Need help from those who have been on Diamond already and have used PC Dining

[LandLockedInAZ]

I've been reading a lot of the reviews of the PC Dining option on the Diamond. Our first cruise with Princess will be on the Diamond Nov. 20 and we're looking forward to trying the PC Dining option. However, my idea of Personal Choice is not to have to make reservations immediately upon boarding but rather to choose to eat when we want (isn't that the point?).
Here is my current line of thought and I would appreciate it if those who have actually been on the Diamond already can tell me if this sounds like it will work.
There are three of us (one teen who may or may not wish to dine with us each night). We enjoy both meeting others and having some time to ourselves. I suspect that for formal nights, I will want to make advance reservations so I'm not tromping all over the ship in high heels trying to find a place to eat. Fine- I'll do this the day of embarkation.
For other nights, I'd like to just show up and be flexible to let the MD know we'd be fine with either joining others or sitting by ourselves (2 or 3 at the table). I can easily tolerate a 10 minute wait but more than 15 to 20 might stretch my patience. I am also willing to be directed to other dining rooms which might not have a wait at that time, assuming I get to dine in each of the four venues at least once during our 7-day cruise. Our generally preferred dining times are earlier rather than later. With traditional dining on other lines, we'd always go for the 6:00 seating and if there was a port day and we missed our seating, we'd just go to the buffet.
In addition to being flexible, I'm hoping that some of the early problems experienced on the Diamond will be worked out after the months of her being in service before my family boards.
Thanks in advance to those of you with experience for sharing your thoughts!

Next up: Diamond Princess 11/20/04!

[Sandy R]

LandLockedInAZ... this topic has been done many times before and still people try to come up with some ingenious way of beating the system. We sailed on the Diamond inaugural and we experienced the problems with PC first hand. Whether there are 2 of you or 3 of you, whether you're willing to sit at a table with other couples, the chances are great if you don't book the first day you board for the whole cruise, you could wait an hour or more to be seated or find you can't eat in one of the 4 restaurants at all, i.e. Sterlings. IMHO pre-reserve when you board and if you want to change the time you booked during the cruise, you'll have an option to keep your pre-reservations or eat earlier or later if there's a time slot available.

Sandy

[CruiseFever]

On the Golden we went to dinner each night at 5:30 when the dining room opened. While we did request to sit with the same waiter each night I got the feeling that if we just walked in that early we could avoid any wait at all on our upcoming CP, Diamond and Star cruises.

yes?

Happy Cruising

Chris

www.LifeIsCruising.com (http://www.LifeIsCruising.com)

Next up:
Caribbean Princess 06/26/04
Star Princess 10/24/04
Diamond Princess 12/22/04
Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

Please read the article from Cruise News Daily on Anytime Dining on Diamond Princess. There are points in the article which address your concerns regarding reservations and being able to order off one specialty menu when you're seated in another...

Cruise News Daily (http://www.cruisenewsdaily.com)
I must say I think it a little unreasonable to think one can walk into any restaurant without a reservation at a busy time and not experience a wait. What's the hurry anyway? You can't get anywhere before the ship arrives http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

-------------------------
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[seafille]

We sailed Diamond a few weeks back and did PC Dining.... we did make reservations right away the first day, but know many who did not and had little or no difficulty as long as they were flexible about which venue they ate at ... and I never saw people waiting to be seated...

seafille

<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>
Diamond Princess 05/04
<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>
Diamond Princess 04/04
Diamond Princess 11/04
Diamond Princess 12/04

[srphnx]

How do so many people seem to be put off by "having to make reservations" the first day, how does that defeat any purpose?

The purpose is to then NOT have to think about it again for a week, if the need arises to change them... do so... why is that a burden?

PC has many benefits, if a 60 second phone call defeats your whole weeks dining, I suggest you take traditional which by the way is reservations for the whole week.

The suggestion that you do so has worked well for all those that took it. I am doing it again for the second time in 4 weeks on the 22nd.

Life is at it's best when your address floats
<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>
Diamond Princess 12/04
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>
Ecstacy 09/01
<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>
Century 12/97
<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>
Century 9/96

[shelleybelly]

We made reservations as soon as we boarded. We ate in Stirlings the first nite and second formal nite, thursday, so we could have Surf & Turf. Doubled up on Vivaldis. Formal nite and Friday, our last nite on ship. We dined in the other PC Restaurants, and enjoyed them very much.

[LandLockedInAZ]

message deleted.

[This message was edited by LandLockedInAZ on 05-13-04 at 08:47 PM.]

[MTS]

I am on the Diamond right now (in the internet cafe). My experiences thus far have been that If you don't have reservations, you may need to wait a bit for a table. If you want a table for two, you will most likely wait longer than if you would be willing to sit with a group.

I tried to get into the Santa Fe PC dining room with no reservation, and was told that a table for two would most probably not be available all night without a reservation. We than walked over to the Vivaldi and were seated right away at a table for two. I think because it was a bit later this made it more difficult (745pm). If you go around 5 it does not seem to be much of a problem.

I'm off to eat now (room service). It's a formal night and I don't like to have to dress up. ;-)

MTS

[LandLockedInAZ]

MTS-
Thank you so much for your reply. I was getting discouraged but appreciate your first-hand experience.

Next up: Diamond Princess 11/20/04!

[srphnx]

5 of the 7 responders had first-hand experience.

Life is at it's best when your address floats
<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>
Diamond Princess 12/04
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>
Ecstacy 09/01
<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>
Century 12/97
<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>
Century 9/96

[cnmiranda]

Oh MTS, you're killing me! Leaving us hanging without info on how this first Diamond ship to Alaska was! We're leaving tomorrow night and was hoping someone would post their experience thus far. Sounds like you're having a good time=) Can't wait. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Majesty of the Seas (2)
Norwegian Dawn
Monarch of the Seas
Diamond Princess (5/04)

[PenelopeCruise]

LandLocked,

I was on the 3-day coastal trip on the Diamond two weeks ago (May 1st), and would be more than happy to share information about our PC dining experience with you.

First, a little background information might be helpful. I had wanted Traditional dining as this was my family's first cruise (my third), and I wanted them to experience it. But with being #414 on the waitlist for early traditional dining, we didn't stand a snowball's chance in heck of that happening. It should be noted, too, that in a phone call with Princess the week before our cruise, I was told that although we were waitlisted for early traditional, we indeed had a table for late traditional. So, you can imagine my surprise upon boarding, when I learned we had Anytime Dining.

With that being the case, I wanted to make reservations for each night. I felt that this would replicate part of what I enjoy about traditional dining and that is knowing there is a table waiting for me. Although, I was initially disappointed that we wouldn't be dining traditional, I was very curious about trying the other restaurants and the whole PC experience.

I called the concierge soon after we settled into our room. I was able to get time slots (6:20pm)that were fairly close to what I had requested. The only problem we encountered was on the second evening when we tried to change our reservation from four people to six. They could only do that for us if we dined much later in the evening (8-9pm).

On the third evening, we again tried to expand our table to six people, but were told the same thing (via the phone). We planned to keep our reservations at our restaurant, and our friends were going to do the same at theirs. However, when they arrived at their restaurant (Santa Fe), they inquired about the possibility of four more people joining them. Lo and behold, the Santa Fe would be able to accomodate all of us, at a window table no less. Our friends quickly phoned to let us know, and then we promptly canceled our other reservation.

Unfortunately, I can't comment on how long of a wait you might have without reservations. I would definitely make reservations for formal night, as you've mentioned doing. I highly recommend dining in the Sterling for Formal night. It's an elegant room befitting the occasion, with dark, rich, wood. The wait staff was more formally attired in this room and the steak & prime rib were wonderful.

Of the three restaurants we tried (Vivaldi, Sterling, and Santa Fe), we enjoyed Vivaldi and Sterling the most. Our most attentive waiter, by far, was at Vivaldi. I believe his name was Francisco. We found the service at Santa Fe to be somewhat lacking, and the food mediocre. They seemed somewhat surprised when we asked for salsa with our chips, and requested sour cream for another dish.

All that being said (whew!), you'll have a wonderful time no matter what dining venue you choose. Enjoy!!

Sun Princess, May 04
Diamond Princess, May 04
RC Monarch, March 04
Star Princess, Sept. 03

[augie]

I have no idea if this is itinerary specific or not, but do any of you happen to know which nights are the formal nights on the Diamond's Alask cruise?

That will help me plot my PC strategy! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Carnival Holiday 10/94
Carnival Sensation 10/95
Carnival Destiny 1/97
Carnival Fascination 1/98
Carnival Tropicale 9/98
Carnival Destiny 10/00
Carnival Triumph 10/01
Disney Wonder 12/01
Carnival Destiny11/02
Princess Diamond Princess 6/04
Carnival Miracle 11/04

augiegator@att.net

[MTS]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cnmiranda:
Oh MTS, you're killing me! Leaving us hanging without info on how this first Diamond ship to Alaska was! We're leaving tomorrow night and was hoping someone would post their experience thus far. Sounds like you're having a good time=) Can't wait. http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Majesty of the Seas (2)
Norwegian Dawn
Monarch of the Seas
Diamond Princess (5/04)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Sorry, did not mean to leave you hanging cnmiranda, though you probably have already left for your pre-night stay. If not, for you and anybody else interested, this trip has been FANTASTIC!! The weather every day but today has been sunny with crystal clear blue skies. We've been told by all the natives that their are generally only 20 days of sunshine a year here, and we have had beautiful sunny weather with snow capped mountains to see every single day. :-))

Also, just a real quick note and I will elaborate in more detail when I get back, the ship is VERY beautiful. This is my first Princess cruise and I'm very impressed with most everything in general. We were lucky enough to have been upgraded to a Vista Suite on the Emerald deck in the aft area of the ship. I have never been in this location on previous cruises and I am addicted now. I think I will want to book this spot all the time, though not sure I could afford this suite If I originally booked this room and had to pay full price for it. I have to say the the decor in the room of this suite is the nicest I've ever seen on any previous ships I've been on before, but I think the furnishings are more upgraded because it is a suite.

Anyway....I'm off to the Princess Theatre to watch "Mona Lisa Smile" with Julia Roberts. I've never seen it before.

Happy cruising everyone!

MTS

[Lynda90]

MTS: Thanks for the info. I was also upgraded to a full suite for my trip to Alaska that's coming up in 2 weeks. What were the perks that you enjoyed?

thanks,
Lynda

[cnmiranda]

Thanks so much for responding again MTS http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif The countdown is on we are leaving for the airport in 2 1/2 hours. I'm glad you found the ship so beautiful, can't wait to see it with our own http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif's You have been really lucky with no rain. Looks like little to no rain on our voyage too (fingers crossed).

Majesty of the Seas (2)
Norwegian Dawn
Monarch of the Seas
Diamond Princess (5/04)

[karchx]

I have a question for all who have been on Diamond with PC dining. We will be traveling in July and just got our precruise documents. I was under the impression that the only $$ dining room was Trattoria, but precruise documents show a fee of $8 for Sterling. Is this true? Thanks.

Rocky

[srphnx]

NOT on Diamond, Steling is included, and Sabatinis is the only pay-per-view $20.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by karchx:
I have a question for all who have been on Diamond with PC dining. We will be traveling in July and just got our precruise documents. I was under the impression that the only $$ dining room was Trattoria, but precruise documents show a fee of $8 for Sterling. Is this true? Thanks.

Rocky<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Life is at it's best when your address floats
<FONT color=red>Alaska</FONT>
Diamond Princess 05/04 ~~ Mercury 06/02
Rhapsody o.t. Seas 05/98 ~~ Legend o.t. Seas 09/95
<FONT color=red>Mexican Riviera</FONT>
Diamond Princess 12/04
Diamond Princess 11/04 ~~ Diamond Princess 04/04
Sea Princess 01/02 ~~ Vision o.t. Seas 04/02<FONT color=red>
West Coast-Baja Mexico</FONT>
Ecstacy 09/01
<FONT color=red>Eastern Carribean</FONT>
Century 12/97
<FONT color=red>Western Carribean</FONT>
Century 9/96

[Skittles]

Does anybody have copies of the speciality pc menus from the Diamond?