club class dining vs standard dining

[ghstudio]

As I read it, club class is anytime dining, easier availability of 2 tops, the same menu as regular dining plus perhaps two unique options of the day.  Of course, that's just on paper....so I'm looking for some personal input on those special dishes, the service, etc....would you book club class (again)...why? We will book a mini-suite for the extra space and we have a choice...M1 cabins are still available.

 

We are familiar with Celebrity's Aqua Class and Blu...but that's a special dining room with a different menu.  This will be our third princess cruise....

[riffatsea]

We had club class on our first Princess cruise through the Panama Canal in December!

We really liked the extra service of just walking into the MDR without a wait, the same wait staff who knew our likes/dislikes, the extra dishes, and just the feeling of less crowd and more special service.

To us it is "worth it" at this point in our lives and since we also book full suites now we think that those extras are "worth it" also!

Always up to you as to how you wish to spend your money.

[Tree_skier]

I’ve got club class booked for my first cruise with Princess next March so I’m really looking forward to following this thread and hearing real world examples and experiences. 

[john_galt]

We had breakfast in Blu on debarkation day on the Celebrity Constellation. Nice place. I'm back on Princess in December after a couple of times on X. I'm eager to experience CC.  

Edited May 11, 2019 by john_galt
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[CATGUY7]

It is generally a significant price difference,  but we, too, love the ability to walk right into the dining room to be seated.  I always feel guilty with traditional dining when our dinner plans change and we don’t show up, and I don’t like the wait sometimes associated with anytime dining.  The extra dishes were nicely prepared.  When Suites don’t work out, I will always look to Club Class.  

[Sea Hag]

We had club class for the first time back in April of this year, and there's no question in my mind about this. Club class beats regular dining hands down. The special dishes are nice, especially the breakfast entrees, but the overall service is what's really good. The staff have less people to take care of than in regular dining, so they take care of the people they do have very, very well. Always being able to get a table for two by a window was also really nice.

[nukesubsailor]

1 hour ago, ghstudio said:

As I read it, club class is anytime dining, easier availability of 2 tops, the same menu as regular dining plus perhaps two unique options of the day.  Of course, that's just on paper....so I'm looking for some personal input on those special dishes, the service, etc....would you book club class (again)...why? We will book a mini-suite for the extra space and we have a choice...M1 cabins are still available.

 

We are familiar with Celebrity's Aqua Class and Blu...but that's a special dining room with a different menu.  This will be our third princess cruise....

Only you can decide if Club Class dining is worth the extra cost for a Club Class mini-suite.  If it won't bust your budget, try it once so you can make a true evaluation.  We tried it only because we booked a full suite and Club Class dining was included in the cost of the suite.  We liked it.  However, we would not pay extra for it,

[cruzsnooze]

There are pro's and con's. I've had it several times. The service is excellent and walking in without a line or wait is really nice. The part I didn't like was it's lack of separation from the MDR. If you got a table that borders the MDR the noise is significant. There is only a rope draped between the dining rooms so there is no real separation. People from the main dining room constantly walk thru the CC one to exit but if anyone in CC sees that they do tell them to exit their own dining roomthe way they entered.  It would be much better if there was a full curtain or wall to divide the CC from the Main dining room. 

[Tak8]

Both times I had Club Class, I was in a suite.  I really enjoyed some of the special dishes at lunch and dinner.  I don't know if they offer anything special at breakfast, because I always did Sabatini's.  The service seemed a touch above the norm for Princess.  If I didn't book a suite, I would consider a CC mini.  

[riffatsea]

28 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

There are pro's and con's. I've had it several times. The service is excellent and walking in without a line or wait is really nice. The part I didn't like was it's lack of separation from the MDR. If you got a table that borders the MDR the noise is significant. There is only a rope draped between the dining rooms so there is no real separation. People from the main dining room constantly walk thru the CC one to exit but if anyone in CC sees that they do tell them to exit their own dining roomthe way they entered.  It would be much better if there was a full curtain or wall to divide the CC from the Main dining room. 

 I think this issue must be different depending on which ship you are using??

We were on the Coral and no regular MDR patrons walked through the CC area at all.

The MDR was sort of raised above us so that if you were in a table next to that area those tables were at about shoulder high from ours. They did not disturb us.

I imagine other ships are laid out differently.

[Jezabel2924]

We have enjoyed Club Class three times and would book again if it was available and within our budget.  Last year we did the 11 day Baltic on the Regal and had Club Class.  The waitstaff was amazing.  The Head Waiter made some fabulous shrimp entrees, pastas and appetizers each night.  We had a surf n turf dish available as an extra one night that was the best steak I have had on any ship -- even in the Grill.  We had the same waiters for breakfast, as well.  Breakfast was so peacefull and so good!  (Although, we've had the Sabatini's Breakfast before and nothing beats that!)  We are on the Pacific this summer and the mini suites were out of our price range but I'm sure the dining will be great on this ship.  When we travel with our friends we would not get Club Class as they prefer to travel in an inside cabin and we would want to eat with them in the MDR.  But when we are alone we like a two top that can get us in and out of the dining room quickly for the evening events!  Enjoy your cruise!

[OCruisers]

We've had CC Dining on our past two cruises!  Love it!  Would find it hard to go back to standard dining!  

[rbrad3]

booked it for our next trip sounds like it might be like a balcony cant go back to any other room

 

[Gracie115]

3 hours ago, ghstudio said:

As I read it, club class is anytime dining, easier availability of 2 tops, the same menu as regular dining plus perhaps two unique options of the day.  Of course, that's just on paper....so I'm looking for some personal input on those special dishes, the service, etc....would you book club class (again)...why? We will book a mini-suite for the extra space and we have a choice...M1 cabins are still available.

 

We are familiar with Celebrity's Aqua Class and Blu...but that's a special dining room with a different menu.  This will be our third princess cruise....

 

 

We have been on 2 Princess cruises, one with Club Class one without.  Our next THREE are with Club Class and if we have any others we will book Club Class.  We found anytime dining without Club Class do be less than desirable, long waits, uneven service, just not much fun at all.  With Club Class we were treated much like we were in Aqua Class on Celebrity.  We had the same wait staff nearly every night, we never waited for a table and the dining experience was just much more enjoyable for all the meals.  

 

We have cruised Celebrity for many years but have started looking at and booking other lines because Celebrity prices are starting to be just too high for us. 

[ghstudio]

39 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

 

We have cruised Celebrity for many years but have started looking at and booking other lines because Celebrity prices are starting to be just too high for us. 

 

Thanks....we are looking at itineraries and celebrity's are just getting old.  The edge sounds dreadful (the french balconies at premium prices).  We used princess up the norway coast (went all the way to North Cape) and this cruise around the UK which celebrity doesn't offer....and of course Alaska.  Based on responses so far, I think we'll keep the M1.  

[jondfk]

We're fortunate enough to have had Club Class about a half dozen times across three ships (Grand, Ruby and Caribbean) there are some nice touches but honestly I'd not pay a tremendous premium for them.  Like just about everything else on Princess consistency varies dramatically ship to ship and even cruise to cruise on a given ship.  Here are the promises and our experiences around club class MDR enhancements:

 

- As noted elsewhere Club Class is not a separate space rather just a small section of the primary ATD dining room (deck 6 starboard on the Grand class ships).  I'm sure new builds will at some stage introduce more separation but for now . . .

- The separation from the normal MDR can be little or none.  On our last cruise two Club Class tables were deep within the ATD area, we sat at both and it was strange to have tables on both sides that were not Club Class, not sure why they implemented it this way.

- In principle it should work like Anytime dining without the wait.  Our experience has been variable, for the most part we've walked straight in.  On some cruises though we've been asked to come back in a few (15 or less) minutes.  On one occasion when we were told the wait was 30 minutes the host asked where we'd be, Crooners, and came to get us when the table was set up. 

- Your Club Class head waiter will prepare something "special" in the dining room during lunch and dinner.  How "special" this will be depends very much on the personality of the person.  On recent cruises our head waiter was "Mr. Personality" he loved interacting with his guests.  The cooking part of his duties were a distraction from his personal preference and the quality of such dishes showed.  We've had other hosts who actually focused on the food prep and that came through.  Not saying one is better than the other - but highly variable.

- At dinner there will be one additional off the menu main course offered.  Often this is something from the menu with a different sauce or side dishes.  Occasionally it will be something genuinely additional.  Usually these are good choices as they presumably get a bit more attention from the kitchen.

- The service team will indeed very quickly pick up on your preferences (or what they think are your preferences).  They will decide which waiter(s) you 'like' and which ones you don't 'like', you'll be steered towards your favorites.  This can at times be humorous. 

- Club Class wait staff go to the head of the pickup line in the kitchen.  Therefore, dishes typically come out faster than in the MDR.

 

I hope this gives you some sense of the slightly upgraded service.  Happy to take any specific questions.  For our money, we'll pay a small premium for CC.  If going without we alway aim for fixed dining as we find the service provided by a familiar team is generally superior to ATD - that just our opinion though.

[Gracie115]

1 hour ago, ghstudio said:

 

Thanks....we are looking at itineraries and celebrity's are just getting old.  The edge sounds dreadful (the french balconies at premium prices).  We used princess up the norway coast (went all the way to North Cape) and this cruise around the UK which celebrity doesn't offer....and of course Alaska.  Based on responses so far, I think we'll keep the M1.  

 

We also are tired of the same itineraries every year on X, even though our TA on Silhouette last month was wonderful ….there were no new ports.  So between that and the pricing for most X sailings it was time to look elsewhere.  We still have a couple of cruises booked with Celebrity in 2021 but everything else right now is booked with Princess.  We found the Club Class Dining well worth the up charge.....felt much more like what we were used to...the time we went without it was just not pleasant and since it was our 1st Princess cruise it could well have been our last but they instituted the Club Class concept just months after that and we decided it was worth a try and we were right...for us anyway.

[suekel]

To be honest, I probably wouldn't pay for a club class mini suite but because we get suites, I do enjoy it.   I can justify the extra $$ for suite perks that go beyond dining.  

[Kartgv]

We love Club Class for all of the reasons others have posted...BUT, have set ourselves a price differential limit of about $100/day.    We looked at one 10 day cruise last year where Club Class mini's were about $2700 more than regular mini's right next door - outrageous and we won't support that kind of pricing.    

[voljeep]

not going to happen ... yet ... but I wouldn't mind if CC was an added option for a deluxe premium balcony

 

can't do the shower / tub combo in the mini's anymore ..

 

anyway - we will experience CC dining - at least at night , starting Tuesday - for the first time ...

[maiseric]

Have just come back from the Sapphire Princess and club class has its own dining room, as this ship has 4 dining rooms plus one traditional

It was our first experience with Club Class and it certainly lived up to the hype. 

 

[royal65]

We are in a suite on the Emerald next Feb. and will have Club Class dining.  Most of what I've read refers to tables for two.  We much prefer tables for 6 or even 4 for most nights.  Will larger tables be available in CC?  Will they accommodate your joining with other couples to form larger tables? 

[Papa Yoda]

 

Yes and Yes.  There are a few 4 tops and a couple 6 tops, and if you get a group, they'll accommodate 8 tops.  We've observed folks grouping up in Club Class several times. 

[caribill]

2 hours ago, royal65 said:

We are in a suite on the Emerald next Feb. and will have Club Class dining.  Most of what I've read refers to tables for two.  We much prefer tables for 6 or even 4 for most nights.  Will larger tables be available in CC?  Will they accommodate your joining with other couples to form larger tables? 

 

In regular Anytime they ask when you come in if you are willing to share and if so, lead you to (or start) a table that holds more than two people.

 

There have been no posts that I have read saying the same is true of Club Class. Although the tables for more than two exist there, they do not seat people there with the expectation others who arrive will want to share a table with those already seated.

 

Usually the larger tables are used by passengers who know each other, want to eat together and plan to arrive at the dining room at the same time.

 

[livinforcruisin]

We are joining the Sapphire on 18th May.  We are in a full suite whereas my Sister and B-I-L are in a standard balcony cabin.  Does anyone know if they can join us in cc dining or not?  Many thanks for any information.  If not the Anytime will be fine too.