Personal Choice vs Traditional Seating

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Dale

Guest
My wife signed up for tradional 1st seating but we were wait listed. I suspect that since it is a 10 day cruise and Princess the clientele will be older and had already signed up for 1st seating. If we opt for personal choice, can't we just show up early and receive prompt service?

I've only cruised Princess three times--all in Alaska. There the clientele was old. Should I expect the same on a 10 day Caribbean Cruise?
 
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rellyrod

Guest
We sailed on a Caribbean cruise last January and the average age was late 30's early 40's.
We had the late seating and I personally didn't enjoy that........we were seated with people we really didn't enjoy ( and hey, they probably didn't enjoy us either:). Also, when it came time to eat, by 8:30 (which is when I believe the late seating was) we were STARVING!! We are opting for the personal choice dining this time. We also ate at the Horizon court alot. If you show up and have to wait but just don't feel like it, you can always go to the Horizon court to eat.
Rachel
 
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phaelon56

Guest
I just returned from a CW sailing on the Grand. We are late 40's / 50ish - lots of folks our age and a bit younger. Also a fair contingent (perhaps 1/4 of the ship) were older - 60's and 70's. We were waitlisted for late seating Traditional Dining and then got it just before sailing. We ended up at a table of 8 insted of the 6 top we requested, there was one person at the table who sort of put a damper on conversation, we had a grim and overly serious waiter and there was a wicked vibration directly under the table.

We immediately changed over to PC and loved it. IMHO we still receiced terrific and friednly service. we were able to eat when we chose and also able to ask for a table of our own some evenings and requested to share on other evenings.

If you eat on the PC plan expect to wai a bit for a table if you're being seated between about 6:30 and 8:30 - the wait (if there is one at all) tends to be longest on the formal nights - perhaps 10-15 minutes if you're wiling to share a table and as long as 20 - 30 if you want a table for two. They have a pager system - you can go hang out at the lobby bar or in the casino while you're waiting for your table. Also - dont assume that the wait is the same at both dining rooms if there are two PC dining roms - check both as one may have little or no wait while the other is busy.
 
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ljeanbrown

Guest
We were on the Grand in May and did PC dining. We always went around 7pm. and asked for a table for 2. Even on formal night we never waited more than 15 min. and sometimes we didn't wait at all. The age group was varied. also the island night deck party was really nice. Have a great time :thumb




Laurie =bigwave
 
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BoopTennis

Guest
what happens if you are signed up for Traditional Late Seating and one or more of your group just doesnt show, do you need to tell them ahead of time (if its just for that one nite), or can you just go off and eat somewhere else? we have a big group of people all signed up for Trad so I can see some people missing it now and then
 
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Lady Jag

Guest
BoopTennis - It's common courtesy to tell your tablemates and/or waiter that you won't be showing up to dinner so they don't wonder what's happend to you and so their dinner isn't held up. If you're all going to be gone and don't know until the last minute, then it's not such a big deal because you wouldn't be holding up anyone else's dinner. Just simply tell one of the people in your party that you won't be there and they can tell everyone else and/or the waiter.

Dale - The 10-night cruises always attract an older clientele.

Yes, just go to PC at anytime you'd like. The longest we ever had to wait was 15 mins. and that was at the peak time of 7pm. Earlier times were much less crowded, but that was on a 7-night cruise. Could be a bit more crowded with a 10-nighter, but I don't think it would be that bad.
 
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BoopTennis

Guest
thanks! there are about 30 in our group so I can anticipate there may be nights where a quick change is needed. Yet we are anxious to TRY to all get back together for dinner at night. I just didnt know how formal/timely the "decision" and announcement to the staff needed to be
 
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Lady Jag

Guest
Oh - it's not a big deal, just a little common courtesy.

I felt so bad for our waiter on our last cruise. The vast majority of people that sat at his tables came late every night or didn't show up at all and didn't bother to tell him.

With a large group, it's pretty predictable that all of them won't show up every night. We cruise with a group of about 35 people every year and there always seems to be someone who knows whether the missing persons will be coming to dinner or not and they tell the waiter. :)
 
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Einstein

Guest
Unfortunatly this is the one BAD thing with regards to PC Dining in that there is NO accountability which leaves the Traditional Diningrooms hanging. On the Golden last year we were waitlisted for Late Trad Dining as that is our preference. We were #88 and got our dining assignment but there were over 400 waitlisted for traditional dining and MANY that we saw later in the week NEVER got their assignments because supposedly the Traditional Diningrooms were FULL. When in actuality because people had opted for PC Dining and NOT told anyone there were MANY entire tables empty. I asked our head Waiter one night if he was NOT upset because og the numerous tables empty in his section and he said quote "OH NO Sir" as since they have instituted the Auto Tipping we get tipped anyways NO matter what. I had a heart to heart with the Maitre'D one night and expressed my concerns that so MANY Traditional diners were being refused their dining option because of the NON-Accountability because of PC Dining and he just shrugged his shoulders and said ... well we are offering what the cruisers want. Thats when I said well U are correct that it doesn't affect those that have opted out of Traditional for PC but what about the MANY that NEVER got Traditional that wanted it??? He then stated well we do NOT have enough personnel to account for everyone dining wishes. I :dizzy my eyes and said well now what would be so hard about everyone having to show their card with the appropriate color coded dot for dining preference on it to the MANY staff members waiting at the front door and those without the correct dot would NOT be allowed into the wrong diningroom??? He raised his eyebrows again and actually commented that might work. :lol I think PC Dining is a Gr8 option and allows for the flexibility it offers but I think it also is making the Traditional Dining crowd suffer because of the lack of accountability. Perhaps someday before Traditional Dining is phased out all together they may come up with a system that worrx for both dining preferences.


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Post Edited (10-30-03 20:48)
 
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phaelon56

Guest
I was unaware that they even allowed people who had chosen traditional to just eat in the other dining rooms. After our first day of traditional we consulted with the maitre'd and requested a change to PC. he put a sticker on our carfds and made a notation intheir books to the effect that we had changed. I presumed that the PC dining rooms would require you to have the sticker showing that you were really on the PC dining program in order to be seated. Just as it's unfair for those traditional diners who choose to eat elswehere to not notify peple, it would equally unfair yto seat folks who were actually on traditional in the PC dinign rooms and then force real PC diners to wait for table whent he roms were full.
 
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tutak

Guest
Why does it seem that Princess tries to "push" the PC dining when post after post says that they are waitlisted for traditional? This would be like Ford, whose F-150 pickup is so popular, announcing that they are cutting production in half. But you can be watlisted to order one.
 
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muffin

Guest
Yep, you have.all identified the biggest problem, IMHO, with the pc choice. We got pc for back to back alaska cruises, despite asking for the early sitting traditional. On at least 3 nights, we and several other couples, got t aken out of the pc lineup when we got to the door and were escorted to the traditional dining room where we were seated at either empty tables, or with persons who had one or more of their tablemates not coming to dinner in the traditional room that night..ie eating at pc, or the special dining room, or on lido.

My biggest reason for liking the trad by far is because you get to know the 4 or 6 other people at your table in a little depth...... with the pc you are constantly with new people, and at a table for 10 don't have a chance in hell of even really getting their names correct. We seldom got beyond the where are you from? who have you sailed with? Where did those sailings go?what shore excursions did you take? how were they? stuff. Remember, you already share tables at breakfast and dlunch if you eat in the dining rooms, so we like to know who we will see for dinner. Just an opinion...
 
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