Advance reservations required in main dining rooms?

[amcankid]

We’re sailing on the Crown in a few weeks. Our first time on Princess.

when I go to my app and check dining choices

it shows the three main dining rooms that of course are included in the cruise. But at first a couple of days ago it showed some

reservation time slots available and now when I click on any of them it says no time slots available.  
I am confused as to what this is because we have dine anytime so why would I reserve a time slot for each day 3 weeks before I even get on the ship?

Can someone please explain how this works? Are we gonna be stuck eating at the buffet each night?

 

[nini]

Reservations are NOT required. We always do Anytime Dining and just show up. Often, we are asked if we would like to share a table and we really enjoy that because we chat with people form so many different places. We have never had to wait long, however, we typically show up in line about 5:30 or 6:00

[karatemom2]

Reservations aren’t required but they do make it more expedient. We prefer a table for 2 and try to reserve for a specific time each night so we can try to get the same table and waitstaff. Then we can just walk into the dining room at our reserved time and not wait in a long line or have to be on a waiting list with a buzzer. 

[ldubs]

Two lines at the MDR doors.  One for with reservations and one for without reservations.  

[amcankid]

36 minutes ago, ldubs said:

Two lines at the MDR doors.  One for with reservations and one for without reservations.  

So basically the reservations are to help expedite your wait when you go.

On Carnival you can check in on your app and then it will tell you how long the wait will be and then notifies you when your table is ready. Very efficient!

[ldubs]

45 minutes ago, amcankid said:

So basically the reservations are to help expedite your wait when you go.

On Carnival you can check in on your app and then it will tell you how long the wait will be and then notifies you when your table is ready. Very efficient!

 

I guess so.  I'm not entirely sure as I just kind of go where I'm told. 😁

 

I do recall the system on Carnival was very well done.   Like you say, we never really had to wait in a line because we knew when to show up.  On Princess we did have to wait in line (the reserved one).  Time waiting varied from a few to 15 minutes.   

[like2cruise]

23 hours ago, amcankid said:

We’re sailing on the Crown in a few weeks. Our first time on Princess.

when I go to my app and check dining choices

it shows the three main dining rooms that of course are included in the cruise. But at first a couple of days ago it showed some

reservation time slots available and now when I click on any of them it says no time slots available.  
I am confused as to what this is because we have dine anytime so why would I reserve a time slot for each day 3 weeks before I even get on the ship?

Can someone please explain how this works? Are we gonna be stuck eating at the buffet each night?

 

I have noticed in the app that if I go to the reserve dining link and then try book dining in the app by going to dining type and select main vs specialty from the top of the page options, it shows no or very limited availability.  If I go to the same reserve dining link & scroll down below the specialty restaurants and go to one of the actual main dining rooms in the app, there is a lot more availability for my sailing anyway.  It is worth a try and I hope it works for you!!

[Torfamm]

On 1/14/2024 at 10:04 AM, amcankid said:

We’re sailing on the Crown in a few weeks. Our first time on Princess.

when I go to my app and check dining choices

it shows the three main dining rooms that of course are included in the cruise. But at first a couple of days ago it showed some

reservation time slots available and now when I click on any of them it says no time slots available.  
I am confused as to what this is because we have dine anytime so why would I reserve a time slot for each day 3 weeks before I even get on the ship?

Can someone please explain how this works? Are we gonna be stuck eating at the buffet each night?

 

It works just like restaurants on land. If you want to eat at a specific time on a given day,  you can reserve a table. Otherwise, you go wherever you choose and wait for an available table. It’s your choice.

[karatemom2]

1 hour ago, like2cruise said:

I have noticed in the app that if I go to the reserve dining link and then try book dining in the app by going to dining type and select main vs specialty from the top of the page options, it shows no or very limited availability.  If I go to the same reserve dining link & scroll down below the specialty restaurants and go to one of the actual main dining rooms in the app, there is a lot more availability for my sailing anyway.  It is worth a try and I hope it works for you!!

It is confusing. I was experiencing the same thing. But then I figured if I go to the list of dining venues I can pick the one I want. It shows the available dates and times and you can select one and then confirm the booking. I just reserved each night of our June cruise yesterday and ordered our medallions. 

[roobug]

1 hour ago, like2cruise said:

I have noticed in the app that if I go to the reserve dining link and then try book dining in the app by going to dining type and select main vs specialty from the top of the page options, it shows no or very limited availability.  If I go to the same reserve dining link & scroll down below the specialty restaurants and go to one of the actual main dining rooms in the app, there is a lot more availability for my sailing anyway.  It is worth a try and I hope it works for you!!

Yes this is what I had to do too. I was able to get the same dinning room same time each night doing it this way. The other way it showed no availability in any dinning room. 

[MissP22]

13 hours ago, Torfamm said:

It works just like restaurants on land. If you want to eat at a specific time on a given day,  you can reserve a table. Otherwise, you go wherever you choose and wait for an available table. It’s your choice.

We never had any wait since we eat early but I assume that if you choose to eat at the busiest times, the people with reservation will be seated before those without. 

[helenb]

If you can't make any reservations before you board, you can always ask at the dining room shortly after embarkation. They may be able to help.