Drink with dinner

[Grace61]

I've searched, but have seen conflicting answers, but many of these posts were pre vs post covid, or before/ after recent changes to plus/premier fares, so that might account for it. I'm new to cruising, so apologies if this is obvious somehow.

 

So - people on recent sailings- specifically Royal Princess in Alaska( (if that makes a difference) please comment 

 

We have the Premier fare, and are doing 7 day Alaskan cruise in June - Whittier to Vancouver.

 

Can I order a glass of wine or cocktail with dinner in MDR or specialty restaurant, and it would be included via the Premier fare, or do I have to stop in a bar on my way to dinner and bring it with me?

[CruiseCrabs]

You can order from anywhere you are, including your table. 

[Grace61]

36 minutes ago, CruiseCrabs said:

You can order from anywhere you are, including your table. 

Thanks, I was confused bc there was a mention of having to order through the app, for delivery to your table, and then complaints that it took too long or never arrived.  That post said they left the MDR, and went to a bar just to get drinks with dinner in a timely manner.  

Which confused me, as i thought you would just place your order to your waiter when you selected your dinner choices.

[57eric]

You should be OK in the MDR with your first round.  Keep your delivery expectations low for any subsequent drink orders.

[avonlady6390]

You could bring a glass of wine or cocktail with you into the dining room then order another with your server you don't need to order in the app for drinks in fact I would not do that in the dining but use the ocean now when out and about the ship or in your cabin.

[memoak]

We never use the app to order drinks snywhere. Tons of bars and servers around

[Lady Arwen]

24 minutes ago, memoak said:

We never use the app to order drinks snywhere. Tons of bars and servers around

We much prefer to just sit at a bar or lounge for cocktails or a glass of wine.

[Ellipooh]

1 hour ago, avonlady6390 said:

You could bring a glass of wine or cocktail with you into the dining room then order another with your server

This is what I do. ^^^  I hate waiting for my drink after I sit down. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

2 hours ago, CruiseCrabs said:

You can order from anywhere you are, including your table. 

Or your cabin. . . . . or the gym. . . or

[cnice515]

Not sailed on Princess yet but very experienced cruiser, I have never had a problem with the amount of time drinks take in the MDR but maybe this is a more Princess related problem if you have read this complaint several times?

 

If you have a suite or mini reserve you will probably be able to get drinks in a more reasonable timeframe since these guests have a dedicated area and staff.

[Torfamm]

Yes, you can order drinks from your server in the MDR and they are included on the drink package.

Edited March 6 by Torfamm

[BamaVol]

Our first ever MDR dinner glasses of wine took too long to arrive. After that, we have always stopped at a bar for a glass each to carry in. Then when we sit down, we order a second from our waiter.  For some reason, these have always arrived before we finish our first.  Thus, we are pleased.

 

I have used the app twice to order and in the first case it took about 45 minutes.  In the second, it took more like 15 minutes.  I don’t like waiting longer than 5 minutes for a drink so will only use the app in the future if I already have a drink in my hand.

[partybarbie]

The wines at Vines on the Royal are your best bet. We like to stop and get a double pour to take with us to the dining room.

[AlibearNS]

Unless things have changed, the Ocean Now ordering side of the app doesn't work in the MDR's. You order drinks with your waiter from the package. They'll have a drinks menu.

We ordered from the app everywhere else, but sometimes simpler to go to the bar or catch a waiter passing by. Like Partybarbie, we'll also pick up a wine to take through from Vines as they have a better menu, but they don't like you taking the fancier glasses as many people don't bring them back. They'll pour your drink in a plain glass to take away unless you can convince them you'll return the nicer glasses.

[startedwithamouse]

Our MDR waiters have our drinks ready for us when we are seated. 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, Ellipooh said:

This is what I do. ^^^  I hate waiting for my drink after I sit down. 

My issue is that I want a wine that will complement my main. Since we sail Reserve Class we don’t know all the entrees before we get to the dining room

[metairiegal]

Is it ok to order a Diet Coke in the MDR with Plus?  Or, do they look down on that?

[memoak]

1 minute ago, metairiegal said:

Is it ok to order a Diet Coke in the MDR with Plus?  Or, do they look down on that?

You can order anything you want it doesn’t have to be wine. You could order a soda or coffee or a double shot of bourbon. I have done all of those and wine

[NavyVeteran]

15 minutes ago, metairiegal said:

Is it ok to order a Diet Coke in the MDR with Plus?  Or, do they look down on that?

Not only is it OK, but they don't limit you to 15 per day. You can order as many as you want with Plus.

[Wonders By Wallis]

4 hours ago, Grace61 said:

I've searched, but have seen conflicting answers, but many of these posts were pre vs post covid, or before/ after recent changes to plus/premier fares, so that might account for it. I'm new to cruising, so apologies if this is obvious somehow.

 

So - people on recent sailings- specifically Royal Princess in Alaska( (if that makes a difference) please comment 

 

We have the Premier fare, and are doing 7 day Alaskan cruise in June - Whittier to Vancouver.

 

Can I order a glass of wine or cocktail with dinner in MDR or specialty restaurant, and it would be included via the Premier fare, or do I have to stop in a bar on my way to dinner and bring it with me?

 

3 hours ago, 57eric said:

You should be OK in the MDR with your first round.  Keep your delivery expectations low for any subsequent drink orders.

On my cruise on the Discovery to Mexico last month I ordered a different wine for each course when I ordered my meal and they were all brought at the right time.

[charliedalrymple]

4 hours ago, avonlady6390 said:

You could bring a glass of wine or cocktail with you into the dining room then order another with your server

 

This is exactly what we do. Orders taken by the MDR server were often significantly delayed, so we ordered whatever we wanted to drink with dinner as soon as we sat down.  (On Majestic recently, someone other than our server delivered the drinks to our table.)

[KreinKrunker]

6 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Our MDR waiters have our drinks ready for us when we are seated. 

This is the advantage of having the same servers every night.  It's always nice to sit down to the drink of your choice.

[Mississippian]

12 hours ago, Ellipooh said:

This is what I do. ^^^  I hate waiting for my drink after I sit down. 

I refuse to place my order until my pre-dinner drink arrives. I've had food with no wine too many times, and I prefer champagne before my meal.

[satxdiver]

We have always ordered a glass of wine at dinner from our table attendants.  One can do that whether or not they have a "package".  If no package they will ask you to pay for it.  Regardless the server will always charge any drink you order to your account which will or not be charged to your folio.  Go to dinner, sit down and order your preferred drink from your server first.  They will go get it.  

[Auntiejo]

On 3/6/2024 at 9:54 AM, Ellipooh said:

This is what I do. ^^^  I hate waiting for my drink after I sit down. 

Same. Most of the time, it takes forever to get a cocktail or glass of wine in the MDR. So we usually stop by our fave bar en route to dinner and walk into dinner, drink in hand. Sometimes hubbs even runs out to Good spirits during dinner to get round 2 for our dinner because the drinks there are so superior 🤷‍♀️