Premier-Unlimited Specialty dining?

[Retired-N-Happy]

33 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

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

Gotcha.  Just frustrated over my situation.

[dog]

4 hours ago, reedprincess said:

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..

 

 

Exactly the same information chat and phone call gave me. $90 now.

[Cruise Raider]

15 hours ago, canadarocks said:

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

Good to know!  Thank you for that 

[So_Tweetie]

On our upcoming Sun Princess sailing there aren't any tables available at most of the restaurants on any day of the week, regardless of time. That has been the case since before the new package was released. I believe the new package is worth it IF you can get reservations, but since we can't we will stick with Plus. 

[cruisinsince75]

19 hours 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.  

Try chat.  It took me a couple of tries, but did get it added.

[Cruise Raider]

21 minutes ago, cruisinsince75 said:

Try chat.  It took me a couple of tries, but did get it added.

I may do that.  I see the reservations are wide open for our next sailing.  

[Retired-N-Happy]

1 hour ago, So_Tweetie said:

On our upcoming Sun Princess sailing there aren't any tables available at most of the restaurants on any day of the week, regardless of time. That has been the case since before the new package was released. I believe the new package is worth it IF you can get reservations, but since we can't we will stick with Plus. 

We have 14 days booked for Oct/Nov and another 14 in January.  The January bookings have plenty of availability.  The Oct, not so much.  Zero availability at Teppanyaki, a single day at the Grill after 810.  I'll wait until we get on board to buy it with our OBC and make reservations then.  

[IndyKid]

2 hours ago, So_Tweetie said:

On our upcoming Sun Princess sailing there aren't any tables available at most of the restaurants on any day of the week, regardless of time. That has been the case since before the new package was released. I believe the new package is worth it IF you can get reservations, but since we can't we will stick with Plus. 

THIS!!!!

[WiseGirl]

On 8/27/2024 at 3:50 PM, 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! 

 

Sorry for a simple question, but we haven't sailed much on Princess recently.  How far ahead can you book the specialty dining?  We just booked a fall 2025 Canada/New England sailing on the Majestic and I bought the new Premier package. 

 

We sailed on the Sapphire Princess in Alaska this past May (in a suite) and I couldn't figure out how to reserve the complimentary first night specialty dinner ahead of time.  The app kept wanting me to pay for it and by the time we boarded the ship the times were very limited.  The staff was not very helpful to get us in to Sabatinis, but we did manage to squeeze in for a meal.  

 

IMO Princess doesn't make it easy even for suites.  We've sailed Royal Caribbean (in a suite) and a concierge contacts you a couple weeks before boarding to personally help arrange dining reservations.  The difference in how the two lines handle it is pretty striking.  We don't wish to eat in specialty restaurants every night, but getting them reserved ahead of time would be nice.

 

 

Edited August 30 by WiseGirl

[canadarocks]

2 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

 

Sorry for a simple question, but we haven't sailed much on Princess recently.  How far ahead can you book the specialty dining?  We just booked a fall 2025 Canada/New England sailing on the Majestic and I bought the new Premier package.

I believe if you are Platinum or Elite, you can book dining as soon as you book your cruise. If you are not either of those, I think you have to wait until the cruise is fully paid. 

[cruisinsince75]

10 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

I believe if you are Platinum or Elite, you can book dining as soon as you book your cruise. If you are not either of those, I think you have to wait until the cruise is fully paid. 

That is correct!

[WiseGirl]

11 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

I believe if you are Platinum or Elite, you can book dining as soon as you book your cruise. If you are not either of those, I think you have to wait until the cruise is fully paid. 

We are Platinum.  The app just let me book dining for the first night of our cruise which is in October 2025! 

 

It didn't let me do it yesterday, but I had just purchased the Premier package.  Maybe it take a day or so to register in their system.  

[canadarocks]

2 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

We are Platinum.  The app just let me book dining for the first night of our cruise which is in October 2025! 

 

It didn't let me do it yesterday, but I had just purchased the Premier package.  Maybe it take a day or so to register in their system.  

I find the Princess website is far easier to navigate to book dining. 

[Cruisemeister2002]

My opinion is I am afraid not very complimentary regarding this new Premium package, It is just a way of making Princess more guaranteed money whilst possibly denying some passengers the ability to dine elsewhere and you may be denied the privilege even if you have in effect paid for it. As for unlimited drinks whilst it is totally an individual persons choice as to whether they feel the need for more than 15 drinks per day only a small percentage will I believe find the need. I have taken out the Plus package for convenience more than anything. I can state before I go on my next cruise I won't consume two desserts per day, I won't go to the gym and I doubt I will consume 15 drinks per day, although that's the most likely of the three on one or more occasions.

[Robkat]

On 8/27/2024 at 2:00 PM, reedprincess said:

Elite here, not paid in full, bought new Premier package two days after it was announced and made all my specialty dining reservations for Sec and January the next day..

 

On 8/27/2024 at 2:54 PM, cruisinsince75 said:

Ours hadn't been rolled out either, but was able to upgrade last week via chat.  Took a couple of try's.  I immediately went on the app and booked the times I wanted.  I suspect that if you wait, the times might not be available.  

To both @reedprincess and @cruisinsince75:

Could you describe how the process went for you when you made your reservations.

We've had the original Premier package several times and had no issues or problems booking the 2 freebie SD meals.  We've always seen the charge zeroed out, as the meals were complimentary.

 

For our April TA, we booked it with the new Premier, and each time we've tried to make reservations in the App, a charge of $90 comes up.  In our account for that cruise, it does show us having Premier, so don't understand why we aren't able to book without them asking for payment.

 

When you made your reservations, was it indicated that there was a $90 charge, but when you continued, it zeroed out?  Did you both make your reservations in the App?  

 

We've spoken to several agents at Princess, trying to have them make the bookings for us (without having to pay for them), and they've each said that they see a charge as well, and that they have to forward a ticket or work order to IT (say it ain't so!), so they can 'fix' a glitch.

But, if there's a glitch in the App, why are some able to proceed with no issues, and others aren't???  SMH in frustration! 😬  

Thanks for any insight.

Edited August 30 by Robkat

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

My opinion is I am afraid not very complimentary regarding this new Premium package, It is just a way of making Princess more guaranteed money whilst possibly denying some passengers the ability to dine elsewhere and you may be denied the privilege even if you have in effect paid for it. As for unlimited drinks whilst it is totally an individual persons choice as to whether they feel the need for more than 15 drinks per day only a small percentage will I believe find the need. I have taken out the Plus package for convenience more than anything. I can state before I go on my next cruise I won't consume two desserts per day, I won't go to the gym and I doubt I will consume 15 drinks per day, although that's the most likely of the three on one or more occasions.

and isn't having a choice a beautiful thing - with all the different cruise lines, ships, itineraries and packages?

[memoak]

1 hour ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

My opinion is I am afraid not very complimentary regarding this new Premium package, It is just a way of making Princess more guaranteed money whilst possibly denying some passengers the ability to dine elsewhere and you may be denied the privilege even if you have in effect paid for it. As for unlimited drinks whilst it is totally an individual persons choice as to whether they feel the need for more than 15 drinks per day only a small percentage will I believe find the need. I have taken out the Plus package for convenience more than anything. I can state before I go on my next cruise I won't consume two desserts per day, I won't go to the gym and I doubt I will consume 15 drinks per day, although that's the most likely of the three on one or more occasions.

Rarely go over 15 drinks a day, plus gives me my WiFi and grats.  Don’t need the weird deserts and only go to a SD maybe 3 times on a 2 week cruise.  I have no need for premier but at $30 less per day Plus saves tons of cash

 

[WiseGirl]

26 minutes ago, Robkat said:

 

When you made your reservations, was it indicated that there was a $90 charge, but when you continued, it zeroed out?  Did you both make your reservations in the App?  

 

@Robkat - I just made a couple Specialty dining reservations (we bought the new Premier package yesterday) for an October 2025 cruise.  It shows a "cover charge" of $90, but just below that the total amount is $0.  I had checked the Premier package so I believe this is simply the way the app does the booking.  I do not expect to be charged $90 for each restaurant as they "only" cost $39.  Not sure if this makes sense, but I think the app is working fine when you have the Premier package and is easy to use. 

[memoak]

1 minute ago, WiseGirl said:

@Robkat - I just made a couple Specialty dining reservations (we bought the new Premier package yesterday) for an October 2025 cruise.  It shows a "cover charge" of $90, but just below that the total amount is $0.  I had checked the Premier package so I believe this is simply the way the app does the booking.  I do not expect to be charged $90 for each restaurant as they "only" cost $39.  Not sure if this makes sense, but I think the app is working fine when you have the Premier package and is easy to use. 

Sorry but the price of all specialty dinners is now $45. This is a recent change 

[canadarocks]

3 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

I do not expect to be charged $90 for each restaurant as they "only" cost $39.

I expect the cost of all of the Specialty Dining to be increased to $45 per person, if it hasn’t already.

 

Aah… I was typing at the same time. 😁

Edited August 30 by canadarocks

[Robkat]

32 minutes ago, WiseGirl said:

@Robkat - I just made a couple Specialty dining reservations (we bought the new Premier package yesterday) for an October 2025 cruise.  It shows a "cover charge" of $90, but just below that the total amount is $0.  I had checked the Premier package so I believe this is simply the way the app does the booking.  I do not expect to be charged $90 for each restaurant as they "only" cost $39.  Not sure if this makes sense, but I think the app is working fine when you have the Premier package and is easy to use. 

Thanks for your reply.

But I'm going to respectfully disagree (about the App working fine)!  At least, not for us, and not this time around.

 

As I mentioned, we've had the old Premier many times, and never had a problem booking our 2 complimentary SD.  So, we knew what to expect and what to look for.

 

But this time, having chosen the new Premier, when we go to book a SD, it shows that there's a $90 charge, and it isn't zeroed out below.

This isn't how booking complimentary SD in the past has worked for us.  

The annoying thing is that many CSRs have said that they see the charge as well, and that it's an IT issue.  

 

We had thought that maybe it was because our cruise wasn't until next April, but we're seeing reports like yours, where folks with later cruises are being able to make their bookings.

We'll have to keep checking but it has been a few days since we made the new cruise booking with the new Premier, so it doesn't appear that our date is a factor.

We are finding it informative, though, hearing about the experience others are having.

[rhobbkf]

2 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

My opinion is I am afraid not very complimentary regarding this new Premium package, It is just a way of making Princess more guaranteed money whilst possibly denying some passengers the ability to dine elsewhere and you may be denied the privilege even if you have in effect paid for it. As for unlimited drinks whilst it is totally an individual persons choice as to whether they feel the need for more than 15 drinks per day only a small percentage will I believe find the need. I have taken out the Plus package for convenience more than anything. I can state before I go on my next cruise I won't consume two desserts per day, I won't go to the gym and I doubt I will consume 15 drinks per day, although that's the most likely of the three on one or more occasions.

 

It's always a hassle because my DH usually gets both of our drinks and we have to tell them to charge one to each person.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.  With the unlimited drinks, we won't have to keep track of who's been charged more often for drinks.  Or spend time at Guest Services because someone else's drinks magically appeared on our account. 

[cruisinsince75]

2 hours ago, Robkat said:

 

To both @reedprincess and @cruisinsince75:

Could you describe how the process went for you when you made your reservations.

We've had the original Premier package several times and had no issues or problems booking the 2 freebie SD meals.  We've always seen the charge zeroed out, as the meals were complimentary.

 

For our April TA, we booked it with the new Premier, and each time we've tried to make reservations in the App, a charge of $90 comes up.  In our account for that cruise, it does show us having Premier, so don't understand why we aren't able to book without them asking for payment.

 

When you made your reservations, was it indicated that there was a $90 charge, but when you continued, it zeroed out?  Did you both make your reservations in the App?  

 

We've spoken to several agents at Princess, trying to have them make the bookings for us (without having to pay for them), and they've each said that they see a charge as well, and that they have to forward a ticket or work order to IT (say it ain't so!), so they can 'fix' a glitch.

But, if there's a glitch in the App, why are some able to proceed with no issues, and others aren't???  SMH in frustration! 😬  

Thanks for any insight.

We had the original Premier and used chat to upgrade to the $90 Premier.  We had already paid our cruise in full, so we now showed a balance owing for the new Premier, which I paid that in full.  Once that was completed, I was able to make the remaining reservations without charge.  We are also Platinum.

 

are you Platinum or Elite and is your cruise paid off?

[Retired-N-Happy]

3 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

My opinion is I am afraid not very complimentary regarding this new Premium package, It is just a way of making Princess more guaranteed money whilst possibly denying some passengers the ability to dine elsewhere and you may be denied the privilege even if you have in effect paid for it. As for unlimited drinks whilst it is totally an individual persons choice as to whether they feel the need for more than 15 drinks per day only a small percentage will I believe find the need. I have taken out the Plus package for convenience more than anything. I can state before I go on my next cruise I won't consume two desserts per day, I won't go to the gym and I doubt I will consume 15 drinks per day, although that's the most likely of the three on one or more occasions.

The Premier package is more valuable on the Sphere Class ships since their drink choices have been expanded and are more expensive than the rest of the fleet.

 

We have cruises booked on the Sun for October as well as January.  The October cruise is very difficult to get specialty reservations ahead of time so we will wait until embarkation day to upgrade utilizing our OBC towards the total and obtain reservations via the percentage that is reserved for on board booking.

 

Regarding the January cruise, I had our TA reserve it the other night and then I was able to get specialty reservations for 13/14 nights.  Teppanyaki was full over the last 7 nights of our cruise and hopefully I'll be able to obtain one on board

 

Edited August 30 by Retired-N-Happy

[Retired-N-Happy]

1 hour ago, WiseGirl said:

I do not expect to be charged $90 for each restaurant as they "only" cost $39.  

 

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Sorry but the price of all specialty dinners is now $45. This is a recent change 

You were going to be charged 90 because that would be two people at the new $45.00 rate.