Ramblin Wreck Cruiser Posted June 23 #1 Share Posted June 23 We are sailing on the Regal Princess on August 7 with the Premier package. We have two free specialty dinners and I was trying to book reservations in advance. My first attempt was done on the website. After making the reservation, I was charged for these dinners on our credit card. I cancelled the reservations and received a credit after 5 days. Now I am trying again with the app. After selecting Crown Grill, the page did specifically indicate that we have the Premier package with two free dinners. However after selecting the date and time I want, it indicated that I would be charged on my credit card. So I did not finalize the reservation. I’m not going through that again. Is there a trick to this? I do not want to be charged and then have to deal with getting a refund in the form of on-board credit. We already have more on-board credit than we know what to do with. Also, I don’t really want to wait until we are onboard to book, as we prefer an earlier reservation time and don’t want to be left with only later times to choose from. Is there a number I can call or do you have any other advice? Thank you in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshli Posted June 23 #2 Share Posted June 23 I had the same problem as you are having. The first time I made the reservation, I got charged. I cancelled and tried again about a week later and although it asked for my credit card number which I gave, it showed a zero balance which made me more comfortable and all went through without a charge. When I tried to make the second reservation, it did not allow me to do it without charging my credit card. I called customer service and the rep escalated the issue to the appropriate dept. and told me to wait a week and it would rectified. At the end of the week, I called customer service again and the rep. was able to make the 2nd reservation and did not ask for my credit card number. I was lucky I reached a knowledgeable customer service rep. the first time I called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Rick&Jeannie Posted June 23 #3 Share Posted June 23 42 minutes ago, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said: Is there a trick to this? Yes...somewhat. If you go all the way through the transaction you *should* see that the system has recognized the fact that you should not be charged. And...as far as the "excess" OBC...just take a stroll through the casino! It will suck that OBC right out of your account! 😄 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Wreck Cruiser Posted June 23 Author #4 Share Posted June 23 18 minutes ago, jshli said: I had the same problem as you are having. The first time I made the reservation, I got charged. I cancelled and tried again about a week later and although it asked for my credit card number which I gave, it showed a zero balance which made me more comfortable and all went through without a charge. When I tried to make the second reservation, it did not allow me to do it without charging my credit card. I called customer service and the rep escalated the issue to the appropriate dept. and told me to wait a week and it would rectified. At the end of the week, I called customer service again and the rep. was able to make the 2nd reservation and did not ask for my credit card number. I was lucky I reached a knowledgeable customer service rep. the first time I called. Thank you for your reply. Wow, that is so ridiculously difficult! It shouldn’t be so hard to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Wreck Cruiser Posted June 23 Author #5 Share Posted June 23 5 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said: Yes...somewhat. If you go all the way through the transaction you *should* see that the system has recognized the fact that you should not be charged. And...as far as the "excess" OBC...just take a stroll through the casino! It will suck that OBC right out of your account! 😄 Thank you. I did go all the way through the transaction and it was definitely going to charge me. As to the casino, I suppose that would take care of the OBC quickly! 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Rick&Jeannie Posted June 23 #6 Share Posted June 23 1 minute ago, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said: Thank you. I did go all the way through the transaction and it was definitely going to charge me. As to the casino, I suppose that would take care of the OBC quickly! 😂 Well, it obviously is NOT supposed to do that...but then Princess IT systems are not known for their stunning consistency or predictability! 😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memoak Posted June 23 #7 Share Posted June 23 I have never booked any specialty dinners prior to boarding ever and somehow I have always managed to eat around 2-4 specialty dinners every 10-21 day cruise 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1emerald1 Posted June 23 #8 Share Posted June 23 Keep trying. This has happened to me several times and eventually it kicks in and applies the dining credit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdacombe Posted June 23 #9 Share Posted June 23 Had basically the same problem ie; booked the two speciality meals on the App, then discovered from my bank statement that I had been charged for the meals. Went onto the Chat option on the Princess website and had an online conversation with a very helpful customer service person, who informed me that he would email a form where I could claim back this overpayment The form arrived week later, which I filled out and the money was paid straight into my bank account. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voljeep Posted June 23 #10 Share Posted June 23 12 minutes ago, memoak said: I have never booked any specialty dinners prior to boarding ever and somehow I have always managed to eat around 2-4 specialty dinners every 10-21 day cruise 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voljeep Posted June 23 #11 Share Posted June 23 1 hour ago, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said: We are sailing on the Regal Princess on August 7 with the Premier package. We have two free specialty dinners and I was trying to book reservations in advance. My first attempt was done on the website. After making the reservation, I was charged for these dinners on our credit card. I cancelled the reservations and received a credit after 5 days. Now I am trying again with the app. After selecting Crown Grill, the page did specifically indicate that we have the Premier package with two free dinners. However after selecting the date and time I want, it indicated that I would be charged on my credit card. So I did not finalize the reservation. I’m not going through that again. Is there a trick to this? I do not want to be charged and then have to deal with getting a refund in the form of on-board credit. We already have more on-board credit than we know what to do with. Also, I don’t really want to wait until we are onboard to book, as we prefer an earlier reservation time and don’t want to be left with only later times to choose from. Is there a number I can call or do you have any other advice? Thank you in advance! disregard ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Wreck Cruiser Posted June 24 Author #12 Share Posted June 24 9 hours ago, jdacombe said: Had basically the same problem ie; booked the two speciality meals on the App, then discovered from my bank statement that I had been charged for the meals. Went onto the Chat option on the Princess website and had an online conversation with a very helpful customer service person, who informed me that he would email a form where I could claim back this overpayment The form arrived week later, which I filled out and the money was paid straight into my bank account. Thank you for sharing your experience. I suppose I could give this a try. I just feel that Princess should not make this so difficult. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdacombe Posted June 24 #13 Share Posted June 24 3 hours ago, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said: Thank you for sharing your experience. I suppose I could give this a try. I just feel that Princess should not make this so difficult. Agree totally, surely it must be simple enough for them to avoid this sort of thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colsky Posted June 24 #14 Share Posted June 24 13 hours ago, jdacombe said: Had basically the same problem ie; booked the two speciality meals on the App, then discovered from my bank statement that I had been charged for the meals. Went onto the Chat option on the Princess website and had an online conversation with a very helpful customer service person, who informed me that he would email a form where I could claim back this overpayment The form arrived week later, which I filled out and the money was paid straight into my bank account. Exactly the same for me. Couldn't book on the App without being charged, so used the webchat on the Princess website, was e-mailed a form after a few days, and received the money back into my bank account (even before the credit card was due for payment). 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMGS247 Posted June 24 #15 Share Posted June 24 Even though the point of this thread is how to book WITHOUT paying up front, just throwing it out there as a fallback for anyone that finds the headache of calling and fighting with customer service to be a "juice not worth the squeeze" type of situation.... You can pay for your reservation up front and then once on board go to guest services and they will credit your on board account. It's very easy and quick for them to add the credit back. Done this before; I just wait until I'm passing by guest services and there's no line. I'm not saying it's the ideal solution, it shouldn't require any effort at all since the reservations are supposed to be included, but if you're like me the lesser of two evils is floating a few dollars over the headaches of trying to get things done through customer service. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinsince75 Posted June 24 #16 Share Posted June 24 We are going with another couple that also have the premiere package. We tried booking a table for four and it was going to charge our credit card $156. We both went on separately and requested a table for two and no charge to the credit cards. Once we board we will request a table for four. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Wreck Cruiser Posted June 24 Author #17 Share Posted June 24 Here’s a quick update. I called Princess this morning and spoke to an agent who attempted to book my reservations for me. After a few minutes on hold, she came back and said that the system was trying to charge us again, but if we call back tomorrow, it should be fixed and we should be able to book without charge. We shall see! I will report back tomorrow. Again, this should not be that difficult. I can’t decide whether I think the IT department is just inept or if this is intentional by Princess. Perhaps they think a certain percentage of people won’t notice the charge or won’t jump through the hoops to get it fixed. Either way, it’s disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare vino100 Posted June 25 #18 Share Posted June 25 I too am very frustrated with trying to book specialty restaurants . I really don’t want to be on hold with Princess, so I hope maybe tomorrow I will be able to reserve with the app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgcharleston Posted June 25 #19 Share Posted June 25 21 hours ago, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said: Here’s a quick update. I called Princess this morning and spoke to an agent who attempted to book my reservations for me. After a few minutes on hold, she came back and said that the system was trying to charge us again, but if we call back tomorrow, it should be fixed and we should be able to book without charge. We shall see! I will report back tomorrow. Again, this should not be that difficult. I can’t decide whether I think the IT department is just inept or if this is intentional by Princess. Perhaps they think a certain percentage of people won’t notice the charge or won’t jump through the hoops to get it fixed. Either way, it’s disappointing. Yes- it is maddening! I have been trying for several months to get specialty dinners booked and have encountered the exact same thing. We have the premier package and I have tried to book via the app, web chat and calling in. Needless to say I will never get those hours back of my life I wasted! Ours was further compounded because we are a party of 3 (an 11 year old child) so I would make one booking and it would snatch 3 of the 4 reservations and then would charge us for the remainder. Even with calling in, the staff just could not figure out to apply the package to the 2 adults and we would pay for the child- who costs less anyway! As one person mentioned above, I finally managed to book 2 reservations for 2 people (just to secure the dates and times) and we will add the child on once we get on board. It should not be this hard. I agree the IT department definitely has challenges but I have also had the thought that Princess is doing this intentionally, as so many people don't realize they have been charged, don't want to spend the time waiting in line once you get on board or they fail to use the OBC and dump it back into the cruise lines pocket again. Sorry for the vent but I do 100% understand your frustrations! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Wreck Cruiser Posted June 25 Author #20 Share Posted June 25 I just got off the phone with Princess again and it seems that nothing has changed. The person I spoke with could not even see any record of my call yesterday or any notes on my file that anything had actually been done. He did seem a little more competent than the person I spoke to yesterday, and was even aware of this issue with booking specialty dining. He said he did something to update my records and remind the system that I have the Premier package. He said it might take 24 to 48 hours for it to “fix” the situation. He also put documentation on my file so that future agents could see what it was that he did. I’m not exactly confident that this will work, but I will give it another 2 days before I escalate this. I know it’s a measly amount of money we are talking about, but at this point, it’s the principle of the matter. Princess knows about this issue and chooses to do nothing about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Wreck Cruiser Posted July 3 Author #21 Share Posted July 3 For anyone still following along, I thought I’d provide an update. As mentioned previously, I have been struggling to make specialty dining reservations which are included in our Premier package. I called Princess a total of four times and each time spoke to someone in the call center. The first three times, I was assured that my account would be updated or tweaked or something so that the system would allow me to make my reservations without being charged. Nothing ever seemed to work. The fourth time I called, I spoke with someone who could barely speak English, couldn’t understand my situation and basically said “sorry, I can’t help you.” In frustration, I finally reached out to my travel agent yesterday. I was trying to avoid bothering her over something so trivial, but I had run out of ideas. Today, I received an e-mail that she has secured my reservations. They actually show up on my app as well. So I guess my advice to anyone having the same issue, is to get your travel agent involved if you used one. If not, I don’t know what to tell you. The call center seems to be unable to do anything about it. Maybe this is somehow related to the new dining reservation system that has just been rolled out. Best of luck to all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Wreck Cruiser Posted July 5 Author #22 Share Posted July 5 Welp, joke’s on me! I just noticed two charges for $78 on my credit card. Sigh. Why is this so hard, Princess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare loriva Posted July 5 #23 Share Posted July 5 On 6/24/2024 at 12:49 PM, Ramblin Wreck Cruiser said: Perhaps they think a certain percentage of people won’t notice the charge or won’t jump through the hoops to get it fixed. This has been a problem on the Princess IT system for years. I cannot help but think your statement is what is behind the continuing failure to fix the problem. (And, yep, just had the same thing happen this week when I made reservations for ourselves and another couple (with Premier) sailing with us. Have made an entry on my embarkation notes to get the credit from Guest Services.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arizonaperson Posted July 5 #24 Share Posted July 5 @Ramblin Wreck Cruiser You definitely went through a lot just to book your specialty reservations. Glad you got your travel agent involved. My advice to most on this forum is to please reach out to your travel agent. That’s why “one “uses a travel agent. They are there on your behalf to help. So many people on cruise critic don’t want to bother their travel agent. Of course, quite a few people looking for solutions don’t have a travel agent but… So glad that it worked out for you ,but yes Princess app/ website seems to work for some ,not for others, etc. many frustrations I am reading about . I have also heard quite a few people that have the plus or premier package and they go ahead and book their specialty dinner and their credit card is charged and they just wait till they get onboard to rectify. Who knows if that’s even the proper way to do it?? Some people have been successful in getting it charged back to their credit card and some I have heard had to get it back in onboard credit once they were onboard trying to get their refund. They (Princess) need to make it a little bit more user-friendly, but doesn’t sound like it’s happening at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Fa-Li Posted July 5 #25 Share Posted July 5 Just to chime in on this issue...we are in a suite with premier package, so should be able to book 3 specialty meals for no charge (first night specialty for suites, then two premier dinners) I was able to book two dinners, including one on the first night, with no charge. But not the third. I did immediately turn this over to my travel agent. When she called Princess, they told her that they "keep a bunch of reservations available" for booking onboard for the packages and there is no need to worry about it in the app. I am not a "leave it to the last minute, it will all be fine" traveler so I guess I'll be trying to get the charge reversed once on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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