Why doesn't Princess...

[chasetf]

So unless Cruise Critic passengers are very different from the rest I do not understand why Princess ends up with large wait lists for traditional' date=' and why they almost always seem to be for early Traditional when late is the preferred choice on the poll. Something just does not make sense.[/color']

I suspect that has something to do with many T/A's who just automatically place people on traditional first seating, especially newbies who book the cruise and then find out their options afterwards.

We find that Early is always booked to the max on our cruises and Late Traditional (which we do) has plenty of empty seats. Generally the reason is older people like or need to eat early.

 

One time we were assigned Early and wanted Late. When I went to the Matre'd we were the only changing Early to Late. There were thirteen others wanting to change from Late to Early. I probably could have gotten a hundred bucks for our seats. :D

[cruzinchris]

But making reservations for AD if your are assigned to AD is not against the rules. It seems like so many here are making those who make reservations the bad guy, when they are doing what Princess allows them to do. I thought I raed here that they made half the dining room available for reservations and half for walk-ins.

 

Busy holiday weekend and didn't notice your reply.

 

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "assigned to AD"? When you book a Princess cruise, you have the Personal Choice option of selecting "traditional" or "anytime" dining (although some of the smaller vessels don't have the "anytime" option).

 

DH and I have sailed with Princess nine times and have a cruise coming up in 70 days and another in January, 2009. We have always opted for "anytime" dining and are not aware of any hard and fast fleetwide rules regarding reservations because it has varied from ship-to-ship.

 

For example, some ships allowed reservations throughout the dining hours, while others would not accept reservations between 6-8PM. On some ships, it was possible to make a standing reservation for the duration of the voyage, while other ships required a daily call to reserve a table. DH and I have not encountered the "half reservations/half walk-ins" situation on any of our cruises.

 

I don't think anyone is placing blame on passengers who wish to make reservations in "anytime" dining rooms. Rather, I think the general concensus is that Princess has the responsibility to limit access to "anytime" dining rooms to those who selected this option.

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[Seal]

assign just ONE dining room for Anytime Dining passengers and two dining rooms for Traditional Dining passengers and absolutely refuse to take reservations for AD any longer? This seems to me to be such a simple solution to the following problems:

-People waitlisted for TD who end up in AD

-People who truly want AD but who end up waiting longer while tables sit empty waiting for those with reservations

-People who are frustrated because they can't get reservations between certain times or with certain waitstaff or at certain tables in AD. They would simply know going in that on EVERY Princess ship that offers AD, you can't make reservations, period.

 

What am I not seeing here?

 

I have not read the whole thread-but going from your first post--and being an AD if given a CHOICE--we discoveredon a couple of cruises that pax were told to go to AD from Traditional if it didn't fit in with the shows they wished to see that night--that from the CD--on the

Morning Show--it was horrible for us--especially since there were no room cards checked--everyone was happy except those of us who cannot go to the Traditional dining room just because we'd like to for that night

 

Funny--the head Maitre 'D taqlked to us about this situation--may have been on the Crown/Golden/Grand--anyway the late traditional Dining Room asked us to eat wsith them since they wseren't even half full--took a couple of days to make the CD from suggested that the traditional diners use AD at their pleasure

 

We have late seating if AD isn't availabe on a particular ship--such as R class--As fars as I'm concerned--anytime between 5:30 and 10 pm works for me--since we eat out often--I'm not used to someone knowing what I might want to drink on any given night--even don't know--our last cruise on the TA/or known to most as the TP--we had late traditional--and yes, we did get to know them a bit--

 

The only thing that tends to make

AD not work well is that the traditional diners are allowed to go there--not fair--we can't push our way into the the traditional dining room

 

if the room cards were looked at this would not be a problem

 

Nancy:D

[caribill]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "assigned to AD"? When you book a Princess cruise, you have the Personal Choice option of selecting "traditional" or "anytime" dining (although some of the smaller vessels don't have the "anytime" option).

 

If your choice of traditional is filled, you will be put on a waiting list. (We were once number 414 on the waiting list, meaning that (at two to a cabin) 826 other people were before us on the waiting list.)

 

If you do not clear the waiting list, you will be "assigned to AD."

[Philip217]

Princess faces the same challenges faced by the other Mass Market cruise lines. They are trying to be everything to everybody; ultimately trying to satisfy the greatest number (or percentage) of the masses sailing on their ships.

 

All of the mass market cruise lines offering flexible dining options also ask their passengers at the end of the cruise to give them feedback on the dining options. Princess is no exception. Their passenger comment card asks you to tell them if you prefer traditional seating or flexible seating.

 

It's no surprise that the results at Princess are the same as the results with the other mass market cruise lines. On an annual basis, about 65% of mass market cruisers tell the cruise lines that they prefer flexible dining. On Princess Grand Class ships (with 3 dining rooms), approximately 2/3 of the dining seating is dedicated to flexible dining. For most cruises, this 65% rule works very well.

 

The problem is the "annual average" of 65%. If every cruise had the same demographics, there would be no issues. But when they have a cruise with many oldsters or youngsters, the demand changes - dramatically at times.

 

If the cruise lines could get reliable information on that demand to the ships in advance, it might be possible for the onboard management to make some advance planning to alleviate problems with changing demand.

 

Unfortunately it is not that easy. Regardless of what travel agents and passengers tell the cruise line about their dining preferences, about 1000 passengers (on a large ship) change their minds about dining between booking the cruise and actually taking the cruise. But they typically do not tell the cruise lines about their changes until they board the ship.

 

It gets even more complicated. The mass feeding that takes place with traditional dining requires a completely different set-up in the dining room and the galley, than that required for the ala minute cooking and service in the flexible dining rooms. Switching from one style to the other requires staffing changes, training in the dining room and galleys, moving of equipment in the galleys, and a great many other changes in the ship's routines. If you haven't worked in large scale cooking and service on a ship, you won't understand this challenge, but it is quite daunting and usually requires several weeks notice to make it work properly. But the ships don't have several weeks notice. They don't even have several HOURS notice.

 

That's why you don't typically see ships changing dining styles, unless they absolutely must.

 

So although it seems a very simple thing to just change a dining room from flexible to traditional - it's not.

[cruzinchris]

If your choice of traditional is filled, you will be put on a waiting list. (We were once number 414 on the waiting list, meaning that (at two to a cabin) 826 other people were before us on the waiting list.)...If you do not clear the waiting list, you will be "assigned to AD."

 

The poster to whom I responded in your above quote has not yet sailed with Princess, so I would not presume to know what she meant by being "assigned" to anytime dining.

 

I am fully aware of waitlists for "traditional" dining.

Chris

[JPB]

I feel only traditional dining should be offrered...Anytime dining should be the buffet..Those lines trying to please everyone should continue with their problems and cater to the AD folks. In my judgement most Princess Cruisers choose Princess because of the traditional dining concept.

[LoraJ]

I feel only traditional dining should be offrered...Anytime dining should be the buffet..Those lines trying to please everyone should continue with their problems and cater to the AD folks. In my judgement most Princess Cruisers choose Princess because of the traditional dining concept.

 

One of the main reasons I chose Princess was for Anytime Dining.

 

While I enjoy traditional, my husband hates the thought of eating dinner with strangers. That's something you and I may enjoy, but he doesn't. With AD with have a better chance of getting a table for two.

[cubssnowman]

i am on a wait list for td 1st seating on the emerald on oct 21.i have # 267. what is my chances of getting it or will we have anytime dinning?

[zahav1]

I love the Traditional Dining room, the service is better, you get to know your waiter, etc.

I think the anytime dining created a big mess. Maybe they should take the second dining room and create another hour for traditional dining, as 7:30. Leave the third dining room as any time.

Also, they should change the hours for breakfast and lunch at the dining room. Sometimes, the ship leaves port early as it was at 2 pm leaving Ketchikan, and then everyone runs in to the buffet and can't find a table (or chair to make it worse). They should open up a second dining room for lunch on those days from 2 - 3 or so. Often we missed the breakfast at the dining room, since they close at 9 am, why close at 9 when we're at sea, open from 7:30 to let's say 9:30.

The buffet lines and searching for tables is horrible, no one to assist you (like the old days), it's like going to a cafeteria in Miami.