MDR Dinner Arrangement for Solo Cruiser

[DeeDee Groff]

On Monday afternoon I called Princess, and I booked B2B cruises for March 2022.

 

Even though the Captain's Circle membership is showing I have "Elite status" according to the reservation agent, it has been a number of years since I've sailed on a Princess ship.

 

I seem to have a challenge in securing a place at a table for "Main," i.e, late dining, because I do not have a smartphone or a tablet or any other portable device to make dining arrangements.  I use a desktop computer, and I have the old fashioned flip phone for mobile calls, but I leave it at home when I travel internationally.  When I told this to the reservation agent, she said, "You'll have to get yourself a smartphone or a tablet so you can sail with us."  I was so stunned I didn't know what to say, and the call ended soon after this revelation.

 

Would someone reading this please let me know if you think there is any way around this dilemma?

 

Thank you for your time!

[cr8tiv1]

Wow...that was rather rude of the agent, but unfortunately she is correct.  Princess has decided that all requests will need to go through their (non-working) Medallion Class app.  That includes reserving dining times, requesting a boarding time, filling in required forms, passport, and everything else you used to be able to do on the personalizer/computer.

 

There are many, many, many threads on the Medallion App.  

 

Are you using a travel agent?  

Join your roll call.

 

Good luck.

[caribill]

You do not need to obtain a smart phone to cruise on Princess.

 

You should be able to call Princess (and hopefully get a different agent than you had) and have the agent input the needed information for you.

 

And a smart phone is not needed to enjoy your cruise. The benefits of using a smart phone opn board can also be obtained using screens around the ship and on your in cabin TV.

[dog]

4 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Wow...that was rather rude of the agent, but unfortunately she is correct.  Princess has decided that all requests will need to go through their (non-working) Medallion Class app.  That includes reserving dining times, requesting a boarding time, filling in required forms, passport, and everything else you used to be able to do on the personalizer/computer.

 

There are many, many, many threads on the Medallion App.  

 

Are you using a travel agent?  

Join your roll call.

 

Good luck.

Now wait a minute here. Several of us have been told the opposite. See caribill’s post. 
 

 

3 hours ago, caribill said:

You do not need to obtain a smart phone to cruise on Princess.

 

You should be able to call Princess (and hopefully get a different agent than you had) and have the agent input the needed information for you.

 

And a smart phone is not needed to enjoy your cruise. The benefits of using a smart phone opn board can also be obtained using screens around the ship and on your in cabin TV.

yes. 

[lovetosew]

I too am contemplating a Princess cruise after several years away; new ways are a sail; so much so that I am looking at other cruise lines in order to avoid the high tech streaming of passengers. I do not want to be tracked with a button to go to dinner.  Travel companions are tough to find at our age.  Who knows.  We could drop dead at check in.  Who is going to press the medallion button then.

[dog]

2 hours ago, lovetosew said:

I too am contemplating a Princess cruise after several years away; new ways are a sail; so much so that I am looking at other cruise lines in order to avoid the high tech streaming of passengers. I do not want to be tracked with a button to go to dinner.  Travel companions are tough to find at our age.  Who knows.  We could drop dead at check in.  Who is going to press the medallion button then.

I suspect many others are considering the same as you. 
Right now the changes with the Personalizer, app & what a travel agent can or cannot do for clients has me considering a change, as well 

[Jadn13]

I am tech savvy and I have issues with the App.(Dine my way never works so you most likely couldn't make a dinner reservation anyway- we are Elite and Platinum) 

 I suggest finding a very good TA who can help you along.  They could most likely take care of all of this for you and get your medallion mailed to you ahead of time. You wouldn't need any other technology once arriving as there seems to be a way around it. 

My Mom only has a flip phone and since we are sailing together I was able to build her a profile on the App and get all the info set up for her on my phone.  

[cruzsnooze]

If you phone the ocean ready / medallion help line they will input your information. 

844-525-0942

There will be a separate line at the pier for those of us who have not used the app because we don't have or want to use a smart phone.

[Steelers36]

8 hours ago, DeeDee Groff said:

On Monday afternoon I called Princess, and I booked B2B cruises for March 2022.

 

Even though the Captain's Circle membership is showing I have "Elite status" according to the reservation agent, it has been a number of years since I've sailed on a Princess ship.

 

I seem to have a challenge in securing a place at a table for "Main," i.e, late dining, because I do not have a smartphone or a tablet or any other portable device to make dining arrangements.  I use a desktop computer, and I have the old fashioned flip phone for mobile calls, but I leave it at home when I travel internationally.  When I told this to the reservation agent, she said, "You'll have to get yourself a smartphone or a tablet so you can sail with us."  I was so stunned I didn't know what to say, and the call ended soon after this revelation.

 

Would someone reading this please let me know if you think there is any way around this dilemma?

 

Thank you for your time!

At least so far you have kept the res.  Some people are being turned off by the real and perceived complications when Princess should be making it easy and desirable to cruise with them.

[skynight]

5 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

If you phone the ocean ready / medallion help line they will input your information. 

844-525-0942

There will be a separate line at the pier for those of us who have not used the app because we don't have or want to use a smart phone.

Dee Dee Groff

If you do not have a smart device then you have to call the above number to not only reserve your dining times, but also to input all your other required boarding information. You may want to ask how you obtain your boarding pass. Princess' total reliance on those that have smart devices is a giant business error. I am stunned also by the statement that you have to have a smart device if you want to be a Princess customer. I would report that person to the highest levels at Princess. Someone here on CC has the e-mail addresses for these company officers. If you don't know the name then use the date and time of the call.

You will not need a smart device on the ship. Anything you need can be accessed on your cabin TV, or on the smart screens all around the ship. If you do not like your dining arrangement pretty sure as a single the maitre'd could arrange something that fits your preference.

Internet. You may wish to ask if there will still be PC's on the ship which allow internet and e-mail access for those without smart devices.   

[skynight]

26 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

At least so far you have kept the res.  Some people are being turned off by the real and perceived complications when Princess should be making it easy and desirable to cruise with them.

Agree. We are here to assist seems to be gone. Is Princess listening, or have they placed themselves on a highway with no exits? 

[cruisenurse2]

I agree with all of the above posts. Our society with covid has become an excuse to provide bad customer service, no customer service and poor quality food etc.

 

Get a good travel agent. I work at home for 10hours a day on computer. I have a smart phone . But , I am only going on my phone to book a reservation , That is it. I wonder they can you use desk top computers in the computer center if you have the upgrade which allows free wifi? Perhaps you can use them to book your meals on their website on the desk top. Can you call Princess and find out? 

 

Please let us know what you learn , as I really dont want to be on my phone on vacation. I would prefere to unplug. 

 

thank you !

[voljeep]

13 minutes ago, cruisenurse2 said:

I agree with all of the above posts. Our society with covid has become an excuse to provide bad customer service, no customer service and poor quality food etc.

Agreed - and it's across many services , not remotely limited to Princess

 

Food services - ride around and look at all the help wanted signs

 

Medical - may be the worst of all - I'm in the middle of it now - didn't receive email / call / fax - no show for home health, no call - waiting on insurance, blah, blah, blah - oh, we got the results, everything is OK, so we don't call the patient .

 

 

[Steelers36]

18 minutes ago, cruisenurse2 said:

I agree with all of the above posts. Our society with covid has become an excuse to provide bad customer service, no customer service and poor quality food etc.

 

Get a good travel agent. I work at home for 10hours a day on computer. I have a smart phone . But , I am only going on my phone to book a reservation , That is it. I wonder they can you use desk top computers in the computer center if you have the upgrade which allows free wifi? Perhaps you can use them to book your meals on their website on the desk top. Can you call Princess and find out? 

 

Please let us know what you learn , as I really don't want to be on my phone on vacation. I would prefer to unplug. 

 

thank you !

 

First, the DMW is not on the Princess.com website at all.  And it won't make a difference if using your own PC or one of the ones in the Internet Cafe on board.  No need to call Princess to learn this much.

 

You indicate you might go to the Internet Cafe on board and login and make a dining res if you could do so.  It would be a lot more convenient in my mind to use my own phone to do that - which I could do anywhere, such as in the cabin.  You will also be able to use a feature on your cabin TV to book and review dining reservations.  No need for the Internet Cafe.

 

 

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, voljeep said:

oh, we got the results, everything is OK, so we don't call the patient .

Very common practice here in ON as well.  From the patient's perspective, we don't know when or if they got the results.  A short "all-clear" phone call or email would be the right thing to do IMO and only take a few seconds per patient.  I bet most people end up calling in to follow up anyway.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Very common practice here in ON as well.  From the patient's perspective, we don't know when or if they got the results.  A short "all-clear" phone call or email would be the right thing to do IMO and only take a few seconds per patient.  I bet most people end up calling in to follow up anyway.

 

And that call usually results in leaving a message and then having to wait an unknown amount of time to get a call back.

[skynight]

Once on board you can make or change your dining reservations on a smart device, on your cabin TV, and probably on one of the large public screens all around the ship. You probably will also be able to just call the dining line. The program does not exist for PC based programs. The internet cafe is not useful for this purpose.

Those that commented about lack of help in many businesses. I don't believe cruise ships will face this issue hiring their crews. They may face lots of newly hired crew that need training, but that will work itself out.

Don't get me wrong. I still believe Princess has driven down a slippery road, loaded with potholes, and have not provided alternate easy to follow, fully tested routes to a comfortable vacation experience. Princess has also decided to spend all this money to develop a new app system at a time when they were not receiving any income. Doesn't sound like a good decision. 

[Steelers36]

13 minutes ago, skynight said:

Princess has also decided to spend all this money to develop a new app system at a time when they were not receiving any income. Doesn't sound like a good decision. 

It could have been a great decision if they executed better.

[Wishing on a star]

Find a Princess Rep, or another cruiser you know with a smartphone...  

I see no reason why this should not be able to be done.

 

Even if one did not really need or want a smart-phone,  it might be worth considering getting a cheaper one temporarily if they want to cruise.  Even if one is not used to or is hesitant to try to use the thing.  

 

If one is traveling and cruising, maybe think of it as Just part of the whole thing... One might actually find that it is useful.   

 

PS:  even those with the APP are finding it doesn't always work,  YET.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Wishing on a star

[brisalta]

50 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

It could have been a great decision if they executed better.

 

Part of a good execution would have been to keep existing systems in place.

I am speaking from experience at having worked at various multi-billion dollar software houses. At all we kept existing systems in place. Any new way of accessing the back end was in addition to the existing front end system. 

IMHO Princess has been sold a can of worms by a third party consulting firm.

[brisalta]

21 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

Find a Princess Rep, or another cruiser you know with a smartphone...  

I see no reason why this should not be able to be done.

 

Even if one did not really need or want a smart-phone,  it might be worth considering getting a cheaper one temporarily if they want to cruise.  Even if one is not used to or is hesitant to try to use the thing.  

 

If one is traveling and cruising, maybe think of it as Just part of the whole thing... One might actually find that it is useful.   

 

PS:  even those with the APP are finding it doesn't always work,  YET.

 

I see you believe the customer is always wrong.

It is Princess that is behaving with disregard to their customers.

 

I suggest people report the problem with the diminishing of the web interface to Jan Swartz.  Her role has changed to Group President, Holland America Group of which Princess is part of. To quote "Jan Swartz’ role is expanded to Group President, Holland America Group. Her responsibilities include oversight of Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn and P&O Australia, as well as Holland America Princess Alaska Tours and intergroup operations."

 

Does anybody have her new email address?

[Steelers36]

5 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

Part of a good execution would have been to keep existing systems in place.

I am speaking from experience at having worked at various multi-billion dollar software houses. At all we kept existing systems in place. Any new way of accessing the back end was in addition to the existing front end system. 

IMHO Princess has been sold a can of worms by a third party consulting firm.

Agree completely.  I just didn't bother to list all the things I would consider good execution.

[BarbinMich]

I appreciate the original poster's post as I'm in the same situation:  sailing solo (for the first time) and without a smartphone.  Also appreciate the responses!

[Steelers36]

12 minutes ago, brisalta said:

Does anybody have her new email address?

She may have multiple email addresses, but AFAIK, the PCL one still works as I recently emailed her concerning the MC App, DMW, and Arrival Groups.  The email did not kick back.  (I also wrote 3 or 4 other PCL execs).

[caribill]

2 hours ago, skynight said:

Once on board you can make or change your dining reservations on a smart device, on your cabin TV, and probably on one of the large public screens all around the ship. You probably will also be able to just call the dining line.

 

But anyone waiting to get on board is likely to be disappointed when requesting a dining time unless they want to dine relatively late.

 

Unless Princess is holding back reservation times just for those who wait until they are onboard, the most popular times will already have been reserved long before embarkation day.