What are the benefits of Club Class?

[sunviking90]

18 minutes ago, pistnbroke said:

When you get an upgrade offer are you provided the location

of the cabin ?

 

 

Yes, you’re assigned a cabin immediately. 

[pistnbroke]

Thank you

if the location is not to your liking are you stuck with it ?
Similar to the upgrade BID process ?

 

[sunviking90]

9 minutes ago, pistnbroke said:

Thank you

if the location is not to your liking are you stuck with it ?
Similar to the upgrade BID process ?

 

Technically yes, but I was able to have my PVP change ours to another cabin in the same category in our preferred location. YMMV.

Edited September 18, 2023 by sunviking90

[MissP22]

Something tells me that those upgrades, which more appropriately should be called upsells, are cabins that are remaining after all the better ones have been booked. 

The days of upgrades are long gone.

 

[NavyVeteran]

7 hours ago, Pickels said:

We always prefer to have the same staff at dinner; they would know our dining preferences; what I can eat, what I can't eat and, it just makes for a great one-on-one situation.  You get to know the staff and they get to know you.  If we can't reserve the same table each night, then it's off to the MDR which is no biggy; we've done that for all of our cruises and it was great!

In Reserve Dining, you will always have the same head waiter. If you want the same waiter, just ask and there should be no problem. Even if you don't always have the same one, you will have one of a small group, and you get to know all of them.

[Ken the cruiser]

30 minutes ago, pistnbroke said:

Thank you

if the location is not to your liking are you stuck with it ?
Similar to the upgrade BID process ?

 

I'm confused. Are we talking about winning an upgrade bid or just getting a free upgrade to a better cabin like PCL used to offer prior to implementing the upgrade bidding process? In fact, why would PCL even consider giving someone a free upgrade anymore since implementing the bidding process? 🤔

[NavyVeteran]

7 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

We do Reserve Class on all our cruises and have never found the need to request a permanent table because there is always plenty of good ones available.  I am not sure if wait staff would do that because if someone wanted a window table and they said it was reserved then that would open a whole can of worms for the staff.  We have never seen them reserve individual tables in Reserve Class.

We had a reserved table in Club Class on a British Isles cruise on the Caribbean Princess. On that cruise, we had four couples dining in Club Class, and they set up one table for eight. Since we were the only party of eight in Club Class, that table was always available for us - no one else used it for lunch or dinner. I don't know about breakfast, because we didn't eat breakfast in Club Class on that cruise. I suspect they would do the same for any other large party in Reserve Dining. We have five couples reserved in Reserve Dining for an Alaska cruise on the Grand Princess next year; I hope they will do the same. I suspect they will move tables to put a table for ten in Reserve Dining for that specific cruise.

[pistnbroke]

Not looking for a free upgrade

On our last Princess cruise our TA was able to obtain a balcony to mini suite for 

a total of only $50.00 each.

We particularly enjoyed having a couch.

 

 

[PrincessLuver]

1 hour ago, NavyVeteran said:

We had a reserved table in Club Class on a British Isles cruise on the Caribbean Princess. On that cruise, we had four couples dining in Club Class, and they set up one table for eight. Since we were the only party of eight in Club Class, that table was always available for us - no one else used it for lunch or dinner. I don't know about breakfast, because we didn't eat breakfast in Club Class on that cruise. I suspect they would do the same for any other large party in Reserve Dining. We have five couples reserved in Reserve Dining for an Alaska cruise on the Grand Princess next year; I hope they will do the same. I suspect they will move tables to put a table for ten in Reserve Dining for that specific cruise.

 

Why would you not go to the main dining room and have them set you up a table for 10.  Most of the tables in Reserve Class are tables for two and sometimes they put them together for four.  The area is just not that big in Reserve Class to have a big group take up space.  I would not want to be in Reserve class if there were a party of 10 every night because it would probably be noisy and disruptive, take extra staff to deal with that large a table and drag things out.  Thanks for letting us know what ship you will be on.

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

Why would you not go to the main dining room and have them set you up a table for 10.  Most of the tables in Reserve Class are tables for two and sometimes they put them together for four.  The area is just not that big in Reserve Class to have a big group take up space.  I would not want to be in Reserve class if there were a party of 10 every night because it would probably be noisy and disruptive, take extra staff to deal with that large a table and drag things out.  Thanks for letting us know what ship you will be on.

 

I don't understand your comment.  There is an overflow area in Reserve Dining (to the right as you enter on most ships).  Setting up a table for 8-10 is no different that a waiter and jr waiter assigned 5 tables of twos.  I don't see how that would impact your being on the other side of the dining room.  From what I have observed, there are 4 - 5 teams assigned to the Reserved Dining area.  

[reedprincess]

10 hours ago, memoak said:

I can’t even imagine eating dinner before 7:30 even at home

And we don't eat before 8:30 at home! 7:30 is solely if we have company. 5 or 6? Lol, that's tea time or sunset time or happy hour time or such! Dinner, definitely not! 

And yes - we're extreme night owls. Never heading to bed before 1am, whether home or ship.

Fortunately, on Princess, eating in the MDR at 8:30 means zero lines, on any night, ever, lol.    Walk right in..  quite different on Celebrity or MSC... 

And like you, we've seen all the production shows more times than we can count, the game shows, most of the usual guest entertainers, comedians (we can recite along with a few of them - seriously, change your show after 10+ years and seeing them on different lines! 🤦🏻‍♀️) etc. 

Music with the bands, casino and nightclub for us... deck party or MUTs if it appeals..  

Good thing we all have options! 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by reedprincess

[IndyKid]

I went ahead and put in a bid for the upgrade, wish me luck!

[NavyVeteran]

5 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

Why would you not go to the main dining room and have them set you up a table for 10.  Most of the tables in Reserve Class are tables for two and sometimes they put them together for four.  The area is just not that big in Reserve Class to have a big group take up space.  I would not want to be in Reserve class if there were a party of 10 every night because it would probably be noisy and disruptive, take extra staff to deal with that large a table and drag things out.  Thanks for letting us know what ship you will be on.

We all paid for Reserve Dining, and I expect to get what we paid for. In Reserve Dining, we do not need to make a reservation for a specific time in advance - we can show up anytime and get a table. That is what we're paying for. Princess can expand Reserve Dining as needed depending on the demand for that specific cruise. I don't know why it would take more staff to handle one party of ten than to handle five parties of two or ten solo cruisers, and a lot of smaller groups are noisier and more disruptive. BTW, I will also be checking on getting a table for ten in Sabatini's for breakfast.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, reedprincess said:

And we don't eat before 8:30 at home! 7:30 is solely if we have company. 5 or 6? Lol, that's tea time or sunset time or happy hour time or such! Dinner, definitely not! 

And yes - we're extreme night owls. Never heading to bed before 1am, whether home or ship.

Fortunately, on Princess, eating in the MDR at 8:30 means zero lines, on any night, ever, lol.    Walk right in..  quite different on Celebrity or MSC... 

And like you, we've seen all the production shows more times than we can count, the game shows, most of the usual guest entertainers, comedians (we can recite along with a few of them - seriously, change your show after 10+ years and seeing them on different lines! 🤦🏻‍♀️) etc. 

Music with the bands, casino and nightclub for us... deck party or MUTs if it appeals..  

Good thing we all have options! 

 

 

 

 

Se seem to be on the same wavelength 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, NavyVeteran said:

We all paid for Reserve Dining, and I expect to get what we paid for. In Reserve Dining, we do not need to make a reservation for a specific time in advance - we can show up anytime and get a table. That is what we're paying for. Princess can expand Reserve Dining as needed depending on the demand for that specific cruise. I don't know why it would take more staff to handle one party of ten than to handle five parties of two or ten solo cruisers, and a lot of smaller groups are noisier and more disruptive. BTW, I will also be checking on getting a table for ten in Sabatini's for breakfast.

Dinner time I get.  But , do you really expect everyone is going to be up for breakfast at the same time?  Perhaps it is your military background?  😉

 

[NavyVeteran]

2 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Dinner time I get.  But , do you really expect everyone is going to be up for breakfast at the same time?  Perhaps it is your military background?  😉

 

Not every day. On our previous cruise with eight, we would show up at different times and join the others already there.

[cr8tiv1]

I, once, had a friend join us for breakfast AFTER my friend had breakfast with significant other, almost every morning.  The staff was sure to place me at a larger table to accommodate the addition.  No harm since Sabatini's is never at capacity.  I love starting my mornings off leisurely.  One of the great perks of a suite.  

[MissP22]

13 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I'm confused. Are we talking about winning an upgrade bid or just getting a free upgrade to a better cabin like PCL used to offer prior to implementing the upgrade bidding process? In fact, why would PCL even consider giving someone a free upgrade anymore since implementing the bidding process? 🤔

They used to have true upgrades way back when...

Today they imply that bidding for better cabins are upgrades when their really upsells for a price. 

I suppose their might be a few true upgrades here and there but as long as they can make more money selling them, I doubt they'll give them away any more. 

[Torfamm]

16 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Something tells me that those upgrades, which more appropriately should be called upsells, are cabins that are remaining after all the better ones have been booked. 

The days of upgrades are long gone.

 

I recently got one and ended up in a really terrific cabin. Got the upgrade, had a look at what other cabins were still available in the new category, phoned and grabbed it.
 

That said, I would never bid unless I was sure that any cabin in the upgraded category would work for me. However, there can be a lot of shuffling around of cabins as the sail date gets close, especially if many people are moved as bids are accepted. We’ve had good luck with it. 

[Torfamm]

17 hours ago, pistnbroke said:

Thank you

if the location is not to your liking are you stuck with it ?
Similar to the upgrade BID process ?

 

You can call and ask to be moved to another cabin in the same category but it’s of course based on availability. If you’re sure that any cabin in the new category would be worth it, it makes sense to bid. For example, a lot of people would bid $50 a person to move to a deluxe balcony from an inside even if it’s a bad location. Sometimes you can also predict location because that category is so limited.

[memoak]

11 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

Not every day. On our previous cruise with eight, we would show up at different times and join the others already there.

On the Discovery in June there was a large family of 8 and Sabatini’s set up a large table for them every morning

[jwattle]

On 9/18/2023 at 5:44 AM, Pickels said:

We always prefer to have the same staff at dinner; they would know our dining preferences; what I can eat, what I can't eat and, it just makes for a great one-on-one situation.  You get to know the staff and they get to know you.  If we can't reserve the same table each night, then it's off to the MDR which is no biggy; we've done that for all of our cruises and it was great!

With Reserve, it's very easy to get the same staff each night; you might have a different table, but in the same staff's section.

[stevenr597]

11 hours ago, jwattle said:

With Reserve, it's very easy to get the same staff each night; you might have a different table, but in the same staff's section.

We rarely asked for the same staff.  We discovered that in Club Class, all the staff gave excellent service. 

[traceytd]

Instead of upgrading to club class, I would just upgrade to a regular mini suite. It’s bigger has two televisions, and is way more comfortable than just a regular balcony. 
I love mini suites and depending on where it’s located some have larger balconies also.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

1 minute ago, traceytd said:

Instead of upgrading to club class, I would just upgrade to a regular mini suite. It’s bigger has two televisions, and is way more comfortable than just a regular balcony. 
I love mini suites and depending on where it’s located some have larger balconies also.

I didn't realise that there was a normal balcony (i.e. not a mini-suite) that had reserved dining (old club class). I thought the lowest class of cabin with reserved dining was mini-suite... am I wrong?