Club Class dining - is it really worth $50 pp/day?

[OCruisers]

We have always had to pay more for the mini-suites that are now Club Class Mini Suites because of the location which is very important to us.  So, now, having CC Dining is a wonderful extra perk for us.  

 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, compozer said:

I booked a 2020 24 day on the Pacific last night and when I looked, over half of CC minis were booked.   Suppose they could be on a 24 hour hold.   If there is no CC dining available on the Pacific?  if so, #1. - why would you book it other than for the location.    #2.   Why are they listed??   or does she go into dry dock before that?   $3.  dining options for full suites offer CC dinning but the problem is,  it won't let you book.  Says there is an error - you have to select traditional.

On the Pacific it is all traditional dining times since there is only 1 dining room - however there is a CC dining area when you first enter the room - cordoned off from the MDR and yes you get the extra entrees and great service.  I was nice to have a few  drinks at the bar and then just wander into CC Dining

[memoak]

If you book a CC mini early you will save a bundle on most cruises - we booked a CC mini for October of this year around a year ago and a "regular" mini is now $200 more for the 15 day cruise than what we are paying for the CC mini

[Ken the cruiser]

19 minutes ago, memoak said:

If you book a CC mini early you will save a bundle on most cruises - we booked a CC mini for October of this year around a year ago and a "regular" mini is now $200 more for the 15 day cruise than what we are paying for the CC mini

I’m not sure that’s a fair comparison unless you know how much the cheapest MS was going for when you booked your CC MS last year. 

 

Supply and demand has a way of driving prices up once a popular itinerary starts driving the demand. I know the VS we booked on the Island for Jan 2020 to go to Easter Island first went down $900 pp with a FG promotion and some onboard credit, then went up $2,000 pp a few months later. You just never know.

 

But we agree, booking as early as possible usually gets you the best deal as well as the room you want on popular itineraries. 

[candy4040]

I am torn between the TDR and CC.  We love meeting new people and on our last cruise to SA our MDR table was fun and the 8 other passengers were wonderful.  However, the CC dining really makes dining a great experience.  Waiters are more attentive and food seems to arrive much quicker than in MDR.  We also liked the ability in CC to eat whenever we wished and so far we have never had to wait for a table.  We like being in midship and seems like all midship mini's are CC.  It does seem like the CC mini's fill up quickly so if you decide you do want to try it out, book early.  We are on a CC mini b2b cruise (20 days) this February and will decide then if CC is truly for us.  Happy cruising.

[bobbismith]

4 hours ago, OCruisers said:

We have always had to pay more for the mini-suites that are now Club Class Mini Suites because of the location which is very important to us.  So, now, having CC Dining is a wonderful extra perk for us.  

 

We choose a location and just thought the CC dining was a perk. Awesome location for Alaska!

[MissP22]

If Princess actually offered better food in CC it might be worth it but since it's the same as in the regular DR it becomes a total waste of money.

Of course some people just don't care about the extra cost & it makes them feel special.

[BCCRUSINGCOUPLE]

If Princess actually offered better food in CC it might be worth it but since it's the same as in the regular DR it becomes a total waste of money.
Of course some people just don't care about the extra cost & it makes them feel special.

Well you do get that one special meal they make. But agree only had it once and it was free I just enjoyed being able to go and eat anytime no wait that was a bonus.



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[MissP22]

1 minute ago, BCCRUSINGCOUPLE said:

Well you do get that one special meal they make. But agree only had it once and it was free I just enjoyed being able to go and eat anytime no wait that was a bonus.



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For what it costs for CC I can go to a specialty restaurant & get upgraded meals anytime. It would be different if all their selections were upgraded quality. 

[PoohUnderstands]

10 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Jul 23, 2020, 16 day on the Island. The difference is currently $800 pp. Nov 6, 2020, 17 day on the Crown, difference currently is $800 pp. Then the next leg, which is a 16 day TA, has a difference of $600 pp. These are the 4 CC mini-suites we currently have booked. The Easter Island cruise we have booked in Jan 2020 is in a VS.

Prices might have changed for the Jul.23, 2020 itinerary.  Right now a midship CC mini is $6579pp; midship minis are sold out but a midaft mini is $6095.  That comes to $30.25pp per day more.  And the difference would have been a little less if  a midship mini had been available.  Still an amount to think about though.  Maybe the difference is when I compare prices to see if I will do a CC mini I always compare to the midship mini price, not the least expensive.

 

Pooh

[suekel]

8 hours ago, MissP22 said:

If Princess actually offered better food in CC it might be worth it but since it's the same as in the regular DR it becomes a total waste of money.

Of course some people just don't care about the extra cost & it makes them feel special.

Wow,  did you unintentionally mean to sound so judgemental or does it come naturally?

[Expat Cruise]

Before I would spend a extra $50 per person for club class I would look at eating more in the specialty restaurants on the  ship for Dinner, Share, Sterlings, Crab Shack, ,Sabatini's,  La Mer, Crown Grill all will provide a better meal than Club Class and cost you less overall money. 

 

[meatloafsfan]

10 hours ago, MissP22 said:

If Princess actually offered better food in CC it might be worth it but since it's the same as in the regular DR it becomes a total waste of money.

Of course some people just don't care about the extra cost & it makes them feel special.

 

Well, I think that depends on your head server in CC.

 

We were treated not only to the extra entrée and either appetizer or dessert every night in CC but also lots of special "extras". One night Mirelle sent us a plate of calamari (unfortunately my mother is allergic) and then a plate of sautéed shrimp (and we loved these so she started sending them just about every night!), she made my dad macaroni and cheese, brought us desserts from lunch menus that we really enjoyed (fudge cake, eclairs, peach something-or-other) and offered that if there was anything else we wanted, she would try to make it happen. I had one of the best steaks of my life in CC dining one night (far, far superior to what we had in the Crown Grill). Another guest really loved Key Lime pie and said that she made a better one than what was served in the dining room and so Mirelle made some special key lime pies one afternoon for the whole CC dining room (and these were so much better than the one that was served from the regular menu).

 

So our experience has been that it wasn't "the same as in the regular DR" but I'd be happy to hear about YOUR personal experience with CC dining.

Edited April 18, 2019 by meatloafsfan

[capriccio]

8 hours ago, PoohUnderstands said:

 Maybe the difference is when I compare prices to see if I will do a CC mini I always compare to the midship mini price, not the least expensive.

 

 

That is an excellent point.  We are in the minority in preferring an ME category mini on Dolphin deck aft on the Grand category ships because of the covered balcony so the difference with Club Class is always much greater. 

[MissP22]

47 minutes ago, meatloafsfan said:

 

Well, I think that depends on your head server in CC.

 

We were treated not only to the extra entrée and either appetizer or dessert every night in CC but also lots of special "extras". One night Mirelle sent us a plate of calamari (unfortunately my mother is allergic) and then a plate of sautéed shrimp (and we loved these so she started sending them just about every night!), she made my dad macaroni and cheese, brought us desserts from lunch menus that we really enjoyed (fudge cake, eclairs, peach something-or-other) and offered that if there was anything else we wanted, she would try to make it happen. I had one of the best steaks of my life in CC dining one night (far, far superior to what we had in the Crown Grill). Another guest really loved Key Lime pie and said that she made a better one than what was served in the dining room and so Mirelle made some special key lime pies one afternoon for the whole CC dining room (and these were so much better than the one that was served from the regular menu).

 

So our experience has been that it wasn't "the same as in the regular DR" but I'd be happy to hear about YOUR personal experience with CC dining.

It sounds as though your head waited did do something extra after all.

The main courses remained the same in the DR so that doesn't seem to be anything special which we though were more than sufficient every night on the Crown. 

But was it worth the extra money for those few extra items compared to spending extra for a specialty restaurant every night ? 

[memoak]

3 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

It sounds as though your head waited did do something extra after all.

The main courses remained the same in the DR so that doesn't seem to be anything special which we though were more than sufficient every night on the Crown. 

But was it worth the extra money for those few extra items compared to spending extra for a specialty restaurant every night ? 

The specialty restaurant menus never change to there is a very limited amount of choices whereas the CC menu changes daily and the "special" dishes are usually so good I sometimes don't even look at the MDR menu

[MissP22]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

The specialty restaurant menus never change to there is a very limited amount of choices whereas the CC menu changes daily and the "special" dishes are usually so good I sometimes don't even look at the MDR menu

I see they've sold another person on an unneeded package. 

[Kartgv]

24 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I see they've sold another person on an unneeded package. 

No one really 'needs' an outside cabin or balcony, a meal in an up-charge restaurant, or even a beverage package either.    Isn't it up to each person to decide for themselves what they need to get the best experience they can for their vacation dollars?        

[Hlitner]

We would not consider upgrading (from another mini) to CC for $50 pp day.  Why?  We would care less about the cabin location so that is worthless to us.   We look at the benefit of CC as completely related to dining.  If Princess had a completely independent menu in CC (which means dedicated staff in the galley) this would be very attractive.  But CC is essentially the same thing you get in the adjoining MDR with an additional one or two items added.  And these items are not worth $100 per day (for a couple)...especially when you consider that you could dine in alternative restaurants every day for less money!

 

Some have mentioned the true open dining you get in CC.  But we always do the open concept in the MDR with no issues.  Our norm is to go to dinner around 7:45 and there is seldom any line in the MDR for those willing to share large tables (our personal preference).  In fact, when we were on the Golden we would sometimes walk by the CC doorway (DW loves to use the rest room adjacent to that entrance) before heading across to our regular entrance.  On several occasions there would actually be a line at the CC door while we had no line!  Go figure.

 

We think Princess had a great idea when they instituted CC, but dropped the ball when they made it just a slightly altered version of the MDR.  If, and when, they turn CC Dining into truly it's own unique dining event (with separate menus and better prep) I think CC will be an even bigger hit.

 

In a sense I would draw a comparison to the Yacht Club on a few of the MSC ships.  For about the same price as CC you get a dedicated section of the ship (with its own lounge, pool deck, pool-side buffet, dedicated restaurant with its own staff and menu, etc).  With CC you get a slightly altered cabin location with a separate section of the MDR!  It is just not enough to justify $50 pp day.  

 

Hank

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Kartgv said:

Isn't it up to each person to decide for themselves what they need to get the best experience they can for their vacation dollars?        

You've got that right. 

[MissP22]

10 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We think Princess had a great idea when they instituted CC, but dropped the ball when they made it just a slightly altered version of the MDR.  If, and when, they turn CC Dining into truly it's own unique dining event (with separate menus and better prep) I think CC will be an even bigger hit.

That might be true if they would offer the Specialty restaurant menu each evening in the main DR. 

 

[meatloafsfan]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It sounds as though your head waited did do something extra after all.

The main courses remained the same in the DR so that doesn't seem to be anything special which we though were more than sufficient every night on the Crown. 

But was it worth the extra money for those few extra items compared to spending extra for a specialty restaurant every night ? 

 

Really, you didn't have an extra main course in CC every night? We had steaks, veal, fish, scallops & crab, shrimp, lobster thermador, one different and interesting dish just for CC there was so much variety that wasn't on the main menu.

 

We've done the Crown Grill and Sabatini's - we actually preferred our CC dining. We also ate at CC dining for breakfast whenever we were able and lunch every time it was open. Service there was better than what we experienced anywhere else. And usually there was extra at breakfast as well - yogurt parfaits, crepes, berries - nachos with chili and guacamole for lunch....wonderful!

 

I wouldn't want to do specialty dining every night; frankly it wasn't as good as our experiences in Club Class.

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

That might be true if they would offer the Specialty restaurant menu each evening in the main DR. 

 

I think you missed my point.  I am talking about having the CC dining area essentially it's own specialty restaurant (at no extra charge above the CC fee).  This would be something similar to what Celebrity does with Aqua Class (Blu has a completely independent menu) or in the Yacht Club on MSC (Le Muse has its own menu and galley).  Just putting up a small barrier to essentially rope-off a section of the MDR does not make CC anything special.  

 

I also can't help but remember when Princess had some special menu items throughout the MDR...similar to what they are now doing in CC.  At one time the area Maitre d's would often cook fresh pasta at various stations in the MDR and serve those dishes to everyone.   I recall getting items like freshly made pastas and even some desserts (like Bananas Foster) that were made at a nearby chaffing dish station.  This was just normal.  What we have now is another example of cut-backs that are being brought back (for a hefty extra fee).

 

Hank

[MissP22]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I think you missed my point.  I am talking about having the CC dining area essentially it's own specialty restaurant (at no extra charge above the CC fee).  This would be something similar to what Celebrity does with Aqua Class (Blu has a completely independent menu) or in the Yacht Club on MSC (Le Muse has its own menu and galley).  Just putting up a small barrier to essentially rope-off a section of the MDR does not make CC anything special.  

 

I also can't help but remember when Princess had some special menu items throughout the MDR...similar to what they are now doing in CC.  At one time the area Maitre d's would often cook fresh pasta at various stations in the MDR and serve those dishes to everyone.   I recall getting items like freshly made pastas and even some desserts (like Bananas Foster) that were made at a nearby chaffing dish station.  This was just normal.  What we have now is another example of cut-backs that are being brought back (for a hefty extra fee).

 

Hank

The only problem that I could see is how large to make the CC area.

To much dedicated space for CC would only slow down service for the regular dining. 

[OCruisers]

Club Class Dining is working out great the way is it.  No need for any changes.