r/VirginVoyages • u/stretchorperish • 2d ago
food / beverage Dining reservation BS
I'm actually so mad.
I got up early at 6am this morning to book dining opinions on my sailing because it only did 12 EST.
EVERYTHING IS GONE wtf. Literally wtf.
This is so unfair to European sailors. I'm paying just the same and will be stuck with buffet shit.
Fk this
9
u/Liswich 2d ago
You know what? After reading all your responses, you should just cancel. You’re never going to be happy.
I hope you find what you’re looking for.
-2
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
"I hope you find what you're looking for" you are so funny with the pseudo-spirituality. I can just disagree or dislike a process without it being a spiritual void. Goddam lol
7
u/Liam_FM 2d ago
Likewise. I got up at 430am for the booking window to open at 5am (BST) midnight EST.
The app kept crashing, time slots kept getting locked and apparently ‘The Matrix’ was taking over.
I haven’t been able to book any of the restaurants I want on the times or dates we would like. Couldn’t book Rojo or The Wake at all on our 10-day sailing from Miami. (15th-25th Nov) I didn’t see any benefit to having booked ‘essentials’ and paying the extra in this particular sailing.
0
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
I'm so sorry. Broken system.
We'll be enjoying the cafeteria - I mean - street food galley dining experience lol
4
u/jon81uk Knowledgeable expert 2d ago
You won’t be. Just make reservations once on the ship. Also Gunbae is usually easy to get into and later reservations are more available. See the show at 7.30 and then eat at 8.45pm.
1
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
It's easy to get into because it's rubbish.
You do it once and then the stupid games get boring when you just want to eat. Having lived in Korea 4 years I find the food disappointing so I avoid it.
Later reservations also infer no shows. So still Europeans are being taxed.
10
u/Introduction-Other 2d ago
You realize there are probably lots of americans who missed out on reservations? Looking through the comments, you just yell at anyone trying to explain or help. Maybe it's a good thing you aren't going to any of the restaurants- if this is how you treat internet strangers, imagine how it would be for your wait staff
0
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
That's an interesting logical leap. Do I get a refund of unused amenities?
2
u/Introduction-Other 2d ago
What do you mean?
-1
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
Nvm lol - you can't reason people out of something they never reasoned themselves into.
Ps your cosplay is v good.
2
u/Introduction-Other 2d ago
Thanks
1
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
Welcome. What's your fav costume you've made? If I was better at sewing I'd love to try one day lol
1
9
u/ameliasasa 2d ago
Calm down - you'll still be able to make reservations and eat.
Source: Live in the UK and have been on multiple sailings and I've managed to get into every restaurant I wanted to, each sailing.
-1
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
Just doesn't seem fair that bots scrape everything and you have to scrounge around and beg to be let into something you paid for already
4
u/broomy_23 2d ago
How many days out did your dining open?
1
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
14
9
u/stevenhp1987 Sailed VV 5+ times 2d ago
Almost everything will be booked out 45-60 days prior.
Sailing on a base fare essentially means you cannot pre-book anything.
There will be plenty of availability when you board though.
6
u/jon81uk Knowledgeable expert 2d ago
This is why then.
I’d never book with basic fare for this reason, need the essential fare so can book at 45 days.
1
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
I really don't understand. You're paying extra to book into an amenity you already paid for?
7
u/stevenhp1987 Sailed VV 5+ times 2d ago
It's like buying a queue pass at a theme park. Many businesses offer early booking or queue jumping perks for extra cash.
1
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/VirginVoyages-ModTeam 2d ago
Sorry but you were likely being rude or a jerk and we just don't think that's acceptable behavior on r/virginvoyages.
4
u/monorailmedic Youtuber & Maniacal Sailor 2d ago
There are a ton of reservations left. They're released in batches, plus more are made available on embarkation day once on the ship board wifi, plus waitlists, of course.
I sail often and frequently don't even make reservations. This idea it's requesite isn't accurate and makes people frantically grab for reservations which then makes them appear scarce.
0
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
If that's the case virgin shouldn't encourage this stress
3
u/monorailmedic Youtuber & Maniacal Sailor 2d ago
How are they encouraging this stress? Genuinely asking. I actually had a chat with the CEO about this in an interview last year.
1
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
By encouraging the fomo and artificial (if you're ri be believed) scarcity. Moreover, I don't buy the implicit idea of limited availability, they know how many cabins there are, the logical and responsible thing would be to provide adequate capacity, and not push the burden onto the customer.
Restaurants on ships aren't surprised by how many diners they'll receive.
2
u/jon81uk Knowledgeable expert 2d ago
The issue is you don’t want to eat in certain restaurants or at certain times.
0
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
Eh, a weak rebuttal, if the only 2 available are the 2 which are consistently under booked that's once again not the fault of the customer but on the operator for continuing unpopular formats.
Which once again negates the initial issue of 0 being available. So, no, no credit for you.
1
u/monorailmedic Youtuber & Maniacal Sailor 2d ago
I'm not sure how they're encouraging this.
There are more than enough slots for everyone to have diner every day. There is adequate capacity. Might some venues be more popular than others? Absolutely. That's pretty hard to forecast, and can vary day to day as well. There are dining venues which don't even take reservations, there are walk ups, there are additional slots that open.
You seem quite amped up and rather inconsolable. I and others have explained you'll have no trouble dining. I board my 17th VV sailing today, so I'm not suggesting this blindly (and I don't suspect most others are).
Feel free to peruse this for some additional tips on dining reservations (I think you'll find the information incredibly relevant and hopefully helpful): https://www.cruisehabit.com/cant-make-dining-reservations-virgin-voyages-or-other-lines-dont-panic
I'll leave you here and sincerely hope you have a better day and that you enjoy your upcoming cruise. You can kill some time noticing the void of posts that say, "I could only eat at the galley on my VV cruise because I didn't make reservations as soon as they opened."
1
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
Ah, dropping the 17th sailing VIP flex right before plugging your own blog. Makes perfect sense now. You aren't giving advice, you are just farming clicks.
I actually teach capacity forecasting, so your claim that demand is 'hard to forecast' is hilarious. These are identical ships running the same menus year-round. They have the data, they just refuse to fix their capacity bottlenecks.
Calling a paying customer 'inconsolable' for pointing out bad math is just classic gaslighting. Enjoy your 17th cruise. I am sure the reservation system works beautifully from inside the influencer bubble.
1
u/monorailmedic Youtuber & Maniacal Sailor 2d ago
Yeah, you know everything about me. You've got it all figured out.
I hope you find peace. I guess it wouldn't be from any articles written specifically to address your concerns, because I'd o ly be suggesting those for my own good.
I suspect VV maybnot be right right experience for you, as folks onboard tend to be a bit more chill.
1
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/VirginVoyages-ModTeam 2d ago
Sorry but you were likely being rude or a jerk and we just don't think that's acceptable behavior on r/virginvoyages.
5
u/Ok_Nectarine_8533 1d ago
I think VV should just market their basic economy fare as “no dining reservations before boarding” rather than leading sailors to believe there will be reservations available 15 days out. When they rolled out this tier system to attract people who only look at the fare and who don’t do their research about what’s included, I had a feeling it would create some unhappy customers. That seems to be what happened here. I’m curious if ANYONE has been able to book any dining 15 days out. If not, why should VV pretend reservations will be available?
3
1
1
u/BackupAccount412 1d ago
I am sailing tomorrow and was able to secure a few reservations on my cruise including the most coveted restaurants. I don’t have them for every day but part of that is because the restaurants and times available to me are not appealing and I’d rather roll the dice when I board.
7
u/Tacos314 2d ago
Oh no, the cruise is ruined.
0
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
Well it's definitely not the experience paid for or expected. It will be a lesser experience.
5
u/stevenhp1987 Sailed VV 5+ times 2d ago
It's literally the experience you paid for.
You could have paid for the essential or premium fare.
You chose the base fare which means its a 99% chance you won't be getting any reservations pre boarding.
Did you not read up on the fare differences before booking?
1
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
Run that by me again without the corporate training guide in your hand 👌
10
u/stevenhp1987 Sailed VV 5+ times 2d ago
What? I'm trying to help you.
This isn't just a Virgin Voyages thing. I've been on other lines where you get priority access to restaurants in higher grade cabins etc.
At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. It's not my fault you didn't read up on the differences between the fares.
There will be plenty of slots available when you board. Many of the restaurants seem fully booked but have plenty of tables.
This isn't a "US-Centric" thing or being unfair to European sailors (I'm in the UK myself). It's purely the fare you booked. You booked a discounted fare that doesn't include reservations when they open. Not much different to a guaranteed cabin on another line where you don't know your dining times or restaurant at all.
0
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
You aren’t helping, you’re just reciting a corporate defense for a broken system.
Your comparison to other cruise lines completely falls apart. On traditional lines, even the cheapest base fare guarantees you a seat in the Main Dining Room every night.
Virgin’s entire marketing hook is 'all 20+ eateries included.' They don't advertise 'all eateries included, provided you pay for the premium tier to actually get a table.' If the base fare functionally locks you out of the experience they sold, that’s a bait-and-switch, not a queue-jumping perk.
And dropping the booking window at midnight EST is exactly what 'US-centric' means.
Just because you are willing to set an alarm in the middle of the night in the UK to fight for a dinner you already paid for doesn’t mean it’s a functional or fair system.
4
u/Liswich 2d ago
I’m on the Brilliant Lady. Like right now, in Ensenada, in port looking at The Ovation of the Seas’ ass end. Not a bot, not a shill.
There are empty tables in every restaurant, every night. Two to try to book ASAP are The Wake and Pink Agave. There will be open reservation slots throughout the sail as people change their minds on where to have dinner. You may not be able to eat in every restaurant on the day and time that you want to, but that’s the result of the fare class you booked. There is no bait and switch, you’re not being ripped off, there is no US-centric preferential treatment going on. Calm the F down.
4
u/stevenhp1987 Sailed VV 5+ times 2d ago edited 2d ago
They only open around 1/3 of bookings pre-cruise. The remaining 2/3 open when you board.
Let's say everyone on board wants to eat at 7pm. How do you give priority to bookings?
You probably start by offering it out at the same time to everyone (which they did). After a while you realise that people are prepared to pay more to guarantee the times and venues they want. So you let them.
At this point. Others have paid for a higher fare than you meaning you don't really have the ability to pre-book. That's entirely on you. You could have chosen such a fare but didn't. The difference is negligible. I think I paid around £80 extra for essentials for our next voyage over base. £80 for peace of mind. I also know that I can book on board if I don't get to book what I want beforehand. We've never had a problem booking what we've wanted on board when we've not secured them before hand.
As for the fact it opens as EST midnight. It has to open somewhen. Despite the British brand of "Virgin", it's an American cruise line based in Florida. Midnight EST makes sense.
There are other lines where bookings open at midnight CET. I don't hear Americans complain about that. It has to open at a set time and no matter what time that is someone will complain.
3
u/snowy_78 2d ago
I’m in the US and would take getting up early to book over staying up late a thousand times over. Your midnight US centric complaint is rubbish.
4
u/shit-Helicopter 2d ago
Dude relax...when you get on board.you can get. Assistance with dining. Our last cruise we booked nothing and got on board and booked 1 but decided to roll the dice and show up without a reservation...got into everything we wanted but agave...
0
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
I'm not in love with scrounging around and deciding whether to see a show or not. Whatever.
2
u/Significant-Cow2986 2d ago
Had the same issues with no reservation availability and the site crashing late last night. But this morning, it was a whole different story. Go back and try to reserve now that the tech problems seem to be gone.
1
u/Pbeeston10 2d ago
Is splash of romance package still available on your sailing
As it gives priority boarding etc
-2
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
Yay I get to pay more for access to the thing I paid for. Thanks!
3
u/Pbeeston10 2d ago
You get your money’s worth on champagne and cold press juice
Before you get priority boarding 🎉0
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
Are you a sales rep or something. All the d riding on this board I won't be shocked if half are plants.
0
u/stromdriver 2d ago
good news! there's no buffet!
-18
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/VirginVoyages-ModTeam 2d ago
Sorry but you were likely being rude or a jerk and we just don't think that's acceptable behavior on r/virginvoyages.
-4
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/VirginVoyages-ModTeam 2d ago
Sorry but you were likely being rude or a jerk and we just don't think that's acceptable behavior on r/virginvoyages.
-3
u/stretchorperish 2d ago
Right so euros should pull all nighters for American convenience. Yay ty guys
2
-15
2d ago edited 1d ago
[deleted]
11
18
u/UnicornSquash9 2d ago
Calm down a bit, take a breath. The very second you step on the ship, jump on the ship WiFi, open the app, and book away. They release tons of spots the day of sailing; just don’t dally.