MDR question

My mother and I will be traveling on CB in a couple of weeks and have a confirmed MDR 5:30 dining time for 4. We were supposed to travel with my Aunt and cousin however they have experienced some health issues and can not go (just found out today, happy they had insurance!). How will that be handled? Should I call my TA and ask to try and be switched to a table for two or should I wait till we get on the ship and talk to someone then? Would they put someone else with us possibly? Mom suffers from anxiety so I would like to prepare her. Thanks for the help!

My mother and I will be traveling on CB in a couple of weeks and have a confirmed MDR 5:30 dining time for 4. We were supposed to travel with my Aunt and cousin however they have experienced some health issues and can not go (just found out today, happy they had insurance!). How will that be handled? Should I call my TA and ask to try and be switched to a table for two or should I wait till we get on the ship and talk to someone then? Would they put someone else with us possibly? Mom suffers from anxiety so I would like to prepare her. Thanks for the help!

You can handle it in multiple ways. As you said, you can have your TA call and change you to a table for two. Or you can wait till after boarding and see the maitre d' during his hours on the first afternoon to state your preferences.

There is no way to predict whether you will be seated with others or not if you leave things "as is," so if your preference is a table for 2 now, I'd have the TA call and make the adjustment. Do be aware that on most ships the tables for 2 are very close together. We found this to be a good thing--if the people at the next table are wonderful, it is almost as if we are sharing a table. If they are duds, we can easily ignore them as we are, after all, at separate tables.

do both...call TA - then once on board confirm with the McD...:cool:

At this point requesting a table for 2 will put you on a waiting list. Your best alternative is to talk to the Maitre'd shortly after you board the ship. However be aware that there will be a number of pax waiting to talk to him. It may take some time and a lot of patience. Even if you have requested a table for 2 or 4, you may or may not get it as there are no assurances. You can go to the MDR you are assigned and find your table ahead of time to determine the table size. The comment about 2-top tables is very correct, many times they are 12 inches from the next 2-top table.

As satxdiver wrote, request the change onboard following the procedure posted.

When making dining room request changes this notation in red warns that:

Changing your dining request will forfeit your current confirmation and waitlist position, if any.

Many times there is a waitlist for both traditional dining times so you’ll risk losing your existing 5:30 reservation if you or your TA makes a change now.

Times are usually listed as 6:00 in the traditional dining room or 5:30 for an assigned table in an anytime dining room. It’s been my experience that 5:30 becomes 5:00 or 5:15; 6:00 becomes 5:30 or 5:45.

Thank you all for your help! Can't wait to cruise!

Or you could do nothing and you get to the ship let the dining room staff know you have Two who will not be travelling. That way they can assign additional people to your table or just have the two of you there. That way you keep you current table assignmentment.

Or you could do nothing and you get to the ship let the dining room staff know you have Two who will not be travelling. That way they can assign additional people to your table or just have the two of you there. That way you keep you current table assignmentment.

Agreed. And if on the first night you do not like your table assignment ask the MD for a change

Or you could do nothing and you get to the ship let the dining room staff know you have Two who will not be travelling. That way they can assign additional people to your table or just have the two of you there. That way you keep you current table assignmentment.

If their traveling companions have cancelled, then when the table assignments are made several days before embarkation it will already be known that there will just be the two of them and they will not be assigned to a four-top together with two phantom people.

If their traveling companions have cancelled, then when the table assignments are made several days before embarkation it will already be known that there will just be the two of them and they will not be assigned to a four-top together with two phantom people.

I agree.

Say nothing & enjoy the extra room at a four top table. :)

I agree.

Say nothing & enjoy the extra room at a four top table. :)

Couldn't the extra spaces be used for traditional diners crashing the anytime dining room?

Couldn't the extra spaces be used for traditional diners crashing the anytime dining room?

Yes it could but let them wait in line with everyone else.

Yes it could but let them wait in line with everyone else.

NO - TD should have their own 'special line'....only to be admitted after ALL in the AD line and all with beepers...only then:evilsmile:

When requesting a particular table size remember the Princess statement:

We will do our best to accommodate your requested table size, although we cannot guarantee it

We usually ask for a table for 4 which results in a table for 6. This time we have requested a table for 2 so we will see how that works out. One cruise we were with a group of 6 and asked for a table for 6. Instead we were given a table for 8. Also we always ask for the 6:00 PM seating which has always turned out to be 5:30 PM.

I would keep the table for 4 because the chances of someone else sitting with you are pretty slim. On our recent Ruby Cruise we had booked early traditional. When we got on the ship we had been changed to anytime dinning. So we go down and talk to the Maitre'd, what a JERK he was. We told him what we wanted, a table for 2 or 4 at the early traditional dining. He snapped that all he had was a table for 8. I said OK that’ll work. When we got to the dining room that night we had a table for 8 all to ourselves. There were a lot of empty tables or tables with just a few people.

NO - TD should have their own 'special line'....only to be admitted after ALL in the AD line and all with beepers...only then:evilsmile:

That would also work.

I think they might go to the buffet or stick to their assigned DR after waiting one night.

But, we all know that Princess doesn't like to offend anyone & it'll never happen.

We have been assigned a table for 6 where we were either the only ones or one other couple joined us. We also have been at a table for 8 alone. I have noticed that the first and last night a lot of pax seem to not show up in the AT MDR. You may start out at a table by yourselves only to have pax join you later in the cruise.

Every time we have been at a table with unoccupied seats, the headwaiter did tell us that indeed there were passengers assigned to those seats.

Some people just like to eat in the buffet each night. Some with also go to specialty restaurants. So why did they have assignments in traditional dining?

I suspect in many cases they are new to cruising and a TA just asked if they liked to eat early or late without explaining what that meant or even mentioning the anytime dining option.

And there was a post a couple of years ago about a couple that never went to a dining room for dinner because they thought it was extra cost.