Princess Medallion

[Aus Traveller]

2 minutes ago, Brisbane47 said:

New to cruising and there are things I can't find when logged in. Our cruise is Aug so maybe too early? How do I find the dining booking times? We aren't booking any special restaurants. 

When you log into the Medallion app, one of the options will be to choose your dining time and the restaurant you want. These are the (included) main dining rooms, not the specialty dining.

[Brisbane47]

Thank you. I will be back with more questions I'm sure! I have downloaded the app but haven't used it yet, I'm loading info via the website. 

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, Brisbane47 said:

Thank you. I will be back with more questions I'm sure! I have downloaded the app but haven't used it yet, I'm loading info via the website. 

You are in for some fun - I mean frustrating - times. 🙂 There are a couple of items that I could find available on the version on my phone, but not on the website. One was the boarding/disembarking time. I can't remember if there was another one. We like to board early so we can have lunch in the dining room so the boarding time is important to us.

[sj_cavy]

33 minutes ago, Brisbane47 said:

New to cruising and there are things I can't find when logged in. Our cruise is Aug so maybe too early? How do I find the dining booking times? We aren't booking any special restaurants. 

It might be too soon. I can make selections for June but not for December. Try about 60 days before your departure date. I think that was the number when more features opened up for us.

[sj_cavy]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Yes, I saw the same and was a bit puzzled. I wonder if you are able to choose who you are sharing with, so that you can dine with the people you just did trivia with, or if the system chooses your dining companions? 

 

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

I think it will be like Anytime Dining. When you turn up at your nominated time, others who turn up at the same time will be seated with you.

Something to add to our question list.

[windsor26]

I definitely did not get the screen with an option to share with others and I used my phone (not the computer ) and my cruise is in 4 weeks from UK   I will go through the whole (frustrating) business again and see if something different happens   Also Evon my medallion site said commencing embarkation at 12.30  and it is too early for you to pick a time yet  - bummer  like you we want to be on board about 11.30 ish   If I have any luck I will post back 

[Aus Traveller]

1 minute ago, windsor26 said:

I definitely did not get the screen with an option to share with others and I used my phone (not the computer ) and my cruise is in 4 weeks from UK   I will go through the whole (frustrating) business again and see if something different happens   Also Evon my medallion site said commencing embarkation at 12.30  and it is too early for you to pick a time yet  - bummer  like you we want to be on board about 11.30 ish   If I have any luck I will post back 

The option to choose an embarkation time opened 60 days prior to the cruise. The disembarkation time hasn't open yet even though it is much less than 60 days. I keep trying, but the disembarkation time isn't quite as important to us. Unless we a reason to disembark early, we go as late as we can so we can enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the dining room.

[arxcards]

57 minutes ago, Brisbane47 said:

New to cruising and there are things I can't find when logged in. Our cruise is Aug so maybe too early? How do I find the dining booking times? We aren't booking any special restaurants. 

I am also cruising in August. I can't book our boarding times, but can book our dining times for each night.

 

On the app, scroll down to "OceanNow - Food, Drinks & Shopping --- Dine my Way. It will take you to the option of dining at the same time and place each day, or to choose individual reservations for each day.

[windsor26]

I just tried to change things but apart from asking for any allergies I cannot get past that page to change anything  it seems to be locked away and finalised 

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

Yes, I saw the same and was a bit puzzled. I wonder if you are able to choose who you are sharing with, so that you can dine with the people you just did trivia with, or if the system chooses your dining companions? 

I think you can link others 'on the fly' for just one night at whatever restaurant you choose. When I booked our first night speciality restaurant I had the option of adding others to my party. Of course I wasn't doing that so don't know how it goes from there.

[OzKiwiJJ]

8 minutes ago, windsor26 said:

I definitely did not get the screen with an option to share with others and I used my phone (not the computer ) and my cruise is in 4 weeks from UK   I will go through the whole (frustrating) business again and see if something different happens   Also Evon my medallion site said commencing embarkation at 12.30  and it is too early for you to pick a time yet  - bummer  like you we want to be on board about 11.30 ish   If I have any luck I will post back 

Embarkation times may differ from port to port, or country to country.

 

The Brisbane times start at 11am but it sounds like yours start later. Perhaps it depend on what time the ship docks and that may depend on things like tides.

[windsor26]

Ahaa   I found it by trial and error  The option to share with others is only given for a few of the times so if you keep trying around the time you like until the share option comes up   Done it now 

[windsor26]

11 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The option to choose an embarkation time opened 60 days prior to the cruise. The disembarkation time hasn't open yet even though it is much less than 60 days. I keep trying, but the disembarkation time isn't quite as important to us. Unless we a reason to disembark early, we go as late as we can so we can enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the dining room.

I shall keep trying  perhaps there is   secret way in similar to how I just found the shared table offer

[arxcards]

4 minutes ago, windsor26 said:

I shall keep trying  perhaps there is   secret way in similar to how I just found the shared table offer

You are 69 days from boarding. It will be able to choose a boarding time in 10 days from now. Till then, it will show as 0 available.

[windsor26]

9 minutes ago, arxcards said:

You are 69 days from boarding. It will be able to choose a boarding time in 10 days from now. Till then, it will show as 0 available.

Thanks  you  Getting impatient I expect 

[arxcards]

8 minutes ago, windsor26 said:

Thanks  you  Getting impatient I expect 

Me too. 31st May is too far away for me.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

You are in for some fun - I mean frustrating - times. 🙂 There are a couple of items that I could find available on the version on my phone, but not on the website. One was the boarding/disembarking time. I can't remember if there was another one. We like to board early so we can have lunch in the dining room so the boarding time is important to us.

Is the dining room open again for boarding day lunch? They had stopped that at one stage. I would be happy to avoid the buffet conga line for the whole cruise. I might add that to the list on the other thread.

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, arxcards said:

Is the dining room open again for boarding day lunch? They had stopped that at one stage. I would be happy to avoid the buffet conga line for the whole cruise. I might add that to the list on the other thread.

We have been on several dozen Princess cruises and have only found the dining room closed for lunch once. On that occasion it was shown in the section on dining on the back page of the Princess Patter as open but there was a private function (probably travel agents) in the dining room with a staff member at the door to direct people to the buffet. Our last cruise was Feb-Mar 2020 just before the pause.

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

We have been on several dozen Princess cruises and have only found the dining room closed for lunch once. On that occasion it was shown in the section on dining on the back page of the Princess Patter as open but there was a private function (probably travel agents) in the dining room with a staff member at the door to direct people to the buffet. Our last cruise was Feb-Mar 2020 just before the pause.

Cool, I guess I can stand corrected. We had three in a row around 10 years ago where it was closed for boarding amid apparent cost-cutting, two local and one in San Francisco. We had a few years after trying other lines, and I didn't look for the dining room on both of the most recent cruises - one I was solo and busy taking photos, so just picked up a burger and chips up top. The second in Alaska, we were lucky to get on the ship before it sailed, so it was straight to cabin, shower, dinner in our all-day clothes.

[Aus Traveller]

I have an idea that the first cruise where we encountered the dining room closed on port days was on a cruise around the Indian Ocean in May 2011.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I have an idea that the first cruise where we encountered the dining room closed on port days was on a cruise around the Indian Ocean in May 2011.

Port days are different to embarkation days though. I wish the MDR would open on port days, especially if it's raining heavily and it's a port that features regularly on itineraries like Noumea.

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, OzKiwiJJ said:

Port days are different to embarkation days though. I wish the MDR would open on port days, especially if it's raining heavily and it's a port that features regularly on itineraries like Noumea.

I agree with you totally. I sometimes get off the ship for a short while in ports we have been to many many times and Peter often doesn't get off the ship at all. I gently try to encourage him but to no avail. We would go to the dining room if it was open. I recall that not too many years ago he used to laugh (to me only) about the regular cruisers who didn't get off the ship. Now, maybe the laugh is on him. 😁 Anyway, if he doesn't want to get off the ship, then that's how it is. 🙂 If I push him on it, I won't get him onto the ship at all.

[arxcards]

15 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Port days are different to embarkation days though. I wish the MDR would open on port days, especially if it's raining heavily and it's a port that features regularly on itineraries like Noumea.

Nouveau shouldn't be counted as a port day 🤣

[CDaze71]

On my 7 night QLD Coast cruise I'm only planning on getting off in Cairns. So it would be nice to be able to go to the MDR at the Airlie Beach and Port Douglas stops if they decided to open. I just miss cruising, not the ports, so I'm staying onboard as much as I can.

[arxcards]

2 minutes ago, CDaze71 said:

On my 7 night QLD Coast cruise I'm only planning on getting off in Cairns. So it would be nice to be able to go to the MDR at the Airlie Beach and Port Douglas stops if they decided to open. I just miss cruising, not the ports, so I'm staying onboard as much as I can.

It would make sense to open the MDR to reduce the foot traffic in Horror Zone court. But then, they have halved the foot traffic for the initial cruises, and it would be unlikely that could have both with 50% passengers and many of them off ship.