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Unlimited Dining Reservations on App, and Limitations.


Blayer1

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Hi there,

Have the unlimited dining package for a cruise I go on at the end of this week.

Currently, if I try and make a reservation for any of the speciality restaurants via the app, it's coming up with costs for the meal as if it will charge me for making the reservations. Is it a case you can't make reservations with the UDP until you're on the ship? Or will it simply not charge me on the app if I proceed with the reservation?

I'm also wondering what the policy is on visiting multiple restaurants the same night. Could I do something like go to Izumi early in the evening for appetizers, then have something at Chops Grill for a main meal later the evening?

Thanks for any help!

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That’s the trade off for the dining packages. You get a very nice discount, but you can’t make reservations until you are on the ship. This means that the prime dining times may be booked up before you get a chance to make your reservations. I’m too OCD with my planning to go that route, so I just book all my dining reservations one at a time and pay the higher price for peace of mind.

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16 hours ago, Blayer1 said:

Is it a case you can't make reservations with the UDP until you're on the ship?

I'm also wondering what the policy is on visiting multiple restaurants the same night. 

Once on board, you make the reservations.  You should have one courtesy reservation.

Go directly to Chops and see the host.  Make ALL of your reservations there.  This will take no more than 10 minutes of your time.  Unless you get on the ship at 3pm, the chances of you getting all of your preferred reservations are high.

Visit multiple venues in a day.  You paid for it.  

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On 8/1/2022 at 9:57 AM, CruisingNewb said:

Once on board, you make the reservations.  You should have one courtesy reservation.

Go directly to Chops and see the host.  Make ALL of your reservations there.  This will take no more than 10 minutes of your time.  Unless you get on the ship at 3pm, the chances of you getting all of your preferred reservations are high.

Visit multiple venues in a day.  You paid for it.  

Can you explain what you mean by “visit multiple venues in a day”?  I have one dinner package

booked for Harmony end of August.

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2 hours ago, Ndfan89 said:

Can you explain what you mean by “visit multiple venues in a day”?  I have one dinner package

booked for Harmony end of August.

Do you have the unlimited dining package or did you but one dinner package as in an a la carte diner for somewhere like Chops?

If you have the unlimited package, you can have Chops for dinner, Jamie's for lunch and Playmakers/Johnny Rockets for a snack, all in the same day. I believe that the reservations have to be 2hrs apart but if the venue has space, you can go to as many as you want each day. If you only booked one restaurant, then you just get one dinner.

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2 hours ago, Ndfan89 said:

Can you explain what you mean by “visit multiple venues in a day”?  I have one dinner package

booked for Harmony end of August.

There are no “dinner” packages, they are dining packages. There is a huge difference between the two terms and I think that is where the confusion is. 

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24 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

That's interesting.  I've never heard that before.

Not sure how it would work in person on board, but I know the online cruise planner system blocks out two hours with any dinner reservations made through it. Even complimentary stuff, if you book main dining room for 7:30, you can only book another dining venue at 5:30.

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12 hours ago, Ndfan89 said:

Can you explain what you mean by “visit multiple venues in a day”?  I have one dinner package

booked for Harmony end of August.

Yes.

Multiple means many. Venue means place.  In the vein of this thread entitled "Unlimited Dining Reservations..." venue means specialty restaurant.

Oh man...that sounds snarky.  

Unlimited means as many times as you can go, so book as many specialty restaurants as you can everyday that you want.  Does that make sense?

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4 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

That's interesting.  I've never heard that before.

The app schedules you for a 2 hour block when you make a specialty reservation which prevents you from reserving anything else during that time period.

It also does that for the first night based on what time slot you chose in the Cruise Planner when you purchased the package. It really only gets in your way when you are trying to use the app to set up your reservations once you board.  

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1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

The app schedules you for a 2 hour block when you make a specialty reservation which prevents you from reserving anything else during that time period.

I have heard of you dining reservations causing this 2 hour block when trying to book shows.  So to me it would make sense that it applies to another resturant reservation also 

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  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, SEVEN7SEV3N said:

Hello, my first post and question..

We have purchased the Unlimited dining package for AOTS in September..celebrating a special birthday and was wondering if the 40% off wine under $100 includes Moët and other sparkling premium bottles ?? And 20% off more expensive bottles of Moët….

 

Welcome to the boards!

Yes, the bottle discount applies to any wine bottles on the ship. Enjoy!

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 8/1/2022 at 8:57 AM, CruisingNewb said:

Once on board, you make the reservations.  You should have one courtesy reservation.

Go directly to Chops and see the host.  Make ALL of your reservations there.  This will take no more than 10 minutes of your time.  Unless you get on the ship at 3pm, the chances of you getting all of your preferred reservations are high.

Visit multiple venues in a day.  You paid for it.  

Thanks. This is very helpful.

We are sailing on the Odyssey next summer and have purchased the UDP.

Quick questions, and again thanks! and apologies as it's our first time sailing RCCL

- Can the Host at Chops or other specialty restaurant make reservations for us in all the restaurants, or just that restaurant?

- Can I just make these reservations myself on the app, once on-board?

- What are the 'prime-times' that will already be booked, and should not even look at? (we are early dinner people)

- I have three reservations (three cabins), what is the best way to go about making reservations for 7?

- Do I need reservations for lunch at the specialty restaurants?

 

My apologies for the barrage of questions. Again, appreciate all the help.

 

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3 hours ago, jeffporfirio said:

Thanks. This is very helpful.

We are sailing on the Odyssey next summer and have purchased the UDP.

Quick questions, and again thanks! and apologies as it's our first time sailing RCCL

- Can the Host at Chops or other specialty restaurant make reservations for us in all the restaurants, or just that restaurant? 

Yes, any specialty restaurant will make all your reservations.

- Can I just make these reservations myself on the app, once on-board?

Yes, but it will be cumbersome and sometimes not all times are available. The host will have access to all times

- What are the 'prime-times' that will already be booked, and should not even look at? (we are early dinner people)

5:30-8pm are the prime times, as people like to eat early and then head to shows. Always check, it never hurts to ask.

- I have three reservations (three cabins), what is the best way to go about making reservations for 7?

You need to link the reservations. You can do this beforehand or when you go to the whatever restaurant the first day to make reservations You will need cabin numbers if you do it with a host.

- Do I need reservations for lunch at the specialty restaurants?

Yes, any restaurant that requires a reservation, will require a lunch reservation. 

 

My apologies for the barrage of questions. Again, appreciate all the help.

 

I answered all the questions.

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On 9/20/2022 at 7:52 AM, jeffporfirio said:

Thanks. This is very helpful.

We are sailing on the Odyssey next summer and have purchased the UDP.

Quick questions, and again thanks! and apologies as it's our first time sailing RCCL

- Can the Host at Chops or other specialty restaurant make reservations for us in all the restaurants, or just that restaurant?

- Can I just make these reservations myself on the app, once on-board?

- What are the 'prime-times' that will already be booked, and should not even look at? (we are early dinner people)

- I have three reservations (three cabins), what is the best way to go about making reservations for 7?

- Do I need reservations for lunch at the specialty restaurants?

 

My apologies for the barrage of questions. Again, appreciate all the help.

 

No apologies necessary.

1. Host at Chops can make all resos for all venues.

2. Yes but it is quicker and easier to make the resos in preson. 

3. Prime Times?  That depends on when you board.  If you are one of the first 100 or so people to board, like we usually are, there is no times that you should worry about getting.  You should get the times you ask for.  If you board later in the day, then the Host will tell you what is available according to your preferences.

4. I don't know about large resos.  I only cruise with my family of 4.

5. Yes. Lunch and Dinner reservations.  BUT---your question is do you "need."  You can always see if the venue can accomodate you.  For instance, Izumi was usually pretty empty between 11:30 and noon-thirty most days and I saw walk-ins often.  BUT----Jamie's Italian had wait lists 10 names long for most lunch and dinners.

My advice is to eat at specialty restaurants early.  Since you are an early diner, my advice would be amicable to your needs.  I say eat specialty early because you can always eat a second dinner around 7 or 8, or even 10, but specialty dining venues are really packed later in the evening.  Besides, I don't want to eat a second dinner at Chops after still digesting food from Windjammer; do it the other way around.

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3 hours ago, CruisingNewb said:

No apologies necessary.

1. Host at Chops can make all resos for all venues.

2. Yes but it is quicker and easier to make the resos in preson. 

3. Prime Times?  That depends on when you board.  If you are one of the first 100 or so people to board, like we usually are, there is no times that you should worry about getting.  You should get the times you ask for.  If you board later in the day, then the Host will tell you what is available according to your preferences.

4. I don't know about large resos.  I only cruise with my family of 4.

5. Yes. Lunch and Dinner reservations.  BUT---your question is do you "need."  You can always see if the venue can accomodate you.  For instance, Izumi was usually pretty empty between 11:30 and noon-thirty most days and I saw walk-ins often.  BUT----Jamie's Italian had wait lists 10 names long for most lunch and dinners.

My advice is to eat at specialty restaurants early.  Since you are an early diner, my advice would be amicable to your needs.  I say eat specialty early because you can always eat a second dinner around 7 or 8, or even 10, but specialty dining venues are really packed later in the evening.  Besides, I don't want to eat a second dinner at Chops after still digesting food from Windjammer; do it the other way around.

Thanks!

I'll keep your answers as a "sticky"

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On 9/28/2022 at 12:25 PM, CruisingNewb said:

No apologies necessary.

1. Host at Chops can make all resos for all venues.

2. Yes but it is quicker and easier to make the resos in preson. 

3. Prime Times?  That depends on when you board.  If you are one of the first 100 or so people to board, like we usually are, there is no times that you should worry about getting.  You should get the times you ask for.  If you board later in the day, then the Host will tell you what is available according to your preferences.

4. I don't know about large resos.  I only cruise with my family of 4.

5. Yes. Lunch and Dinner reservations.  BUT---your question is do you "need."  You can always see if the venue can accomodate you.  For instance, Izumi was usually pretty empty between 11:30 and noon-thirty most days and I saw walk-ins often.  BUT----Jamie's Italian had wait lists 10 names long for most lunch and dinners.

My advice is to eat at specialty restaurants early.  Since you are an early diner, my advice would be amicable to your needs.  I say eat specialty early because you can always eat a second dinner around 7 or 8, or even 10, but specialty dining venues are really packed later in the evening.  Besides, I don't want to eat a second dinner at Chops after still digesting food from Windjammer; do it the other way around.

Out of curiosity, why is it faster to do it in person than on the app?  I was envisioning strolling around, exploring the ship while fiddling in the app when we get on to make reservations but now that sounds like a not-great plan.

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15 hours ago, MelCruiser said:

Out of curiosity, why is it faster to do it in person than on the app?  I was envisioning strolling around, exploring the ship while fiddling in the app when we get on to make reservations but now that sounds like a not-great plan.

It doesn't take long either way.  I like doing it in person, but others prefer the app.

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17 hours ago, MelCruiser said:

Out of curiosity, why is it faster to do it in person than on the app?  I was envisioning strolling around, exploring the ship while fiddling in the app when we get on to make reservations but now that sounds like a not-great plan.

Have you met the Royal app??  It can be a Royal pain.  You run the very real risk of missing the exploring part with your head buried in your phone.  IMHO much easier to spend 10-15 minutes booking everything with a live person, stick your phone in your pocket and then enjoy exploring the ship.

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