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

[sabreline]

20 hours ago, memoak said:

Disagree. We book club class so no wait. Avoid Crown, way too much food. No buffet 

I could live off of the bread in the Crown Grill!!!

[trbarton]

I’m on the Royal Princess & here’s some things that I have learned. They wouldn’t agree to give us the same table each night but others have reported that if you want a certain wait staff you can ask for any table with that wait staff & that has worked. 
 

Tom😀

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, trbarton said:

I’m on the Royal Princess & here’s some things that I have learned. They wouldn’t agree to give us the same table each night but others have reported that if you want a certain wait staff you can ask for any table with that wait staff & that has worked. 
 

Tom😀

Not sure how that works since a waiter team only has so many Private and Sharing tables.  Seems like one might be bouncing back and forth.  It should NOT be this way.  I'd have gone up the ladder and had a conversation about what they are doing or not doing and why.  And why not working with guests like other ships.  Not good.

[jsn55]

On 11/13/2022 at 7:02 PM, Flyinby said:

We are a family group of 13, and planned to meet in the main dining room at a fixed time each night, with all of us seated together (not one table, of course).  This has been simple in the past, but hitting the "Dine my way" in the app, choosing same time each night, and adding all 13 to the group returns a "Sorry, no reservations available, check back later".  The cruise is Dec. 12, so not that far off.  Any ideas?

 

It's nice to see they've made what was once a simple process into a convoluted nightmare, thanks to the company's love for the "Medallion".  We have jumped through hoop after hoop to get everyone properly registered via the app and web, yet keep running into glitches.  We've done several Princess cruises in the past, but their fixation on this app and its associated processes has me leaning toward this being our last....we'll see, but what used to be a simple process is no longer.  Being a computer tech person who's done a bit of programming in the past, I know that a main goal is to simplify and speed processes for the end user, and this is a fail in that respect.  Maybe, someday, but after subjecting customers to being beta testers for years with no compensation?  And, c'mon, Part 3 of the Medallion app posting on its 173rd page, and apparently mostly gripes or something not working?  That in itself should speak volumes.

You are not alone ... December 22 will be our first, and perhaps our last, Princess cruise.  I've never encountered anything as arrogant as this Medallion mess in my life, and I'm fairly computer-literate, with few special requests when we cruise.  Apparently this Medallion mess has been going on for YEARS.  I can't abide incompetence.  I think Princess may be in for a surprise one of these days with their bookings, as fed-up pax book other cruiselines.  

[jsn55]

On 11/17/2022 at 9:15 AM, t&atravel said:

We disembarked the Ruby on 11/7 which I assume is when you boarded.  Our CC waiter that morning said 100 crew members did not report in San Francisco. 

This is SUCH an important thing to remember.  Can you imagine the managers who have to deal with 100 fewer crew without notice?  The virus destroyed much, and one of the things destroyed is adequate staffing almost everywhere.  We had no issues on our NCL cruise Quebec-Boston in September, but we are very low maintenance ... often preferring to dine in the buffet late afternoon.  I don't want to get walked on, but I do have extra empathy for people trying to run their business after the ugliness of the last 3 years.

[trbarton]

Just now, jsn55 said:

You are not alone ... December 22 will be our first, and perhaps our last, Princess cruise.  I've never encountered anything as arrogant as this Medallion mess in my life, and I'm fairly computer-literate, with few special requests when we cruise.  Apparently this Medallion mess has been going on for YEARS.  I can't abide incompetence.  I think Princess may be in for a surprise one of these days with their bookings, as fed-up pax book other cruiselines.  

The dinning room issues has not effected my cruise as ALL of the staff have been wonderful & pleasant. Sitting at different tables has allowed me to meet many more people. 
 

I’ve had NO glitches with the app. Perhaps I’m lucky. 
 

Tom😀

[sabreline]

10 hours ago, jsn55 said:

This is SUCH an important thing to remember.  Can you imagine the managers who have to deal with 100 fewer crew without notice?  The virus destroyed much, and one of the things destroyed is adequate staffing almost everywhere.  We had no issues on our NCL cruise Quebec-Boston in September, but we are very low maintenance ... often preferring to dine in the buffet late afternoon.  I don't want to get walked on, but I do have extra empathy for people trying to run their business after the ugliness of the last 3 years.

I am very sympathetic to every company dealing with staffing issues. It c definitely puts them in a difficult situation. At the same time, that's not my problem and if I am paying for a service, I expect to receive that service.

[AzCruiser2022]

On 12/6/2022 at 5:55 PM, candide333 said:

I Googled Discovery menus and I found this site to be exceptionally informative. Not sure if I can provide the link, but here it is. 
 

https://profcruise.com/princess-cruise-lines-2022-dinner-menus/

Thank you.  That is helpful.

[Suskies]

(1) What kinds of foods are available when you use the Medallion app to order food to be brought to you? Is the menu big enough to have a proper meal and not just a burger and fries?

 

(2) Because we are both hearing-impaired, on past cruises we've asked for a table in a quiet location of one of the main dining rooms. Is there a way to make this request in the past? On our last cruise (pre-COVID Celebrity), they made a note in our file, and we didn't have to explain the situation every night (which was hard because, well, we're hearing-impaired).

[windsor26]

In Australian based cruises what is the cost of the crown grill (Majestic princess)

[TrixieBel]

Weirdest thing…. Our cruise is in Feb on the Majestic. I have already been in and booked some specialty restaurant meals. Want to add one more but weirdness is happening.

 

If I select both my husband and I in the app I always get the Sorry - we could not find any reservations at this time. Try again later message. 
 

if I unselect me and just try and book a table for my husband it allows me to see all the restaurants and times. 
 

If I unselect my husband and just try and book a table for me it throws up the “Sorry” message again. 
 

Anyone else had this happen to them? Or know how to fix it? 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

On 12/9/2022 at 10:19 AM, sabreline said:

I could live off of the bread in the Crown Grill!!!

And now it will cost you $39 for that bread.  Large increase.

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, TrixieBel said:

Weirdest thing…. Our cruise is in Feb on the Majestic. I have already been in and booked some specialty restaurant meals. Want to add one more but weirdness is happening.

 

If I select both my husband and I in the app I always get the Sorry - we could not find any reservations at this time. Try again later message. 
 

if I unselect me and just try and book a table for my husband it allows me to see all the restaurants and times. 
 

If I unselect my husband and just try and book a table for me it throws up the “Sorry” message again. 
 

Anyone else had this happen to them? Or know how to fix it? 

I have seen similar, but another error message, and it was because the guest's booking record was corrupted in POLAR and in MC App they were like persona non grata. 

 

For now, just book your husband in.  There is no such thing as a table for 1, so there will be space for you and you can pay the cover charge on board (charged to room account unless you have a SD credit).  Perhaps it will get resolved before you sail and you can adjust.  You can also visit the restaurant after boarding and explain to them what happened with the res so they know two of you are coming.

 

[memoak]

8 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

And now it will cost you $39 for that bread.  Large increase.

I think that increase will put me off he Crown Grill and Sabatini’s 

[Steelers36]

No doubt the UBD, WMD, and perhaps CT as well will all increase.  UBD at $50/pp certainly beats CG at $39 (as long as you have a balcony).  WMD @ $40 makes no sense at all when they have upped CG to $39.  It is just priced way too low now.  CT seems priced high enough already IMO, but I don't set the prices.

[TrixieBel]

11 hours ago, windsor26 said:

 

In Australian based cruises what is the cost of the crown grill (Majestic princess)

 

Here are the prices that show up for my Majestic sailing out of Sydney in Feb23. That’s per person… 

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by TrixieBel

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

I think that increase will put me off he Crown Grill and Sabatini’s 

The increase is less than the cost of a glass of wine, so not exactly a deal breaker !

[Steelers36]

14 minutes ago, TrixieBel said:

Here are the prices that show up for my Majestic sailing out of Sydney in Feb23. That’s per person… 

 

 

WAY under priced. Steal-of-a-deal in AUD.

[capriccio]

13 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The increase is less than the cost of a glass of wine, so not exactly a deal breaker !

@TrixieBel is on a cruise out of Australia.  Those on board expenses are in AUD$.  At today's conversion rate that is US$27.

[jsn55]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

No doubt the UBD, WMD, and perhaps CT as well will all increase.  UBD at $50/pp certainly beats CG at $39 (as long as you have a balcony).  WMD @ $40 makes no sense at all when they have upped CG to $39.  It is just priced way too low now.  CT seems priced high enough already IMO, but I don't set the prices.

Gee, if I knew what all these capital letters meant, perhaps I'd learn something.  😆

[Steelers36]

6 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

Gee, if I knew what all these capital letters meant, perhaps I'd learn something.  😆

I am sure I have explained them all before.  LOL.

[mthomp5]

Has anyone had any luck recently using the Medallion App to make specialty dining reservations, prior to the cruise for people in different rooms, using each person’s OBC?  
 

I was able to do this for a cruise this past September.  It took the OBC from each appropriate person’s account. But this time, it won’t let me.  It is forcing me to use a credit card.  
 

The only workaround via agent on Chat was to make separate reservations at the restaurant for the same time.  We’re hoping we can go on embarkation day to request a joint table for the 3 of us. 

[memoak]

51 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The increase is less than the cost of a glass of wine, so not exactly a deal breaker !

Since I always have the Plus package the cost of the wine is taken care of. I can buy a nice bottle at a discount

[Steelers36]

38 minutes ago, mthomp5 said:

The only workaround via agent on Chat was to make separate reservations at the restaurant for the same time.  We’re hoping we can go on embarkation day to request a joint table for the 3 of us. 

Not a good idea.  Separate reservations occupy two tables and system doesn't know they are related.  I'd either pay or just book two of you and then visit restaurant to ask for a 4-top and add the other cabin.  

[mthomp5]

54 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Not a good idea.  Separate reservations occupy two tables and system doesn't know they are related.  I'd either pay or just book two of you and then visit restaurant to ask for a 4-top and add the other cabin.  

I called Princess and selected the option for “Dine My Way”.  The Princess rep canceled the original set of separate reservations and made one reservation for the 3 of us.  Didn’t have to use credit card and said we could pay with our respective OBC on the ship.  That was too easy!