Embarkation MDR Lunch

[hydrodriver831]

I have heard rumblings on CC that Princess was considering doing away with the Embarkation Day lunch in the MDR. We will be on the Island in May and hoping that is not the case, as we really enjoy it. Relaxing and quiet. :cool:

[floridalover5623]

No, they still serve it.

[Astro Flyer]

It was available on the Star in January & the only posts I've read where it wasn't available was probably due to crew confusion when they told passengers it was only for Club Class passengers which had just been implemented. I haven't read about the lunch being denied since then & only the typical go to the buffet reply that management apparently forces crew to recite to us.

[Lucky TGO]

It's was available on the Royal Princess in January & February.

Tony

[CATGUY7]

Has the Travel Summary always said this?

 

 

"Once onboard, enjoy a meal at Horizon Court which remains open throughout the day to serve you "

[Colo Cruiser]

I have heard rumblings on CC that Princess was considering doing away with the Embarkation Day lunch in the MDR.

 

 

No, a poster reported that and decided that for themselves without getting the facts.

[Thrak]

I wish that people would always have to state where, when, and by whom, they received their "information". If it comes from "you father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate" (Spaceballs) then it likely isn't a reliable source. There are sooooooooooo many bogus rumors started here on CC and then someone hears about them and repeats them and it goes on, and on, and on, and on, and...

 

Sorry to the OP. Not really picking on you but commenting on all the various rumors that seem to get started here and then never seem to die.

[GUT2407]

Wasn't available one cruise we did as it had been reserved for a TA group.

[OzKiwiJJ]

It wasn't available on one cruise we did last year. The cruise was sold as Melbourne - Hong Kong and Sydney - Hong Kong. We embarked in Sydney and were most disappointed to find the MDR wasn't open for lunch. I believe a significant number of people boarded in Sydney so it really should have been treated as an embarkation day, not a port day..

[AE_Collector]

I wish that people would always have to state where, when, and by whom, they received their "information". If it comes from "you father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate" (Spaceballs) then it likely isn't a reliable source. There are sooooooooooo many bogus rumors started here on CC and then someone hears about them and repeats them and it goes on, and on, and on, and on, and...

 

Agreed. We board Emerald Princess tomorrow and I could have saved hundreds on a then upcoming Canadian exchange rate reduction that was (accurately it turns out) reported here but no credibility was given for the source of the information so I couldn't gamble on cancelling and rebooking a week after final payment when the reduction happened. The OP turned out to be 100% correct but in my mind should have been able to give some information to indicate the credibility of their report.

 

What you say Thrak reminds me of how someone for example starts a topic about the horrible condition of let's say Ruby Princess. Then 18 people reply saying "what cruise were you on, we just got off Ruby and she was immaculate". Then, within a few weeks someone will start a new topic "Thinking of cruising on Ruby but now concerned about all the reports of the horrible condition of the ship". Wow....doesn't matter how many people say the opposite, all they saw was the one persons report of poor condition.

 

AE_Collector

[MTJSR]

In the email we received yesterday, we are sailing in 12 days, it says upon embarkation we can enjoy lunch in the Horizon Court. No mention of the MDR.

 

I think Princess tries really hard to dissuade passengers from storming the dining room but having several B.V.E folks joining us, we are a shoe in anyway.

 

 

.

[capriccio]

In the email we received yesterday, we are sailing in 12 days, it says upon embarkation we can enjoy lunch in the Horizon Court. No mention of the MDR.

 

I think Princess tries really hard to dissuade passengers from storming the dining room but having several B.V.E folks joining us, we are a shoe in anyway.

 

 

.

 

On all our many cruises since 2013 or so, the dining section of the first day's Patter lists one of the MDRs open from noon until 1:30. No need to ask any staff and if someone tries to redirect you to the buffet (that only happened to us once in 2012 on the Coral but I was insistent and went to passenger services who directed us to the correct dining room) or refuses you entry at the MDR show them the Patter and then complain to passenger services.

[Astro Flyer]

On all our many cruises since 2013 or so, the dining section of the first day's Patter lists one of the MDRs open from noon until 1:30. No need to ask any staff and if someone tries to redirect you to the buffet (that only happened to us once in 2012 on the Coral but I was insistent and went to passenger services who directed us to the correct dining room) or refuses you entry at the MDR show them the Patter and then complain to passenger services.

On all of our many cruises the MDR lunch has very rarely been listed in the Patter so it varies.

 

With so many ships & so many cruises that neither of us have sailed it's impossible to know whether it's always in the Patter or not which has been my experience on all but one cruise. ;)

 

I print a copy from the Princess dining FAQs for 1st day dining options in case they want to deny us entry into the open dining room.

 

"Shortly after we welcome you onboard your spectacular Princess ship, you're invited to relax and dine at the Horizon Court or in one of the ship’s multiple dining rooms.

 

Or join us in one of our main dining rooms for lunch served up by a staff -- from chefs to waiters -- dedicated to making your dining experience something special".

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/dining_nightlife.jsp

[floridalover5623]

I've been going back over the last 12-15 cruises and couldn't find even one that didn't list lunch in one of their dining rooms from 12 noon to 1:30 PM on embarkation day. :)

They always have it listed on the back page of the patter.

[floridalover5623]

On all of our many cruises the MDR lunch has very rarely been listed in the Patter so it varies.

 

With so many ships & so many cruises that neither of us have sailed it's impossible to know whether it's always in the Patter or not which has been my experience on all but one cruise. ;)

 

I print a copy from the Princess dining FAQs for 1st day dining options in case they want to deny us entry into the open dining room.

 

"Shortly after we welcome you onboard your spectacular Princess ship, you're invited to relax and dine at the Horizon Court or in one of the ship’s multiple dining rooms.

 

Or join us in one of our main dining rooms for lunch served up by a staff -- from chefs to waiters -- dedicated to making your dining experience something special".

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/onboard/dining_nightlife.jsp

 

Which ship didn't they have lunch on?

[FritzG]

We had lunch in the MDR on the Star on March 13th.

[Colo Cruiser]

Usually if its not available it's due to a private function.

[Astro Flyer]

I've been going back over the last 12-15 cruises and couldn't find even one that didn't list lunch in one of their dining rooms from 12 noon to 1:30 PM on embarkation day. :)

They always have it listed on the back page of the patter.

As I said, it varies but only one of my previous Patters had the MDR lunch listed which I know how to find.

 

So NO...they don't always have the embarkation MDR lunch listed in the Patter despite your experiences that it is always in your Patter because it's not!

 

Here's a news flash...things on Princess will vary! :eek:

 

Which ship didn't they have lunch on?

I didn't post that any ship didn't have the lunch so I don't understand your question.

 

The lunch has been available on all of my cruises however it's very rarely shown in the Patters on my cruises. Although on every cruise when asking crew they direct us to the HC so now we just search for the open MDR.

 

Only once have I had to show the waitstaff the 1st day dining option & they begrudgingly allowed us to dine despite saying it was only for in-transit passengers. I completed the form at the PSD about this situation & shortly thereafter received a call from the maître d' who was apologetic for his misinformed waitstaff member.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[tennisobo]

On two cruises I printed out the page at princess.com that states that you can enjoy lunch in the dining room on embarkation day and was ready to use that if the dining room was not open. I never had to use that online information and have been seated every time.

 

 

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[floridalover5623]

As I said, it varies but only one of my previous Patters had the MDR lunch listed which I know how to find.

 

So NO...they don't always have the embarkation MDR lunch listed in the Patter despite your experiences that it is always in your Patter because it's not!

 

Here's a news flash...things on Princess will vary! :eek:

 

 

I didn't post that any ship didn't have the lunch so I don't understand your question.

 

The lunch has been available on all of my cruises however it's very rarely shown in the Patters on my cruises. Although on every cruise when asking crew they direct us to the HC so now we just search for the open MDR.

 

Only once have I had to show the waitstaff the 1st day dining option & they begrudgingly allowed us to dine despite saying it was only for in-transit passengers. I completed the form at the PSD about this situation & shortly thereafter received a call from the maître d' who was apologetic for his misinformed waitstaff member.

 

You must have just picked cruises that didn't have the DR lunch. I've looked at at least 20 past trips and have yet to find one that didn't have one.

It's not something that we look for but it's always an option. (for us anyway).

Here's one from 2014.

[Tiggerontheseas]

You must have just picked cruises that didn't have the DR lunch.e]

 

I don't believe that Astro was saying that the cruises didn't have the MDR lunch. Just that many times it wasn't listed on the Patter despite being available. :)

[floridalover5623]

I don't believe that Astro was saying that the cruises didn't have the MDR lunch. Just that many times it wasn't listed on the Patter despite being available. :)

The only place I've seen it advertised was in the patter or at the DR door.

Of course if you print down a copy of their web page you can always show it to them but usually not necessary from what I'm told.

[Astro Flyer]

You must have just picked cruises that didn't have the DR lunch.e]

 

I don't believe that Astro was saying that the cruises didn't have the MDR lunch. Just that many times it wasn't listed on the Patter despite being available. :)

Thanks for understanding my experiences although that poster still doesn't comprehend my repeated statement...they've always had the MDR lunch for as long as I can remember but on my cruises only once was it listed in the Patter. ;)

 

You replied that you understood my point but they posted about it being advertised and that I must have just picked cruises that didn't have the DR lunch so apparently they feel that I'm incapable of reading the Patter or the lunch wasn't offered...neither of which are true.

 

Unfortunately some people feel their experiences are the only valid ones & that the rest of us are simply wrong. I understand that things could vary with each cruise and even if someone has many, many Princess embarkations there are even many more embarkations they have not done. That could be as much as a thousand embarkations per year & to say that anyone's experience is definitive is simply not true.

 

I give up...time to move on to another thread instead of repeatedly saying the same thing...the MDR has lunch between noon & 1:30 (except as Colo Cruiser posted when it's closed for special events), that sometimes crew will deny that we can go there & that it's not always listed in the Patter. ;)

[bigenna]

I just got off the Star this morning. Didn't ask, just headed to the MDR for embarkation lunch. I can never remember which one. It has been on every cruise I have been on, either deck 5 or deck 6 midship dining room. Countless times when asking staff was directed to lido buffet, but always checked myself and found MDR open. . Now I just look and find it.

 

 

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[moviegal]

I just got off the Ruby and lunch was served in the main dining room in embarkation day, but the menu was very abbreviated from previous Princess cruises I've taken (been on 4 in the last year and a half). I snapped a photo of our embarkation lunch menu because I noted how limited it was. By the way, we were allowed to eat there and we had an interior stateroom.

 

 

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