Dear Princess Management, I Hope You Read This

[BabySarge]

Dear Princess Management

The worst part of our current Caribbean Princess cruise hasn't been the $200 Uber we had to take from Newark airport because the Princess representative and shuttle bus never showed (thanks for reimbursing us).  It hasn't been the ports missed due to Hurricane Fiona or the extra days at sea we had to spend because of that same reason (thanks for the FCC, but we might never use it).  No, it has been the absolute cluster that the Dine My Way app has turned the dining experience into (which is why we might never use the FCC).  There is absolutely no accommodation made for those of us that would like a more traditional dining experience and it has turned into an absolute crap shoot as to whether or not you can get the same waiters or area of the dining room two nights in a row. 

It can be done; I know it can.  We had it for 30 days on the Emerald Princess in February this year.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give those of us that still want it an option to have traditional style dining.  Contrary to what you have either been told or believe not everyone wants a different table, different waiter, different time, different dining room for dinner.  There are many of us that still want the same time same table, same dining room, same waiter(s) every night and even want to do that with the same strangers we meet on the first night for the entire cruise.

I would start a survey on here if I knew how just to gauge the interest for having traditional dining as an option as part of the Dine My Way app - DH and I can't be the only ones who still want that option.

 

[JimmyVWine]

8 minutes ago, BabySarge said:

It can be done; I know it can.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give those of us that still want it an option to have traditional style dining.

You know what else can be done?  Connect with fellow cruisers in a Roll Call.  Exchange information.  Make each other Journey Mates, or whatever they call it on the App.  Then make DMW reservations in advance for each night of your cruise.  You get the same tablemates each night.  And on night one, tell the Dining Room Manager that you would love to have the same table and same server each night, as you have a standing reservation for that dining room each night at the same time.  Odds are very, very good that you will get that wish granted.  PRESTO!  Traditional dining experience with people you have connected with in advance instead of total strangers.  Traditional Dining has its fans among the 300 or so people who post here regularly.  It is far from the favorite way of dining for the 1 million other Princess cruisers who never use CC.  Do you really think that Princess has not surveyed this and instead removed TD in the blind?  

Edited September 30, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[ghgeckos]

As a family with food allergies we too prefer the ability to sit in the same area of the dinning room. This allows servers to get used to our families needs without having to repeat ourselves every night. So far we have been able to get our dining reservations nightly in the same dining room. On previous cruises this year I have been able to request a general section of the dining room after speaking to the Maitre d.

[travelin.sisters]

we have been able to have the same table/staff for our entire cruise on all 3 cruises we have taken this year...I make a DMW reservation before sailing for the same time/dining room for the entire cruise, then the first night I check that we will have the same table each night & this has worked out for us.

[sonomaphil]

I'll like to be the first to say we like Dine My Way and despise traditional dining.  Please take note of that Princess.  

[mom says]

18 minutes ago, BabySarge said:

There are many of us that still want the same time same table, same dining room, same waiter(s) every night and even want to do that with the same strangers we meet on the first night for the entire cruise.

I would start a survey on here if I knew how just to gauge the interest for having traditional dining as an option as part of the Dine My Way app

First you claim that there are "many" (although you don't state what percentage of pax) who want TD. Then in the next sentence  admit you have no idea of how many want it.  What percentage of the ~3000 pax would make it worthwhile for the cruise line to set aside an entire dining room (or part of one) for TD?

 

If you are serious, and not just venting, then why are you posting here and not emailing Princess directly? Although we prefer dining by ourselves, we haven't had a problem with reserving the same MDR and time on DMW and requesting the same table from the Maitre d '.

[sloopsailor]

Mark me up as someone who gets bored with the same dining room, same table, same time, same table mates, and same waiters, especially when that table is in a poor location, the table mates are not that personable, or the waiters are not that attentive. I much prefer variety, and will mix up the dining rooms, dining times and table locations. That way, every dinner is a new experience, rather than a repeat of all the ones before it. 

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by sloopsailor

[roxievegas]

we were on a B2B cruise New England/Canada cruise on Caribbean, Aug 31 to Sept 20th.  We had logged on to app and tried to put in for 5:00 dining, but it would not allow us that time.  We waited until we were on board, and then tried again.  I was able to put in for private table for two every night for 5:00.  

We would check the menu or figure if we were going to eat in the dining room, if not we would cancel our reservation for that night.

Each time we reported to the dining room, we asked for the same table #101 - our waiter was Chris and we liked him after the first time and each time we got our same table.

 

[richsea]

1 hour ago, sonomaphil said:

I'll like to be the first to say we like Dine My Way and despise traditional dining.  Please take note of that Princess.  

That’s great. Everyone has their preferences. I think the author’s point is that there is no reason the app can’t accommodate both traditional & anytime dining. Princess has been doing it for years. 

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, sonomaphil said:

I'll like to be the first to say we like Dine My Way and despise traditional dining.  Please take note of that Princess.  

Are you against people having the choice?  This always happens here.  Someone asks for Traditional Dining and those who don't like it come out in force and tell them they are wrong.  I have given up on Princess.  They have their new business plan and they are steam rolling ahead with it.  If you are one who likes the new dining model, why do you scold those who don't?  If TD did reappear (doubtful) that doesn't mean you would be forced to participate.  Have a little sympathy for those of us who liked the old system and grieve its passing.

Edited September 30, 2022 by Kay S

[JimmyVWine]

1 minute ago, richsea said:

there is no reason the app can’t accommodate both traditional & anytime dining.

But there is a reason.  The decline of TD as a preference cannot be countered with a commensurate reduction in size of an MDR especially when the passenger load of the newer ships is increasing. The square footage of the dining rooms is static whereas the number of people who want TD is not, and the overall total number of passengers is growing.  As Princess increases the capacity of its ships, it does so by building up, not out.  The size of the MDRs is not growing in proportion to the increased passenger load.  By way of example, if you look at the Deck 6 Aft MDR on Grand (capacity 2,600) on the deck plan you can see how many cabins it covers, lengthwise.  I count 15 when looking at the cabins on Deck 9.  Now look at the Deck 6 Aft MDR on Regal (capacity 3,560) and it appears to cover the same 15 cabins in length on Deck 9, (factoring in the larger size of the suite.)  37% more passengers with minimal to no growth in MDR square footage.  And the trend continues with the added decks on the Sphere Class ships though we don't know what the MDRs will look like yet.  More people using up the same space means that the dining rooms need to flip tables twice, and maybe three times a night. They cannot tie up an entire MDR with a single flip of two seatings, (early and late).  Anyone in the restaurant business knows that the way to maximize covers is to do open seating instead of set seatings.  Using one, or even half of an MDR for TD would put unworkable downward pressure on the other dining venues.  At best, a TD venue would have to have three seatings, probably 5:00, 6:45 and 8:30 and then see the torches and pitchforks come out as people complain that 5:00 is way too early and 8:30 is way too late.  Some people long for the leisurely pace and congeniality of the old TD model.  But the increased passenger load simply does not allow for that any longer.  Princess knows this.  They aren't stupid.  

[geoherb]

Before the restart, traditional dining was so popular that they had to add a second dining room to accommodate passengers wanting early traditional dining. 

[NownZen]

17 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

But there is a reason.  The decline of TD as a preference cannot be countered with a commensurate reduction in size of an MDR especially when the passenger load of the newer ships is increasing. The square footage of the dining rooms is static whereas the number of people who want TD is not, and the overall total number of passengers is growing.  As Princess increases the capacity of its ships, it does so by building up, not out.  The size of the MDRs is not growing in proportion to the increased passenger load.  By way of example, if you look at the Deck 6 Aft MDR on Grand (capacity 2,600) on the deck plan you can see how many cabins it covers, lengthwise.  I count 15 when looking at the cabins on Deck 9.  Now look at the Deck 6 Aft MDR on Regal (capacity 3,560) and it appears to cover the same 15 cabins in length on Deck 9, (factoring in the larger size of the suite.)  37% more passengers with minimal to no growth in MDR square footage.  And the trend continues with the added decks on the Sphere Class ships though we don't know what the MDRs will look like yet.  More people using up the same space means that the dining rooms need to flip tables twice, and maybe three times a night. They cannot tie up an entire MDR with a single flip of two seatings, (early and late).  Anyone in the restaurant business knows that the way to maximize covers is to do open seating instead of set seatings.  Using one, or even half of an MDR for TD would put unworkable downward pressure on the other dining venues.  At best, a TD venue would have to have three seatings, probably 5:00, 6:45 and 8:30 and then see the torches and pitchforks come out as people complain that 5:00 is way too early and 8:30 is way too late.  Some people long for the leisurely pace and congeniality of the old TD model.  But the increased passenger load simply does not allow for that any longer.  Princess knows this.  They aren't stupid.  

Thank you for the analysis.  There does seem to be a trend to just add another deck of cabins and hope it all works out. You see this on what they did to the Island Princess where they added a lot of cabins and removed some public space. We have always had trouble getting out of the dining room in less than two hours so only go when we have nothing else to do or we got back early from an excursion. Maybe I should look at the buffet to see if the same size ratios exist.

[suzyed]

We have different issues with Princess that have nothing to do with the dining....well maybe having the dining listed on the app is a problem.
Our issues with Princess involve them not paying for the air portion of our cruise so that our flights got cancelled.  Telling us we are paid in full and then saying that we owe another $500+.  We tried or thought we used all our remaining FCCs (from the Coral) to pay for the cruise, but then can't decipher how they were applied and that many seemed to just disappear. To me, these are different issues...messing with my money. 
Everyone has their own personal feelings about what they consider to be issues.  
Maybe we should take it up with Princess and allow each other to vent.

[NownZen]

2 minutes ago, geoherb said:

Before the restart, traditional dining was so popular that they had to add a second dining room to accommodate passengers wanting early traditional dining. 

Was that why they would put us in traditional dining and wait list us for the anytime dining?

[JimmyVWine]

4 minutes ago, geoherb said:

Before the restart, traditional dining was so popular that they had to add a second dining room to accommodate passengers wanting early traditional dining. 

And the complaints from the ATD people skyrocketed.  The Transitional MDR (early TD switching over to ATD) made the switch at 7:15.  The newer, larger ships simply cannot block out an MDR from 5:00-7:15 for one seating of people.  The math simply does not work.  

[NownZen]

1 minute ago, suzyed said:

We have different issues with Princess that have nothing to do with the dining....well maybe having the dining listed on the app is a problem.
Our issues with Princess involve them not paying for the air portion of our cruise so that our flights got cancelled.  Telling us we are paid in full and then saying that we owe another $500+.  We tried or thought we used all our remaining FCCs (from the Coral) to pay for the cruise, but then can't decipher how they were applied and that many seemed to just disappear. To me, these are different issues...messing with my money. 
Everyone has their own personal feelings about what they consider to be issues.  
Maybe we should take it up with Princess and allow each other to vent.

I think the FCC have been an adventure for Princess as well. We had a number of cruises canceled and had a collection of FCCs which had gone through a number of cruises and so it was not clear which part of them were bonus and which were just holding onto our money. I  lost track. On our upcoming cruise, we got one statement saying we owed something like $2300. A couple of days later the statement said paid in full. I have no idea which was correct but I was not going to question them. Now with a cabin level change and a upgrade bid in, who knows what will happen.

[JimmyVWine]

6 minutes ago, NownZen said:

Maybe I should look at the buffet to see if the same size ratios exist.

On the newer ships, the World Market Place is way bigger than the old Horizon Court area.  At least that is true with respect to square footage dedicated to the food stations.  It seems as if the seating areas are larger as well.  Not sure if the size ratio kept pace with the increased passenger load.  But at least it trended in the right direction as opposed to the MDRs.

[PrincessLuver]

2 hours ago, sonomaphil said:

I'll like to be the first to say we like Dine My Way and despise traditional dining.  Please take note of that Princess.  

 

We second that.  We have had no problems with the Dine My Way and it seems a much better use of your limited staff then having traditional dinning where a table of for 8 is only used by two because the rest of the table randomly shows throughout the cruise.  No more wasted wait staff.  Bravo!!!

[Ombud]

2 hours ago, ghgeckos said:

As a family with food allergies we too prefer the ability to sit in the same area of the dinning room. This allows servers to get used to our families needs without having to repeat ourselves every night. So far we have been able to get our dining reservations nightly in the same dining room. On previous cruises this year I have been able to request a general section of the dining room after speaking to the Maitre d.

Maybe that's why I have 1 table / servers / HW. So I only have to state once "vegetarian (think vegan with dairy) & no pepper." It hasn't been an issue. But the 4 some on the table to my right & 2 some on the table on my left had no issues. But we asked the DRO to let us be there every night. 

[Mike45LC]

9 minutes ago, NownZen said:

Was that why they would put us in traditional dining and wait list us for the anytime dining?

For me, they put us in Anytime and wait listed us for Second TD.  The wait list did not clear and we were stuck in Anytime.  That first Anytime experience cost me a lot of money because it was so horrible that I thereafter upgraded to Club Class  -- no waiting, same servers every night!

[suzyed]

3 minutes ago, NownZen said:

I think the FCC have been an adventure for Princess as well. We had a number of cruises canceled and had a collection of FCCs which had gone through a number of cruises and so it was not clear which part of them were bonus and which were just holding onto our money. I  lost track. On our upcoming cruise, we got one statement saying we owed something like $2300. A couple of days later the statement said paid in full. I have no idea which was correct but I was not going to question them. Now with a cabin level change and a upgrade bid in, who knows what will happen.

Same here...Princess cancelled 3 of our cruises that were paid for with FCCs and then we cancelled one under the Cruise with Confidence scheme.  Problems started before that with half of FCCs literally disappearing!  When questioned, they said, "oh, that was a mistake you weren't entitled to those".  Then after that FCCs were put back willy nilly with no explanation.  So the latest (last night, two days after cancelling our flights in error), I get a call from the TA saying we owe more money on a cruise that had a zero balance.  Let's see what today brings.

[NownZen]

8 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

For me, they put us in Anytime and wait listed us for Second TD.  The wait list did not clear and we were stuck in Anytime.  That first Anytime experience cost me a lot of money because it was so horrible that I thereafter upgraded to Club Class  -- no waiting, same servers every night!

I am curious what was so horrible. We would show up, never waited more than a couple of minutes and had dinner. Having the same waiters every night is of no importance to us as it is to some people.

We were on a cruise with traditional dining and had a waitress who was a nuisance and we could not get her to calm down. She new we had had discussions with the MaitreD about her so she was nervous around us. One evening after interrupting us yet again, she spun around a hit a waiter carrying a tray of dinners. I looked across at my wife and the had had a full plate of spaghetti and sauce dropped directly on her head and is was running down her front.  The look on the waitress's face was that she thought she might have to swim home.  I am old and stupid but not so much that I would laugh at my wife's situation. I think my tongue is still healing from biting it.

[JimmyVWine]

1 minute ago, NownZen said:

I am curious what was so horrible. We would show up, never waited more than a couple of minutes and had dinner.

I amazes me how people's experiences can differ so greatly.  Like you, we have never waited for a table.  And I mean literally, never waited.  My hand has never once touched one of those UFO light-up things that goes off when your table is ready.  I have never once headed to a bar to have a drink while we waited.  The (very) few times that we waited 5 minutes for a table is when the M'd told us that if we didn't mind waiting, he could seat us at a beautiful table by the window.  It never mattered to us, but he seemed so proud of his ability to get us a "prime" table that we went along with it and waited per his request.  But other than that, it has always been a straight shot to a table.  The one time we have had Club Class, we were of course seated right away at the same table with the same servers.  But that feature wasn't materially different from our experience with regular ATD.  Now, I am not doubting that others suffered long waits.  But fool me once.  If that is what I experienced, I would change my strategy. 

[Steelers36]

33 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

And the complaints from the ATD people skyrocketed.  The Transitional MDR (early TD switching over to ATD) made the switch at 7:15.  The newer, larger ships simply cannot block out an MDR from 5:00-7:15 for one seating of people.  The math simply does not work.  

Technically you could say that, but in practice, the tables were filled as the TD'ers left.