CLUB CLASS

[rln44]

WORTH THE EXTRA COST?

[memoak]

Club class dining is no wait great service and extra items. What is it worth is up to you. Some think it is and some say no. It is great but costs more. Personally I opt for full suites for the added perks over a club class mini

[snoozecrooze]

Lots of discussion already in many threads on this forum. Search "Club Class" or "Reserve Collection" (its new name) in the searchbox.

 

To me, it also depends on the ship you will be on. Sun and Star have a new exclusive Reserve Collection dining room and that may or may not be something you would like.

[Colorado Coasty]

58 minutes ago, rln44 said:

WORTH THE EXTRA COST?

Priceless!

[Ken the cruiser]

That's all we book, as we are low stress cruisers and enjoy the various perks listed on this link.

 

Reserve Collection Mini-Suites - Princess Cruises

 

[dlh015]

Love, love, love the Club Class/Reserve Collection! Great service, no waiting...

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, rln44 said:

WORTH THE EXTRA COST?

To us, no.  

 

You can have Specialty Dining every single night for less.

[cr8tiv1]

31 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

To us, no.  

 

You can have Specialty Dining every single night for less.

 

I will admit that I am spoiled by "Reserved Class MDR".  But at the same time, I have had 3 excellent experiences on the Grand, Diamond, and Emerald in the "regular" MDR. 

 

All 3 recent cruises: 

Same time each night

Same table each night

Same EXCELLENT wait staff each night.

Assistant manager took care of my pre-orders.

 

On the Diamond, I was seated near Reserved Class section.  I was treated to the special pasta dish and the Peach Melba.  

 

IF ONLY, Princess would bring back Traditional Dining.  sigh

 

[Daisyloo]

It was worth it to us.  No waiting to be seated for meals, same waiters each time, great mid ship mini suite.  Loved it.

[marden1970]

For us, no.  We've been in suites our last few cruises and love the club class dining.  But the ships on which we sail the location is the problem.  They are all on the dolphin deck and the balconies are not covered at all.  That's a no go for me.

[mrmarklin]

No waiting is worth a lot. 

[waltd]

For us, only for the right price.

[dave_k58]

WE would probably get it again, but our 25 year old grandson is coming solo has a separate cabin. I don't think he could come with us to the special dining area, so we will just eat with him in the MDR. OUr last two times on CC - we didn't get any special menu items that I noticed, and the free 1/2 bottles of wine were terrible lol. I don't know about the canapes, because we always forgot to order any.the cabin is the same as a regular mini - but in a better location

 

 

[MissP22]

If you eat early, it's not worth any extra since we always get the same table each night. We still get great service from the same waiters and although there aren't any extra dishes prepared each evening we're always satisfied with the regular menu. 

[rln44]

Thanks for all of the replies.  We haven't traveled on Princess for many years, but have booked a  mini suite on the 8/21 sailing of the Emerald Princess.  The general consensus seems to be that club class is worthwhile unless you are already booked in a  full suite.  We have placed a bid on a full suite and will probably place a bid on an upgrade to club class.

[Princessfan20]

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

If you eat early, it's not worth any extra since we always get the same table each night. We still get great service from the same waiters and although there aren't any extra dishes prepared each evening we're always satisfied with the regular menu. 

 

Totally agree.  We have always sailed in Club Class when it first started and it was much more affordable.

As the price has increased we have decided since our last 21 day Med cruise this summer that it really is just not worth it anymore.  Happy to get to MDR early and enjoy the same level of service as Reserved Class as it is called now.  The special dishes are always some form of pasta and usually not that earth shaking.

[memoak]

38 minutes ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

Totally agree.  We have always sailed in Club Class when it first started and it was much more affordable.

As the price has increased we have decided since our last 21 day Med cruise this summer that it really is just not worth it anymore.  Happy to get to MDR early and enjoy the same level of service as Reserved Class as it is called now.  The special dishes are always some form of pasta and usually not that earth shaking.

On our last 5 cruises 90% of extra dishes in club class were meat entrees like steak Diane, duck entrees and once in awhile a pasta. The waiter has always announced the extra dish when giving us our menus

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

Totally agree.  We have always sailed in Club Class when it first started and it was much more affordable.

As the price has increased we have decided since our last 21 day Med cruise this summer that it really is just not worth it anymore.  Happy to get to MDR early and enjoy the same level of service as Reserved Class as it is called now.  The special dishes are always some form of pasta and usually not that earth shaking.

I really think it makes some folks feel special knowing that they're dining on items that others aren't eating. 

Other than having seating waiting for you when ever you arrive, I've never missed out on any of those tableside prepared items.

[cruzsnooze]

It's all about the price and value. I have a cruise booked for next year and the Reserve Class is $100 PP PD. Poor value. I think I'll go to specialty dining a few times and save a bundle when I back down to a regular Mini.

[memoak]

22 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

It's all about the price and value. I have a cruise booked for next year and the Reserve Class is $100 PP PD. Poor value. I think I'll go to specialty dining a few times and save a bundle when I back down to a regular Mini.

On our cruise a few weeks ago people who had reservations for regular dining were being told it would a one hour wait and then tried to barge into club class sincerely the saw empty tables. The ship was packed and they were handing our beepers to tons of people on a sea day it was over an hour to get into a dining room or even pizzeria. As the now sail at 100% or more capacity the club class really has more value. I felt sorry for the club class managers who spent all their time arguing with people. At times the line for the regular MDR was way out into the hallway 45 minutes before they opened as all the families with kids wanted to eat early and there were 600 kids on the ship 

[stevenr597]

When we book Princess we select Club Class.  When we do Celebrity we book Aqua Class. 

[CruiserN1]

We're doing Reserve Class for the first time on our cruise on Crown in two weeks. It added about $500 to the cost of the cruise total for the two of us, so it seemed worth it. We'll see if it still feels worth it at the end of the cruise.

[J13C85]

57 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I really think it makes some folks feel special knowing that they're dining on items that others aren't eating. 

Other than having seating waiting for you when ever you arrive, I've never missed out on any of those tableside prepared items.

For us, it was not the extra dish per se that made the meal feel more special, it was the tableside preparation that elevated the meal. On our last trip we had nothing prepared tableside.

[J13C85]

49 minutes ago, memoak said:

On our cruise a few weeks ago people who had reservations for regular dining were being told it would a one hour wait and then tried to barge into club class sincerely the saw empty tables. The ship was packed and they were handing our beepers to tons of people on a sea day it was over an hour to get into a dining room or even pizzeria. As the now sail at 100% or more capacity the club class really has more value. I felt sorry for the club class managers who spent all their time arguing with people. At times the line for the regular MDR was way out into the hallway 45 minutes before they opened as all the families with kids wanted to eat early and there were 600 kids on the ship 

That was what we saw on our last trip on Sky.

[J13C85]

22 hours ago, memoak said:

Club class dining is no wait great service and extra items. What is it worth is up to you. Some think it is and some say no. It is great but costs more. Personally I opt for full suites for the added perks over a club class mini

We also opt for the full suite. With Club/Reserve class, you do get an early boarding (after full suite and elites) but you do not get the Free Embarkation Night Specialty Dining, The Free Mini Bar Setup, the free laundry etc. Also, for loyalty, you do not get "double credit" (when sailing in a full suite 1 cruise actually counts as 2).

 

Ther first time we sailed in a full suite, we had a Club Class Mini booked.  About 6 months before sailing Princess had a sale and we were able to upgrade to a full suite for less than our original Club Class booking. The problem with the full suite is once you have one it is next to impossible to go back. Talk about first world problems, lol.