Goodbye to Dining Room Embarkation Lunch?

[Pamster]

That's the boat (no pun intended...) we are in for our upcoming cruise. We are in a full suite and our other 2 couples are in std minis and all are ATD. So I guess to dine together we (1) stand in long lines, (2) dine at very late times, or (3) dine only in HC and/or specialty restaurants. Or option (4) would be to dine separately.

 

We really don't like any of those options but for them to buy up to Club Class would be a total of $1,600+ which is a lot of $ for a desired dining scenario.

 

Maybe I don't quite understand how the Club Class works - but how would it prevent you from eating with your friends as you would have before there the Club Class existed? I thought there was still the opportunity for ATD reservations. Am I wrong about that. Or is it because there will likely be be fewer tables available in the MDR that you're expecting there will be long lines and that you can only make reservations for very late times?

[KruzeKrazy!]

Maybe I don't quite understand how the Club Class works - but how would it prevent you from eating with your friends as you would have before there the Club Class existed? I thought there was still the opportunity for ATD reservations. Am I wrong about that. Or is it because there will likely be be fewer tables available in the MDR that you're expecting there will be long lines and that you can only make reservations for very late times?

The latter.

[MGAfhc]

 

Thing is, the report is that the CC seats are coming out of the DR that starts off early traditional, then goes to anytime. If that's true, then a decrease in slots for early traditional will mean that more people will be forced into anytime. So anytime waits get longer, fewer people can get their preferred traditional seating, and Princess makes money out of the situation.

 

Princess scheme might be workable if a majority of the CC passengers are pax who would otherwise have had a table in TD and if they are not permitted to keep both. Moving them to the CC Dining space could free up additional space in the TD Dining room. I am not 100% confident that management has this under control.

[antsp]

Surely once a table from cc has been used that evening it can then be released back to any time dining

[shredie]

Surely once a table from cc has been used that evening it can then be released back to any time dining

 

That's not how it works, as far as I can tell.

[Colo Cruiser]

That's not how it works, as far as I can tell.

 

 

Agree, I see it staying CC all night.

[LETS PARTY]

What about if your b2b ......no dining room for lunch, do you now have to go to the buffet? This may have been answered and I missed it

[myfuzzy]

This dining "class" thing is something. A couple of years ago, my DH and I did the BVE in Ft Lauderdale on the Regal. When in the MDR for our lunch, we handed the waiter our letter for our glass of wine, he comes back and tells us (we are dining with others---AWKWARD), that we have to leave the dining room, this dining room is for REAL passengers.....NOT kidding. Talk about lack of class.

[KruzeKrazy!]

This dining "class" thing is something. A couple of years ago, my DH and I did the BVE in Ft Lauderdale on the Regal. When in the MDR for our lunch, we handed the waiter our letter for our glass of wine, he comes back and tells us (we are dining with others---AWKWARD), that we have to leave the dining room, this dining room is for REAL passengers.....NOT kidding. Talk about lack of class.

Well that's just fine and dandy since lunch in the MDR is a benefit of BVE one is paying for.

 

And speaking of BVE, I guess that the lunch in the MDR part goes away - or they raise the BVE price and say it's because of the "enhanced" CV dining experience...

[abbydancer2003]

We were on the Ruby on 12/10 - first day of club class, and ate in the dining room on embarkation day (We were not in Club Class).

 

I also think that at this time, it's all still shaking out, and none of know how it will play out.

 

We normally do traditional late dining, but the friends we were with wanted anytime, so we did it.

 

We actually only ate in the dining room twice, as we wanted to try all the specialty restaurants. The first night formal night, there was a long line for anytime at 7:30. It went to about 2/3 of the way to the Passenger Services desk. However, that was the room that converted to anytime at 7:30 and I think we hit it wrong. The next time we went it was 8:30 and no line.

 

The first time a waiter took several of us to the traditional dining room, where we joined the 8:00 seating.

 

I observed that the CC dining area was maybe 1/6 of the room, and when I looked it was maybe 1/2 full.

 

We're trying Club Class on a coastal in April. If the topic is still active, I'll post my experience.

[easyboy]

This dining "class" thing is something. A couple of years ago, my DH and I did the BVE in Ft Lauderdale on the Regal. When in the MDR for our lunch, we handed the waiter our letter for our glass of wine, he comes back and tells us (we are dining with others---AWKWARD), that we have to leave the dining room, this dining room is for REAL passengers.....NOT kidding. Talk about lack of class.

Did the waiter just kicked you out, or directed to another area?

[caribill]

Surely once a table from cc has been used that evening it can then be released back to any time dining

 

No, because other cc passengers may still want to dine in that area and the table must be kept available for that.

[deise17311]

We were on the Ruby on 12/10 - first day of club class, and ate in the dining room on embarkation day (We were not in Club Class).

 

I also think that at this time, it's all still shaking out, and none of know how it will play out.

 

We normally do traditional late dining, but the friends we were with wanted anytime, so we did it.

 

We actually only ate in the dining room twice, as we wanted to try all the specialty restaurants. The first night formal night, there was a long line for anytime at 7:30. It went to about 2/3 of the way to the Passenger Services desk. However, that was the room that converted to anytime at 7:30 and I think we hit it wrong. The next time we went it was 8:30 and no line.

 

The first time a waiter took several of us to the traditional dining room, where we joined the 8:00 seating.

 

I observed that the CC dining area was maybe 1/6 of the room, and when I looked it was maybe 1/2 full.

 

We're trying Club Class on a coastal in April. If the topic is still active, I'll post my experience.

 

I have never NOT seen the ATD line NOT stretch all the way to PS - people keep acting like this is some new thing - every time I have been on a Princess ship the ATD line stretches - the times it doesn't are not peak times for sure - and yes I know others will debate my post

[nbsjcruiser]

The Class thing really is a bad idea for mass cruise lines imo. They're trying to portray a mass cruiseline attitude as an upper crust Crystal Cruises product. Its doesn't work. RCI is doing it, as is NCL and having cruised on both I see problems with it.

 

NCL is probably the worst of the two that I have experienced. They have their Haven Suites with their special elevators, special dining areas, special pool access blah blah blah. On the Getaway this compartmentalizing of passengers created a ship with so damn many areas you couldn't get to that it really detracted from what I thought was going to be a great ship. Public areas were crowded and noisy - as a regular passenger I couldn't find a decent place to sit and enjoy myself. Always crowded, always noisy no matter where I went. I won't go back on that ship or any like it ever again.

 

Having cruised mainly on RCI I see this suite nonsense from a different angle than I do with NCL. I've taken close to 20 cruises on RCI and when I see someone take their first cruise and get the "royal" treatment, I can't help but wonder "am I just an afterthought now? A guy to help fill the coffers of the cruise line so they can pander to someone else?" There's many who feel the same way and its one reason (among others - food quality for one) that we branched out to Princess.

 

We had a great cruise on the Regal in November but hearing about this class system now is concerning and I hope Princess pays attention. First off using the word Class is just a bad idea. Think of something else. Limit the benefits in such a way that it doesn't offend the rest of your paying passengers - especially the longer term ones. Make sure the ship amenities are open as can be. There's nothing worse than being told you can't go here or there - it infers a lower class of passenger, one not valued. Lastly, do not dumb down the food as RCI has. Regal food was the best of any cruise I've been on in many years. Keep it that way. Don't force me to have lower quality food whilst others get "better" food.

 

For the first time in many years we are seriously contemplating cutting back if not eliminating cruises in favour of something else. We can rent a condo in Florida for a month for what I paid to cruise on the Regal. HAving said that, the Regal restored my enjoyment of cruising somewhat. I hope the quality of what Princess brings to the table isn't diminished in favour of this short sighted upper-crust attempt to make Princess out to be something they arent. Princess, RCI, NCL and Carnival are all in the same boat. They're mass market cruiselines that made their money by being able to appeal to the mass market. Going back to the old way of doing things will reinforce a stereotype that I think they'd be better off avoiding and like most things, once you cross the line and people start opting for other choices, winning them back will be no easy task.

[myfuzzy]

Did the waiter just kicked you out, or directed to another area?

 

I would say, yes, to being kicked out. He took our menus, what were we supposed to do. We left and looked into the other dining rooms. We looked into an empty dining room and found a fellow wearing a white jacket. We went up to him, showed him the letter, told him where we were seated and what we were told, and he immediately took us back to the SAME dining room and seated us at another table in the same area. Meanwhile, it took us about 90 minutes of the short stay just for a dining room lunch. Luckily we are frequent passengers on Princess, and when I got home, believe me, corporate got an earful from me. Not wanting any compensation, just for this to never happen again.

[shredie]

 

We had a great cruise on the Regal in November but hearing about this class system now is concerning and I hope Princess pays attention. First off using the word Class is just a bad idea. Think of something else. Limit the benefits in such a way that it doesn't offend the rest of your paying passengers - especially the longer term ones.

 

I agree that the word "class" is problematic. However, it is used so frequently throughout the travel industry, there seems little chance of changing it. I think Princess probably likes the alliteration of CLub CLass. Sounds catchy. I do, however, see that some people might feel offended by the term, and others might like the sound of the status boost they think it gives them. DH says, "As long as I don't have top pay for it, I don't care what they call it." That's probably the right attitude to have.

[Bill B]

If the new progressive check-in schedules:

12:30 PM - Baja & Lido Deck

1:30 PM - Emerald & Dolphin Decks

2:30 PM - Caribe & Plaza Decks

3:30 PM - Aloha & Fiesta Decks

are followed, only 1/4 of the pax will be on board in time for lunch (at any venue).

[ar1950]

If the new progressive check-in schedules:

12:30 PM - Baja & Lido Deck

1:30 PM - Emerald & Dolphin Decks

2:30 PM - Caribe & Plaza Decks

3:30 PM - Aloha & Fiesta Decks

are followed, only 1/4 of the pax will be on board in time for lunch (at any venue).

 

In the last 3 years we've never found that the progressive check-in is anything other than a suggestion (includes 9 cruises). We always have been on board by 12:30 pm or earlier. We have always enjoyed the embarkation lunch in the dinning room. If the Club Class implementation has eliminated this option we will miss it. :mad:

Edited January 4, 2017 by ar1950

[OzKiwiJJ]

In the last 3 years we've never found that the progressive check-in is anything other than a suggestion (includes 9 cruises). We always have been on board by 12:30 pm or earlier. We have always enjoyed the embarkation lunch in the dinning room. If the Club Class implementation has eliminated this option we will miss it. :mad:

 

Ditto!

[Bill B]

I didn't know 'Progressive Check-in' has been around for three years. I haven't been on Princess since 2011, but will be on the Diamond in less than two weeks and just received an email about it.

[ar1950]

I didn't know 'Progressive Check-in' has been around for three years. I haven't been on Princess since 2011, but will be on the Diamond in less than two weeks and just received an email about it.

 

Don't know about the Far East or Down Under, just know our experiences in American ports. Let us know how it works for you on your cruise. Have a great one! :)

[pablo222]

I haven't been on Princess since 2011

 

I am stunned by this.

Edited January 4, 2017 by pablo222

[antsp]

We are boarding the Ruby tomorrow, just received a final email re last minute check list etc, once on board the email states you are welcome to dine in the horizon court or one of the ships dining rooms

Will try and update you tomorrow

[Cruiser411]

So far, what we know is that someone on a Ruby sailing was denied entrance to the MDR for embarkation lunch and told it was only for Club Class. That's all we know, I think. Someone mentioned that there was big Princess Corp. thing on the Ruby that day, suggesting that maybe that was taking up the MDR at lunch, leaving only the Club Class section available. We really don't know enough yet to start panicking. :D

 

(For the "who cares" crowd, I would ask you how you would feel if Princess eliminated something you really liked. You might be disappointed, and I might say "Who cares?")

 

If this happened in December, Princess typically has its employee Holiday party onboard a ship in San Pedro. Sounds like a one-off to me.

[shredie]

If this happened in December, Princess typically has its employee Holiday party onboard a ship in San Pedro. Sounds like a one-off to me.

 

I've been wondering about that myself. There haven't been reports of the dining room closed since that sailing.