Alfredo’s

[Purdey16]

I’m currently on sky princess and been watching the dinning at Alfredo’s and it has been literally empty since boarding day only a few people eating in it , I spoke to the waiter’s tonight and they said since the change it’s been heaven and hell since the change hardly anyone eating there now and hopefully they will change it back , ( yeah right ) obviously it’s less work for them but it’s empty all the time .

[GottaLuvCruising]

Consumers have the power.  I'm speaking with my wallet.  

54 cruises might be enough...

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Purdey16 said:

I’m currently on sky princess and been watching the dinning at Alfredo’s and it has been literally empty since boarding day only a few people eating in it , I spoke to the waiter’s tonight and they said since the change it’s been heaven and hell since the change hardly anyone eating there now and hopefully they will change it back , ( yeah right ) obviously it’s less work for them but it’s empty all the time .

 

2 minutes ago, Purdey16 said:

I’m currently on sky princess and been watching the dinning at Alfredo’s and it has been literally empty since boarding day only a few people eating in it , I spoke to the waiter’s tonight and they said since the change it’s been heaven and hell since the change hardly anyone eating there now and hopefully they will change it back , ( yeah right ) obviously it’s less work for them but it’s empty all the time .

Are there no people with plus or premier packages on your cruise ?

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

 

Are there no people with plus or premier packages on your cruise ?

Yes - you would expect those folks (supposedly well over half the guest population) to be exercising their right to some "free" food.

 

ETA:  Maybe they are too busy downing juice bar concoctions, over-loaded gelato sundaes, and taking fitness classes to make it in for a pizza.

Edited September 3, 2023 by Steelers36

[Oxo]

1 minute ago, Steelers36 said:

Yes - you would expect those folks (supposedly well over half the guest population) to be exercising their right to some free food.

Not free food! They paid for the Plus or Premium.

It was free B4, LOL

[Micahs Grandad]

Good apps at Alfredo pizza not so good imho.

 

Will skip it for now

[Crystaltipps67]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

 

Are there no people with plus or premier packages on your cruise ?

Plus package only gives you two casual dining meals regardless of length of cruise and there are other places to choose from (Vines/Ocean Terrace) to use those credits. I love Alfredos but am unlikely to use my meagre two credits there as I don't want/can't manage a 3 course meal there and so I'll use my credits for sushi instead! Let's hope that the empty tables prompts a re-think.

[CalTexCruiser]

I guess Princess is learning that there is high demand for "free" pizza, but very low demand for pizza that will cost passengers either money or Plus credits.

 

To be fair though, this is still in the transition period so only time will tell whether charging for casual dining is the revenue generator they expected, either (1) through increased casual dining purchases onboard OR (2) increased purchases of the Plus/Premier packages.

[dides]

15 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

To be fair though, this is still in the transition period so only time will tell whether charging for casual dining is the revenue generator they expected, either (1) through increased casual dining purchases onboard OR (2) increased purchases of the Plus/Premier packages.

And there will still be the old Plus guests who won't get the two included meals, don't see the benefit in upgrading and won't be inclined to pay the extra fees - this will tail off eventually.

[memoak]

52 minutes ago, dides said:

And there will still be the old Plus guests who won't get the two included meals, don't see the benefit in upgrading and won't be inclined to pay the extra fees - this will tail off eventually.

So I guess no one is ordering room service or ordering on the app either ?

[dides]

5 minutes ago, memoak said:

So I guess no one is ordering room service or ordering on the app either ?

Depends on how folks choose to cruise.. they have plenty of other complimentary food options but not stateroom delivery 

[swabs]

I am currently on Regal  Princess and the story is the same - Alfredo’s is mostly empty!!

What is management’s game??!!

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

I wonder if they did any passenger research before making this change to see what the effect might be... or, as I suspect, was it a "that seems like a good idea" type of decision.

 

Sorry, my bad... only customer-focused organisations would actually ask the customer what they thought about up and coming changes... as if they cared! 

[PacnGoNow]

17 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

I wonder if they did any passenger research before making this change to see what the effect might be... or, as I suspect, was it a "that seems like a good idea" type of decision.

 

Sorry, my bad... only customer-focused organisations would actually ask the customer what they thought about up and coming changes... as if they cared! 

😂 RCI did that exact thing.  They were slammed by guests.  They definitely wouldn’t pay for it.  I wouldn’t either, Sorrento's pizza

is not that good.  IMO

 

[skynight]

Alfredo's was first introduced on the Grand Princess way back when Skywalker's was removed. At that time the cost was $10 with a glass of wine. Almost nobody used it. Princess changed it to a no charge venue, highly used. Seems like we are now in a similar situation. It has been similar with the Salty Dog Gastropub. Very low usage. A way out may be to include free use of these casual dining locations to all inclusive fares and make them dinner friendly. 

[Coral]

27 minutes ago, skynight said:

Alfredo's was first introduced on the Grand Princess way back when Skywalker's was removed. At that time the cost was $10 with a glass of wine. Almost nobody used it. Princess changed it to a no charge venue, highly used. Seems like we are now in a similar situation. It has been similar with the Salty Dog Gastropub. Very low usage. A way out may be to include free use of these casual dining locations to all inclusive fares and make them dinner friendly. 

Though the Sun Class ships all had a pizzeria (at no charge) around the same time.

[Micahs Grandad]

1 hour ago, swabs said:

I am currently on Regal  Princess and the story is the same - Alfredo’s is mostly empty!!

What is management’s game??!!

Nickel and diming as much as they can until we revolt.

[DougH]

32 minutes ago, Coral said:

Though the Sun Class ships all had a pizzeria (at no charge) around the same time.

The original Crown and Regal both had a free sit down pizzeria

[4cats4me]

5 hours ago, GottaLuvCruising said:

Consumers have the power.  I'm speaking with my wallet.  

54 cruises might be enough...

Same here. Once we can cruise again, we plan on sailing with Virgin Voyages, Oceania, and Silver Sea.  
On Virgin the food looks spectacular and everything is included.  No upcharge venues.
And all adults, an added benefit.  😊 

Edited September 4, 2023 by 4cats4me

[memoak]

24 minutes ago, 4cats4me said:

Same here. Once we can cruise again, we plan on sailing with Virgin Voyages, Oceania, and Silver Sea.  
On Virgin the food looks spectacular and everything is included.  No upcharge venues.
And all adults, an added benefit.  😊 

No just upcharge fares. Why can’t you cruise now ?  We will be sailing our 6th cruise since restart this month

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

I wonder if they did any passenger research before making this change to see what the effect might be... or, as I suspect, was it a "that seems like a good idea" type of decision.

 

Sorry, my bad... only customer-focused organisations would actually ask the customer what they thought about up and coming changes... as if they cared! 

 

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

😂 RCI did that exact thing.  They were slammed by guests.  They definitely wouldn’t pay for it.  I wouldn’t either, Sorrento's pizza

is not that good.  IMO

 

Yes…80% of those RCI surveyed opposed charging for Sorrento’s pizza.
 

If you believe the Princess rhetoric their survey said passengers prefer to pay to shorten lines. I have about 100 days on Royal-class ships & eat at Alfredo’s/Gigi’s regularly but have never waited more than 5 minutes even during the noontime rush.
 

Princess made Alfredo’s/Gigi’s fee based not due to passenger preferences but to generate more income and to sell more packages which will never be cost effective for me.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/royal-caribbean-will-keep-sorrento-s-pizza-free-after-conducting-survey

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

Though the Sun Class ships all had a pizzeria (at no charge) around the same time.

That is what I experienced on the second Dawn Princess in 2000 and they had other free options including pasta & salads.

 

In 1988 we sailed Sitmar’s Fairwind with a pizzeria and 6 months later the ship became the original Dawn Princess with the pizzeria removed.

 

[4cats4me]

Just now, memoak said:

No just upcharge fares. Why can’t you cruise now ?  We will be sailing our 6th cruise since restart this month

You’re quite the curious one. 
Let’s just say, it’s medically related and one needs my full time care.  
so yeah, when we can cruise again one day, we’re gonna do it up big, because tomorrow is never promised. 

[Coral]

5 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

That is what I experienced on the second Dawn Princess in 2000 and they had other free options including pasta & salads.

 

In 1988 we sailed Sitmar’s Fairwind with a pizzeria and 6 months later the ship became the original Dawn Princess with the pizzeria removed.

 

I never sailed Sitmar (I wish I had). I know Princess's Italian roots goes back to Sitmar.

 

I didn't know the original Dawn Princess didn't have the pizzeria. I know @DougH loved the original Crown and Regal and their pizzerias (so they kept those) as I believe those were built for Sitmar or in the process of being built for Sitmar.

 

I am disappointed as I will be on the Sapphire soon and I do like the pizzeria. And I don't think I am getting Plus.

Edited September 4, 2023 by Coral

[startedwithamouse]

41 minutes ago, 4cats4me said:

Same here. Once we can cruise again, we plan on sailing with Virgin Voyages, Oceania, and Silver Sea.  
On Virgin the food looks spectacular and everything is included.  No upcharge venues.
And all adults, an added benefit.  😊 

What has been stopping your from cruising the last couple of years?