Sanctuary/Premium Package - Being Charged for Specialty Dining when Booking

[PS0DSH]

I am booked in a Sanctuary Room with Premium package (new package, not old).  I just booked 7 nights of Specialty Dining on my next cruise, and I  noticed my credit card got dinged 7 times for $90 each.  I called Princess and they stated they cannot refund that charge until I am onboard...which is totally outrageous.  They get to keep $630 for months on end whilst (if I didn't pay off my credit card) I have to pay interest ?  I have another 26 nite cruise coming up October 2025...if I book 26 Specialty dinners can I expect to pay almost $2600 in advance ??

[dog]

17 minutes ago, PS0DSH said:

I am booked in a Sanctuary Room with Premium package (new package, not old).  I just booked 7 nights of Specialty Dining on my next cruise, and I  noticed my credit card got dinged 7 times for $90 each.  I called Princess and they stated they cannot refund that charge until I am onboard...which is totally outrageous.  They get to keep $630 for months on end whilst (if I didn't pay off my credit card) I have to pay interest ?  I have another 26 nite cruise coming up October 2025...if I book 26 Specialty dinners can I expect to pay almost $2600 in advance ??

You can go on app and cancel reservations for a credit card refund to be posted in a few days. Book restaurants later when it shows $0 charge.

 

Be aware - when I cancelled $74 US purchase only $99 CAD was returned to me today.  I lose every time I do refund.

[chisoxfan]

 

44 minutes ago, PS0DSH said:

I am booked in a Sanctuary Room with Premium package (new package, not old).  I just booked 7 nights of Specialty Dining on my next cruise, and I  noticed my credit card got dinged 7 times for $90 each.  I called Princess and they stated they cannot refund that charge until I am onboard...which is totally outrageous.  They get to keep $630 for months on end whilst (if I didn't pay off my credit card) I have to pay interest ?  I have another 26 nite cruise coming up October 2025...if I book 26 Specialty dinners can I expect to pay almost $2600 in advance ??

Had the same issue some weeks ago.... the Princess rep said I would get OBC upon boarding and that most people like extra OBC....I said I do not like to pay up front for something included. 

We had issues booking specialty dining initially and then this....

Cancellation should be prompt if you decide to cancel. 

Finally, I just pushed back my one week cruise to the next sailing( S9) since the savings were over 2300 dollars and the premier package included indicates 'unlimited' specialty dining (value of 45 pp a day)? Have no idea what Princess is up to but it is sure confusing. 

[muffydawg]

2 hours ago, PS0DSH said:

I am booked in a Sanctuary Room with Premium package (new package, not old).  I just booked 7 nights of Specialty Dining on my next cruise, and I  noticed my credit card got dinged 7 times for $90 each.  I called Princess and they stated they cannot refund that charge until I am onboard.

I booked 2 nights of specialty dining in advance of our recent cruise on Enchanted. Even with Princess Plus and booking a suite (which came with complimentary SD on embarkation day) my card was charged at time of booking SD. Once on board a review of my cabin folio revealed a credit for the complimentary SD on embarkation day in the CG (net zero charge) and the charge for SD at Catch by Rudi.

[DANCING GRANDMOMMY]

4 hours ago, PS0DSH said:

I am booked in a Sanctuary Room with Premium package (new package, not old).  I just booked 7 nights of Specialty Dining on my next cruise, and I  noticed my credit card got dinged 7 times for $90 each.  I called Princess and they stated they cannot refund that charge until I am onboard...which is totally outrageous.  They get to keep $630 for months on end whilst (if I didn't pay off my credit card) I have to pay interest ?  I have another 26 nite cruise coming up October 2025...if I book 26 Specialty dinners can I expect to pay almost $2600 in advance ??

Sound pretty unfair to me. The only silver lining, (I always try to look for at least one) is that I received points on my SW card and will get back the $, maybe.

 

[startedwithamouse]

We had to wait several days to book SD after upgrading to the new Premier package to not be charged. 

[PS0DSH]

I resolved the situation by cancelling my original dining choices (which theoretically should generate a refund back to my original form of payment) and then rebooking.  While rebooking I made sure when I hit the 'Reserve' button it said "$0 Total Due".  I had to do it a couple times on some of my choices, as it would say "$90 Total Due"...I'd retry...same thing, I'd try a 3rd time and finally '$0 Total Due'.at which point I'd make the reservation. Princess has some issues to address !!