Pacific Princess Questions

[cormike1]

We tentatively booked a Med cruise for next year on the Pacific Princess. We were put at the 8:15 seating at a table for 8. My husband said he doesn't want to risk that. What if we don't like the other 6 people or they don't like us....we are stuck there for 12 days. My questions are....is there not "anytime dining" on the ship? Also are there tables for 2 and is there a buffet? I really want to do this cruise but......

 

Thanks everyone.

[PescadoAmarillo]

There is no Anytime Dining on the Pacific Princess. There are VERY limited tables for two...possibly 12 or so in total and some are in the high traffic areas. There is a buffet open until 11pm, and we found that it offered much the same food as in the dining room (not all the same food), but it is not nearly as extensive as the buffets on the larger ships.

[Pam in CA]

Only one dining room on the Pacific Princess. No Anytime. Yes, there's a buffet.

 

To be honest, you are more likely to have "compatible" tablemates on a small ship such as the Pacific since not everyone likes to sail them. Passengers tend to be older and more traveled.

[paul929207]

The Pacific P only has one MDR and it is used for Traditional Dining. So there is no Anytime Dining.

 

There are tables for 2. Most are about 6 inches from the next table. There is a buffet which is open each evening.

 

We have been on the R class ships for over 300 nights and never had "bad" tablemates. So unless your husband is likely to be the problem, you should be fine.

[towhee]

Only one dining room on the Pacific Princess. No Anytime. Yes, there's a buffet.

 

To be honest, you are more likely to have "compatible" tablemates on a small ship such as the Pacific since not everyone likes to sail them. Passengers tend to be older and more traveled.

 

I agree with Pam and Paul.

If things get too bad you can always asks the Maitre d' if he can make a switch, but I'd give it a couple of nights before changing.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes see the MD if it gets too hot in the kitchen.

[Colo Cruiser]

 

To be honest, you are more likely to have "compatible" tablemates on a small ship such as the Pacific since not everyone likes to sail them. Passengers tend to be older and more traveled.

 

So there are less bad table mates on the small ships? :eek:

Good to know. I think it would be the opposite and better chance of getting stuck..

Edited March 20, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[shellbeachjim]

We've had bad table mates on the Pacific Princess (it was the wife of the couple seated with us who was the problem). It was a table for four (we wanted a table for two). No problem, we talked to the Maitre 'd on our way out of the dining room the first night and he turned a table for four into a table for two starting the following night. She ended up glaring at us for the remainder of the 26 day cruise.

 

You have a better chance getting a table for two with late dining. In my experience it simply isn't as crowded as the early seating, so they have more flexibility in converting tables to accommodate two people instead of four.

[PescadoAmarillo]

It's amusing to read about being less likely to have bad tablemates on the small ships. We were on the Pacific Princess for 86 nights and had a table for two for all of them, but, as mentioned, some of them are very close to the nearby table for 6. On some cruises, we were enveloped into the adjoining table and it worked out fine. Sometimes we were totally ignored (and that was fine with us, too!). But, over the course of those 86 nights, there were three cruises where I was tempted to abandon ship after being told the following by people at the adjoining table:

-Mormons aren't Christians

-Catholics aren't Christians

-MBAs can't possibly be Liberals

-Wouldn't it be wonderful if no one showed up at the LGBT get togethers (that one had DH squeezing my knee under the table to keep me from losing it).

 

Some people obviously didn't get the memo about the forbidden topics on cruises: religion, politics, and how much you paid for your cruise. Sometimes even tables for two aren't secluded enough.

[paul929207]

Probably our worst dinner companions were at AD with a table for 4. My wife and I were the only Americans at the table for 8. It was during a Presidential election campaign. The election was during the cruise, so too late to change a vote. One non-American went on and on about why candidate X should be elected. It was actually the candidate I voted for before we left. However, he did not have a clue. I finally turned to the woman next to me and said in a loud voice "So what did you do in Athens today?". She took the hint and continued the conversation and the idiot finally shut up.

[cormike1]

Thanks everyone for those thoughts. Pescado.....I posted this question and then I hit my head and said....Jeez you are dumb....you followed Pescado all winter while she was on the Pacific Princess....didn't you remember!!! I will go back now and read your blog again and try and retain some this time lol. I do remember you mentioning a few questionable dinners with your table for 2 and your "next door neighbours". I think we will try and get a table for 2 at the late seating....might be best lol. Thanks again for all your fun posts.

[shellbeachjim]

It's amusing to read about being less likely to have bad tablemates on the small ships. We were on the Pacific Princess for 86 nights and had a table for two for all of them, but, as mentioned, some of them are very close to the nearby table for 6. On some cruises, we were enveloped into the adjoining table and it worked out fine. Sometimes we were totally ignored (and that was fine with us, too!). But, over the course of those 86 nights, there were three cruises where I was tempted to abandon ship after being told the following by people at the adjoining table:

-Mormons aren't Christians

-Catholics aren't Christians

-MBAs can't possibly be Liberals

-Wouldn't it be wonderful if no one showed up at the LGBT get togethers (that one had DH squeezing my knee under the table to keep me from losing it).

 

Some people obviously didn't get the memo about the forbidden topics on cruises: religion, politics, and how much you paid for your cruise. Sometimes even tables for two aren't secluded enough.

We were on one of those cruises with you (December 8-18) and you would have been more than welcome to join our table anytime. We didn't have any of those neighbors, fortunately.

 

The strangest thing we ever witnessed was a near fist fight in the dining room. Oddly enough, it was on the same cruise when we had to ask for a table change on the Pacific Princess. There were two large tables next to each other and as the cruise progressed, one table got progressively louder and louder at dinner. Finally, the other table had had enough and complained to the first table about the noise. Trust me, they we quite loud by this point, fueled mostly by copious amounts of wine. The argument escalated to the point where a couple of men had to be separated before they started throwing punches. The next night the people at the two tables had been relocated away from each other in the dining room. Very awkward situation (and a bit scary).

[lahlah57]

I liked the larger table. The people were all great dinner companions! Now mind you, every night with them is a little much so we were at other dining venues. We told are companions do not expecct us every night and do not hold dinner if we are not there at a certain time!

Give them a chance and you would be surprised how much laughing and fun you can have with a large group of people.....you can get lost amongst crowd and the laughter!

My husband and I have dinner all the time together 365 days a year! It's vacation eat dinner with new and interesting people!!!:D

[PescadoAmarillo]

We were on one of those cruises with you (December 8-18) and you would have been more than welcome to join our table anytime. We didn't have any of those neighbors, fortunately.

 

The strangest thing we ever witnessed was a near fist fight in the dining room. Oddly enough, it was on the same cruise when we had to ask for a table change on the Pacific Princess. There were two large tables next to each other and as the cruise progressed, one table got progressively louder and louder at dinner. Finally, the other table had had enough and complained to the first table about the noise. Trust me, they we quite loud by this point, fueled mostly by copious amounts of wine. The argument escalated to the point where a couple of men had to be separated before they started throwing punches. The next night the people at the two tables had been relocated away from each other in the dining room. Very awkward situation (and a bit scary).

Oh, man. I miss all the good stuff!!! I never even heard about that one.

 

And thank you for your in arrears table offer. I'm sure we would have loved it, but the only way DH can get me to cruise for long periods of time is to promise me a table for two at every meal. Sometimes he tries to slip in a table for 6 at lunch (he's sneaky that way), but I have to stand firm. To me, sharing a table is like having perpetual house guests you really don't know. We've met some great friends "across the divide", so to speak, that several inch wide gap between tables. But there is no pressure that way. After an active port day, I sometimes don't even want to talk to my husband, and certainly can't face holding up my part of a conversation at a large table.

 

Cormike- The dining situation was a concern for us when we first booked the Pacific Princess, but it turned out really well. Granted, we were given a great table after the first cruise (the only table for 2 by a window) because we were staying on for so long. But we even coped well with the fixed dining, after years of being accommodated at an assigned table in early traditional (5:30pm) any time between 5:30 and 6:15pm (no hate, please. We generally had just two courses, and were always done before those who arrived at 5:30pm). So making sure we were at the dining room between 6pm and 6:20pm did take a bit of getting used to, but we quickly did.

[shellbeachjim]

Oh, man. I miss all the good stuff!!! I never even heard about that one.

It was a few years ago - 2006, Bangkok to Cape Town. We have never seen anything like it since (fortunately).

[SoBaycruiser]

We sailed 25 days on the Pacific's sister ship,Ocean, recently and for the first time ever selected the late dining. While we have always enjoyed being at the larger tables, we selected a table for 2. The first day we checked it out while the maitre d' was making changes and found we were at a table for 8. We asked him to honor our original request and because it WAS late seating, there were plenty of empty tables. He gave us a table for 4 just for the two of us. It turned out great!

 

Also the buffet turns into a bistro with service if you're willing to wait until 9pm.

[shredie]

Pacific has a great buffet with wonderful views at the front of the ship. If you have dinner before the sun goes down, you can enjoy the view. There are also a couple of specialty restaurants, so if the table mates get to be too much, you can dine there. Some of the best fun I ever had at a table for 8 was on the Pacific.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Pacific has a great buffet with wonderful views at the front of the ship. If you have dinner before the sun goes down, you can enjoy the view. There are also a couple of specialty restaurants, so if the table mates get to be too much, you can dine there. Some of the best fun I ever had at a table for 8 was on the Pacific.

 

You might be thinking of the Island or the Coral? The Pacific Princess Panorama Buffet is on Deck 9 aft. Still great views though, with nice outdoor seating.

Edited March 21, 2015 by PescadoAmarillo

[shredie]

You might be thinking of the Island or the Coral? The Pacific Princess Panorama Buffet is on Deck 9 aft. Still great views though, with nice outdoor seating.

 

They begin to run together in my memory. :) I once saw several whales when I was sitting eating lunch in the Pacific Princess buffet. It was a great moment! Yes, the outdoor seating is wonderful.

[waltd]

Pacific has a great buffet with wonderful views at the front of the ship. If you have dinner before the sun goes down, you can enjoy the view. There are also a couple of specialty restaurants, so if the table mates get to be too much, you can dine there. Some of the best fun I ever had at a table for 8 was on the Pacific.

 

Don't forget the Bistro that takes over part of the buffet in the evening. No charge and the food was made to order with table service. I believe they had 2 or 3 different menus on our 10 day cruise. Quite nice.

[Wehwalt]

I would suggest viewing pictures of the dining room, there should be lots around the web, and make your decision based on that, the comments of cruisers, and, paramount, your own personal preferences.

 

Personally, I find hour-long sit down meals a drag, so my chair remains empty. Personal preference.

Edited March 21, 2015 by Wehwalt

[machineknitter]

We have had both good and bad experiences with assigned seating on Pacific Princess. Mostly we all at the table settled in and became friends. Once two couples got into squabbles trying to outdo each other....this was on a very long world cruise. I then wanted to avoid dinner.

 

The latest difficulty we had was when we had two other couples at our table, and they were quite fine to talk with, we even had a lot in common. However they each decided they did not want to be tied down to dressing (and it was not very hard to "dress" for dinner) and showing up on time for dinner. We spent 3 nights sitting all alone at a table for 6....looking like we did not bathe! We wanted a group table so we could talk!! We switched to another table and eventually caught up with the missing couples to explain that we liked talking with them but wanted to share dinner with someone!

 

When we had dinner companions, we always made the effort to let them know if we were not going to show up for dinner. After all, it is only polite to do this in an assigned situation such as this.

[Seafoam Green]

On the first evening of our Pacific Princess cruise, we were seated at a table for 6 in the middle of the room at second seating. The MD came to the table and told the other couple at the table (there were just 4 of us) that they had been switched to early seating per their request. He then looked at us and said that there would be no one else at this table and what would we like to do? We indicated that moving to another table would be fine.

 

The next day we had a note from the MD with our new table #. When we arrived at the dining room that night, the MD immediately greeted us and escorted us to our new table, a 6, near the window aft. There was only one other couple there, close in age to us, and we had a great week sharing dinner with them.

 

The MD made many efforts to check in with us and make sure that our dining experience was to our satisfaction. It was wonderful.

 

One evening we had dinner at the Bistro, a small area in the buffet with table service. It was quiet and very pleasant.

 

No complaints about the Pacific Princess. I recommend the small ship experience.

 

:D

[bendar06]

We have sailed two west-bound TAs on the R ships with early seating at a table for eight each time. One cruise had an outstanding match and the other was okay. The first group was composed of settled retirees, comfortable in their own skins. The second were younger retirees who were not quite at ease with their new status.

In each case, we told stories, exchanged views of the cruise happenings, and had a good time.

It's the luck of the draw I guess and nothing is forever.

We will keep cruising.

[Magnum60]

We've booked (eight months ago) the late August Alaska land and sea cruise and hope to get our request for a table for two locked in within the next few weeks. We normally eat dinner late and try to do the same when cruising. We always request a table for two because we find it uncomfortable arriving at a shared table half way through the rest of our table mates main course. Far from anti social we find that a table for two also allows us not to be bound to the dinning pace of our fellow shipmates. Another bonus of having a table for two is that the wait staff feels less rushed and enjoys showing you how well they know their trade. Hope the weather treats us well and that we get lucky on our first Princess cruise scoring a table for two.