Can I wait to book Specialty Restaurants onboard Discovery?

[like2cruise]

We are sailing on the Discovery Princess in October and have quite a bit of OBC that can only be used once we are onboard. I am curious if anyone that has sailed recently, if you were still able to get reservations for Crown Grill and/or Bistro Sur La Mer once you boarded?  If not, am I still allowed to use my OBC in the casino and cash out if needed?  Thanks!  

[Rick&Jeannie]

Yes, you absolutely *can* book onboard.  We were just on the Discovery about 3 weeks ago.  While I *had* pre-booked the Crown Grill for our group of 6 we found that the restaurant (and several others) were far from full.  We had not made ANY MDR reservations but we just walked up and never waited more than about 2 minutes.  When we were at Crown Grill it was about half full.  I can't imagine them turning away business, assuming they were not doing some sort of "capacity control".

[PacnGoNow]

11 hours ago, like2cruise said:

We are sailing on the Discovery Princess in October and have quite a bit of OBC that can only be used once we are onboard. I am curious if anyone that has sailed recently, if you were still able to get reservations for Crown Grill and/or Bistro Sur La Mer once you boarded?  If not, am I still allowed to use my OBC in the casino and cash out if needed?  Thanks!  

That’s what we always do to use our OBC. We’ve not had a problem. 

We usually book it as soon as we get OB.

They do hold back a few bookings until sailing, I’m told.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I would go and make the reservations as soon as possible, to get the dining time that you hope for.

 

I do get the feeling that they do keep these speciality restaurants capacity controlled.  They are supposed to provide great service, and that doesn't work well with full tables and with staffing shortages.   They do not usually seem to appear to be full.

 

We did go back and check for availability at CG on one cruise (Regal),  and they did work us in a bit later in the evening.  So that is possible, if the head staff does this.  I don't think that they really like to seat more people.  But, I would say that the restaurant was busier than it probably should have been.  And, while service was good, I would not say that the experience was excellent.

 

Sabatini's, on the other hand,  in the cruises that I have been on, and only did Sabatini's twice.  There were many open tables, and not that many people dining.

[like2cruise]

Thanks so much everyone!!

[Rick&Jeannie]

9 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

Sabatini's, on the other hand,  in the cruises that I have been on, and only did Sabatini's twice.  There were many open tables, and not that many people dining.

The last couple of times we've been to Sabatini's we were somewhat disappointed.  We were expecting a "full experience" Italian dinner...but the menu did not represent a true Italian dinner (in our opinion).

[EllieinNJ]

Does the Medallion tell you the menus for each day so you can decide which days you would prefer to book a specialty restaurant?

[lx200gps]

20 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

That’s what we always do to use our OBC. We’ve not had a problem. 

We usually book it as soon as we get OB.

They do hold back a few bookings until sailing, I’m told.

 

From various postings here on CC, including one from someone who was explicitly told so recently by a Princess rep, they hold back about half of all reservation slots until sailing. This allows folks like us to make our week's worth of bookings (we only eat in Specialty restaurants) as soon as we board on embarkation day, as well as folks who want to do a walk-up and make a day-of reservations at the last minute.  We have never failed to get exactly the times and dates we wanted, though we prefer to eat early.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, lx200gps said:

From various postings here on CC, including one from someone who was explicitly told so recently by a Princess rep, they hold back about half of all reservation slots until sailing. This allows folks like us to make our week's worth of bookings (we only eat in Specialty restaurants) as soon as we board on embarkation day, as well as folks who want to do a walk-up and make a day-of reservations at the last minute.  We have never failed to get exactly the times and dates we wanted, though we prefer to eat early.

I’m just curious. Could I ask why you only eat in SD?

[lx200gps]

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

I’m just curious. Could I ask why you only eat in SD?

The MDRs on Princess are very good, but we find the atmosphere and experience to be too loud, frenetic, crowded, for us.  Lines to get in, tables for 2 are usually inches from the folks next to you, people are coming and going constantly, we find them a bit loud, the waiters are grossly overworked, the food could be a bit warmer, bar/wine service is very slow.....  The SDRs are always quieter, at least when we dine there, the waiters are more relaxed, seating is much better, food arrives a bit fresher....  Just our personal opinion, obviously most pax are very happy with the MDRs

[PacnGoNow]

10 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

The MDRs on Princess are very good, but we find the atmosphere and experience to be too loud, frenetic, crowded, for us.  Lines to get in, tables for 2 are usually inches from the folks next to you, people are coming and going constantly, we find them a bit loud, the waiters are grossly overworked, the food could be a bit warmer, bar/wine service is very slow.....  The SDRs are always quieter, at least when we dine there, the waiters are more relaxed, seating is much better, food arrives a bit fresher....  Just our personal opinion, obviously most pax are very happy with the MDRs

Thank you for the reply.  We enjoy CC for that reason. I’ve found it a lot 

more noisy since the DMW. People coming in every 20 mins past you and getting settled.  Waiters with even more demands on them.

Wish they would go back to a TD dining room again with just 2 sittings.  It seemed much more relaxed.  JMO

 

[stevenr597]

We were Club Class on Discovery and dined mostly in the MDR.  However we did try the Gastropub for Dinner.

Waste of money, and I would avoid it.

The Maitre d" had problems explaining the concept and how to order dishes.  Most of the dishes we ordered were at best average, and we left the restaurant, not having enough to eat. 

If one reads what a Gastropub is supposed to be, one can see that it is a concept that Princess needs to work on.

By the way, food in the MDR and the special dish provided for Club Class each night was a definite plus.

 

[HleeCruiser]

18 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

The last couple of times we've been to Sabatini's we were somewhat disappointed.  We were expecting a "full experience" Italian dinner...but the menu did not represent a true Italian dinner (in our opinion).

Menu is available on line for all the specialty restaurants.  What in your experience is a true Italian dinner?