Dining reservations

[arizonaperson]

@LouCoop Thanks,exactly what I have listed on another thread.( new dining ship by ship thread)

I’ll update as I get new information,not sure how long I will keep it up. Time will tell.

Edited July 6 by arizonaperson

[dreaminofcruisin]

11 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Royal Princess to Alaska

 

I just booked the Royal for July 2025 yesterday and I can't book any MDR either.

I'm Elite.

I'm thinking it's something to do with when they load reservations for each ship. I have a 2026 cruise on the Sky that I've already booked dining.

[windsor26]

Not sure about all the posts since mine But to reply   I looked at all 3 restaurants and wanted to be on the 6 deck so picked the Boticelli which offered me a chance to have a shared table as well as a private one and we picked that choice at 6pm each night  Very happy  (if they do not change it or cancel it as they have done in the past   Just to confirm  I am Elite and I have not yet paid for my January cruise in full

Just an edit  I am going on the Crown and this is an  Australian cruise

Edited July 6 by windsor26

[lorri111]

8 hours ago, arizonaperson said:

Since you are not cruising until August 2025, I would try in September of 2024 for dinner reservations and see if they open up at that time. There really doesn’t seem to be a consensus on when or how passengers are booking. Each ship is different for late 2025 and early 2026 ,some passengers have said they’ve been able to book their dinner reservations & some like you not able.

So frustrating .

I have a thread: ship by ship new dining,it has quite a bit of the information needed as live as what passengers are posting.

Many thanks for all the hard work you have put into trying to make some sense of all this, your posts on the other thread are just great!

[Cruise till you drop]

15 hours ago, t&atravel said:

Here are a couple of things people may want to try.  They worked for me but I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence.  Background…I’m elite and cruising the Ruby Princess in October.  I was getting an error of no times available until I did the following:

 

1. Make sure you are fully checked in.  I did not have my CC info in or my medallions ordered.  Once I did that times became available. 🤷‍♀️

2.  Don’t choose a time first.  Click on the individual dining room, find the one that has the dining method you want (TD or Res) then choose a time within that dining room.

 

As I said, I don’t know if doing this was a coincidence but if someone who is having trouble trys it and it works well we may be on to something.

Thanks but didn’t work

[Cruise till you drop]

14 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Guess I'll have to pay it off early.  I like to have things locked in. 

Don’t fall into their trap as you actually don’t know for sure that this opens up ability to book dining

[Cruisemeister2002]

1 minute ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Thanks but didn’t work

All our information not available yet as am waiting for a new passport for my wife. Fully paid Elite member and am able to book dining. But options not all available as wanted shared dining Sky Princess Traditional at 19.50 or late sitting. Could only book 19.30 shared after that Private. On a previous communication was asked where I wished to be seated and asked for window seating, but don't know if superseded by my latest reservation ?

[adamtoonarmy]

17 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I am Platinum and have not been able to get any reservations made

and yet I have booked all of my MDR reservations, never cruised with Princess before and not paid in full. Its so inconsistent

Edited July 7 by adamtoonarmy

[Cruise till you drop]

So I decided to try the Princess Live Chat for resolution.

 

I indicated that I was Platinum and had “early” access to Dine My Way reservations but system was not allowing me to book for my Aug 2025 cruise.

 

Long Story short

- first he tries to tell me it’s a glitch and to chat back in 24 hours (I said I have been trying every day for a week and don’t think it’s a glitch)

- then he tells me that l can’t book dining until 90 days before sailing (to which I then asked the meaning of Platinum having early access)

- then he says he checked out sailing and that dining reservations were not open as yet (to which then asked when it would be open for booking)

 

- then I was mysteriously disconnected from the system and no way to return to that chat

 

After that very disappointing attempt, seriously considering to cancel and book with our original option on Celebrity Edge out of Seattle.  I just can’t take dealing with an incompetent company

Edited July 7 by Cruise till you drop

[blackfly]

I tried Live Chat to no avail.  I was initially 94 in que.  After 15 minutes i was down to 82.  Then I was asked if I was still waiting and was prompted to reply yes or no.  I relied YES and patiently waited for an hour and a half.  When nothing happened I hit CANCELLED:  

[Cruise till you drop]

Just now, blackfly said:

I tried Live Chat to no avail.  I was initially 94 in que.  After 15 minutes i was down to 82.  Then I was asked if I was still waiting and was prompted to reply yes or no.  I relied YES and patiently waited for an hour and a half.  When nothing happened I hit CANCELLED:  

I didn’t share that part of the story but was on for 30+ minutes before connecting.  At first I was 9th and it kept asking if I was still waiting to which I said Yes (did this about 7-8 times during my wait), then I went to 2nd in line before it kicked me to 6th, then after going to 1 left, it kicked me to 11th.  After a bit it went to 2nd then first but was waiting for a long time after that to get connected

[Z0nker]

1 minute ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I didn’t share that part of the story but was on for 30+ minutes before connecting.  At first I was 9th and it kept asking if I was still waiting to which I said Yes (did this about 7-8 times during my wait), then I went to 2nd in line before it kicked me to 6th, then after going to 1 left, it kicked me to 11th.  After a bit it went to 2nd then first but was waiting for a long time after that to get connected

Same here. And when I finally got a chat agent they just said “they haven’t told us anything. Just keep trying every day or two”

[Retired-N-Happy]

6 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Don’t fall into their trap as you actually don’t know for sure that this opens up ability to book dining

I paid off our October Sun cruise early and because of the plethora of platinum and elite cruisers on our sailings, the majority of the reserved slots between 530 and 800 were not available so we'll end up taking care of it on board.  Our January cruises on the Sun have not opened up yet either, even though I paid it off early. I'll keep checking to see when I can get those slots we want.

[Retired-N-Happy]

6 hours ago, adamtoonarmy said:

and yet I have booked all of my MDR reservations, never cruised with Princess before and not paid in full. Its so inconsistent

And many like yourself keep throwing salt into an open wound with us that have cruised with Princess, yet can't make any reservations.  I know it's not your fault, but the inconsistencies are baffling and frustrating.

[Retired-N-Happy]

1 hour ago, blackfly said:

I tried Live Chat to no avail.  

 

1 hour ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I didn’t share that part of the story but was on for 30+ minutes before connecting. 

Sounds like their chat feature is very similar to the IT department.  Both totally out of whack with incompetent employees and components.

[Sea Hag]

8 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

 

Sounds like their chat feature is very similar to the IT department.  Both totally out of whack with incompetent employees and components.

I tried chat once for a simple question, and they couldn't answer it. I know other people here have gotten help from chat, but I doubt I'll try again.

[Retired-N-Happy]

10 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

I tried chat once for a simple question, and they couldn't answer it. I know other people here have gotten help from chat, but I doubt I'll try again.

The problem is that their "help center" really doesn't help much.  I will assume it's farmed out to a different country and the employees are given basic training only and are clueless to the nuances needed to actually do the job properly and professionally.

[SeaCBear]

I've been trying since July 1 to book ANY dining reservation for our Grand Princess cruise coming up this September.  I get various error messages, including ""can't retrieve shipmates", and "Invalid data".  There are also no time slots available, on any day or at any time, for specialty or main dining reservations. I am Platinum, and we both have the Premier package.  We are both completely checked in and "Ready to Sail" with Medallions ordered.  Very, very frustrating.  

 

I've deleted and reloaded the Princess app. I've tried using the Princess web version of Cruise Personalizer where I'm told the booking has already been claimed and I can get no further.  

 

Anything else I should try?

 

 

[doghog]

4 minutes ago, SeaCBear said:

I've been trying since July 1 to book ANY dining reservation for our Grand Princess cruise coming up this September.  I get various error messages, including ""can't retrieve shipmates", and "Invalid data".  There are also no time slots available, on any day or at any time, for specialty or main dining reservations. I am Platinum, and we both have the Premier package.  We are both completely checked in and "Ready to Sail" with Medallions ordered.  Very, very frustrating.  

 

I've deleted and reloaded the Princess app. I've tried using the Princess web version of Cruise Personalizer where I'm told the booking has already been claimed and I can get no further.  

 

Anything else I should try?

 

 

Call the Ocean Rady desk and ask them to book your reservations. 

[Cruise till you drop]

9 minutes ago, doghog said:

Call the Ocean Ready desk and ask them to book your reservations. 

Good idea.  However I wonder if we’ll get the same results as the Live Chat.

 

Any idea how to contact them ?

Edited July 7 by Cruise till you drop

[doghog]

1 minute ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Good idea.  Any idea how to contact them ?

1-800-774-6237. You will be prompted what to do to be connected with the Ocean Ready dept. 

[Kay S]

13 minutes ago, doghog said:

1-800-774-6237. You will be prompted what to do to be connected with the Ocean Ready dept. 

Good luck.  I hope this works.  If so, you should spread the news.

[doghog]

4 minutes ago, Kay S said:

Good luck.  I hope this works.  If so, you should spread the news.

Breaking news. I have had successes doing exactly what I posted. That's why I suggested it. 

[Cruise till you drop]

6 minutes ago, doghog said:

Breaking news. I have had successes doing exactly what I posted. That's why I suggested it. 

Do you think this can only be done for upcoming cruises in the next few weeks or months or can you also do this for 2025 cruises ?

[doghog]

6 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Do you think this can only be done for upcoming cruises in the next few weeks or months or can you also do this for 2025 cruises ?

I was told this AM they couldn't book our requested DMW dining reservations for our October 2025 cruise. I'll call back in August.  But I've had success with cruises booked a year or less out when I first booked the cruises and before final payment. Call as your experience may be different. 

Edited July 7 by doghog