Club Class Dining??

[abbydancer2003]

I must say, that I was a little skeptical about CC when I first heard about it before it was launched. Reading all of the positive reviews, it looks like I'll definitely be trying it on our next Princess cruise where we have a suite booked.....:):):)

Bob

 

That's where my email (when you are sure you are going) comes in.

[Iowa Traveler]

I DID notice the Club Class diners had different flowers on their tables.

Many vacant seats.

True 'anytime' dining experiences.

Heavy garlic-infused pasta specials!

(Viewed from the 'other' side of the tracks.)

 

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[jagoffee]

We have just returned from a 28 day Emerald Cruise. In my opinion the addition of the Club Class Dining is a big winner for Princess. As shown above, you will find most (but not all) of the negative comments about the Club Dining are from people who have never had the actual experience. The people that we met in Club Dining loved the experience.

 

It was very busy most nights, but not all the time. There were 64 seats for 128 possible diners. We never waited for a table and dined whenever we wished.

 

There were at least one and many times two special items. My favorite was the Pasta dishes prepared in the dining room in a central location, I loved the garlic smell. I also enjoyed the lamb chops and Steak Diane. I would say the special steaks were a better cut. Several of the deserts were also awesome. Although we only dined at lunch a few times, Razvan also prepared something special at lunch.

 

The level of service is very high and we were served at various times by each wait team.

 

My wife and I were booked in a suite, so it really did not cost anything extra. I would say the experience was close to the level of the Celebrity’s special suites only dining in Luminae. Our breakfasts were enjoyed in the Crown which is superior to the Celebrity Luminae experience.

[abbydancer2003]

 

My wife and I were booked in a suite, so it really did not cost anything extra. I would say the experience was close to the level of the Celebrity’s special suites only dining in Luminae. Our breakfasts were enjoyed in the Crown which is superior to the Celebrity Luminae experience.

 

I've been in suites on Princess, a club class mini and a sky suite on Celebrity. I loved all the dining experiences. I agree that the Suite breakfast on Princess beats breakfast in Luminae, but I think the club class dining, while excellent, does have a ways to go to match Luminae.

 

Mostly because Luminae has a full unique menu, and you can also order of the dining room menu as well. So more choices. Service was on par with both.

[curtdesilets]

Thanks for all the great responses. I will report back on the butter situation. - OP

[curtdesilets]

So question about CC lunch -- we are doing the 5 night cruise to Cabo. We arrive in cabo around 1pm on a Wednesday and all aboard is 11:30am on Thursday, with 12pm departure. Will the CC dining be available for lunch on either of those days?? They aren't technically "sea days" but we are at sea during the lunch hour

 

Great question! I hope we can get seated for lunch on those days, as someone suggested. We are on the Cabo Cruise as well. Curt and Gail from Long Beach

[3kidsncats]

Club Class dining is open for lunch on the same "sea days" that the MDR is open for lunch.

 

In my experience, it was open on days when the ship was at sea during the normal lunch time, but this could vary by ship and itinerary. Since the normal lunch time is 12:00 noon to 1:30 pm, I would expect it to be open both of those days. Since everyone is on board for lunch both of those days, the buffet would be much too busy without the MDR being open - so it will probably be open.

 

That's what I was thinking/hoping for. It's a shorter cruise, we have a bunch of people joining us for our 25th anniversary vow renewal, and about half won't have CC. I want to make sure we have at least a few opportunities to check it out, and lunches will be easier to work in. I want to be able to have dinner with all of our friends and family, so will do regular AT dining, specialty dining and room service to our suite -- doesn't leave a lot of time for CC dinners

[3kidsncats]

Great question! I hope we can get seated for lunch on those days, as someone suggested. We are on the Cabo Cruise as well. Curt and Gail from Long Beach

 

This year it's your turn to give me a heads up report, lol. Hope we get to actually sail WITH you one of these days 😄

[sewgood]

Jagoffe, we had Razvan on the Emerald around NZ ealier this year. He was a great manager of Club Class.

He had a great way with the staff and was a natural with the passengers.

He cooked as well as entertained us. He was a hoot and you could see worked really hard to make CC something special.

We also had Iryna as the greeter who was just wonderful.

Every meal we had in CC Razvan would always come over and say something to put a smile on our faces.

Glad to hear he is still on the Emerald in Class class.

Would I pay extra for the specials of the day- no. Would I pay the extra cost of CC for the atmoshere and service in CC - sure would and have already booked my next CC cruise.

[abbydancer2003]

That's what I was thinking/hoping for. It's a shorter cruise, we have a bunch of people joining us for our 25th anniversary vow renewal, and about half won't have CC. I want to make sure we have at least a few opportunities to check it out, and lunches will be easier to work in. I want to be able to have dinner with all of our friends and family, so will do regular AT dining, specialty dining and room service to our suite -- doesn't leave a lot of time for CC dinners

 

You could always have dinner twice :D

[cardiffman]

No doubt others will chime in here. I don't understand how you think you helped your crew, or someone's graduation. If a passenger has cancelled the auto-tips, then individual waiters, stewards, etc are NOT allowed to keep cash tips for themselves and are required/expected to turn them into the pool for sharing. Would you mind indicating why you cancelled the auto-tips? What about your cabin steward and others? Were you concerned about tip money going to other wait-staff around the ship?

 

 

 

In reality there were no berries enrobed in butter and we did the automatic tipping because it's civilized and frees us to think about things that actually matter in the world. I am a rank amateur when it comes to satire, so I apologize for my misleading post. It's true we sailed in club class on the Ruby and really enjoyed it.

 

 

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[3kidsncats]

You could always have dinner twice :D

 

Lmao -- it did occur to me, after posting, that we could meet up with friends in the MDR for desserts or something late in the dinner hour, after an early CC dinner. Some are buffet peeps, so that might work well for them. But no way I could eat two dinners -- I can barely eat one, lol

[abbydancer2003]

Lmao -- it did occur to me, after posting, that we could meet up with friends in the MDR for desserts or something late in the dinner hour, after an early CC dinner. Some are buffet peeps, so that might work well for them. But no way I could eat two dinners -- I can barely eat one, lol

 

I'm laughing because on our X cruise, I liked the descriptions of the appetizers in Blu (the Aqua class restaurant) better than in Luminae, where we ate. I gave serious thought to doing appetizers there, and then finishing in Luminae.

[3kidsncats]

I'm laughing because on our X cruise, I liked the descriptions of the appetizers in Blu (the Aqua class restaurant) better than in Luminae, where we ate. I gave serious thought to doing appetizers there, and then finishing in Luminae.

 

Lol-- I like your thinking! It's your vacation, do it your way! I wish we were doing a 10 day instead of a 5 day so that we could get in all the wonderful dining options. My husband is already complaining that 5 days is too short, but we had to adjust our date for our oldest two daughters' college break, and 5 days was the only cruise option if we didn't want to deal with airfare. But with good info and planning, we will cram as much as possible in :-D

[curtdesilets]

This year it's your turn to give me a heads up report, lol. Hope we get to actually sail WITH you one of these days 😄

 

Will report back as soon as I know. Happy 25th Anniversary! That's awesome.

[curtdesilets]

Jagoffe, we had Razvan on the Emerald around NZ ealier this year. He was a great manager of Club Class.

He had a great way with the staff and was a natural with the passengers.

He cooked as well as entertained us. He was a hoot and you could see worked really hard to make CC something special.

We also had Iryna as the greeter who was just wonderful.

Every meal we had in CC Razvan would always come over and say something to put a smile on our faces.

Glad to hear he is still on the Emerald in Class class.

Would I pay extra for the specials of the day- no. Would I pay the extra cost of CC for the atmoshere and service in CC - sure would and have already booked my next CC cruise.

 

Good to know. We are doing our first CC in a couple weeks. Our Travel Agent said all of his feedback from his clients that have booked CC has been absolutely positive. Looking forward to a great experience.

[3kidsncats]

Will report back as soon as I know. Happy 25th Anniversary! That's awesome.

 

Look forward to it 😄 And thanks

[jagoffee]

Good to know. We are doing our first CC in a couple weeks. Our Travel Agent said all of his feedback from his clients that have booked CC has been absolutely positive. Looking forward to a great experience.

Your TA must be ignoring the negative comments from their clients that have never tried it.

[OCruisers]

Your TA must be ignoring the negative comments from their clients that have never tried it.

 

Yes, does seem the negative comments are from those who have NEVER tried it. :rolleyes:

[cr8tiv1]

Just got back from cruising the Caribbean Princess in Club Class Dining. Loved it. Never a wait. Head waiter made sure I had everything I wanted. Sometimes I had to dine alone and met some fabulous couples who would either share a table with me or were next to me on a table for two. Waiters were extremely attentive. Too many waiters to tip was the biggest decision! Ha Ha. Additional selections were top notch. Even left to see a show and returned for dessert once. Too much of a good thing.

[divaofdisney]

Just got back from cruising the Caribbean Princess in Club Class Dining. Loved it. Never a wait. Head waiter made sure I had everything I wanted. Sometimes I had to dine alone and met some fabulous couples who would either share a table with me or were next to me on a table for two. Waiters were extremely attentive. Too many waiters to tip was the biggest decision! Ha Ha. Additional selections were top notch. Even left to see a show and returned for dessert once. Too much of a good thing.

 

 

 

Wonder if you could let me know how the coffee is in CC? Was it good?? I’ve heard that the only decent coffee is at IC. My husband loves a great cup of coffee after dinner with dessert.

 

 

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[OCruisers]

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At the end of the cruise we wondered what to do about extra gratuities - it seemed they all deserved it but it was awkward handing out many envelopes and what if we missed someone??? We talked to the Head Waiter and he said that if we liked, we could put whatever amount we were comfortable with in a single envelope, give it to him, and he would distribute it to the a pool that was just for Club Class staff.

 

Thanks for posting this. Great solution for what to do about extra gratuities in CC. (y)

[NavyVeteran]

Just got back from cruising the Caribbean Princess in Club Class Dining. Loved it. Never a wait. Head waiter made sure I had everything I wanted. Sometimes I had to dine alone and met some fabulous couples who would either share a table with me or were next to me on a table for two. Waiters were extremely attentive. Too many waiters to tip was the biggest decision! Ha Ha. Additional selections were top notch. Even left to see a show and returned for dessert once. Too much of a good thing.

That was our experience with Club Class on the Caribbean Princess also. The service was fantastic.

 

We're looking forward to sharing a table with you in Club Class dining on the Golden Princess next fall.:)

[Hlitner]

Wonder if you could let me know how the coffee is in CC? Was it good?? I’ve heard that the only decent coffee is at IC. My husband loves a great cup of coffee after dinner with dessert.

 

 

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Unless I am totally off-base...I do believe that CC gets the same exact coffee (from the same place) as everyone else in dining room. We think Princess MDR coffee is so-so.....but a lot better then what you get in the Horizon Court. The IC (our hang out) has somewhat better coffee...although we prefer to get cappuccino or another specialty drink that is custom made.

 

Hank

[3kidsncats]

Wonder if you could let me know how the coffee is in CC? Was it good?? I’ve heard that the only decent coffee is at IC. My husband loves a great cup of coffee after dinner with dessert.

 

 

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We ordered cappuccino after dinner in the MDR and it was quite good. It is extra charge (you can use a punch if you have a coffee card) but worth it, IMO.