Wait lists for both first & second seating

[susiesnow]

My family group of four was inadvertantly booked for first seating, though we have always preferred the second seating for dinner. We were #15 on the waiting list. I mentioned this fact to my daughter last night & she asked that I request a change to second seating instead. I left this message with my TA today, as second seating is usually readily available. Imagine my surprise when he messaged back that both first & second seating are waitlisted, and that Princess is apparently pushing passengers into the Personal Choice dining. After reading of long waits for Personal Dining, I much prefer a set dinner hour, and it is better for my family to have a set time in which to meet. Lines and waits are not my idea of fun time on a cruise ship. We are now #185 on the wait list for second seating, and we sail in 12 days! This will be on the Golden out of San Juan. Any comments or recommendations on this situation?

[cactusrose]

If you can't get second seating by the time you sail, switch to Anytime dinning and find a table with waiters that you like. Then ask to be set at that table every night at a specific time. They will usually accomodate you.

[land lover]

don't sweat it......PC dining is great, last year when we booked with princess I was in shock like you..."what do you mean I can't get either seatings"...anyway PC worked out great, I would never go back... when we went on the TP in Aug. I was disappointed they didn't have PC......I don't know why people complain about waiting for a few minutes, you can always go to the other PC dining room, that is what we did and always got seated...........IMO you'll have a much more relaxed cruise with PC dining..............

[JLC@SD]

If you can't get second seating by the time you sail, switch to Anytime dinning and find a table with waiters that you like. Then ask to be set at that table every night at a specific time. They will usually accomodate you.

 

This is what you should do. And 4 is the perfect number for them to honor your request, lots of tables for 4.

 

The problem with the "Grand" class ships is that there are three equally sized dining rooms. One is set for Early / Late and the other two are set for "Anytime".

 

So 2/3 s of the ship is going to be "Anytime".

 

Our last trip we didn't get Traditional Late. And if you don't get your second seating request they will automatically schedule you for Anytime. We were a group of 4 and we requested the same table at 8:00 in one of the "Anytime" dining rooms the first night and we had it for all 12 days.

[Coral]

You can always ask if the matride can switch you the first day. He usually has a table setup and the times are posted in the patter.

 

I agree with those who posted above me - you will have no trouble getting a table for 4 at 8:00 or 8:30 pm each night.

[TEXASMUNK]

placed squarely in the palm of the Maitre D' can solve your problem

[spongerob]

Heh heh, Jim, are you suggesting we throw money at the problem? :)

 

I think it's time to look at re-tooling the "Personal Choice" dining idea. Why is the ability to booked a fixed dining time so limited? On the big ships with three dining rooms, it would be easy to have 4 distinct fixed seating times, and leave one room for walk-ups. Or have one for fixed seating, one for reservations, and one for walk-ups with no reservations accepted. The current system seems to be generating a lot of complaints.

[SaylorGirl]

I luvvvv personal choice dining, once you try it you'll never want to go back. I wouldn't worry it is very easy to reserve the same table every evening and you will have no wait. Call and make reservations the first night and then request to keep the table, it's that simple.

 

If that does not interst you, I agree about the $20.00 that should quickly get you a table in second seating. Have a wonderful cruise.

[Coolmama_1]

If you can't get second seating by the time you sail, switch to Anytime dinning and find a table with waiters that you like. Then ask to be set at that table every night at a specific time. They will usually accomodate you.

 

That is exactly what we did. In fact, we had met 3 other couples and enjoyed them and the great service we had. We requested the same table each night at the same time. Worked great.

 

We were on the Golden as well. Enjoy your cruise!

[racephoto]

DIfferent strokes for different folks I guess....I haven't been on Princess since they started PC but I was on NCL after they started Freestyle dining. It SOUNDED great, no stress, no deadlines......but we realized quickly one of the things we really enjoyed about cruising was the individualized service. You know, how after the first night the waiter knows you like a book? We felt it took something away from the whole experience. And the service was just not as good IMHO. Anyway, I would check with the Maitre 'd first day.

 

Good luck.

[BigDoug]

I was just on the CB (10/15 - 10/22). We had early traditonal seating for dinner. Although there was a lengthy wait list for early seating, there were many empty tables. By the third night, the Maitre'D was seating people with Anytime Dining in the Island dining room. I thought that this was a great distraction. To have people entering the dining room from 6:30 to 7:30 and being seated near you was bad enough. Then, you had your wait staff's attention diverted to the newly arrived people who were totally out of sync with their other tables. This meant longer waits for service and a less than satisfactory dining experience for us with traditional dining. I tried to talk to our waiter about the situation but he just said the Maitre'd can do what he wants but suggested we put an unfavorable comment about it on the comment card. I don't think it was a great idea to mix Anytime with Traditional. If I had wanted the Anytime Dining experience, I would have requested it. Although I was fortunate enough to be assigned Traditional, I was now forced to put up with the disruptions and distractions caused by Anytime. With 2 of the ships 3 main dining rooms assigned to Anytime, why was there a need to disrupt the one Traditional dining room? This is one area where Princess dropped the ball on what was otherwise a very enjoyable cruise.

[LuvTheGoodLife]

In response to Big Doug's complaint about the disruption caused by having Anytime Diners being sat in the Traditional Dining Room - I understand your frustration at the impact of this on your dining experience but, loooking at the issue from Princess' side - if Traditional Dining is so popular as to be waitlisted before the cruise- why is the Traditional Dining Room then so empty some nights that there is space to sit Anytime Diners?

 

I suspect that some cruisers insist on Traditional Dining because "that is what they have always had" on previous cruises. But when they go on a Grand Class Princess ship and see and hear about Anytime Dining options and the Specialty Restaurants, they begin to abandon their Traditional Dining room. This puts more pressure on the Anytime Dining options which Princess tries to relieve by the sitting Anytime diners in the Traditional Dining Room...

 

I wish there was a solution that made everyone happy... I know for me - Anytime Dining has always worked wonderfully and I am reluctant to return to other cruiselines that do not offer this option...

 

Just my opinion...

[Pam in CA]

IMHO, you should go to the Maitre D upon boarding and ask to be accommodated in the late traditional seating. Chances are that he'll be able to get you set up if not the first night, by the second night.

 

I've tried PC dining twice: the first time was a disaster and we had to wait 30 - 45 minutes every night for a table, even though we got there after 8:30PM. We tried it again on the CB last New Years and made a reservation for the same table, same waiters, every night. You can't just walk in to "your" table even with a reservation but you have to wait in line as the Maitre D seats the people with reservations. We usually had to wait 5 - 10 minutes, even though we had the standing reservation. Formal nights, we had to wait 20 - 30 minutes for the people to leave the table we'd reserved. Though our waiters were pretty good, it was very distracting when the table of 8 next to us was seated 30 minutes after us every night. We were ready to be served our main course while the waiters were getting them set up and their orders. Sometimes, the table on the other side and we had to wait 10 - 15 minutes while the other table was being set up, with congealing food left in front of us, etc. To me, PC dining just doesn't work, even with a nightly reservation, and I don't plan to try it again. If you like traditional seating, you're better off going to the Maitre D and avoiding PC dining.

[Ashclan]

We have also been waitlisted for our April cruise. I'm still hopeful, as we were #10 on the list in September of 05, so we have nearly 7 months to move up the queue, but who knows. At any rate, I have read some posts that express a preference for the Palm Dining Room if you do have to go with Anytime. Opinions? Does it matter?

 

Thanks!

[spongerob]

- if Traditional Dining is so popular as to be waitlisted before the cruise- why is the Traditional Dining Room then so empty some nights that there is space to sit Anytime Diners?

 

One thing I've noticed is that showtimes are not scheduled with regard to the fixed dining times. Late seating really gets the short end of the deal - you either have to rush through your meal or plan to eat earlier at an alternative spot if you really want to catch a show.

[spongerob]

We have also been waitlisted for our April cruise. I'm still hopeful, as we were #10 on the list in September of 05, so we have nearly 7 months to move up the queue, but who knows. At any rate, I have read some posts that express a preference for the Palm Dining Room if you do have to go with Anytime. Opinions? Does it matter?

 

I like the decor of the Palm Dining room on CB. It's a nice change from the usual. Also, regardless of the ship, if there are two Anytime dining rooms, you might find a shorter wait or a more accomadating head waiter at one or the other if you are looking to make standing reservations or have a group that wishes to be seated together.