Reserve Dining vs MDR?

[latebloomer56]

I'm looking forward to trying this. Though with TD coming back will wait to determine if its for us. I'm not a fan of booking pre cruise but manage. Now this trip we go when we want or not. Is that correct no wait or minimum wait at peak time (never go that late) but we don't need to let them know when we plan on not coming to dinner. Always would tell them if we plan SD so if we sat with others they weren't held up. Just became a habit I guess.

[cruise_critical]

18 hours ago, latebloomer56 said:

They have separate dining for lunch on the first day? We have reserved dining so if we make it to the ship before 1:30 we would have a seat in a separate area? Does that mean like at dinner we need to go to a separate door?

Yes, we embarked around 12:30 and went straight to Reserved Dining entrance of Concerto, and sat in the Reserved Dining area. It was completely empty so had the place to ourselves.

[tml1230]

4 hours ago, Kay S said:

What's that old saying?  Don't knock it till you try it?  My advice is to go try it.  If you find it's no different from any other experience you've had, then you don't need to go back.  I think several people in this thread have pointed out some of the ways the service is stellar, but why bother if it will just meet with resistance and denial?

 

4 hours ago, Colorado Coasty said:

Amen.

Some will never try it but will continue to knock it.

For us it's the only way to go.

nuff said!  actually ....very well said!

[Treasure Hunter]

We also love Reserve dining for not having to be on the clock. We like getting ready and going to the dining room when we are ready. And we often pick the extra entree or crepe or shrimp appetizer that’s offered. It’s an elevated experience.

[peety3]

10 hours ago, Oxo said:

Please- Not be be funny or negative. 

What is so special with the quality of service in Reserve?

We cruise a lot and have found service to be excellent normally regardless if it is MDR or Specialty Restaurants. 

I'm very interested in what the Reserve offers.

TIA

It's a small enough client pool that the staff knows you and your desires. Think of it as Traditional Dining level of service with Anytime Dining level of flexibility. There's also the back-end support where the unique uniforms of the waiters means they can cut in line and grab the dishes you want, so if the galley is getting behind, RC dining doesn't suffer the way that the rest of the MDR will.

Yes, it's the same menu. Yes, it's the same pattern of perfect silverware for each course.

 

We did Anytime Dining for our first few cruises. When we finally did Traditional, we discovered what we'd been missing. (Then we made friends with one of the Maitre D Hotels, and he would always hook us up with a window table in "his" Traditional Dining room, and we were absolutely sold on TD.) Now that our friend has retired, AND now that we have a high-energy five-year-old, we want the flexibility of Anytime Dining. Frankly, RC means we can have a window table or nearly so, with TD service and schedule flexibility. It also means we can have the same staff for all MDR meals, which TD can't even deliver.

[voyager1964]

11 hours ago, Oxo said:

Please- Not be be funny or negative. 

What is so special with the quality of service in Reserve?

We cruise a lot and have found service to be excellent normally regardless if it is MDR or Specialty Restaurants. 

I'm very interested in what the Reserve offers.

TIA

Physically, it is a small isolated section with a few tables. And you get this wonderful feeling of being special.

[cr8tiv1]

Some dishes (that I can recall) from Reserve Collecting dinners (over 16 days):

 

Several pastas including an Alfredo with lobster bits. 

Lamb chops, lobster thermidor, several different kinds of steaks, several different kinds of fish including a seared tuna that was really good/considering.

Several Flambes:  Peach, Apricot, Pineapple

Crepe Suzette. 

[Teechur]

For what it costs, you could have specialty dining every night of your cruise, instead.

 

To each, his own. 🤷‍♂️

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, Teechur said:

For what it costs, you could have specialty dining every night of your cruise, instead.

 

To each, his own. 🤷‍♂️

Have you done the math on that?

[TAW1963]

We like to book one of the M6 forward-facing Reserve Collection Mini-Suite cabins.  We feel that between the cabin selection and the "above and beyond" service experience in the Reserve Collection dining room, the extra cost over a regular mini-suite is well worth it.  One really needs to experience the Reserve Collection dining room to really get an appreciation for it and to understand what many of us are saying in this thread.  We've really enjoyed the MDR as well and have always been able to get the same table each evening at 5 pm and with the same waiters.  Even so, it is not the same as the extra special experience we get in the Reserve Collection dining room.

[memoak]

11 hours ago, Teechur said:

For what it costs, you could have specialty dining every night of your cruise, instead.

 

To each, his own. 🤷‍♂️

Then you would be stuck with set menus every night and good luck getting the times you like. We prefer not to sit in front of a huge piece of meat every night. We also would not give up our large penthouse balconies for anything. As small but steady casino players we get free interiors then upgrade to suites. 

Edited August 22 by memoak

[cruising.mark.uk]

10 hours ago, Kay S said:

Have you done the math on that?

Yes, I did the maths for this (for the UK at least) at post 21.

 

My wife and I love Reserve dining.  However, if the upcharge for Reserve dining is higher than the difference in price between Plus and the new Premier package - and in the UK it invariably will be, sometimes two or three times as much - then we are likely to forego a Reserve mini suite and Plus for a standard mini suite and Premier for cruises on ships with more than a couple of SD options and eat dinner every night in speciality / casual dining rather than Reserve.  And, we'll also make the most of the other benefits of Premier over Plus.

 

[Treasure Hunter]

That only works if you feel you get the value from drinking alcohol. Which we don’t do. It’s a preference trade off with the ambiance of reserve.

[cruisinsince75]

We are in an accessible MS and Reserve Class wasn't an option.  If it was, the cost would have been $20 more per person per day.  We already had booked Premier, but just opted for the new  Unlimited Premier for $10 more pp.  That gives us Unlimited SD.  Ours is a 7 night cruise and will allow us to do more SD, and I think there are enough choices to where we won't be bored.  

[Cruise-a-Hallic]

We are going to give the Reserve Collection Mini-Suite a try for our Alaska cruise in 2026 on Royal Princess.  For some reason the Reserve Collection Mini-Suite was less expensive than booking a regular Mini-Suite by $27 per person for the 3 of us, so I could not pass up the possibility of trying it out for less.  Mid-ship mini-suite with larger angled balcony (yes, a few decks below skywalk)..  I thought our Traditional Dining experience in the MDR last cruise on Majestic was exceptional, so I can't wait to experience the Reserved Dining benefit.

[memoak]

32 minutes ago, cruisinsince75 said:

We are in an accessible MS and Reserve Class wasn't an option.  If it was, the cost would have been $20 more per person per day.  We already had booked Premier, but just opted for the new  Unlimited Premier for $10 more pp.  That gives us Unlimited SD.  Ours is a 7 night cruise and will allow us to do more SD, and I think there are enough choices to where we won't be bored.  

That may work for a 7 day cruise but on our 14-21 day cruises the cost becomes prohibitive, we like our full suite balconies and benefits and can’t imagine eating at the Crown Grille 7+ times a cruise. We generally wait and see what the nights menu is and if it is one of the few we don’t care for we will talk to either the Sabatini’s breakfast manager or suite concierge to find us space in a SD. This has never failed us yet Princess knows how to treat their suite guests 

Edited August 22 by memoak

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, Cruise-a-Hallic said:

 Mid-ship mini-suite with larger angled balcony (yes, a few decks below skywalk).. 

We had that cabin (or similar) and I went up to the skywalk to see if I could see into our cabin.  I couldn't.  People might see you on the balcony, but only for a moment since people don't tend to hang out for hours on the skywalk.  Enjoy your Reserve treat!

[Oxo]

On 8/21/2024 at 3:11 PM, Kay S said:

What's that old saying?  Don't knock it till you try it?  My advice is to go try it.  If you find it's no different from any other experience you've had, then you don't need to go back.  I think several people in this thread have pointed out some of the ways the service is stellar, but why bother if it will just meet with resistance and denial?

Thanks for your opinions and advise. I do appreciate the time you and others have taken to explain your reasons for choosing RD. With the relationships I have experienced on Princess and other cruise lines, I'm satisfied with what I am getting in the MDR. 

I would rather take 2 cruises (14 days) than 1 (7 days) for the same cost. 

Glad we have choices. 

Happy Cruising!