Do you have to make dining reservations?

[kristapb]

I booked a Princess cruise for next January.  I haven't been on Princess for a while, and was unaware of the new Medallion gizmo.  I really enjoy anytime dining on cruises, and was concerned when reading about the Medallion that I will be required to make dining reservations every day, rather than just showing up when the mood strikes me.  What happens if I carry on like this, rather than making reservations?  I don't mind waiting for 20-30 minutes at busy times. If that no longer works on Princess, I guess I will cancel, although I was looking forward to sailing on Princess again.   

[riffatsea]

In the MDR you do not have to make reservations

You can still walk up when you wish

Some people like to have their own special table

If you don't like that m idea then don't do it

[Cuedon]

You aren't required to make reservations in advance, but if you want to eat before 7PM, it's a good idea to since, it depends on how busy the ship is, but I've seen wait times of an hour. Ship capacities of 70% or less are probably fine if you're okay with a 20min wait though.

 

You can also try and book a reservation morning of, after you see the schedule, but early slots are often full up by then.

[wowzz]

If you have an idea of when you want to eat, make a reservation sometime during that day.

Otherwise,  just turn up. You may get a buzzer, and have to retire to a bar, but that is  no hardship !

Some people are fixated about booking a reservation in advance for every night of the cruise - my idea of hell ! We just turn up when we feel hungry !

Edited May 8, 2022 by wowzz

[Tedferg]

21 minutes ago, wowzz said:

You may get a buzzer, and have to retire to a bar, but that is no hardship!

 

Recent experience on Majestic, there were no buzzers. First night was a madhouse, even reservations were a long, long line. We had no reservation; they took our cabin number, and we joined a crowd in a nearby area. So, did not have convenience of retiring to a bar. Afterwards we took your advice and made reservations each day using the App.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Tedferg said:

Recent experience on Majestic, there were no buzzers. First night was a madhouse, even reservations were a long, long line. We had no reservation; they took our cabin number, and we joined a crowd in a nearby area. So, did not have convenience of retiring to a bar. Afterwards we took your advice and made reservations each day using the App.

I think the problem at the moment is that the experience varies from ship to ship, and from one cruise to another. Your experience was different to ours on Sky a few months ago. 

We'll find out what Regal is like in a couple of weeks.

Fortunately we have a club class cabin this time round (probably first and last time! ) so won't have to worry about queues.

[Tedferg]

12 minutes ago, wowzz said:

I think the problem at the moment is that the experience varies from ship to ship, and from one cruise to another. Your experience was different to ours on Sky a few months ago. 

We'll find out what Regal is like in a couple of weeks.

Fortunately we have a club class cabin this time round (probably first and last time! ) so won't have to worry about queues.

Sky had buzzer? Much better system.

[FlaMariner]

From the Sky in March......

 

We made MDR reservations for 5:30pm every night pre-cruise.....I seriously do not think it mattered if we had reservations......but we had to beg, plead and request for a certain table that we preferred (after enduring tables for two that are only a foot from the other table for two on evening 1).  It was never guaranteed to us. 

 

When we would leave (around 6:30pm) sometimes there were lines up the stairwell waiting to dine.  No buzzers....just frustrated passengers.  

 

If I was sailing Princess again (which we will never do again) I'd definitely make reservations pre-cruise so I had something......And then on night 1, I'd scope out a table I liked and then do my best to beg for that table the remainder of the cruise.

 

Good luck.  Not for us anymore. 

 

 

[Nebr.cruiser]

We made no reservations on our Discovery cruise--we really don't even want to be locked into a certain time.  We always went to the first show, then on to the dining room and never had much of a wait--maybe 5 minutes once.  Our only (very funny) glitch was that there are 3 in our party and one poor confused person couldn't fined a 'table for three'.  She had to be told just to seat us at a table for four.😂

 

We don't care if we have the same table or servers, but if you do, I guess reservations make sense, although I'm not sure they helped on many cruises due to the Medallion not working right at times.

 

If you want to eat early, probably try to reserve.  Whenever we walked near a dining room early, there was a big crowd/line.

[kristapb]

Thanks all for the comments.  I guess I'll just wait a while and hope Princess gets their act together.  It's a long time until January.

[Moondogy]

It also might help when they open all 3 of the MD's instead of just having 2 opened. Our app is showing that we only have a choice of 2 MD's on our cruise in August. And from what I've been reading that is SOP atm.

[julia]

Princess has managed to ruin the MDR experience completely and "reservations" are a joke.

[Steelers36]

11 hours ago, kristapb said:

Thanks all for the comments.  I guess I'll just wait a while and hope Princess gets their act together.  It's a long time until January.

You will be able to do what you want - be a walk-up.  Or, you could always check for a res same-day if you know the approximate time you want.  Princess has only been releasing 2 of 3 DR's into the App for pre-booking with the 3rd held back until voyage date.  So, there should be space to be found.  Also, I expect dining improvements as we roll through 2022.

[H2oman]

Can anyone tell me the MDR experience with club class dining?

We are on the Royal the later part of May.

 

[nattie]

We did Regal in January and wanted to try the dining room at the back of the ship that used to be for "set time" dining only. The experience there was AWFUL. Next time we went to one of the regular dining rooms, had wonderful wait staff and were offered to get that table reserved for us for the rest of the cruise. We had no issues from that point forward!

So I guess it all depends... 

[Steelers36]

22 minutes ago, nattie said:

We did Regal in January and wanted to try the dining room at the back of the ship that used to be for "set time" dining only. The experience there was AWFUL. Next time we went to one of the regular dining rooms, had wonderful wait staff and were offered to get that table reserved for us for the rest of the cruise. We had no issues from that point forward!

So I guess it all depends... 

We prefer mid-ship DR location as well.  That is not to say there are great waiters in the Aft DR.  For now, all we can get for same time at a Private table for our dining party is the Aft DR.  But I will be trying to move it.

[Steelers36]

25 minutes ago, H2oman said:

Can anyone tell me the MDR experience with club class dining?

We are on the Royal the later part of May.

 

You show up at the DR door and let the greeter(s) know you are CC and they will direct you to that area.  It's just inside the door.  Someone will show you to a table.  If tables are all occupied (seems rare), you may have a few minutes wait.  You go for dinner whenever it suits you.  Same menus, but possibly an extra dish some nights. 

[donswife]

1 hour ago, H2oman said:

Can anyone tell me the MDR experience with club class dining?

We are on the Royal the later part of May.

 

We have had Club Class twice and only had a 5 minute wait once or twice. 

[H2oman]

Thanks for the replies