Princess Has Lost Us as Future "Guests"

[caribill]

11 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

Are you sure you know what you are talking about because IC's on Royal Class ships do not server gelato.

 

The Princess map of the Majestic shows "The shops of Princess" where Gelato was on the Royal.

[Jaymuxman]

On 4/9/2022 at 8:11 AM, Zombatar said:

Wow, thanks for the info. We have never sailed on princess but have booked sky princess in the autumn of next year. Looks like we shall cancel now even though it means loosing our deposit as it sounds as though they have gone the same way as P&O and cheapened everything. Oh well back to the expensive lines!!

[Ombud]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The Princess map of the Majestic shows "The shops of Princess" where Gelato was on the Royal.

Yes. Tons of stores on the Majestic. I just know where I got gelato. It was at IC. I haven't been on Royal Princess since 2019 & guess I'll find out in September if it's still at IC or in it's own spot on the Enchanted. I don't recall toppings, just scoops

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Ombud

[capriccio]

4 hours ago, Ombud said:

Yes. Tons of stores on the Majestic. I just know where I got gelato. It was at IC. I haven't been on Royal Princess since 2019 & guess I'll find out in September if it's still at IC or in it's own spot on the Enchanted. I don't recall toppings, just scoops

 

 

There is a Gelateria on the Enchanted on Deck 5 overlooking the Piazza.  Waffle cones are made right in front of you and lots of toppings are offered.

[cltnccruisers]

4 minutes ago, capriccio said:

There is a Gelateria on the Enchanted on Deck 5 overlooking the Piazza.  Waffle cones are made right in front of you and lots of toppings are offered.

Same on Sky.

[MissP22]

35 minutes ago, capriccio said:

There is a Gelateria on the Enchanted on Deck 5 overlooking the Piazza.  Waffle cones are made right in front of you and lots of toppings are offered.

I never saw many people buying Gelato there during the day.

Maybe because chocolate and vanilla were included on the DR menu? 

[FlaMariner]

14 hours ago, cltnccruisers said:

DW and I were just talking about this.  If we get a good staff the first night we'll get the names and table number and try to get them firm for the week. 

 

This was our strategy on the Sky 3/12 thru 3/28 and it worked but you have to work it....We are same time MDR dining every evening....

 

Day 1...Had great waiters but bad table....When exiting, spotted great table for two that was in their area.

Day 2....Requested by table number when lining up in the queue and got it. 

Day 2...asked assistant dining room manager if we could have this table every evening, same time and skip the line and go to it.  She said no guarantee and you need to queue. 

Day 3 thru 16....each evening queued up in dining room and asked for the table number.....Sometimes there would be a debate at the door if the table was available....sometimes the person queueing us would have to ask the authorities....sometimes, we were provided clearance to proceed to the table after medallion check....LOL...it was always a speed bump w/different challenges but we were victorious!

 

Loved the food and the waiters....Did not love the wasted time and wonder if we would get to enjoy it again each evening. 

 

We are "one and done" with Princess because of this hassle and a few others...It's just not for us.

 

Good luck and push forward and you too can enjoy same table, same time, same waiters......They make the cruise for us but not for us if we have to "fight" for it.

[cltnccruisers]

22 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

This was our strategy on the Sky 3/12 thru 3/28 and it worked but you have to work it....We are same time MDR dining every evening....

 

Day 1...Had great waiters but bad table....When exiting, spotted great table for two that was in their area.

Day 2....Requested by table number when lining up in the queue and got it. 

Day 2...asked assistant dining room manager if we could have this table every evening, same time and skip the line and go to it.  She said no guarantee and you need to queue. 

Day 3 thru 16....each evening queued up in dining room and asked for the table number.....Sometimes there would be a debate at the door if the table was available....sometimes the person queueing us would have to ask the authorities....sometimes, we were provided clearance to proceed to the table after medallion check....LOL...it was always a speed bump w/different challenges but we were victorious!

 

Loved the food and the waiters....Did not love the wasted time and wonder if we would get to enjoy it again each evening. 

 

We are "one and done" with Princess because of this hassle and a few others...It's just not for us.

 

Good luck and push forward and you too can enjoy same table, same time, same waiters......They make the cruise for us but not for us if we have to "fight" for it.

We're on vacation.  We shouldn't have to fight for anything.  🙂  Every other cruise, including our first with Princess in 2008, we had the same table and staff every night.  I'd love to hear what rational was used to come up with this process as an improvement.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Dine My Way has been such a huge bust. It is clear from so many reports that people who enjoyed traditional dining in the past are the most disappointed. The only way we’ve gotten it to work is when we’ve been on B2B cruises. The first cruise we’ve been seated anywhere and the next cruise we finally are at one table with the same servers. It shouldn’t take that to get it right. 

[phabric]

On the RC ship, at the dining room entrance there were 2 desks, one for reservations and one for non reservations.  This made is easy.

[CineGraphic]

I could never understand how what someone on the other side of a room wears or doesn't wear affects your meal. Eat your dinner, talk to your table-mate(s), and stop scanning the room, looking for things to kvetch about.

[Potstech]

I can not see how bring able to dine at the same table every night would cause a person to stop using a facility for another. One reason we cruise is to experience different people on different places at different times.  Basing it all on an approximately 2 hour dining experience seems picky.

[tonit964]

52 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Dine My Way has been such a huge bust. It is clear from so many reports that people who enjoyed traditional dining in the past are the most disappointed. The only way we’ve gotten it to work is when we’ve been on B2B cruises. The first cruise we’ve been seated anywhere and the next cruise we finally are at one table with the same servers. It shouldn’t take that to get it right. 

My parents mainly cruised Princess & Celebrity and loved the traditional late sitting at a large table, they made long time friends by doing that.

If they were still around, they would be heartbroken at this change and would have stopped cruising Princess because of it.  Dining was a huge part of the cruise for them.

[cltnccruisers]

30 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

I could never understand how what someone on the other side of a room wears or doesn't wear affects your meal. Eat your dinner, talk to your table-mate(s), and stop scanning the room, looking for things to kvetch about.

But it is fun to people watch especially on formal nights.  I forget which cruise it was but on one this fellow showed up in full dress uniform with so much fruit salad and hardware that I thought he'd fall over.  Turned out he was a retired officer from the Argentine (I think) Navy.  Very impressive.  I almost stood to attention. He had a young grandson (?) maybe 10 or 12 dressed in a tux.  They made a great pair.

[cltnccruisers]

27 minutes ago, Potstech said:

I can not see how bring able to dine at the same table every night would cause a person to stop using a facility for another. One reason we cruise is to experience different people on different places at different times.  Basing it all on an approximately 2 hour dining experience seems picky.

We cruise for the same reasons and have been very lucky when seated with others at dinner.  But there can be a benefit for all parties when using the same table/staff through the cruise.  Good staff will quickly learn your preferences and make recommendations accordingly.  This was very evident on our family cruise in March.  We had 2 teenage GDs with us.  They were a bit picky and hesitant when ordering.  Once we were established our head waiter Fernando was able to play them like a fiddle and guide them towards meals they enjoyed.  From the staff side, we have always been decent tippers.  But we don't do it every night.  At the end of the week we show our appreciation.  Pretty hard to do if they keep changing.

 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, cltnccruisers said:

I'd love to hear what rational was used to come up with this process as an improvement.

people like us. We don't want to have dinner at 5:30 pm - it's too early. We also don't want to have dinner at 8 pm - it's too late. 6:30-6:45 is just right.

That said, I believe it was poorly organized on Regal Princess pre-pandemic. Most of the time the times we wanted were not available for reservation for the duration of the cruise, and we had to wait for 20-30 minutes (a party of 7). This MTD worked much better on RCI, where we could make reservations online long before the cruise started and we never have to wait for more than a couple of minutes.

[CineGraphic]

22 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

From the staff side, we have always been decent tippers.  But we don't do it every night.  At the end of the week we show our appreciation.  Pretty hard to do if they keep changing.

 

 

You could always roll with the changes and tip every night if the service warrants it.

[cltnccruisers]

15 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

people like us. We don't want to have dinner at 5:30 pm - it's too early. We also don't want to have dinner at 8 pm - it's too late. 6:30-6:45 is just right.

That said, I believe it was poorly organized on Regal Princess pre-pandemic. Most of the time the times we wanted were not available for reservation for the duration of the cruise, and we had to wait for 20-30 minutes (a party of 7). This MTD worked much better on RCI, where we could make reservations online long before the cruise started and we never have to wait for more than a couple of minutes.

It certainly hasn't improved since the restart.  At least on Caribbean Princess and Sky it was pretty much dysfunctional.   One night on Caribbean (7 of us) some of our party had supposedly been seated.  But the staff couldn't say where so one of them pointed and said he thought over in that section.  Turned out they hadn't shown up yet.  

[cltnccruisers]

1 minute ago, CineGraphic said:

 

You could always roll with the changes and tip every night if the service warrants it.

On our last 2 cruises that's been a BIG IF.

[CineGraphic]

1 minute ago, cltnccruisers said:

On our last 2 cruises that's been a BIG IF.

 

That's a shame.

We tend to eat late, when the servers have less tables to deal with.

It's much more relaxing and enjoyable.

[GulfShoresCruiser]

2 hours ago, cltnccruisers said:

We're on vacation.  We shouldn't have to fight for anything.  

 

Exactly.  That's while we are "one and done" with Princess....That and a few more reason but Princess is not for us.

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, Potstech said:

I can not see how bring able to dine at the same table every night would cause a person to stop using a facility for another. 

 

This may be the same thinking which prompted Princess to force a one-size-fits-all approach.

 

 

1 hour ago, Potstech said:

One reason we cruise is to experience different people on different places at different times.  

 

 

This doesn’t even make the list of things I want to experience on a cruise.  

 

 

1 hour ago, Potstech said:

Basing it all on an approximately 2 hour dining experience seems picky.

 

 

One of the nice things about cruising, for us, is gathering over the evening meal to discuss the day’s activities.  We each have different interests so it’s a perfect touching point, just as it was when our parents were growing up, we were growing up, and our children growing up.  Basically it comes down to tradition and familiarity.

 

@cltnccruisers touches on the same things which we enjoy about building a rapport with your servers.  They quickly learn your likes, dislikes, and quirks in order to make recommendations or even to just stop asking whether you’d like cracked pepper on that.  It’s really nice to have our wine already pulled and waiting for us, and it’s really nice not having to repeat your likes, dislikes, and quirks every single evening.

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by *Miss G*

[Steelers36]

17 hours ago, Ombud said:

NOTE TO SELF: do not rebook cruises for a lower fare so I can keep 'Cruise with Confidence clause for bookings prior to 3/31/22' just in case 

You might want to update your NTS:

 

We don't think finances should affect decisions about your health, so if you feel ill and need to change your plans, we'll protect your cruise investment. Under our temporary Book with Confidence policy, we’ve taken the worry out of booking your next cruise:

• Cancel up to 30 days before you sail, and get your cancellation fees back as a Future Cruise Credit (FCC).
  • Applies to voyages departing through September 30, 2022.
  • Applies to bookings made through May 31, 2022.
  • To use the FCCs created as part of this program, book your cruise within a year from the date you received your credit, and sail by September 30, 2023.
• NEW: Within 30 days of your sail date, we've got you covered with our new COVID-19 Protection Program.

[cltnccruisers]

3 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

This may be the same thinking which prompted Princess to force a one-size-fits-all approach.

 

 

 

This doesn’t even make the list of things I want to experience on a cruise.  

 

 

 

One of the nice things about cruising, for us, is gathering over the evening meal to discuss the day’s activities.  We each have different interests so it’s a perfect touching point, just as it was when our parents were growing up, we were growing up, and our children growing up.  Basically it comes down to tradition and familiarity.

 

@CLTNCCruiser touches on the same things which we enjoy about building a rapport with your servers.  They quickly learn your likes, dislikes, and quirks in order to make recommendations or even to just stop asking whether you’d like cracked pepper on that.  It’s really nice to have our wine already pulled and waiting for us, and it’s really nice not having to repeat your likes, dislikes, and quirks every single evening.

I'd forgotten about the pepper.  I think they'd put it in my coffee if I let them.  Speaking of coffee, we're used to having coffee served while waiting for desert then topped off during.  On Princess we had to ask for it early or else they'd take our coffee order when desert was served.  I found that really odd.

[Ombud]

2 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

I'd forgotten about the pepper.  I think they'd put it in my coffee if I let them.  Speaking of coffee, we're used to having coffee served while waiting for desert then topped off during.  On Princess we had to ask for it early or else they'd take our coffee order when desert was served.  I found that really odd.

No pepper or I gag really bad, turn blueish, hard to catch my breath. Coffee from salad through dessert. And plain gelato or sorbet. No toppings. Just a chocolate chip cookie. Yes I'm picky

 

Can't wait until I'm back at IC & MDR 🙂