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

[windsor26]

Thank you everyone for your replies  $40 aud  is a little more than I had expected as Carnival is $29 aud still  but I may treat us anyway

[mthomp5]

3 hours 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.  

 

2 hours ago, mthomp5 said:

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!

Well….I guess that was too easy after all because I happened to check my credit card and I saw pending charges for the specialty dining reservations 😲. Guess that means I couldn’t use OBC as the Princess rep said.  I think I’ll just book onboard.  

[mthomp5]

I know it’s been discussed about not being able to use OBC pre-cruise (other than excursions) but this says OBC can be used pre cruise for specialty dining via the Medallion app.

https://www.princess.com/plan/fcc-onboard-cruise-credits/

 

but…it didn’t work for me today.  

[Steelers36]

8 hours ago, mthomp5 said:

 

Well….I guess that was too easy after all because I happened to check my credit card and I saw pending charges for the specialty dining reservations 😲. Guess that means I couldn’t use OBC as the Princess rep said.  I think I’ll just book onboard.  

Maybe it will stay in pending (from earlier attempts).  See if it moves into posted section.

 

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, mthomp5 said:

I know it’s been discussed about not being able to use OBC pre-cruise (other than excursions) but this says OBC can be used pre cruise for specialty dining via the Medallion app.

https://www.princess.com/plan/fcc-onboard-cruise-credits/

 

but…it didn’t work for me today.  

IDK.  Seems odd to me - unless brand new.  I no longer have an active booking, but there was no option to use OBC to pay for SD reservation.  It was - and is -  possible to use a SD Credit to pay for SD reservation.  A SD Credit <> OBC.  A SD Credit is specific to cover the SD charge and normally comes as part of a sales promotion.  OBC is like cash and can be used for anything on-board, but is very limited pre-cruise to Shore Excursions.  I don't trust this wording as it would not be the first time Princess has incorrect documentation on the website.  I'd be looking for another confirmation of this.

[mthomp5]

9 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

IDK.  Seems odd to me - unless brand new.  I no longer have an active booking, but there was no option to use OBC to pay for SD reservation.  It was - and is -  possible to use a SD Credit to pay for SD reservation.  A SD Credit <> OBC.  A SD Credit is specific to cover the SD charge and normally comes as part of a sales promotion.  OBC is like cash and can be used for anything on-board, but is very limited pre-cruise to Shore Excursions.  I don't trust this wording as it would not be the first time Princess has incorrect documentation on the website.  I'd be looking for another confirmation of this.

Yes…very true…there is no option in the Medallion App to use OBC for specialty dining. I have been able to use Specialty Dining credit to book in the app before.  And as you mentioned is different than OBC.   I bet the website is just not correct.  

[Scotmay]

I’ve just booked the Enchanted and the cruise is sailing SOON. I’m filling in all the required information for the Medallion. I clicked on the DMW and can’t figure it out. Do you have to click on each day (of 20) and book a time for each dinner separately?  Can’t you just turn up any more?  
This seems to me to be an awful lot of work for the paying passenger. 
the Enchanted is a new ship and I have no idea which DR is better than the other. My hubby uses a walker with some effort and don’t want to turn up at one DR and be told to go to another one at the opposite end of the ship. Thank you for any info re: the dining on this ship!
 

[Steelers36]

9 minutes ago, Scotmay said:

I’ve just booked the Enchanted and the cruise is sailing SOON. I’m filling in all the required information for the Medallion. I clicked on the DMW and can’t figure it out. Do you have to click on each day (of 20) and book a time for each dinner separately?  Can’t you just turn up any more?  
This seems to me to be an awful lot of work for the paying passenger. 
the Enchanted is a new ship and I have no idea which DR is better than the other. My hubby uses a walker with some effort and don’t want to turn up at one DR and be told to go to another one at the opposite end of the ship. Thank you for any info re: the dining on this ship!
 

Yes, you can be a Walk-Up guest.  They may suggest one or other DR is best for that.  You may have a wait at prime time (say, 6p to 7pm).  You will wait less if willing to sit at any table (sharing) versus private. 

 

Since you were looking at DMW, see the option where you can book for the entire voyage.  That implies same DR and same time each night.  It books all nights the same (subject to availability) and saves you doing it 20 times.  If you want different times each night, then you have to do it 1-by-1.  You might just want to book at 20 at once and then go in and make override changes if a few nights are an exception. 

 

All DR's have same service level and menu.  Two are at mid-ship off the Piazza area and one is aft and accessible from Deck 7 (down one level) or from the aft elevators.  Some folks don't care, but we prefer one of the mid-ship DR's since we don't tend to stay in rear cabin sections. 

 

You should no be told to go elsewhere if you have a res for a time in a particular DR.  You might be advised as a Walk-Up that if you go to one of the other DR's, the wait it less.

 

Check the deck plans on Princess.com and see where the DR's are located and where you cabin is relative to that, or consider what you might be doing just before and after dining.

[wowzz]

17 minutes ago, Scotmay said:

Can’t you just turn up any more?  

Yes you can. We never know when we want to eat when we are at home, let alone on a cruise in the future. We just turn up when we are hungry.

Edited December 16, 2022 by wowzz

[Scotmay]

Thank you for your precise answers. Our first cruise post Covid and can’t believe the amount of work that we are being asked to do with Princess. Princess has been our Go To Cruiseline in the past with only a couple of exceptions, but will have to reconsider our options for the future. After all we are Paying Passengers here and from the sounds of it, a big percentage of us are having some stress with this Medallion!  It’s almost ridiculous!  

[wowzz]

3 minutes ago, Scotmay said:

Thank you for your precise answers. Our first cruise post Covid and can’t believe the amount of work that we are being asked to do with Princess. Princess has been our Go To Cruiseline in the past with only a couple of exceptions, but will have to reconsider our options for the future. After all we are Paying Passengers here and from the sounds of it, a big percentage of us are having some stress with this Medallion!  It’s almost ridiculous!  

You actually do not need to do anything in advance. Just turn up at the pier, and the check in staff will do everything for you. Much less stress that way !

[Scotmay]

Wowzz:  I have already managed to fill in all the answers (I think) lol. I have always loved Princess. I feel that they are a really good middle of the road cruise line, but most people don’t want to have all this stress that I am reading about on here!  Maybe we will get a big surprise and all our cruises will go really well!  Gotta keep and open mind and above all a sense of humour!

[VibeGuy]

On 12/9/2022 at 7:56 AM, memoak said:

Have yet to see steak Diane, lamb chops, escargot etc in a buffet. It sounds like choosing Golden Corral over Chris Ruths

Actually, lamb does make a more frequent appearance in the buffet.  I’ve had rack, loin chops, shoulder chops, various braises and sausages.  

[Scotmay]

Lamb is our chosen meat!

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, Scotmay said:

Wowzz:  I have already managed to fill in all the answers (I think) lol. I have always loved Princess. I feel that they are a really good middle of the road cruise line, but most people don’t want to have all this stress that I am reading about on here!  Maybe we will get a big surprise and all our cruises will go really well!  Gotta keep and open mind and above all a sense of humour!

Scotmay - we have done two Princess cruises in the last year, and have another one booked for April.

In our last two cruises the staff did not want to see our app, could not care less what colour our boarding pass was etc. We went to a check in desk, and the staff basically started from scratch. There is no need to do anything in advance, as the check in staff know nothing about the Medallion app.

So, for our next cruise,  I have done nothing. 

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by wowzz

[jsn55]

9 hours ago, wowzz said:

You actually do not need to do anything in advance. Just turn up at the pier, and the check in staff will do everything for you. Much less stress that way !

Doesn't this kind of checkin take a lot more time?  I too have a husband who cannot stand around very long waiting, so I have really given this horrible Medallion thing a great deal of attention to get into the Green Line.  What really bothers me is all the pax who think it's their fault and just try and try to get the thing to work.  And it's been going on for YEARS.  I just don't want to give my hard-earned money to a cruise line who doesn't care about pax.  So I hope the cruise itself next week is fabulous.

Edited December 17, 2022 by jsn55
clarity

[Scotmay]

Jsn55:  This is exactly the way I feel. I am reading about some passengers who spend hours and hours trying to use a piece of technology that is anything BUT USER FRIENDLY. When I first tried to get onto it, it wouldn’t even let me register. It turned out that someone had transposed day and month of my birthdate. So, right away I experienced stress for something that actually is a simple fix. We don’t need this!  

[dmcfad2]

Question deleted. I found the answer. 🙂

Edited December 19, 2022 by dmcfad2
Found answer

[paradiselivin1]

On 12/16/2022 at 11:40 AM, Scotmay said:

Enchanted is a new ship and I have no idea which DR is better than the other. My hubby uses a walker with some effort and don’t want to turn up at one DR and be told to go to another one at the opposite end of the ship. Thank you for any info re: the dining on this ship!

@Scotmay We've been on board Enchanted since Dec. 9th and had taken other CC folks advice and booked the Capri which is on Deck 6 mid-ship. We love that DR and had used the app to book our dining times with no issue, however, were not always able to get a private table for 2. When we boarded on the 9th, we went immediately to Crown Grille to make a reservation and the young lady there (Vaishala) modified our existing reservations in the Capri and was able to get us a table for 2 each night. BTW, dinner in CG was fabulous as always. Enjoy your cruise. Have been frustrated with the Medallion itself but the app has been working fine..

[jsn55]

I booked at one of the MDRs for dinner last night (using the app a few weeks ago) and we were told on arrival that our res was for the 'other' DR at the far end of the ship.  This was after the hostess fumbled around with my husband's Medallion for a while; there was obviously a problem so she took the easy way out.  My husband uses a cane, so traipsing all the way back to the other DR was too much ... we ended up having Christmas Eve dinner at the buffet, all dressed up.  So if it's an important res, double-check what the Medallion has booked for you so you're not disappointed.  One of my Shore Excursions is screwed up as well, but I got tired of dealing with it between the app and a rep at the ShoreX desk and gave up.  The Medallion app onboard is a lot of fun, but you can't count on it every time.  We'll probably never book Princess again.  

[bafinegan]

Must be me, but problems with a certain ap, experience, etc would not cause me to "never book" a cruise line again.  I would base this decision on all the positives vs all the negatives vs price vs itinerary.  Just my opnion.

[jsn55]

On 12/26/2022 at 2:39 AM, bafinegan said:

Must be me, but problems with a certain ap, experience, etc would not cause me to "never book" a cruise line again.  I would base this decision on all the positives vs all the negatives vs price vs itinerary.  Just my opnion.

You make a good point, but a cruise line that doesn't care about it's pax is not a cruise line I'm happy to sail with.  Wasted another half-hour today unscrewing dinner reservations; no confidence that they'll welcome us at the times we chose ... again.  We will make a list of the good and bad, of course; but we enjoy cruising with a line that wants us to be happy all the way around.  

[Cruise Starter]

On 12/24/2022 at 12:36 PM, paradiselivin1 said:

@Scotmay We've been on board Enchanted since Dec. 9th and had taken other CC folks advice and booked the Capri which is on Deck 6 mid-ship. We love that DR and had used the app to book our dining times with no issue, however, were not always able to get a private table for 2. When we boarded on the 9th, we went immediately to Crown Grille to make a reservation and the young lady there (Vaishala) modified our existing reservations in the Capri and was able to get us a table for 2 each night. BTW, dinner in CG was fabulous as always. Enjoy your cruise. Have been frustrated with the Medallion itself but the app has been working fine..

We are booked for private dining for 2 in the Capri on the Enchanted.  Do they have separate lines for checking into the dining room for reservations and a different line for walk up diners?

 

We have heard mixed answers on this question.  Mixing the lines into one line makes it very frustrating to those who have a reservation and have to stand in a line waiting until walk up diners are seated.

 

[paradiselivin1]

1 hour ago, Cruise Starter said:

We are booked for private dining for 2 in the Capri on the Enchanted.  Do they have separate lines for checking into the dining room for reservations and a different line for walk up diners?

Not to my knowledge. One side for Club Class and the other seemed to handle both reservations and walk up but take that with a grain of salt. We had reservations for most nights at 5:50PM and I think they accepted walk-ups from 5:00-5:45.PM but not sure. We often arrived a little early and never had a problem. 

Edited December 29, 2022 by paradiselivin1

[jsn55]

On 12/28/2022 at 3:36 PM, Cruise Starter said:

We are booked for private dining for 2 in the Capri on the Enchanted.  Do they have separate lines for checking into the dining room for reservations and a different line for walk up diners?

 

We have heard mixed answers on this question.  Mixing the lines into one line makes it very frustrating to those who have a reservation and have to stand in a line waiting until walk up diners are seated.

 

We are on Royal with 3 MDR reservations; so far 2 have been totally screwed up by the app, but the MDR crew swept in and made it all right both times.