On Princess Cruises, you can select your dining style and time after your cruise is paid in full. Until the final payment is completed, dining choices will remain locked. Once your booking is settled, you can log into the Princess app or website to choose either traditional dining or reserve nightly dining times.
Princess offers two main approaches to dinner in the Main Dining Rooms (MDRs). The first is traditional dining, which gives you a fixed seating time at either 5:00 PM or 7:00 PM. With traditional dining, you are seated at the same table every night, with the same waiter, and often with the same tablemates if you agree to share a table. This option is popular with travelers who enjoy a consistent experience and prefer their evenings to run on a predictable schedule.
The second option is flexible reservations, where you book a dining time each night instead of committing to the same time for the entire cruise. Reservations start at 5:00 PM and are available in 20-minute increments throughout the evening. With this style, you may sit in different areas of the MDR and will not necessarily have the same server or tablemates. This option is great for guests who do not want to lock in a daily schedule or prefer to plan around excursions, shows, and kids’ activities.
Princess typically uses separate dining rooms to support each style of service. One MDR is dedicated to traditional, one is used for nightly reservations, and a third MDR (or a separate line, depending on the ship) is available for guests who want to dine without reservations or who did not make a plan. This walk-in option is usually less structured but can be a good choice if you are flexible or simply not in the mood to commit.
Before deciding, it is helpful to think about how structured you want your evenings to be. Some travelers like the familiarity of traditional dining, getting to know their servers, and having dinner ready at the same time every night. Others value spontaneity and prefer the freedom to choose a time each evening based on their plans.
No matter which option you choose, dining selections become available only after your cruise is paid in full. If you know your preference in advance, it can be helpful to choose early, especially on busy sailings where popular times fill quickly. If you are unsure, you can always start with flexible reservations and adjust as you go.
