ScottD Posted July 24, 2023 Report Share Posted July 24, 2023 We think we are going to try lunch on our next Oasis cruise, but not sure when or where. We narrowed it down to these two, but want to do it on a spur of the moment type thing. Like just randomly laying around the ship and decide-hey lets go get some lunch at Chops. Is this something that is possible, or are walk ups pretty much non existent for lunch? If not- could I stop by earlier in the day or even the night before and ask for a reservation? We have no dining plans, so this would be completely ala carte. Charllie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted July 24, 2023 Report Share Posted July 24, 2023 I have never, ever had trouble getting a spot in a specialty restaurant (other than Teppanyaki) at lunchtime. And yes, you can 100% make a reservation the night before, or even the morning of using the app. Charllie, Neesa, asquared17 and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof4crazytocruise Posted July 24, 2023 Report Share Posted July 24, 2023 I highly recommend Chops for lunch on boarding day! Book it ahead of time and save a few bucks, but it is SO relaxing and a great meal to kick off the trip - AND - you don't have to fight the crowds at Windjammer. And then pick a day for lunch at Giovanni's. I have never had an issue getting reservations for anywhere other than Teppanyaki, and for that one we plan ahead and pre-book before we cruise. Charllie and Cruiser5452 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisingNewb Posted July 24, 2023 Report Share Posted July 24, 2023 Walk-in lunch at Chops is less risky on port days. Highly recommended. ScottD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottD Posted July 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2023 1 hour ago, Momof4crazytocruise said: I highly recommend Chops for lunch on boarding day! Book it ahead of time and save a few bucks, but it is SO relaxing and a great meal to kick off the trip - AND - you don't have to fight the crowds at Windjammer. And then pick a day for lunch at Giovanni's. I have never had an issue getting reservations for anywhere other than Teppanyaki, and for that one we plan ahead and pre-book before we cruise. Hmm...yeah maybe I'll do the boarding day lunch then just do Giovannis later in the trip if we choose. WAAAYTOOO and Neesa 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottD Posted July 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2023 Never mind...chops lunch isn't even listed on day 1 for reservations..just the other sea days so I guess it's booked for embarkation day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charllie Posted July 25, 2023 Report Share Posted July 25, 2023 7 hours ago, Momof4crazytocruise said: I highly recommend Chops for lunch on boarding day! Book it ahead of time and save a few bucks, but it is SO relaxing and a great meal to kick off the trip - AND - you don't have to fight the crowds at Windjammer. And then pick a day for lunch at Giovanni's. I have never had an issue getting reservations for anywhere other than Teppanyaki, and for that one we plan ahead and pre-book before we cruise. We're doing exactly that on our upcoming LOS sailing, for the reasons you state; doing this rather than The Key which is too expensive right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted July 25, 2023 Report Share Posted July 25, 2023 38 minutes ago, ScottD said: Never mind...chops lunch isn't even listed on day 1 for reservations..just the other sea days so I guess it's booked for embarkation day On some ships Chops won't be available embarkation day because it is used for the higher tiers in C&A. Usually for Oasis/Oasis class it will be Giovanni's and it is still cheaper to prebook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottD Posted July 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2023 12 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: On some ships Chops won't be available embarkation day because it is used for the higher tiers in C&A. Usually for Oasis/Oasis class it will be Giovanni's and it is still cheaper to prebook. Nothing for day one Lunch on either one of these, but its cool. I'm fine with checking at least one of them out during the week for lunch on another day. Embarkment day may just be playmakers if we want to actually eat a meal, otherwise we tend to just snack on pizza until dinner time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted July 25, 2023 Report Share Posted July 25, 2023 I think specialty dining on embarkation day is such a luxury....I really love doing it....BUT...more and more these days, if I eat a big lunch (and who can resist having a steak when you are dining at Chops ?!) I am really not hungry come supper time. I'm sure if we waited until later to eat supper it would help but if I eat late, I don't sleep well....so it seems to be a lose-lose for me. This is the primary reason that we have quit buying the UDP. I really do prefer specialty dining but by day 3 I'm about ready to pop ! After many years of doing the UDP I have discovered that it is a relief for me to have the option not to eat sometimes. When we have the UDP I feel compelled to eat every meal in a specialty (why not ? I paid for it, right ?) but I just can't eat that much anymore. We now buy the 3 night package on 7 nights or more and use our BOGO for shorter cruises. That is just about perfect for us. Of course, that means we have to fight the hordes for those "other" meals but sometimes I just skip it altogether. It's nice to have that option instead of feeling guilty about missing a meal that I have paid extra for. Ampurp85, ScottD, Xaa and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryCS62 Posted July 25, 2023 Report Share Posted July 25, 2023 3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: I think specialty dining on embarkation day is such a luxury....I really love doing it....BUT...more and more these days, if I eat a big lunch (and who can resist having a steak when you are dining at Chops ?!) I am really not hungry come supper time. I'm sure if we waited until later to eat supper it would help but if I eat late, I don't sleep well....so it seems to be a lose-lose for me. This is the primary reason that we have quit buying the UDP. I really do prefer specialty dining but by day 3 I'm about ready to pop ! After many years of doing the UDP I have discovered that it is a relief for me to have the option not to eat sometimes. When we have the UDP I feel compelled to eat every meal in a specialty (why not ? I paid for it, right ?) but I just can't eat that much anymore. We now buy the 3 night package on 7 nights or more and use our BOGO for shorter cruises. That is just about perfect for us. Of course, that means we have to fight the hordes for those "other" meals but sometimes I just skip it altogether. It's nice to have that option instead of feeling guilty about missing a meal that I have paid extra for. DH is afraid we won't get our money's worth for this reason - for me, not for himself! I definitely cannot eat like I used to - combination of age and my diabetes medication - good, because it's helped me lose a lot of weight, but I figure I will just really eat what looks good - 150 CP looks so good, I want to do it at least twice, possibly 3 times on our 7 day, and I know I won't be able to have more than 1 entree, if I even manage to have that. Hibachi one night, Chops for lunch maybe instead of dinner, Giovanni's for dinner, and possibly Izumi one night or lunch - DH not a sushi fan, but the ala carte menu has other things he will eat. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrinkm Posted July 25, 2023 Report Share Posted July 25, 2023 On 7/24/2023 at 10:42 AM, ScottD said: We think we are going to try lunch on our next Oasis cruise, but not sure when or where. We narrowed it down to these two, but want to do it on a spur of the moment type thing. Like just randomly laying around the ship and decide-hey lets go get some lunch at Chops. Is this something that is possible, or are walk ups pretty much non existent for lunch? If not- could I stop by earlier in the day or even the night before and ask for a reservation? We have no dining plans, so this would be completely ala carte. On a sold out sailing on Allure in April, we were able to book a lunch at Giovanni's on embarkation day, for embarkation day. We boarded at 11am, booked the lunch at the reservation station in the Promenade, and ate lunch there at 12:30pm. MaryCS62, WAAAYTOOO and ScottD 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryCS62 Posted July 25, 2023 Report Share Posted July 25, 2023 48 minutes ago, jbrinkm said: On a sold out sailing on Allure in April, we were able to book a lunch at Giovanni's on embarkation day, for embarkation day. We boarded at 11am, booked the lunch at the reservation station in the Promenade, and ate lunch there at 12:30pm. will try that for our UDP package - be nice to eat there out of the way of everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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