confused about pc dining

[mlymd]

I am leaving on 4/11 on the Grand and we have pc dining. I keep reading about making reservations as soon as we get on the ship for pc dining. I thought the whole idea behind pc dining is for you to be able to dine anytime you wanted to. I am very confused. Any help?

Marcy

[ahracer]

You can eat anytime you want without reservations. If you want a specific time or table every night then you want to make reservations otherwise just show up when you are ready. There could be a short wait if you hit it at a busy time.

 

Scott

 

Star Princess 11/28/04

Grand Princess 4/25/04

Island Princess

Galaxy

Jubilee

Sensation

Big Red Boat

Celebration

Starward

CostaMarina

Fantasy

Seaward

Independence

Daphne

Independence

 

[jad828]

I was getting confused at first as well, but, I think when people refer to making reservations they are talking about the alternative restaurants.

From what I gather people haven't had to wait long for a table in the "regular" dining rooms.

 

Until we sail on Caribbean Princess!!!!!

 

 

Caribbean Princess 4/17/2004

Adventure o/t Seas 9/7/2003

Sea Princess 1/2001

 

 

[bappo]

I am on the Sapphire in June and switched from traditional dining to Personal Choice. My take on the whole PC reservation thing is this: on the new ships like the Grand, Golden, Diamond and Caribbean if you want to eat at a certain time, with no wait, you call and make a reservation at the PC dining room of your choice, such as Sterling, Santa Fe, Vivaldi,etc. If you don't mind waiting then pick a dining room and they will seat you as soon as possible. Basically, all you have the choice of is which PC dining room and the time,and if time isn't a factor then opt for PC with no reservation. Now, since reading the boards I wish I had stayed with my traditional 8PM dining time, as I could have had menu choices from all 4 PC restaurants, with the exception of Sabatini's, where you need to make a reservation in advance.

 

 

Bappo

[daWoods]

The reservation thing with PC is very simple. You don't need one! You can go to the PC dining room at any time and they will seat you as soon as possible. If you want a specific table and time, you can make a reservation for it. After 3 nights on our recent cruise, we booked a specific table for two for the rest of the cruise. If you want a reservation, it must be within a certain time frame, usually before 6pm or after 8pm. Those two hours are very busy and they don't take reservations. As for the alternate dining rooms like Sabatini's, the cruise line suggests reservations be made well enough in advance that you can get in when you want. The big advantage of PC is that you have the choice, where you are limited to a specific time in Traditional.

 

Island Princess Feb. 2004

Grand Princess Feb. 2002

Norwegian Sky Feb. 2001

 

[heyjude27]

Personal Choice Dining

Everyone on a Princess Cruise has Personal Choice Dining. You can choose from many options:

1) Traditional Dining Room -- at time of booking choose a traditional dining time -- 6:00pm or 8:30pm and you will be assigned a table/waiter in one of the Traditional Dining rooms.

2) Anytime Dining -- you show up at one of the Anytime Dining rooms and ask for a table. If one is not available you will wait for what is usually a very short time -- they give you a vibrating beeper gizmo to alert you that your table is ready. You can call and make a reservation in advance for these dining rooms.

3) Alternative restaurants -- Such as Sabatinis and Painted Dessert -- wherein you will pay a surcharge of up to $20 -- you would probably want to make a reservation for these -- some posters suggest making reservations right after boarding to guarantee a spot.

4) Horizon Court buffet - 24/7.

5) Other daytime options -- grill, pizza

6) Room Service - anytime -- you can write in a menu item during hours when those menu items are offered -- for example, order eggs benedict in the morning not at 2pm.

I hope this helps. Buon appetito!

J

[heyjude27]

One more note and then I'll shut up -- hey, I'm just trying to help. We just cruised with a group of ten and had Anytime Dining. After all the advice that we could make a reservation at least one day in advance, we found out that this reservation could not be made during the most popular hours (7pm). My sister, she who rules, visited the maitre d' on the first day and a small envelope with cash translated nicely into exactly what she wanted (specific dining room, table, waiter and time -- for the week). I can't say for sure that this is necessary, but she who rules considered it insurance. Hope this helps.

J

[Jolimont]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by daWoods:

If you want a reservation, it must be within a certain time frame, usually before 6pm or after 8pm. Those two hours are very busy and they don't take reservations.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

So if on the first day of my cruise I want to reserve a table for Wed night at 7PM in the Vivaldi I won't be able to do it because it's between 6 and 8? Between 6 and 8 it's first come first serve but outside of those hours they take reservations? Is this correct?

 

Diamond Princess HERE WE COME! Alaska has never been so cool! 5/22/04

May 31, 2003 Carnival Triumph to Western Caribbean.

 

[ahracer]

Keep in mind the PC dining concept on the Diamond is different then the Grand class ships.

 

Scott

[daWoods]

ahracer is right. My information is based on the Island Princess in February, and is most likely valid for those ships before Diamond, Caribbean, etc.

 

Island Princess Feb. 2004

Grand Princess Feb. 2002

Norwegian Sky Feb. 2001

 

[sneekpeek]

If you make your reservations for dinner as soon as you get on the ship (for the entire week)you will get the time you want. I made them for 6 pm every night with no problems. I did hear there was an hour wait for Sterling if you didn't have a reservation. That comment was made around 6 pm when we were waiting to be seated. The only problem we had was that there was usually a large group of people waiting at the entrance to the restaurant who didn't have reservations and we had to wait behind them while the Maitre'd looked for a table for them or explained to them that they would have to wait. In one of the restaurants the maitre'd called out "Does anyone in this line have reservations?" We were the only ones. I think they should have a line for reservations and one for people who do not. (We were on the Diamond)

[Aquarian]

I make reservations for the alternative restaurants the first day of the cruise. The rest of the week we eat in the PC dining room and never have to wait for a table for 2, except for the 2 formal nights and I believe we waited 10-15 minutes. I don't make reservations for the PC dining room. We go whenever we are ready to eat and no problem.

[mlymd]

Thanks everyone for the in-put. It was very helpful. I finally understand what PC dining is. Thanks again,

Marcy

[CaribbeanCrazy]

It doesn't make sense that you can't make a reservations bet 6:00-8:00. If that is the time that is most busy...wouldn't that be WHY you would want to make a reservation? From what I have read so far...before 6:00 and after 8:00 are not that busy...so why would you need a reservation then?

Well...I'm not too worried about it...being as we just plan on going when we are hungry...with NO reservations. I thought that was what PCD was all about.

CaribbeanCrazy

 

[daWoods]

The value of reservations in the anytime room is that you can pick a table you like and have the same wait staff each night. That's the only real plus. We found a table we liked, with a waiter we really liked, and booked it for the rest of the week. On past cruises we've just showed up whenever, and never had to wait more than 10 minutes or so.

 

Island Princess Feb. 2004

Grand Princess Feb. 2002

Norwegian Sky Feb. 2001