sapphire first day dining

[ro]

Does anyone know if one can eat in one of the dining rooms, rather than Horizon Court, just after boarding?

[Putterdude]

Yes, you should be able to have lunch in one of the MDRs on embarkation day. However on some ships the staff does try to discourage you from doing this and we found in December the Sapphire was one of these ships. We did get to have lunch in the Santa Fe room but it was not without effort on our part.

[RickEk]

And lunch is only offered in the MDR on embarkation day between noon and 1:30pm. And btw, on our last voyage on the Sapphire Princess a couple of years ago, there was no problem getting in for lunch...

[donna5]

So they had it in the Santa Fe diningroom instead of the international diningroom? Maybe they are changing the location thinking if it takes you longer to find which diningroom is serving lunch, it will be closed by the time you find it.:cool:

[grandmaa]

We were on the Sapphire in February and were a party of 6 and we ate lunch in the International Dining Room..just brought the print out of the e mail from the Customer Relations Dept. at Princess and then had no problem. There were passengers in the dining room who were doing the B2B and it looked like several "corporate suits" also.

[Coral]

In Dec/Jan they used International Dining Room.

[LCTrippers]

We did get to have lunch in the Santa Fe room but it was not without effort on our part.

 

I was on the Sapphire in ’08 and again twice last year. We ate at one of the restaurants for lunch the first day twice on the Sapphire and the two times we were on the Golden.

They don’t encourage or publish it as far as I know, in fact they have tried to discourage us a couple of times.

In December, the cruise putterdude was on (Hey putterdude!) the first one we went too told usall restaurants were closed on the Sapphire because they were hosting the Princess staff Christmas party. Princess corporate offices are just north of LA so when the ship got in they boarded and partied until the ship left. We figured they needed the wait staff from all over the ship to accommodate them so we ate at HC.

 

Well, they did have a party, but apparently not all the MDR’s were closed. We’ll be on the Golden next month. This time I’ll push harder.

 

It was nice to see all those happy employees though!

[jayevee44]

FWIW, I was on the Sapphire Princess today, not as a passenger, but as a Bon Voyage Experience guest. My neighbors are passengers and we all had lunch in the International Dining Room. I doubt if it was open to regular passengers as there were probably fewer than two dozen people seated at four tables in the entire room. I don’t know if any of the other dining rooms were open.

 

Jim

[ro]

thanks, everyone. We'll be on Sapphire in two weeks and we'll give it a shot. I appreciate all the responses .

[ChrisB123]

One of my favorite reason's to cruise is getting waited on in the dining room. :o

Dh and I are going on the Sapphire in Sept and I really don't want to fight for something the company says is part of the package. Has Princess been informed about this and if so, what was their response? :confused:

The first hour on board sets the tone of the cruise and "insisting on my right's," just doesn't seem a pleasant way to start a vacation. Maybe we can all write down the names of these yahoo's who are turning people away, in THEIR VIEW so they will know they are being tracked. :D

[Putterdude]

Here is what you need to print and have in your hip pocket when they tell you no dining venue is open for lunch...you shouldn't have to go to this trouble but to often it is the only thing that gets you in:

 

1st Day Dining

 

Shortly after we welcome you onboard your spectacular Princess ship, you're invited to relax and dine at the Horizon Court or in one of the ship’s multiple dining rooms.

At the forefront of 24-hour dining, the Horizon Court offers a round-the-clock venue for buffet meals or snacks. In addition, the restaurant operates a late-night bistro with a set menu and sit-down service from 11 pm to 4 am. A primary feature of Princess ships, the top-of-the-ship restaurant features floor-to-ceiling windows with stunning sea views as a backdrop.

Or join us in one of our main dining rooms for lunch served up by a staff -- from chefs to waiters -- dedicated to making your dining experience something special.

Together, Princess' unique combination of gracious dining staff, fine continental cuisine and new friends make every meal onboard a memorable occasion.

[Trey]

It is sad, but it is almost a game with the staff. We have been on the Sapphire many, many times. We usually eat in the MDR on embarkation day. We jump through their hoops, skirt the constant "no" and enjoy a leisurely lunch. Not that we will ever starve to death, but being on a cruise is all about being served, especially when one member of our group is handicapped. It should not be this way. I think most people are so excited about boarding the ship, checking out this and that, that they will not want to spend 1+ hr on lunch the first day. Have it open, stop the games, and I think it will still be empty.

[BM64]

Does anyone know which dining room is open on the Crown? We would really like to avoid the HC on thefirst day. Actually, dh would like to avoid the HC for the entire week.

[CruzinNoony]

We were just on the Sun (Sydney to New Zealand) and our party of 4 ate in the dining room on embarkation day. We were the ONLY ones!;)

[rdsqrl]

Does anyone know which dining room is open on the Crown? We would really like to avoid the HC on thefirst day. Actually, dh would like to avoid the HC for the entire week.

It was the DaVinci dining room, the one on Deck 6. Make sure you're there well before the posted closing time, though, as starting at about 1, I saw no new people being seated and I'm wondering if maybe they started turning people away then, which would have been half an hour before the posted closing time. However, I got there around 12:15 and was very warmly welcomed in (the hostess started waving me in when I was still like 10 feet away!). So you should have no problems. Bon apetito!

[LCTrippers]

We were just on the Sun (Sydney to New Zealand) and our party of 4 ate in the dining room on embarkation day. We were the ONLY ones!;)

 

When we were on the Golden in 3/09 the 2 of us were seated at a table out of view from the entrance with 3 other people. Nobody else was in the restaurant and no one else came the whole time we were there.

 

I found that kind of strange at the time. Now I know why.

[Putterdude]

and on the Sapphire we were only one of two groups in the Sante Fe and the other party were in-transit pax.

[donna5]

and on the Sapphire we were only one of two groups in the Sante Fe and the other party were in-transit pax.

 

How did you find out it was in the Sante Fe this time:confused:

[Putterdude]

How did you find out it was in the Sante Fe this time:confused:

 

By literally going from venue to venue knocking on doors.:mad:

[geejay]

Putterdude, we were on the same sailing as you. We found the open dining room but there was no way they would let us in. Kind of a bad way to start the cruise - though that was my only complaint! ;)

[Putterdude]

I have to agree, it was a great cruise.

I just wish that Princess would standardize their policy on this matter fleet wide. Having a DW with MS and using a walker makes it very difficult to have to traipse from venue to venue...also with her condition buffets are extremely awkward.:mad: