Steelers36

True because voyages departing other European ports continue to have mostly Americans, followed by Canadians, and then the UK coming in with 3rd largest group. Thing is, no matter where we are from or sailing to, we can dress up to the max or not and do what is most comfortable. I do agree that shorts should not be a necessary thing at dinner (for me I would be too chilly in the DR), but I really don't have a problem if someone cares to wear them (either men or women). I also don't have a problem with the DR Mgr sending folks back to change if look like they came from the gym or the pool deck (but I have not seen that attire at dinner in my experience).

Turns out the OP has perk of reserved seats, so they could show up with 10 minutes to go if they don't mind the section set aside and have no worries about getting a seat.

Yet another report that proves that PCL is consistently inconsistent.

@Shawn5, not sure if you have seen any of the threads discussing Premier inclusions or from some recent live cruise trip reports. I have taken three things from some recent posts: 1. Seating in a theater is a personal thing and some folks will end up thinking another location is better. 2. At least a number of times, that section is not filled by the "times up". May well depend on what the show is that night. I also think the early shows have higher attendance in general. 3. The section will be opened up to anyone before curtain time and I believe I have read mention about 10 minutes prior. Of course, this may not be consistent across all ships all the time, but definitely those seats are not held for the entire show.

And there really is no gty at all that what you have in the App is what you will see on the ship. Many recent reports indicate this.

This thread reminds me of the ones about how early a flight from FLL can be made after ship returns to PE. IMO, @Shawn5 will be fine.

No, it's not going to come back my magic. You can see if TA can get a rep to restore it, Otherwise, you re-email the SH benefit department and explain you were previously credited and it dropped off due to the cabin change and would like it re-applied. I have re-sent the doc in an email like this and not re-send it. Give them same info - booking number, name, etc, etc. When you have one, try and remember to mention to the TA doing the booking change and if they do it with a Princess rep, the SH OBC can be restored (I have had it done that way). Sometimes we forget to mention in the moment with other things in the mix.

There may be one table per DR that seats 10. Normally the max size is 8. They have 2/4/6/8 tops. Nine at one table can be difficult for conversations and seems you are open to alternatives. Typically a wait team will have a mix of 2's, 4's, 6's, 8's in their area. Looks like a 6 and a 4 near each other would suit you and you can mix it up each night who sits where. Although larger size tables seemed readily available when DMW concept was newer last year, I have read more reports lately that people not seeing the space being available. I presume you knew about creating Travel Companions by cross-referencing booking numbers in the App and then adding your family/friends as Dining Companions so that when booking the system is looking for Private table space to hold your group. You might want to try again with two people only booking dining - one for 5 people (will be at a 6-top) and one for 4 people. That said, you are likely much to close to sail date now to find anything of value. Even if you did, nothing in the system will put those tables in proximity nor know of any relationship. But don't despair. Just scrap all your multiple random reservations and speak with the DR Mgr of your desired DR, or a DR Host who works with their ship-side dining app and can block you a couple of tables with the same wait staff. They may offer a different DR than the one you first show up at, but I am quite confident you can make this happen. They do this all the time. I would try inquiring first at embarkation lunch time in the DR and see if you cannot get something arranged ahead of dinner. Otherwise, show up early for dinner (5pm) even if plan to eat later and have a "lead" person make the arrangements and be ready to give the DR mgmt all the cabin numbers.

Perhaps that is group OBC which many larger agencies have due to blocking cabin space on multiple voyages? The OBC that shows up on sail day is the kind that agents are gifting back in lieu of a cruise fare discount by reports here.

I think you have been around long enough to know we aren't supposed/allowed to be naming TA's - individuals or agencies. We'd have a free-for-all if that rule was relaxed. I don't even get to hint at mine like others can. That was the basis of my note about the "BB" store.

We are supposed to write "Big Box" with a wink and a nod. 😎

@Bwana Tom, you are not the only one I have read such a report from. I know it seems tongue-in-cheek, but I have yet to exit a ship with them owing me money. I make sure these days to have it that way after reading of so many issues. Makes me wonder that the IT team has been busy with some creative accounting in order to minimize the Ref OBC payouts. If only they were so clever at fixing bugs in the App reservations (OCEAN Ready) system.

You can purchase FCD's on any Princess cruise.

The process worked as it should have. Your FCD is exchanged (cashed in) in exchange for a 3% discount on long voyages and that nets you more than the FCD OBC. No double-dipping - LOL. If the WC is cancelled, you get your cash deposit back, but true the FCD's are burned since they were refunded.

So, another good reason to book with a TA that gives cash discount off the cruise fare instead of OBC after-the-fact.

Alright, so I actually did drop by the X forum for a few minutes and skimmed through the first 10 pages. On Princess forum, I would expect to encounter multiple dress code debates in that space since we seem to have one about once per week. I noticed about three threads on their formal/gala/chic nights (folks were asking questions using different terms). Two questions were the typical that we see here: How many nights for my cruise and on which nights? None of the responses got into debates about what to wear. The third was inquiring about wear and coincidentally had been posted 9 hrs ago - the same amount of time this thread had been posted when I first noticed it. However, on X forum, there were only 5 replies and not 5 pages of replies in 9 hours and there were no debates about the dress. How much of this is due to what I read as a much clearly worded dress code for X versus Princess (or at least what is on paper appears to align more precisely with what happens on board), IDK. But some remarks recently about X situation got me taking a closer look. As an aside, I smiled when noticing some familiar themes we see here such as can I make a 9:30am flight upon return to port, can I use OBC in the casino. I also noted that X also doesn't include table size in their dining res app. That's it, FWIW.

Seems like there have been a number of those offers when ship not full in subsequent sailings. You caught ones before your original booking. Sweet if it works out for folks.

That ship has sailed. I don't read the X forum, but I would think far, far less threads on dress there since the policy is quite clear. PCL should just copy X's lingo and be done with it.

A blazer/jacket is sufficiently formal these days.

I think your request is not going to help much. One guest could capture a couple of tables of dressed up passengers and another could take a photo two tables away of guests dressed smart casual. It would be hard to take in the whole DR and discern who wearing what. I think it best to just go with what majority consensus indicates and presume some folks are going to exaggerate percentages perhaps one direction or the other.

If you read X's dress code information and apply it to Princess, you will be fine and less confused. (X = Celebrity).

Nothing like a formal wear thread to get 52 posts in about 9 hrs. 😁

Yes, that was a nice exception for those who could take advantage (change flights and whatever other arrangements for not going back home).

As mentioned in next post, just add more posts to this thread about your cruise trip experience and review.

@Guardsy, I would suggest you just post part 2 and 3, etc, in the same thread as part 1. I found this one first and had to hunt around for the first post. Your total trip report would be much better in a single thread rather than starting a new one every time.