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

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

The other big change is for the Ocean Now Medallion feature where guests can order drinks and snacks to wherever they are located via Medallion tracking.  This will now cost $15 per booking to utilize the service for your voyage.  It is now included in Plus/Premier - as long as paid $60/$80.

 

Also, Room Service no longer free.  $5 per usage.  Free for Plus/Premier.

What if your plus was a special 50% off deal, do you not get free Ocean now and room service, and when does kick in?

Edited July 27, 2023 by terrierjohn

[Steelers36]

4 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

What if your plus was a special 50% off deal, do you not get free Ocean now and room service, and when does kick in?

AFAIK, the 50% off deal came along since the $60/$80 price level and since guest don't lose anything with the discount, I would say you don't lose the new perks.  The package is the package is the package, no matter if you got a discount.

 

[posspet]

I'm very confused.  We are booked with Plus at the moment for a cruise in 400 days time.

Does this mean that the perks we booked at will be changed by then?

We used to go to Alfredo's a few times.  Are we limited to 2 visits for the whole 22 night cruise?

When we get to the cruise will we have to pay extra to use a lifejacket?

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, posspet said:

I'm very confused.  We are booked with Plus at the moment for a cruise in 400 days time.

Does this mean that the perks we booked at will be changed by then?

We used to go to Alfredo's a few times.  Are we limited to 2 visits for the whole 22 night cruise?

When we get to the cruise will we have to pay extra to use a lifejacket?

At 400 days, there could easily be more changes.  If you paid $60 for Plus then you get the new things announced today.  If you booked with old Pkus at $50, then you don't. 

[suzyed]

9 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

There were no changes announced for DMW app, MDR dining, reservations, dining style, etc.

 

It was all about changes to designating free dining versus casual dining with charges.

 

The big change is that Alfredo's/Gigi's will no longer be free, but have a la carte pricing in menu as well as a full meal flat rate.  These costs will be waived for guests who are on Plus/Premier cruise packages as long as they have paid at the $60/$80 price level or upgrade to it.

 

Other casual dining venues that had menu pricing will now be free for Plus/Premier.  Plus guest get to use these locations for free 2X per voyage.  Premier is unlimited. 

 

A lot of people are going to be unhappy about having to pay for elevated pizza, but it's a sign of the times.

And what doesn't seem fair is that someone on a 7 day cruise gets 2 free Casual meals and someone on a 25 day cruise still only get 2 free Casual meals?

Edited July 28, 2023 by suzyed

[WAvoyager]

Going on a Princess cruise is now getting to be just as difficult/confusing as planning a DisneyWorld trip.  I understand all of these companies are just trying to optimize profits, but I can’t believe they’re letting people add this much ‘friction’ to the user experience.  

As a product manager for many years, and for different fortune 100 companies, anything that makes things more difficult for your customers has been inherently bad.  Seems like Princess (and others) are ignoring that principle.

[terrierjohn]

9 hours ago, suzyed said:

And what doesn't seem fair is that someone on a 7 day cruise gets 2 free Casual meals and someone on a 25 day cruise still only get 2 free Casual meals?

Only just seeing this change, however it seems to me that Princess is just trying to get more and more passengers to purchase the drinks package, which I suppose is good marketing strategy.  But of course as they put in more extra complexities, this may in fact have the opposite effect and result in more people questioning the value of the packages. We certainly could not justify paying the full price, so are only ever likely to purchase them when they have half price offers.

[luvdaislands]

On 7/27/2023 at 2:36 PM, foodsvcmgr said:

So they remain intransigent on ever reinstating a fixed traditional dining option?

Seems so easy to do with multiple MDR’s at their disposal. Feeling like the only person that now avoids Princess for this reason.

You're not the only one! Although I reached Elite status quite a while back, I gave up on Princess a year ago and have no plans to sail them again. Last year you could not get thru to reservations or were put on hold for hours. The new changes- $$ for Alfredo's, the Princess app, etc, have confirmed my decision was correct.

[jsn55]

22 hours ago, suzyed said:

And what doesn't seem fair is that someone on a 7 day cruise gets 2 free Casual meals and someone on a 25 day cruise still only get 2 free Casual meals?

You need a better travel advisor.

[brynmelyndavid]

Having looked into many different cruise lines it seems to me that these changes are very much in line with most other companies. Covid changed everything and things are not going to go back to how they were. Our next cruise will be with Princess (our first time with them) and they seem much more transparent and less 'nickel and dime' than some lines, (such as Royal Caribbean). We have booked Premier so this makes little difference to us other than to increase our dining options slightly but we are very happy with everything we see, including this change and it certainly wouldn't stop us booking with Princess again.

[sonoma03]

I find it very unfair for Princess to implement these changes on cruises that have already been paid in full some time ago.  I am booked on Caribbean Princess for an Aug. 30th cruise so the new changes will apply, but at the time that I booked and paid for my cruise, Princess advertised that some of the features they are now charging for would be free to everyone, regardless of whether they have Plus/Premier packages.  Princess has the right to make more money by implementing these changes, but doing so on cruises that are past final payment is unilaterally changing the terms under which passengers booked those cruises.  It may be legal, but it certainly doesn't build good will with customers.

[Host CJSKIDS]

A member @dides has done a great job with a summary and table showing the changes to casual dining along with the charges.  Please see this thread for what they have done.

 

 

[Jezzieone]

On 7/29/2023 at 2:20 PM, sonoma03 said:

I find it very unfair for Princess to implement these changes on cruises that have already been paid in full some time ago.  I am booked on Caribbean Princess for an Aug. 30th cruise so the new changes will apply, but at the time that I booked and paid for my cruise, Princess advertised that some of the features they are now charging for would be free to everyone, regardless of whether they have Plus/Premier packages.  Princess has the right to make more money by implementing these changes, but doing so on cruises that are past final payment is unilaterally changing the terms under which passengers booked those cruises.  It may be legal, but it certainly doesn't build good will with customers.

I completely agree. We looked into what was available to us for free and opted to upgrade our cabin instead of going with the Plus/Premier packages. Heck, if i had gone with the Plus, i would also be angry as they are now limited to only 2 visits to the casual dining without an added fee. Those that have already paid in full should have been grandfathered in or given an onboard credit to off-sset these extra costs!

[memoak]

2 hours ago, Jezzieone said:

I completely agree. We looked into what was available to us for free and opted to upgrade our cabin instead of going with the Plus/Premier packages. Heck, if i had gone with the Plus, i would also be angry as they are now limited to only 2 visits to the casual dining without an added fee. Those that have already paid in full should have been grandfathered in or given an onboard credit to off-sset these extra costs!

You do realize the only free casual restaurant was the Pizzeria and that was only on some ships. All others already had a charge

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

You do realize the only free casual restaurant was the Pizzeria and that was only on some ships. All others already had a charge

 

Additionally, with Alfredo's my wife and I always share a single pizza as we find that to be plenty of food for us. If each person can have 2 visits that becomes 4 pizzas which is more often than we normally eat at that venue. I don't have enough hair left to be pulling it out over these changes. (However, I do agree that changing parameters after final payment is pretty sleazy.)

[Tedferg]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

Additionally, with Alfredo's my wife and I always share a single pizza as we find that to be plenty of food for us. If each person can have 2 visits that becomes 4 pizzas which is more often than we normally eat at that venue. I don't have enough hair left to be pulling it out over these changes. (However, I do agree that changing parameters after final payment is pretty sleazy.)

We also share, I wonder though, if they take the order and scan medallion does that automatically flag as two visits. Is it Visit or Order??? But hey, if our third visit costs $12 that's no big deal.

Edited August 1, 2023 by Tedferg

[Thrak]

52 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

We also share, I wonder though, if they take the order and scan medallion does that automatically flag as two visits. Is it Visit or Order??? But hey, if our third visit costs $12 that's no big deal.

 

Walk in. Sit down. Order pizza. Have other party join you. One order from one person should equal 1 visit. Obviously one shouldn't have to resort to this sort of nonsense but who knows how it will actually work. My opinion is that, unless actually ordered to charge both parties, the crew would be inclined to see it logically and only charge one medallion for the visit.

[memoak]

17 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Walk in. Sit down. Order pizza. Have other party join you. One order from one person should equal 1 visit. Obviously one shouldn't have to resort to this sort of nonsense but who knows how it will actually work. My opinion is that, unless actually ordered to charge both parties, the crew would be inclined to see it logically and only charge one medallion for the visit.

Just a question. When I go to Sabatini’s I am charged a flat fee but zi only eat an app and a pasta should I get a discount ?

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Just a question. When I go to Sabatini’s I am charged a flat fee but zi only eat an app and a pasta should I get a discount ?

 

That is a Specialty Dining venue - NOT a Casual Dining Venue. Sabatini's will charge the full fee to eat there.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Just a question. When I go to Sabatini’s I am charged a flat fee but zi only eat an app and a pasta should I get a discount ?

No because that is a set cover charge location.  The Casual Dining locations have a la carte items plus a meal deal.  It's not a cover charge.

[memoak]

33 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

No because that is a set cover charge location.  The Casual Dining locations have a la carte items plus a meal deal.  It's not a cover charge.

So what different from that a price fixe casual ?  You seem to want a pizza and nothing else but not be charged for one of  2 visits for two people 

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

So what different from that a price fixe casual ?  You seem to want a pizza and nothing else but not be charged for one of  2 visits for two people 

You are misinterpreting me for some reason.  I am not looking for anything for nothing.  It is up to guest whether to use a visit or pay $12 for a pizza.

[suzyed]

On 7/28/2023 at 11:26 PM, jsn55 said:

You need a better travel advisor.

It has nothing to do with my travel advisor. This is one of the new aspects of the Princess Plus scheme.

[terrierjohn]

17 hours ago, suzyed said:

It has nothing to do with my travel advisor. This is one of the new aspects of the Princess Plus scheme.

I think it is probably part of Princess's aim to maximise the plus/prem package uptake.

[Cruzbw]

My question is in line with the topic description: Questions about DMW, but not related to the hot topic of late.  I have made reservations on the app at 6 pm, same DR, same time every night on the Discovery, Ketchikan DR, shared table. But I read that we may have to wait in line for those who sat at 5:00 to be done. I'm trying to minimize crowding for the sake of my SIL. Is this likely to happen?