Mrs. Yukon Cornelius Posted September 5, 2017 #1 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Hi all, We are taking our second Princess cruise in a few weeks, and I'm reading horrid reviews about the new Club Class effect on Princess and getting nervous. I'd very much appreciate hearing about your experience as a NON-Club Class passenger. What I've read so far is very negative, specifically that you are no longer allowed to eat lunch in the MDR on embarkation day unless you are Club Class, and also that with so many Club Class passengers being seated without waiting for meals, the wait for meals in the MDR for other passengers is ridiculously long (over an hour). We loved our 2016 cruise pre-Club Class and never felt like second-class passengers. Spending so much money on a vacation and then being treated poorly would be awful, so I'm hoping that these awful reviews are overly dramatic. Any reassurance out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety3 Posted September 5, 2017 #2 Share Posted September 5, 2017 I think the rumors about no MDR lunch on embarkation day was a combination of the usual "staff is instructed to tell all passengers to go to Horizon Court for embarkation lunch, UNLESS they specifically ask which MDR is open for lunch" overlaid with "staff at the Club Class door must turn away all non-Club Class passengers". So, if you're non-CC and you walk up to the CC doors, they're going to turn you away (because you don't qualify) and they're going to direct you to the buffet (because that's what they're programmed to do). However, you went to the wrong doors...go straight across the ship to the other side (i.e. walk from starboard to port), AND GO INTO THE MDR FOR LUNCH. It's right there, and it's open (until 1:25...should be 1:30). The wait for Anytime Dining on many of the ships peaks around 6:00-6:15, because there's only one MDR open for ATD until 7:30 or so, and once the tables are full, there's nothing they can do until the first few tables start to clear/reset. That was the case before CC, and probably inched up a little bit because of the delineation of capacity for CC. If you choose (and get) Traditional Dining, you'll only notice CC if you look during breakfast and lunch. If you choose Anytime Dining, you'll only notice CC once you enter the MDR, and only if you look across. If you never walk up to the CC doors, you'll never feel second-class; the feeling should only come when they turn you away at those doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare geoherb Posted September 5, 2017 #3 Share Posted September 5, 2017 We had embarkation day lunch in the main dining room on the Caribbean Princess last month. We were in a lowly inside cabin. The menu, unfortunately, was slimmed down from what it used to be. We had traditional dining, so we did not have experience with whether there were lines at dinner. The few days the dining room was open for lunch, we did not have to wait long. We did not have to wait at breakfast time either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare leck57 Posted September 5, 2017 #4 Share Posted September 5, 2017 We were on the Royal last month for three weeks and I wouldn't have even known Club Class existed. We had anytime dining and never had to wait more than three minutes for a table. I wouldn't even know what the benefits of Club Class are and if you are not in Club Class you will not care nor be affected in any way. Personally I don't want to have lunch on day 1 in the DR as there is enough other things to do i.e. unpack, explore, sail away drinks etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted September 5, 2017 #5 Share Posted September 5, 2017 We spent 38 days on the Royal in April and May. We did not have club class. We had no problems. We made reservations most mornings and were seated immediately Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfinmagic Posted September 5, 2017 #6 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Club class gets purple napkins - non-club class gets white napkins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pris993 Posted September 5, 2017 #7 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Club Class does not appeal to me. We always book a mini suite anyway, even before Club class we have decided to go to the Crown Grill most nights if not all nights on cruises. When we do we have a set table, around the same time, eating their every night we can get the same table and wait staff, so prefer to do that... the money I would spend for Club class goes to the Crown Grill. Sharing this to let you know you can create your own experience on a ship. On some cruises we have skipped the MDR entirely and gone to the buffet late afternoon, then took a nap, later showered and dressed for the evening entertainment on board only. Never missed the MDR or dinner with a late lunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF - retired RRT Posted September 5, 2017 #8 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Club class gets purple napkins - non-club class gets white napkins Very good. ;p Those purple napkins are expensive!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF - retired RRT Posted September 5, 2017 #9 Share Posted September 5, 2017 the usual "staff is instructed to tell all passengers to go to Horizon Court for embarkation lunch, UNLESS they specifically ask which MDR is open for lunch" Even asking won't necessarily get the right answer. On one of our first cruises, we asked, "which dining room is open for lunch" and got "The buffet". "No, which dining room?"..."The buffet". Went to our cabin, grabbed the Patter and went to the MDR that was listed open for lunch. Silly crewman.:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globehoppers Posted September 5, 2017 #10 Share Posted September 5, 2017 "Club Class" is just another way to separate you from your money. Princess wanted $500 each more for a mini mid-ship vice 150 forward. Can buy a lot of specialty dining and service and libations for $500! Same room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocketMan275 Posted September 5, 2017 #11 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Club Class does not appeal to me. We always book a mini suite anyway, even before Club class we have decided to go to the Crown Grill most nights if not all nights on cruises. When we do we have a set table, around the same time, eating their every night we can get the same table and wait staff, so prefer to do that... the money I would spend for Club class goes to the Crown Grill. Sharing this to let you know you can create your own experience on a ship. On some cruises we have skipped the MDR entirely and gone to the buffet late afternoon, then took a nap, later showered and dressed for the evening entertainment on board only. Never missed the MDR or dinner with a late lunch. We do pretty much the same thing. We find the MDR to be over-rated, crowded, and loud. We much prefer having a private table in an environment where we can hear each other talk and not the couple at the table next to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCruisers Posted September 5, 2017 #12 Share Posted September 5, 2017 CC Dining does not take up very much space so isn't a problem for others. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Itchy&Scratchy Posted September 5, 2017 #13 Share Posted September 5, 2017 I am blissfully unaware of the club class. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timtrek Posted September 5, 2017 #14 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Hi all, We are taking our second Princess cruise in a few weeks, and I'm reading horrid reviews about the new Club Class effect on Princess and getting nervous. I'd very much appreciate hearing about your experience as a NON-Club Class passenger. What I've read so far is very negative, specifically that you are no longer allowed to eat lunch in the MDR on embarkation day unless you are Club Class, and also that with so many Club Class passengers being seated without waiting for meals, the wait for meals in the MDR for other passengers is ridiculously long (over an hour). We loved our 2016 cruise pre-Club Class and never felt like second-class passengers. Spending so much money on a vacation and then being treated poorly would be awful, so I'm hoping that these awful reviews are overly dramatic. Any reassurance out there? No worries! We have been on several cruises since Club Class began and have not noticed any changes at all. The MDR lunch is still open to all (and I highly recommend it) and the wait times in the MDR for dinner with ATD are no longer than I have experienced before. A lot of the wait time for ATD is dependent on when you choose to go. Eat early or late and there is (generally) no wait. If you go in the middle, you'll have time to enjoy a glass of wine or two (or three) prior to being seated. To me the pure enjoyment of being on a cruise more than makes up for wait times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floridalover5623 Posted September 5, 2017 #15 Share Posted September 5, 2017 If Club Class hasn't slowed down the regular service (as has been reported many times) then making reservations for the AT dining room mirrors just about the same experience, except for some specially prepared meals. Bring you own purple napkins and save the extra charge. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrak Posted September 5, 2017 #16 Share Posted September 5, 2017 To the OP: It's all a bunch of BS. Club Class won't affect your non-Club Class experience at all. Don't listen to the doomsayers who have no actual knowledge and like to stir people up. We don't book Club Class and, unlsess it comes along as a free perk one day, never will. Enjoy your cruise. We certainly enjoy ours. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AF-1 Posted September 5, 2017 #17 Share Posted September 5, 2017 OP; ClubClass dining is limited to a small section of one dining room. If you don't eat in the other section of that dining room; you won't notice anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Yukon Cornelius Posted September 5, 2017 Author #18 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Cruise-Critic-Friends, THANK YOU!! I want to clarify that I don't have a problem with higher-paying passengers getting special amenities in the form of Club Class. My only problem would be if as a result of this, my ordinary amenities were diminished. Sounds like they are not, and I'm very relieved and happy to hear this. Thank you so much for the reassurance! Now I have another related question for all you helpful people: I never knew until I read this thread that ATD passengers could make reservations in the MDR. Is this really true?? How are reservations made?? It would be very helpful for us because while we rarely had a wait on our last cruise with just the two of us, this time we are bringing our family so we'll be a party of six and I was expecting to have to wait sometimes for a larger table. I would LOVE to make reservations if we can! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherylandtk Posted September 5, 2017 #19 Share Posted September 5, 2017 The process is to call the DINE line to make your reservation, usually in the morning. When and how often varies from ship to ship, but just ask the rules on that sailing when you call the first time. Sometime you can reserve a couple of days in advance, sometimes not. Usually you cannot reserve between ~6:30-7:30, but sometimes you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beg3yrs Posted September 5, 2017 #20 Share Posted September 5, 2017 ...Now I have another related question for all you helpful people: I never knew until I read this thread that ATD passengers could make reservations in the MDR. Is this really true?? How are reservations made?? It would be very helpful for us because while we rarely had a wait on our last cruise with just the two of us, this time we are bringing our family so we'll be a party of six and I was expecting to have to wait sometimes for a larger table. I would LOVE to make reservations if we can! In our experience, it varies from ship to ship and more likely, Maitre'D to Maitre'D. We stumbled across it when were complimenting our wait staff to the ATD head waiter. He told us that if we liked them he could arrange for our table to be reserved permanently for the rest of the cruise. This has happened on other ships as well. On one B2B sailing our wait staff was scheduled to rotate to another dining room on the second segment and the HW arranged for them to stay with us. Other sailings all you had to do was call the DINE line in the morning to reserve a table. Now, all that said, some sailings will restrict when you can reserve. We tend to eat later so I think getting a reserved table in ATD was OK with the staff. I do recall being turned down for a reservation at more popular eating times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoohUnderstands Posted September 5, 2017 #21 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Seeing all about making reservations for ATD, etc., makes me sad. My only recent experience with ATD (on the Ruby) was very negative due to the ability to make reservations?! We didn't go to the MDR until the second night of our cruise and therefore was very surprised to find out they would not be able to serve us in the ATD at all that night due to reservations!!! Sent us upstairs to wait over 45 minutes to get into a portion of the other dining room. This soured us to ATD a lot. So with getting sale prices, I find that I am only paying about $12pp more a day for CC mini's than regular mini's and from what I have read so far, will be able to experience ATD without waiting or being turned away! This appeals to me as I only like early Traditional Dining and usually get stuck with a 5:30 time even though signed up for 6! So will see what happens on our next cruise. Knowing, supposedly, I can go to dinner any time I want to and actually get in right away is very appealing to me. Pooh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted September 5, 2017 #22 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Rumors Rumors Rumors.........:rolleyes: IMO Making a reservation in AT dining defeats the purpose of AT dining. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukesubsailor Posted September 5, 2017 #23 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Club class gets purple napkins - non-club class gets white napkins Well now I am ticked off. Last month on the Caribbean Princess we were apparently slighted in Club Class. We didn't get purple napkins------ Ours were gray! :eek: LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Yukon Cornelius Posted September 5, 2017 Author #24 Share Posted September 5, 2017 We don't book trips a year ahead - more like 4-5 months. Both times we have booked cruises, TD was no longer an option, presumably because they had reached their capacity for that with other passengers. I'm ok with that, and we enjoyed ATD last time, but making a reservation for our group on a day-by-day basis would be beneficial for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cr8tiv1 Posted September 5, 2017 #25 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Well now I am ticked off. Last month on the Caribbean Princess we were apparently slighted in Club Class. We didn't get purple napkins------ Ours were gray! :eek: LOL Navy Gray or unwashed gray? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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