Back on Princess next year (🤞🤞), a couple of questions

[PrincessPete]

As the subject says, we are (hopefully) back on a Princess cruise next year after a few years on other lines.

We have done several Princess cruises in the past and are Elite status in Captain's Circle (although that is also due to P&O Cruises being counted towards our number of nights onboard). So we are pretty well up on the Princess product overall.

Just a few questions if anyone can assist please.

• I read on another thread that the barrel chairs in the standard type balcony cabins are no longer there, just the desk chair. Can you request a barrel chair be brought to the cabin? Alternatively are you allowed/able to bring one of the balcony chairs into the cabin if two of you want to sit down inside?

• Although I can no longer find it I thought I read that the second sitting dinner was 7.15pm. I am sure I must be mistaken on that as it is so early, but can someone please advise the approximate times of the two fixed dinner sittings please.

• Are the big production shows timed so the performance for second seating is before dinner? (on a personal note that does not suit, as "pre-dinner" is cocktail time, "post-dinner" is show time!)

Thank you very much in advance for any answers.

Kind regards. Peter

[bubbapuck]

5 minutes ago, PrincessPete said:

 

• Although I can no longer find it I thought I read that the second sitting dinner was 7.15pm. I must be mistaken on that as it is so early, but can someone please advise the approximate times of the two fixed dinner sittings please.

I am not sure if it is different based on ship but my next princess cruise has a second dinner seating and it is 7:15pm. on our last cruise , Carnival, we had the second dinner seating also and we always seemed to miss the first few minutes of the nighttime show. I wasn’t a fan a running to the show but do not like having dinner at 5pm. 

[skynight]

18 minutes ago, PrincessPete said:

As the subject says, we are (hopefully) back on a Princess cruise next year after a few years on other lines.

We have done several Princess cruises in the past and are Elite status in Captain's Circle (although that is also due to P&O Cruises being counted towards our number of nights onboard). So we are pretty well up on the Princess product overall.

Just a few questions if anyone can assist please.

• I read on another thread that the barrel chairs in the standard type balcony cabins are no longer there, just the desk chair. Can you request a barrel chair be brought to the cabin? Alternatively are you allowed/able to bring one of the balcony chairs into the cabin if two of you want to sit down inside?

Yes, you can request an extra chair from the cabin steward when you board. Normally supplied if one is available. On new ships extra chairs might not be available. If the balcony chair fits you can bring it inside.

• Although I can no longer find it I thought I read that the second sitting dinner was 7.15pm. I am sure I must be mistaken on that as it is so early, but can someone please advise the approximate times of the two fixed dinner sittings please.

Times for fixed seating can vary by ship. Last year on the Emerald the fixed times were 5pm in the mid ship DR and 5:15 and 7:30 in the aft DR. If you wish to dine later you may wish to select anytime dining. There is normally no wait for those arriving 7:30 or later.

• Are the big production shows timed so the performance for second seating is before dinner? (on a personal note that does not suit, as "pre-dinner" is cocktail time, "post-dinner" is show time!)

Shows in the theater, production or other, are timed so someone in the late fixed seating can attend. It will either be a pre-dinner show or a show around 10pm. The mid-evening shows are the most crowded. To be seated for popular shows you have to arrive at least 30 minutes early and for very popular productions shows, such as Bravo, 45 minutes to an hour early.

Thank you very much in advance for any answers.

Kind regards. Peter

See above. Note all answers are based on pre pandemic conditions. Times and situations may and probably will change.

Edited August 4, 2020 by skynight

[Been There, Planning That]

Princess Pete,

 

• We sailed on the Emerald this February in a standard balcony and requested and rec'd a barrel chair - much the worse for wear, but it was another seat.  Our cabin steward was less than stellar and wasn't at all pleased about the request.
• Our second sitting was at 7:30 PM, though it was listed as 7:15 when we selected it on line,  and we went to the early productions and had plenty of time to stroll slowly to the dining room.  As I recall the productions were only about 45 minutes in total, but quite good.

Ruth

[PrincessPete]

Thank you all very much for the speedy and most helpful replies. Ruth – yes, we noticed on our last Princess cruise (which was a wonderful 17 night Far East cruise in 2013) that the big production shows were only a fraction over 30 minutes in length.

They were indeed very good and we love musicals, but hardly justify the time you need to sit in the theatre beforehand to get a seat!

All - my recollection from previous Princess cruises is that the second seating dining was always later than 7.15/7.30, possibly even 8.00/8.15. (I'll have to get all our old Patters down from the loft!).

Is that a recent change?

It does seem so early and on some nights first sitting must be before the ship leaves port, even for a late PM departure.

I do know, of course, that many people like eating early but for us I think we'll stick with Anytime Dining.

Thanks again everyone.

[Thrak]

We gave up on fixed seating. Early seating is toooooooooooo early. Late seating meant we couldn't participate in things like evening trivia, Liar's Club, etc. With the second dinner seating we "could" make the evening show but it works better if you can arrive earlier as you are more likely to find decent seating. We tried the new times and just ended up switching to Anytime Dining.

 

Barrel chairs are "almost certainly" not going to be available. Yes, some have reported success when requesting them. Others have complained about 45 day cruises with no second chair available. Bringing in a balcony chair is a poor substitute but can be done.

[caribill]

12 hours ago, PrincessPete said:

All - my recollection from previous Princess cruises is that the second seating dining was always later than 7.15/7.30, possibly even 8.00/8.15. (I'll have to get all our old Patters down from the loft!).

Is that a recent change?

 

 

A year or two ago it was changed.

 

If I remember correctly, early seating was usually full with a wait list because many did not like the 8/8:15 late seating time.

 

So Princess decided the solution was to move early seating earlier so that the late seating could be around 7:15/7:30.

 

The result is that many feel 5:15 is too early, so now there is usually a wait list for the late seating.

 

When they changed the dining times, they did not necessarily change the timing of other activities. As an example, assume a late seating time of 7:30:

a) Trivia games or other such activities would start at 7:15 and could not possibly be over by 7:30,

b) The Champaign waterfall evening was scheduled from 7:00 to 7:45 with the Captain's speech timed for 7:35.

[Renmar]

13 hours ago, PrincessPete said:

As the subject says, we are (hopefully) back on a Princess cruise next year after a few years on other lines.

We have done several Princess cruises in the past and are Elite status in Captain's Circle (although that is also due to P&O Cruises being counted towards our number of nights onboard). So we are pretty well up on the Princess product overall.

Just a few questions if anyone can assist please.

• I read on another thread that the barrel chairs in the standard type balcony cabins are no longer there, just the desk chair. Can you request a barrel chair be brought to the cabin? Alternatively are you allowed/able to bring one of the balcony chairs into the cabin if two of you want to sit down inside?

I think now would be a great time for Princess to "Roll out the Barrel(CHAIR)" to lure past passengers back who otherwise would not book a cruise without the second chair in the room. Maybe they can use it as an extra perk for Platinum & Elite passengers.

I know, the barrel issue is back

• Although I can no longer find it I thought I read that the second sitting dinner was 7.15pm. I am sure I must be mistaken on that as it is so early, but can someone please advise the approximate times of the two fixed dinner sittings please.

• Are the big production shows timed so the performance for second seating is before dinner? (on a personal note that does not suit, as "pre-dinner" is cocktail time, "post-dinner" is show time!)

Thank you very much in advance for any answers.

Kind regards. Peter

 

[skynight]

17 hours ago, PrincessPete said:

Thank you all very much for the speedy and most helpful replies. Ruth – yes, we noticed on our last Princess cruise (which was a wonderful 17 night Far East cruise in 2013) that the big production shows were only a fraction over 30 minutes in length.

They were indeed very good and we love musicals, but hardly justify the time you need to sit in the theatre beforehand to get a seat!

Thanks again everyone.

Old production shows were originally around 45 minutes long. Then Princess adjusted them to a shorter length, around 30/35 minutes. New production shows, like Bravo, Encore, Secret Silk, Magic to Do and some others are between 45 and 55 minutes long. Many of the old shows are now history. Comics, singers and other acts are around 45 minutes long. Sometimes comics go longer. 

[jrblach]

we spent 32 days on the Coral Princess in Jan & Feb. late dinner was at 7:15 - ugg.

the entertainment was mainly planned for early dinning. we missed out on a lot of it due to late dining.

[XBGuy]

The first time we cruised in a balcony cabin after the barrel chairs had been removed, Mrs. XBGuy exclaimed, "Ooh, there's much more room," when we first walked into our cabin.

 

I understand that some people have health issues that prevent them from using the bed to sit on.  Happily, we do not have any problem like that, and, so, sitting on the bed to watch TV or, even, eating a hamburger is no problem for us.

 

There were, in fact, times when we did want a second chair in the room.  One of the chairs from the balcony worked perfectly fine.  Once, when we left the room with the balcony chair inside, we found that the room steward had moved it back on the balcony.  No big deal.  We were done with it, and there was no indication that we'd committed any violation.

 

Sorry, I can't help you with dining times or show schedules

[trbarton]

23 hours ago, PrincessPete said:

Thank you all very much for the speedy and most helpful replies. Ruth – yes, we noticed on our last Princess cruise (which was a wonderful 17 night Far East cruise in 2013) that the big production shows were only a fraction over 30 minutes in length.

They were indeed very good and we love musicals, but hardly justify the time you need to sit in the theatre beforehand to get a seat!

All - my recollection from previous Princess cruises is that the second seating dining was always later than 7.15/7.30, possibly even 8.00/8.15. (I'll have to get all our old Patters down from the loft!).

Is that a recent change?

It does seem so early and on some nights first sitting must be before the ship leaves port, even for a late PM departure.

I do know, of course, that many people like eating early but for us I think we'll stick with Anytime Dining.

Thanks again everyone.

I was on a January Panamá Canal Cruise & the production shows were 45 minutes long, they were 1 hr a few years ago. Yes you need to get to the theatre early, at least 30 minutes & as others have said depending on the show 45 minutes & I’m short so I like to sit in the front row. 
 

On my next cruise my dinning options are 5 pm or 7:15 pm. I prefer the 1st show so I have dinner at 5 pm. I usually ask my waiter to take my order right away. 
 

Any other questions please ask. 
 

Tom😀