Princess Premier Package - Theaters

[rosevew]

Often no policing and no availability 20 minutes beforehand

[555]

2 hours ago, rosevew said:

Often no policing and no availability 20 minutes beforehand

Wow, on the Enchanted they never fill up all the reserved seats. They were then released to anyone standing there 5 or 10 minutes before the show. I guess everyone must be taking advantage of the no-checking policy. 

[beshears]

Honolulu Blue, thank you for posting the pictures of where the designated seats would be that have the blue covers. I don't know if you or anyone else will be able to answer this, but it looks like there is two areas in the lower deck, and one are in the upper deck of the theater. As there probably will be 8 of us, is there any suggestion on what might be the best place for seeing/sitting, or are they all about the same no matter where the seats are?

[Honolulu Blue]

3 hours ago, beshears said:

Honolulu Blue, thank you for posting the pictures of where the designated seats would be that have the blue covers. I don't know if you or anyone else will be able to answer this, but it looks like there is two areas in the lower deck, and one are in the upper deck of the theater. As there probably will be 8 of us, is there any suggestion on what might be the best place for seeing/sitting, or are they all about the same no matter where the seats are?

First of all, I need to caution you that the rows blocked off are specific to one specific ship. They will be different based on the ship, and could be different based on several orher factors. 

 

That said, I don't think any of  the reserved seating is very good. If you want to see the show and don't care about taking pictures, I suggest being as close as you can to the stage as possible (except for the first 4 to 6 rows) and as close to the center as you can get.

 

Picture takers are best served, IMHO, on the upper level and in the middle.

 

A further suggestion that's specific to your group is if you're going to split in to multiple rows to put the taller people in front as much as possible. Us people behind you will thank you. 👍

[phonejock]

LOL I love unintended consequences. When I was on the Emerald a couple weeks ago, I took advantage of the premier seating, walking in 10-15 mins early. I like to sit close to the end so I can slip right out, which is important if you are trying to get a seat for the next show in the Vista. What happened EVERY production show was that “non-premier” passengers crowd along the sides of the seating and five mins before the show, when the seats are released, they rush in. I thought it was pretty funny. 

[beshears]

Thank you for your input on my question of the Premier seating arrangement. At this point, I still don't know if I will be doing the Premier or not, as there are several things involved in this package that I do NOT take advantage of, especially for the price of $90 pp, per day. The price wasn't so bad when we did the Regal in February, and I still did not use everything that came with the package, but I didn't mind paying that price then.

[555]

21 hours ago, beshears said:

At this point, I still don't know if I will be doing the Premier or not, as there are several things involved in this package that I do NOT take advantage of, especially for the price of $90 pp, per day

Especially when you can't make reservations for SD because they're all booked up. 

We backed out for that reason alone. 

[1KBAP]

On 9/17/2024 at 10:43 AM, rosevew said:

Often no policing and no availability 20 minutes beforehand

That has not been my experience at all on four cruises with the Premier package.  Quite the contrary, actually.

[1KBAP]

3 hours ago, 555 said:

Especially when you can't make reservations for SD because they're all booked up. 

We backed out for that reason alone. 

Just because you cannot make reservations in advance on the awful app does not mean you cannot make them once on board.  I have never had a problem with specialty dining on board.

[john watson]

On 9/13/2024 at 9:40 PM, startedwithamouse said:

 

They aren't better; they're just saved/reserved for Premier. 

The seats themselves are of exactly the same type as other seats within the theatre.  They are however generally in positions which would normally be considered as choice, front and centre with a good view.

 

Regards John

[john watson]

On 9/16/2024 at 10:04 PM, memoak said:

Suite perks or plus package does not reserve you a seat in the theatre

 

This is true, you simply have a prior claim on the designated seats over passengers who have no entitlement other than waiting until the few minutes before curtain up.  Then there is often a queue of people vying for the unoccupied ones which may remain who rush in.

 

Regards John

[555]

1 hour ago, 1KBAP said:

Just because you cannot make reservations in advance on the awful app does not mean you cannot make them once on board.  I have never had a problem with specialty dining on board.

I'm just not willing to take the chance on getting into a SD restaurant since when we initially purchased the new Premier package the main reason was eating in the SD restaurants each night.

It's a high price to pay for dining they might not be able to deliver on. 

[Sudoku]

On the Sun currently. They also have RESERVED seats for the 4 top suites on board. These are separate from Premiere seats and usually front and center of the stage. 

Edited 12 hours ago by Sudoku

[memoak]

3 minutes ago, 555 said:

I'm just not willing to take the chance on getting into a SD restaurant since when we initially purchased the new Premier package the main reason was eating in the SD restaurants each night.

It's a high price to pay for dining they might not be able to deliver on. 

On the Majestic right now no problem getting SD reservations but you are a bit limited to dates for the Catch and times are limited in the Crown Grille but able to get them without issue.  Harmony has openings every day and lots of times

[1KBAP]

14 minutes ago, 555 said:

I'm just not willing to take the chance on getting into a SD restaurant since when we initially purchased the new Premier package the main reason was eating in the SD restaurants each night.

It's a high price to pay for dining they might not be able to deliver on. 

It sounds to me like you are looking for an excuse to cancel the Premier Package. 

 

Not one person on a Premier Package has claimed they are unable to obtain specialty restaurants reservations on board.

 

You can also demand a refund should they actually be unable to deliver on the package benefits.

[paddingtonbear]

1 hour ago, 1KBAP said:

It sounds to me like you are looking for an excuse to cancel the Premier Package. 

 

Not one person on a Premier Package has claimed they are unable to obtain specialty restaurants reservations on board.

 

You can also demand a refund should they actually be unable to deliver on the package benefits.

Princess website "suggests you make reservations pre-cruise. 

No, you can't demand a refund as the conditions state:  Availability of Specialty Dining reservations may be limited on certain cruises.

 

It stands to reason because 3,000 people can't fit into the SD venues per night and it seems that a lot of people on the Premier package are booking SD every night of their cruise.  Not much chance for those who get on board late or those without the package.

Edited 11 hours ago by paddingtonbear

[1KBAP]

1 minute ago, paddingtonbear said:

Princess website "suggests you make reservations pre-cruise. 

No, you can't demand a refund as the conditions state:  Availability of Specialty Dining reservations may be limited on certain cruises.

Yet no one has reported a problem.  And limited is far different from unavailable.

Edited 11 hours ago by 1KBAP

[paddingtonbear]

1 minute ago, 1KBAP said:

Yet no one has reported a problem.  And limited is far different from unavailable.

Yes, it will be interesting to see how it works out after a few months. 

[1KBAP]

Just now, paddingtonbear said:

Yes, it will be interesting to see how it works out after a few months. 

I agree.  I suspect (hope?) that Princess limits the number of Premier Packages that it sells so there aren't any problems with specialty dining.

 

I can appreciate that specific times in specific restaurants may not always be available, but if specialty dining is just full every night, Princess is going to have a lot of very unhappy passengers.  And I am sure we will hear from them!

[daydreamer16]

How far in advance can you book SD reservations?

[1KBAP]

My cruise on the Sky is in January.  I was able to book specialty dining as soon as the booking was completed last month (long before final payment is due).

[daydreamer16]

14 minutes ago, 1KBAP said:

My cruise on the Sky is in January.  I was able to book specialty dining as soon as the booking was completed last month (long before final payment is due).

Ok thanks, that's good to know.

[Mara4166]

8 hours ago, Sudoku said:

On the Sun currently. They also have RESERVED seats for the 4 top suites on board. These are separate from Premiere seats and usually front and center of the stage. 

That is one of the published perks for the Sky suite on all ships that that them.

[555]

11 hours ago, 1KBAP said:

It sounds to me like you are looking for an excuse to cancel the Premier Package. 

 

Not one person on a Premier Package has claimed they are unable to obtain specialty restaurants reservations on board.

 

You can also demand a refund should they actually be unable to deliver on the package benefits.

 

10 hours ago, paddingtonbear said:

Princess website "suggests you make reservations pre-cruise. 

No, you can't demand a refund as the conditions state:  Availability of Specialty Dining reservations may be limited on certain cruises.

 

It stands to reason because 3,000 people can't fit into the SD venues per night and it seems that a lot of people on the Premier package are booking SD every night of their cruise.  Not much chance for those who get on board late or those without the package.

I actually was looking forward to utilizing the new Premier package only for the reason of being able to eat in the SD restaurants every night. That was until they told me that the openings on ALL the restaurants were either unavailable, except for the Sushi and Hot Pot, and those only had openings after 9 PM. 

[paddingtonbear]

12 minutes ago, 555 said:

 

I actually was looking forward to utilizing the new Premier package only for the reason of being able to eat in the SD restaurants every night. That was until they told me that the openings on ALL the restaurants were either unavailable, except for the Sushi and Hot Pot, and those only had openings after 9 PM. 

 

You had only planned to do what they said you could do - enjoy unlimited SD with the Premier package.

 

It is very wrong of Princess to promise something they can't deliver to those on Premier and also prohibit others who aren't on the Premier who might want to go to a SD restaurant once on their cruise.  It would have been so much fairer if Princess has said 3 SD per 7 days for those on Premier.  Then no one would have been disappointed. 

 

They've stopped the made rush for the Sanctuary by making people pay for it with their cabin but have created a mad rush for SD dining.  You would have thought they had learnt from experience.