Emerald - M1 Club Class "Reserve class" mini suite perks

[ukdeblarz]

Has anyone done the Emerald Princess mini suites - category M1 that are called club class or renamed to reserve class?

 

How does it work with dining in the separate area of the dining room?  What about using the app to make dining reservations in advance when in this class of room?

 

Any news on what sort of menu items are the additional items?

 

Thank you

Edited June 15, 2023 by ukdeblarz

[Abercrombie2019]

22 minutes ago, ukdeblarz said:

Has anyone done the Emerald Princess mini suites - category M1 that are called club class or renamed to reserve class?

 

How does it work with dining in the separate area of the dining room?  What about using the app to make dining reservations in advance when in this class of room?

 

Any news on what sort of menu items are the additional items?

You don't need to make any reservations with Reserve Class.  From Princess.com:

 

"Exclusive Reserve Dining

There’s nothing quite like the Reserve Dining experience. Think private entrance to an exclusive area in the main dining room. (And on Sun and Star Princess® – a private restaurant!). Expedited seating and dining on your own schedule, no reservations needed. Menu options just for you, including a daily chef’s special. And a dedicated waitstaff to respond to your every request. It’s sure to be your favorite way to dine at sea!"

 

I've never done Club class or Reserve Dining, so I'm not sure about the additional items - but I'm sure that someone will answer that question for you.

[cr8tiv1]

There will usually be a fresh made in the MDR pasta of the night.  And specialty desserts like Peach Melba.  They sometimes have a dinner special.  Once, and only once, was there a delicious lobster thermador.  

 

No need to make dinner reservations.  There is usually only a few minutes wait.  Keep in mind, the first rush is usually 4:45/5 PM.  They need about 90 minutes to 2 hours to complete their dinner.  Next "opening" will be around 6:30.  It depends on the itinerary.  In Japan, there were very few passengers before 6:30.  On California Coastals, everyone wanted to eat early.

[Cajuntraveler]

27 minutes ago, ukdeblarz said:

Has anyone done the Emerald Princess mini suites - category M1 that are called club class or renamed to reserve class?

This past April, DH and I were on the Ruby princess (Sister ship of Emerald) in a M1. (1st Princess cruise)  It is not necessary to make dinner reservations when you book Reserve class.  We never waited more than 2 minutes to be seated in the "reserved" section of the dining room and almost always had the same table for 2.  Even when our preferred table was occupied we had the same excellent wait staff. We ate in the dining room for breakfast, lunch (when available,) and dinner and were very happy with the menu and service.  I did not compare the regular MDR menu and the reserve menu, so I can't comment on what the extra menu item was.  We have booked another M1 cabin on the Regal for November 2023.  Enjoy your cruise!

[Ken the cruiser]

We very much enjoy Reserve Dining (formerly Club Class) and TBH the M1 cabin is the minimum category we book just for that reason. We get there when it first opens with no reservations required, as my DW has to eat early, and we usually finish in plenty of time to find good seats for the early show. It's the same menu as provided in the MDR along with one additional entree or dessert item. We usually sit in the same area every time, so we have the same waiters the entire cruise. We also eat breakfast every day there as well as lunch on sea days. 

 

As far as the mini-suite cabin goes, it's usually in a prime midship location, although we prefer an aft-facing cabin. But the tradeoff is definitely worth it to us. 

[DrivesLikeMario]

The only benefit on that class of ship IMO, is the no-reservation dining.  This kind of mini-suite is all we've booked in the past 5-6 cruises with Princess.  I'm not sure if the lines for dining are long on this class of ship, but they've been horrible on the newer Royal Class ships the past couple times.  The people WITH reservations were waiting 1.5-2 hrs. to get in to dine.  To be able to walk past those lines of grumpy people waiting to get into the dining room is SO worth it.  Again, may not be that way on the Grand Class ships.

[Lady Arwen]

We just put in an upgrade bid from our standard mini to Reserve Class on Regal.  Have not heard back yet, so who knows if it’ll be accepted or not.  The only reason we put in a bid, which was a very low bid, was to get the dining convenience with no waits.  Could care less about the other benefits.

[memoak]

You don’t wait in club class / reserve class dinner. Never had a wait. Same menu as MDR with one extra main dish or pasta that is announced by the waiter