I upgraded to the New Premier Package and saved $$$ but unable to book SD.

[shiner6]

My Transatlantic cruise on the Sun in March 2025 had a price drop, so I called my TA and had him rebook at a nice savings. I had already purchased the original Premier package, but now I have the upgraded Premier package which includes unlimited Specialty dining. I called my TA to assist in actually booking the restaurants. No luck! He tried so hard and so long to talk with different people at Princess, however, no reservations are available yet.   Has anyone else had success in booking meals with the new package yet?  I was told to keep trying closer to date of travel.  I am skeptical because of past problems with Princess package bookings. In February, I got burned on specialty dining on my Panama cruise. I could not book via my prepaid package, so, due to miscommunication, I ended up in line at guest services every day. I do not want a repeat of that experience. I even cancelled another Princess cruise to Europe because of the problems with Princess communication. I guess that I will have to wait and see what happens now. If I hadn't purchased so many Princess gift cards, I would have just cancelled this cruise as well. Here's hoping that Princess can "up their customer service game".

Edited August 16 by shiner6
1

[BlerkOne]

AFAIK, the new package hasn't taken effect, yet, on any ship. You may still have to pay for the dinners if you book in advance and get it sorted out on the ship.

[JimmyVWine]

35 minutes ago, shiner6 said:

My Transatlantic cruise on the Sun in March 2025 had a price drop, so I called my TA and had him rebook at a nice savings. I had already purchased the original Premier package, but now I have the upgraded Premier package which includes unlimited Specialty dining. I called my TA to assist in actually booking the restaurants. No luck! He tried so hard and so long to talk with different people at Princess, however, no reservations are available yet.   Has anyone else had success in booking meals with the new package yet?  I was told to keep trying closer to date of travel.  I am skeptical because of past problems with Princess package bookings. In February, I got burned on specialty dining on my Panama cruise. I could not book via my prepaid package, so, due to miscommunication, I ended up in line at guest services every day. I do not want a repeat of that experience. I even cancelled another Princess cruise to Europe because of the problems with Princess communication. I guess that I will have to wait and see what happens now. If I hadn't purchased so many Princess gift cards, I would have just cancelled this cruise as well. Here's hoping that Princess can "up their customer service game".

1.  Are you eligible to book reservations now? (Elite; Platinum; or fully paid up);

2. It is not unusual that dining options are not available this far out in advance.

3. Are you trying on the app by putting in a date and time and then selecting "Specialty" or "Main Dining", or are you clicking on the specific restaurant that you are interested in and selecting "Make a New Reservation."?  I have failed using the former but succeeded every time using the latter method. 

Edited August 16 by JimmyVWine

[arizonaperson]

Maybe one can not book specialty yet because of the roll out??

 

The rollout schedule for the Princess Premier package enhancements is as follows:

 

• Enchanted Princess: August 31
• Majestic Princess; Sky Princess: September 1
• Crown Princess: September 2
• Ruby Princess: September 3
• Grand Princess: September 4
• Emerald Princess; Discovery Princess; Sun Princess: September 7
• Caribbean Princess; Regal Princess: September 12
• Royal Princess; Sapphire Princess: September 14
• Island Princess: September 25
• Diamond Princess: September 26
• Coral Princess: October 17

Guests who previously purchased Princess Premier can upgrade by contacting their travel advisor or by calling 1-800-PRINCESS (1-800-774-6237). More details can be found at here https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages.

[shiner6]

Well, now this makes sense!  I did call my TA and he called Princess-was on the phone for an hour today. The Princess expert told us that they were having trouble with the dining app and to try at a later date. I knew Cruise critic members would have more helpful information than the Princess rep.  Thank you!

Edited August 16 by shiner6
2

[Abercrombie2019]

My CVP was frustrated today because many customers could not upgrade to the new premier yet or book specialty dining without being charged.  The CVP seemed to think it would get easier to upgrade and book SD once we reach the rollout date for each ship.  @arizonaperson listed the rollout schedule in post #4 above.

(My CVP hinted that more changes are coming soon.)

 

Edited August 16 by Abercrombie2019

[dog]

2 minutes ago, Abercrombie2019 said:

My CVP was frustrated today because many customers could not upgrade to the new premier yet or book specialty dining without being charged.  The CVP seemed to think it would get easier to upgrade and book SD once we reach the rollout date for each ship.  @arizonaperson listed the rollout schedule in post #4 above.

 

 

That will be fine if you don’t care eating really late. At this point for my October Sun cruise I only see a couple of restaurants available and most times are after 8 pm.

[Abercrombie2019]

1 minute ago, dog said:

That will be fine if you don’t care eating really late. At this point for my October Sun cruise I only see a couple of restaurants available and most times are after 8 pm.

Rollout date for Sky Princess is September 1st - we don’t cruise until 2026, so it should be okay in our case.

 

[shiner6]

Wow! I am now seeing that many people are experiencing difficulties with the Dining app as well. Why didn't the "big heads" at Princess think this through before making it public? They should have beta tested this process.  So much about cruising pleasure is in the planning process and now it has turned into a tedious and nerve wracking quagmire---all of this avoidable IMHO.

I used to develop scripts and perform beta testing for Electronic Health records for patients in their hospital journey, so I have a little experience in meeting customer's expectations. Attention to detail is critical.

Edited August 17 by shiner6

[voljeep]

22 minutes ago, shiner6 said:

Wow! I am now seeing that many people are experiencing difficulties with the Dining app as well. Why didn't the "big heads" at Princess think this through before making it public? They should have beta tested this process.  So much about cruising pleasure is in the planning process and now it has turned into a tedious and nerve wracking quagmire---all of this avoidable IMHO.

I used to develop scripts and perform beta testing for Electronic Health records for patients in their hospital journey, so I have a little experience in meeting customer's expectations. Attention to detail is critical.

P is currently beta testing the new changes - you and I are a part of that beta group.

 

maybe me, not so much - I'm not changing a thing until after boarding - no way - nada

[canadarocks]

😆 Pretty sure Princess is trying to tell me something. When I go to upgrade to Premier from our current Plus Package, I can't, and this is the message I get:

 

You’ve purchased Princess Plus, great choice

[shiner6]

1 hour ago, canadarocks said:

😆 Pretty sure Princess is trying to tell me something. When I go to upgrade to Premier from our current Plus Package, I can't, and this is the message I get:

 

 

You’ve purchased Princess Plus, great choice

You have to call them. They are able to do it manually. I did so yesterday.

[canadarocks]

1 hour ago, shiner6 said:

You have to call them. They are able to do it manually. I did so yesterday.

Thanks. My post was meant to be a little "tongue in cheek". We're not sailing until February, so we're going to wait and see how this all pans out before deciding.  

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

5 hours ago, shiner6 said:

You have to call them. They are able to do it manually. I did so yesterday.

You can if it is not paid in full.  Otherwise nobody can do it.

[shiner6]

1 hour ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

You can if it is not paid in full.  Otherwise nobody can do it.

That is a valid point. I will certainly remember to not pay in full until required. Thanks for the tip!

[Mara4166]

If you are platinum or elite you should be able to book SD for any cruise now.  
 

I added more SD bookings to my November 2026 cruise yesterday with no problems.  I did have to pay for them as we are still on the old premier package.  
 

I plan to call Princess next month and upgrade to the new premier for that cruise and hopefully get refunded for the extra SD bookings.  I booked now to lock in the dates/times/locations we wanted to dine as I expect SD to be fully booked a year out with the new package.

[shiner6]

5 hours ago, Mara4166 said:

If you are platinum or elite you should be able to book SD for any cruise now.  
 

I added more SD bookings to my November 2026 cruise yesterday with no problems.  I did have to pay for them as we are still on the old premier package.  
 

I plan to call Princess next month and upgrade to the new premier for that cruise and hopefully get refunded for the extra SD bookings.  I booked now to lock in the dates/times/locations we wanted to dine as I expect SD to be fully booked a year out with the new package.

I am platinum, but still am locked out for SD.... I check every day.