Discounted speciality dining

[Genevivev]

First time cruiser, Regal Princess 29 April. Doing research on different cruise tips etc. One I've seen repeatedly is booking specialty dining first night can sometimes have discounts or complimentary wine. Does Princess do this at all?

 

Any other tips for a first timer always appreciated :)

 

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[geoherb]

I've never seen it. Princess has sometimes offered free specialty dining as a booking perk, but people are assigned to restaurants on a various night during the cruise. Passengers booked in suites do get first night specialty dining included, which is perhaps why Princess doesn't need to discount it the first night to fill those restaurants.

[paul929207]

I have never seen it either. I believe that passengers in suites get a free specialty dinning on the first night, so that will get some business there.

[kendon]

Celebrity will do a half off special on the price, but then again the specialty dining is much more expensive. I've never seen specials offered for those dining venues.

[skynight]

In January we had a coupon book in our cabin, must have been from the T.A. In the book was a two for the price of one coupon at Sabatini's or the Crown Grill on boarding day. We didn't see it when we first boarded, but since we were on a b2b we were able to use it on turnaround day. So, look for a coupon book when you board.

[mickrory]

We dined at Sabatini's on Caribbean Princess on a two for one deal three years ago on a Med cruise but never seen that deal repeated.

[Pam in CA]

Never seen a discount for a specialty restaurant. There are booking promotions from time-to-time that include dinner in a specialty restaurant but that’s the only thing I’ve seen. Oh, and if you book a full suite, you get dinner in a specialty restaurant.

[fishywood]

What your research should yield is that Princess' cover charges for the specialty restaurants are quite reasonable compared to other lines And Princess does not assess a mandatory service charge of 18-20% (which one line has admitted does not go in the tipping pool, but just functions as "cost recovery" for the discount). You choose if you want to leave a gratuity or not. In sum, Princess does not need to use a fake discount to draw you into Sabatini;s or Crown Grill.

[msmoger]

In January we had a coupon book in our cabin, must have been from the T.A. In the book was a two for the price of one coupon at Sabatini's or the Crown Grill on boarding day. We didn't see it when we first boarded, but since we were on a b2b we were able to use it on turnaround day. So, look for a coupon book when you board.

 

Same for us. Unfortunately we didn't realize it until it was too late. We did take advantage of the complimentary bottled water coupon at any Specialty Restaurant. However, we did have the complimentary Specialty Restaurant promo, so all was not lost. ;)

[floridalover5623]

In January we had a coupon book in our cabin, must have been from the T.A. In the book was a two for the price of one coupon at Sabatini's or the Crown Grill on boarding day. We didn't see it when we first boarded, but since we were on a b2b we were able to use it on turnaround day. So, look for a coupon book when you board.

I asked our steward in Mar if he had any extras & he didn't. It appears to be an occasional thing.

[chippye]

On our last cruise in February on the Crown we had two coupon books, have had them before and never found anything interesting. Happened to notice they had buy one specialty dinner get one free. This was for the first night only. Made the reservation and enjoyed the dinner. In ten previous cruises with Princess never had seen this. Our past few experinces in the specialty venues had been poor food and service. This time was much better. I think they have made an effort to step up and try to get people back in the venues.

[Lucky TGO]

I was never lucky enough to even see it offered :(.

Tony

[satxdiver]

I also have never seen the offer or the books. We just got off the Emerald and there were no offers or coupon books. On our November Ruby cruise they did offer SHARE for the discount price of $29 instead of the $39. I have seen posts where it was offered only in November. We took the offer and at 7:15 PM when we entered the restaurant, it was virtually empty. Partner loved it and I hated it.

 

Princess will from time to time offer a free specialty restaurant as a perk for signing up for a cruise. Although you will be assigned to a specialty restaurant at a specific day and time, you can change it which I have done. I went to the specialty dining room of my choice soon after boarding and changed the reservation to what I wanted without any problem. We have had this perk several times in the past two years and have it again this winter.

[MCC retired]

If you book your cruise during a TA's week long "Cruise Night" sales , you will get the slightly better Coupon Book automatically . Actually comes from Princess along with the not as good generic Princess Coupon Book in your cabin. (at least that is the way it should work?)