My Experience Eating Lunch in the Dining Room at Embarkation Aboard the Sapphire

[sultan_sfo]

I wonder whether all those who insist that it is an "advertised" / "published" policy know it ia one sentence (less than one line) in a long news item about disembarkation changes! I wonder all those who insist that it is adverised have read all the Princess News Releases with such diligence.

[coiran]

You're absolutely correct. It's a published policy & they should have to abide by it no matter what or how busy they are.

 

As for myself, until they have the doors wide open & are seating everyone who comes along without trying to steer them towards the buffet, I'll give them a little break & eat at the Horizon. It's one thing to go to an open DR to have lunch when they're seating people & another thing altogether to pry open the doors & ask to be fed with a printed article in one hand demanding you rights.

 

Thank you for agreeing with me - it's a start.

BTW - I usually go to the DR that has open doors and look in to see if they have people seated - they usually do but still try to send you to the trough.

Ron

[rcacace]

Thank you for agreeing with me - it's a start.

BTW - I usually go to the DR that has open doors and look in to see if they have people seated - they usually do but still try to send you to the trough.

Ron

 

You're hilarious! Referring to it as the trough. :D I wish I had some of that slop for dinner every night. It doesn't take all that much to satisfy me.

[coiran]

You're hilarious! Referring to it as the trough. :D I wish I had some of that slop for dinner every night. It doesn't take all that much to satisfy me.

 

I refer to it as the "trough" not because of the food quality, which is quite good but not always hot, but for the way that most pax fill their plate till it is falling over the edges and who nhave not learned how to use the Princess "station" system as opposed to the "cafeteria" system.

We just prefer to start our cruise with a casual, but elegant lunch in the DR - they usually have a salmon dish on embarkation day that is very good.

Ron

[sunshine426]

Hi all,

 

does it matter where we have lunch, so long as the bars are open and the beer is cold.

 

yours Shogun

 

I'll drink to that:D Our favorite boarding lunch is a cold beer and our first slice of Princess Pizza.

[Neonsport]

Earlier someone stated that the captain of the Sapphire looked the other way in regards to the dining room being closed. Now personally i dont care, i eat at the horizon court or one of the cafe's on embarkation.

 

Anyway my point was that i noticed the Sapphire on its MR run says check in does not start until 1pm which would eliminate even the possibility of eating in the MDR on embarkation day.... i just found that interesting... do other ships state the same thing? or is it just the Sapphire?

[coiran]

I'll drink to that:D Our favorite boarding lunch is a cold beer and our first slice of Princess Pizza.

 

If you like the pizza on the current ships, you would love the pizza on the old Sun Class, Royal and Regal Princess. Cannot begin to describe it - they all have there own separate pizzeria.

 

Ron

[Colo Cruiser]

Enjoy your lunch in the dining room

[Sailfish]

Earlier someone stated that the captain of the Sapphire looked the other way in regards to the dining room being closed. Now personally i dont care, i eat at the horizon court or one of the cafe's on embarkation.

 

Anyway my point was that i noticed the Sapphire on its MR run says check in does not start until 1pm which would eliminate even the possibility of eating in the MDR on embarkation day.... i just found that interesting... do other ships state the same thing? or is it just the Sapphire?

 

Hi There!

 

I am the OP. I was shocked to see my posting that was made many months ago resurrected! Anyway, lets clarify a few things.

 

First off, it was not the captain, but the staff captain that said we could eat in the traditional dining room - he told us at the past guest party that they were having staffing issues and though the dining room was supposed to be open at embarkation, the dining room supervisors would prefer that it not be. He also stated that this was indeed the policy, but not all ships staff including that of the Sapphire, agreed with it. To that end, Sapphire dining room staff know about this policy, but intentionally tell guests that the dining room is open only for in-transit guests. By letting the guy at the podium know I received directions from the staff captain, he let me in.

 

I am in agreement with all of you, that if the cruise line tells its passengers a dining room at embarkation will be open, it should be. And the good news is, it is on may ships. But the issue has a lot to do with time off requests, which conflict with dining room and kitchen schedules on embarkation day.

 

Please note, just prior to our cruise, I was wanting to find out about eating in the main dining room. After my cruise, I simply wanted to give people going on the Sapphire a heads up as to what I experienced. I for one would have appreciated input like this before my cruise!

 

Suzi

[Sailfish]

Anyway my point was that i noticed the Sapphire on its MR run says check in does not start until 1pm which would eliminate even the possibility of eating in the MDR on embarkation day.... i just found that interesting... do other ships state the same thing? or is it just the Sapphire?

 

We were on the ship by 11:30am.

 

Check-in time may be published on paper at 1pm, but we got to the pier at 10:30am, checked in and was in line with the priority boarding folks 45 minutes later. It was still well before noon by the time we sat down to have lunch!

[spingal]

You're absolutely correct. It's a published policy & they should have to abide by it no matter what or how busy they are.

 

As for myself, until they have the doors wide open & are seating everyone who comes along without trying to steer them towards the buffet, I'll give them a little break & eat at the Horizon. It's one thing to go to an open DR to have lunch when they're seating people & another thing altogether to pry open the doors & ask to be fed with a printed article in one hand demanding you rights.

 

It seems to me that you are totally missing the point.......

 

If Princess promotes the MDR lunch then they need to serve it without hassling the passengers who want to eat a quiet relaxing lunch. I should not have to "pry" the door open and "demand my rights". I do not want to fight them. The dining room staff are supposed to understand the basics of customer service and not engage in a battle with me (and yes sometimes it is a battle). If there are staffing issues that prevent them from serving lunch in the MDR, then the head waiters and maitre d' need to take this up with Princess management. It is not a smart business practice to put the customer in the middle!!!

[Strawberry]

Spingal - I agree with you 100%!

[MoonPet]

Spingal - I agree with you 100%!

 

+1 here

[rcacace]

It seems to me that you are totally missing the point.......

 

If Princess promotes the MDR lunch then they need to serve it without hassling the passengers who want to eat a quiet relaxing lunch. I should not have to "pry" the door open and "demand my rights". I do not want to fight them. The dining room staff are supposed to understand the basics of customer service and not engage in a battle with me (and yes sometimes it is a battle). If there are staffing issues that prevent them from serving lunch in the MDR, then the head waiters and maitre d' need to take this up with Princess management. It is not a smart business practice to put the customer in the middle!!!

 

I agree that since they publish the fact that it's supposed to be open , it should be but until they have the doors open for business for everyone I'm not bucking their request to eat at the buffet. I have yet to find an open dr since they began this embarkation dr lunch.

Let us know on your next trip if the doors were open for business or did you have to insist on being seated.

I think the post by Sailfish says it all.

[RickEk]

On our recent voyage on the Caribbean Princess, the Coral dining room was open for lunch on embarkation day (12pm-1:30pm). The doors were open, it was staffed and seemed to be business as usual. Lunch was delicious and the waitstaff was quite attentive.

[kendon]

In all fairness, the cruise staff is SUPER busy on embarkation day. Supplies, including food are being checked and loaded onto the the ship among hundreds of other tasks that have to be performed in a very short period of time.

I really dont think it would kill anyone to enjoy the buffet for at least lunch on embarkation day. Give the crew a chance to prepare the ship and supplies for you.

 

I agree totally.

[caribill]

In all fairness, the cruise staff is SUPER busy on embarkation day. Supplies, including food are being checked and loaded onto the the ship among hundreds of other tasks that have to be performed in a very short period of time.

 

 

In all honesty, there are staff assigned to the dining room for lunch, so your not going there does not help the other staff that may be super busy.

 

It is not as if when you enter the dining room they get someone from the area where supplies are being loaded to come wait on you.

[lolane1]

I wonder whether all those who insist that it is an "advertised" / "published" policy know it ia one sentence (less than one line) in a long news item about disembarkation changes! I wonder all those who insist that it is adverised have read all the Princess News Releases with such diligence.

 

This is the second or third time I have read, in this thread, that the dining room's availability is less than one line in a news release. Taken in context, am I to assume that the truth must be more than a one liner? Or that a cruise can publish any benefit in a news release and if it is not in bold print or longer than a sentence, then it may not true? Sounds a little like "bait and switch." Why even print it, if it's not true. Some people are really looking forward to the experience and certainly can be disappointed especially if it is printed in a patter and then not available. (another one liner)

Come to think of it, my ex husband was FULL of untrue one liners. That's why he's my ex! :D

[coiran]

This is the second or third time I have read, in this thread, that the dining room's availability is less than one line in a news release. Taken in context, am I to assume that the truth must be more than a one liner? Or that a cruise can publish any benefit in a news release and if it is not in bold print or longer than a sentence, then it may not true? Sounds a little like "bait and switch." Why even print it, if it's not true. Some people are really looking forward to the experience and certainly can be disappointed especially if it is printed in a patter and then not available. (another one liner)

Come to think of it, my ex husband was FULL of untrue one liners. That's why he's my ex! :D

 

Good one!! When I spoke to the Maitre De on the Grand in February he first apologized for the headwaiter then statedb that, yes it is policy to have one dining room open until 1 or 1:30 for all passengers who wish to dine there - then he sent a bottle of wine to our table.

 

Ron

[chamima]

Good one!! When I spoke to the Maitre De on the Grand in February he first apologized for the headwaiter then statedb that, yes it is policy to have one dining room open until 1 or 1:30 for all passengers who wish to dine there - then he sent a bottle of wine to our table.

 

Ron

 

 

Was that Guiseppe Franchina? What a WONDERFUL man!!!!!!!!

[Stevesan]

Do you actually beleive that wait staff are involved in loading stores onto the ship!:D

 

Who do you think stows the stores in their proper lockers?

The cooks are doing prep, the stewards are sorting luggage....

[ceilidh1]

I just did a 2 week B2B on Sapphire in Alaska. On the patter that we got at the end of the first week we got instructions of what to do about getting our new picture taken, etc. There was also a little note on there saying that the International dining room was open for lunch (this was the turnaround day in Whittier, so embarkation day for most passengers). We decided to eat there rather than brave the buffet crowds. As we tried to make our way there, we were stopped by at least 3 staff telling us that we had to go in different elevators/take a different route to our stateroom. When we explained we were going to the dining room they told us that it was not open and the only place to eat was the buffet. We showed each staff member the patter and they reluctantly let us head to the dining room. When we got there we had no problem going in and getting seated. There were 3 other tables and it was wonderful! However, it seems that not all staff are on the same page about the fact that this is available. It was also not advertised on the regular patter, only on the one that the "in transit" folks received.

[Love Boat Dream]

Typo - twll is meant to be tell.

 

 

 

Hi RA!

Nice to see you here!

 

Love Boat Dream

[Love Boat Dream]

SpinGal, I agree with you also!!

 

I had a wonderful lunch in the MDR on the CB last cruise. There was no hassle getting in either. Although, we were all alone from 12-12:30. Eventually 4 other small groups came in.

 

It was the nicest dining room meal I had on the whole trip.

 

On the golden last year, the MDR was not open (I checked even after I was turned away) and I ate in the buffet and it was a zoo!

[sultan_sfo]

lolane: If it is in the Embarkation Day "Patter" (which is the daily Newsletter and activity sheet distributed to all the cabins), then the specified dining room should be open and is open.

 

ceilidh1: Was it a Princess Patter or an instruction letter with the 2nd cruise cabin card? If it was a Patter, this is a new way. In all our B2B we received a letter. One Dining Room is always open for "In-Transit" pax.

 

 

 

Some people are really looking forward to the experience and certainly can be disappointed especially if it is printed in a patter and then not available. (another one liner)

Come to think of it, my ex husband was FULL of untrue one liners. That's why he's my ex! :D

 

I just did a 2 week B2B on Sapphire in Alaska. On the patter that we got at the end of the first week we got instructions of what to do about getting our new picture taken, etc. that this is available. It was also not advertised on the regular patter, only on the one that the "in transit" folks received.