Specialty Dining showed up 222 days out

[Mary229]

44 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I just want to see if I understand you correctly.  Are you saying that you just walked up to the specialty restaurants and you were seated for dinner?  What ship was this?  What time were you going to dinner?  5:30?  8:30?

I usually go after 6:30 .  I have done so this year on the Oosterdam, the Koningsdam and now on the Volendam

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I just want to see if I understand you correctly.  Are you saying that you just walked up to the specialty restaurants and you were seated for dinner?  What ship was this?  What time were you going to dinner?  5:30?  8:30?

I usually go after 6:30. I have done so this year on the Oosterdam, the Koningsdam and now the Volendam.  Shore days and first nights are best.  I was in the Canaletto Friday night (shore day) and the only other people eating after 6:30 were some of the staff from the pinnacle 

[d9704011]

On 8/8/2024 at 9:32 AM, BermudaBound2014 said:

PS: Am I the only one still needing to use incognito when surfing HAL? 

Have you tried this?

 

https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/216932143/unable-to-log-in-to-some-sites-lately-unless-in-incognito-mode?hl=en

Edited August 11 by d9704011

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, oakridger said:

 

Yes!  Just select that it's the included meals when booking and the fee will be $0

 

~Nancy

Thanks! We have found that each line we sail with sometimes add their own unique variables when it comes to taking advantage of their booking perks. I just wanted to make sure if I start checking every day to see when the SD reservations will be opened up for booking on our April 2025 cruise, we will be able to actually book them online since there is no predefined start time.

[POA1]

The check out process for the HIA specialty dining is pretty straightforward. You simply check the complimentary dining box and the price drops to zero.

[Vaxine]

On 8/8/2024 at 9:32 AM, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Not really with HAL as I've found them to be the most inconsistent among the main stream lines. Not just with dining, but inconsistent with other policies too.  There seems to be a great difference depending on what ship you sail.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see anywhere advertised that specialty dining opens up XXX amount of days before the cruise like all the other main-stream lines?? Anyone??

 

Note that the inconsistencies have not prevented me from booking and enjoying HAL cruises, but I've learned to have a bit of patience as their systems seem somewhat outdated,

 

PS: Am I the only one still needing to use incognito when surfing HAL? 

Thank you soooo much for giving me my first opportunity to say - without being slapped, too! -

"I think you need to clear your cookies" !!!!!

[Ready2go11]

I was able to book specialty dining for my April 2025 TA a few weeks ago as was noted on this thread. When I went in today to look at something else, it shows no dining options available to book so they must’ve realized they did not want to make it available yet.
 

Fortunately, in the my itinerary section for this cruise, it still shows the reservations I made, including one that I paid for in addition to the to HIA included options. I am keeping the email confirmation of these reservations just in case they get lost in the system. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 hour ago, Ready2go11 said:

I was able to book specialty dining for my April 2025 TA a few weeks ago as was noted on this thread. When I went in today to look at something else, it shows no dining options available to book so they must’ve realized they did not want to make it available yet.
 

Fortunately, in the my itinerary section for this cruise, it still shows the reservations I made, including one that I paid for in addition to the to HIA included options. I am keeping the email confirmation of these reservations just in case they get lost in the system. 

 

Keep an eye on your reservations.  I wouldn't be surprised to see our reservations disappear.

[Sea42]

1 hour ago, Ready2go11 said:

I was able to book specialty dining for my April 2025 TA a few weeks ago as was noted on this thread. When I went in today to look at something else, it shows no dining options available to book so they must’ve realized they did not want to make it available yet.
 

Fortunately, in the my itinerary section for this cruise, it still shows the reservations I made, including one that I paid for in addition to the to HIA included options. I am keeping the email confirmation of these reservations just in case they get lost in the system. 

It's the weekend and it is not uncommon for that kind of thing to be messed up on the website. Check back tomorrow and it will probably be there.

[POA1]

1 hour ago, Ready2go11 said:

I was able to book specialty dining for my April 2025 TA a few weeks ago as was noted on this thread. When I went in today to look at something else, it shows no dining options available to book so they must’ve realized they did not want to make it available yet.
 

Fortunately, in the my itinerary section for this cruise, it still shows the reservations I made, including one that I paid for in addition to the to HIA included options. I am keeping the email confirmation of these reservations just in case they get lost in the system. 

I just checked ours for mid March on the Nieuw Statendam and they're still there.

[mb777]

On 8/11/2024 at 2:30 AM, Mary229 said:

I usually go after 6:30 .  I have done so this year on the Oosterdam, the Koningsdam and now on the Volendam

This makes sense to me, I would think most are eating 5:30-6:30 then it starts to slow down.

[FLCruiser97]

I saw specialty dining available on Monday but when I went in today it's gone. This is for Rotterdam sailing Oct 2025. Has anybody booked and then were cancelled?

[FlorenceItaly]

On 8/18/2024 at 8:22 PM, POA1 said:

I just checked ours for mid March on the Nieuw Statendam and they're still there.

Mine as well for our April 5 Nieuw Statendam TA.

[SeaMatesNYC]

On 8/18/2024 at 3:28 PM, Ready2go11 said:

 

I was able to book specialty dining for my April 2025 TA a few weeks ago as was noted on this thread. When I went in today to look at something else, it shows no dining options available to book so they must’ve realized they did not want to make it available yet.
 

Fortunately, in the my itinerary section for this cruise, it still shows the reservations I made, including one that I paid for in addition to the to HIA included options. I am keeping the email confirmation of these reservations just in case they get lost in the system.

 

The same has happened to me. I saw the opening post and went into my July 2025 booking for Nieuw Statendam and booked our HIA redemptions on August 9, 2024. Now no dining is available for the cruise, but my reservations remain in my Itinerary. As you wrote, they have backed out the inventory for booking. 

[POA1]

You can still reserve specialty dining on our March 2025 Nieuw Statendam cruise. All the restaurants are still bookable, with plenty of slots available.

 

Our current reservations all show up on the itinerary page. BTW, the print version of the itinerary is a much more manageable size now compared to what it used to be. They got rid of all of the photos that used to make the itinerary super long. Granted, it could still be more compact, but it least it won't use up all your printer ink now.

 

I'm not exactly sure why we can still book all the dining. We're still 206 days out. The obvious reason is the Bubble of Awesome, but there must be something else at work.

[Sea42]

10 hours ago, POA1 said:

I'm not exactly sure why we can still book all the dining. We're still 206 days out. The obvious reason is the Bubble of Awesome, but there must be something else at work.

If only I could borrow the BoA!

We're at 136 days until our cruise and no dining reservations available. I started checking at the 5 month mark and now it's a daily habit. Fingers crossed that tomorrow is the lucky day🤞

[POA1]

21 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

If only I could borrow the BoA!

We're at 136 days until our cruise and no dining reservations available. I started checking at the 5 month mark and now it's a daily habit. Fingers crossed that tomorrow is the lucky day🤞

 

Good luck and keep checking. I started checking pretty regularly waaaay too early and it worked out for me. To tell the truth, I was simply watching to look at the Lido & MDR menus. (What a fulfilling life I lead!)

 

The menus suddenly appeared - much earlier than expected. We were able to score every single time we wanted. We are three couples traveling together, so I really expected that at least one was going to miss out on a time slot and we'd have to wheel & deal with the dining reservations podium to get things straightened.

 

If you are able to catch the first day or two of reservations opening, you will likely get your desired times.

[Ipeeinthepools]

11 hours ago, POA1 said:

You can still reserve specialty dining on our March 2025 Nieuw Statendam cruise. All the restaurants are still bookable, with plenty of slots available.

 

Our current reservations all show up on the itinerary page. BTW, the print version of the itinerary is a much more manageable size now compared to what it used to be. They got rid of all of the photos that used to make the itinerary super long. Granted, it could still be more compact, but it least it won't use up all your printer ink now.

 

I'm not exactly sure why we can still book all the dining. We're still 206 days out. The obvious reason is the Bubble of Awesome, but there must be something else at work.

 

That's not the case for my two April 2025 sailings on the NS.   There are no dining options are bookable for either cruise.

[Sea42]

17 minutes ago, POA1 said:

Good luck and keep checking. I started checking pretty regularly waaaay too early and it worked out for me. To tell the truth, I was simply watching to look at the Lido & MDR menus. (What a fulfilling life I lead!)

Were you using the app or the website? I usually don't download the app until right before the cruise but maybe I should just for fun and excitement.

[d9704011]

17 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

That's not the case for my two April 2025 sailings on the NS.   There are no dining options are bookable for either cruise.

Still no availability on Koningsdam for the Feb/Mar cruise (176 days to departure) out of San Diego.

Edited August 22 by d9704011

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

Still no availability on Koningsdam for the Feb/Mar cruise (176 days to departure) out of San Diego.

Dec is available so maybe soon.

[POA1]

4 hours ago, Sea42 said:

Were you using the app or the website? I usually don't download the app until right before the cruise but maybe I should just for fun and excitement.

App on a tablet when I saw availability. Booked on the website though.

[ExArkie]

Additional data point: I had an email from HAL this morning showing my reservation number in the subject line, so I knew it wasn’t just “sale-of-the-day” marketing. It informed me I could make specialty dining reservations for our April 27, 2025, transpacific on Noordam. The app said the time to departure was 238 days, 15 hours, and 36 minutes when I opened it. (Really? To the minute?)

 

When I went to the Web site to check on reservations, I was given the option of booking Canaletto using my dining credit or to book Tamarind Pop-Up with no credit. We have credits for one Pinnacle Grill dinner and one Canaletto dinner. Pinnacle Grill was not offered as an option for reservations on the Web site.

 

Being curious, I opened the Navigator app to see if it was the same. On the app, I was offered the opportunity to book Canaletto and Pinnacle Grill using the credits, but the Tamarind Pop-Up didn’t appear. Have to check later to see if it shows up.

 

 

 

 

[ExArkie]

16 minutes ago, ExArkie said:

Additional data point: I had an email from HAL this morning showing my reservation number in the subject line, so I knew it wasn’t just “sale-of-the-day” marketing. It informed me I could make specialty dining reservations for our April 27, 2025, transpacific on Noordam. The app said the time to departure was 238 days, 15 hours, and 36 minutes when I opened it. (Really? To the minute?)

 

When I went to the Web site to check on reservations, I was given the option of booking Canaletto using my dining credit or to book Tamarind Pop-Up with no credit. We have credits for one Pinnacle Grill dinner and one Canaletto dinner. Pinnacle Grill was not offered as an option for reservations on the Web site.

 

Being curious, I opened the Navigator app to see if it was the same. On the app, I was offered the opportunity to book Canaletto and Pinnacle Grill using the credits, but the Tamarind Pop-Up didn’t appear. Have to check later to see if it shows up.

 

 

 

 

Forgot to note that we are in a Signature Suite, not that it should make any difference to reserving restaurants. 

[Cruise Suzy]

For our April 2, 2025, cruise, reservations for all Specialty Restaurants were available 220 days out. Never received an e-mail, just my habit to check every so often.