Some newbee questions about speciality restaurants

[Marga]

Hi,

I want to go to the Mason Jar for dinner on Wonder of the Seas. I see that the charge is 48 dollar per person. A 3-night dinner package is 118 dollar which seems like a better deal.

It says the make a courtesy reservation for day 1 or 2. Are you obliged to take this reservation? What if they make it at a restaurant I am not interested in going? 

And the first day I'd rather go to Windjammer or main dining room. 

Is it possible to make the other reservations in advance, or only when onboard the ship. Is it hard to get reservations?

Also, I saw the Mason Jar has a bar with some signature cocktails and milkshakes. Can you just visit this bar without dining in the restaurant?

 

Last question: if I go to dine in Giovanni's Wine Bar and Italian Kitchen. Is the wine included in the drink package? Same goes for Milkshakes at Mason Jar.

 

Thanks!

[Atlantix2000]

They make the courtesy reservation for day 1 or 2 because those days are usually less busy at the specialty restaurants.  Many people don't do any pre-planning so they don't even know specialty restaurants exist until they've explored the ship.  You are not required to keep that reservation but they usually require that you use one of your package's reservations on day 1 or 2.  You can change the courtesy reservation and make the others by visiting any specialty restaurant once you board.  In order to make reservations in advance, you must make individual reservations at full price.  That's the trade-off for the package discount.  As long as you make your reservations on day 1, you can usually get where and when you want (+/- 30 minutes).  If you wait until day 2 or later, you're competing with everyone on board that forgot to plan ahead.

[Lexster]

4 hours ago, Atlantix2000 said:

They make the courtesy reservation for day 1 or 2 because those days are usually less busy at the specialty restaurants.  Many people don't do any pre-planning so they don't even know specialty restaurants exist until they've explored the ship.  You are not required to keep that reservation but they usually require that you use one of your package's reservations on day 1 or 2.  You can change the courtesy reservation and make the others by visiting any specialty restaurant once you board.  In order to make reservations in advance, you must make individual reservations at full price.  That's the trade-off for the package discount.  As long as you make your reservations on day 1, you can usually get where and when you want (+/- 30 minutes).  If you wait until day 2 or later, you're competing with everyone on board that forgot to plan ahead.

Slightly off-topic. I'm sure what you say is true, but I just can't imagine booking a cruise and not knowing anything about the ship before getting on it.

[wordell1]

19 minutes ago, Lexster said:

Slightly off-topic. I'm sure what you say is true, but I just can't imagine booking a cruise and not knowing anything about the ship before getting on it.

A lot of people are willfully ignorant. Unfortunately it often means they get upset about something that they would have known about had they done a little research beforehand.

Cruises are a unique vacation and kind of have their own rules. Some don't care to try to learn them and often end up here complaining about something that was easily available.

 

[CGTLH]

On 3/18/2022 at 4:41 AM, Marga said:

Also, I saw the Mason Jar has a bar with some signature cocktails and milkshakes. Can you just visit this bar without dining in the restaurant?

Yes, and please do visit the bar. You can also order off the menu on the bar side as well, don't recall if full meal service would be available for package use. It was OK to use the Unlimited Dining Package on the bar side. The few time I saw it being taken advantage of was for multiple appetizers. Also the night before a sea day they had a late night menu with a few options. However, I didn't see the late night menu offered the second sailing.

On 3/18/2022 at 4:41 AM, Marga said:

Last question: if I go to dine in Giovanni's Wine Bar and Italian Kitchen. Is the wine included in the drink package? Same goes for Milkshakes at Mason Jar.

Yes, keep in mind the drink package will cover the first $13 for a glass of wine. If the glass is over $13 you'll pay the difference plus gratuity on the difference. Example: $15 glass of wine. $13 covered by package, $2 difference, $0.36 to cover the gratuity for the difference; total $2.36. Also remember with the drink package you'll enjoy a discount of 40% off bottles of wine under $100 and 20% off bottles above $100 in bars and dining rooms.