Dining Advice Needed

[h2obaby]

I booked through a discout cruise agent who places all clients in PC dining. I really prefer traditional late dining, but am open to trying the PC option. My step-mother, and traveling companion, is not as open-minded. Ideally, we would like to be seated at a table for 8-10 to meet people. Can this be accomplished somehow in the PC dining room? Is there a way to be seated with the same people each night? OR...how do I go about being waitlisted for traditional dining? Do I call Princess, or is this done the day we board? I could use any and all suggestions. Thank you so much.

[LARGIN]

You can have a standing reservation for your party in the PC dining room.. Ask the maitre' d after you board the ship.. There is also a chance that he can switch you to the traditional dining room if you ask.

[GloriaF]

If your cruise is a long way off, you might be able to get changed to traditional dining now - but since you used an online TA, Princess requires that all communication be done thru them. Call or email your TA and ask for their help in getting you changed. At the least you should have all of your party placed on the waiting list for traditional. If you are still on the waiting list at cruise time, see the maitre d' when you board.

 

If all else fails, you can make reservations for the same table and same waitstaff in PC, but unless you have a party of 8-10 already together that wants to dine together, you may have different dinner companions each night. But you would still have the same table and waitstaff if you make a standing reservation. BTW, large parties often have reported that they have a hard time getting the time they want in a standing reservation in PC - I believe PC reserves from 6-8 PM for smaller parties and walk-ins, but am not certain.

 

Sorry, Largin, I did not see your reply prior to making similar statements - I guess we were posting at the same time.

[jlp20]

>>My step-mother, and traveling companion, is not as open-minded. Ideally, we would like to be seated at a table for 8-10 to meet people. Can this be accomplished somehow in the PC dining room?

 

Actually, this is exactly how PC was supposed to work. Our second cruise with Princess had us with different people each night, tables of 6 to 10, fantastic.

 

However, on our last two trips, Diamond and Sapphire, we had to wait for a table to be ready for the number in our party.

[h2obaby]

Thanks for your advice and tips. I called Princess today to be waitlisted and we are #346!! I also emailed my agent to see if she could help in some way, but I don't think she can.

 

I know that we will love our cruise no matter when and where we eat. The only thing that will annoy me is waiting for an open table. That would not be my personal choice, pun intended. But if what worked for jlp worked for us- having a large table with different dinner companions each night- I would be very pleased.

 

Thanks again!

[cancruiseforever]

No problem. If you want to dine at 8 just call and make a reservation as most people eat earlier.

[NO2SNOW]

In our experience, we never had any problem getting into PC at any time we wanted.

[Pam in CA]

I'm glad you're at least on the waitlist. No matter what anyone says, PC dining with reservations is not the same thing as traditional dining. I much prefer traditional dining but have tried PC dining twice. The first time was awful, horrible, a disaster. We tried it again on the CB over New Years 2005 and while it was "OK" and we had good waiters, it wasn't the same. Even with a standing reservation at 8PM at the same table and waiters, we had to wait every night anywhere from 5 - 30 minutes for "our" table.

 

You'll probably be happy with PC but if you really like and prefer traditional, you should set your expectations accordingly.

[whale-watcher]

We like to dine either very early (with the kids), or late (on our own, while the kids play in the children's center), and we have never had any siginificant wait for a table in the PC dining room...the big crush seems to happen between 6-7:30pm, but after 8 you can usually walk right in!

[Redsgj]

We were just on the CB and had PC dining (party of 2).

 

We never had to wait for a table - usually went to dinner around 7:30. Every night when we requested a table for two we were offered to join a larger table. We said no (just our preference) and immediately got a table for two.

 

But a table for two also offers opportunities to meet new people.... we chatted a couple of nights to the couple at the neighbouring table (and No for those who may have heard otherwise, the tables are not 12 inches apart - I would say about 2 feet apart).

[seastar2]

Did PC last year on the Dawn, found a waiter we like and then requested a table in his station everynight there after. Never waited more thena few minutes... there were 7-9 in the group each night. Usually made reservation for 8pm..sometimes got there a bit earlier....no problems.:D

[Diane F]

Does anyone know the if the Sea Princess has tables to accommodate 12 peopl. We are going with a group of 12 and have PC dining. Wonder if we will have to split up, if we all decide to dine together,or can we all fit at one table?