Advanced Dining Reservations

[villagenut]

RCI newbie.  Am I understanding this correctly?  

If i purchase a dining plan, RCI makes 1 reservation for me but I must wait until I get on board to make additional reservations 

BUT,

If i do not purchase a dining plan, i can make all my reservations ahead of time via the web site or app.

 

Yes or No?

TIA

[GWM907]

You are correct. The dining plans are at a discount. If you pay full price for each restaurant you can make the reservations at the time of purchase.

[Tulsacoker]

and I'm not sure on the package the first reservation is just a time and day not a restaurant  

[3kidsncats]

We have, so far, always been able to adjust the day one reservation once onboard via a host/ess at whatever restaurant has been designated as handling embarkation day dining reservations.  (Both time and restaurant).  Once you can access the ship’s WiFi you can book all the other reservations (or have the host/ess help you)

[Joseph2017China]

Those that pay full price, will get first choice. 

Those that pay discounted price or package must wait for boarding day.

 

This is the price you pay for discounts, but I never had an issue.

[Tulsacoker]

just got off the Quantum a few weeks ago and had the three night package. All the specialty restaurants was half full and we had no issues changing times and restaurants on the fly 

[rudeney]

If you are in a suite (not JS), you can book in advance.  The week prior to your cruise, the concierge will send an introductory email to which you can reply with your preferred dining times/locations.

[Rysyonok]

On 9/23/2022 at 11:26 AM, Joseph2017China said:

Those that pay full price, will get first choice. 

Those that pay discounted price or package must wait for boarding day.

 

This is the price you pay for discounts, but I never had an issue.

 

Elegantly said and makes perfect sense.

[blueslily]

I saw on a video yesterday that the 3 Dinner Package is not really limited to just dinners. It was said to be three meals which means you can use it for lunches or dinners. On here and in the planner everyone says dinners. So, is it true that it can be used for a lunch, not just dinners? Just checking. Thx

[rudeney]

3 hours ago, blueslily said:

I saw on a video yesterday that the 3 Dinner Package is not really limited to just dinners. It was said to be three meals which means you can use it for lunches or dinners. On here and in the planner everyone says dinners. So, is it true that it can be used for a lunch, not just dinners? Just checking. Thx

 

It very well might be accepted for lunch, but I wouldn't do that.  It would make it much less valuable.  You could pay for dinner and two lunches in Chops for less than the 3-meal package.  

[ARandomTraveler]

4 hours ago, blueslily said:

I saw on a video yesterday that the 3 Dinner Package is not really limited to just dinners. It was said to be three meals which means you can use it for lunches or dinners. On here and in the planner everyone says dinners. So, is it true that it can be used for a lunch, not just dinners? Just checking. Thx

 

56 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

It very well might be accepted for lunch, but I wouldn't do that.  It would make it much less valuable.  You could pay for dinner and two lunches in Chops for less than the 3-meal package.  

➕1️⃣ What he said. Using it for lunch makes the discount for buying the package negligible. 

[ARandomTraveler]

I've also read that if it's really important to you to be able to go to a specific restaurant  on a specific day at a specific time, you can pay out of pocket to make the a-La-carte (non package) reservation in your cruise planner in order to lock it in, and then once you're on the ship, cancel the reservation and swap it out for a reservation using your UDP.
 

I'm not sure if that's fool proof though. 

[blueslily]

33 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

 

➕1️⃣ What he said. Using it for lunch makes the discount for buying the package negligible. 

 

I understand. There are only two dinners that we really want and one lunch, so we will decide how to proceed based on the best math. 😉😁

[Rysyonok]

1 hour ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I've also read that if it's really important to you to be able to go to a specific restaurant  on a specific day at a specific time, you can pay out of pocket to make the a-La-carte (non package) reservation in your cruise planner in order to lock it in, and then once you're on the ship, cancel the reservation and swap it out for a reservation using your UDP.
 

I'm not sure if that's fool proof though. 

 

There are cut-off limits for cancelling without penalty. At least 24 hours, I think.

 

That said:

 

- hitting your favorite restaurant the instant you get on board and telling them out of the gates that you really enjoy their place will do wonders

- booking multiple nights at the same place will greatly increase your chances of getting your desired time

- "Can I write down your name so I can mention you on the survey" makes things so easy it's not even fair 🙂

 

Also, be flexible. Virtually every restaurant *will* have 830-845pm slots open daily. You don't have to win every battle.

 

[rudeney]

15 hours ago, Rysyonok said:

 

 

- "Can I write down your name so I can mention you on the survey" makes things so easy it's not even fair 🙂

 

 

 

 🤣🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

[slyster]

So i booked a 3 night dining package and chose night 2 for my first dinner reservation.  I'm trying to remember...I go on board and then make the reservation for 3 restaurants or how does that first one work.  I am pretty sure I chose night 2 at 5:30pm, but I don't know how it picks the restaurant for you?

[jcc1025]

We buy the package, It will ask for a perfered time for the first night usually 6 or 8. They hold the mid times up for full paying guest. Once you get on board go to any of the specialy resturants and tell them you want to make reservations and you have the package. They can call up your stateroom and you can change both the first night time and location and all others for the cruise. That is usually one of our first stops when we get on board, after the bar, and have usually not had any of our times or resturants confirmed. Depending on the ship might have to move your prefered time a half hour or so but it is not a problem. 

[Rysyonok]

1 hour ago, slyster said:

So i booked a 3 night dining package and chose night 2 for my first dinner reservation.  I'm trying to remember...I go on board and then make the reservation for 3 restaurants or how does that first one work.  I am pretty sure I chose night 2 at 5:30pm, but I don't know how it picks the restaurant for you?

 

I do not believe you get to choose a restaurant. When you get a package, you pick a time - I imagine you picked 5:30. Here's the thing, that's not an actual restaurant, it's a time slot: a restaurant is yet to be assigned.

 

Do not stress. This is normal.

 

The instant you get on board, beeline to a specialty restaurant. When I say "beeline", that's exactly that, no adoring artwork, no pictures, etc. Beeline to a specialty restaurant that's not in use.

 

Examples:

 

- Wonderland

- Izumi

 

Do avoid Jaime's or Chops, they are going to be occupied.

 

As soon as you make it to a restaurant, tell them immediately that you want to make reservations.

Have a copy of your check-in documents handy (you do not have your sea pass card just yet) and proof of dining package purchase printed out.

 

Remember, 500 other people are going to be trying to do the same, so speed matters. Do have your desired timeslots already picked out. How?

 

Check Cruise Planner 4 days before sailing date and see which timeslots are open for booking. 🙂

 

Yes, yes, you're on vacation, but that first hour onboard makes for an amazing sailing if spent properly 🙂

[taglovestocruise]

1 hour ago, slyster said:

So i booked a 3 night dining package and chose night 2 for my first dinner reservation.  I'm trying to remember...I go on board and then make the reservation for 3 restaurants or how does that first one work.  I am pretty sure I chose night 2 at 5:30pm, but I don't know how it picks the restaurant for you?

They rarely if ever book anything, you are just making a placeholder reservation. 

[slyster]

Thank you for that.  Now I get how it works.  We will go directly to make our specialty restaurant reservations once on board. I wasn't sure if they just chose a restaurant for you.  That makes sense now.