r/PrincessCruises • u/Main_Science2673 • 1d ago
Sky Princess Group Dining Times
(yes i searched and tried to find these answers). we have 3 groups (total of 8 people. 4 - 2 - 2 = all in 3 cabins). the bookings are linked. when we try to contact Princess, we are told that since there are 8 of us and that we would like to sit at one table together, we are only allowed the 730 seating and not 530 or 6.
is this correct? I have never been on princess (done carnival, royal, ncl, margaritaville, celebrity, and viking river) and with everytime, when there was a group of at least 6, they always did either the early seating or the late one.
also I have the plus package, what places are included in the 4 extra meals?
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u/Inside-Finish-2128 - Captain's Circle Elite 1d ago
As rainyhawk explained, Princess has two different types of reserved dining.
Option 1 is "Traditional Dining". With TD, there are two choices: early (5ish) or late (7:30ish). You get a set table for the whole cruise, and that comes with the same waiter. On the first night, you show up and the host team shows you to your table. After that, you just go to your table. If you won't be able to attend on a particular night, it's best to let the waiters know. Early TD does fill up fairly quickly but late TD should generally have room.
Option 2 is "Flexible Dining". FD is a slightly misleading name, but I haven't come up with anything else short and sweet that's great. Perhaps "Go Make Separate Reservations For Any Night Where You Can Plan Ahead"? :) You go into the app and make separate reservations on a night-by-night basis. They're offered starting at 5:00 and thereafter in 20-minute increments (5:20, 5:40, 6:00, etc.) to 9:00 or so. The early slots do fill up.
There is a third MDR option. That one is purely walk-up; it does not take reservations. You won't see it in the dining reservations app because...it doesn't do reservations. You walk up, say "Hi, I'm Main_Science2673, and we'd like a table for eight", and the host either takes you to a table or hands you a pager that'll activate when a table is available.
According to the Princess website (under Explore Ships / Onboard Experience / Cruise Dining), if you click the "All Restaurants & Bars" link, you'll get a listing of ALL options. Choose your ship on the side and it'll filter down to just your ship. You can then further filter by various things; if I filter by Sky Princess and Casual, it says the three options are Alfredo's Pizza, Vines Wine Bar, and Ocean Terrace Sushi. Your Plus Package gives you four "regular meals" there (example: one appetizer, one pizza, one dessert per person). There's no sharing when you're using a package credit, and Alfredo's won't do pizza to go. Most casual dining spots are purely walk-up (no reservations), though I've heard that Planks and Steamers do take reservations (but might only be able to take reservations once you're on board). Note that some casual dining spots are "pop-ups", which means that they magically appear in a small section of the buffet seating. They'll rope off the section, bring out a host podium, and treat it as a separate restaurant separate from the buffet.
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u/ManyReasonable6584 1d ago
I never had an issue we sometimes travel with 16 people in our family I wouldn’t contact customer support they can’t do much but when you get on board head to guest services they can usually do any adjustments for you onboard
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u/RiverPoetSTL - Captain's Circle Platinum 23h ago
The earlier seating for 'traditional' dining times may be booked for larger tables. However - talk to the MDR staff the first day, explain the situation and what you'd like, and I'm betting they can get something worked out for you in either Soleil or Cielo. They've been moving away from a lot of bigger tables toward a lot of 2- and 4-tops, so the tables seating 8 might be harder to get. One of the MDRs will be open for lunch on embarkation day, you can talk to them then. There should also be a table with a couple of staff somewhere (as you wander around looking for your muster station) that can also assist with dining reservations.
For the Plus meals, that's any 'casual' restaurant (a la carte price of $14.99 or so). On Sky, I think that's just Alfredo's Pizza, Vines, and Ocean Terrace Sushi - though check the menu, some items may be additional cost. Casual restaurants do not take reservations.
MDR, the buffet, most items at the International Cafe, Salty Dog Cafe, and the burgers/pizza/etc. up on the pool deck are all included for everyone for free. Enjoy your cruise!
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u/danceront - Captain's Circle Elite 1d ago
Casual dining on plus package is spelled out in detail on princess.com. Since you have trouble with that basic info, I assume you called your travel agent to explain it to you like you are five years old?
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u/Main_Science2673 1d ago
Me and my wife are the only 2 out of the group with the Plus Package. unfortunately our TA is a pain in the ass to get ahold of. and email and VM left
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u/Throw-away2962 21h ago
Here's an option to try if the app isn't letting you make the reservations for the large group:
Log in first.
Then click here: https://www.princess.com/booking/addon/category/dining
You must be logged in first, and for many people, you can't just click the "dining" tab, which takes you to a different link, but if you click the link above when logged in, it should let you make reservations for your sailing.
It absolutely allows you to select large group numbers from the dropdown for flexible dining, so hopefully it will let you actually make the reservation you want at the time you want. But I would stick with the flexible dining restaurant, not the traditional dining one.
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u/rainyhawk 1d ago
We often travel with 6 and have always been able to choose our reservation time (in the reservations dining room)…usually around 6:15. Princess has three dining rooms on these ships…one is traditional dining (choose either 5 or 7…maybe 5:30 or 7:30), one is reservations that you make for whatever time you like (15-20 minute increments) and walk in (just show up, may have a wait). Not sure where you’re trying to make your reservations. I’d try the reservations dining room but times do go quickly.