Kay S

The food is better on Carnival. Don't order the hamburger at the grill on Princess. It will make you weep and regret leaving Guy's.

I suspect you will be asking yourself if this is Princess at all because just about everything is inferior to what it was 12 years ago.

Trying to follow this is making my head hurt. Is it just me or do there seem to be a few newly enrolled CC members (less than a year and post-startup) who have been cheerleading for the "new" Princess, specifically targeting Elites and their wishes? If I were a cynic, I would think perhaps Princess is paying people to "manage expectations." Of course, I'm not a cynic, and my very useful solution has been to ignore the newly-minted cheerleaders and their non-convincing argument that destruction of benefits is somehow good for us.

Yes, but it's so much easier to just roll out of bed and sip a fresh cup on the balcony! 😁 I ordered one of those water heaters for use in some other travel situations. It's just so cute!

That's funny. I kept reading a title wrong as "Does the Sanctuary Flip Up?" Conjures an image. 🙂 I like the Internet Cafe for the location. There are some nice views out those windows.

rbtan, are you aware of the "Ignore User" function on CC? Go to your profile. I find it a very useful tool, particularly when unpleasant types (who have signed up recently, in many cases) show me they will likely never post anything I find worth my time (i.e., trollesque comments.) Just a heads up, my friend.

It's nothing to me if you don't believe the old timers about TD. Are you an employee of Princess? You seem to be an expert on what they do and why. I'm finished with this conversation, but you go ahead and hold forth.

I guess my mistake was reading the information on the main dining page and not digging into the FAQ.

Are you referring to Elite benefits? In that case, the free Internet is gone and you get a whopping 50% off the new price.

Bill, you are right in that AT still exists in practice. However, the Princess website makes a point that DMW replaces both TD and AT (in those words.) Minor quibble, yes, but I don't think Princess wants anyone to know it's possible to show up without a reservation and still be seated.

I was referring to the practice of wait listing people for TD, whether for late seating from early or from Anytime to late seating TD. Several of us old timers have said this was a common practice. By asking "when" you indicate you do not believe it. That's all. I think it's admirable that you are trying to figure out ways to jimmy rig the current system to allow for a psuedo-TD, but for me, at least, it's beyond help. As soon as the FCC is depleted, I am moving on to other lines (a transition already in progress.) BTW, my last cruise before shutdown was Dec. 2019 on the Royal, and the late TD dining room was full every night. That was the dining room deck 6 aft. It would take some effort to casually check every night to see how full it was, up and down those stairs...

What would constitute "needs must"? Princess makes a very big deal out of the exclusivity of Club Class. I know they do break promises, but this one is a revenue generator and likely to be protected.

Your experience is yours. Mine is mine, 27 Princess cruises on 15 ships. I remember what happened. I'm not senile yet. 🙂

Used to happen all the time, back in the distant past before 2019. Some of us have been cruising since the last century.🙂 Princess was a different cruise line then.

There are other downsides (from the viewpoint of old-time TDers.) The old system would seat you with people at a table (we requested 6 tops) and you would meet them the first night. You would have the same wait staff for the entire cruise. It was often fun to meet new people and get to know them over the course of a cruise. Long cruises, say 21 days, and you would often have new friends for life. It was good knowing when and exactly where dinner would be, and there were never lines waiting to be seated. It was not necessary to make a reservation every single day. Show up, sit down, eat and have a good time. Was it always perfect? No. But it was perfect more often than not. I have been told it is possible to approximate TD with DMW, but I have heard of only a couple of people who have managed it. Good for them, I say. Now, I know some one doesn't like meeting new people, doesn't like eating at the same time every day, doesn't like the same wait staff and doesn't like eating with other people at all. Got it. I do like these things, but having seen the scorn displayed on this thread, I imagine I'll be hearing again about how TD is awful and how it serves me right it's gone. (I have two cruises booked on two other lines where I'm going to enjoy TD, enjoy it very much, thank you.)

Can you heat up your water in a clothes steamer and then use it to make a cup of tea? 😉

My last cruise was late seating HAL and I had so much fun! See you there!

I was not directing my remarks to you but to some here who have been borderline hostile and downright mean to the person who started this. You don't like TD, no problem. You don't tell someone who does he is wrong and it's his "turn to endure something he doesn't like." I just don't understand why some feel it's necessary to be nasty and celebrate another person's disappointment. Is this a glimpse of the "new Princess"?

Regardless of the numbers of people at the windows or up the stairs or the number of people who never liked TD in the first place, the fact remains that there are still people on this board who liked it and are sorry to see it go. The only recourse now is to switch to lines that still offer TD (and yes, they do exist) but I still feel sad for the OP who wished the Princess he knew and loved had not eliminated something he valued. I am, frankly, surprised by the number of responses here that celebrate his disappointment. I have seen very few "sorry for you but I prefer the new way" but more "my way is better, get over yourself." OP, I am very sorry you have lost something you valued, and I will not celebrate your misery. The goodwill we used to see on Princess ships is apparently a thing of the past. This will now devolve into a chorus of TD foes telling us we are wrong for not agreeing with them.

Not greatly, but DMW requires you make a reservation in the MDR and Anytime was just show up with no reservation needed. The Princess website make a point about DMW replacing both Traditional and Anytime.

Of course, the old Anytime is gone, too. But apparently it is easier to replicate on DMW than TD is.

Justafeme, do you usually sail from the same or nearby ports? I agree with you on some of your points, but my experience has been different for others. I live on the West Coast, and for years, our Carnival choices consisted largely of the Inspiration and Imagination (both on the scrap heap now) with short cruises to Mexico and maybe another stop in the US (San Diego, Catalina Island). These were the infamous "booze cruise" voyages that helped give Carnival its bad name. I have done Mexican Riviera cruises on some larger ships (the Spirit was a favorite) and fair share of those shorter trips. I never saw a fist fight, but I did see plenty of drunks. On the analogous Princess shorties, drunks were never a problem. I attribute much of that to the age demographic. Carnival passengers tended to be young adults and Princess passengers were more "mature." Whether this is a function of geography, I don't know. Are East Coast departures any different? PS I still think Carnival has it all over Princess in the casual dining choices.

Are we talking about the same ship and same dining room on the same voyage? One thing I've learned is that the staff in the dining room is the controlling variable, and I have seen all of this. Even on the same ship. Oh well, in the greater scheme of things, it doesn't matter much.

As the prices go up and get closer to all inclusives such as Azamara, new Princess might appeal less and less to the "loyal" base. Might as well open the "second wallet" at booking and go for a smaller ship with a potentially more unique itinerary.

Princess doesn't think so, apparently. They have a new business plan, and there's no changing it. I feel foolish for being sucked in in the first place, believing I was valuable to them because they gave me some perks. The loyalty thing is a trap. I have money to cruise, and I'm going to spend it elsewhere (right after I use up all the FCC and cruise on Princess' dime.) Chasing loyalty for the sake of a few perks is now a thing of the past for me. 🙂