Diamond Princess - How's the Personal Choice Dining
Apr 24th, 2004, 01:50 PM
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Diamond Princess - How's the Personal Choice Dining
I'm looking into booking a cruise to the Mexican Riviera via Princess Diamond. This is appealing to me because it's a new ship and we usually like the new ships better. We've never been on a Princess before, but quite happy with Royal Caribbean in the past especially Serenade of the Seas. The only thing that's making me worry is the comments I've heard from other people regarding the Personal Choice Dining -- how it was confusing, people ended up not being able to eat on the dining room, etc.
If you've been on Princess Diamond, could you please share with me your thoughts and experiences regarding the dining situation w/ Princess. I have 2 young children with me and we usually have the early seating at RCCL cruises. If I go with the traditional fixed dining, will I still have problems??? How about the buffet dining for lunch and breakfast? Was it too crowded and hard to find a table to sit???
Thanks,
Liz
If you've been on Princess Diamond, could you please share with me your thoughts and experiences regarding the dining situation w/ Princess. I have 2 young children with me and we usually have the early seating at RCCL cruises. If I go with the traditional fixed dining, will I still have problems??? How about the buffet dining for lunch and breakfast? Was it too crowded and hard to find a table to sit???
Thanks,
Liz
Apr 24th, 2004, 05:32 PM
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Liz,
We were on the Diamond Princess on Mar. 13th to the 20th to the Mexican Riviera which was their maiden voyage. It was our 19th cruise, our 11th with Princess. My husband and I were both so disappointed. We always thought that Princess was the best til now. I don't think that the problems that occured were because it was the first time out either.
I think since Carnival has bought all the Princess ships that they are using the standards of Carnival and are going by the wayside.
And it's sad to see such a good cruise line go down the drain.
We heard people on the ship tell us that even though they requested fixed seating that they didn't get it that they had to take Personal Choice which is now called Anytime Dining which it isn't that either. Cause in my opinion Anytime Dining means that you can go to the dining room and be seated soon. Last year we had PC on the Star Princess and it was great and we were always seated immediately but that was before Carnival bought Princess.
We didn't know that we had to call the concierge from our room and make reservations for Anytime Dining and by the time we found that out, the time we would have preferred to dine was taken every night all week. So we chose another time but could not request any specific dining room, the concierge chose it for us and there are 4 dining rooms assigned for Anytime Dining and one for fixed dining room. Even with a reservation for table sharing doesn't assure you that that's what you'll get. So often my husband and I were seated at a table for two which is not what we requested.
The other thing we didn't know was that if you have fixed dining you can go to the Anytime Dining rooms any night if there is room available.
Which was probably the reason that there were so many empty tables in the PC dining rooms.
The buffet for breakfast and lunch is crowded and the food at breakfast was always cold but if you walk around awhile you'll be able to find a table even if it's out on the deck outside the Horizon Court.
There was so much more that happened on our cruise and on the one right after us that it's too much to mention on this post.
Happy sailing,
Lydia
We were on the Diamond Princess on Mar. 13th to the 20th to the Mexican Riviera which was their maiden voyage. It was our 19th cruise, our 11th with Princess. My husband and I were both so disappointed. We always thought that Princess was the best til now. I don't think that the problems that occured were because it was the first time out either.
I think since Carnival has bought all the Princess ships that they are using the standards of Carnival and are going by the wayside.
And it's sad to see such a good cruise line go down the drain.
We heard people on the ship tell us that even though they requested fixed seating that they didn't get it that they had to take Personal Choice which is now called Anytime Dining which it isn't that either. Cause in my opinion Anytime Dining means that you can go to the dining room and be seated soon. Last year we had PC on the Star Princess and it was great and we were always seated immediately but that was before Carnival bought Princess.
We didn't know that we had to call the concierge from our room and make reservations for Anytime Dining and by the time we found that out, the time we would have preferred to dine was taken every night all week. So we chose another time but could not request any specific dining room, the concierge chose it for us and there are 4 dining rooms assigned for Anytime Dining and one for fixed dining room. Even with a reservation for table sharing doesn't assure you that that's what you'll get. So often my husband and I were seated at a table for two which is not what we requested.
The other thing we didn't know was that if you have fixed dining you can go to the Anytime Dining rooms any night if there is room available.
Which was probably the reason that there were so many empty tables in the PC dining rooms.
The buffet for breakfast and lunch is crowded and the food at breakfast was always cold but if you walk around awhile you'll be able to find a table even if it's out on the deck outside the Horizon Court.
There was so much more that happened on our cruise and on the one right after us that it's too much to mention on this post.
Happy sailing,
Lydia
Apr 24th, 2004, 06:42 PM
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I've read several negative reviews about the food, esp. about the buffet. You can read several more ship reviews on cruisecritic.com and cruise-addicts.com. Will be sailing Diamond in May, we'll see. I'm prepared for some disappointment.
Apr 24th, 2004, 09:34 PM
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We took our kids and grandkids on the April 10 sailing of the Diamond Princess, and don't know what all the complaining is about food. We thought we wanted the early traditional seating because we had a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old. We couldn't get it, so reserved 6:30 dinners every night with the concierge. We did this as soon as we boarded, and reserved all four different restaurants. It turned out perfectly, and the family enjoyed the variety of restaurants more than eating in the same venue every night. We had all our breakfasts, lunches, and a dinner in the buffet, and liked it. You can eat there anytime, there is something for everyone to enjoy, and we were never unable to find a table. There are times when it does get congested, however. The staff in every restaurant was extremely eager to please, and were very nice to the children. The first night, the table was set up for 6 instead of 8, and you would have thought that it was a national emergency to add the other places---and they thought it would be too tight. I just laughed and told the maitre'd not to worry, that we were a close family! He looked at me in shock and said that he wished everyone was like me. I guess they deal with a lot of very uptight and demanding people! We enjoyed everything about the cruise, and everyone had a great time.
Apr 26th, 2004, 10:47 AM
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The Personal Choice concept is different on the Diamond from any other Princess ship. Most people just assumed that "anytime dining" really meant dining at any time as the website states promotes. Most travelers understand "anytime dining" th mean that you do not have to make reservations. You DO have to make reservations or you will not get seated at the time you want. Those on the inaugural cruise had no idea that this would happen.
Apr 26th, 2004, 10:53 AM
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We sailed on the NCL Dawn last year, and they have "FreeStyle" dining only. There is no traditional alternative, and it works similarly to PCD on Princess. We thought it was great, and have been on many traditional cruises in the past. We booked the Sapphire Princess for this fall on a 10 day Mexican Riveria cruise and we selected Princess specifically for the PCD. It's hard to go back to the regimentation of the traditional dining room. Just my opinion.
Apr 26th, 2004, 04:29 PM
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Singletail,
'Scuuuuse me! We had PC on the Star Princess to the Mexican Riviera last Feb. and did NOT have to make any reservations any night and were seated immediately with other couples. (table sharing). Like travelinwifey stated this reservation business was something absolutely new this year and we weren't the only seasoned cruisers on the Diamond who didn't know about it, so there!!
To add to the confusion, you DO NOT have to make reservations for PC. I asked the maitre de and he confirmed this statement. He told me that it is not necessary, only preferable. If they have room they will seat you immediately. What designates "room" I don't know! There was about 75% of the tables empty every night that we dined at 6:00. I guess they reserve them for later diners, who knows! One night when we were escorted to a table for 4 there was already another couple sitting there. I asked if they had made a reservation for 6:00 and they said "no" that they seated them at this table as soon as they came in and the waiter was waiting til we came before taking our order and we were 10 min. early, like we were late? Figure that one out!!!
'Scuuuuse me! We had PC on the Star Princess to the Mexican Riviera last Feb. and did NOT have to make any reservations any night and were seated immediately with other couples. (table sharing). Like travelinwifey stated this reservation business was something absolutely new this year and we weren't the only seasoned cruisers on the Diamond who didn't know about it, so there!!
To add to the confusion, you DO NOT have to make reservations for PC. I asked the maitre de and he confirmed this statement. He told me that it is not necessary, only preferable. If they have room they will seat you immediately. What designates "room" I don't know! There was about 75% of the tables empty every night that we dined at 6:00. I guess they reserve them for later diners, who knows! One night when we were escorted to a table for 4 there was already another couple sitting there. I asked if they had made a reservation for 6:00 and they said "no" that they seated them at this table as soon as they came in and the waiter was waiting til we came before taking our order and we were 10 min. early, like we were late? Figure that one out!!!
