Tedferg

I can see a person going in to Alfredo's for drinks to sit with another passenger who is having a Pizza. On Royal it is next to Bellinis and all drinks come from that bar. You would tell attendant you were not dining. 

Just now, Cruise Raider said:

Well, what they settle on may not be just that and it’s not up to you are me.  
When the premier package allows us 2 specialty dining meals per visit, we never expect to be able to share one meal … it’s charged by butts that are seated.  
When you go to a restaurant with a cover charge pp, that’s exactly how it is charged, per person.  I won’t be outraged regardless of how they charge.  
What I do like is that I can still go in and order a la carte if I choose when I’m on the plus package or standard package.  
 

Agree and I am not outraged either. My initial post was simply to say how the package is working versus previous speculation that I had seen. You make a good point that one would not expect to share a Specialty Dinner. 

Package states two MEALS per guest not VISITS. IMO one person should be able to order one pizza and share it with their cabin mate. This should not constitute sharing. 

2 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

My interpretation of Tedferg's comment is if you have the package and order the Fixed Price (salad, pizza, and dessert) there is no charge. But if you order a la carte, say, just the pizza, you would be charged.

That is my interpretation. When we signed up for Plus and when I asked about Menu options at Sushi bar, both attendants specifically said that. 
 

when entering Alfredo's they ask cabin number and log you in. We told server we just wanted one pizza between us, he was a bit confused and explained he could make a pizza, half one topping and half another topping. He nodded and said, 'Share one pizza, of course' Surprisingly he brought one salad to share and after pizza he said we had one tiramisu to share. 
 

i checked Alfredo's last night and they said we both had used one meal. After some discussion he thought for a moment and said, 'It is like a cover charge'

I think the charge for a la carte might be their way of not using two visits for one shared meal. Makes odd sense. 
 

3 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

Not yet been on a cruise with the new arrangements but the way I understand it is that you can order a-la-carte and you will be charged and you can do that as many times as you like. Or you can order Fixed Price which, as the name suggests, you pay a fixed price of $14.99 for appetizer, main and dessert and you can do that as many times as you like. However, if you have PLUS then the first 2 fixed price meals are inclusive, if you have Premier then all fixed price meals are included.

 

So I tend to agree with you, I suspect that officially, as there is no sharing allowed with the packages, that your visit sharing one meal, should have been charged as one of your included fixed price meals... each... as there is no sharing! However, personally, I think that is rather harsh and so I would like to think that it would just be charged to one of you. 

You are correct, but the kicker is, apparently, if you have the package BUT order a la carte, you will be charged. 

3 hours ago, canadarocks said:

Does your account say that you've used one Fixed Price meal each, or was just one of you "charged"?

The account does not say anything, Folio Packages in the App shows if you have redeemed a Special Dessert and shows how many of 15 drinks you have redeemed, but Casual Dining is not recorded. Guest Services cannot bring it up either. I don’t want to harp on this, it is not such a big deal, but since we struggle to finish one pizza we were curious as to how it would work. 

Agree, I suspected it would be a two person charge once they entered our cabin number. When we first signed up for Plus onboard, the person said, 'Be sure to order the Fixed Price, or you will be charged' the server in the Sushi bar said the same thing. 

So casual dining does work like a cover charge. We had one Pizza and said we were going to share. Waiter seemed to understand we were having just one, brought one Salad, one Pizza and said we had a Tiramisu yet to come. We skipped dessert, the Pizza is more than we can eat. Strangely, two servers said, 'Be careful to order the Fixed Price, if you order a la carte you will be charged'

so to get 'full value' we should have ordered two Fixed Price! What a waste!

8 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

Don't ask me to remember which one!  Hahahaha!

But, it will be one of the two main dining rooms that are mid-ship, off the Piazza.

 

However, currently on the Royal and Concerto, midship, is for Reserve. General breakfast lunch is in Allegro, deck 6 Aft

Just now, BamaVol said:

Just don’t take it with you to the men’s room. 

Brilliant 😊

Just now, reedprincess said:

Yup, when they see the medallion in cabin overnight - while the other is out and about, they start to wonder.. 

 

You could carry her medallion for her. Any issue solved.. 

Or she can slip it in her wristlet or a pocket pocket - it doesn't have to be worn.. 

 

 

Right, I did not think that it would show her still in cabin. Easy to slip medallion in my pocket. 

Formal night DW decided she did not want to wear Medallion, so OK mine worked fine for drinks etc.

This morning steward stopped DW to make sure she was OK- he said , ‘You were in the cabin all evening, I was afraid you were not well'

1 hour ago, beg3yrs said:

Most devices will not automatically connect to WiFi hotspots unless they've been previously approved for automatic connection by the device user. It's a security feature as not all hotspots are legit.

Ok thanks, DW has enough books downloaded. She can wait for the next step in the Mystery 😊

9 hours ago, Yehootu said:

On the Crown in March, an Internet cafe worker created a hotspot on his laptop to which I was able to download one of the books I had bought. It only worked for one book, but that was better than nothing. Other people were able to also use his hotspot. I just download early now.

Does the Kindle see the hotspot and connect automatically?

4 hours ago, julie3fan said:

Currently on the Regal, with DMW reservations made a year ago, for a private table for 2, different times most nights.  We've been asked each night if we wanted to share a table, and when we say no, there's usually a wait, sometimes 15 minutes or more. 

 

It was explained to me last night that after people have asked for a set table every night, it just leaves 8-2 tops (I presume for around the time we've been coming in) to satisfy the rest of us with reservations, as well as those without reservations that want a 2 top. 

 

Something I observed tonight that kind of irked me, is that while we were waiting, we saw a 2 top already set, with a menu standing on it, which indicates it's being held for a set time/set table guest.  We finally got seated next to it, had our apps, our mains, with not terribly quick service, and that table was finally seated around the time our desserts arrived.

 

That table could have been used to serve another party of 2, yet sat empty through just about an entire service.  This can't possibly be the most efficient use of the dining rooms, and I can't believe there haven't been changes made.  Frankly, there should be no requesting a set table every night.  It should be you show up at your reserved time and are sat at the next available table.

I agree completely, that was my first thought when I heard you could reserve a specific table. Dining room should not hold a reservation at the expense of a waiting passenger. BTW see my comment that Symphony on Royal is listed as 'Anytime - No Reservation needed'. I wonder if they allow reservations there. It would make sense if they didn’t allow them to alleviate your problem. Did you ask if you could reserve your table at original time?

8 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I guess you could but why would someone wait until they are at the terminal.  When I purchase a Kindle book I download it the Kindle right away.  The only downloads I retain on the Kindle are unread books.  I don't understand why someone would let ebook purchases sit in the cloud and wait to download them until once in the terminal or on board.  Especially if the books are for reading during the cruise.  Missing something.  

We use BookBub.com and get a daily email with a list of inexpensive books. Often see a book we like and buy it while sitting at PC, Kindle is in another room. 

24 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:Is there regular seating as well as Reserve in Concerto for dinner?  

Yes one entrance is set for Reserve the other side for regular reservations. 

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Makes sense - except 2 DR's open for Breakfast and Lunch.  That's new on me.

I don’t have previous patters to check. Last two days Concerto-has been Reserve Class for breakfast/lunch Allegro for others. 

Yes my device is Kindle Paper-white. I have a vague feeling that some iPads can be purchased with cell phone capability. DW will use Kindle App on iPad if she must have one specific book, she often falls asleep when reading in bed, bump on the nose from iPad would a more serious issue 😊

I looked at my phone and it can create a hotspot but I have to come out of airplane mode.  Would that use ship system? Expensive?

4 hours ago, pmCruiser said:

I never had a problem downloading to my Kindle.  I create a Wi-Fi hotspot using my tablet, connect my Kindle to that hotspot, and download.  It has always worked in the past.  But, there is no guarantee that it will work in the future.

How do you create a hotspot? I looked at Settings but did not see how. 
 

ETA I assume you have to have cellular capability on iPad, I don’t 

10 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

You can always download it in the terminals with free wifi?????

I thought of trying that in port with free WiFi but haven’t found any yet and most free sites need you to 'accept conditions' so need to open a page. Kindle has an experimental Browser I might try that. Though suspect Internet Cafe would have thought of that. 

Currently on Royal. Patter shows Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner times for Allegro and Concerto MDR as appropriate, Concerto is also Reserve

( Club Class). Symphony shows Dinner 5  - 9 Anytime No Reservations needed. Maybe this is how they juggle Reservation and Walk Ups. Only 2800 pax, so no lines at dinner time. One couple who did not have reservation were referred to Symphony. 

Just now, PapaGoose said:

Is this also the case for Kobo?

I would think it applies to any Ereader. When you purchase a book from Amazon it sits on their server. You need to open the book on Kindle to download it. Internet Cafe said they can’t open the page on Kindle to sign in to WiFi

Be sure to download your Kindle books before leaving home. Ship's WiFi cannot link to Kindle. DW bought a couple of books on Amazon pre cruise but did not download to Kindle.