Currently on the Grand Princess & we had problems with MDR from day one. We haven’t been on Princess since Fall 2019, so definitely out of the loop on dining! On previous cruises we just went down to the anytime dining & got a beeper. Never waited more than 30 minutes. On the Grand we boarded in Auckland, cruise originated in Sydney. First day I contacted guest services & asked about dining & she said you better start making reservations! It’s a 22 day cruise so I tried online but could only make reservations for 6 nights, various times & dining rooms. The first night no reservation, was told 2 hour wait at first dining room. Went to different room waited 10 minutes & saw many unoccupied tables. Next day went to guest services & complained about the system. Was told they would keep a table empty all night if it had been reserved at 6:00 & 7:30 that’s the way the computer system operates! Excuse was guest could be tired from excursion & might or might not show up so they keep table open. I don’t know much about the restaurant business but on dry land I think a restaurant would go out of business if that was their model! After our visit to guest services we got a table for 2 not later tha 7pm.
For reference was on the Celebrity Edge in March out of Sydney. We ate a one of the MDRs ( there are 4) every night & never waited for a table for 2. It was the first time in any cruise ( Celebrity & Princess) that we did not wait even once. We usually eat around 6-6:30 so prime time!