4 during segment two.

[Homerody]

24 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

The Specialty restaurant menus  do not change 

They have rarely changed from year to year  so maybe you were thinking of another line

 

Book your allotted  reservations as soon as allowed

Then once onboard try for extra seating  for those that you prefer  unless you have a Butler  then queue at the reservations desk in the morning & ask to be put on the waitlist for that evening

@LHT28 and @Flatbush Flyer thanks for the quick response and confirming that the menus do not change.

 

And more likely than thinking of another line, my brain has overloaded on all things O, cruising details and requirements, and just can't keep things straight anymore and driven to distraction (especially after re-reading the thread about specialty restaurant favorite dishes).🤷‍♀️

 

 

[whoshwhosh]

37 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

The Specialty restaurant menus  do not change 

They have rarely changed from year to year  so maybe you were thinking of another line

 

Book your allotted  reservations as soon as allowed

Then once onboard try for extra seating  for those that you prefer  unless you have a Butler  then queue at the reservations desk in the morning & ask to be put on the waitlist for that evening

What would the allotted number of specialty reservations be for a 7-night cruise,  concierge veranda on the Marina?

[Flatbush Flyer]

10 minutes ago, Homerody said:

@LHT28 and @Flatbush Flyer thanks for the quick response and confirming that the menus do not change.

 

And more likely than thinking of another line, my brain has overloaded on all things O, cruising details and requirements, and just can't keep things straight anymore and driven to distraction (especially after re-reading the thread about specialty restaurant favorite dishes).🤷‍♀️

 

 

After you’ve done a few hundred nights on O ships, it’ll all be second nature😳.

[1985rz1]

5 minutes ago, whoshwhosh said:

What would the allotted number of specialty reservations be for a 7-night cruise,  concierge veranda on the Marina?

 

For a 7-night cruise in a Concierge Veranda on the Marina, it's 1 guaranteed reservation for each Specialty Restaurant bookable on line when the booking window opens for the category.  You can try for additional reservations onboard, based on availability.

 

The breakdown by ship, cabin category, and cruise length is listed on the Oceania Website under FAQs:

 

https://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005477653-How-many-dining-reservations-am-I-allowed-in-each-specialty-restaurant-

 

 

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

The Specialty restaurant menus  do not change 

They have rarely changed from year to year  so maybe you were thinking of another line

 

Book your allotted  reservations as soon as allowed

Then once onboard try for extra seating  for those that you prefer  unless you have a Butler  then queue at the reservations desk in the morning & ask to be put on the waitlist for that evening

 

And if you have a butler and really want "another meal" from one of the Specialties, you can ask to have the meal served in your suite.

We did that several times on each trip, because we really had some favorites.

And a few times, we were just tired from an excursion during the day.

Some of the menu items will "travel" better than others, so just keep that in mind when you make choices.

 

One of the first things we do upon arrival (on Oceania, any other cruise line, or even a hotel with a decent restaurant) is to request a copy of the menu for *each* restaurant, and also the main wine list (not the "room service wine list" 😠 ) and any from separate restaurants.

Yes, we enjoy the food, and some of it much more than others!

 

We haven't yet started traveling again, and... it's getting annoying.  Drat that new variant.

"Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the water again...."

😉

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/joy-and-pain/202007/just-when-we-thought-it-was-safe-go-back-the-water

 

Enjoy!

 

GC

 

[Mura]

On 12/8/2021 at 7:55 PM, GeezerCouple said:

You might also want to go to the Roll Call (here on CC) for your specific cruise (exact ship and date).

 

This is a great way to get to know a few of your fellow passengers in advance, and there are often plans to arrange private excursions, with small groups of passengers.

 

This might also be a way to see if there are other singles who would like to share Specialty tables with you, or others who would be happy to include you at their table.

 

Have a great time.

We love the Riviera, which is the sister ship to Marina.

 

GC

Just what I was about to suggest.  You can meet sympatico passengers on the roll call and plan to dine together on the cruse. We are a couple but we've done it both ways:  invited a single passenger to join us for dinner OR met up with others to make a larger group.

 

It's always good, especially for a solo traveler (my opinion) to join the Roll Call.  Besides giving you the ability to find dining partners, you can also find compatriots for private tours.  Smaller groups, more opportunity to fine-tune the places you want to see, and cheaper per person prices.

 

We have not been able to sail recently for various reasons, but we have noticed that with O's including "free" tours, etc., there have been fewer people signing on to the roll calls, but it's still a good idea to do so.  Especially if you are traveling solo. It's a good way to meet fellow passengers in advance of sailing.

 

 

[Homerody]

11 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

After you’ve done a few hundred nights on O ships, it’ll all be second nature😳.

I will aspire to reach such lofty goals and O status!  Then I may even get a chance to buy you a drink on board one day. 

 

Till then I will dream of the upgrade unicorn that says (per the interwbs) if I show up wearing pants and a collard shirt and smile, an upgrade is mine.  Oh who was it that said:  To upgrade, perchance to dream...  😁 

[FinelyRetired]

On 12/8/2021 at 11:15 PM, PhD-iva said:

I wanted to let you know that O does a GREAT JOB taking care of solos! We had an associate cruise director, Cristina Hill, who hosted our Solo Traveler get togethers. The first one was early in the cruise and she hosted us 4 or 5 times throughout the cruise. We’d get together in Baristas at 6:30 and talk (open bar, but limited to barista’s limited alcohol). Cristina would organize our GDR table(s) for 7:15 and most would stay w the group to eat dinner together

This is terrific news.  Have sailed solo for many years and what you describe is exceptional.  Thank you for your post.

[DeanoNorthPerth]

1 hour ago, FinelyRetired said:

This is terrific news.  Have sailed solo for many years and what you describe is exceptional.  Thank you for your post.

Exceptional for O or for cruise lines in general?

[PhD-iva]

11 hours ago, FinelyRetired said:

This is terrific news.  Have sailed solo for many years and what you describe is exceptional.  Thank you for your post.

BTW, today I checked the schedule and the first solo travelers meet up and dinner was embarkation day. So, we were taken care of all cruise long. I heard that many in the solo group met together most nights, so it was a v convivial group! O hosted us 5 times during the 16-day cruise, if memory serves. It was really a great experience!

Edited December 13, 2021 by PhD-iva
Edit

[FinelyRetired]

12 hours ago, DeanoNorthPerth said:

Exceptional for O or for cruise lines in general?

Exceptional compared to the only cruise lines I've used: Holland America, Princess, RCCL, Viking River. Don't recall much effort made by any of them, except HAL does have a Solo Lunch on a sea day.  I pick the ports I want first; then compare to other similar itineraries and go with best value to meet my interests. This time I'll be on Oceania for the first time.