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

[MommyOTwins]

On 4/23/2022 at 3:40 PM, cruisingram1 said:

This is not a major issue for most cruisers, or in fact, a fair number of cruisers. But if you are the party affected by this, it is a major issue. The app needs to have a designation for large group and move it up the ladder to someone who can affect the solution manually. The way the system is now, there would be no way to know that your two tables (if that was your option for 11 people) would be near each other. Things used to be so simple. I know because we have cruised with large groups - on Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. A note was placed in the reservation system and our tables were right next to each other. Can't imagine the app being able to do that. If this was me, I'd call the DMW team and see what they suggest. I have a feeling waiting til you board will not get the outcome you wish if the ship is crowded.

Thank for for the reply.  I recognize it is a bit of an odd situation as we know we're not the usual demographic for Princess so they probably aren't used to a lot of big families.  Part of me also hopes they will reinstate the option for kids to eat in the kids club, which would certainly make it easier since then we'd just need to book a table in the dining room for the adults, but since Princess is now allowing unvaccinated kids under 5 I'm not optimistic they'll be dropping the mask requirement in the kids clubs any time soon....  Cruise is in July so we have some time, but I do think I'll need to call soon as we are getting close to pay in full deadline and I imagine dining reservations will start getting booked up pretty quick after that. 

[cruisingram1]

I have noticed that many of the tables for two are situated along the long bench-like seats around the dining room with a space between tables just large enough for a small person to squeeze through while they shove their butt in the face to the person on the other side. 🤣 Then you have the issue of small talk with your neighbors. I find this arrangement even worse than a table for 10 where you know you'll be small talking with the people there. If I select the option for table for 2,  it's probably because I don't want to chit chat with a stranger. I hate to be rude so I engage, but it's clearly not what I had in mind when I requested a two top. I understand the need to be flexible with seating. This arrangement allows for two tables for 2 or one table for four or many combinations.  But it's not an enjoyable experience for me. Not sure there's much of a solution. The dining rooms are really designed for rounds of 10, not 5 small tables of 2. 

[Dbld777]

3 hours ago, cruisingram1 said:

I have noticed that many of the tables for two are situated along the long bench-like seats around the dining room with a space between tables just large enough for a small person to squeeze through while they shove their butt in the face to the person on the other side. 🤣 Then you have the issue of small talk with your neighbors. I find this arrangement even worse than a table for 10 where you know you'll be small talking with the people there. If I select the option for table for 2,  it's probably because I don't want to chit chat with a stranger. I hate to be rude so I engage, but it's clearly not what I had in mind when I requested a two top. I understand the need to be flexible with seating. This arrangement allows for two tables for 2 or one table for four or many combinations.  But it's not an enjoyable experience for me. Not sure there's much of a solution. The dining rooms are really designed for rounds of 10, not 5 small tables of 2. 

Ask for a 2-top table with 2 chairs when you check in. There are several of these in the dining rooms and they tend to be not as close to the next table as the ones with the bench or banquet at the back side. They may not have any available, especially if you enter between 6 PM and 7 PM, but it's worth a try.

[Jammu2]

Oh gosh I am so confused. I haven't cruised since the before times so I am a little rusty. Can someone help?

 

Our cruise leaves in 11 days. It seems I am not able to make any dinner reservations in the app except for 5pm on the first 2 days?

 

We are a party of 2 travelling with another party of 2. I did in fact figure out how to link the parties. But it seems only 2 people can eat at one table. If I make a reservation for 5pm I get a message that the party will be split across multiple tables. Is this right?

 

We got one specialty dining reservation from our travel agent - as did everyone it would appear. How do I take advantage of this? Do I need to wait until I am on board?

 

Last dumb question - so this Dine My Way thing takes the place of assigned seating for a certain table at a certain time? The old fashioned way I guess you could call it.

 

Thanks!

[Katarina5391]

How far apart are the tables in the Ruby Princess's MDRs and buffets? For those who were successful in reserving a table for 2 every night away from others, what start time did you select? 

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Jammu2 said:

Oh gosh I am so confused. I haven't cruised since the before times so I am a little rusty. Can someone help?

 

Our cruise leaves in 11 days. It seems I am not able to make any dinner reservations in the app except for 5pm on the first 2 days?

 

We are a party of 2 travelling with another party of 2. I did in fact figure out how to link the parties. But it seems only 2 people can eat at one table. If I make a reservation for 5pm I get a message that the party will be split across multiple tables. Is this right?

 

We got one specialty dining reservation from our travel agent - as did everyone it would appear. How do I take advantage of this? Do I need to wait until I am on board?

 

Last dumb question - so this Dine My Way thing takes the place of assigned seating for a certain table at a certain time? The old fashioned way I guess you could call it.

 

Thanks!

Looks like you have not been following the issues and developments in Princess dining and DMW.

 

Which ship?  When you do check for a dining res, how many DR's are offered?  If your voyage is pretty full, it could well be that all the prime dining options are spoken for.  It also could be that an entire DR is not loaded in the App and will be open on board.

 

Unless DMW can find space for the full dining party, it comes back with the SPLIT alternative.  This is pretty stupid IMO since the whole purpose of forming the party is dining together.  If it cannot provide a Private table, it should be offering Shared space as an alternate as you would at least be together then.  So, it is a terribly poor program option, but it is correct in that it is the way it was setup.

 

If you have been looking at individual nights, you can elect Main Dining or Specialty Dining.  You could select a night and time for your party, then select the restaurant.  If DMW recognizes your dining credit (this has been quite flaky for some folks, including me but seems fine now) it will show the credit and charge you $0.  Otherwise, you have to pay by credit card and get an adjustment on board.  The other option is to wait until on board and book the SD then.

 

DMW is setup to work for AT dining.  It is a terrible non-solution to book TD.  It has no technical way to set you up for the same table and same waiters for the entire voyage.  All it can do is block a DR at the same time for the full voyage - presuming the space is available.

 

If you want to dine together like the old TD, you need to speak to DR mgmt on board and make the request and hope they can accommodate.  It's a mess for sure.

[Steelers36]

8 minutes ago, Katarina5391 said:

How far apart are the tables in the Ruby Princess's MDRs and buffets? For those who were successful in reserving a table for 2 every night away from others, what start time did you select? 

It varies from less than a foot to more space.  No way to know until you find out the table assignment, or are shown to a table.  You can try for one with more space.

[VibeGuy]

4 minutes ago, Katarina5391 said:

How far apart are the tables in the Ruby Princess's MDRs and buffets? For those who were successful in reserving a table for 2 every night away from others, what start time did you select? 

There are two types of two tops.  
 

There are those along the banquettes that run port-starboard where the gap between tables is about 15 inches, and guests are seated side by side. 
 

There are also those traditional tables with two chairs rather than chair and banquette that are mainly along the inside bulkheads that are closer to 48” apart from close edge to close edge, with customers at adjacent tables facing away from each other. 
 

With the ship in the 1600 range passenger-wise and only two dining rooms in operation, a two top or two at a small four top wasn’t an issue by about 7:20 or so.   

[Kenhel]

We just returned from Majestic Princess out of LA to Mexico. Overall it was a great experience. Prior to boarding, we made reservations in both MDRs for a private table for 2 for 6 out of 7 nights but cancelled the reservations after second night. We stopped going because of how close the private tables were set up.  They are far too close together from a health/covid perspective and lacked the "private" aspect of reserving this type of table. You could hear every detail of your neighbours conversation and were within very close range of their coughing.  They definitely need to space out the 2 top tables a bit more. As a result, we adjusted by eating meals in Alfredo's and Harmony (when not busy) and also enjoyed meals/snacks/drinks from the Marketplace Buffet & International Café on the Wake Bar outdoor seating area. We also used the app to order snacks, beverages etc to our balcony room or to an outdoor lounge area. I really did enjoy having the app as an option. 

[Katarina5391]

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

It varies from less than a foot to more space.  No way to know until you find out the table assignment, or are shown to a table.  You can try for one with more space.

 

4 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

There are two types of two tops.  
 

There are those along the banquettes that run port-starboard where the gap between tables is about 15 inches, and guests are seated side by side. 
 

There are also those traditional tables with two chairs rather than chair and banquette that are mainly along the inside bulkheads that are closer to 48” apart from close edge to close edge, with customers at adjacent tables facing away from each other. 
 

With the ship in the 1600 range passenger-wise and only two dining rooms in operation, a two top or two at a small four top wasn’t an issue by about 7:20 or so.   

Thank you! Very good to know. Sounds like I'll be asking for the table for 2 with two chairs. Dinner time for us is usually around 7:30 but I'll move that up a bit to avoid the usual dinner crowd.

[VibeGuy]

7:30 should be absolutely fine.  5:00 is when you need a miracle, but what are we, farmers?

Edited April 27, 2022 by VibeGuy

[Katarina5391]

13 minutes ago, Kenhel said:

We just returned from Majestic Princess out of LA to Mexico. Overall it was a great experience. Prior to boarding, we made reservations in both MDRs for a private table for 2 for 6 out of 7 nights but cancelled the reservations after second night. We stopped going because of how close the private tables were set up.  They are far too close together from a health/covid perspective and lacked the "private" aspect of reserving this type of table. You could hear every detail of your neighbours conversation and were within very close range of their coughing.  They definitely need to space out the 2 top tables a bit more. As a result, we adjusted by eating meals in Alfredo's and Harmony (when not busy) and also enjoyed meals/snacks/drinks from the Marketplace Buffet & International Café on the Wake Bar outdoor seating area. We also used the app to order snacks, beverages etc to our balcony room or to an outdoor lounge area. I really did enjoy having the app as an option. 

Those are my concerns as well. Good to know that specialty restaurants aren't too crowded and that the app works well and comes in handy when you want the flexibility to eat elsewhere to avoid crowds. I'm going on the Ruby this fall and hope that the capacity will still be around 70%. 

[Katarina5391]

1 minute ago, VibeGuy said:

7:30 should be absolutely fine. 

Thanks. Oops, sorry, I totally misread that part the first time around! 

[mpk]

On 4/26/2022 at 5:44 PM, Katarina5391 said:

Those are my concerns as well. Good to know that specialty restaurants aren't too crowded and that the app works well and comes in handy when you want the flexibility to eat elsewhere to avoid crowds. I'm going on the Ruby this fall and hope that the capacity will still be around 70%. 

 

It's a nice hope, but prepare for something different 😮    I sailed Discovery this month, and it was at 80%.

[Katarina5391]

19 hours ago, mpk said:

 

It's a nice hope, but prepare for something different 😮    I sailed Discovery this month, and it was at 80%.

Thanks. And I'm envious that you got to sail on the newest ship! Hope you enjoyed your cruise! 

[killineybay]

We will be on a B2B Discovery in October.  I was wondering what the best time is for DMW reservations.  We can eat later if necessary.  I booked reservations for 6pm but maybe later would be better. Also wonder what time the shows are at.   We have not sailed since covid and are very flexible.  I have also read reviews about how difficult it can be to book specialty restaurants.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Ann

[moonglum]

Just off a B2B in the Med on Regal Princess.

 

The ship was half empty but unless you booked Crown Grill first couple of days then times were difficult to get.

 

MDR was okay at this time for seating but as pointed out some of the 2 tops are quite close together and people seemed reluctant to share. You could probably get away with charming the hostess and requesting the same time and table each night.  We have done this successfully before. Might be difficult if the ship is full.

 

What I will say is the dining experience appeared to be rushed. Waiters were removing plates and serving the next course before all at the table were finished. This was pointed out and they stopped it at that time. Also Maitre D's were seldom seem and were certainly not going round the tables.

 

It was also noticed that shorts now seem acceptable in both MDR and Specialty Restaurants although waiting staff state they are not permitted.

Edited April 30, 2022 by moonglum
spelling

[Nebr.cruiser]

9 hours ago, killineybay said:

We will be on a B2B Discovery in October.  I was wondering what the best time is for DMW reservations.  We can eat later if necessary.  I booked reservations for 6pm but maybe later would be better. Also wonder what time the shows are at.   We have not sailed since covid and are very flexible.  I have also read reviews about how difficult it can be to book specialty restaurants.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Ann

We were on the inaugural sailing.  If you don't mind eating later, reservations weren't necessary, unless you are set on the same table and servers.  There were lines for early diners, the one time we happened to walk by.

 

Shows were at 7:30 and 9:30.  Every night by one we went to the early show and then directly to dinner.  We only once had a wait of 5-7 minutes or so.  There were 3 in our party so were at tables for four and we were quickly seated.

 

As I posted earlier, although all specialty restaurants were fully booked, we were able to get in one night by just walking up and asking.

[Blue_Flame]

Question about being "double booked."

 

I was able to make my DMW reservations several months ahead on Ruby for a late dining time, private table for two, in DaVinci. Same time every night. No problem.

 

While checking today (we are still before final payment), "someone" has me also booked every night at an earlier time in Michelangelo, also private table for two.

 

I am hesitant to just go in and cancel all the Michelangelo reservations without really knowing why it happened. Maybe DaVinci is not going to be used and it will eventually be canceled by Princess? I would rather have one reservation than neither.

 

Any ideas before I try making a phone call?

[Steelers36]

22 minutes ago, Blue_Flame said:

Question about being "double booked."

 

I was able to make my DMW reservations several months ahead on Ruby for a late dining time, private table for two, in DaVinci. Same time every night. No problem.

 

While checking today (we are still before final payment), "someone" has me also booked every night at an earlier time in Michelangelo, also private table for two.

 

I am hesitant to just go in and cancel all the Michelangelo reservations without really knowing why it happened. Maybe DaVinci is not going to be used and it will eventually be canceled by Princess? I would rather have one reservation than neither.

 

Any ideas before I try making a phone call?

My explanation doesn't work in the situation where you ought to have noticed the default res.  You will have to think back for yourself on that one. 

 

Were you perhaps booked before June 7, 2021?  If so, and you had an Early TD dining booked in your reservation, Princess, by default, set you up at a 2-top for 5:00pm dining in the likely one DR they setup in DMW at launch.

 

I realize that Michelangelo DR is on Deck 5 and typically they set up the Deck 6 Mid-Ship DR in DMW (Da Vinci in your case) as it has the CC Dining section. 

 

Da Vinci is not going to be out of use.  I would go ahead and cancel the other.  I may be wrong as it is just a guess, not knowing your situation.  It should NOT be the case that you set up both of these as DMW doesn't keep duplicates these days.  However, I can say that when those default reservations were setup in data conversion from POLAR to MC App, it was possible to have double reservations.  I booked us may back when last June and after I did, I noticed the Princess default entries when I reviewed the setup.

 

[Blue_Flame]

39 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

My explanation doesn't work in the situation where you ought to have noticed the default res.  You will have to think back for yourself on that one. 

 

Were you perhaps booked before June 7, 2021?  If so, and you had an Early TD dining booked in your reservation, Princess, by default, set you up at a 2-top for 5:00pm dining in the likely one DR they setup in DMW at launch.

 

I realize that Michelangelo DR is on Deck 5 and typically they set up the Deck 6 Mid-Ship DR in DMW (Da Vinci in your case) as it has the CC Dining section. 

 

Da Vinci is not going to be out of use.  I would go ahead and cancel the other.  I may be wrong as it is just a guess, not knowing your situation.  It should NOT be the case that you set up both of these as DMW doesn't keep duplicates these days.  However, I can say that when those default reservations were setup in data conversion from POLAR to MC App, it was possible to have double reservations.  I booked us may back when last June and after I did, I noticed the Princess default entries when I reviewed the setup.

 

Your explanation makes sense. This is probably what happened. Yes, we were booked long ago as Late Traditional Dining. Therefore, Princess dropped 7pm dining in MDW for us. I made our bookings at least two months ago before any of their reservations showed up. I think I feel comfortable deleting the duplicates.

 

(They even dropped an MDR reservation in on a day I had a Speciality Dining already booked.)

 

Thanks for the explanation.

[muchofamuchness]

How soon after final payment should we expect to be able to start looking at dining reservations through Dine My Way? Currently in the app, when you go to the Dine My Way option on the main screen, it says "Dine My Way is not available right now. Please check back later," which is what it's said when I've looked at it before. We paid the balance last week so I sort of assumed it would become available now...

[JF - retired RRT]

31 minutes ago, muchofamuchness said:

How soon after final payment should we expect to be able to start looking at dining reservations through Dine My Way? Currently in the app, when you go to the Dine My Way option on the main screen, it says "Dine My Way is not available right now. Please check back later," which is what it's said when I've looked at it before. We paid the balance last week so I sort of assumed it would become available now...

Some have reported that DMW doesn't work on their device. That may be your problem.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, muchofamuchness said:

How soon after final payment should we expect to be able to start looking at dining reservations through Dine My Way? Currently in the app, when you go to the Dine My Way option on the main screen, it says "Dine My Way is not available right now. Please check back later," which is what it's said when I've looked at it before. We paid the balance last week so I sort of assumed it would become available now...

AskOceanMedallion@carnival.net. Or call in and select MC App help option.  If emailing, send full booking information and that DMW not working for you.

[sammyjoanne]

On 4/26/2022 at 9:21 PM, Katarina5391 said:

How far apart are the tables in the Ruby Princess's MDRs and buffets? For those who were successful in reserving a table for 2 every night away from others, what start time did you select? 

For Ruby buffets the tables were about 1 and a half meters apart, some more than others. It did feel like your were nicely spaced. I never felt like I was too close. If you want some more space in horizons court, I recommend eating at caribe cafe at the aft of the ship. We used to go around half 7, or sometimes even around 9ish if we had been out for the day and not eaten lunch until later that afternoon.

MDR davinci was formal night and also a show night so we went at 5pm(any time dining) and waited about 15 mins. MDR Bottecelli we pre booked a private table for 2 at half past 8 and not many people in there. The ones we sat at were about a metre and half away id say