Princess Premier - Specialty Dining

[taxmantoo]

Booked a cruise with Princess Premier option that includes two Specialty Dining reservations per person.  When trying to book on Medallion app, it allows me to go all the way up to actually confirming reservation but then a credit card number is required.  Called Princess and they explained that before final payment, I have to pay with credit card even though complimentary dinners are shown on our cruise summary.  How easy is it to get reimbursed for these two pre-paid but complimentary dinners once onboard? Is the credit card charge reversed and the amount added to your onboard credit?

 

[Lady Arwen]

Not true.  I just booked specialty dinners (2 included with our Premier, one we paid for) on an Enchanted cruise in August 2024.  Do not pay!  As soon as I opened the app and chose which booking I wanted, a banner across the top acknowledged the included specialty dinners.  I was then able to choose the restaurant, date and time.  I was not asked for a credit card and the invoice indicated zero balance.  I went ahead a booked a third dinner, charged to my credit card, and my dining for the whole voyage shows correctly.

[EDDY0827]

I was given 2 reservation cards by my steward telling me when and where to show up for dinner.

[taxmantoo]

18 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

Not true.  I just booked specialty dinners (2 included with our Premier, one we paid for) on an Enchanted cruise in August 2024.  Do not pay!  As soon as I opened the app and chose which booking I wanted, a banner across the top acknowledged the included specialty dinners.  I was then able to choose the restaurant, date and time.  I was not asked for a credit card and the invoice indicated zero balance.  I went ahead a booked a third dinner, charged to my credit card, and my dining for the whole voyage shows correctly.

Thank you.  That is the way I assumed it would work because that's also how it works for excursions when you have OBC.

[taxmantoo]

17 minutes ago, EDDY0827 said:

I was given 2 reservation cards by my steward telling me when and where to show up for dinner.

That is exactly what we are trying to avoid... I want to be the one to decide where and when we will eat, not a computer program thousands of miles away!

Edited October 29, 2023 by taxmantoo

[jwattle]

Sometimes the app is glitchy and doesn't credit your free dinners. You can either pay now and get OBC onboard, wait and hope the system "unglitches", or wait and reserve once onboard.

[Lady Arwen]

32 minutes ago, EDDY0827 said:

I was given 2 reservation cards by my steward telling me when and where to show up for dinner.

That happens only when you do not prebook reservations.  Most people want to choose, not to be told when and where.  Try it next time you cruise.

[Lady Arwen]

18 minutes ago, taxmantoo said:

Thank you.  That is the way I assumed it would work because that's also how it works for excursions when you have OBC.

Have you tried deleting and then reinstalling the app?  Sometimes a reboot will fix it.  I would just keep at it, because booking onboard is not a great option.  Good luck!

[memoak]

35 minutes ago, EDDY0827 said:

I was given 2 reservation cards by my steward telling me when and where to show up for dinner.

Just call the dine line and you will be able change dates and times. Speciality restaurants are never fully booked regardless of what the app says. We have never booked prior to sailing and have never had an issue finding dates and times to out liking 

[Lady Arwen]

19 minutes ago, memoak said:

Just call the dine line and you will be able change dates and times. Speciality restaurants are never fully booked regardless of what the app says. We have never booked prior to sailing and have never had an issue finding dates and times to out liking 

One of our esteemed members reported very recently that upon embarkation they went directly to CG to make reservations and were told it was fully booked for the entire cruise.  So, there’s that. 

[Hlitner]

41 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Sometimes the app is glitchy and doesn't credit your free dinners. You can either pay now and get OBC onboard, wait and hope the system "unglitches", or wait and reserve once onboard.

We are looking at the App right now, for an early December cruise where we have Premiere,  The app will not let us book any specialty reservation without immediately paying via credit card.  

 

Hank

[memoak]

5 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

One of our esteemed members reported very recently that upon embarkation they went directly to CG to make reservations and were told it was fully booked for the entire cruise.  So, there’s that. 

Just giving my experience over the years including 9 since restart. Most of our cruises have been on Grand and Crown class ships

[Lady Arwen]

5 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We are looking at the App right now, for an early December cruise where we have Premiere,  The app will not let us book any specialty reservation without immediately paying via credit card.  

 

Hank

So strange!  I had absolutely no problem booking ours and the invoice showed zero $ owing.  This is for a cruise in 2024.

[Lady Arwen]

3 minutes ago, memoak said:

Just giving my experience over the years including 9 since restart. Most of our cruises have been on Grand and Crown class ships

Perhaps it’s different for Royal class ships, which is the only class we’ve sailed on for years.

[Hlitner]

24 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

So strange!  I had absolutely no problem booking ours and the invoice showed zero $ owing.  This is for a cruise in 2024.

"Strange" is a good word to describe Princess software :).   And we are talking the Sky.  No issue when booking excursions (we also have a ton of OBC) as the app uses our OBC.  But with the dining reservations it will not use OBC or our 2 included free meals.

 

Hank

[Lady Arwen]

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

"Strange" is a good word to describe Princess software :).   And we are talking the Sky.

 

Hank

It’s crazy how it works fine for some and not others.  I’d say to call Princess, but that can be an effort in futility as well.  Good luck, Hank.

[Hlitner]

On 10/29/2023 at 12:57 PM, Lady Arwen said:

It’s crazy how it works fine for some and not others.  I’d say to call Princess, but that can be an effort in futility as well.  Good luck, Hank.

This morning I telephones Princess and the rep said "no problem" until he also failed to be able to input a reservation for the included meals.  He suggested I just  pay for the reservations and later try to get a credit LOL.  He had no explanation and said it appears that you cannot make either included dining reservations or reservations covered by OBC.  He noted our reservations request, said he would "elevate the issue" and we MIGHT hear back in 3-5 days!  

 

For the record, we have a lot of experience with Princess (been Elite for several decades) so having software issues is nothing new or a major concern.  It is interesting (to me) that it is easy to book excursions using OBC, but not possible to book restaurant reservations using OBC.  Since DW and I like to dine late, we generally have no problem making reservations onboard.  But for folks who like to dine early, this could be a major problem and they might find themselves with few options once aboard.

 

Hank

[Lady Arwen]

Well said and I agree with you 100%!

[Rick&Jeannie]

On 10/29/2023 at 11:39 AM, taxmantoo said:

That is exactly what we are trying to avoid... I want to be the one to decide where and when we will eat, not a computer program thousands of miles away!

On our last cruise (2 months ago) we had the same 2 cards in our cabin.  The day and times did not fit what we wanted to do...we just called the dine line and they gladly changed the reservation times.  (We were OK with the specific restaurants...just not the times.)

[Rick&Jeannie]

Several times we have run into issues trying to book via the app.  I don't even try any more...I just use the "web version" which is easier to use anyway!  (On a desktop PC)

 

 

Edited October 30, 2023 by Rick&Jeannie

[bagney]

My experience with booking included/complimentary Specialty Dining as part of a full suite amenity or with Premiere package with the App has been spotty in the past - initially not able to book with the App without being charged up front - and I will not pay for what is to be included and then have beg/plead onboard for the credit. I tried to book the Specialty Dining almost daily with the App and then I read on this Forum to try the Web version - and that worked!

 

Today, I just booked a cruise for January 2025 on the Sky Princess in a full suite and with the Premiere package - within an hour of booking the cruise (I book online myself) the cruise was displaying in the App and I was able to book our included 3 Specialty Dinings with the charges zeroed out ($0).

[taxmantoo]

We are also in a suite but no success. I keep trying!

[Torfamm]

On 10/30/2023 at 3:30 AM, Lady Arwen said:

So strange!  I had absolutely no problem booking ours and the invoice showed zero $ owing.  This is for a cruise in 2024.

I had the same problem last month for an upcoming cruise. The app showed that I have dining credits available, but didn’t apply them.
 

I’d hoped it would be like many report for the medallion shipping fee where a credit card number is requested but no charge is made. Got charged for both reservations. I was advised when I called the support line that I’d have to just request a refund onboard or not reserve. 

[Lady Arwen]

47 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

I had the same problem last month for an upcoming cruise. The app showed that I have dining credits available, but didn’t apply them.
 

I’d hoped it would be like many report for the medallion shipping fee where a credit card number is requested but no charge is made. Got charged for both reservations. I was advised when I called the support line that I’d have to just request a refund onboard or not reserve. 

The app is just so unpredictable!  What a pain in the butt for those folks who have to pay and then try to get it refunded onboard.  Why can’t they get this fixed???

[Torfamm]

9 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

The app is just so unpredictable!  What a pain in the butt for those folks who have to pay and then try to get it refunded onboard.  Why can’t they get this fixed???

I think the dining credits option in the app may be relatively new. Until recently it seemed everyone was having to pay to pre-book specialty dining. I wonder if this glitch has to do with whether reservations were made before that option was available or something? I can live with it, but you’re right, it’s a pain for many.
 

My pet peeve is that it’s hard to sort out back to back cruises in the app since they show them as a single trip. Finding where credits are available is hard.