Booking specialty restaurant with onboard credit before boarding

[Tinkerbell]

59 minutes ago, donswife said:

Open the app.

scroll down to the 3rd  "box" (Ocean NOW) and click Dine My Way

click the 2nd choice (daily reservations)

click the light blue box of the day you want to book

click add reservation

click specialty dining

select your travel party, if appropriate, then continue

a default time will show. If it doesn't show the time at the restaurant you want, try a different time

click select this table

if it recognizes your complimentary dinner, it will show a credit under the cover charge and the total will be zero.

Click confirm, and you are all set.  Then you can view your reservation.

I hope this works.

It worked and showed $0 thank you so much for the help!

[konatyme]

Just be sure to check your onboard account. We, too, had 1 specialty dining each as part of the promotional package when we booked. It showed on the Medallion app at the top of the Dine My Way page ($29 dining credit each or something like that). When I booked it, it showed $0 charge, but when I checked our account a couple days before the end of the cruise, we suddenly each had a $29 charge. Guest services took it off, marking as a "goodwill credit", even though I could show them the invoice where it was part of a promo package fare.

[ChutChut]

On 9/17/2022 at 10:41 PM, BCCRUSINGCOUPLE said:

Hope someone can help me with this.  I was on line tonight looking to book the steak house we sail on Tuesday.  I have onboard credit when I go to book the reservation it wants to charge my credit card.  Do  i need to book on ship to use my credit 

I reserved my excursions with OBC but Princess charged my CC for specialty restaurants. However, if you change your mind within 5 days (I believe) of the cruise, Princess will automatically credit your cc for the amount.

[Walace]

Does anyone know when the ‘credit’ for the included specialty dining for Princess Premier appears in the app (or, indeed, how it shows)?

 

I have booked and only paid the deposit so far. As I’m Platinum level on Captain’s Circle I’m able to book dining at this stage, however when I select the speciality dining it only shows a paid for option (I’ve always stopped before I’ve pressed the ‘confirm reservation’ button). Do I need to wait until the full balance for the cruise has been paid?

[hpeabody]

My current experience ... I had a "free" specialty dining perk as part of my booking.  Well, it was not free after all.  I had to pay up front using a live person. I found my credit card had been charged even though I was told no charge, they saw my "free" perk.  I called Princess before the cruise and was told I had to see Passenger Services to request a refund.  I did and was told they have no way to refund my credit card, all they do is give you OBC.  So I ended up paying for my "free" specialty dining.  Very sneaky Princess, having us pay for "free" perks this way.   IMO it really does not have to be done that way.  Why not allow a reservation when they can see we have a "free" perk.  Just another money grab.

 

Had I waited until I was on board I would likely not have been able to find a reservation available.

[Walace]

22 hours ago, hpeabody said:

My current experience ... I had a "free" specialty dining perk as part of my booking.  Well, it was not free after all.  I had to pay up front using a live person. I found my credit card had been charged even though I was told no charge, they saw my "free" perk.  I called Princess before the cruise and was told I had to see Passenger Services to request a refund.  I did and was told they have no way to refund my credit card, all they do is give you OBC.  So I ended up paying for my "free" specialty dining.  Very sneaky Princess, having us pay for "free" perks this way.   IMO it really does not have to be done that way.  Why not allow a reservation when they can see we have a "free" perk.  Just another money grab.

 

Had I waited until I was on board I would likely not have been able to find a reservation available.

Did you book your speciality restaurant before or after paying your full balance for the cruise? At the moment I’ve only paid the deposit and I’m unsure if the ‘credit’ for the speciality dining only becomes available once I’ve paid in full?

 

I don’t mind getting the on board credit as we’ll likely use it over two weeks on the ship - I’d rather have that than not be able to book the speciality restaurants that we want to visit.

[Cruise till you drop]

On 9/18/2022 at 8:11 AM, PacnGoNow said:

When you reserve on the website version, it charges your CC on file. So, best to wait till OB if you’re using OBC.

 

 

 

That really sucks cause people have OBC to use and specialty dining spots sometimes get used up quickly so waiting till you get onboard doesn’t work

[PacnGoNow]

4 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

That really sucks cause people have OBC to use and specialty dining spots sometimes get used up quickly so waiting till you get onboard doesn’t work

That’s an old post.  Depends on the SD you have.  If it’s a promotional SD included or Suite free one, you will see 0 charged when you book it.

 

If you have OBC and you want to use it for SD, yes it is to be used OB.  We’ve never had a problem booking the SD.

I just call the Dine line in the room 1st or 2nd day and book my SD, or as we go along.  Some of the shorter 7 day cruises may be a little harder if they are full.

 

 

[loveschoc]

I recently booked specialy dining in the Crown Grill for six people.

I thought my on board credit would be used for this.

However, Princess immediately charged my credit card. . I only discovered it as I monitor my credit card charges often and it showed up on my statement right away.

Waiting to book onboard did not work on my last cruise, as this specialty restaurant was completely booked since it was a short cruise.

So this time, I made the reservation weeks in advance of the cruise,   but  would have  preferred to be able to use the onboard credit to cover this speciality restaurant.

[PacnGoNow]

6 hours ago, loveschoc said:

I recently booked specialy dining in the Crown Grill for six people.

I thought my on board credit would be used for this.

However, Princess immediately charged my credit card. . I only discovered it as I monitor my credit card charges often and it showed up on my statement right away.

Waiting to book onboard did not work on my last cruise, as this specialty restaurant was completely booked since it was a short cruise.

So this time, I made the reservation weeks in advance of the cruise,   but  would have  preferred to be able to use the onboard credit to cover this speciality restaurant.

OBC is to be used once your “on board”.

 

Exception, you can use it to purchase excursions pre cruise, except TA OBC sometimes is only available once OB.

 

We have always waited until OB to book SD and not had a problem.  However,  with 6 people, it’s a little harder, especially if you are on a shorter cruise, full ship or holiday period.