Pinnacle Grill Reservations

[Solo Cruiser]

I've noticed where there is place to make reservations online prior to your cruise. I'm making the assumption that your credit card will be charged for the dinner prior to the cruise itself. Is it possible to make lunch reservations at the Grill on sea days and if so what time frame do I have for lunch?

 

Oh and sort of as an aside, if I purchase spa treatments for myself prior to cruising do I still need to set up a time for that treatment as soon as I get on board?

 

Thanks for the help.

[mamaofami]

There have been several posts here recently about people making Pinnacle Grill reservations on line, charging them to a credit card, printing out the receipt, and then finding that HAl had no record of the reservation or the charge. You can do a search through the archives on this thread. Seems to be a better idea to go to the Pinnacle when you board and just make your reservations then.

[sail7seas]

I also think you need to make specific appointment time for the Spa while aboard.

 

[caviargal]

I can tell you that the online reservations - as well as call ins - mean nothing.

 

I called in a PG resy 2 months ago, and found out this week that, even though Ship Services confirmed, the PG is fully booked the night they confirmed.:(

 

Of my 3 reservations, none were actually "confirmed" and only through my contacts was this verified. Same with my pre-booked massage.

 

I really think HAL needs to advise folks that these are not actual reservations, just requests, which may or may not make it to the ship. Kind of sloppy IMO.

[hmeduc8r]

I can tell you that the online reservations - as well as call ins - mean nothing.

 

I called in a PG resy 2 months ago, and found out this week that, even though Ship Services confirmed, the PG is fully booked the night they confirmed.:(

 

Of my 3 reservations, none were actually "confirmed" and only through my contacts was this verified. Same with my pre-booked massage.

 

I really think HAL needs to advise folks that these are not actual reservations, just requests, which may or may not make it to the ship. Kind of sloppy IMO.

 

I'm curious about this. If no reservation times can be confirmed until you are on board, then how can the PG be fully booked already? Is that a "groups" thing? Is it only special privileges that allow some to get confirmed reservations? That would mean that there is no advantage in boarding as early as possible to ensure your desired reservation and paying ahead of time is a craps shoot.

The only reason we paid ahead and made reservations is because we wanted to eat there on our anniversary and wanted to confirm that it was available. If the on-line system had told me it was full already I would not have made the reservation at all. And we have 8 in our party so that is a big expense we would have skipped.

In all fairness, after all this discussion hit this board, I called HAL about my on-line reservation and the gal did warn me that my day and time "confirmations" are only "requests" and that I should confirm as soon as I board the ship. I’m hoping that recent reports that the PG is half empty will prove true.

[caviargal]

I'm curious about this. If no reservation times can be confirmed until you are on board, then how can the PG be fully booked already? Is that a "groups" thing? Is it only special privileges that allow some to get confirmed reservations? That would mean that there is no advantage in boarding as early as possible to ensure your desired reservation and paying ahead of time is a craps shoot.

 

The only reason we paid ahead and made reservations is because we wanted to eat there on our anniversary and wanted to confirm that it was available. If the on-line system had told me it was full already I would not have made the reservation at all. And we have 8 in our party so that is a big expense we would have skipped.

 

In all fairness, after all this discussion hit this board, I called HAL about my on-line reservation and the gal did warn me that my day and time "confirmations" are only "requests" and that I should confirm as soon as I board the ship. I’m hoping that recent reports that the PG is half empty will prove true.

 

HAL should have that disclaimer on their wesbite as it is very misleading to get a confirmation and later find out it means nothing. We like to have dinner the first night and I called and booked that 2 months ago and at no time was advised that it was a request only.

 

I have learned that the often book the PG at less than capacity so the fact that there are empty tables means nothing. They book according to the staff levels.

 

Yes, groups can prebook though there are issues with that as well. As a group leader, I have learned that only when I get confirmations directly from the PG manager (via the onboard coordinator) does it mean anything. And I still head there straight after boarding to reconfirm.

 

I plan to head to the PG when we board on Sunday and see if we can get in for dinner. I have learned that the communication between ship and shore is disjointed at best.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We used to call ship services to make Pinnacle Grill reservations. We were told that they would send our request to the PG but that once we were on board, we would have to go and confirm it ourselves. We didn't have any problems.

 

We have so few people at the Pinnacle on our recent cruises that we no longer feel that we need to call them and make a reservation. Will do it once we are on board the ship. Encountered only one large group - a party of 22 but we were still able to dine there that evening.

[Krazy Kruizers]

As soon as you get on the ship go and make your spa appointment.

 

On our recent Volendam and Maasdam cruises, the Pinnacle was open for lunch from 12:30 - 1:30. Have no idea if you need to make a reservation for lunch. Ask the first day you get on the ship.

[LMac]

We made reservations in the Pinnacle Grill ahead of time for 3 nights (out of 10) for our group of 12. They were printed out on a note in our cabins when we got on board the Veendam.

 

I thought the food was slightly better, but don't think we needed to go for 3 nights. The first night it was special, but after that we realized the menu never changes.

 

We ate in there our last night so we could all sit together (they didn't have tables for 12 in the Dining Room) and there were only 2 other tables of 2 dining there that night. The other nights weren't all that crowded, either.

 

Apparently the crew got to leave the ship that last night and go into Venice. They were very unattentive...a complete change from the other 2 nights. They had their minds on other things. But overall we think Bobby did a good job in there.

 

Leslie

[sail7seas]

deleted........

 

sorry, answered my own question. :o

[jtl513]

Solo Cruiser: I believe no one has answered your question about what time PG lunch is: on the Veendam in Dec all 4 days that the PG had lunch it was 12:00p-1:00p. Only one those four days was a full sea day. Two were port days and one was a semi-sea day, arriving at Key West just after Noon. On the last sea day coming home the PG was not open for lunch.

 

I also join the chorus of those who advise not to pre-book through Seattle, as I've had dinner reservations fouled up.

[caviargal]

I thought the food was slightly better, but don't think we needed to go for 3 nights. The first night it was special, but after that we realized the menu never changes.

 

They offered nightly specials on the OS which were excellent. I would book my reservation next time specifically to enjoy the tuna sashimi and seared diver scallops.

[peaches from georgia]

The Lobster Salad on the specialty menu was worth going to the PG for all by itself. (It is not an entree salad, but a wonderful change from the 2 appetizer salads on the regular PG menu.) At first the word was if you ordered the specialty menu of the night you could not substitute any items from the regular menu. Not true. You can mix up the courses any way you want to, at least that was true on the Volendam.