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

[lorri111]

6 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Yes.  In fact in my unscientific observation that is the most popular method.

Good to know. How do you keep tab of how many drinks you order over a period, does it come up on the app (not that I am likely to get near the limit!)?

[capriccio]

6 minutes ago, lorri111 said:

Good to know. How do you keep tab of how many drinks you order over a period, does it come up on the app (not that I am likely to get near the limit!)?

I know you could check the old app but don't know about the new one. 

[HotRoot]

1 hour ago, lorri111 said:

Can you use your Princess Plus package to get wine by glass in MDR rather than buy a discounted bottle?

Yes

[BamaVol]

2 hours ago, capriccio said:

Yes.  In fact in my unscientific observation that is the most popular method.

Even better, grab a glass at a bar on the way to the MDR. Our first dinner in a Princess MDR, we waited at least 20 minutes for wine. Never since. 

[memoak]

6 hours ago, capriccio said:

I know you could check the old app but don't know about the new one. 

You should check on a regular basis as many bartenders will put both drinks on one tab if a couple are ordering together because it is easier for them. We always ask them to put one on each account. In the past we have ended up late nights with one of us ready to max out and the other only half way through their 15

[memoak]

9 hours ago, leck57 said:

Ok, a report on Dine My Way on the Coral Princess that we disembarked today. Lovely cruise and a nice ship despite needing a little bit of love. We thought the comradery between the crew on this ship was the best we had seen, demonstrated by the last dinner parade and at the last theatre show where about 200 crew across all teams walked up on stage at the end of the show with many waving their National flags.

 

Anyway, on to dining. Disclosure - I prefer the old anytime dining where you could walk up and either get seated or given a pager if no tables are ready. I do not like to be organised to the point where I have to be at a Dining Room at a booked time (Specialty Dining excepted) and I accept I may have to wait at times. On the second day of our cruise I thought I'd just fall in to line with the new system and book at table, this was about 10am in the morning. One Dining Room had no slots available, shared table or otherwise, and the other Dining Room had 5pm only. Too early for us.

 

So I went to one of the Dining Rooms about 6.30pm ready to dine but not expecting anything. The gentleman on the door immediately advised that they had nothing and long story short, it led to a discussion about the booking system and the former way. I said to the guy that I could see heaps of empty tables and he said they were setting up for 7pm arrivals. I said why have long periods of time when tables just sit there. He had no answer, and of course, he was just being a good Company man. He could sense my annoyance and said if we returned at 6.50pm he would find us a table. We did that and at the conclusion asked if we wanted that table the next night, and the next night etc. While in the Dining Room I observed that about 25% of the tables were never occupied at any time and as we struck up friendship with the adjacent (almost touching) table, our meals took a long time, so I was able to observe over a few hours. I should stress that the guy on the door and I were very respectful to each other and he laughed every time we arrived for dinner and I said we had a booking for 6.50pm. I tipped him well last night.

 

However no one should have to put pressure on staff or they be put in this position, with this system that now doesn't have any balance between booking or walk ups.  In fact on Coral there was essentially no walk ups I assume between about 6.15 to around 7.30pm. I'm totally convinced the old system was much better overall, where both booked tables and walk ups were well allocated. I have done about 10 Princess cruises so know the systems pretty well but I'd hate to be a first time cruiser dealing with this.. 

 

But......it ain't going to change, so I'll play Princess' stupid game. For my 21 day cruise in July I have booked a table every night for 7pm. That might work for us some nights but others not and I will cancel that time at sometime during the day. However I will have blocked a table that no one can book until I cancel and like me, they will look at the App during the day and see no tables available. Also like me they may observe a Dining Room with many empty tables caused by no shows.

 

Yep, it's a first world problem I know, and despite my ramblings this doesn't stop me from having a great cruise. I know people that are happy to book and want that certainty of a table at a set time will disagree with me, or of course, I'll hear how the system is fine on other ships, but I've been on two Princess cruise in the last 12 months on different ships and the issues were the same.

 

Rant...has ended. 

It is not really a Princess game. Most land based restaurants take reservations for specific times and then walking as tables are available   I would bet you could go into most restaurants at popular times and find empty tables that are reserved for the near future and you would not be able to just take one. That is why some popular restaurants take a credit card number for a reservation so they can charge you a no show

[Steelers36]

9 hours ago, leck57 said:

While in the Dining Room I observed that about 25% of the tables were never occupied at any time

IDK about the particular mgmt operation on that ship, but any restaurant is going to have a certain number of empty tables that are awaiting reservations to show up.  Obviously, they cannot seat someone at 6:30 when table is needed at 7:00.  If you took reservations away entirely and made it all walk-up, then it is true a table would only sit empty while they cleared, changed linens and reset for diners.  However, it may result in more people waiting.  And, that would presumably erase the opportunity to keep same table and waiters each night - unless among the first wave to dine at opening. 

[leck57]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

IDK about the particular mgmt operation on that ship, but any restaurant is going to have a certain number of empty tables that are awaiting reservations to show up.  Obviously, they cannot seat someone at 6:30 when table is needed at 7:00.  If you took reservations away entirely and made it all walk-up, then it is true a table would only sit empty while they cleared, changed linens and reset for diners.  However, it may result in more people waiting.  And, that would presumably erase the opportunity to keep same table and waiters each night - unless among the first wave to dine at opening. 

 

That's obvious. My point in general is that there should be a better balance of availability between bookings and walk ups, like there used to be. Essentially on Coral it seemed like if you didn't book they couldn't really help you.

[lorri111]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

You should check on a regular basis as many bartenders will put both drinks on one tab if a couple are ordering together because it is easier for them. We always ask them to put one on each account. In the past we have ended up late nights with one of us ready to max out and the other only half way through their 15

What happens if you want one of you to go to bar to get drinks for both of us (the other being elsewhere), do you have to take both medallions to buy them or will they both get put on the one account?

[leck57]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

It is not really a Princess game. Most land based restaurants take reservations for specific times and then walking as tables are available   I would bet you could go into most restaurants at popular times and find empty tables that are reserved for the near future and you would not be able to just take one. That is why some popular restaurants take a credit card number for a reservation so they can charge you a no show

 

Of course and I expect that on Princess as well. However if they had a number of walk in tables they could keep people continually moving through and tables always in use. 

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, leck57 said:

 

Of course and I expect that on Princess as well. However if they had a number of walk in tables they could keep people continually moving through and tables always in use. 

Must be tricky to predict from voyage to voyage and night to night how many are going to be walk-ups versus other arrangements.  Plus they are likely allowing at least 10 minutes grace on reservations.  It's not perfect, but I bet some ships do it better than others.

[leck57]

3 minutes ago, lorri111 said:

What happens if you want one of you to go to bar to get drinks for both of us (the other being elsewhere), do you have to take both medallions to buy them or will they both get put on the one account?

 

They'll do one account in most cases, unless you ask them to do one each. They are far more relaxed about this now. I often asked for 4 beers as I wanted to take some back to the room fridge and never got questioned. In the past they might have had concern that I was sharing. 

[leck57]

Just now, Steelers36 said:

Must be tricky to predict from voyage to voyage and night to night how many are going to be walk-ups versus other arrangements.  Plus they are likely allowing at least 10 minutes grace on reservations.  It's not perfect, but I bet some ships do it better than others.

 

Might be tricky, but they seemed to have it pretty well worked out on the ships I was on before they changed it. It's not Dine my Way, it's Dine Their Way.

[memoak]

29 minutes ago, leck57 said:

 

They'll do one account in most cases, unless you ask them to do one each. They are far more relaxed about this now. I often asked for 4 beers as I wanted to take some back to the room fridge and never got questioned. In the past they might have had concern that I was sharing. 

I hate putting them one one account because then I can run out by dinner time. We always tell them we want them one on each account 

[Thrak]

9 minutes ago, memoak said:

I hate putting them one one account because then I can run out by dinner time. We always tell them we want them one on each account 

 

I find it extremely annoying that they tend to put all of my wife's drinks on my account. I check the app and it shows I have had far more drinks that I have actually consumed. One time I was at the burger bar and my wife got several unopened beers to take to the cabin. The drinks went on my account. It makes me crazy. If we both have wine with dinner they automagically charge it to me. If we both get drinks at Crooners on the way to the theater they both end up on my account. It's not right and has happened even when we specifically said to put the drinks separately or asked to have them put both on my wife's account. They still ended up on mine.

[memoak]

Just now, Thrak said:

 

I find it extremely annoying that they tend to put all of my wife's drinks on my account. I check the app and it shows I have had far more drinks that I have actually consumed. One time I was at the burger bar and my wife got several unopened beers to take to the cabin. The drinks went on my account. It makes me crazy. If we both have wine with dinner they automagically charge it to me. If we both get drinks at Crooners on the way to the theater they both end up on my account. It's not right and has happened even when we specifically said to put the drinks separately or asked to have them put both on my wife's account. They still ended up on mine.

They do it because it is easier for them to click on one name instead of 2 and takes less time. I have been told we will use the other one next round but what if we are only having one. Gets old real fast especially in the casino

[frankjodzio]

Hi Everyone! Question, if I purchase one of their packages in advance that include Casual and/or Specialty dining, can I make reservations prior to boarding through the Medallion app or do I have to wait until I'm on ship? I'm getting mixed messages from people who say you can reserve on the app but then some say you have to wait until you are onboard and then there's a problem with time slots already full. Thank you!

[HotRoot]

We have always reserved specialty dining in advance.  We use the Web Version, not the App.  To my knowledge, casual dining can not be reserved in advance.  Planks and Steamers take reservations once on the ship.  I do not know about other casual dining.  

[Nebr.cruiser]

On 1/28/2024 at 5:05 AM, Lady Bordeaux said:

We are cruising for the very first time in March this year and must say I am finding it very frustrating trying to book dining via the Medallion app.

 

Are the three main dining rooms all serving the same food? At first we'd rather sit at a table for two until we feel more confident about the way dining /eating works onboard. (I am sociable - he says 'chatterbox' - and I am afraid I won't be able to enjoy my food as I'd be happy to chat during the meal. I am a slow eater at the best of times.) Getting a table for two is proving difficult with restricted times being shown.

 

I have also no idea if we will miss shows and evening entertainment because we are stuck in a dining room, and wondering if the flexible way just turning up at the other eateries might suit us best.

 

I dare say all will be clear once we are on the ship and finding out how it works but it would seem that tables for two are not easy to secure. I have made three evening bookings via the app...Twice I had to accept times that weren't my first choice. Not sure I'll book any more.

We have only booked reservations ahead a couple of nights in all our 50+ cruises--not all with Princess, but we have cruised 16 times with them, at least. 

 

If you want to eat early, reservations will probably help.  We prefer to go to the first show and eat about eight.  We always ask for a table for two, unless we are cruising with others.  Normally we have almost no wait to maybe 10 minutes.  The few times the wait has been longer, they gave us a buzzer.  Even then I doubt if we waited more than 15 minutes.

 

All the main dining rooms have the same food.  If you are concerned about missing an event, tell the waiters you want to be done by a certain time and they will do their best to expedite service.  Really, we have very few issues with just going when we want, but expect longer waits if you are dining early.

[phoenixx]

On 2/12/2024 at 11:10 PM, leck57 said:

Ok, a report on Dine My Way on the Coral Princess that we disembarked today. Lovely cruise and a nice ship despite needing a little bit of love. We thought the comradery between the crew on this ship was the best we had seen, demonstrated by the last dinner parade and at the last theatre show where about 200 crew across all teams walked up on stage at the end of the show with many waving their National flags.

 

Anyway, on to dining. Disclosure - I prefer the old anytime dining where you could walk up and either get seated or given a pager if no tables are ready. I do not like to be organised to the point where I have to be at a Dining Room at a booked time (Specialty Dining excepted) and I accept I may have to wait at times. On the second day of our cruise I thought I'd just fall in to line with the new system and book at table, this was about 10am in the morning. One Dining Room had no slots available, shared table or otherwise, and the other Dining Room had 5pm only. Too early for us.

 

So I went to one of the Dining Rooms about 6.30pm ready to dine but not expecting anything. The gentleman on the door immediately advised that they had nothing and long story short, it led to a discussion about the booking system and the former way. I said to the guy that I could see heaps of empty tables and he said they were setting up for 7pm arrivals. I said why have long periods of time when tables just sit there. He had no answer, and of course, he was just being a good Company man. He could sense my annoyance and said if we returned at 6.50pm he would find us a table. We did that and at the conclusion asked if we wanted that table the next night, and the next night etc. While in the Dining Room I observed that about 25% of the tables were never occupied at any time and as we struck up friendship with the adjacent (almost touching) table, our meals took a long time, so I was able to observe over a few hours. I should stress that the guy on the door and I were very respectful to each other and he laughed every time we arrived for dinner and I said we had a booking for 6.50pm. I tipped him well last night.

 

However no one should have to put pressure on staff or they be put in this position, with this system that now doesn't have any balance between booking or walk ups.  In fact on Coral there was essentially no walk ups I assume between about 6.15 to around 7.30pm. I'm totally convinced the old system was much better overall, where both booked tables and walk ups were well allocated. I have done about 10 Princess cruises so know the systems pretty well but I'd hate to be a first time cruiser dealing with this.. 

 

But......it ain't going to change, so I'll play Princess' stupid game. For my 21 day cruise in July I have booked a table every night for 7pm. That might work for us some nights but others not and I will cancel that time at sometime during the day. However I will have blocked a table that no one can book until I cancel and like me, they will look at the App during the day and see no tables available. Also like me they may observe a Dining Room with many empty tables caused by no shows.

 

Yep, it's a first world problem I know, and despite my ramblings this doesn't stop me from having a great cruise. I know people that are happy to book and want that certainty of a table at a set time will disagree with me, or of course, I'll hear how the system is fine on other ships, but I've been on two Princess cruise in the last 12 months on different ships and the issues were the same.

 

Rant...has ended. 

Just off Royal 2 weeks ago, we didn't book for dinner, one dining room is allocated for anytime dining, never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a table for two.

[leck57]

11 minutes ago, phoenixx said:

Just off Royal 2 weeks ago, we didn't book for dinner, one dining room is allocated for anytime dining, never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a table for two.

 

That's great. Why other ships in the fleet don't operate the same way is anyone's guess. 

[Thrak]

13 minutes ago, phoenixx said:

Just off Royal 2 weeks ago, we didn't book for dinner, one dining room is allocated for anytime dining, never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a table for two.

 

Guessing it was Allegro - aft on Deck 6?

[phoenixx]

7 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Guessing it was Allegro - aft on Deck 6?

Yes I believe so.

[mya603]

16 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

That's great. Why other ships in the fleet don't operate the same way is anyone's guess. 

Good to know!  As a solo cruiser I normally like to eat around 5 and then join in the evening activities.  I never used to wait for a table. Was hoping now I wouldn't have to either.

 

[mya603]

On 2/12/2024 at 3:37 PM, leck57 said:

 

That's obvious. My point in general is that there should be a better balance of availability between bookings and walk ups, like there used to be. Essentially on Coral it seemed like if you didn't book they couldn't really help you.

In my past cruises there was a reservation only MDR and  a walk up MDR.  I've never waited more than a couple of minutes for a table in walk up MDR.  I'm on a cruise.  Tonight I may want to eat early.  Tomorow night I may be tired from my excursion and go to my room and crash and not make it to MDR at my usual early time.  There needs to be a balance between reservations and walkups I agree.  And I think the reservation dining room and a separate walk up sounds great.