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

[sammyjoanne]

Ive ate early at 5pm when it was a sea day, but a port day; by the time we get back and had lunch mid afternoon, we won't want to eat dinner until about 8-9pm. When we ate at the MDR at the later time, we did not have as much as did not want the dinner to sit on us at bed time, so we would not have as many courses.

[Orlando Vic]

When can I book specialty restaurants pre-cruise?

 

I am overwhelmed with the number of posts about dine my way. We have a 25-day cruise beginning September 24th and would like to have a few specialty restaurant reservations lined up before boarding. Does anyone know when and how I can do this?

[StrawberryHill]

Working Dine my way stuff for June cruise on the App

What is the difference between "slow and "relaxed "

Definitely don't way fast

 

[worldtraveller]

For those like me that have not been able to get the app to work, this week I called Princess.  One of the options was something like problems with the app or DMW.  I selected that and the next option included just problems with DMW.  Then you selected something if you were Platinum or Elite (not sure if Suites were included or not sorry).  I was able to reach someone (mid day, weekday) in less than five minutes.  She made my reservation for me.  Never did get an email confirmation as I had requested but it is showing up in the app.

[Steelers36]

14 hours ago, Orlando Vic said:

When can I book specialty restaurants pre-cruise?

 

I am overwhelmed with the number of posts about dine my way. We have a 25-day cruise beginning September 24th and would like to have a few specialty restaurant reservations lined up before boarding. Does anyone know when and how I can do this?

If you are Elite or Platinum, you should be able to access DMW in the MC App.  Otherwise, supposedly you do not see access until after you have made Final Payment.  Once you do have access, you can use the Individual Night option to make a booking and the SD locations are available to book.

 

Regular dining and SD are available at the same time. 

 

According to Post #1029 from @worldtravaveller, you can now phone in to have dining reservations made by an OCEAN team member.  (This is news to me although I knew they had a help line for MC App issues).  Based on that post, phoning in is not going to get you past the need to wait until you fully pay for the cruise before being able to make a res - assuming your Captain's Circle level is not Platinum or Elite.  These two groups can book dining as soon as they make a booking. 

[Steelers36]

11 hours ago, StrawberryHill said:

Working Dine my way stuff for June cruise on the App

What is the difference between "slow and "relaxed "

Definitely don't way fast

 

There is no precise definition of these terms - I guess we just use our imagination.  There is also zero evidence that anyone at Princess is paying attention to it.  For example, those who elect to share a table with other cruisers would ideally be grouped by their desired speed of meal service.  No evidence that is happening - in fact, it just won't be.  Another aspect of this is that many folks may want different speeds on different nights, depending on dining start time and their desire to make an entertainment event, etc.  

 

ETA:  Best thing is to just let your waiter know your situation each evening if you need to get out sooner.  That has always worked for us in the past and this MC App option seems a waste of time.

Edited May 7, 2022 by Steelers36

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, worldtraveller said:

For those like me that have not been able to get the app to work, this week I called Princess.  One of the options was something like problems with the app or DMW.  I selected that and the next option included just problems with DMW.  Then you selected something if you were Platinum or Elite (not sure if Suites were included or not sorry).  I was able to reach someone (mid day, weekday) in less than five minutes.  She made my reservation for me.  Never did get an email confirmation as I had requested but it is showing up in the app.

Thanks for these notes.  I was not aware they had a specific phone tree path for DMW issues.  I could certainly understand why as there has been a LOT of DMW issues.  I wonder if these folks are setting up guest requests who want the TD experience so we truly do get same table and wait staff.  I have only corresponded via email for DMW issues with OCEAN team thus far.  We are in a good place now - except the need to get same table/waiters for the voyage.

 

In respect of Suites - they do not need DMW other than for Specialty Dining reservations since they dine in the Club Class section of Deck 6 Mid-Ship DR.

 

ETA:

 

PHONE TREE @ 1-800-PRINCES

1 - TA's

2 - Existing Res

3 - New Booking

4 - CVP

OTHER - Just wait during the pause for further options.

 

1 - MC App & DMW

OTHER - Continue to wait on hold

 

Select 1 when offered MC App & DMW

 

Next options:

1 - OCEAN Ready Help

2 - DMW Help

 

Select 2.

 

1 - Elite, Platinum, Suite, Club Class

2 - Others

 

Select 1 if applicable.  (Note that Suites and CC bookings do not need DMW at all for regular dining - just SD bookings).

 

One problem I see is that they don't signal nor indicate their hours of operation.  I am not surprised at no answer just after 6:30am PT on a Saturday morning.  (I know they open for general calls at 8am on SAT and 6am weekdays).  Would be nice to know the hours that DMW help is there.  (I am going to ask if they are setting up or noting TD requests). 

 

One good thing is they do not have that super-annoying Princess hold muzak that we suffer with on the regular booking options. 😉

 

 

ETA 2:

 

PHONE TREE @ 1-800-PRINCES

1 - TA's

2 - Existing Res

3 - New Booking

4 - CVP

OTHER - Just wait during the pause for further options.

 

Select #2 option above and you get:

1 - MC App & DMW Issues

2 - Make a Payment

3 - Shore Excursions

4 - EZ-Air

5 - FCC questions or usage

Other - just wait

 

Note that option 1 above takes you to the same place as the path followed in the first ETA section.

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by Steelers36

[JF - retired RRT]

16 hours ago, Orlando Vic said:

When can I book specialty restaurants pre-cruise?

 

I am overwhelmed with the number of posts about dine my way. We have a 25-day cruise beginning September 24th and would like to have a few specialty restaurant reservations lined up before boarding. Does anyone know when and how I can do this?

You'll have 25 days. I wouldn't even bother. Just make your res onboard. Bonus: if you have OBC, you won't have to use your credit card to pay.

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

One good thing is they do not have that super-annoying Princess hold muzak that we suffer with on the regular booking options. 😉

OMG!!! That's my new go to option.🤣

[Steelers36]

19 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

OMG!!! That's my new go to option.🤣

Since it is after 8:00am PT, I just tried the line to get through to DMW help, and after a few moments on hold, I was offered a Call-Back option and took that.  How about that for a novel idea at Princess?  Told me an OCEAN Navigator will call me back and keep my place in line.  I was not informed where I was in line nor an estimated wait before selecting the Call-Back option.  But it offered convenience.  

Edited May 7, 2022 by Steelers36

[Steelers36]

Wow - I have not called into PCL for some time and here is another improvement.  After hearing I had a Call-Back option for OCEAN team, I wondered if they had added that to the regular phone rep line.  So, I called back in and took Option 2 (Existing Res), and then Option 6 (All Other).  The "wonderful" PCL muzak played for a few seconds and then a recording informed me that my wait time was under 30 minutes.  At least this is a step in the right direction and get an idea of what lies ahead.  I hung up as I found out no Call-Back option, but at least I got an idea of the wait time.  Nice improvement. 

 

Actually, I think the whole new Call Tree is an improvement and helps delineate the calls no doubt.

[ebeluga]

On 5/7/2022 at 6:36 AM, Steelers36 said:

Thanks for these notes.  I was not aware they had a specific phone tree path for DMW issues.  I could certainly understand why as there has been a LOT of DMW issues.  I wonder if these folks are setting up guest requests who want the TD experience so we truly do get same table and wait staff.  I have only corresponded via email for DMW issues with OCEAN team thus far.  We are in a good place now - except the need to get same table/waiters for the voyage.

 

In respect of Suites - they do not need DMW other than for Specialty Dining reservations since they dine in the Club Class section of Deck 6 Mid-Ship DR.

 

ETA:

 

PHONE TREE @ 1-800-PRINCES

1 - TA's

2 - Existing Res

3 - New Booking

4 - CVP

OTHER - Just wait during the pause for further options.

 

1 - MC App & DMW

OTHER - Continue to wait on hold

 

Select 1 when offered MC App & DMW

 

Next options:

1 - OCEAN Ready Help

2 - DMW Help

 

Select 2.

 

1 - Elite, Platinum, Suite, Club Class

2 - Others

 

Select 1 if applicable.  (Note that Suites and CC bookings do not need DMW at all for regular dining - just SD bookings).

 

One problem I see is that they don't signal nor indicate their hours of operation.  I am not surprised at no answer just after 6:30am PT on a Saturday morning.  (I know they open for general calls at 8am on SAT and 6am weekdays).  Would be nice to know the hours that DMW help is there.  (I am going to ask if they are setting up or noting TD requests). 

 

One good thing is they do not have that super-annoying Princess hold muzak that we suffer with on the regular booking options. 😉

 

 

ETA 2:

 

PHONE TREE @ 1-800-PRINCES

1 - TA's

2 - Existing Res

3 - New Booking

4 - CVP

OTHER - Just wait during the pause for further options.

 

Select #2 option above and you get:

1 - MC App & DMW Issues

2 - Make a Payment

3 - Shore Excursions

4 - EZ-Air

5 - FCC questions or usage

Other - just wait

 

Note that option 1 above takes you to the same place as the path followed in the first ETA section.

 

Thank you for this.  I did not have DMW issue making reservation for my last 3 cruises but have issue now for all my upcoming cruises (Reservation not available).  Called and followed the prompts and reached a foreign call center.  Someone answered but it became very annoying that I had trouble understanding him and his having problem hearing me due to all the noise in the call center.  I gave up and ended the call.

[BigTimeCruiser]

28 minutes ago, ebeluga said:

Thank you for this.  I did not have DMW issue making reservation for my last 3 cruises but have issue now for all my upcoming cruises (Reservation not available).  Called and followed the prompts and reached a foreign call center.  Someone answered but it became very annoying that I had trouble understanding him and his having problem hearing me due to all the noise in the call center.  I gave up and ended the call.

I had the very same issue several weeks ago.  I called the foreign call center several times until I reached someone who's English language skill was good and there was a good telephone connection.  Was on the line with them for almost 45 minutes as they added my reservations to each day of each cruise.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, ebeluga said:

Thank you for this.  I did not have DMW issue making reservation for my last 3 cruises but have issue now for all my upcoming cruises (Reservation not available).  Called and followed the prompts and reached a foreign call center.  Someone answered but it became very annoying that I had trouble understanding him and his having problem hearing me due to all the noise in the call center.  I gave up and ended the call.

Hmm... on Saturday I got an American.  Not sure if at home or office.  Actually, I had her before answer an OCEAN call in the past.

[Buckeye10640]

I have no explanation for this, but suddenly this week our specialty dining credits from the Princess promo showed up in the Medallion app and I was able to book reservations for 4 of us without having to pay. Have been checking for a couple months. Might be worth checking if you are still waiting for the credts to appear. We sail Saturday.  

[Yehootu]

9 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I have no explanation for this, but suddenly this week our specialty dining credits from the Princess promo showed up in the Medallion app and I was able to book reservations for 4 of us without having to pay. Have been checking for a couple months. Might be worth checking if you are still waiting for the credts to appear. We sail Saturday.  

We sail 2 weeks after you. Were in the app did you find the dining credit?

  Mahalo

[Buckeye10640]

11 minutes ago, Yehootu said:

We sail 2 weeks after you. Were in the app did you find the dining credit?

  Mahalo

Go into dining and make a specialty dining reservation. when you get to the screen where it would charge your credit card you will either see  credit or not.  I did not....until yesterday...

[Yehootu]

7 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Go into dining and make a specialty dining reservation. when you get to the screen where it would charge your credit card you will either see  credit or not.  I did not....until yesterday...

Thx, never went that far. I've just been checking to see if it was assigned to us yet.

[Steelers36]

15 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I have no explanation for this, but suddenly this week our specialty dining credits from the Princess promo showed up in the Medallion app and I was able to book reservations for 4 of us without having to pay. Have been checking for a couple months. Might be worth checking if you are still waiting for the credts to appear. We sail Saturday.  

Ours all work, but not our friends and we are all on the same itineraries.  I did have issues previously, but we also have had re-fares/re-books - as did they.  After our last re-fare, it all seemed to work.  Now, we have two SD credits on two segments and IDK if both will be recognized as in say I confirmed one SD booking and then went to add a second night, would that also come to $0 net?

 

I am thinking so, as our friends are screwed up and either recognizing one or none of theirs on each segment.  However, if I book all four of us for a SD, it applies four credits and get a $0 balance owed.  It would seem DMW is using all of our credits and I am covering for our friends whose credits are not working.  An interesting side-bar is if their credits were all working and ours working (making SD res for 2 separately), and then I make a res with them as add-on Travel Companions to dining party of 4 and DMW applies 4 credits to a $0 balance - did DMW use everyone's individual credit, or did DMW use all of our credits as an unintended "treat"?  I think the latter.

 

Another weird thing is on a segment we only have one SD credit, and our friends also have one that is not recognized, when I try a booking for all four of us, DMW applies 4 credits to a $0 balance.  I believe this is because DMW is looking at our B2B2B as a single voyage and we have a total of 5 SD credits each to use.  So, I think it just starts using them up to pay for us and anyone else in our dining party.  I'm a nice guy (I think), but not that nice to burn our SD credits on others. 

 

I guess this may stop me from booking in advance and I guess I need to outline this again to the OCEAN Team.  I have already let them know about credits not recognized.  We cannot have each couple book separately as that won't have us seated together.  Sigh... more DMW issues.

 

[Buckeye10640]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Ours all work, but not our friends and we are all on the same itineraries.  I did have issues previously, but we also have had re-fares/re-books - as did they.  After our last re-fare, it all seemed to work.  Now, we have two SD credits on two segments and IDK if both will be recognized as in say I confirmed one SD booking and then went to add a second night, would that also come to $0 net?

 

I am thinking so, as our friends are screwed up and either recognizing one or none of theirs on each segment.  However, if I book all four of us for a SD, it applies four credits and get a $0 balance owed.  It would seem DMW is using all of our credits and I am covering for our friends whose credits are not working.  An interesting side-bar is if their credits were all working and ours working (making SD res for 2 separately), and then I make a res with them as add-on Travel Companions to dining party of 4 and DMW applies 4 credits to a $0 balance - did DMW use everyone's individual credit, or did DMW use all of our credits as an unintended "treat"?  I think the latter.

 

Another weird thing is on a segment we only have one SD credit, and our friends also have one that is not recognized, when I try a booking for all four of us, DMW applies 4 credits to a $0 balance.  I believe this is because DMW is looking at our B2B2B as a single voyage and we have a total of 5 SD credits each to use.  So, I think it just starts using them up to pay for us and anyone else in our dining party.  I'm a nice guy (I think), but not that nice to burn our SD credits on others. 

 

I guess this may stop me from booking in advance and I guess I need to outline this again to the OCEAN Team.  I have already let them know about credits not recognized.  We cannot have each couple book separately as that won't have us seated together.  Sigh... more DMW issues.

 

I can tell you that we are traveling with another couple and are linked in the app. All have dining credits and when I made the reservation it recognized all 4 credits and did not charge me. 

[MommyOTwins]

Still no Specialty Dining credits in the app for me.  I will just sort it out at guest services.

[BigTimeCruiser]

For an upcoming cruise 2 weeks from now, some were strange things are occuring in Dine My Way.  First, we had Club Class Dining showing in the app 2 weeks ago.  Now that isn't showing any longer--it's gone.  I called the Medallion Support Office and spent 45 minutes talking to them and all they could do was have me delete the app and then reinstall.  This did not fix the problem.  The Rep then told me she would submit a Problem Report.  Also, I wanted to book the Crown Grill.  Each time I attempted to make a reservation at the Crown Grill, I would get this, "Sorry...We could not find any reservations at this time.  Please check back later."   The Medallion Support Rep. was unable to make a reservation for us at the Crown Grill for the entire 2 weeks!!  I worked for many years redesigning and enhancing computer software and systems.  It appears to me that this app was never properly tested or evaluated.  At the end of my call with the Medallion Rep, she told me that I could make a reservation on board and they would know what to do about Club Class Dining!  I advised her that I was fully aware that I could make a reservation on board, but was very disappointed that this app is so broken.  I am beginning to question why I have spend all this time trying to fix and resolve issues that Princess should have fixed years ago!

Edited May 11, 2022 by BigTimeCruiser

[Steelers36]

10 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I can tell you that we are traveling with another couple and are linked in the app. All have dining credits and when I made the reservation it recognized all 4 credits and did not charge me. 

Single voyage or B2B?  Just trying to narrow down if you have >2 credits and did it perhaps use all yours (as in your treat) and none of friends?  This part is not clear to me.  If you all only have 1 credit each in total, then the answer is obvious.

[Buckeye10640]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Single voyage or B2B?  Just trying to narrow down if you have >2 credits and did it perhaps use all yours (as in your treat) and none of friends?  This part is not clear to me.  If you all only have 1 credit each in total, then the answer is obvious.

single voyage so 1 credit each.

[Steelers36]

5 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

single voyage so 1 credit each.

I believe our friends record is messed up somehow.  And I do think DMW is taking our credits and applying them to friends when I try to book all four of us as a Dining Party.  If just booking the two of them, no credits are applied.  There is no way to be certain of this - unless we could engage another dining party with no credits and test with our friends and see what happens.  Seems strange that System would not recognize credits when they book SD alone, and then recognized them when dining with someone else.