Dine My Way & all new Dining questions since cruising restart!!

[RNRcruisers]

2 hours ago, capriccio said:

When you reserved a table for 7 but only had a group of 4 didn't you risk having others seated with you (not during covid maybe but in the future)?  In the App was the reservation designated as a private table?  I'm just wondering how/if that would work in the future.  I see couples reserving tables for 4, two couples reserving tables for 8, etc.  Then actual large parties may not get a table.

Sorry that was 7pm. 

[RNRcruisers]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Question:  When you first booked in DMW pre-cruise, was Concerto the only DR offered in the list of options?  (It is for me and we are on Regal several months from now).

 

Yes Concerto was our only option ahead of time. After we were onboard I could reserve Allegro. 

[RNRcruisers]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

It is likely they will respond it was indeed Private.  4-tops were probably gone, so they give a 6-top and other chairs remain empty.  In DMW, a guest cannot select the table size - it isn't an option.  You don't even know the table size until show up on board and ask what the system assigned.

We did reserve a private table for 4 and there seemed to be plenty of empty ones so I’m not sure why we were given a table for 6. 

[RNRcruisers]

On 1/21/2022 at 11:17 AM, Dbld777 said:

You can also still ask your room steward for the good old breakfast order hang tag, but there probably won't be one in your room.

We did have one of the room service hang tags in our room.

[MustangGT]

5 hours ago, RNRcruisers said:

Just off the Regal yesterday and this was our experience -

 

We were a group of 4, we had reserved a table for 7 each night in the Concerto DR before the cruise. We went there the first night and were underwhelmed. They seated us at a table for 6 (so with 2 empty seats) facing a wall and the staff was efficient but not very friendly. I don’t have to be best friends with my waiters but a smile goes a long way. 
 

The next night we decided to try the Allegro DR at 6 so I changed our reservation in the app during the day. When we got there they had a kiosk for open dining outside the door and further in the doorway a separate desk for those with reservations. We liked our table and waiters so decided we wanted the same the rest of the cruise. The next day I changed our standing reservations for the rest of the week and that night as we entered we asked if we could be seated where we had been, no problem. Each night after that we were seated there without asking. The hostess was very friendly and always welcoming. We had a very “traditional dining” experience after that and tipped our waiters extra the last night.  I’m not sure if we had to change the reservation but I figured it couldn’t hurt. I’m also not sure if we had changed the time one night whether we still would have been seated at the same table. There were some around us that we saw every night but others were new. Food was excellent. I agree portions were on the small side but I prefer that and always got plenty to eat. 
 

Regarding the medallion app, overall it worked well. We ordered drinks in our room a few times and it was quick and easy. We tried to order drinks on the pool deck a few times and that didn’t work, but there were many waiters making the rounds anyway. It was also nice for locating the others in our party. It didn’t work well for us in trying to message each other. That’s all I can think of right now. If you have questions I can try to answer. 
 

Sounds like our experience in Concerto on our recent cruises.  The difference in Allegro was amazing!  After our first night we had the same table and wait staff every night.  It was actually the first time we have ever eaten every night in the dining room.  

[MustangGT]

3 hours ago, RNRcruisers said:

We did have one of the room service hang tags in our room.

Yes, we had the breakfast tags too.

[wowzz]

We are on Regal in May.  So as to be sure  of getting a table, without queuing ,  we have booked a two top  in Concerto every night  at 19:40. Hopefully we will be able to chat to diners on adjoining tables, and hopefully we will have a different table every night. 

Depending on how each day goes,  we will amend our reservation accordingly. 

Personally we could not care less about having the same wait staff or  the  same table.  In fact, we enjoy imteracting with different staff as much as possible,  especially as you then bump into them in the buffet or other dining venues and can continue the banter from previous encounters.

[seahappy08]

On 1/21/2022 at 6:40 PM, PacnGoNow said:

Interesting:

In all the notices I am getting for upcoming cruises from PCL about

excursions, health protocols and dining,

this one does state you can have same wait staff every night.  This seems to be updated, maybe because of all the feedback?

 

 

Dine when you want

Select dining times for main dining rooms and specialty restaurants.  Request the same time each night if you prefer the same waitstaff.

This is the first time for us. We are on a cruise in April, have logged on to our phones and would like to pre book our table for 4 but cannot see how to go it on our phone app? This just adds to the stress of a holiday for us we liked the old way as we knew what we were doing!

Advice please?

[Steelers36]

8 minutes ago, seahappy08 said:

This is the first time for us. We are on a cruise in April, have logged on to our phones and would like to pre book our table for 4 but cannot see how to go it on our phone app? This just adds to the stress of a holiday for us we liked the old way as we knew what we were doing!

Advice please?

When is your Final Payment (FP) Date?  You won't have access to DMW until then.  You can contact Princess or TA to pay early.  You should be past that now actually, unless cruise is in late April. 

 

If you login to the MC App, there are two places to get to DMW.  First is under the Ocean Ready section (first one), you should see a symbol icon that looks like a dinner plate and cutlery --- tap on that.  The second is in the Ocean Now section and you should see a label for DMW in words. 

 

[wowzz]

40 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

When is your Final Payment (FP) Date?  You won't have access to DMW until then.  You can contact Princess or TA to pay early.  You should be past that now actually, unless cruise is in late April. 

Not sure if that is correct. We are sailing in May, so not paid our final balance, but were able to reserve a table in the MDR for every night a few months ago, and last night I cancelled one reservation and booked the Crown Grill instead.

[capriccio]

18 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Not sure if that is correct. We are sailing in May, so not paid our final balance, but were able to reserve a table in the MDR for every night a few months ago, and last night I cancelled one reservation and booked the Crown Grill instead.

Somewhere I read that only if you have elite or platinum status you can make reservations immediately upon booking.  I know I had no problem doing so including more than 18 months before 1 cruise.

Edited January 24, 2022 by capriccio

[PacnGoNow]

19 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Not sure if that is correct. We are sailing in May, so not paid our final balance, but were able to reserve a table in the MDR for every night a few months ago, and last night I cancelled one reservation and booked the Crown Grill instead.

I’ve booked my DMW reservations for

Nov 2022 and March & November 2023 already. Could be because of Elite status? 

Edited January 24, 2022 by PacnGoNow

[wowzz]

29 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Somewhere I read that only if you have elite or platinum status you can make reservations immediately upon booking.  I know I had no problem doing so including more than 18 months before 1 cruise.

I am Platinum,  so that could be the reason. 

[grak]

I’ve paid in full, all my information put in with no issues, but I cannot get in to the DMW site. It says try again later. I e been trying daily for weeks with no luck. I’ve tried reinstalling the app. Nothing.  Very frustrating! I’m on an Apple iPad if that matters.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Not sure if that is correct. We are sailing in May, so not paid our final balance, but were able to reserve a table in the MDR for every night a few months ago, and last night I cancelled one reservation and booked the Crown Grill instead.

 

54 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Somewhere I read that only if you have elite or platinum status you can make reservations immediately upon booking.  I know I had no problem doing so including more than 18 months before 1 cruise.

 

53 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I’ve booked my DMW reservations for

Nov 2022 and March & November 2023 already. Could be because of Elite status? 

 

24 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I am Platinum,  so that could be the reason. 

 

I was replying to a first-timer, so if things are working the way Princess states, FP is required before ability to book dining.  I believe all of you are >= Platinum.

[PacnGoNow]

13 minutes ago, grak said:

I’ve paid in full, all my information put in with no issues, but I cannot get in to the DMW site. It says try again later. I e been trying daily for weeks with no luck. I’ve tried reinstalling the app. Nothing.  Very frustrating! I’m on an Apple iPad if that matters.

Have you tried on your smart phone?  Have you cleared your cache’s, done all the latest updates?  What ship?

[Steelers36]

14 minutes ago, grak said:

I’ve paid in full, all my information put in with no issues, but I cannot get in to the DMW site. It says try again later. I e been trying daily for weeks with no luck. I’ve tried reinstalling the app. Nothing.  Very frustrating! I’m on an Apple iPad if that matters.

That does happen.  It could be that the dining space released to DMW has been taken.  It could be the system.  Also, I am not sure if an iPad works with MC App well.  Depends on OS level as well (I am not an Apple user).  You didn't mention ship/date.  Have you asked about this on your Roll Call to see if you are not alone in getting dining space?  You could write the Ocean team at AskOceanMedallion@carnival.com.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

That does happen.  It could be that the dining space released to DMW has been taken.  It could be the system.  Also, I am not sure if an iPad works with MC App well.  Depends on OS level as well (I am not an Apple user).  You didn't mention ship/date.  Have you asked about this on your Roll Call to see if you are not alone in getting dining space?  You could write the Ocean team at AskOceanMedallion@carnival.com.

I have IOS 15.2 and I use an iPad.  I have no problem with the MedallionClass™ app. I have used the MedallionClass™ app to book my nightly MDR dining and also specialty dining with no problems. It may not be time to book the dining for that cruise???

[grak]

I’ve tried it on the phone…still no luck.  I’m even Elite so that’s a moot point LOL

[Steelers36]

I have had times the DMW section spins and gives up with nothing found.  Had to keep trying again and again.  Lately, performance has seemed better if I play with it.  (I don't need to touch anything right now, but from time to time, I pretend I want to change something to see what the space is like and if any additional DR's added).  Most certainly, I can see space filled up if they only loaded one DR into the inventory like our voyages.

[candy4040]

I think everything is wacky.  I tried inputting reservation times and had no luck.  My son was able to do it for both of our cabins.  I have an I phone 12.  I've been able to do everything else including a specialty restaurant reservation.  I've had Medallion in the past and liked it.  This was prior to the actual phone application.  We cruise in 34 days - can't wait.

 

[Tedferg]

On 1/24/2022 at 8:49 AM, grak said:

I’ve tried it on the phone…still no luck.  I’m even Elite so that’s a moot point LOL

How are you logging in to the app? Account ID or Booking number?

[wowzz]

I was really pleased when I finally managed to book the Crown Grill for our May cruise. Now I see that Princess have charged my cc twice ! 

So, on the phone tomorrow. 

I wonder how much time the Princess call centre staff are spending on app issues, rather than taking bookings !

 

[kruzkraziness]

We were on the Ruby Princess in November. We had a table for 2 every night, but the tables were soooo close together it was like we were at one large table.  There were open tables but they inevitably put us smack dab next to other people.  It was a little awkward. We are on the Majestic in February, I am hoping for a better experience.  That said, the food was great.

 

[PacnGoNow]

11 minutes ago, kruzkraziness said:

We were on the Ruby Princess in November. We had a table for 2 every night, but the tables were soooo close together it was like we were at one large table.  There were open tables but they inevitably put us smack dab next to other people.  It was a little awkward. We are on the Majestic in February, I am hoping for a better experience.  That said, the food was great.

 

Well, that scares me.  I’m not going on the Ruby.  Dining or bars are the most likely areas to get covid if you’re so close.

Did you ask to be moved to a socially distant table?  
They did that to probably make it easier for them to serve everyone.