Embarkation Day Lunch

[BettyNL]

Other than the buffet …. Are any of the sit down dining rooms open ??

[chrysalis]

yes...and it depends on the ship as to which are available

[skynight]

Normally one of the mid ship DR's is open from noon until 1:30. Which DR depends on the ship. It will be shown in the Patter. If you do not go to your cabin first then just take a look at these DRs to see which one is open. On Royal Class ships Alfredo's, mid ship, (called Gigi's on the newest ships) is open from 11am until mid evening. It is waiter served individual made to order pizza and other fare. There is no charge. The Grand and Sapphire also have an Alfredo's, but serve only pizza. The international Cafe, no charge for food, is open with sandwiches, salads, and other selections. Seating is in a Piazza. The grill and pizza by the slice is open by the lido pool with seating all around. Also no charge.

Edited September 6, 2022 by skynight

[pathi]

Yep, tell us which ship you are sailing and we can give you details. As a rule the deck 6 midship dining room is open 12pm to 1:30pm.

 

Lots of other places to eat also.

[geoherb]

On the Caribbean Princess last month, the Coral Dining Room was open from 11:30 until 1:30 on embarkation day. I missed it due to the shuttle fiasco at LaGuardia. Fortunately they repeated the menu for lunch one day later in the cruise. 

[SiliconCruiser]

5 hours ago, BettyNL said:

Other than the buffet …. Are any of the sit down dining rooms open ??

The crew will tell you that you have to go to the buffet.  They will not tell you that there is a MDR open.

As mentioned, the MDR on the 6th floor is generally used for lunch on embarkation day.  It seems that the hours that have been listed vary a bit, but the window for lunch is somewhat limited.  Our experience has bee 11:30-1:00 but I'm sure that may vary depending on the ship and available staffing.

[KreinKrunker]

4 hours ago, SiliconCruiser said:

The crew will tell you that you have to go to the buffet.  They will not tell you that there is a MDR open.

Not true on the three cruises we've been on since Nov 2021.

 

Definitely true in the past, they told you it was only open for In-Transit passengers.  Still probably true on some ships. 

Edited September 7, 2022 by KreinKrunker

[BettyNL]

5 hours ago, SiliconCruiser said:

The crew will tell you that you have to go to the buffet.  They will not tell you that there is a MDR 

Exactly … they always try to steer you to the buffet BUT those in the know, know an MDR is open !!

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for the information! Is it Deck 6 on the Discovery Princess as well?

[GOARMY]

Specific information accurate as of August 21st when we boarded Discovery at Seattle.  

 

The Main Skagway Dining Room on Deck 6 was open.  After checking-in at our assigned Muster Station--and being crossed off the List, went to STARBOARD entrance.  It was open.  Then, upon presenting our Medallion(s), a pleasant Staff person advised us to--

 

Go PORT to Club Class Dining venue--just across the hall. 

 

Which we did.  Had forgotten we were booked in Club Class.  But, to the point--Main Skagway Dining Room was open on embarkation day.   

 

GOARMY!

 

 

 

 

[SiliconCruiser]

1 hour ago, BettyNL said:

Exactly … they always try to steer you to the buffet BUT those in the know, know an MDR is open !!

We didn't know, but on our very first Princess cruise, my SIL told us to get on board as early as possible (disregard any time they told us to board) and then go to the MDR for a leisurely lunch (and then head for the buffet if I was still hungry.  Now that I'm a few years older and can barely finish the food in the MDR, we still get on early.  We board before PES.

 

[skynight]

Embarkation/turn around day lunch in the MDR is not a secret. It is published in the Princess Dining Guide, first line under lunch.

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

Edited September 7, 2022 by skynight

[Mike45LC]

3 hours ago, skynight said:

Embarkation/turn around day lunch in the MDR is not a secret. It is published in the Princess Dining Guide, first line under lunch.

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

But access to your cabin is not generally allowed until after 1:00 p.m.,  How many passengers rush to their cabin at 1:00 p.m. to grab the Patter from the bed and turn immediately to "Dining Hours"?  The passenger would then have to run down to the Sixth Floor and try to get into the MDR before the doors slam at 1:30.  Yeah, right, this disclosure is designed (along with deliberate misinformation from staff) to keep us from knowing.  

 

It is the staff lying to embarking passengers that really bothers me.  Even when I specifically ask which MDR is open, the staff lies.

[sloopsailor]

24 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

But access to your cabin is not generally allowed until after 1:00 p.m.,  How many passengers rush to their cabin at 1:00 p.m. to grab the Patter from the bed and turn immediately to "Dining Hours"?  The passenger would then have to run down to the Sixth Floor and try to get into the MDR before the doors slam at 1:30.  Yeah, right, this disclosure is designed (along with deliberate misinformation from staff) to keep us from knowing.  

 

It is the staff lying to embarking passengers that really bothers me.  Even when I specifically ask which MDR is open, the staff lies.

 

Interesting. So the staff are liars. They all are out to deliberately ruin your vacation, correct? Best you try another type of vacation where the staff is honest instead of having to deal with these scoundrels. 

Edited September 7, 2022 by sloopsailor

[Mike45LC]

43 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Interesting. So the staff are liars. They all are out to deliberately ruin your vacation, correct? Best you try another type of vacation where the staff is honest instead of having to deal with these scoundrels. 

Sloppy, it is well established that during embarkation, even between 11:30 and 1:30, the staff incorrectly tells passengers that no main dining room is open.   Not only have other members of this forum reported it, but it has happened to me at least four times.  Each time, I was misinformed that there was no MDR open and that I should go to the buffet (no mention of Alfredo's or IC).   Fortunately for me, I knew better.

 

I have not suggested that the staff is out to ruin my vacation.  Their misinformation did not in fact ruin my vacation.    If it had, I would no longer be cruising, as you suggest.

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, Mike45LC said:

It is the staff lying to embarking passengers that really bothers me.  Even when I specifically ask which MDR is open, the staff lies.

Happened to me...one time. I never asked after that, just went straight to deck 6.

[sloopsailor]

23 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

Sloppy, it is well established that during embarkation, even between 11:30 and 1:30, the staff incorrectly tells passengers that no main dining room is open.   Not only have other members of this forum reported it, but it has happened to me at least four times.  Each time, I was misinformed that there was no MDR open and that I should go to the buffet (no mention of Alfredo's or IC).   Fortunately for me, I knew better.

 

I have not suggested that the staff is out to ruin my vacation.  Their misinformation did not in fact ruin my vacation.    If it had, I would no longer be cruising, as you suggest.

 

You are the one being sloppy. Actually, "disrespectful" is closer than sloppy. Most likely the staff has been instructed to guide people to other dining venues instead of guiding people to a limited location that will only be available a limited duration, as a form of crowd control. They might be following orders. They certainly aren't "lying" to you for their own nefarious reasons.

 

What if they directed you to the correct dining room, and by the time you arrived the available time had ended and the doors were closed. I would bet you would then be calling them yet another disrespectful name.

 

Calling them liars is extreme at best, and insulting at worst. Not very gracious on your part. 

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by sloopsailor

[trbarton]

All of the Princess cruises I have been on the MDR on deck 6 was opened from 12 noon - 1:30 pm. 
 

Tom😀

[Wakepatrol]

5 hours ago, skynight said:

Embarkation/turn around day lunch in the MDR is not a secret. It is published in the Princess Dining Guide, first line under lunch.

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

There’s also a disadvantage to eating in the dining room.

if you head to the buffet you can people watch and see who you want to avoid on the  upcoming cruise 

Edited September 7, 2022 by Wakepatrol

[Mike45LC]

2 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

Most likely the staff has been instructed to guide people to other dining venues instead of guiding people to a limited location that will only be available a limited duration, as a form of crowd control. They might be following orders. They certainly aren't "lying" to you for their own nefarious reasons.

 

You are almost certainly correct.  I believe that the staff has been instructed by the supervisors to give out false information.  Don't you agree that when the staff lies, even if under orders to lie, they are lying?  Wherein lies our disagreement?

 

If the concern is that the MDR closes at 1:30 and I might be disappointed if the MDR is already at full capacity, an honest response would be "The _____ Dining Room is open until 1:30 p.m., but they are likely already full and they might not be able to accommodate you before they close.  I suggest you go to the buffet on the Lido deck instead."  

[sloopsailor]

35 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

I believe that the staff has been instructed by the supervisors to give out false information.  Don't you agree that when the staff lies, even if under orders to lie, they are lying?  Wherein lies our disagreement?

 

Nope, I am not a snowflake that can't handle the staff doing what they are told. I don't get offended as easily as you.

 

This all reminds me that some people just HAVE to be incensed by something, even if it is something they have to blow out of proportion to satisfy their agenda.

 

BTW: This comment isn't directed at you - unless you think it should be. 

Edited September 8, 2022 by sloopsailor

[SiliconCruiser]

4 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Interesting. So the staff are liars. They all are out to deliberately ruin your vacation, correct? Best you try another type of vacation where the staff is honest instead of having to deal with these scoundrels. 

No they're given a script of answers to give to passengers, just like the answers that you'll get when you call a company and your call gets routed to an off-shore call center.  Most of the people that you'll encounter when you board are probably people that work behind the scenes and may not normally have customer contact.  Also probably because some people may try to go to the MDR after 1:00.

[SiliconCruiser]

3 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

Calling them liars is extreme at best, and insulting at worst. Not very gracious on your part. 

 

Don't be that forgiving ... if they are challenged (when you know there is an MDR open) they will lie overtly and may even become argumentative.  Bear in mind that English is not their native language so they may not understand everything.

 

[SiliconCruiser]

3 hours ago, trbarton said:

All of the Princess cruises I have been on the MDR on deck 6 was opened from 12 noon - 1:30 pm. 
 

Tom😀

We are usually advised as to when the MDR would open for lunch, but only by MDR staff or staff on the 6th floor.  Crew members "welcoming" you on board would never tell you that.  I started ignoring them entirely beginning with my 2nd Princess cruise, especially when they insisted on packing us in one set of elevators (I had already figured out that all of the ships had elevators forward, mid-ship, and aft.

[The Mikado]

10 minutes ago, SiliconCruiser said:

…if they are challenged (when you know there is an MDR open) they will lie overtly and may even become argumentative.

Wow. I don’t know that I’d use vacation services that lied to me every time I asked when I’d asked the same question every time.