Viking Dining Reservations Guarantee

[Seair]

 Hello everyone ! My husband and I have an upcoming Iceland cruise we are excited about. We are in a DV1 room and on the day our dining reservations opened up I signed in at 6am mountain time and all dining reservations were not available. Was trying to get at least one for his birthday. We also booked all our tours on the exact time they opened up for us and 1 of the tours we really wanted was already booked.

I called Viking right away on tour opening day to try to be put on waitlist, was told Viking doesn’t waitlist. I did manage to get on a waitlist with a private tour company, but with 2 Viking ships in port that day, I would be surprised if we get to go, it is a very small anchorage port with limited tour services.

I also called Viking the day I couldn’t get in for our 2 dinner reservations and she said we could try and get reservations on board but wouldn’t be at our preferred times. We have early tours every day and don’t like to dine after 9. 
This is our first Viking cruise and have been on Azamara and Oceania in suites and veranda rooms and have always been able to book our dining reservations and tours when we needed.

I guess I’m a little confused why Viking advertises a guarantee dining reservation but we weren’t able to book anything at our early booking time? Do you need to get up at midnight to book them? I would have done that if it would have helped get what we needed. 
I have looked at all the dining venues and World Cafe or The Restaurant will be fine to celebrate his birthday, paying extra to not get in is making me disappointed in Viking. Especially when they make you pay in full a year in advance. 
 

[CDR2001]

   I feel your pain about the “Guarantee”. We just returned from an Iceland cruise, and here’s how we got Manfredi reservations for 4. As soon as you board and complete the safety presentation, go to the port side of World Cafe where the dining reservation host will be. ( it’s the right side as you enter the cafe.) I couldn’t get what I wanted that first day, but I constantly checked every time we entered the World cafe. I got my 6:30 time after a few tries. I think the problem is for this 7 day cruise, they don’t have enough spots for the entire passenger list. I was told they book 120 guests each day. Viking needs to change the advertising, or limit the more expensive cabins to one reservation per venue rather than two on shorter cruises.

   As far as your excursion, we had fabulous tours with independent tour companies, much smaller than the Viking bus, ( we did this by choice.) May I ask what tour you are looking for? I may have a recommendation. You can also keep checking with the shore excursion desk on deck 1, as we made changes onboard. Lastly, keep checking MVJ as we saw new excursions and dining reservations availability a few weeks before the cruise. 

[Seair]

CDR2001,

Thanks for the quick response and advice on how to get a dinner reservation. Will definitely do that!

The excursion we are trying to do is Fjallsárlón Ice Lagoon by Zodiac. There is also another glacier lake you can do in this location also. I have contacted all the tour companies I could find for that day.

It is out of port Djúpivogur. We do have another tour picked thru Viking on that day, just in case we are able to switch. I know Viking has a cancellation policy on tours, I would have to see how much time we have to cancel ours if something comes up.

[Pete B]

1 hour ago, Seair said:

 Hello everyone ! My husband and I have an upcoming Iceland cruise we are excited about. We are in a DV1 room and on the day our dining reservations opened up I signed in at 6am mountain time and all dining reservations were not available. Was trying to get at least one for his birthday. We also booked all our tours on the exact time they opened up for us and 1 of the tours we really wanted was already booked.

I called Viking right away on tour opening day to try to be put on waitlist, was told Viking doesn’t waitlist. I did manage to get on a waitlist with a private tour company, but with 2 Viking ships in port that day, I would be surprised if we get to go, it is a very small anchorage port with limited tour services.

I also called Viking the day I couldn’t get in for our 2 dinner reservations and she said we could try and get reservations on board but wouldn’t be at our preferred times. We have early tours every day and don’t like to dine after 9. 
This is our first Viking cruise and have been on Azamara and Oceania in suites and veranda rooms and have always been able to book our dining reservations and tours when we needed.

I guess I’m a little confused why Viking advertises a guarantee dining reservation but we weren’t able to book anything at our early booking time? Do you need to get up at midnight to book them? I would have done that if it would have helped get what we needed. 
I have looked at all the dining venues and World Cafe or The Restaurant will be fine to celebrate his birthday, paying extra to not get in is making me disappointed in Viking. Especially when they make you pay in full a year in advance. 
 

Hi there.

Similar story for us on our Baltic cruise in June. We could only get a late reservation for Manfredis, and that was pretty much it. But...... we were given a mid cruise survey which I expressed disappointment at the reservation system. The next day when we got back from a tour, we had a message on the phone saying we had a 6pm reservation the next night.

I agree that you should keep trying, and also try to book as soon as you get on board, but constantly trying to sort stuff on board cuts into your holiday time. It`s not something I enjoyed at all. And to be completely honest, it`s gradually driving us away from Viking. 

Good luck.

[OneSixtyToOne]

This has been discussed many times on this board. There appears to be a total disconnect with the MVJ system and what is actually available on the ship. During COVID restrictions, tables were left open and not available to allow for proper spacing. IMO the easiest way to program all of this was to simply cut the available tables in MVJ by 50%. When onboard you’ll find plenty of tables available to reserve. The crew onboard has acknowledged this disconnection with the MVJ system. They are two separate systems and appear to be poorly integrated. We actually had a reservation for one of our cruises and when we arrived that had no reservation in the ship’s system. It wasn’t a problem as there were plenty of tables available.

 

BTW if you contact Viking and tell them you wanted a table for your birthday and were unable to get it, you may be happily surprised. We were in a similar situation with our anniversary and when we boarded we found cake, sparkling wine, and a card in our room. 

Edited August 2, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[May B]

Seair: The Chef’s Table and Manfredi’s are no extra charge.

 

I found that the podium outside the Chef’s Table is a good place to sort out a reservation, and you’ll be able to look at all the planned menus for your cruise (subject to change, but fairly reliable).

 

You won’t have to take a 9 pm reservation. 
 

You won’t have to go back and spend your cruise checking back.

 

I don’t know when your booking window opened up, but iirc, mine was at 3 pm eastern, noon Pacific time. There have been recommendations for how to best achieve your most preferred shore excursion, but that’s a moot point now. Still, go to the shore excursion desk early on. You might get lucky.

[CDR2001]

Seair 

Sorry, no advice about the glacier lagoon as we took the Viking included walk, which we really enjoyed. Djupivogur is a very small town with limited tourist resources. Good luck and I’m sure you will enjoy Iceland! 

[duquephart]

38 minutes ago, Pete B said:

Hi there.

Similar story for us on our Baltic cruise in June. We could only get a late reservation for Manfredis, and that was pretty much it. But...... we were given a mid cruise survey which I expressed disappointment at the reservation system. The next day when we got back from a tour, we had a message on the phone saying we had a 6pm reservation the next night.

I agree that you should keep trying, and also try to book as soon as you get on board, but constantly trying to sort stuff on board cuts into your holiday time. It`s not something I enjoyed at all. And to be completely honest, it`s gradually driving us away from Viking. 

Good luck.

 

A lot of being driven away from Viking going on lately.

[TayanaLorna]

You will most likely get reservations at more desirable times once you board.  Out of our 5 cruises so far, the place to make reservations on Day 1 has changed each time.  Last cruise it was at the desks outside the Chefs Table and Manfredis on Deck 1.  Each desk made reservations for either restaurant.  Other cruises it has been portside at the entrance to the World Cafe on Deck 7.  The World Cafe is the usual location after Day 1.  And then sometimes there was a desk by Guest Services on Deck 1.  So check all locations on Day 1.  

[Azulann]

1 hour ago, Pete B said:

Hi there.

Similar story for us on our Baltic cruise in June. We could only get a late reservation for Manfredis, and that was pretty much it. But...... we were given a mid cruise survey which I expressed disappointment at the reservation system. The next day when we got back from a tour, we had a message on the phone saying we had a 6pm reservation the next night.

I agree that you should keep trying, and also try to book as soon as you get on board, but constantly trying to sort stuff on board cuts into your holiday time. It`s not something I enjoyed at all. And to be completely honest, it`s gradually driving us away from Viking. 

Good luck.

Sorry Pete B.  it took a  mid cruise survey to get the time you wanted at Manfredi. I , as you know, was on the same cruise and booked Manfredi for first night on MJV and requested a shared table. Ended up eating with Eva and Tom from our roll call  for dinner. We also ate at Chef table three times, all booked on board once we found what the menu was for each day. 

Missed you at  the roll call meet and mingle in the Wintergarden put on by Viking .  It  was lovely.

 Hope you had a great cruise.

I know my sister and I did. it was beyond our expectations which was very high. And the weather gods were shining on us the whole time, only rain briefly one morning.

Booked another cruise while on board . 

Cheers,

Patti

Edited August 2, 2023 by Azulann

[Pete B]

Hey Patti. We had a great time thanks. Think we lucked out on the weather.

[Frenchberet]

Be sure to download the Viking Voyager app before you leave home.  It can be activated and used once you you board your cruise.  I was able to quickly book two additional Chef’s Table reservations and one more for Manfredi’s.  All the dates and many times I checked were available.  The app is great!

[Breckski]

You can upgrade to a higher stateroom category and get more reservations.  Viking doesn't have the ship within a ship approach, but they do offer a few benefits for the higher category staterooms in addition to the larger square footage.  They have to do something to get the $'s for those staterooms.

 

[photopro2]

5 hours ago, Seair said:

I guess I’m a little confused why Viking advertises a guarantee dining reservation but we weren’t able to book anything at our early booking time?

Viking have dropped the word "guarantee" in regard to dining reservations in the cabin descriptions on the website. They are now simply described as "priority" reservations. Don't worry, they are really just a marketing ploy to give something of apparent value to those in more expensive cabins. The reality for all cabin classes has always been that, once on-board, getting the required reservations is not normally a problem.  

[Frenchberet]

10 minutes ago, photopro2 said:

Viking have dropped the word "guarantee" in regard to dining reservations in the cabin descriptions on the website. They are now simply described as "priority" reservations. Don't worry, they are really just a marketing ploy to give something of apparent value to those in more expensive cabins. The reality for all cabin classes has always been that, once on-board, getting the required reservations is not normally a problem.  

We were in a DV stateroom on a 14 night cruise.  We booked 1 Manfredi’s and 1 Chef’s Table in advance.  Once onboard we booked 1 additional Manfredi’s and 2 more Chef’s Table, no problem.  We could have made more reservations but we wanted to keep the specialty restaurants special!

[formernuke]

You can also make reservations through the App once on board- you don't necessarily need to stand in line to make reservations. You may need to if there are special circumstances...

[Haqdeluxe]

1 hour ago, Frenchberet said:

We were in a DV stateroom on a 14 night cruise.  We booked 1 Manfredi’s and 1 Chef’s Table in advance.  Once onboard we booked 1 additional Manfredi’s and 2 more Chef’s Table, no problem.  We could have made more reservations but we wanted to keep the specialty restaurants special!

We typically cruise in a DV stateroom as well (double digit sailings) and have never had an issue with getting reservations that we've sought, save perhaps a little later than we would have liked. Pretty much the same for excursions. If not able to secure what we wanted pre-cruise, we were able to get what we wanted once onboard.

Didn't the OP say that where they'd sailed before that they had sailed in much higher level cabins. Not really a equal comparison to compare suites and veranda staterooms to a DV. Just saying 😌 

[May B]

3 hours ago, Frenchberet said:

Be sure to download the Viking Voyager app before you leave home.  It can be activated and used once you you board your cruise.  I was able to quickly book two additional Chef’s Table reservations and one more for Manfredi’s.  All the dates and many times I checked were available.  The app is great!

Plus can look at The Restaurant’s menu! If there’s something you love for a night with a Manfredi’s or CT reservation, just cancel the reservation, and go for your favorite.

[millybess]

We usually end up cancelling most of the reservations we’ve made online on “dining reservation day”. If we get a hankering to go to Manfredis or Chefs Table we just show up.
 

There have been times where the people ahead of us in line are there to cancel their reservation and their table has become available. But very often the maître d’ will say “Come back in 15 minutes and we’ll seat you.”  

 

It’s somewhat embarrassing for me to admit that when we were booked for our first Viking cruise a long time ago, I got up very, very early in the morning to make these “special” reservations.  Lesson learned!

[LindaS272]

54 minutes ago, millybess said:

It’s somewhat embarrassing for me to admit that when we were booked for our first Viking cruise a long time ago, I got up very, very early in the morning to make these “special” reservations.  Lesson learned!

I still do it—just for the thrill! 😂😂😂

[millybess]

Just now, LindaS272 said:

I still do it—just for the thrill! 😂😂😂

But you’re on the West Coast. We were on the East Coast at the time. 😴😵‍💫

[Mich3554]

When you get on board, after watching the safety films, go to Dining on the TV.  You can easily book dining here, and the last time I looked, I could get a reservation before 7 pm for every single day of the 3 consecutive cruises I tried in the back to back to back.  We had no dining reservations on any of the 3 and easily booked at Manfredi’s.  
It is important to do this ASAP, as others are doing this too and if you wait a day or 2, they’ll be booked.  

[LindaS272]

But you will likely still be able to get a reservation later in the cruise, as people cancel and change all the time. I think the short cruises (7-8) might be the exception since too many people are jostling for too few reservations. And we’ve found the friendly schedulers in the WC always fit us in.

[OneSixtyToOne]

18 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

When you get on board, after watching the safety films, go to Dining on the TV.  You can easily book dining here, and the last time I looked, I could get a reservation before 7 pm for every single day of the 3 consecutive cruises I tried in the back to back to back.  We had no dining reservations on any of the 3 and easily booked at Manfredi’s.  
It is important to do this ASAP, as others are doing this too and if you wait a day or 2, they’ll be booked.  

Also on the first day, they will try and accommodate those who have not had the opportunity to reserve yet. They will ask you to come back the next day if you are trying to book an additional reservation.

[LindaS272]

7 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

They will ask you to come back the next day if you are trying to book an additional reservation.

Not always. Depends on how full the ship and how short the itinerary. We’ve only had that happen once in several sailings.