Complementary speciality restaurant on embarkation day

[Traderboy]

I am booked in a Suite and, I believe, one of the befits is to dine in a speciality restaurant on embarkation day at no charge.

 

I was therefore very surprised to be charged when booking  the Crown grill for my forthcoming cruise.

Surely the APP knows that I am a Suite passenger and that no charge should be made.

 

Has anyone else had this problem when pre-booking the complementary dinner on embarkation day?

 

Another question - what is a complementary mimosa breakfast benefit for suite passengers?

[d9704011]

2 minutes ago, Traderboy said:

Surely the APP knows that I am a Suite passenger and that no charge should be made.

I think you're giving the app far too much credit.  Given all the other, rather mundane, issues that crop up with the app, I think it is unlikely the developers have built in the intelligence to recognize situations like yours that are normally taken care of once onboard.

[skynight]

Full suite passengers are entitled to an exclusive breakfast each morning. It is basically a prepared to order breakfast and one of the top full suite benefits. It is usually held in one of the specialty restaurants such as Sabatini's, but it depends on the ship. There will be information in your cabin regarding location and times. It's way better than you will get if you have breakfast in the Reserve Class DR or room service. 

 

[azbirdmom]

Something changed in the app.  I actually was able to reserve complementary first night specialty dining for the suites we stayed in for 2022 cruises.  Last year the app showed a payment so we just made our reservations right after we boarded.  If you're on a Royal class ship there will be a Suite Concierge and they can get it sorted out for you.  Otherwise you can go to the restaurant and / or Guest Services or call the dine line to reserve it.

Edited January 19 by azbirdmom

[memoak]

There is no need to pre book. On any cruise 6 days or longer you can book when you board. The keep tables back for suite guests for that night. We have never had an issue 

[muffydawg]

Yes, I had that issue where my cc was billed for making the reservation on embarkation night. I'll bring my cc statements and a DMW screen shot of Crown Grill as documentation and get it all straightened out on board.

 

I also sort out adding 3 more ppl to the reservation once we get on board.

[beshears]

This is good to know.

[voyager1964]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

There is no need to pre book. On any cruise 6 days or longer you can book when you board. The keep tables back for suite guests for that night. We have never had an issue 

Do they keep tables in all the specialty restaurants, or only in Crown Grill on the embarkation day?

[JGmf]

Piling on: same thing happened to us in June.  Had to get refund at Guest Services.  Not the end of the world, but nonetheless a rather easy software fix they should make.

[memoak]

35 minutes ago, voyager1964 said:

Do they keep tables in all the specialty restaurants, or only in Crown Grill on the embarkation day?

All as far as I know. We always go to Sabatini’s on embarkation night and never reserve in advance

[XBGuy]

Whenever, we have cruised in a suite, we have received special attention from the various shipboard services.  I have never had a problem booking the embarkation complimentary specialty dinner by calling the DINE line from my suite.  It also seems that when I call from the suite, the line is answered immediately.  Every time I have done this the agent knew that I was in a suite and made a point of stating that there would be no charge for this dinner.  Lately, multiple posters have commented that even though the Princess Premier program would seem to increase demand on specialty dining, they have had no problem waiting until they were onboard to make their complementary embarkation day reservations.  If you are cruising on a Royal Class ship that has the Suite Concierge Lounge, then, yes, you can go there and ask the Concierge to make reservations for you.  I have only done that once, and it worked fine.

 

@Traderboy, multiple posters have stated that you can take your documentation to the Guest Services desk and get reimbursed for this expense.  However, to me, going to the Guest Services desk for any reason is a pain.  Why don't you just cancel your reservation, get the charge credited to you credit card account, and make your reservation after you board?

[worldtraveller]

And if you call or try the chat function they tell you that you have to pay or wait until you get on board to book.

[Traderboy]

Many thanks to those that have responded.

I wanted to be proactive and have a reservation sorted ahead of time.

If I leave it until I board then I am leaving it to chance. Passengers other than Suite guests will use the speciality restaurants on the first night too.

 

if I do decide to cancel my reservation do they immediately refund the charge paid?

[memoak]

3 hours ago, Traderboy said:

Many thanks to those that have responded.

I wanted to be proactive and have a reservation sorted ahead of time.

If I leave it until I board then I am leaving it to chance. Passengers other than Suite guests will use the speciality restaurants on the first night too.

 

if I do decide to cancel my reservation do they immediately refund the charge paid?

Every cruise I have taken in the last 2 years has been in a suite. On every single cruise all I did was call the dine line or just went to the venue and got a reservation. There is absolutely no reason to pre book. They hold out tables on first night for suites