unlimited dining package questions

[juanarcin]

Just purchased unlimited dining package for Quantum in May and had a few questions.

1. It said to select my reservation time for the first day but it didn't give me an option for what restaurant. Are they going to select one for me? If so can I change it?
2. Is Wonderland included in this? I went once and it was an amazing experience, we found this itinerary specifically while looking up what ships had Wonderland on it. If it is included, can I go more than once?
3. How do I make reservations? I tried making some but every time I do, I get asked to make payment for that specific reservation as if I were paying for each restaurant individually, I don't see an option to select that I already have UDP.

Thanks!

[barbeyg]

Yes, you can change restaurants when you board. You can either go by one of the restaurants and book most, if not all, when you board.  You can also use the app, but your mileage may vary.  I find there is more flexibility going to one of the restaurants and booking all with one of them rather than using the app.  They will have people standing by to take reservations.
 

If reservations are available, you can visit Wonderland more than once.  I suggest having a list ready, and be flexible about which nights. They will do their best to accommodate all, and if you can be a bit flexible with times, you should be satisfied.

 

The UDP is a bargain price, and doesn’t allow booking in advance, because of the price we pay for that in comparison to someone who pays full price for reservations in advance. 

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by barbeyg

[Surfguyxxx]

Well stated Barbeyg.  Having the list with me before I hit the podium is such a time saver.  Just be prepared to be flexible.  Enjoy.  

[juanarcin]

14 hours ago, barbeyg said:

Yes, you can change restaurants when you board. You can either go by one of the restaurants and book most, if not all, when you board.  You can also use the app, but your mileage may vary.  I find there is more flexibility going to one of the restaurants and booking all with one of them rather than using the app.  They will have people standing by to take reservations.
 

If reservations are available, you can visit Wonderland more than once.  I suggest having a list ready, and be flexible about which nights. They will do their best to accommodate all, and if you can be a bit flexible with times, you should be satisfied.

 

The UDP is a bargain price, and doesn’t allow booking in advance, because of the price we pay for that in comparison to someone who pays full price for reservations in advance. 

 

Makes sense, thanks for the info!

[Starry Eyes]

And of course it will be easier to get your desired restaurants and times if board earlier and make reservations as soon as you board.  The later you wait to make reservations, the fewer options available.

 

I have read an occasional poster on Cruise Critic with dining packages who say they make a (or more than one) reservation in advance on the cruise planner.  Once on board they request that reservation be changed to their UDP; that pre-cruise charge becomes on OBC.  It seems a bit too much trouble to me so I have not tried it, but you do you. If there is a night or two that is especially important, maybe you will want to consider that ploy.  Or maybe, like most of us, you won’t bother.

[crewsweeper]

When we do UDP, I make a spreadsheet detailing which nights and times for which restaurants and then have 1) an alternative time and 2) an alternative restaurant for each night.  That usually gets us everything we want on the nights we want, but in worst case we had a couple of nights shifted on the Odyessy.  Didn't really matter aa we didn't miss out on any restaurant.  In the past we've also been able to go in and alter the reservations via the app, mostly adjusting the times.  But once we swapped a second Wonderland for a second Chops.  Service at Wonderland wasn't up to past visits on other ships.  So get your initial reservations in early and then you'll have flexibility.

 

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by crewsweeper

[BobNoxious]

I had some trouble on a recent Harmony of the Seas cruise.  We were told that Hibachi had to be booked at Izumi and could not be done at any other restaurant.  This led to crazy lines at Izumi.  I was at Izumi at 11:30am on boarding day and could not get a DINNER at the Hibachi for the entire week on Harmony.

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by BobNoxious

[Newbieflorida]

7 minutes ago, BobNoxious said:

I had some trouble on a recent Harmony of the Seas cruise.  We were told that Hibachi had to be booked at Izumi and could not be done at any other restaurant.  This led to crazy lines at Izumi.  I was at Izumi at 11:30am on boarding day and could not get a DINNER at the Hibachi for the entire week on Harmony.

 

This same exact thing happened to us on our August Harmony cruise. We were one of the first 50 people on board, went to Chops first to make all reservations, they told us we had to go to Izumi for the Izumi reservations, and yes there was a long line and some very annoyed people.  There were no dinner reservations available (nothing for Hibachi - there was sushi availability). We were able to get all other reservations we wanted. On Odyssey soon with 3 night dining package and am considering separately purchasing Izumi Hibachi to make sure we get it.

[LilBlackDress]

What no one has mentioned, you can go to the specialty resturant that is open on boarding and have lunch while you book your reservation... Lunch is included with the package. 

 

Also you can dial 7000 from your stateroom phone or any house phone to boook or change your reservations 

[ARandomTraveler]

How does the "swapping" of a pre-paid reservation work when you have the UDP? Like if I book the hibachi and pay the regular price ahead of time, will they for sure let me swap it for my UDP on board and give me my money back as on board credit? Or is there a chance they won't do that?

[ARandomTraveler]

23 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

How does the "swapping" of a pre-paid reservation work when you have the UDP? Like if I book the hibachi and pay the regular price ahead of time, will they for sure let me swap it for my UDP on board and give me my money back as on board credit? Or is there a chance they won't do that?

I went ahead and paid for and booked the hibachi restaurant because after looking at the available times in the cruise planner, there were only 2 days that had a 5pm slot, and the other 5 days only had 9pm or later. No availability of times in between. 
 

All other restaurants had wide open availability every day at every time slot. I figured for this one restaurant, I'd be bummed if we weren't able to try it because it was sold out. And even though I have an 11am  boarding time, I'm not confident there will be spots left by the time I get on the ship. 

 

I read the terms and conditions and it does say that all cancellations must be made 48 hours before the cruise, and any cancellations made after that are subject to the cruise lines discretion for whether they give your money back or not. I was willing to take the risk for that one reservation. If they don't let me get my money back and let me use the UDP instead, I'm ok with that. But I'll certainly try.