What if I have Premier but all the speciality restaurants are full?

[FancyPants21]

Just now, ChynaS said:

My 1st cruise on Princess and in 10 days too 😉  Maybe see you at The Catch.

Norway? YESSS!

[memoak]

Just now, azbirdmom said:

 

Failure to use is very different than being denied use of a specialty restaurant which is what the OP was asking about.  You can't just say I'm not going to use this or that and get a refund as everything listed is part of a package.  But if Princess promises 2 specialty dinners and wasn't able to fulfill that I would definitely be at GS asking for a refund.  Now fulfilling it may mean that you get a reservation at 9 PM at a restaurant that isn't to your liking, that's the breaks.  But no room at any specialty restaurant for you would warrant OBC.  Up to you if you don't want to go down that path if it happens to you.

We have 60 cruises with Princess we have never had a situation where every table for every day and ever time was no available once on board. We prefer to eat later if you insist on eating at 6:00 then you may have an issue 

[Wishing on a star]

What ship, and how far out???

Many people on the Sun are seeing that they are not able to make these dining reservations until closer to their sailing.   Not sure, but the system might simply be showing no availability.

 

Also, Princess is just announcing significant changes to the dining system, fleet wide.

The system could not be operational, and because of that, showing no availability.

 

Also, as mentioned, there should be availability that is open once you board.

Might not be the best times...  But.

 

I can not understand those who do not see any need for deduction or refund of the difference of what was paid for Premium, over Plus (or the averaged value of the upcharge for two Specialty Dining restaurants) if these simply are NOT available.   

 

If one chooses not to use both of these visits, because of their own personal preferences, then that is a totally different issue.  

But to say that any company should not refund for goods or services that were purchased and then not available, due to the companies own policies/misjudgements, etc...

A refund is warranted.  Selling something and then not delivering, and then offering no refund.. that would actually be fraud.

If an airline or a concert venue or hotel is overbooked, and cannot accommodate everyone, then they have to take steps to make the situation right. 

 

The SUN Princess, unfortunately, was a poor example of this with the number of non-specialty venues that were simply not open, at all.   Including the Theater, Park 19, etc. 

 

[FancyPants21]

46 minutes ago, memoak said:

We have 60 cruises with Princess we have never had a situation where every table for every day and ever time was no available once on board. We prefer to eat later if you insist on eating at 6:00 then you may have an issue 

And how many of those 60 were there speciality dining included in the Premier Package... can't be many.

[FancyPants21]

30 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

What ship, and how far out???

Sky and 10 days time.

 

There were a few available at 9.10pm in 2 of the 3 restaurants when I first looked... we have to dine no later than 7.

[memoak]

Just now, FancyPants21 said:

And how many of those 60 were there speciality dining included in the Premier Package... can't be many.

We don’t book premier. We do suites so none free and then pay for a couple more. No real change since premier still able to book when on board and first night Sabatini’s was totally empty maybe 6 tables full at 8:00

[karatemom2]

9 minutes ago, FancyPants21 said:

Sky and 10 days time.

 

There were a few available at 9.10pm in 2 of the 3 restaurants when I first looked... we have to dine no later than 7.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise on the Sky. She is one of our favorite Princess ships. We are also cruising to Norway on her later this summer, so would love to hear about your experience when you get back.

 

In our experience, you can make or change reservations for the specialty venues once onboard, so try not to worry too much - I'm sure you will be able to arrange times that work for you. We often get comped by the casino and those reservations aren't set up until sometime during the cruise and we have always been successful in working with them to find a reservation time that works.

 

What I would suggest is making it a priority on your embarkation day to go and try to set up your reservations at times that work for you. I would imagine they will have space available - you could even choose to dine in one of the venues on the first evening if you like. In our experience there is plenty of availability the first night, probably one of the reasons they offer it as a free suite perk. Mostly, don't let any concern about this cause you any stress or detract from your vacation prep. I'm certain you will find that it will all work out for you onboard.

 

[FancyPants21]

8 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise on the Sky. She is one of our favorite Princess ships. We are also cruising to Norway on her later this summer, so would love to hear about your experience when you get back.

 

In our experience, you can make or change reservations for the specialty venues once onboard, so try not to worry too much - I'm sure you will be able to arrange times that work for you. We often get comped by the casino and those reservations aren't set up until sometime during the cruise and we have always been successful in working with them to find a reservation time that works.

 

What I would suggest is making it a priority on your embarkation day to go and try to set up your reservations at times that work for you. I would imagine they will have space available - you could even choose to dine in one of the venues on the first evening if you like. In our experience there is plenty of availability the first night, probably one of the reasons they offer it as a free suite perk. Mostly, don't let any concern about this cause you any stress or detract from your vacation prep. I'm certain you will find that it will all work out for you onboard.

 

Thanks. As I said, I am not really concerned for us. It was more of a theoretical question as it could happen 🙂 

[memoak]

Just now, FancyPants21 said:

Sky and 10 days time.

 

There were a few available at 9.10pm in 2 of the 3 restaurants when I first looked... we have to dine no later than 7.

Dining prior to 7 could be an issue as those are the ones that book up on US cruises. We never eat prior to then even at home 

[memoak]

Just now, FancyPants21 said:

And how many of those 60 were there speciality dining included in the Premier Package... can't be many.

We cruise 3-4 times a year on crises 10-20 days each and since premier folks only get 2 it is never an issue. We have not seen much of a change in availability since the new package has shown up. As I said you could have shot a cannon through Sabatini’s at 7:40 on embarkation night

[FancyPants21]

25 minutes ago, memoak said:

Dining prior to 7 could be an issue as those are the ones that book up on US cruises. We never eat prior to then even at home 

We eat at 5-5.30 at home!

[hamrag]

2 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

If one chooses not to use both of these visits, because of their own personal preferences, then that is a totally different issue.  

But to say that any company should not refund for goods or services that were purchased and then not available, due to the companies own policies/misjudgements, etc...

A refund is warranted.  Selling something and then not delivering, and then offering no refund.. that would actually be fraud.

Your theory falls apart with a crash, given that the additional components between Plus and Premier are NOT individually priced! 😉

[MacMadame]

9 hours ago, FancyPants21 said:

I say that if they say it is included then we should be able to get it of get compensation

Except the only opinion that counts is Princess'. 😄 

 

I thought I read here that if you came on board without having made your SD reservations, you'd get a card with two reservations for random days/times and then you need to change them if they don't suit. Or am I confusing a suite benefit of some sort? 🤷‍♂️ 

[memoak]

Just now, MacMadame said:

Except the only opinion that counts is Princess'. 😄 

 

I thought I read here that if you came on board without having made your SD reservations, you'd get a card with two reservations for random days/times and then you need to change them if they don't suit. Or am I confusing a suite benefit of some sort? 🤷‍♂️ 

Suites are only guaranteed free specialty on embarkation night

[memoak]

4 hours ago, FancyPants21 said:

We eat at 5-5.30 at home!

OMG. That is barely cocktail hour. 

[FancyPants21]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

OMG. That is barely cocktail hour. 

Yes I know! But my DW has a big problem eating late. I won't go into details but if we do then we pretty much don't sleep for that night 😮 . I am fine eating later. It is frustrating for her too because she used to live in Spain where eating late is the norm.

 

The good thing though is that after we have eaten it doesn't stop either of us having a few drinks in the rest of the evening 🙂 

[MacMadame]

 

4 hours ago, memoak said:

OMG. That is barely cocktail hour. 

What can I say? The older I get, the earlier I eat. I haven't become one of those people who eats at 4:30 pm though. Yet! 🤣

[colsky]

16 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

May I ask what problems you’re having pre-booking a specialty restaurant?  I had issues when I first tried it, too, but I figured out how to do it and without being charged to my credit card.  Maybe I could help?

That's useful to know. We're too far out at the moment to book specialty restaurants (booked on Sun Princess in August 😃), but I was slightly concerned when I watched a YouTube reviewer the other day, who said that, if you pre book specialty restaurants on the App, then you have to pay for them at the time (even if they are covered by your Premier Package), and then go to guest services once onboard to have them refunded.  That would be annoying for 2 reasons: having to pay for them, then having to take the time to queue up at guest services for the refund. That would be wonderful if what she said wasn't correct!

[FancyPants21]

19 minutes ago, colsky said:

That's useful to know. We're too far out at the moment to book specialty restaurants (booked on Sun Princess in August 😃), but I was slightly concerned when I watched a YouTube reviewer the other day, who said that, if you pre book specialty restaurants on the App, then you have to pay for them at the time (even if they are covered by your Premier Package), and then go to guest services once onboard to have them refunded.  That would be annoying for 2 reasons: having to pay for them, then having to take the time to queue up at guest services for the refund. That would be wonderful if what she said wasn't correct!

 

I have seen a number of posts saying that the app did recognise that they have the package but it wasn't reflected until the final stage in booking. I have also heard that with some people it didn't recognise that and they had to get the refund onboard.

 

The app is very inconsistent in its operation I have found. 

[ExploringTheGlobe]

I actually had this issue on a cruise about a year ago.  I tried and tried to get into one of the specialty restaurants, I was flexible with times and was told each day there was no availability.  This was a 4 day cruise so I'm sure more people had Premier than on a longer cruise.  I went down to guest services and just asked what my options were.  The person said she would just give me an OBC for the cost of the cover charge.  Since then, I haven't had trouble booking any of the specialty restaurants but I've also only been on longer cruises since. 

[Mark_K]

17 hours ago, FancyPants21 said:

Sky and 10 days time.

 

There were a few available at 9.10pm in 2 of the 3 restaurants when I first looked... we have to dine no later than 7.

I don’t think you’re going to have any luck getting a refund if the reason is that none of the available times were when we wanted to eat.

[Arizona Wildcat]

4 hours ago, colsky said:

That's useful to know. We're too far out at the moment to book specialty restaurants (booked on Sun Princess in August 😃), but I was slightly concerned when I watched a YouTube reviewer the other day, who said that, if you pre book specialty restaurants on the App, then you have to pay for them at the time (even if they are covered by your Premier Package), and then go to guest services once onboard to have them refunded.  That would be annoying for 2 reasons: having to pay for them, then having to take the time to queue up at guest services for the refund. That would be wonderful if what she said wasn't correct!

Just get refunded a bit later.  On the next day there will often be no queue at Guest Services.  Much easier.

Also remember as others stated, many dining times are not released until after you board.   Have been told one third on Diamond and half when on Sun.  So lots of opportunities to book right after you board.

Edited April 17 by Arizona Wildcat

[azbirdmom]

4 hours ago, colsky said:

I was slightly concerned when I watched a YouTube reviewer the other day, who said that, if you pre book specialty restaurants on the App, then you have to pay for them at the time (even if they are covered by your Premier Package), and then go to guest services once onboard to have them refunded. 

 

I guess this is a classic example of not believing everything the YouTube bloggers say.  I've seen a lot of bad info given on those, so much so that I don't bother watching them any longer.  We've had Premier for our last two Princess cruises (last December and the next coming up in a little over a week).  For both we were able to reserve our specialty dinners without paying.  At check out you should see a $0 charge.  The app has been known to act up at times but for us there has been no problem making our reservations in advance.

[Lady Arwen]

4 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

I guess this is a classic example of not believing everything the YouTube bloggers say.  I've seen a lot of bad info given on those, so much so that I don't bother watching them any longer.  We've had Premier for our last two Princess cruises (last December and the next coming up in a little over a week).  For both we were able to reserve our specialty dinners without paying.  At check out you should see a $0 charge.  The app has been known to act up at times but for us there has been no problem making our reservations in advance.

Same for us.  However, there are a number of people who don’t share our positive experience.  You are right, you must continue right to checkout to see the zero balance.

[colsky]

46 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

I guess this is a classic example of not believing everything the YouTube bloggers say.  I've seen a lot of bad info given on those, so much so that I don't bother watching them any longer.  

Thanks for the useful reply. I agree with you about the YouTubers. This was a well known reviewer, who was giving a helpful tips video, after being on a Sun Princess cruise. It must be because the Sun Princess is new and unknown, but I don't think I've ever watched so many videos and read so many reviews before a holiday!! I have to stop, or they'll be no surprise element left!

 

I sometimes imagine a cruise ship being just full of YouTubers walking around filming, with no "normal" other guests!!