Problems with Dine my way Coral Princess

[windsor26]

I have just spent 30 minutes booking the dining for the cruise on 13th Sep via the app on the computer  I am trying to get shared table every night

The only offer of shared is at 6pm bit early for me but ok I picked it.

 

The first night it offered the Bordeaux on deck 6  ok great I picked it    the 2nd night it only offered the Provence  deck 5 dining room and that happened every other night so I do not get a 'traditional' type of dining but different restaurant each night with probably new people  WHAT A FIASCO   Why do they make things so difficult   Does anyone have an e mail link for the Maitre'D so I can contact and ask for clarification or every night in the same place.  I know it will be almost impossible to get to see him when we first embark so I will try earlier  Thanks

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Even if you did manage to book a shared table in the same MDR every night through the app there is no guarantee it would be with the same people every night. Unfortunately traditional dining no longer exists on Princess ships. 

[windsor26]

Yes  I know this but wanted to get to know the waiters instead of having to start afresh every night  It really dos not make sense to keep changing the restaurant as well as the table   On the Sky last week I had the same table e very night so the waiters knew our preferences

[Ozwoody]

We're with you windsor26, International Dinning is one of the things we enjoyed with cruising.

We have made some great friends, which we still catch up with several time a year.

We're hoping that it is a temporary thing with the starting of post covid cruising.🤞😬

If it is done away with permanently it will be very disappointing.🤬

[windsor26]

1 minute ago, Ozwoody said:

We're with you windsor26, International Dinning is one of the things we enjoyed with cruising.

We have made some great friends, which we still catch up with several time a year.

We're hoping that it is a temporary thing with the starting of post covid cruising.🤞😬

If it is done away with permanently it will be very disappointing.🤬

We are meeting friends on Saturday from our shared table in 2008  and as you said have loads of great friends from table groups as well as trivia ones

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 minutes ago, windsor26 said:

Yes  I know this but wanted to get to know the waiters instead of having to start afresh every night  It really dos not make sense to keep changing the restaurant as well as the table   On the Sky last week I had the same table e very night so the waiters knew our preferences

I think all you can do is talk to the Maitre d' on board. It's certainly a lot nicer when you get the same waiters each night, assuming they are good waiters that is - we had one cruise with traditional dining where the waiters weren't very good unfortunately.

[windsor26]

Just now, OzKiwiJJ said:

I think all you can do is talk to the Maitre d' on board. It's certainly a lot nicer when you get the same waiters each night, assuming they are good waiters that is - we had one cruise with traditional dining where the waiters weren't very good unfortunately.

Yes  once that happened to us but on a RCI cruise the assistant waiter was awful so when w3e gave tips at the end of the cruise in envelopes as in the past  my tip was a note (learn your job asap)  naughty but effective I thought

[Ozwoody]

2 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I think all you can do is talk to the Maitre d' on board. It's certainly a lot nicer when you get the same waiters each night, assuming they are good waiters that is - we had one cruise with traditional dining where the waiters weren't very good unfortunately.

We have never had a bad waiter, indeed we have some really excellent ones, entertainers in their own right.😁

[OzKiwiJJ]

6 minutes ago, Ozwoody said:

We're with you windsor26, International Dinning is one of the things we enjoyed with cruising.

We have made some great friends, which we still catch up with several time a year.

We're hoping that it is a temporary thing with the starting of post covid cruising.🤞😬

If it is done away with permanently it will be very disappointing.🤬

I don't think it will ever come back as it used to be, especially as ships get bigger. It's inefficient use of MDR space as people don't always turn up to their assigned tables and if mixed in with anytime type dining means that tables are left empty when people are waiting to dine. Also younger/newer cruisers seem to want the flexibility of dining when and where they choose on the spur of the moment. If my memory is correct when they did operate the two types of dining the Anytime allocation always filled up well before the ship sold out of cabins.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

8 minutes ago, windsor26 said:

Yes  once that happened to us but on a RCI cruise the assistant waiter was awful so when w3e gave tips at the end of the cruise in envelopes as in the past  my tip was a note (learn your job asap)  naughty but effective I thought

🤣 I wish I'd thought of that.

[arxcards]

It just seems different to us in Oz. Anytime was becoming the norm in the US back before Princess had a full time ship here. Prior to arriving here, the Sun class sisters had fixed in one, anytime in the other. Once here it became fixed in both. For Grand class like Diamond, it was 1 fixed, 3 anytime.

 

There used to be more complaints about being seated at large half-empty tables, and with non-compatible diners.

 

Book what you can, and if you are happy with the first night, ask the maitre d' if you can repeat that table every night.

Edited August 12, 2022 by arxcards

[Ozwoody]

33 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I don't think it will ever come back as it used to be, especially as ships get bigger. It's inefficient use of MDR space as people don't always turn up to their assigned tables and if mixed in with anytime type dining means that tables are left empty when people are waiting to dine. Also younger/newer cruisers seem to want the flexibility of dining when and where they choose on the spur of the moment. If my memory is correct when they did operate the two types of dining the Anytime allocation always filled up well before the ship sold out of cabins.

 

Yes people not turning up, has been a problem, we have been left as 2 at a table for 6 once very annoying, manage to ringing-in some tables for 2 around us that help. Also were assigned a table for two on a cruise, and discovered some friends on a table for 6 were a couple were not turning up, asked to transfer, but because the couple not turning up, said they wanted to keep it in case they decided to use it. they only turned up for one nights meal, never to be seen again.

 

This should not be a case of throwing the baby out with the bath water, but setting up a system that if people don't turn up regular they are advised that their assignment has been cancelled, if someone else wishes to use it. Or at least something down that road at least.

 

 

[MicCanberra]

We have always preferred Anytime to traditional dining.

Unless wanting to dine with new cruise friends, we normally just dine for the 2 of us (unless we are travelling with a group of friends). We rarely opt for share tables as they tend to drag dinner out by an extra hour.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The other problem with traditional dining is the times. Early was too early for some yet late was too late. Princess wasn't too bad in our region with late dining being 7:30pm or 7:45pm but on Celebrity it was 8:30pm and half the tables in that sitting were empty on our last cruise with them.

[MicCanberra]

I cannot understand why people want to eat at the same fixed time everyday when on holiday, some days you are in Port and exploring till late, others are sea days, and you just want to eat when you are hungry. I like the flexibility of eating when I want to eat but still do it in the MDR.

[OzKiwiJJ]

43 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I cannot understand why people want to eat at the same fixed time everyday when on holiday, some days you are in Port and exploring till late, others are sea days, and you just want to eat when you are hungry. I like the flexibility of eating when I want to eat but still do it in the MDR.

We end up eating around the same time regardless so traditional dining never bothered us but what we now prefer with anytime dining is being able to select a table size to suit our mood - sometimes we like to share and meet other people, at other times we prefer to have a table for two.

[Ozwoody]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

I cannot understand why people want to eat at the same fixed time everyday when on holiday, some days you are in Port and exploring till late, others are sea days, and you just want to eat when you are hungry. I like the flexibility of eating when I want to eat but still do it in the MDR.

It's not that ridged, there are times when we skip a meal for some reason, (Speciality Dinning, a bit of us time, port days we know we're going to be late back on, etc) we just let the others know if it's planned.

On a long cruise we may miss about 10-15% of nights.

But the other nights, it's like coming home to family, and discussing our days events.

 

Others as you point out prefer doing it on the fly so to speak, and so you should, if that's what you prefer.

 

But that's the benefit of having both, anytime and fixed, it means we can choose.

Not be made to accept that one size fits all.

 

[arxcards]

We ,mostly have a hybrid "Claytons" anytime here anyway.

 

Pre-booking your dining slots with an app is nothing like deciding you are hungry and walking-up to the dining room of your choice to be seated. The closest we have had to this is NCL, and they have colour coded boards around the ship to let you know what is full, filling or available. They encourage you to decide on the run, but you can pre-book if you prefer.

 

What they call anytime here is mostly a flexible early or late sitting, with only a small number of tables available in the middle times. As has been suggested to us before, you can eat in the MDR anytime you like, as long as it is early or late. For anyone pre-booking early via the app, you will get to book out these middle time tables and anyone booking aboard will only have a choice of early or late.

 

We have had some awesome fixed dining tables over the years, and some pretty incompatible ones too. On one cruise we were pretty much kicked out by the head waiter each night so they could close. Great company, but we missed most of the shows. We are happy enough with doing shared big tables for open seating sea day breakfast and lunch, but for dinner we now prefer to dine with friends or at a table for two. We still like the small table to be pretty much fixed though, as it is a great bonus when the waiters already know your drinks, allergies, dining pace etc.

[queenslander]

11 hours ago, windsor26 said:

I have just spent 30 minutes booking the dining for the cruise on 13th Sep via the app on the computer  I am trying to get shared table every night

The only offer of shared is at 6pm bit early for me but ok I picked it.

 

The first night it offered the Bordeaux on deck 6  ok great I picked it    the 2nd night it only offered the Provence  deck 5 dining room and that happened every other night so I do not get a 'traditional' type of dining but different restaurant each night with probably new people  WHAT A FIASCO   Why do they make things so difficult   Does anyone have an e mail link for the Maitre'D so I can contact and ask for clarification or every night in the same place.  I know it will be almost impossible to get to see him when we first embark so I will try earlier  Thanks

 

I am a solo traveller so I chose the Bordeaux dining room for 6.00pm. I had excellent waiters so I stayed on the same table of six with different people each evening. At one point someone at the dining room desk - not the Maître D' - tried change me over to a table for two but I spoke to the Maître D' and managed to stay on the same table. I guess being Elite might have helped as we are supposed to get preference with dining arrangements. 

[yes!yes!yes!]

I'm on coral now. I didn't book anything ahead for dining and haven't  waited so far for a table. Always asked at the entrance, would you like to share or a table for two. I can ask to be seated in the same area to get the same waiters for dinner. Your medallion  tracks where you have been sitting. I wouldn't  bother prebooking.

This is the first cruise I haven't done traditional dining.

[queenslander]

I really like having the same waiters for dinner in the MDR and normally do anytime dining so that doesn’t worry me. I often met people early in the cruise or online and when they invited me to join their fixed dining table I usually did. I like to relax and enjoy my dinner in company so I don’t mind if it takes longer as I can go to the late show if I miss the first one. I tend to stay up late - even at home.

If I have a reason to change the dining time I just let them know the day before to get the same table. For instance when it was the Captain's cocktail party I ate earlier. I have lunch in the MDR too but then I usually sit at a smaller table unless I am meeting up with others.