App went "live" several hours early for reservations, but can't make them yet?

[fndecker]

For my cruise, the app had no information. Which was an issue when needing to know that dinner plans didn't conflict with a show or party. All wording indicates I can make reservations now, despite it being 46 days out. But trying to book, a cryptic and not obvious message just says, "check onboard". Does that really mean "not live yet, check back later"?

Is that the same message people see if the restaurant is full? You guys are right when you say how poor the app is.

 

[cantgetin]

On my cruise in October, the app only let us book the dinner for the first night, but I called VV and was able to book for the entire cruise. My plan was to only book the first few nights, but the rep on the phone suggested booking all "because they fill up."  In reality, we had NO difficulty rescheduling dinner after boarding (when we had access to the entertainment schedule) or when we changed our minds.  We also were only denied a walk in once; that was a brunch at The Wake.  ALWAYS got dinner walk ins with little or no wait (10 minutes max).  We did several dinner walk ins when we wanted to change the restaurant or wanted to eat earlier than we'd booked.

[angela12345]

Yes, the app goes live in advance of midnight.  For us, it went live approx 8pm EST on the day before.  i.e. if it says in the app you can make reservations on Dec 16, for us the app went live Dec 15 at about 8pm.  But, we could not make the reservations at that time.  So yes, that really means "not live yet, check back later" 
Making Reservations went live about 11pm EST, using my same example above Dec 15 approx 11pm EST.

Unfortunately I fell asleep before it went live !!!!! LOLOLOL
Please record as exact as you can what time it actually goes live, and let us know ?  I should have set a timer for every 5 minutes or something liker that.  I was a dummy.
 

Edited December 15, 2022 by angela12345

[fndecker]

Went live at 11 EST. But is it set to literally be 45 days from each day of the cruise? I assumed that you could book for each day of your cruise when it goes live. But unless I can't see how to change the date, it looks like I have to do this tomorrow, and the next day, and the next...??

[fndecker]

I will answer my own question. I would really suggest they redesign how to make reservations. I almost went to bed with only one reservation thinking others would open each day. The reason is you have a screen with one date on it, the first day of the cruise. You can then look for restaurants in the list and select a time. There are multiple screens until you hit "done". When you go back to the restaurant screen, clicking on the date bar does nothing. You would think you change the date and make a selection for the next day. It is very misleading because you see a date, then see all the restaurants with their times. I just started clicking on things and found that when you click on the picture of the restaurant, you can then see a calendar and change the date you want to dine and look for times.

 

They really either need to remove the date at the top and have you click into each picture so choose a date, or put the date selector at the top of that main screen. 

 

Now I can't decide if I want to wing it the last night with the galley or seeing if we can go back to our favorite restaurant. It can feel rushed to have to go to a reserved time for dinner each night instead of saying, "I'm hungry, let's go see what's in The Galley" 😉

[cantgetin]

57 minutes ago, fndecker said:

Went live at 11 EST. But is it set to literally be 45 days from each day of the cruise? I assumed that you could book for each day of your cruise when it goes live. But unless I can't see how to change the date, it looks like I have to do this tomorrow, and the next day, and the next...??

According to the rep who did my res, it isn't supposed to be.  You are supposed to be able to book the whole cruise at 45 days out, but he said they'd had multiple complaints about the app not working for our cruise date and that he had personally sent 2 tickets to IT already.

As to what to do on your last night....it likely depends on how full your cruise is.  I'm guessing you have one more night than they have restaurants.  What I would do is to make a reservation for the last night wherever you can get in and then shuffle around your reservations if you want to.  We ended up really liking some of the restaurants that we hadn't expected to, so did some shuffling on our 14 night cruise--no problem.  The other thing to remember is that you can only make a specified number of reservations at each restaurant (number depends on length of cruise) IN ADVANCE, but once you are on the ship, you can make as many as you wish wherever you wish.  I would also book my last morning breakfast fairly quickly after boarding (you'll already have selected your disembarkation time).  That is something that will fill up, but most people won't think about it on the first day!

 

[fndecker]

Where do you recommend having your last morning breakfast? Also, when can you schedule disembarkation?

 

[cantgetin]

2 hours ago, fndecker said:

Where do you recommend having your last morning breakfast? Also, when can you schedule disembarkation?

 

Embarkation is listed under "shore things," so you can book when those open up for you...but if you already know when you want to get off, that shouldn't interfere with booking breakfast on the last day.  We preferred Razzle Dazzle for breakfast,  The waffles and bacon were really good, and we quickly had a favorite server.    The chocolate scones would have benefitted from being warmed up before serving, but weren't bad.  We tried some other things, but these were definitely our favorites.  The Wake is good on a sea day when you feel more like relaxing over a long breakfast, but RD felt better on the last day for getting up and on our way.  Personal opinion, as always.

[fndecker]

I think I read the day before is when disembarkation is opened up. I guess I'll check at random times. Razzle seems like the go to place for Brunch or Breakfast, though the Wake and Galley seem to have decent food. Breakfast isn't my big thing. I would love a dinner type lunch and a smallish dinner if I had my druthers. Or just snack all day 😉 The strange this is I want to try the Reuben Hot Dog! LOL

[cantgetin]

2 hours ago, fndecker said:

I think I read the day before is when disembarkation is opened up. I guess I'll check at random times. Razzle seems like the go to place for Brunch or Breakfast, though the Wake and Galley seem to have decent food. Breakfast isn't my big thing. I would love a dinner type lunch and a smallish dinner if I had my druthers. Or just snack all day 😉 The strange this is I want to try the Reuben Hot Dog! LOL

Things might have changed since October, but I was definitely able to book my disembarkation time 2 days into the cruise.  It is in the app under "shore things," and i sort of stumbled across it as I wasn't booking any other shore things.  I had to go to the date, and then the ability to select the time opened up.
Both The Wake and THe Galley have "decent food" as you noted.  Service at The Wake is a little slower/more relaxed than at RD, and the food seemed a little heavier.  You won't be on the ship when lunch is served, so you'll have to plan on breakfast on the last day.  It is really a matter of what you want. We knew that we  liked RD so that was our last morning choice.  We had a later flight, so were in no hurry to get up in the morning or rush off the ship.

Both RD and The Wake serve lunch on normal days, and the menu at The Wake includes steak starting at noon.

[conandrob240]

Ours opened up a few hours before midnight at the 45 day mark. For the first hour or so, it was just viewable. Then around 9pm, I was able to book all nights for dining. A few days after hat, some entertainment loaded but not bookable. Not all nights are listed. I’m guessing that’s because ours is a NYE cruise as entertainment might be very different.