Open letter to Princess President John Padgett

[PescadoAmarillo]

2 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

So, if I understand this correctly:

- You are going to base a decision on whether or not to continue to sail on Princess on what you read on here (thanks, by the way, for telling posters what the purpose of this forum is or isn't).

- You only want to hear complaints, nothing good or neutral.

- You will decide whether you read the complaints or not.

- You know before you start that DMW doesn't work and neither does the wifi.  You know that because you've read it on here and you've discounted any reports to the contrary.

 

Given the positive approach you've adopted and the empirical, even-handed, unbiased and scientific methodology you are taking, I think most people could tell you right now what conclusion you're going to reach.  

 

I hope whatever line you jump ship to disappoints you less.  However,  I fear you'll discover (assuming you adopt the same glass half full outlook and rigorous methodology for researching them as you are towards Princess) that they all disappoint you equally, if not more.

Of course I’ll base my decision on whether or not to cruise, in part at least, on what I read here. That is the value of Cruise Critic. How else would I know what’s happening with the things I feel are issues?  

 

Why in the world would you think I only want to hear complaints?  That wasn’t at all what I said. 

 

Yes, I decide what I read. I’ve found that’s the best way to navigate this forum. 
 

DMW and MedallionNet working well on a ship I’m on going to sail on might give me hope that things are improving, but I am looking for reviews about the ship and in the area I’ll be cruising. It’s not hard to realize from reading here that what works well on some ships doesn’t work on others. 

[Guest ldtr]

5 hours ago, TheMichael said:

 

This is the thing that I think some people are trying to get at: people can have wildly different experiences, even on the same cruise. I was just on that same Discovery cruise (two weeks later), and my dining experience could not have gone better, with the sole exception of one Salty Dog dinner that wasn't the food or service, but the overly loud sounds of "Radio Sunshine" immediately adjacent in the Piazza.

 

I'm a coffee addict, and I quickly discovered that the Princess Live bar was the place to go if I wanted to avoid a long line for espresso. Espresso lines at the Cafe and Buffet will never get solved, no matter how many staff they have - even Starbucks themselves haven't been able to crack that. Espresso machines work only so quickly. Instead, look for the road less traveled. The buffet's self-serve coffee urns were also a salvation when any joe would do.

 

Ate at the MDR, Sur Le Mer, and Crown Grill, and all were fantastic. The one tip I'd give is if you love filet mignon, get it at Sur Le Mer rather than Crown Grill. As others have mentioned, when the MDR gets packed, service slows, but again, planning can help with that, and I never expect a speedy MDR meal, which is why we planned in advance to eat elsewhere most of the time.

 

All entrees were as expected; service was by and large impeccable, certainly better than most of our local restaurants at that level of dining. The one time my gf had to send something back (doneness issue), they had no problem making it right (although I'd expect that if it was an issue with the sauce, they'd have to have offered a different entree). We had one room-service breakfast, ordered in advance and delivered at the requested time. Heck, one of the bartenders attempted to make the gf a frozen drink that they'd never made before (it wasn't quite right, but what she was used to was the specialty of a particular restaurant).

 

I was expecting the understaffing that's so prevalent at our local restaurants and shops to be a big issue on the ship, but for us it was a great experience almost from top to bottom, with minor glitches that were more amusing than maddening.

 

Not to diminish anyone's personal experience, but personal experience is often a combination of factors that can include "wrong time/wrong place" and not being in the right frame of mind to adapt when necessary.

I was also just on the Discovery Princess. Not sure what peoples expectations are, but the lines at my local Starbucks are worse than at the IC. Yes, there was usually a short line in the morning. Longest I was in had 5 people in front of me. Maybe a 5 minute wait.

 

Do not like that long of a line. Go sit down and order coffee on App.

Edited January 24, 2023 by ldtr

[PescadoAmarillo]

16 hours ago, ldtr said:

When was the last issue of the reservations disappearing?  

 

I just thought of something that might be impacting his use, based upon what I recall of your cruising style (adding or changing cruises at pretty much anytime).  With the medallion if you book back to back cruises the medallion shows them as one logical cruise, so if you book reservations it will book them across the complete B2B cruises.  In most cases that is very handy.  What I have not tried is if you have a cruise booked, have all of your reservations made, then at a later date book the next cruise adding a B2B.  I can see where that could impact the system.  We have booked our consecutive cruises all at the same time without any problems.  Have not tried adding another cruise at a later date.

I’m trying to recall…probably the second half of September and very early October. And you’re right, that is what he was doing, but he was already on the ship when he added additional cruises, and this happened while he was still at home (which is how I can recall the date). Once he was one the ship he said he’d take care of things in person and I no longer even looked at the app.  I’m using a two year old iPhone with 256GB of memory. Hardware is not the issue. 

[Guest ldtr]

45 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I’m trying to recall…probably the second half of September and very early October. And you’re right, that is what he was doing, but he was already on the ship when he added additional cruises, and this happened while he was still at home (which is how I can recall the date). Once he was one the ship he said he’d take care of things in person and I no longer even looked at the app.  I’m using a two year old iPhone with 256GB of memory. Hardware is not the issue. 

I can see where making such a change could result in the reservations getting removed. It is probably a fairly low occurrence event (not that many would add cruises on the fly to already booked cruises after doung their reservations) that it might be something that they are not aware of. Do you know if he mentioned the sequence of events to the medallion folks on board and asked them to report it to the development team?

 

Sometimes if there is not a good data connection to the servers, the App will show something is gone, when it is still there, just the server it is stored on cannot be reach. That little issue caused a lot of people to reenter data such as reservations because they appeared to be gone. Unfortunately the app is heavily dependent upon communications and is still does not show any error messages when there is a communications issue making people think that their previously entered data has vanished.

Edited January 24, 2023 by ldtr

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

17 hours ago, ldtr said:

When was the last issue of the reservations disappearing?  

 

On the other hand the only problem I have had with the App is that it does not pick up my captains circle status correctly when I am off ship.    Picks it up correctly while on ship.  But then changes back when off ship.  I suspect that back when I first registered it created another CC number in the medallion DB, same as with a bunch of other people.

 

Other then that which only impacts the 50% discount for internet, I have not had any problems.  When I book a new cruise all of my data for that cruise populations reducing the entire pre-cruise process to making a decision about if I want my medallion shipped, picking my arrival time (which most ports are not following anyway), make my reservations, etc.  A lot less work then the old system.

 

So I have not been fighting the App it works fine and has made things for me easier.  Now I am using it no android phones (Samsung 8, and Samsung 21) and make sure that all of my apps are up to date and have plenty of memory.  The App is rather resource intensive and can act rather strange on phones that are resource limited.

 

I just thought of something that might be impacting his use, based upon what I recall of your cruising style (adding or changing cruises at pretty much anytime).  With the medallion if you book back to back cruises the medallion shows them as one logical cruise, so if you book reservations it will book them across the complete B2B cruises.  In most cases that is very handy.  What I have not tried is if you have a cruise booked, have all of your reservations made, then at a later date book the next cruise adding a B2B.  I can see where that could impact the system.  We have booked our consecutive cruises all at the same time without any problems.  Have not tried adding another cruise at a later date.

My reservations disappeared on the second day of our 2022 Thanksgiving cruise. It occurred while I was attempting to update the app over the ships WIFI. The staff onboard believes it was done by a crew member on the ship, but this guy in this video had the exact same issue 8 months ago. I work in IT and can tell you this app is full of bugs that shouldn't exist.

 

 

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

19 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

While I understand what you’re saying, I don’t think my not understanding the system is the reason my husband’s dinner reservations completely disappeared from the app….twice. I went online to double check, and yes, they were gone. Making the reservations again meant his original time and dining room choices were gone. His Hawaii cruises were well booked; it took until his third B2B cruise to get the dining of his choice that he chose to have from the beginning. 
 

The problem is not user error. I’m as technically proficient as most Princess cruisers.  The fact that we are still dealing with this 18 months after DMW was rolled out is the issue. But here’s the thing…cruising Princess should not have a learning curve. If it’s not seamless, effortless and faultless, it’s broken. Guests should not be running out to buy new phones to take a Princess cruise. They should not have to, as the form SVP of Sales callously recommended, get their grandson to check them in.  You and I know that fighting the app is ridiculous, just show up at the pier with a Booking ID, passport and any required COVID information and forget the rest.  But the average new cruiser does not know that. They are stressing. This is wrong. And the fact that it’s been wrong for more than 18 months shows me Princess either doesn’t have the resources or the desire to fix them. 
 

The same thing happened to me. This is why I take screenshots every week to prove they are there in the app. It was the only proof I had to show that the app had a major defect.

[PescadoAmarillo]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

I can see where making such a change could result in the reservations getting removed. It is probably a fairly low occurrence event (not that many would add cruises on the fly to already booked cruises after doung their reservations) that it might be something that they are not aware of. Do you know if he mentioned the sequence of events to the medallion folks on board and asked them to report it to the development team?

Yes, of course he did, and also told them that the reservations had disappeared in the Cruise Personalizer also. He wants this to get fixed as much as anyone. 
 

Your observations got me wondering this morning. I went into the Medallion App for the first time since booking 17 B2B cruises during the $1 deposit promotion. As I would expect, they all do show up in my account in the app. However, they were broken into two dates, each grouping with approximately half of the total number of days. The Booking ID shown is not for the first cruise, but, I am not inclined to dig through through 17 confirmations to see which cruise it relates to. They show up: I’m happy.
 

However, when I attempted to make dinner reservations at the same time every night for the first half of the cruises, it states there are no reservations available (at any time, in any restaurant). Hmmmm.  I chose the second grouping and was able to book the same time at a private table in our chosen dining room. That seemed to work. I tried again with the first grouping…nothing available. 
 

I tried online and couldn’t even get that far. It states that my Booking ID is already linked and gives me no options for what to do next. This despite the fact that I got to that point through the booking. 
 

I am left unconvinced that either the Medallion App or the online check in are fully functional. 

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

2 hours ago, ldtr said:

I can see where making such a change could result in the reservations getting removed. It is probably a fairly low occurrence event (not that many would add cruises on the fly to already booked cruises after doung their reservations) that it might be something that they are not aware of. Do you know if he mentioned the sequence of events to the medallion folks on board and asked them to report it to the development team?

 

Sometimes if there is not a good data connection to the servers, the App will show something is gone, when it is still there, just the server it is stored on cannot be reach. That little issue caused a lot of people to reenter data such as reservations because they appeared to be gone. Unfortunately the app is heavily dependent upon communications and is still does not show any error messages when there is a communications issue making people think that their previously entered data has vanished.

We have had disappearing reservations on a couple of bookings, but as you postulated, they showed up again once onboard.  We figured we would just fix it onboard as we have had to do with other app shortcomings, but it took care of itself.  We live in a remote area, with little cell service and very unreliable WiFi service, and have also noticed that many app functions work when we drive to the nearest city.

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, ATL_Miami_Cruiser said:

I work in IT and can tell you this app is full of bugs that shouldn't exist.

I may be very well mistaken but isn't much of their problem with the Medallion app caused by the fact that they're trying to get it to work with many different models & vintages of phones?

Seems like a nightmare to me. 

[Steelers36]

On 1/23/2023 at 7:18 AM, MissP22 said:

Like yourself we've never had any problem getting the same table & wait staff but we eat early & it can be arranged. They're not going to hold a specific table of any size for a group arriving between 6 & 8 PM.

It simply would shut down the restaurant just to cater to the needs/wants of a few.

Disagree.  Did this for a 4-top on both Regal and Island in October/November.  We were not the only ones having similar.  Our time was 6pm, but we often showed up by 5:45pm if ready to go.

[Guest ldtr]

51 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Yes, of course he did, and also told them that the reservations had disappeared in the Cruise Personalizer also. He wants this to get fixed as much as anyone. 
 

Your observations got me wondering this morning. I went into the Medallion App for the first time since booking 17 B2B cruises during the $1 deposit promotion. As I would expect, they all do show up in my account in the app. However, they were broken into two dates, each grouping with approximately half of the total number of days. The Booking ID shown is not for the first cruise, but, I am not inclined to dig through through 17 confirmations to see which cruise it relates to. They show up: I’m happy.
 

However, when I attempted to make dinner reservations at the same time every night for the first half of the cruises, it states there are no reservations available (at any time, in any restaurant). Hmmmm.  I chose the second grouping and was able to book the same time at a private table in our chosen dining room. That seemed to work. I tried again with the first grouping…nothing available. 
 

I tried online and couldn’t even get that far. It states that my Booking ID is already linked and gives me no options for what to do next. This despite the fact that I got to that point through the booking. 
 

I am left unconvinced that either the Medallion App or the online check in are fully functional. 

There is one other aspect of the architecture that I think is causing them issues.  Princess in all of its systems takes the approach that if it cannot find your captains circle number, it merely creates a new one.  I believe that this approach has carried over to medallion and that this is the cause of a couple of problems, 1. Medallion not correctly picking up ones medallion status and 2. Some cases of data apparently vanishing.

 

It is my hypothesis that if when one first set up medallion the system was unable to access your captains circle number, it merely solved the problem by creating a new one.  That one is used by medallion off ship.  Which in my case means that medallion shows my status as blue, not black.  This is stored in the medallion server, which is separate from the main Princess servers.  As a result it does not impact anything except my medallion status off ship.  The second I climb on board ship my status changes to black, for as long as I am on a cruise.  Because at that time it gets its data from the ships medallion server which uses the Captains circle number tied to the reservation itself and therefore has the correct stats.  I mentioned this to Princess and the person I was on Chat with was able to resolve it in about 5 minutes.  However, the fix only worked until I went on my next cruise and came back when I got off.  That means that somewhere in the medallion server the incorrect data is still stored.

 

This can also have some other interesting impacts such as bookings that medallion recognizes cannot be accessed using the web version because medallion grabbed them with the incorrect CC number, such that when I log in with the Princess web site, which uses my correct number, it thinks that those cruises have been assigned to someone else due to the data mismatch.

 

It could also might explain  why some reservations vanish.  I did a test using another android phone where I had medallion installed and showed all of my data correctly.  I took the phone onboard.  Deleted the app entirely, and reinstalled.  Since I was onboard it was using that data and it was unable to access my reservation data or any other booked cruises information. Where as on my main phone which I had updated  prior to boarding the cruise all data was there and worked perfectly well.   i would bet that a good portion of the remaining issues are due to data integrity issues between data repositories.  Unfortunately Princess customer service for medallion is more focused on answering questions on how to use it, and less on creating true bug reports that get funneled to the development team.

[MissP22]

Just now, Steelers36 said:

Disagree.  Did this for a 4-top on both Regal and Island in October/November.  We were not the only ones having similar.  Our time was 6pm, but we often showed up by 5:45pm if ready to go.

We also reserved a table for 2 at 5 PM last cruise. I suppose it depends on how many people are requesting them.

[Steelers36]

23 hours ago, MissP22 said:

We'll I stand corrected but I still don't think it's right to hold tables for 6:30 PM  arrivals. There's nothing they can do with that table until you arrive, meaning someone who's ready to eat will have to wait at the door.  

Same thing happens all the time in a land-based restaurant.  The DR opens at say 5pm, and there is a res for 6pm - that table sits empty.  Same for a 6:30pm.  Except I know from experience we may sometimes look to make a res and they will say you can have a table at 5pm, but need it back before 6:30pm.  Fine - two of us can get in/out in less than 90 minutes.

 

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

36 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I may be very well mistaken but isn't much of their problem with the Medallion app caused by the fact that they're trying to get it to work with many different models & vintages of phones?

Seems like a nightmare to me. 

I wish that were the case. There's two major developer toolkits that would be Princesses main focus, Android and iOS. There are different OS version numbers of Android and iOS, but each modern version is based on the same core kernel for each toolkit. So you could have an iPhone 8 or 14 and the same base code would apply to both as long as they are on a modern OS version from a few years back. Android used to be bad at this but over the years is much better now. Tablets also run the same base code but with just some tweaks to the configuration values. So it's practically all the same code per each OS and this is by design to ensure the majority of apps can work across all phones running iOS and Android. If they didn't do it this way all apps on the app stores would be broken several times a year as each new OS version is pushed out. The problem with Princess is that they didn't take the time to properly QA, debug and pursue actual user input before deploying this app. That and they have an older legacy reservation system interfacing with a modern system and the mapping between the two isn't the best. I'm rooting for them it right.

Edited January 24, 2023 by ATL_Miami_Cruiser

[Guest ldtr]

13 minutes ago, ATL_Miami_Cruiser said:

I wish that were the case. There's two major developer toolkits that would be Princesses main focus, Android and iOS. There are different OS version numbers of Android and iOS, but each modern version is based on the same core kernel for each toolkit. So you could have an iPhone 8 or 14 and the same base code would apply to both as long as they are on a modern OS version from a few years back. Android used to be bad at this but over the years is much better now. Tablets also run the same base code but with just some tweaks to the configuration values. So it's practically all the same code per each OS and this is by design to ensure the majority of apps can work across all phones running iOS and Android. If they didn't do it this way all apps on the app stores would be broken several times a year as each new OS version is pushed out. The problem with Princess is that they didn't take the time to properly QA, debug and pursue actual user input before deploying this app. That and they have an older legacy reservation system interfacing with a modern system and the mapping between the two isn't the best. I'm rooting for them it right.

Bingo, I believe that in addition to the resource demand for the App there are some data issues between the core Princess databases and the information in the vendors databases. Depending upon device and location one can get different behavior. Due to Princess main DB, vendor medallion DB, and shipboard DB.

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Yes, of course he did, and also told them that the reservations had disappeared in the Cruise Personalizer also. He wants this to get fixed as much as anyone. 
 

Your observations got me wondering this morning. I went into the Medallion App for the first time since booking 17 B2B cruises during the $1 deposit promotion. As I would expect, they all do show up in my account in the app. However, they were broken into two dates, each grouping with approximately half of the total number of days. The Booking ID shown is not for the first cruise, but, I am not inclined to dig through through 17 confirmations to see which cruise it relates to. They show up: I’m happy.
 

However, when I attempted to make dinner reservations at the same time every night for the first half of the cruises, it states there are no reservations available (at any time, in any restaurant). Hmmmm.  I chose the second grouping and was able to book the same time at a private table in our chosen dining room. That seemed to work. I tried again with the first grouping…nothing available. 
 

I tried online and couldn’t even get that far. It states that my Booking ID is already linked and gives me no options for what to do next. This despite the fact that I got to that point through the booking. 
 

I am left unconvinced that either the Medallion App or the online check in are fully functional. 

Suspect that is caused my the system created a new cc number only used by medallion. when you log in via app it grabs the reservations population the medallion dB with the bad number. Then when you go into online version it will not allow you access because the web version is tied to the correct cc while your reservations are linked to the bad number.

 

Same problem I have experienced.

[brisalta]

On 1/22/2023 at 10:12 AM, Mademypoint said:

 and has issues far more significant than not being able to use a fork to cut veal. 

 

How uncouth not using a knife and fork!  😉

Edited January 24, 2023 by brisalta

[brisalta]

46 minutes ago, ATL_Miami_Cruiser said:

I wish that were the case. There's two major developer toolkits that would be Princesses main focus, Android and iOS. There are different OS version numbers of Android and iOS, but each modern version is based on the same core kernel for each toolkit. So you could have an iPhone 8 or 14 and the same base code would apply to both as long as they are on a modern OS version from a few years back. Android used to be bad at this but over the years is much better now. Tablets also run the same base code but with just some tweaks to the configuration values. So it's practically all the same code per each OS and this is by design to ensure the majority of apps can work across all phones running iOS and Android. If they didn't do it this way all apps on the app stores would be broken several times a year as each new OS version is pushed out. The problem with Princess is that they didn't take the time to properly QA, debug and pursue actual user input before deploying this app. That and they have an older legacy reservation system interfacing with a modern system and the mapping between the two isn't the best. I'm rooting for them it right.

 

One of the problems is they are using a non-native tool kit to create the Medallion App. If you drill down into the App with the appropriate tools you will see this. I will not say anymore as this is way off topic to the thread.

Edited January 24, 2023 by brisalta

[TheMichael]

37 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

One of the problems is they are using a non-native tool kit to create the Medallion App. If you drill down into the App with the appropriate tools you will see this. I will not say anymore as this is way off topic to the thread.

 

I think as it was the OP's opening salvo, it's definitely on topic. Some people (like the OP) see it as a "failing" of Princess that's somehow emblematic of a larger problem. 

 

The Medallion app is fine. Amazing in some ways (hands-free door, shipmate location, and there's nothing like ordering a drink and having the bartender hand it to you and just say "I've got you") but not in others (like dining reservation visibility, which briefly came and went for me too at one point), which I suspect are not the app itself, but some API it uses to access the external database where that info exists. (Of course, they're part of the same system, but the website uses that system as well, so it's likely external to the app on your phone.)

 

I've dealt with WAY buggier apps, and you could pull five at random from the App Store/Google Play with issues that should have been fixed prior to 1.0.

[cruising.mark.uk]

6 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Of course I’ll base my decision on whether or not to cruise, in part at least, on what I read here. That is the value of Cruise Critic. How else would I know what’s happening with the things I feel are issues?  

 

Why in the world would you think I only want to hear complaints?  That wasn’t at all what I said. 

 

Yes, I decide what I read. I’ve found that’s the best way to navigate this forum. 
 

DMW and MedallionNet working well on a ship I’m on going to sail on might give me hope that things are improving, but I am looking for reviews about the ship and in the area I’ll be cruising. It’s not hard to realize from reading here that what works well on some ships doesn’t work on others. 

You crack on.  I'm sure there's a version of reality somewhere in which the wise thing to do is to base decisions on posts on a forum which is used by a fraction of 1% of the passengers on a cruise line and then to select from them only those which agree with your own pre-conceptions as to the service offered.  If you believe that gives you an accurate idea of what is actually delivered then fill your boots.

 

Meanwhile, on planet Earth....

[Guest ldtr]

4 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

You crack on.  I'm sure there's a version of reality somewhere in which the wise thing to do is to base decisions on posts on a forum which is used by a fraction of 1% of the passengers on a cruise line and then to select from them only those which agree with your own pre-conceptions as to the service offered.  If you believe that gives you an accurate idea of what is actually delivered then fill your boots.

 

Meanwhile, on planet Earth....

Keep in mind that until Covid the person you are debating with has probably enough days on Princess to be most traveled on most cruises. She stopped cruising after having long haul covid. Her husband is onboard for several cruises.

[Steelers36]

22 hours ago, ldtr said:

I just thought of something that might be impacting his use, based upon what I recall of your cruising style (adding or changing cruises at pretty much anytime).  With the medallion if you book back to back cruises the medallion shows them as one logical cruise, so if you book reservations it will book them across the complete B2B cruises.  In most cases that is very handy.  What I have not tried is if you have a cruise booked, have all of your reservations made, then at a later date book the next cruise adding a B2B.  I can see where that could impact the system.  We have booked our consecutive cruises all at the same time without any problems.  Have not tried adding another cruise at a later date.

If a voyage within a series of B2B bookings is changed, all DMW reservations can be impacted.  I am referring to a cancel/re-book situation.  You may still have some dining on the other segments, but would need to either book individual nights or delete all and start again once the new booking appears in the App.  Of course the same dining choice may not be available.  If I was adding a new cruise - such as extending a B2B into a B2B2B - I would try and book the new voyage by individual nights for the same time and DR.  

 

Regardless of what you do in the App, the resulting res is not necessarily for same table and waiters.  The best - and really only - way to get that is to speak with DR mgmt on board and hope it is one of the ships that is doing a good job getting folks into the same table despite what DMW is trying to do.  DR personnel (mgrs and hosts) have access to on-board DMW system and can do magic with it if they know how.

[Steelers36]

9 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

So, if I understand this correctly:

- You are going to base a decision on whether or not to continue to sail on Princess on what you read on here (thanks, by the way, for telling posters what the purpose of this forum is or isn't).

- You only want to hear complaints, nothing good or neutral.

- You will decide whether you read the complaints or not.

- You know before you start that DMW doesn't work and neither does the wifi.  You know that because you've read it on here and you've discounted any reports to the contrary.

 

Given the positive approach you've adopted and the empirical, even-handed, unbiased and scientific methodology you are taking, I think most people could tell you right now what conclusion you're going to reach.  

 

I hope whatever line you jump ship to disappoints you less.  However,  I fear you'll discover (assuming you adopt the same glass half full outlook and rigorous methodology for researching them as you are towards Princess) that they all disappoint you equally, if not more.

I didn't read into her post as much as you have and think the pendulum has swung too far in interpretation.  But that is my thinking and may not be others. 

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I’m trying to recall…probably the second half of September and very early October. And you’re right, that is what he was doing, but he was already on the ship when he added additional cruises, and this happened while he was still at home (which is how I can recall the date). Once he was one the ship he said he’d take care of things in person and I no longer even looked at the app.  I’m using a two year old iPhone with 256GB of memory. Hardware is not the issue. 

This aligns with my post #172 above.  Particular dining requests are best sorted out on board via a nice request and discussion with DR host/mgr who have access to the on-board DMW version and can make things happen.  That said, it is apparent some ships are doing a better job of meeting guest requests than others.  DMW is not going to necessarily place a guest at the same table each night just because booked same DR at the same time.  

[PescadoAmarillo]

37 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Meanwhile, on planet Earth....

Meanwhile, on planet Earth my husband finished packing for another Princess cruise 30 minutes ago. He just calculated that he cruised 153 days in the past year…on Princess cruises. And yet I also realize that if we are going to be able to make DMW reservations for about 90 days of B2B cruises beginning in October, I’m going to have to spend hours dealing with the app and the helpline. I’m not sure I want to spend $40K next winter with a company that makes me jump through such hoops. But for you…happy jumping. I’m sure Princess appreciates you carrying their water.