Yet another question about the Plus package and casual dining

[mamafun]

So the way I understand it, the Plus package gives you two meals at casual dining locations.  But, I saw this and now I'm confused:

 

If both I and my husband have the Plus package, we each get two casual meals, correct?

 

And if one casual meal at SDG includes two plates and one dessert ... does that use a casual meal credit from only one of us?  

 

I think I am making this more confusing.  I assumed we each got two casual dining credits, and we would each use one of those at a meal.  But from the screengrab above, a meal for two would only use one of the credits.  Am I making any sense?

[mamafun]

It's just looking like we would actually be able to enjoy four casual meals if we each get two credits, and each credit (at least at Salty Dog) would give us two plates.

 

[HotRoot]

5 minutes ago, mamafun said:

It's just looking like we would actually be able to enjoy four casual meals if we each get two credits, and each credit (at least at Salty Dog) would give us two plates.

 

I have only looked at the menu at Salty Dog, never actually eaten there.  But, I think the two plates is one of a soup, salad, or appetizer.  The second plate would be your entree.

[reedprincess]

1 hour ago, mamafun said:

So the way I understand it, the Plus package gives you two meals at casual dining locations.  But, I saw this and now I'm confused:

 

If both I and my husband have the Plus package, we each get two casual meals, correct?

 

And if one casual meal at SDG includes two plates and one dessert ... does that use a casual meal credit from only one of us?  

 

I think I am making this more confusing.  I assumed we each got two casual dining credits, and we would each use one of those at a meal.  But from the screengrab above, a meal for two would only use one of the credits.  Am I making any sense?

Salty Dog Gastropub plates are small plates, not full size entrees. Hence 2 per meal.  

They're basically half size or appetizer sizes.   

While you could likely split it between two people, it would be more of a light snack, rather than a meal doing that.

 

See below.. Short rib poutine and lobster Mac and cheese.  As you can see, small portions.. 

Edited February 26 by reedprincess

[PMGS247]

As reed pointed out the standard serving for one person is 2 plates and a dessert.  Plates are small, somewhere between an appetizer & an entrée, so 2 will get you to the normally expected amount of food in an appetizer + entrée.

 

I don't know if they'd actually turn you down from sharing 1 if you wanted to.  Maybe.  It certainly wouldn't be a very big meal split two ways.

[Muffinz]

thanks for posting this - we have the plus package on our cruise in December

so we can go to Salty Dog Gastropub and get 1 of those small plates each and that will count as 1 casual meal each?

[cruise4mom]

Casual dining meal is outlined: on Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages will enjoy savory prix fixe dining options in the ship's casual restaurants, including Vines, Salty Dog Pub, O’Malleys, Ocean Terrace, Planks, Steamers, Alfredo’s, and GiGi’s. The addition of new three-course, pre-fixed menus gives Plus and Premier guests more food options than ever before without any extra charges. For those who prefer sailing on Princess Standard, the casual prix fixe dining will be $14.99 and individual selections will continue with a la carte pricing.

 

its a 3 course meal….you would get 2 meals, total, with Plus. Unlimited with Premier 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Muffinz said:

thanks for posting this - we have the plus package on our cruise in December

so we can go to Salty Dog Gastropub and get 1 of those small plates each and that will count as 1 casual meal each?

The idea of guests from same cabin sharing a Prix Fixe meal option and only being charged one of their free meal visits was debated almost endlessly on here last year.  TBH, I don't recall how many actual reports from people on a ship who has PLUS fare option and tried this and were either successful or not.  We can establish that Standard Fare guests can share whatever they order as they pay either a la carte or prix fixe.  Same for Premier guests since they have unlimited meals, so they could order whatever they want.

 

I am quite sure it would be considered out of bounds for a Plus/Premier guest to share their food with a Standard guest, but how is this being monitored/enforced?  I don't know that we ever got a number of definitive answers.  As always, experiences can vary depending on the ship involved.

[Ellipooh]

I appreciate the "small plates" explanation.  That's not immediately apparent from the description, and I assumed the Plus benefit would serve 2 persons sharing one dessert.  As a solo traveler, I was trying to figure out how to maximize this, but now I understand that the benefit is essentially a single meal.

[tserface]

From what I understand from the past threads on this subject Princess will charge you each for a meal even if you share it.  For example, if you go to Gigi's or Alfredos and just want one pizza they will charge you for 2 anyway.  To make it worse, you only get 2 casual dining visits regardless of the length of the cruise (7 days... 2 means ... 14 days ... 2 meals) even though they charge you daily for the Plus Package. I think they consider the casual dining, desserts, fitness visits, etc. kind of like a bonus include or promotional thing. 

 

It seems kind of unfair to a lot of people, but it is what it is...

[mamafun]

Thank you all for responding! I figured it was something like the small plates you've explained, but it never hurts to ask. 

[t&atravel]

2 minutes ago, mamafun said:

Thank you all for responding! I figured it was something like the small plates you've explained, but it never hurts to ask. 

Not all the casual restaurants have small plates.  The salty dog gastropub does but the Alfredos prix fix is a lot of food. You need to look at the menus to see what three course for each restaurant includes.

[2and2]

My experience last week was, as soon as a person orders even one thing, it is counted as a visit.  Example:  At Alfredo's, I got antipasti, pizza, and tiramisu. My wife got just tiramisu. Result was two visits used/charged.

[MacMadame]

5 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I don't recall how many actual reports from people on a ship who has PLUS fare option and tried this and were either successful or not

IIRC, it was a mixed bag. Not a lot of reports and with slightly more failures than successes, but with so few reports, it's hard to say.

 

ETA and @2and2's experience is yet another one who got charged for 2 meals when only 1 person ordered the fixed prix option.

Edited February 27 by MacMadame
more info

[Steelers36]

12 minutes ago, MacMadame said:

IIRC, it was a mixed bag. Not a lot of reports and with slightly more failures than successes, but with so few reports, it's hard to say.

 

ETA and @2and2's experience is yet another one who got charged for 2 meals when only 1 person ordered the fixed prix option.

That sounds like a situation that could be fixed on board and charges adjusted.

[MacMadame]

3 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

That sounds like a situation that could be fixed on board and charges adjusted.

Yeah, it might be better to charge one casual dining (free) and one a la carte dessert. 

[jagoffee]

6 hours ago, Muffinz said:

thanks for posting this - we have the plus package on our cruise in December

so we can go to Salty Dog Gastropub and get 1 of those small plates each and that will count as 1 casual meal each?

Yes.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

8 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

...

 

We can establish that Standard Fare guests can share whatever they order as they pay either a la carte or prix fixe.  Same for Premier guests since they have unlimited meals, so they could order whatever they want.

 

...

The way I understand it Plus and Premier guests cannot share any of the package benefits with others... even others that also have a package and that includes casual dining.

 

It is also not  accurate to say that Premier guests can order what they like. They can order a fixe-prix meal on one visit. That is it. What they can order is the same as a guest on Plus or a standard fare guest paying the cover charge. The thing is that they can return to have as many meals as they want.

 

For example... if I had Premier I could visit the restaurant and order a fixed-prix meal (1 app, 1 main, 1 dessert) but nothing else without paying for the extra items. It seems they are allowing swapping out one of the courses for a second of another (say, 2 apps and 1 dessert) but I am pretty sure that is unofficial.

Edited February 27 by Snaxmuppet

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

The way I understand it Plus and Premier guests cannot share any of the package benefits with others... even others that also have a package and that includes casual dining.

 

It is also not  accurate to say that Premier guests can order what they like. They can order a fixe-prix meal on one visit. That is it. What they can order is the same as a guest on Plus or a standard fare guest paying the cover charge. The thing is that they can return to have as many meals as they want.

 

For example... if I had Premier I could visit the restaurant and order a fixed-prix meal (1 app, 1 main, 1 dessert) but nothing else without paying for the extra items. It seems they are allowing swapping out one of the courses for a second of another (say, 2 apps and 1 dessert) but I am pretty sure that is unofficial.

Correct.  I didn't mean for my post to imply a guest could order up the entire menu at one sitting.  Yes, I am sure you could get two apps and no dessert or other reasonable swaps.  They have been flexible in the SD locations about that so why not CD as well.  A Premier guest would not need to order all three parts of a full meal either on a CD visit - like just decline dessert for example.  Same for a Plus.  I don't see why any crew would force the guest to take all parts and waste the food. 

 

A Premier guest could potentially visit each CD location on a ship in one day.  I know one poster a while back mused how long between one visit and the next must a Premier guest wait before being able to consume more free food (at the same location)?  Princess doesn't specify any limit per day like they do with alcoholic beverages.

[2and2]

Here is another thing I ran into. I got to where I was at a point where it was " use it or lose it". I at least wanted to try Ocean View before the cruise was over . So I decided to go get a California roll . I found I could do it, But I was there for a full hour.  It took ten minutes to finally catch a waiters attention, then forty minutes to get my single California roll  . In other words, the casual restaurants are now full service restaurants and not set up for getting a quick good meal. The time required to eat at the casual restaurants is to long now in my opinion. 

[startedwithamouse]

8 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Yes.

No, you can't share at Salty Dog if you both have dining credits.

Verified last week on Discovery.

[insidecabin]

10 hours ago, 2and2 said:

My experience last week was, as soon as a person orders even one thing, it is counted as a visit.  Example:  At Alfredo's, I got antipasti, pizza, and tiramisu. My wife got just tiramisu. Result was two visits used/charged.

That means you don't get to chose when you use your visit,  the first 2 visits count.

 

You should be able to declare this is a "Plus" visit or an a la carte visit on a per person basis. 

[memoak]

17 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

The idea of guests from same cabin sharing a Prix Fixe meal option and only being charged one of their free meal visits was debated almost endlessly on here last year.  TBH, I don't recall how many actual reports from people on a ship who has PLUS fare option and tried this and were either successful or not.  We can establish that Standard Fare guests can share whatever they order as they pay either a la carte or prix fixe.  Same for Premier guests since they have unlimited meals, so they could order whatever they want.

 

I am quite sure it would be considered out of bounds for a Plus/Premier guest to share their food with a Standard guest, but how is this being monitored/enforced?  I don't know that we ever got a number of definitive answers.  As always, experiences can vary depending on the ship involved.

We both travel with plus packages. On the last 2 cruises on the Crown they recommended sharing one charcuterie plate for both of us. That meant in a 16 day cruise we could eat there 4 times

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, insidecabin said:

That means you don't get to chose when you use your visit,  the first 2 visits count.

 

You should be able to declare this is a "Plus" visit or an a la carte visit on a per person basis. 

Yes, anything else is ridiculous imposition.  I'd discuss nicely with a manager.

[startedwithamouse]

6 hours ago, insidecabin said:

That means you don't get to chose when you use your visit,  the first 2 visits count.

 

You should be able to declare this is a "Plus" visit or an a la carte visit on a per person basis. 

You can dine alone.