UPDATE FOR RESERVATIONS AT MANFREDI'S AND CHEFS TABLE

[Pushka]

8 hours ago, miami mama said:

Although this is our fourth cruise, it is the first one that is part of a larger linked cruise, therefore, meeting this frustration for the first time. As I said, my husband is very happy with the World Cafe and we probably will be able to get reservations for 2 when we need them once onboard. However, when looking at future cruises I will certainly remember this information and maybe choose a cruise where this will not occur. 

 

Fortunately I did not encounter the same situation with shore excursions. Part of the reason for this, is that I booked privately for over half the ports at either the same or less cost. For those booked with Viking, no problem.

Yes. I've organised private excursions for those that were booked out on the same cruise last year. This is a repositioning cruise - south to north hemisphere so only happens once a year. 

[Mich3554]

On 1/27/2023 at 11:15 AM, miami mama said:

I do understand the concerns regarding the dining reservations. I have been on 3 cruises with Viking and have never had a problem obtaining reservations for 2 when reservations opened for booking. All 3 times we were in DV (or the equivalent on the expedition ship). For my upcoming crusie I am in PV which allowed me to "book" reservations even earlier. However, for this cruise when I signed in, everything was gone except for a few days at 9:00 PM.

 

I can think of two possibilities for this (I'm sure there are more). The first is that we are on one of the middle legs for a multiple leg cruise. For those that are cruising on all of the legs, their window to reserve (whether they were in the Owner's Suite or DV) occurs before our time to reserve, and if they can reserve tables for their entire cruise (which start before ours and ends after ours), most of the reservations would be taken up. 

 

Another reason may be that the number of 2 person tables have been reduced in favor of adding larger tables that must be shared. This would actually increase overall capacity in the restaurant as the reduction of required space between all of those 2 person tables would be reduced. I actually wouldn't might sharing with others I didn't know if this was Pre-Covid. However, not so much now when dining. Maybe someone who has sailed with Viking on multiple occasions and is currently on board might know if the table layout seems to be very different or is now dominated by larger tables versus smaller 2-person tables. 

 

Perhaps someone who has been on the first leg and continued on for multiple legs of a cruise can let me know if they were able to make reservations for their entire cruise when their reservation booking opened. Someone who has been on the world cruise would know this also.  

 

Right now these questions are just a matter of curiosity. I do understand I can make reservations once on the ship, and if for some reason that does not work out, my husband really enjoys the World Cafe.   

I’m on the world cruise now and had booked Manfredi’s about every 14 days or so all the way through the cruise when reservations opened.  I did not book anything at CT though when I booked Manfredi’s.  Since we got on, we’ve eaten at Manfredi’s 3x, once as a guest of someone who had a reservation.  We have eaten at CT once, adding another party to our reservation a few days later.  Since the new menus have been dropped, I’ve booked 2 more reservations for the next 2 menus.  All reservations at CT have been made while on board.

We ate at Manfredi’s 2 nights ago and it was the busiest I have seen it since I’ve been on the Neptune.  There were several tables for 2 open, tables set up such that they could be pushed together for larger parties if needed.  There are more tables for 2 than larger tables overall.  I don’t recognize it being much different than when I was on the Jupiter last Dec.

[miami mama]

Thanks Mich3554 for the information. I don't think I'll ever get around to doing a world cruise but it sure sounds wonderful. Hope you are having a great time.