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

[Hlitner]

On 9/4/2021 at 6:20 PM, robthens said:

Many have said the dining experience is part of the cruise.  Why do some have to pay to get a better dinner expierence?   I agree dinner should be special ; however,  when you pay the price of a suite, Princess has to offer addition incentives in order to make the price of a suite worth while. Why should an inside cabin have the same dining options as a penthouse suite?   Rational is the same as everyone gets a trophy.  As an Elite member, I paid my dues.  I earned extra perks. Same goes for suite passengers. They are paying for extra perks 

Having been an avid cruiser for more than 45 years we have witnessed the industry go through quite a few changes.  In the past 5 years a big change has happened with suites and "ship within a ship" concepts on several lines.  But Princess (and HAL) has really lagged behind the industry with suite perks.  It is one reason why we do not book anything more expensive then the lower cost mini-suites which come with no amenities.  Even moving up to the Club Suites (just a mini-suite in a different location) does not seem worth the extra money (at least to us) to dine in a part of the MDR with an extra item on the menu.  On the new Celebrity ships you get a separate dining room with its own menu, on MSC (Yacht Club) you get an entire section of the ship (including private dining room), private sun deck, private lounge (with nightly entertainment), etc.  NCL has something similar with its Haven Suites.  RCI has all kinds of amenities with its suites (on some ships).  Cunard has its "grill" suites which also come with a private sundeck.  

 

But Princess gives you very little other then a larger cabin.   And here is the shocker.  We can sometimes book suites on luxury lines (such as Seabourn) for not much more then the cost of a comparable suite on Princess plus drink package and tips.   This just leads us to book the luxury lines although we still book some cruises on Princess and other mass market lines.

 

Hank

[Steelers36]

Just a note about DMW reservations for full voyage length (same time each night) when you have multiple linked voyages (what we call B2B's).  They still have issues with bookings having these type of voyages, despite publishing a previous release that purported to fix it.  I was not all that confident about what we did have following the August App upgrade.  

 

The latest for me is that I had our four OCT 2022 bookings re-fared due to current pricing and the Fall Frenzy offer, coupled with a special offer I received with an EZ-Air $200 credit.  For whatever reason (IDK know IOW), when our TA contacted Princess, they cancelled the first and last cruises and re-booked under the special offer code we got.  The middle two voyages were simply re-fared.

 

Of course, there was a delay in MC App getting caught up with the booking changes and it meant dining lost for the first "B" in the B2B2B chain.  So, I deleted all of the other nights 1-by-1 and attempted to re-book the full voyage.  Nope, "Nothing found".  But there is space on individual nights.  Called the MC App support line and the rep tried some things and looked as well.  Acknowledged still issues with B2B and sent the details off to the tech team. 

 

Our 4th voyage - also a re-book - had no issues re-booking our dining - but that one is a single cruise on a different ship, so not a situation for a B2B issue.

 

[Song in my heart]

On 8/10/2021 at 2:49 PM, phonejock said:

Glad to see that a updated “live”thread was started on the new DMW. 

it will be interesting to see if Princess responds to the feedback they are getting.  Having a great, stress free dining experience is very important to most people.  As it stands now, it appears that Club Class is the way to go if you want to have the same waitstaff and not worry about booking your dinners in advance. Thanks in advance to all who post. 

 

Sorry but what is Club Class?

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, Song in my heart said:

Sorry but what is Club Class?

You can find it described in Princess.com.  Look under the dining section.

 

[skynight]

12 hours ago, Song in my heart said:

Sorry but what is Club Class?

Club Class is a section of one DR where passengers booked in full suites or club class mini suites can choose to dine. Same menu as the MDR with one additional item in the evening, improved service, prompt anytime seating. You do not have to concern yourself with dine my way to be seated in club class. You can not choose club class dining on its own. The club class dining section is available only to those that book either a full suite or club class mini suite, and, of course, these cabins have higher fares. 

[PoohUnderstands]

On 8/11/2021 at 6:58 PM, mellon1 said:

Very good point and well said.  I can't believe people would pay $500 approximately a day for Club Class.  We had it with a suite included.  It is not worth that.  You could go to the specialty restaurant for dinner every night and get an ultimate atmosphere and meal for $60 a day.  I know they have breakfast and lunch, but still.  I wonder if people realize how much more it is or if they have done the math.  However, that said, Princess is getting it so why not.

Where do you get $500 a day to do Club Class?  You can only compare the cost to a regular mini-suite and not just balcony stateroom.  So don't know past next Spring, but I have not paid more than $10-25pp per day for the Club Class experience, and sometimes just around $30 a day over a premium balcony stateroom.    Also where they are, the Window Suites are really a great bargain and on most of my cruises they actually cost less than a regular mini-suite!  I always book as soon as that itinerary opens and usually get the best pricing too.  

 

Because of Covid I have not updated myself yet to all this new stuff as my next cruise isn't until next summer, but this new dining thing and medallion app looks very unappealing to me.  So I am glad to read here that if you are CC or suite (which we are for our cruises) you don't have to do all this booking stuff.

 

Pooh

[voljeep]

for an upcoming cruise ... CC mini is $ 56 pp per day more than a regular mini

 

pass ...

[Tedferg]

On 9/27/2021 at 9:42 AM, PoohUnderstands said:

Where do you get $500 a day to do Club Class?  You can only compare the cost to a regular mini-suite and not just balcony stateroom. 

However, we always book standard balcony so if we wanted Club Class Dining we would compare Balcony fare with Club Class Mini Suite. So it is a valid comparison for many people.

[memoak]

10 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

However, we always book standard balcony so if we wanted Club Class Dining we would compare Balcony fare with Club Class Mini Suite. So it is a valid comparison for many people.

That may be the increase you are looking at but that actually combining the increase from balcony to mini suite + the increase from standard mini suite to club class mini suite.  The 2nd part is actually the price for CC alone

[Doug R.]

21 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

However, we always book standard balcony so if we wanted Club Class Dining we would compare Balcony fare with Club Class Mini Suite. So it is a valid comparison for many people.

Valid for some but still comparing apples to oranges.

[voljeep]

12 minutes ago, memoak said:

That may be the increase you are looking at but that actually combining the increase from balcony to mini suite + the increase from standard mini suite to club class mini suite.  The 2nd part is actually the price for CC alone

for "us" - we would not book a regular mini - so for "us" the price difference is for whatever kind of cabin we have booked ( balcony ) to CC mini 

[Tedferg]

4 hours ago, voljeep said:

for "us" - we would not book a regular mini - so for "us" the price difference is for whatever kind of cabin we have booked ( balcony ) to CC mini 

That is our logic too. I don't agree with the Apples to Oranges statement. If I wanted to try Club Class, that would be the cost. Once we had a free upgrade to mini-suite and once sailed Celebrity, the love seat is 'nice' but the time we sit in the cabin is minimal. So Mini Suite has little value over a Balcony. I am not disparaging people who prefer mini-suites, simply pointing out that Club Class for us is in fact the difference between Balcony and Club Mini.

[tweezer]

On 9/12/2021 at 11:54 AM, Sea Hag said:

When I booked our 8/29 sailing on the Majestic, dining preferences were still available in Personalizer. I chose early traditional and requested a table for two. After Princess moved dining to the app, they said that previously chosen preferences would be honored. For all nights, I saw Concerto and table for two. First night, they put us at a great table for two, over in the corner next to the window. Second night, they put us at a different table for two, on the other side of the room one table away from the window. Third night, we were back at our original table, where our server asked us where we were the night before. She was expecting us at our original table every night. After that, we specified that table when we went into the dining room. I know I could have gone to the head waiter or MD and asked, but as it worked out just asking at the door always got us that table. We might have gotten it anyway. No idea what the deal was with the second night.

You were lucky.  We were on the Sept 12 Alaska cruise, on the Majestic, and they said we could not get the same table every night.  Because we are elite, we were able to reserve a table for 2, same dining room, same time for every night on the Medallion app well in advance.  But every night when we would get to the dining room, they seemed very confused about where to put us.  One night they even asked us if we wanted to share a table.  Each night we asked for a window, but only received it twice.  Each night a different waitstaff.  Which is not good when you have a special diet.  Every night I had to wait 20 minutes for the gluten free bread (which I had ordered the night before.)  Asked the waitstaff repeatedly if we could get the same table every night but was told "no" - "it's all in the computer, and we can't do anything..."  I tried calling "138" one night and asked for a particular table, but they told me the same thing: "it's all in the computer, we can't do anything..."  She did say she could put a special note in the computer for me, which would take affect two hours before our reservation.  But when we got to the dining room that night, they had no record of this "notice".  Back to a different table we went, and watched as the table we wanted sat empty for an hour.  This was our 19th cruise on Princess, and I don't know if we'll be doing any more if they don't fix this.  With traditional dining, the waitstaff know your names, they know you want, and they do so many special things for you; they really make the dining experience enjoyable.  The experience we just had on Princess was so disappointing, we didn't even go to the last formal night.

[Steelers36]

56 minutes ago, tweezer said:

You were lucky.  We were on the Sept 12 Alaska cruise, on the Majestic, and they said we could not get the same table every night.  Because we are elite, we were able to reserve a table for 2, same dining room, same time for every night on the Medallion app well in advance.  But every night when we would get to the dining room, they seemed very confused about where to put us.  One night they even asked us if we wanted to share a table.  Each night we asked for a window, but only received it twice.  Each night a different waitstaff.  Which is not good when you have a special diet.  Every night I had to wait 20 minutes for the gluten free bread (which I had ordered the night before.)  Asked the waitstaff repeatedly if we could get the same table every night but was told "no" - "it's all in the computer, and we can't do anything..."  I tried calling "138" one night and asked for a particular table, but they told me the same thing: "it's all in the computer, we can't do anything..."  She did say she could put a special note in the computer for me, which would take affect two hours before our reservation.  But when we got to the dining room that night, they had no record of this "notice".  Back to a different table we went, and watched as the table we wanted sat empty for an hour.  This was our 19th cruise on Princess, and I don't know if we'll be doing any more if they don't fix this.  With traditional dining, the waitstaff know your names, they know you want, and they do so many special things for you; they really make the dining experience enjoyable.  The experience we just had on Princess was so disappointing, we didn't even go to the last formal night.

This is completely unacceptable on a Princess ship IMO.  I find it hard to believe that TPTB think this is just hunky-dorry.

 

[skynight]

Agree with Steelers totally. When a computer runs and controls your hospitality service you have lost the the hospitality you are marketing and in the longer term you will lose your customers. Princess has made a giant error, no doubt about it.

[RNRcruisers]

I had to call Princess about another matter and at the end mentioned that I hope they bring back traditional dining. She gave me the spiel about the DMY and how it is supposed to work and I said "No please pass on that I want real traditional dining back because this is not the same and is not working the same". Who knows if she actually passed it on.

[Steelers36]

5 minutes ago, RNRcruisers said:

I had to call Princess about another matter and at the end mentioned that I hope they bring back traditional dining. She gave me the spiel about the DMY and how it is supposed to work and I said "No please pass on that I want real traditional dining back because this is not the same and is not working the same". Who knows if she actually passed it on.

Yes, I know.  It's like the staff at HQ are brain-washed with fake news.  It's frustrating as they all seem to think DMW is delivering TD.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

Agree with Steelers totally. When a computer runs and controls your hospitality service you have lost the the hospitality you are marketing and in the longer term you will lose your customers. Princess has made a giant error, no doubt about it.

Right on.  Well put.

[Turk1]

I also agree. TD has always been one thing that we enjoyed and made our cruise special. The DMW app makes it feel like a normal night at home going out to eat and sitting who knows where. It seemed to work much better the "older" way. When you had people who selected TD, those that could do Anytime and then the CC dining for that group. At least that way you had something to work for everyone. Hopefully Princess will listen to all of us and make some adjustments moving forward.

[Sea Hag]

12 hours ago, tweezer said:

You were lucky.  We were on the Sept 12 Alaska cruise, on the Majestic, and they said we could not get the same table every night.  Because we are elite, we were able to reserve a table for 2, same dining room, same time for every night on the Medallion app well in advance.  But every night when we would get to the dining room, they seemed very confused about where to put us.  One night they even asked us if we wanted to share a table.  Each night we asked for a window, but only received it twice.  Each night a different waitstaff.  Which is not good when you have a special diet.  Every night I had to wait 20 minutes for the gluten free bread (which I had ordered the night before.)  Asked the waitstaff repeatedly if we could get the same table every night but was told "no" - "it's all in the computer, and we can't do anything..."  I tried calling "138" one night and asked for a particular table, but they told me the same thing: "it's all in the computer, we can't do anything..."  She did say she could put a special note in the computer for me, which would take affect two hours before our reservation.  But when we got to the dining room that night, they had no record of this "notice".  Back to a different table we went, and watched as the table we wanted sat empty for an hour.  This was our 19th cruise on Princess, and I don't know if we'll be doing any more if they don't fix this.  With traditional dining, the waitstaff know your names, they know you want, and they do so many special things for you; they really make the dining experience enjoyable.  The experience we just had on Princess was so disappointing, we didn't even go to the last formal night.

Wow! That's really bad. I'm sorry you had such a sub-par experience on that cruise. It just shouldn't be that way.

[billco]

13 hours ago, tweezer said:

You were lucky.  We were on the Sept 12 Alaska cruise, on the Majestic, and they said we could not get the same table every night.  Because we are elite, we were able to reserve a table for 2, same dining room, same time for every night on the Medallion app well in advance.  But every night when we would get to the dining room, they seemed very confused about where to put us.  One night they even asked us if we wanted to share a table.  Each night we asked for a window, but only received it twice.  Each night a different waitstaff.  Which is not good when you have a special diet.  Every night I had to wait 20 minutes for the gluten free bread (which I had ordered the night before.)  Asked the waitstaff repeatedly if we could get the same table every night but was told "no" - "it's all in the computer, and we can't do anything..."  I tried calling "138" one night and asked for a particular table, but they told me the same thing: "it's all in the computer, we can't do anything..."  She did say she could put a special note in the computer for me, which would take affect two hours before our reservation.  But when we got to the dining room that night, they had no record of this "notice".  Back to a different table we went, and watched as the table we wanted sat empty for an hour.  This was our 19th cruise on Princess, and I don't know if we'll be doing any more if they don't fix this.  With traditional dining, the waitstaff know your names, they know you want, and they do so many special things for you; they really make the dining experience enjoyable.  The experience we just had on Princess was so disappointing, we didn't even go to the last formal night.

Different strokes/priorities for different folks. We were on the September 12 cruise and had the same reservation every night in Allegro for a table for two at 5:30. Most of the tables for two are bench seating. We were seated at different tables with different servers 2 out of the 6 nights we ate in the MDR. All of the servers we came in contact with were excellent, but there was one server and assistant we really liked and started asking for her when we arrived, which wasn't a problem. In our experience the problem described above would have been the least of our issues. The main thing is we enjoyed our dinner and it didn't matter where we were seated, as long as we didn't have to share with others.

[RNRcruisers]

1 hour ago, billco said:

Different strokes/priorities for different folks. We were on the September 12 cruise and had the same reservation every night in Allegro for a table for two at 5:30. Most of the tables for two are bench seating. We were seated at different tables with different servers 2 out of the 6 nights we ate in the MDR. All of the servers we came in contact with were excellent, but there was one server and assistant we really liked and started asking for her when we arrived, which wasn't a problem. In our experience the problem described above would have been the least of our issues. The main thing is we enjoyed our dinner and it didn't matter where we were seated, as long as we didn't have to share with others.

 

I don't understand these types of comments. Those of us who like TD aren't asking them to take away from the non-TD dining people. Yes, "different strokes" but we just want our preferences to be taken into consideration also.

[Tedferg]

We have never used TD, mostly because options were too early or too late. After reading all your reasons for TD, if TD was available at 7:00 or 7:15 we would try it now. 🙂

 

[billco]

1 hour ago, RNRcruisers said:

 

I don't understand these types of comments. Those of us who like TD aren't asking them to take away from the non-TD dining people. Yes, "different strokes" but we just want our preferences to be taken into consideration also.

Sorry. Just spouting off. Don’t really care one way or the other. Our dining experience was fine. We wrote positive comments about it and the wait staff in the survey.

[Billish]

6 hours ago, billco said:

for a table for two at 5:30.

To be fair, that is a table for a late afternoon tea, not dinner.  No wonder you got the same staff every  afternoon ! 

I never realised that evening (!) meals were available so early.