Dine My Way & all new Dining questions since cruising restart!!

[Kay S]

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

Help me understand where paying more doesn't get the person more.

Of course, you are right.  This current debate started when it was suggested that the only way to replicate traditional dining under the DMW system was to go Club Class.  For instance, TD diners had the same table and same wait staff for the duration of the cruise; TD diners did not have to stand in line waiting for a table every night (except for the first one) and could just walk in at the appointed time and sit down; the staff became like friends who treated their diners like royalty (most of the time);  the food was good with many choices.  Those long lines waiting for a table were the Anytime Diners who had not necessarily made a reservation.

 

Now we have DMW, the worst of both worlds for both former TD diners and AD alike.  Everyone must make a reservation.  That defeats the purpose of Anytime.  No more strolling up when hunger strikes no matter the hour.  TD diners are not guaranteed the same staff or table anymore.  Anytime diners could sit with new friends they just met at Crooner's by showing up together at the dining room and asking for a table.  TD diners often had new friends made at fixed-seating tables, and often those friendships continued long after the cruise was over.

 

Hearing the complaints, Club Class diners spoke up for the advantages of their system.  They don't wait in line; the servers treat them like royalty; the food is good with many choices; they can sit with their fellow Club Class friends whenever they choose.  These advantages cost them money, and it appears they are willing to pay it.

 

The debate got a little off track, but the idea was that dining should be a great experience for all cruisers, not just those who pay more.  While it may not be true in practice, the impression might be that giving more to Club Class is taking more away from the rest of the passengers.  Unfortunately, this has given way to ill feeling, with "bragging" about what one can afford on the one hand and accusations of "class snobbery" on the other.

 

So, yes, you do get what you pay for, but Princess really messed this one up.  They need to fix this DMW debacle.  Soon.

[memoak]

13 minutes ago, Kay S said:

Of course, you are right.  This current debate started when it was suggested that the only way to replicate traditional dining under the DMW system was to go Club Class.  For instance, TD diners had the same table and same wait staff for the duration of the cruise; TD diners did not have to stand in line waiting for a table every night (except for the first one) and could just walk in at the appointed time and sit down; the staff became like friends who treated their diners like royalty (most of the time);  the food was good with many choices.  Those long lines waiting for a table were the Anytime Diners who had not necessarily made a reservation.

 

Now we have DMW, the worst of both worlds for both former TD diners and AD alike.  Everyone must make a reservation.  That defeats the purpose of Anytime.  No more strolling up when hunger strikes no matter the hour.  TD diners are not guaranteed the same staff or table anymore.  Anytime diners could sit with new friends they just met at Crooner's by showing up together at the dining room and asking for a table.  TD diners often had new friends made at fixed-seating tables, and often those friendships continued long after the cruise was over.

 

Hearing the complaints, Club Class diners spoke up for the advantages of their system.  They don't wait in line; the servers treat them like royalty; the food is good with many choices; they can sit with their fellow Club Class friends whenever they choose.  These advantages cost them money, and it appears they are willing to pay it.

 

The debate got a little off track, but the idea was that dining should be a great experience for all cruisers, not just those who pay more.  While it may not be true in practice, the impression might be that giving more to Club Class is taking more away from the rest of the passengers.  Unfortunately, this has given way to ill feeling, with "bragging" about what one can afford on the one hand and accusations of "class snobbery" on the other.

 

So, yes, you do get what you pay for, but Princess really messed this one up.  They need to fix this DMW debacle.  Soon.

As far as I know you can still walk up to the dining room with your new friends and ask for a table, you may just have a wait.  Really no change to AT dining since in the past you could call up and make reservations.  The only really change is to TD diners who no long have that option.  There should be an option to arrange for TD within the app

[Ombud]

57 minutes ago, memoak said:

As far as I know you can still walk up to the dining room with your new friends and ask for a table, you may just have a wait.  Really no change to AT dining since in the past you could call up and make reservations.  The only really change is to TD diners who no long have that option.  There should be an option to arrange for TD within the app

Yes. Think of DMW as ATD for everyone. It is possible to book every night at 6:40 (Jerry of BerryOz did that for us) but we can't seem to get same wait staff. Not that critical. At least we are cruising!! 😁

[Steelers36]

33 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Yes. Think of DMW as ATD for everyone. It is possible to book every night at 6:40 (Jerry of BerryOz did that for us) but we can't seem to get same wait staff. Not that critical. At least we are cruising!! 😁

I am thinking they are only defaulting to same wait staff if the booked dining time falls within the Early or Late TD windows.  A 6:40pm booking is like having an AT res, so they probably are not working to get same wait staff.  Again, this is a disconnect between the written and spoken sales promos for DMW and what is being delivered.  I think it is a combination of poor system execution, mis-understanding/mis-communication of needs or specs, and the challenge of trying to provide same table bookings in a dynamic real-time booking system. 

[Kay S]

38 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Yes. Think of DMW as ATD for everyone.

But I don't want ATD.  I want what they have said they will provide:  same wait staff, same table, same time.  We are traditional cruisers (sticks-in-the-mud?) and Princess is not giving us what we want.  We are seriously reconsidering our Princess loyalty.  If we didn't have a load of FCC to use up...  We do have a booking on HAL after this.

[LACruiser88]

45 minutes ago, Kay S said:

But I don't want ATD.  I want what they have said they will provide:  same wait staff, same table, same time.  We are traditional cruisers (sticks-in-the-mud?) and Princess is not giving us what we want. 

We can not agree more with you!  For the past 25 years, we have been Late Traditional diners and wish to continue doing so.  We are going to see how this goes as we start cruising again this November.  If we don't like it, we will jump to Celebrity for future cruising...

[mellon1]

On 8/11/2021 at 7:08 PM, Crown Cruiser said:

Well…..my husband and I happen to love Club Class and it’s NOT $500.00 per day it’s about $60-70 per day.  Some people also  think expensive wines should not be on the menu because they don’t drink them.  

 

Come on people…..stop the complaining and enjoy your time cruising again and allow people to choose what they want and are willing/able to purchase.

Sorry, I think I was the one who said $500 a day, I meant a week for 2.  We are on the Crown on 1/16 and it was $560 extra for us to do Club Class.  I would rather do specialty restaurant, it would be cheaper and better food.  This is just our opinion.  Everyone likes something different.  That old saying whatever floats your boat.  Everyone spends money on board differently.

[Tedferg]

12 minutes ago, mellon1 said:

Sorry, I think I was the one who said $500 a day, I meant a week for 2.  We are on the Crown on 1/16 and it was $560 extra for us to do Club Class.  I would rather do specialty restaurant, it would be cheaper and better food.  This is just our opinion.  Everyone likes something different.  That old saying whatever floats your boat.  Everyone spends money on board differently.

And I said earlier that it was $1,150 more on our scheduled cruise, however that includes balcony to min, then mini to Club. Since we do not see any value in Mini over Balcony, Club effectively is $1,150 for 7 days. Yes indeed whatever floats your boat.

[Esjung1]

Here is my experience with the DMW after coming off the 8/8-8/15 cruise.  We had reservations for 5:20 every night in multiple dining rooms based on what was available.  It seems like we were mostly in the symphony but did have one night in each of the other two. I was unable to get a smaller table size when I booked the reservations so there were several nights we were a party of 3 sitting at a table for 6 people.  That was a little annoying because we like to share dishes but we just all sat close together and the other half of the table was empty.  Twice we were late for dinner based on the port departure time changing or they were changing the gang planks to re-board the ship so we missed our time slot.  It was NO big deal, we just showed up at like 6PM they scanned my medallion and we got right in.  At no point did anyone say I was late for our time (and we were late twice), we just got right in. We only had the same server twice, the rest of the time it was different people. Alfredo's in a gold mine! Went there twice for lunch (embarkation day and glacier bay cruising day).  I will warn you that you have to get there early or eat at off peak times as it fills up fast and they will tell you right away it will take an hour for your pizza due to the limited oven space. It was wonderful and I could eat there everyday! We did not try any of the specialty restaurants that were an upcharge.  I felt the food in the main dining rooms was really good and offered plenty of choices.  Just for fun we walked through the buffet a couple nights after dinner and found some of the same soups, apps, etc at the buffet.  Buffet food had a TON of options for breakfast and lunch which we did everyday.  The crab cakes and fried fish was excellent!  The pork adobo and spareribs were also really good, there are like 4 different lines and you really have to check them all out because the selection changes based on which food area you go through. Room service had quite a few good options and you could order anything you wanted from the main dining room to be delivered to your cabin but it was really slow.  I shared in another post, it took up to 2 hours one of the times I ordered.  The only reason we even used it was because we had 12 ft wave swells one night and no one wanted to leave the cabin so we opted to order in.  

[bardstowntraveller]

On 8/18/2021 at 12:47 PM, skynight said:

This pdf will provide you with  prices. We enjoyed Sabatini's Trattoria and the Crown Grill. Have not tried the others you mention.

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/food-and-dining/dining-options.pdf

Thanks. This is perfect

[mellon1]

5 hours ago, Esjung1 said:

Here is my experience with the DMW after coming off the 8/8-8/15 cruise.  We had reservations for 5:20 every night in multiple dining rooms based on what was available.  It seems like we were mostly in the symphony but did have one night in each of the other two. I was unable to get a smaller table size when I booked the reservations so there were several nights we were a party of 3 sitting at a table for 6 people.  That was a little annoying because we like to share dishes but we just all sat close together and the other half of the table was empty.  Twice we were late for dinner based on the port departure time changing or they were changing the gang planks to re-board the ship so we missed our time slot.  It was NO big deal, we just showed up at like 6PM they scanned my medallion and we got right in.  At no point did anyone say I was late for our time (and we were late twice), we just got right in. We only had the same server twice, the rest of the time it was different people. Alfredo's in a gold mine! Went there twice for lunch (embarkation day and glacier bay cruising day).  I will warn you that you have to get there early or eat at off peak times as it fills up fast and they will tell you right away it will take an hour for your pizza due to the limited oven space. It was wonderful and I could eat there everyday! We did not try any of the specialty restaurants that were an upcharge.  I felt the food in the main dining rooms was really good and offered plenty of choices.  Just for fun we walked through the buffet a couple nights after dinner and found some of the same soups, apps, etc at the buffet.  Buffet food had a TON of options for breakfast and lunch which we did everyday.  The crab cakes and fried fish was excellent!  The pork adobo and spareribs were also really good, there are like 4 different lines and you really have to check them all out because the selection changes based on which food area you go through. Room service had quite a few good options and you could order anything you wanted from the main dining room to be delivered to your cabin but it was really slow.  I shared in another post, it took up to 2 hours one of the times I ordered.  The only reason we even used it was because we had 12 ft wave swells one night and no one wanted to leave the cabin so we opted to order in.  

Thanks for all the details....loved it.

[Vegascosmogirl]

I’d like to make reservations for specialty restaurants a couple of nights. I’d also like to be in the dining room on formal nights. How do I know which nights are formal? I’m on the majestic on 9/5.

[Steelers36]

7 minutes ago, Vegascosmogirl said:

I’d like to make reservations for specialty restaurants a couple of nights. I’d also like to be in the dining room on formal nights. How do I know which nights are formal? I’m on the majestic on 9/5.

Formal nights have been posted and discussed in the current "Live From" threads where cruisers on board have been reporting on their trips, including menus.  Formal night 1 is on your second night out which is the first sea day.  The other one is Glacier Bay day I am sure - but check the live reports.  You may find other helpful info of interest.

 

[Vegascosmogirl]

8 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Formal nights have been posted and discussed in the current "Live From" threads where cruisers on board have been reporting on their trips, including menus.  Formal night 1 is on your second night out which is the first sea day.  The other one is Glacier Bay day I am sure - but check the live reports.  You may find other helpful info of interest.

 

Thank u so much! I read some in those threads but didn’t get a chance to read it all.

[Esjung1]

12 hours ago, Vegascosmogirl said:

I’d like to make reservations for specialty restaurants a couple of nights. I’d also like to be in the dining room on formal nights. How do I know which nights are formal? I’m on the majestic on 9/5.

@Steelers36is correct, it's Monday night and Thursday night for the Sunday-Sunday Alaska Majestic cruise. 

[alpha whiskey]

On 8/17/2021 at 6:55 PM, debsjc said:

Is it possible to book Alfredo's on the app? I can't find it at all - thanks

Just back from a Seacation. Alfredo's was great. We didn't book. Never had to wait either for  lunch or dinner. Very good service. We were on a reduced capacity sailing and never had a problem getting into any venue, whether it was dining or entertainment. 

[mjmalino]

On 8/17/2021 at 6:05 PM, konatyme said:

Our cruise isn't until Sept. 2022, but I still want to be able to get the Traditional dining time we requested when we booked the cruise (pre-Dine My Way). I can't get the Medallion app to work so have no idea whether or not we will ever be able to get back the time we had booked before Princess screwed everything up!

 

What level of Captain's Circle are you? If you are not platinum or elite you won't be able to access DMW until after final payment. However, they did also say that if you booked the cruise prior to DMW debuting that all levels will have immediate access to it. So, I would suggest calling Princess, and see if they can fix the issue for you, depending on your level. (platinum and up or pre-DMW)

[awhcruiser]

On 8/18/2021 at 4:58 PM, Kay S said:

But I don't want ATD.  I want what they have said they will provide:  same wait staff, same table, same time.  We are traditional cruisers (sticks-in-the-mud?) and Princess is not giving us what we want.  We are seriously reconsidering our Princess loyalty.  If we didn't have a load of FCC to use up...  We do have a booking on HAL after this.

Have you called Princess to discuss?

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, awhcruiser said:

Have you called Princess to discuss?

No.  I will sit on the phone forever, then a phone rep will tell me something which may or may not be the case.  I can call back, and another phone rep can tell me something completely different.  This is not my first Princess rodeo.  If I can't get it straightened out on the ship, I'll consider my options going forward.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Kay S said:

No.  I will sit on the phone forever, then a phone rep will tell me something which may or may not be the case.  I can call back, and another phone rep can tell me something completely different.  This is not my first Princess rodeo.  If I can't get it straightened out on the ship, I'll consider my options going forward.

One of your options should be to write Princess concerning TD.  What are the important elements of the experience and what is missing in the design of the MC App.  By all means, speak to the MD like we used to be invited to do on embarkation afternoons (terrible they seem to have dropped this which ot me implies they would have half the ship lined up).  Also, use the post-cruise feedback form, albeit that is after-the-fact and many of us would like action now by Princess to restore the important aspects of TD.  HQ claims it has been addressed, but I think the reality is mixed at the ship level so far.  Have not seen many comments from the current cruise, so maybe it has been addressed on board.

 

[Kay S]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

One of your options should be to write Princess concerning TD.

 

Email?  To corporate or Jan herself?

[Steelers36]

9 hours ago, Kay S said:

Email?  To corporate or Jan herself?

You can always write to Jan, but Customer Relations would work and is the likely central gathering place for customer issues/requests. 

CustomerRelations@PrincessCruises.com

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by Steelers36

[Tedferg]

19 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 Princess to restore the important aspects of TD.  HQ claims it has been addressed, but I think the reality is mixed at the ship level so far. 

I can see that HQ believes, fixed time each evening is as close to TD as HQ thinks is necessary. Looks like you could reserve and have same table mates too, except new, previously unknown, table mates of original TD. Is this that important ? 

[Steelers36]

41 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

I can see that HQ believes, fixed time each evening is as close to TD as HQ thinks is necessary. Looks like you could reserve and have same table mates too, except new, previously unknown, table mates of original TD. Is this that important ? 

 

To us, it isn't important.  If we are cruising by ourselves, we dine alone.  If cruising with friends, we dine with them.  Helps us know things will move along at a good pace. 

 

Lots of people like to meet others on board at larger tables, but I have read many comment that it gets old if new people every night and then repeat same introductory conversations. 

 

With DMW, there is no guarantee at this point in time if you select and get a larger table that any table mates will be the same each night.  Perhaps as it matures and evolves, but hard to know as difficult for a system to organize tables in real time as people book at random over a space of time.

[konatyme]

Thanks, mjmalino. We are Platinum and I will try your suggestion.