Premier-Unlimited Specialty dining?

[memoak]

5 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

I cannot help but think it will be more difficult to get tables during any of the prime times.  

Again prime time is a subjective term. Some like to eat early some late

[ldubs]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

Again prime time is a subjective term. Some like to eat early some late

 

Yes they do.  I will define my use of the term to mean from 5:30 (for those early folk) to 8:30 (for those late folk) and everything in between.   

[memoak]

12 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Yes they do.  I will define my use of the term to mean from 5:30 (for those early folk) to 8:30 (for those late folk) and everything in between.   

That is basically the entire time the restaurant is open 😝 

[ldubs]

14 minutes ago, memoak said:

That is basically the entire time the restaurant is open 😝 

 

Yup!  Covered all bases.  🙂

 

 

 

 

[arizonaperson]

@Retired-N-Happy I was mainly trying to answer the OP/author and they didn’t give any indication of onboard credit. They were just asking how likely they’re going to be able to get a table at 5 pm or 530pm( I.e. early) in specialty dining,now with the new unlimited premier SD ,At least that’s what I understood that they were trying to say ,but I don’t know any other information. That’s why I was giving a very general broad answer . Nobody knows at this time.

But yes, I understand that Princess is not allowing onboard credit to be used except for excursions until one gets onboard. Very frustrating for you  & others I’m sure . Double edge sword, having a lot of onboard credit and not being able to use it until you get onboard to upgrade to your package, so therefore you can’t make specialty dining reservations without paying ahead of time.

But I don’t think that’s what the OP author was asking?

[Piperpals]

2 hours ago, canadarocks said:

We’re Platinum and sailing on the Enchanted in February. Don’t pay anything until November and I’ve booked all of our Specialty Dining already. There’s a lot of them and I had no issue with choice of time or restaurant. But I’m sure that’s because I did it early! 

So every time I try to book one of our included SD it asks for my credit card?

[canadarocks]

2 minutes ago, Piperpals said:

So every time I try to book one of our included SD it asks for my credit card?

Princess has my credit card on file. But we booked the Premier Package so every time I went to book a Specialty Dining reso it showed we had a $45 dining credit each to use. Hope that makes sense.

[Piperpals]

2 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

Princess has my credit card on file. But we booked the Premier Package so every time I went to book a Specialty Dining reso it showed we had a $45 dining credit each to use. Hope that makes sense.

It does make sense, ours asks for confirmation of payment on credit card, no dining credit showing.  We have the package before it changed so only have 2 included so not a big deal but interesting. Thanks

[Cruise Raider]

I was trying to upgrade to the premier package for our next sailing but am not able to do so from either the website or the app!  
I won’t worry about it .. if it’s completely sold out by the time we board, we will live. We will have the plus package and will just pay for any additional meals we want.  

[Piperpals]

2 minutes ago, Piperpals said:

It does make sense, ours asks for confirmation of payment on credit card, no dining credit showing.  We have the package before it changed so only have 2 included so not a big deal but interesting. Thanks

But having said that, I do see a lot of availability even at Christmas. We are on the Majestic Dec/Jan.

 

[canadarocks]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

I was trying to upgrade to the premier package for our next sailing but am not able to do so from either the website or the app!  
I won’t worry about it .. if it’s completely sold out by the time we board, we will live. We will have the plus package and will just pay for any additional meals we want.  

I was able to upgrade easily using the Chat function. I was actually stunned by how quickly I reached an agent, maybe 30 seconds.

[Barter123]

On August 15th we refared our January 2025 Sun Princess cruise to a D0 Balcony that included the new Premium Package. On the 17th I was able to book all the specialty dining that we wanted (3) at no charge. We do not want to eat every night in the specialty dining rooms. We had a great selection of days, time and restaurants. I guess time will tell how difficult it will become but I had zero issues. 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

4 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

But the problem comes into play when Princess will not allow OBC to be used to pay for the Premier upgrade until you get on board.  We have 400 in OBC which we were planning to use towards our 560 in upgrade costs.  Of course will the 10.00 pp increase, the cost is now 840, but it's frustrating that we can spend it on an excursion but not an upgrade.

We are in the same boat (see what I did there, ha ha). We have around $450 between the two of us and have to wait until we board to upgrade from Plus. I doubt there will be any availability at that time. 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

4 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I cannot help but think it will be more difficult to get tables during any of the prime times.  

What does everyone here consider a prime time? We like to eat right when they open… I used to tell my friends that they were old because they ate so early and here I am. 🤣🤣🤣👵🏻

[canadarocks]

Just now, MsSoCalCruiser said:

What does everyone here consider a prime time? We like to eat right when they open… I used to tell my friends that they were old because they ate so early and here I am. 🤣🤣🤣👵🏻

Totally agree with you. We've been cruising for a very long time. Started with Holland America at their "Main Dining" set time of 8:00pm. Totally worked for us. Then. 😊

 

Now the earliest time works for us. 5:00pm. Choice of the best location because we're the first in the door. Pre-dinner cocktails, a relaxed dinner, and then off to enjoy the wonderful trivia, games and shows that Princess offers.  

 

The wonderful thing about cruising is that you can customize your experience. 

[memoak]

14 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

We are in the same boat (see what I did there, ha ha). We have around $450 between the two of us and have to wait until we board to upgrade from Plus. I doubt there will be any availability at that time. 

Then why not upgrade now and pay up front. Is all your OBC non refundable ?  If you can’t use I will be glad to use it for you

[MsSoCalCruiser]

11 minutes ago, memoak said:

Then why not upgrade now and pay up front. Is all your OBC non refundable ?  If you can’t use I will be glad to use it for you

It’s all nonrefundable. I’ve prepaid both the CG and Catch for one night each but the times are wayyyy later than I like. 

[IndyKid]

It would be interesting to know what percentage of the guests aboard a given ship opt for the Premier package, and how many guests each of the specialty restaurants can accommodate. 

 

We had a hard time just getting in for our 2 dinners when we booked our last cruise aboard the Caribbean Princess. We're going to just do the Plus package for our next trip, the $420 we save will go towards excursions and an Ultimate Balcony Dinner. 

[Retired-N-Happy]

1 hour ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

We are in the same boat (see what I did there, ha ha). We have around $450 between the two of us and have to wait until we board to upgrade from Plus. I doubt there will be any availability at that time. 

I decided to contact Princess via chat and also on the phone.  Both reps confirmed to me that the new Premier officially kicks in on 8/31. (On the Sun) So, until 8/30 you can still get the old Premier.  My TA needs to do the upgrade, and I sent him a text and left a VM.  I'll just gamble 5 bucks out of my 400 and cash out 395.

Edited August 28 by Retired-N-Happy

[ldubs]

56 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

What does everyone here consider a prime time? We like to eat right when they open… I used to tell my friends that they were old because they ate so early and here I am. 🤣🤣🤣👵🏻

 

It clearly varies by individual.  I personally would say 6:30-ish.   In reality I go along with the group or if there is no group, then when Mrs Ldubs feels like having dinner.  My issue with eating early is I would likely dive into a late evening snack!  haha.   

[MacMadame]

 

7 hours ago, TomBaker said:

I was stating that I shall be taking up two seats when there will be only one person at the table, which means basically reserving two seats. Hope this clarifies things

1) You've paid a single supplement exactly for this reason
2) Capacity on the ship assumes two per cabin so there are enough tables for that at least
3) This is no different than a party of 3 sitting at a table for 4 or a party of 5 sitting at a table for 6. Happens all the time

That said, if you are at all outgoing (and possibly even if you aren't), you'll probably meet people and get invited to dine with them.

[reedprincess]

1 hour ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

I decided to contact Princess via chat and also on the phone.  Both reps confirmed to me that the new Premier officially kicks in on 8/31. (On the Sun) So, until 8/30 you can still get the old Premier.  My TA needs to do the upgrade, and I sent him a text and left a VM.  I'll just gamble 5 bucks out of my 400 and cash out 395.

Your reps were incorrect, both about when you can buy the package, and when it rolls out on Sun . 

 

While the actual implementation of the unlimited dining is being rolled out different dates, but buying the new package started from the date they announced it, and only the new package is available to purchase.

You cannot buy the $80 version of Premier..

It's the $90, unlimited version, or Plus or none.

 

I'm booked on Sun for Dec and Jan, and bought the new Premier the weekend it was announced and already have all my specialty dining reservations made.  The Package doesn't actually roll out to the Sun til Sept 7, but you absolutely can buy the Package now and get started on your bookings..

 

 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

I decided to contact Princess via chat and also on the phone.  Both reps confirmed to me that the new Premier officially kicks in on 8/31. (On the Sun) So, until 8/30 you can still get the old Premier.  My TA needs to do the upgrade, and I sent him a text and left a VM.  I'll just gamble 5 bucks out of my 400 and cash out 395.

What's this this thing called non-refundable OBC?  Don't think I have ever had such a balance left over.  I have heard of OBC being spent before the hubby got unpacked (it was a joke --- I think).

 

[Retired-N-Happy]

11 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

What's this this thing called non-refundable OBC?  Don't think I have ever had such a balance left over.  I have heard of OBC being spent before the hubby got unpacked (it was a joke --- I think).

 

250 non refundable OBC from stock ownership 150 from FCD bonus.  Can't spend it till we are onboard unless I spend it on excursions which we won't do since it's a Caribbean cruise.

[Steelers36]

4 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

250 non refundable OBC from stock ownership 150 from FCD bonus.  Can't spend it till we are onboard unless I spend it on excursions which we won't do since it's a Caribbean cruise.

I think you missed my obtuse (insider?) reference to not having any non-refundable OBC left over no matter the situation?  😉

Edited August 28 by Steelers36