Dine My Way - new MedallionClass enhancement

[caribill]

13 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

How old are the people designing the Dine My Way app? Do they have 70 year old beta testers giving them feedback?

 

 

 

With the threads about how the app is not functioning for many users, the only beta testers seem to be those who have booked cruises.

[voljeep]

14 minutes ago, RRFan said:

We always request a table for 2 at early dining.  We always have an assigned table so we never have to wait.  If our schedule doesn't work with that time, we decide whether to do a specialty restaurant, go to the buffet or just get in the anytime dining line. 

so you just booked a 'placeholder dining time' then didn't show up 

 

this will be rampant with the 'new and improved' DMW

 

so nothing new here to see

[RRFan]

1 minute ago, caribill said:

 

But selecting early/late seating is something you can no longer do while booking your cruise. In the future once your cruise is booked you will need the app to select your dining preference.

 

It may be there, but so far Princess has not shown that an option for early/late traditional will be an option. All they have shown is that you can specify a time for each evening and pick a dining room for each evening.

I did that when I booked it and it shows it's confirmed in my Princess planner.  So you think I'll need to do it daily in the app?  

[Sea Hag]

6 minutes ago, RRFan said:

I did that when I booked it and it shows it's confirmed in my Princess planner.  So you think I'll need to do it daily in the app?  

For our August cruise, I asked for early traditional. It shows up as confirmed in my account, and it also shows up in the app. If I go into details for each day, it shows our reservation as early, table for two, Concerto dining room. I'm going to leave it as it is, since that all suits us.

[caribill]

17 minutes ago, RRFan said:

I did that when I booked it and it shows it's confirmed in my Princess planner.  So you think I'll need to do it daily in the app?  

 

You did it when it was still available when booking with a personal computer or via a TA.

 

But now that option is not available at booking time.

 

Once you have made a new booking, you will need to use the app to set up your dining preference. It is not known yet how or if traditional seating will be an option. The app can be used in advance of the cruise to select a dining room and time for each evening of the cruise. Will not need to do it daily while on the cruise unless you want to.

[JF - retired RRT]

On 6/3/2021 at 4:31 PM, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

Thanks....but ugh...I don't 'do' Facebook.... and it won't allow me to access it without an account.

☹️

 

Make an account with no info about yourself or the minimum required. Use an email that you never use for anything else. Never do any posts on it.

Watch the webinar.

[azbirdmom]

35 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

You did it when it was still available when booking with a personal computer or via a TA.

 

But now that option is not available at booking time.

 

Once you have made a new booking, you will need to use the app to set up your dining preference. It is not known yet how or if traditional seating will be an option. The app can be used in advance of the cruise to select a dining room and time for each evening of the cruise. Will not need to do it daily while on the cruise unless you want to.

 

I saw that the dining option was removed from the Personalizer for my booked cruises and when I went to make a mock booking I saw this:

 

 

I do agree that the same time every night option is the replacement for traditional dining.

[Tedferg]

1 hour ago, RRFan said:

 If our schedule doesn't work with that time, we decide whether to do a specialty restaurant, go to the buffet or just get in the anytime dining line.

So did you see HW and change to Anytime and not be able to change back to Traditional.

[caribill]

7 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

I saw that the dining option was removed from the Personalizer for my booked cruises and when I went to make a mock booking I saw this:

 

 

I do agree that the same time every night option is the replacement for traditional dining.

 

A) Used to be that bed configuration could be picked at time of booking, even if not assigned a cabin at that time. Now you need to remember to make the selection once a cabin has been assigned which could be the morning of the cruise.

 

B) Same time every night does not translate to at the same table with the same dining companions which is what Traditional dining has.

[JF - retired RRT]

On 6/4/2021 at 4:16 AM, skynight said:

 

It would be nice if you could access the system on your desktop/laptop. For us working the phone is very hit or miss.

YES!! That would help the many who don't have or want a smart phone.

I have a smart phone but the version of Android isn't compatible. So, I have to buy a new phone, if I want to get the Medallion App.

[azbirdmom]

7 minutes ago, caribill said:

B) Same time every night does not translate to at the same table with the same dining companions which is what Traditional dining has.

 

I didn't say that it did.  I just said that I thought it was the replacement but it clearly does not have the same outcome as the old way did.

[RRFan]

11 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

So did you see HW and change to Anytime and not be able to change back to Traditional.

No, when you are assigned a dining table/time, they give you a certain number of minutes (like 15-20 minutes of your assigned time).  If you are a no show by then, your table is up for grabs by anyone who walks up and  requests a table for 2.  If we knew we wouldn't be there a certain night, we'd let our waiter know the night before so he would know that the table was available the next evening.  Regardless, you had that table assignment the entire cruise whether you used it or not.

[phabric]

10 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

YES!! That would help the many who don't have or want a smart phone.

I have a smart phone but the version of Android isn't compatible. So, I have to buy a new phone, if I want to get the Medallion App.

Do you have a IPad to use?  
 

My phone is not compatible like yours.  I am able to use my IPad.

Edited June 5, 2021 by phabric

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, RRFan said:

No, when you are assigned a dining table/time, they give you a certain number of minutes (like 15-20 minutes of your assigned time).  If you are a no show by then, your table is up for grabs by anyone who walks up and  requests a table for 2.  If we knew we wouldn't be there a certain night, we'd let our waiter know the night before so he would know that the table was available the next evening.  Regardless, you had that table assignment the entire cruise whether you used it or not.

You are a responsible customer by letting your waiter know - we do the same.  I have even gone to the DR to let him/her know if we changed minds during the afternoon of. 

 

The new system should - in theory - help to eliminate no-shows as it is easy to make the change with the MC app.

[Steelers36]

2 minutes ago, phabric said:

I am able to use my IPad.

Is it newer?  Because it seems to me the IT team favors Apple products and platform and almost like Android is an after-thought and more time and issues to get it working.  IDK why they do that, but seems to be by observation in the past.

[JF - retired RRT]

On 6/4/2021 at 7:32 AM, t&atravel said:

You can download apps on laptops and desktops depending on how old they are and what operating system you’re running.  Also you do not need to use cell service to run the medallion class app if you have wifi enabled on your phone and are connected. 

 

 

Windows 10...didn't work for me. Computer is 2 years old.

[Steelers36]

35 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

A) Used to be that bed configuration could be picked at time of booking, even if not assigned a cabin at that time. Now you need to remember to make the selection once a cabin has been assigned which could be the morning of the cruise.

 

B) Same time every night does not translate to at the same table with the same dining companions which is what Traditional dining has.

A)  Third-party booking engines still have this option, but who knows what happens when/if the data is transmitted into POLAR where it goes.  Bed configuration is in your profile under account information Preferences in MC app.  You select that and it applies to all bookings.  If you change it, it change for all current bookings.  If you want it different now from the next cruise, you need to change your profile if hope to have it setup correctly upon entering cabin.  As far as waiting until assigned a cabin, anyone with access to PC website or the MC app can find this out ahead of departure day as the system is updated before then.

 

B) But there is an option to replicate TD and have the same wait staff with Dine My Way.  I think we need to see at the beginning of next week when first customers can get into it for real and see how it functions.

 

ETA - For those who may not find the details easily, this is the marketing info page from Princess.com:  https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/dine-my-way/

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by Steelers36
Updated info.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

When I tried making ressies for "same time every night" for my December 8 2022 sailing on Caribbean Princess it showed "Crown Grill" as the assigned venue, when I tried different time each night it showed only the Palm Dining Room, so methinks there still quite a few kinks and bugs to be worked out.

 

Now if Princess want to grant me free diding at the Crown Grill for 10 days I'm not going to protest, but somehow I doubt that is going to happen.

[Roberto256]

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

How old are the people designing the Dine My Way app? Do they have 70 year old beta testers giving them feedback?

 

 

You really can't have 70 y.o. testers, as their remaining expected lifespan isn't enough to see the app to completion.

 

This was one of the earlier testers:

 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, RRFan said:

...............................we requested and have confirmed a table for 2 at early dining.  .  

 

Yes, you did at that time, but if you login to the Princess website and call up your booking and then look under Cruise Summary, you will see that the dining information and bed configuration have been removed.  These are moved to the MC App, but they took out of Personalizer before fully releasing the Dining and - of course - knowing that it works in the real word.

 

1 hour ago, RRFan said:

I believe the App is called "Ocean Compass"   At least that's what I have and used on our last cruise which was Jan-Feb, '20.  

This is an old app.  All of the old OCEAN apps were moved under MedallionClass app several months prior to Covid-19.  You should delete the old apps and make sure you have the latest version of MedallionClass on your phone.

 

1 hour ago, RRFan said:

That's interesting.  Thanks!  I went to the App store and it said "open" so I guess I already had it or it was linked to the one I mentioned earlier.  I could already see my bookings in the old one, but this one is definitely different.  I'll go explore.  

Yes, explore and check if it is current.  If you are seeing a lot of new stuff - especially the OCEANReady changes for check-in, then you most likely have the latest version.  Just don't expect everything under OCEANReady (The Blue Lane) to be working as expected.

 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, RRFan said:

I did that when I booked it and it shows it's confirmed in my Princess planner.  So you think I'll need to do it daily in the app?  

You can do it daily if you want to change it up or work it like AT dining, but for TD, once setup, it will be good for the entire voyage.

[Steelers36]

12 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

When I tried making ressies for "same time every night" for my December 8 2022 sailing on Caribbean Princess it showed "Crown Grill" as the assigned venue, when I tried different time each night it showed only the Palm Dining Room, so methinks there still quite a few kinks and bugs to be worked out.

 

Now if Princess want to grant me free diding at the Crown Grill for 10 days I'm not going to protest, but somehow I doubt that is going to happen.

Interesting how you - and some others - can do this since the feature is not to be live until June 7.

[Steelers36]

@Host CJSKIDS, suggest this be a sticky at least for the next 6 - 12 months.  Lots of interest in it.  As Princess returns to sea, there will be both users accessing MedallionClass to setup various dining options and then input from early cruisers.  No doubt there will be changes, bug fixes, or enhancements as more cruises get going.  

[RRFan]

30 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Interesting how you - and some others - can do this since the feature is not to be live until June 7.

When I tried to make my reservations, it did the same thing (except a different specialty restaurant).  I got out and went back in and it gave me Symphony.  I was wanting Concerto, but didn't see the option to select any particular restaurant.  I just kept getting out until it gave me Concerto (it seemed to be cycling through all the choices).  So I made all my selections and when I saved it, the app just spun and spun and finally said "an error has occurred, try back later."  I was thinking I'm just too early (Sept booking).  But since you say it's not live until June 7, I think that's the key.  I will try back next week.  I assume the times/place options will diminish as more people use it to make their selection.  Thanks for the information!! 

[Ombud]

Has anyone figured out a way around 'table for 2?' As a solo i appreciate dining with others