Wishing on a star

Okay, yes that is confusing!!! Remember, all of these are being changed around. I would not put a lot of faith into the decks mentioned. It doesn't look like they have updated the deck plans for these dining changes. When they announced the new deck plan for Oct 14 and after, this mainly reflected all of the mini-suites and premium deluxe balconies that were changed and upgraded to SANCTUARY Club Class. Yes, the RESERVE restaurant is currently a separate space, located on deck 7. But is not the Deck 7 level of the main dining room. If I am remembering what has been posted, by Oct 14, the RESERVE and SIGNATURE dining are going to be Deck 8 of the MDR. The Catch by Rudi and The Butchers Block are probably going to take these spaces. So, possibly, the walk-in but full service menu Cafe restaurant will be in one, or both, of these areas at the back of the Buffet, where these are currently located.

Duchess, if you pull up your dining reservation options on the APP, what options does it give you? Of course, we have no concrete info. But, it seems that Princess will be moving these dining venues around. I am assuming that this will be completed, perhaps starting on the TA from Europe, and the days between the SUN arrives at FLL and Oct. 14th sailing. (Until then, perhaps Reserve is a section of the dining room on Deck 7) It sounds like these exclusive dining options will be Deck 8 of the main dining room. While 'Reserve' will no longer really exist. I understand that any Reserve bookings made before this option was discontinued are supposed to be grandfathered in, and will be allowed to make reservations for Deck 8. Again, see what options show on the App.

With respect... this is just not correct. When the ship started sailing it was port intensive, mostly adult, Med itineraries, in cooler weather, when most kids are in school... with far fewer kids booked. Believe me, Princess KNOWS the demographics. They have spent months and years with their specialist and demographic algorithms, to begin marketing to families. There are already more kids onboard, now that it is June and July. More and more families try to find the time to cruise before or after the main 'high seasons'... School systems have more breaks thru the year. And, not all schools follow the same schedule. There are fewer weeks in the year where the number of kids is really limited. There will be several times the number of kids when the ship sails in the Caribbean. Again, Princess KNOWS this. This is not something that they can just ignore. Also, be careful about assuming that any guess or rumor or theory has any merit.

I kind of tire of hearing comments about how this area is a big 'nothing' anyhow. Nobody should ever presume to determine how much this area, or any other feature of a ship, means to other people. Such disrespect..... So, it isn't Royal Caribbean... I wouldn't expect that. Remember, families are often off the ship when in port. There are kids clubs too. But this is a big additional option for kids, and importantly - families together, to hang out. This was supposed to make Princess an option for families and multi-generational cruisers. Princess really hyped it up... They issued the PR and 'promises'. And, this is NOT okay. I will say this. In NO way is a ship without a kids 'park' area, and without an open adult-only area, a ship for multi-generational families. I agree that there are too many problems with what is going on here. And, also, a lot of people who choose to excuse or just ignore and look the other way.

I also would totally question any idea that this would be dismantled. However, it is almost shocking to see that, for now, Princess has removed ANY mention of Park 19 from their web-site. WOW. (so, no wonder there is speculation - when there is absolutely NO transparency here, which is again, shameful.) Perhaps there are some serious problems and operational issues.... If this area was contracted out, as we know that the ride must have been... Is Princess going to file a law-suit? We don't know what is going on. We know absolutely nothing. Already, Princess has NO open adult only area. And now, with the ship heading to the Caribbean and hundreds of kids onboard, NO kids area open. Maybe the dead-air and deafening silence is because they know that there would be a considerable number of people, perhaps myself, who would cancel this cruise if still before Final Payment, if they knew what the adult-kid situation would be onboard. Not only do I agree with the original post here, but I am beginning to wonder if TPTB at Princess are even functional and rational. Just being point-blank serious...

I was able to make our reservations, and it all looks right. So far! Hopefully they won't 'get lost'. I do have one question, though. DH had made a specialty restaurant reservation, and we want to move it up a bit earlier. The EDIT seems to be working, but it also shows the charges and credit card info. I am wondering if it might not be working well, and charge the card again. Anybody edited a specialty that has a paid upcharge?

I am glad to see this thread. Now that the dining is open, I wonder which of the Man Dining Rooms you all would choose. I believe Capri is the one that is open for breakfast, and for lunch on sea days. And, Amalfi seems a bit lighter and I think this seems nicer. I don't like the idea of the walk and the stairs or elevator, but we have noticed that this Aft dining room on the Royal Class ships can be less busy??? Santorini is for Traditional early and late seating. Which is not what we will choose.

Yes, those who have not been on ships with these kinds of rides that are not included, but a-la carte, might not expect to see a price on this.

Yes, complicated!!! The thing is, Princess has has the 3rd and 4th person FREE going on, almost all the time, for quite a while now. So, if this applies to your sailing, could be the regular Princess Pricing, and not just 'New Bookings Only'.... This sounds like you should be able to re-fare, this far in advance, it doesn't seem like they would have a Drop-&-Go for New Bookings Only type of fare. Good Luck!

You might have heard of the new Cruise Fare Pricing Policies, that begin, yes, today. Because of laws passed in California, where most all cruise lines sail out of, they are required to avoid deceptive pricing practices, and simply show the full total. ( all taxes, fees, port charges, maybe packages too???) Looks like the wonderful and skilled IT computer department at Princess managed to either screw this up or to make it more confusing. Not sure what is going on in this case.. whether the total DOES include the package, even if it does not appear to show it??? Looks like a huge glitch with the new pricing system?

They have announced the new Best Price Guarantee policy. I have not looked into the details. I think it means that a booking can be re-fared up until final payment date. I am not sure if the "New Booking Only' fares are excluded from this or not. Not sure if it only applies to bookings made after this was announced and/or goes into effect? Might not apply to bookings made prior to this? Good luck finding out and getting re-fared! Might have to call your TA or Princess Planner, or somebody????

For most of us, it is not about 'missing Park 19'. That depends on whether one is traveling with kids and have been looking forward to that. I don't know why the existence of Park 19 is even a conversation. Either take a kids/family area like this, or leave it. Either way. Sorry, but I see the 'humming' as an issue. The obvious thing is that this is supposed to be a relaxing and adult area.. The humming alone, not to mention the kids who are on the ride... What is Princess even thinking any more. Second, to anyone with hearing aids, that humming can be picked up like crazy, being delivered right into one's ears. This is a common issue with hearing aides. Either lower level ones, or even really good ones that are not set exactly right. Again, my problem with all of this is that there is now NO adult area onboard. If they don't have Park 19 opened in Oct, when it is the first U.S. cruise, and there are hundreds of kids onboard during the school's Fall Break... Oy Vey!!!!!! We pretty much committed to our booking on this ship, it is a short cruise, and we will see the ship and get thru it. Would I book it today, knowing what I know... a definite no.

Sox, It is limited, but it IS a kids and family area. There should be a small splash-pad, etc. It is a place for kids and families to spend time onboard. Along with the fact that there is NO open adult-only area. Princess really does it again... Ugggghhhh. Yes, I see this as a problem when the ship hits the Caribbean, Holidays, Spring Break, etc..

The first cruise out of FLL is during time when many/most schools are out for Fall Break. If there are hundreds of kids onboard, with NO 'kids area' open... Ohhhh NO !!!!! That would not be good. Six - seven months since the ship started sailing. Princess, this is getting almost ridiculous.

I also believe that this third party that is selling these future cruise and hotel packages contacts Princess accounts after the fact. Calling Princess, or working with a Princess Vacation Planner, to book this first cruise, should be fine. That is a good thing to mention though!

You can just set up an account and book online, or request a Princess Vacation Planner to contact you. Some vacation planners are better than others. Luck of the draw. We recently found a travel agent with one of the huge online travel agency networks that seems to be doing a good job for us. If you go online, and act like you are booking, even if you are just looking, you can click to show adjoining cabins. Or, simply look for two cabins next to each other. Assuming that you want to be traveling together, with rooms close together. Yes, they can link your reservations, for the dining, and you can request, for example, a table for four, to seat all of you. You asked about having this all linked, like one account. Like, if you are paying and want to be able to handle the whole thing. You could simply use your credit card to make the payments, etc. You would just have to have the password for the account for each booking. Passports will probably have to be uploaded, and that kind of thing. You CAN put both of these under your and your wife's name. You book a cabin for you and one of your fellow cruise guests. And set up an account for your wife and book the second cabin for her and the other cruise guests. Of course, you and your wife will still be in one cabin, with them in the other. Just ask the guest services desk to have your Medallions set to open the doors as you want. The catch might be if one couple wants to book with PLUS or Premier Package, and the other does not. These packages are to be booked for the first two guest in the cabin. Not individually. (edited to add: As the post below mentions, if it is just one person in the other cabin, they do charge for two guests, minimum, for each cabin booked. If you are booking well in advance, then you should not have any problem choosing the Early Traditional Dining. But, I do think that the early set dining time can usually fill up faster than the late. Princess has just announced that they are going to a new dining where they offer Traditional (early or late), reservations can be made for anytime you wish, or just walk up. (again, dining at the earliest hour should be no problem. As mentioned, this new system is going into effect tomorrow... so this might give you a good opportunity to reserve exactly what you want. However, everyone except those traveling on the new ships SUN, and I assume STAR, have been waiting for this new system to go into effect. So the sooner you book the better. (Assuming that you are hoping to book now) If you have any other questions, cabin types or locations, dining options onboard, etc. Just ask. There are experts here who can help!

It is very possible that, even if the dining has not opened up this far in advance, it would look like it was there, but was all booked up. Keep checking... No way it is actually all booked up.

I think that there are some responses here that are based on those who take long sailings, often when it is not a school or family break timeframe. Princess has been marketing to the family cruise demographic. There is a mention here on CC of 700 kids on Enchanted, with schools out for Summer. And, it was also just now posted on that thread that there were twice that many kids on a larger Royal Caribbean ship. But, I imagine they also have twice as much space in kids areas. I would guess that the itinerary, the shorter or longer cruises, and the time of year can make a real difference.

I wish that the SUN had closed down reservations, and were re-starting on July 1. Then we could get the earlier dining times we want, without hoping to move our reservations up when onboard. Go to the APP, and if it allows you to book dining reservations, then I would do this ASAP.

If this is correct, and Easter next year is April 20th, then this is still a holiday family cruise. And, this is a 7 day, not a longer cruise. There will be a lot of families and kids onboard. It will not be like a Spring Break 'party' cruise. These would probably be in March. And Princess is not the cruise line of choice for Spring Breakers. I don't think you should be too worried! The ship will probably be sold out, and at capacity. So, just be aware of that.

700 kids! Wow!!! We do not cruise during 'family' vacation times. I tried Princess CHAT to ask how many kids are booked on our next sailing. Said they didn't have the info. We have asked our TA, and are waiting of find out.

The new Sanctuary Club Class or Collection was announced well before you booked. New deck plans with the new Stateroom Categories were announced. These would have been the deck plans that were referenced when you booked. Are you sailing before the October 14 (U.S. inaugural) sailing, or after? I can see how you are confused. This has all been VERY confusing. I do not know which cabins were RESERVE. (Which of course no longer exists) Were you understanding that you were booked in a RESERVE cabin? If so, this means you have a nicer dining experience available to you than the Main Dining Room as the major perk. If your cabin WAS 'reserve', your booking should show that you do retain that perk. It looks like Princess will be changing all of these restaurants and dining venues around, before Oct. 14. Perhaps this means that the Sanctuary/Suite Dining. (Deck 8 of the three level Main Dining Room) would be available to you, if you had booked RESERVE. Look at all the information you have on your booking, email confirmations, printed copies, etc... And pull up your booking online. If you are still unsure, call your TA or Princess. Again, it seems that this phrase you are noticing on stateroom descriptions is a glitch, a Princess error. As these cabins are not SANCTUARY COLLECTION cabins. NOTE: Only Suites and Sanctuary Collection Cabins will have access to the sanctuary area, beginning Oct. 14. As this is now reserved for these cabins. Like is commonly called a ship-within-a ship concept.

I understand that where you want to go might make a difference. I think it is Sorobon, which is popular, is a long and not-so-scenic drive. You will cover the Island more quickly, and hopefully have AC if you rent a car. And, I think it can sometimes be cheaper. it can be a different vibe, of course... Depending if one is wanting that open-air experience.

When are you cruising, and when did you book??? As you might be starting to understand, there have been major changes going on, by Princess. The full changeover will be on Oct. 14. Prior to Oct. 14, there WERE 'reserve' dining benefits to some cabins. I assume that Princess does have to honor that, by doing what the above post calls 'grandfathered' in. But the whole RESERVE thing is pretty much gone. When you booked and when you sail are what determines whether you get RESERVE or not. I also see this phrase about "enjoy...." as a big error or glitch. Especially with all of the changes going on. It definitely does not apply if sailing before Oct. 14. You can call Princess, or your TA. But, even if that phrase is there, it seems obvious that there is NO category that would be SANCTUARY Cabana Deck Mini-Suite. This booking category would have to exist, and would also cost a lot more, for that phrase to begin to be valid.

There has been a lot of confusion about the changes over the SANCTUARY CLUB CLASS. This goes into effect on sailings beginning Oct. 14. I am not sure that fine print should be showing there. The deck plans, which have been being worked on, it seems, show this phrase on every one of the cabins on Deck 9. But, does not seem to be correct. Notice that SANCTUARY Mini-suites cost a LOT more. When looking at the categories for future cruises, I do not see any selections for a Cabana Deck cabin. (these are on Deck 9) that is a suite or sanctuary club class. There are SANCTUARY Mini-Suites that do have have access to the Sanctuary and other benefits of the new SANCTUARY CLASS. But, I don't think these are Cabana Mini-Suites or Cabana Deck Mini-Suites. These are not on Deck 9, and as mentioned, you would pay more for that category.