Dine-My-Way Will Make You Crazy!!!

[mike&elena]

43 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

That’s the exact same experience we’ve had, too.  
 

To the OP:  
We have been on many cruises since the restart and although, have had a few changes mysteriously appear on our reservations in the app, we’ve found it was all sorted out by the maitre d’ once we were onboard and never been put at a shared table unless we requested it.  
I’ve also found that you may have better luck editing your reservations one day at a time.  And once we were happy with our table and waiters, we asked if we could get the same table every night and it was done.  They would just greet us and wave us through when they saw us.  
We absolutely love DMW .. have been very lucky with it working out very well for us.  Just be sure to let them know if you aren’t going to make it one night .. otherwise, it may not work out so well for you!  They always appreciate that.  
And, as for raising Cain, you will probably get a much more amenable response by being polite and respectful.  I know you probably just said that out of frustration … but I can almost be sure it will all work out fine without having to go to those lengths.  
 

CruiseRaider--

We're on the April 2024 solar eclipse cruise with you and are looking forward to meeting you onboard!  As to the need to "raise cain" over the restaurant debacle, of course, we will always be respectful.  We actually feel bad for the crewmembers who must try to resolve the mess the new DMY system has created.  In the past, head waiters and restaurant managers have pleaded with us to tell corporate leadership that they need to give the restaurant staff the tools and the authority to run their operations instead of locking them into an inflexible, computer-controlled system.  The frustration on our part comes from all the wasted time and energy it now takes to get table for dinner.  Glad you've been having better luck than we have.  And thanks for sharing your thoughts and suggestions!

Mike & Elena 🌴👨👩🌴

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, mike&elena said:

CruiseRaider--

We're on the April 2024 solar eclipse cruise with you and are looking forward to meeting you onboard!  As to the need to "raise cain" over the restaurant debacle, of course, we will always be respectful.  We actually feel bad for the crewmembers who must try to resolve the mess the new DMY system has created.  In the past, head waiters and restaurant managers have pleaded with us to tell corporate leadership that they need to give the restaurant staff the tools and the authority to run their operations instead of locking them into an inflexible, computer-controlled system.  The frustration on our part comes from all the wasted time and energy it now takes to get table for dinner.  Glad you've been having better luck than we have.  And thanks for sharing your thoughts and suggestions!

Mike & Elena 🌴👨👩🌴

I am so looking forward to that cruise.  It is one that is sold out so I’m sure everything will be open!  We are actually going on the sailing right before it, too.  So, I’m going to try to get our reservations for the same table put in place during that first leg.  
I am sure you will be respectful.  I know your comments were made out of frustration.  The app has done that to be a few times, as well.  Then, all gets solved once we are onboard so, I rarely give it another thought.  
Looking forward to meeting you both onboard the solar eclipse cruise, as well.  

  
 

[Torfamm]

4 hours ago, mike&elena said:

Here's an update: 

We called the Princess Dining Reservations phone number.  Afrer 30 minutes, the representative said he could not restore our original reservations for a private table at 6:20 p.m. because there are no tables showing as available until after 8 p.m.  He said he would send a request to Tech Support and they will look into the issue in 4-5 days.   Our past experience says that nothing will happen.  The regular response we receive from Princess personnel (including maitre d's and restaurant managers) is, "the computer controls the reservations process and we have very little ability to make changes".  Feel the love...

While I haven’t had the problem you’ve had in our six cruises since the restart, I have asked restaurant managers to accommodate requests regarding reservations and gotten exactly what I asked for 4 out of 6 times. At least on the ships we’ve been on, it seemed that they do still have the ability to manage the seating in the dining rooms. Try to think positively and not let this make you miserably frustrated. It may all work out exactly as you want.

[antsp]

I honestly wonder if they really assign a table to you, the waits even with a reservation would indicate no

[DallasGuy75219]

9 minutes ago, antsp said:

I honestly wonder if they really assign a table to you, the waits even with a reservation would indicate no

If you requested and they gave you the same table all cruise, yes.  Otherwise it's doubtful based on how often I show up with a "reservation" and they're clearly searching for an available table.  

[jinpasco]

Same happened to us on a 14 night. I even checked with the chat line 2 days prior to make sure. We get on the ship and times changed and even 2  nights dining venues. Luckily we caught it early and was able to change it on the tv . I am not a fan of DMW.  No one really cares about opinions or ideas but mine would be...3 dining rooms, one for early, one for late, and one for anytime. Go back I to the old system where you had  a set table and staff. Everything seems to be so hard. And yes, the matri'd ( spelling ?) Is your best friend.

[Solara]

I checked.  Ours was changed too. Also, every time I tried to book entire voyage at the same time, and I went to confirm afterwards it confirmed but then changed it back to shared table so I had to do each day individually.  Sounds like a disaster. 

[antsp]

14 minutes ago, Solara said:

I checked.  Ours was changed too. Also, every time I tried to book entire voyage at the same time, and I went to confirm afterwards it confirmed but then changed it back to shared table so I had to do each day individually.  Sounds like a disaster. 

That's what I had to do. Princess says it listens to its passengers. Princess passengers want fixed dining back. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

22 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

For once I made DMW reservations early enough to get a private table reservation at my preferred time every night on my next cruise.  Now I know to screenshot that reservation in case it mysteriously gets changed. 

Do that!  It just happened to us again. We booked a cruise for July, and I was thrilled that I could get into the booking on the app (only with the booking ID, never with a login and password) and stunned to see that I could make reservations for all 14 nights in exactly the dining room we want at the time we want at a private table. Two days later we were switched to a shared table. I was able to move them all back to private (and did screenshots); again today they again all show as shared with no other times or table configurations available. This is beyond ridiculous. 

[MileHighAko]

I seem to remember when DMW was first launched there was a lot of complaining that only private tables were available. Of course, covid was still a thing... But I read countless threads about how everyone wanted a shared table experience, to go back to the "old" way do doing things, and why can't we have any-time-dining again. I wonder if their recent updates were motivated by that feedback, now that you can have a shared table in the app and one of the MDRs is dedicated to walk-ins.

[DallasGuy75219]

7 minutes ago, MileHighAko said:

I seem to remember when DMW was first launched there was a lot of complaining that only private tables were available. Of course, covid was still a thing... But I read countless threads about how everyone wanted a shared table experience, to go back to the "old" way do doing things, and why can't we have any-time-dining again. I wonder if their recent updates were motivated by that feedback, now that you can have a shared table in the app and one of the MDRs is dedicated to walk-ins.

I usually cruise by myself and prefer a private table.  Had enough of awkward and forced conversations over two-hour dinners when I'm usually in and out in about an hour (unless service is especially slow).  Old-school early seating is too early and late seating is too late, so I love being to get a private table at the time I want.  I just wish the app functioned correctly to make sure I get what I reserved.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, antsp said:

That's what I had to do. Princess says it listens to its passengers. Princess passengers want fixed dining back. 

Some certainly do. There is a demand for this.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

This is beyond ridiculous. 

It most certainly is.  Also a new phenomena with DMW.  I wonder where this is coming from and why as it did not used to do this.

[Astro Flyer]

11 hours ago, mike&elena said:

CruiseRaider--

We're on the April 2024 solar eclipse cruise with you and are looking forward to meeting you onboard!  As to the need to "raise cain" over the restaurant debacle, of course, we will always be respectful.  We actually feel bad for the crewmembers who must try to resolve the mess the new DMY system has created.  In the past, head waiters and restaurant managers have pleaded with us to tell corporate leadership that they need to give the restaurant staff the tools and the authority to run their operations instead of locking them into an inflexible, computer-controlled system.  The frustration on our part comes from all the wasted time and energy it now takes to get table for dinner.  Glad you've been having better luck than we have.  And thanks for sharing your thoughts and suggestions!

Mike & Elena 🌴👨👩🌴

All of our DMW reservations made immediately after a cruise was eligible to be booked were there until boarding when all of them were changed.
 

On our most recent experience on Discovery’s first two sailings which were to celebrate our 50th anniversary all of our reservations were changed. They said they were sorry however no tables were available for anything close to our original DMW reservations. I don’t blame the crew but once again Princess management for dictating unworkable procedures & expecting crew to somehow make it work as promoted…not for us. Our DMW reservations made on the first booking day are still displayed for Discovery’s TSE although that doesn’t guarantee anything as all of our other DMW reservations changed upon boarding.
 

Nearly 2 years after DMW was implemented it’s still an unreliable mess.

 

[Fisherwoman]

We just got off Discovery Princess.  We had a reservation for 5:30.  Line for people with reservations went up the stairs from the Ketchikan Dining Room.  Most nights, long line for people with reservations.  Why don't they give 5:30 people a table number so they can get seated and make room for later diners!   DMW is a mess and frankly I'm fed up with it!

[rnr4thatsme]

17 hours ago, Solara said:

I checked.  Ours was changed too. Also, every time I tried to book entire voyage at the same time, and I went to confirm afterwards it confirmed but then changed it back to shared table so I had to do each day individually.  Sounds like a disaster. 

The same happened to me, though booking each day individually seemed to have worked... for now....   I'm a new Princess cruiser and am shocked at how glitchy the website is for such a large company.

[PescadoAmarillo]

56 minutes ago, rnr4thatsme said:

The same happened to me, though booking each day individually seemed to have worked... for now....   I'm a new Princess cruiser and am shocked at how glitchy the website is for such a large company.

I’m a long time Princess cruiser and I am shocked at their corporate ambivalence in getting this fixed. Apparently, once they have our cruise fare, the fact that guests are waiting in long lines for dinner at times and tables we might not want is of little concern.