Tiggerontheseas

We ate at the Crown Grill (on the Grand) in January and my daughter and I asked for 2 filet mignons each when we made our orders. No problem, and the waiter didn't blink an eye. My husband had filet mignon and lobster, and same thing - no prob;em. If there is any change to this, it's a very recent development.

Yes, it appears to be very recent. On the Star in April they were charging for any extra's. It didn't bother us as we were both stuffed with one of each. Even the appetizers were large. :)

Not the first time it has been raised. It used to be $56.35 then went to $57.45 (still the pre-paid price), and is now $59.80 if purchased onboard.

 

That's $3.45 per person per day more than original pricing which is actually quite an increase in the short time the package has been available. Still, I have no doubt Princess will be able to sell the package.

No doubt. :D

Does that surprise you?

Ha! No, not at all. But it is a bit different than dropping the price for pre-purchase.

Princess wants the cash, and the sooner they can get it, the better. No big surprise there, and, certainly, nothing sinister about it. If they can get cash up front, they are willing to drop the price a bit.

Except it doesn't appear to me that they did drop the price a bit. They kept the price the same for pre-purchase and RAISED it for on-board purchases, didn't they?

What sports channels do Princess have for their Caribbean cruises? Sure hope it's Fox &/or NBC. Cruised Disney & all they had was hockeyless ESPN.

We just got off the Star on Saturday and and it was ESPN - no hockey. Not even during highlight shows for the most part. Pretty much all NBA playoffs all the time.

This cruise sailed round-trip out of Vancouver and had a higher than usual share of Canadians on board so you could hear snatches of conversations all over with passengers trying to find out scores from people that they thought may have internet packages. :D

Not me, SheriffJoe.

I guess my sarcasm didn't come through in my post.:D.

I agree with the PP. It came through just fine and was very nicely done. :D

You must have just picked cruises that didn't have the DR lunch.e]

 

I don't believe that Astro was saying that the cruises didn't have the MDR lunch. Just that many times it wasn't listed on the Patter despite being available. :)

If it's bad the next time, you refuse to pay. Personally, I don't know why the OP didn't complain immediately to the Maitre D' when they thought there were problems in the first place. If it was that unenjoyable, I'd have made sure they knew it immediately so they can fix it. Last year, I was on the Ruby and had the misfortune of deciding to eat at the Salty Dog one night instead of dining in the Crown Grill like I had every night before... huge mistake. Small portions of awful food. I complained to the waitress immediately and told them that I refused to pay. They removed it from the bill and I left. I ended up eating at the Crown Grill 9 nights out of 10 and it was fantastic each night. I plan to do the same on my cruise next week... and if the service or food is garbage, I'll be sure to complain immediately so they can *fix* it. I won't just come on CC and complain about it because I was too lazy to take appropriate action then.

I can understand just letting it go, chalking it up to a bad experience and deciding not to chance it again. Some people (me) are not confrontational. I'm hoping that I have a good experience at my first Crown Grill dinner that is coming up but if I don't it's not something that we'll likely do again. There are plenty of other places to eat.

I am very happy to hear that you've had wonderful meals there and I'm looking forward to our special evening - I've enjoyed reading and appreciate all the thoughts of people who have dined there recently. Even the bad reviews are helpful and have certainly made me aware enough to temper my expectations. :D

Well I've never even heard of "Clickbait" and have no idea what it is except what has been written here, and as I've said, I'm nothing to do with any travel agencies or travel industry. My posts are those of a genuine person who just loves to cruise. So rest assured that by clicking on my post it will have no repercussions of spam mail or anything else, and I'm not earning anything.

I didn't realise I'd get some of the comments that would be made about me and I wish I'd never posted my original message now and didn't expect to annoy some people so much. So again apologies to anyone who I have irritated.

 

Thank you to those who realised that I was saying I would never be able to go again on the lovely Majestic, as she will be leaving to go to the Chinese market, and we here in the UK are not even able to book on her even if we wanted (and it does't show up on the Princess UK website except the first few European cruises).

 

Hopefully when I've done the review, readers will take it in the genuine spirit that it will be written - from someone who loves to cruise.

I thought your title and the continuation of the sentence into the post was awesome. Very cute! We must have a similar sense of humour.

We have dined in the CG many times.........

Our CG experience on the Ruby 2 weeks ago was excellent as always.

Excellent! :cool:

Both....Service was slow to start. My filet was overcooked, I like med, it was well done, Hubby wanted surf n turf, server told him no one dinner per person, so he ordered lobster, which I don't eat, but never saw one like that, over cooked, curled up on plate, didn't leave potato or veg bowls, only served two spoons of each to our plate, at least server saw my steak was overdone and took it back only to bring it when my hubby was done with is "lobster". There was a plate sitting under the heat lamps for at least 15 min, I jokenly said that's probably mine...it was.

 

But to start things off, Hubby likes to get to reservations early, so we had a 7:30, he likes to sit at the bar and have a glass of wine, so we get there 7:10 ish, checks in, Matre D says "too early, come back 7:30, we ask about the bar, he says no, come back. Apparently they have a small bar in the Crown Grill, with 4 seats or so, but it can't be used by diners waiting for their table. So we come back at 7:30 on the dot, with, I counted them-- 8 couples in front of us. Apparently 2 couples were also early for their reservation and were sent away too. As we were waiting a woman was "exclaiming" she had made a reservation on the dine line and when she arrived, there was no reservation for her, she's telling them a man took her reservation and the Matre D is telling here that there is NO MAN who takes reservations, meanwhile, as shes going on, the asst Matre D comes to tell here that they have a table for her. As I looked around there looked to be a good 1/3 of the tables empty.

 

I don't recall seeing anywhere on Princess about changes made to the dining experience at the Crown Grill. One entree per person, no more bowls of sides left on the table.

 

We have dined at the Crown Grill every time we sail and this is the first time we have experienced this kind of food and service. I hope Princess reads this and gets their act together.

 

BTW, I did email Princess when we got back with what I said above, so far no response.

Not good for a meal that you were probably very much looking forward to. Did they at least offer to comp some of the charge? I would be fine with only being able to order one entree per person as that is also a rule in Royal Caribbean's speciality restaurants and I wouldn't have known any difference but the rest sounds nothing like all the reports I've heard about the wonderful service. Were you on the Crown like Yags or a different ship?

I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that things go well on the Star.

I was on the 20-25 cruise and I would advise the same.....cancel. And I will be looking for your explanation as well.

Was it the food that was bad or the service? :(

Forget the Veggies. Having just gotten back from the 3-25 sailing of the Crown my advice would be to cancel the Clown Grill entirely. Look for my post in a few days explaining.

Uh, oh. I'll look for your review to see what went wrong. We're on the Star for 15 days so we wanted to mix things up with different restaurants for at least a couple of nights. Hopefully we'll have a better experience.

They are VERY accommodating. I am a lifelong vegetarian and nervously went to the Crown Grill with my husband. They just brought me a dish from Sabatini's for every course.

Wow! That is amazing.

Make sure to provide them advance notice of the mushroom allergy so they can make sure that his food is not contaminated by mushroom.

 

Also make sure to speak with the head waiter in the main dining room about the mushroom allergy. He will make sure that mushrooms are avoided in all foods served. By taking the dinner order the day ahead, he will also be able to offer items that normally have mushrooms without the mushrooms.

Thank you. We will definitely let them know. :)

I am pretty sure they will arrange to get him any kind of vegetable he wants ... even if not on the menu. Just be sure to let them know ahead of time.

The service is amazing!

That is great to hear. We'll definitely be sure to give them advance notice but really don't want to put them out much either.

They have several kinds of salad. They may accommodate you if you ask. Perhaps when making your reservation. Enjoy!

Thank you. Yes, I am very much looking forward to the mesclun salad with balsamic dressing. It sounds delicious!

My husband and I have booked the Crown Grill for our upcoming cruise and I have a quick question about the vegetable selections that are listed on the menu. I don't want to make it seem like my husband is a picky eater because he's really, really not (LOVES food - lol) but it just so happens that he doesn't eat either asparagus or spinach and he has a mushroom allergy.

Does anyone know if they will substitute an alternate vegetable (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc.). If not, it's not a big deal and he certainly won't go hungry but I was just wondering. :)

While at Canada Place, we would highly recommend that you take advantage of FLY OVER CANADA; it is well worth the money (and not very expensive). The photography is fantastic during the "ride". If you are in Vancouver for the day, the HO/HO bus is a great way to see the wonderful city. Loved Stanley Park too!:)

The OP is from Chilliwack which in reality makes them 'locals'. Even though they haven't cruised out of Canada Place they're probably very familiar with everything about the city. :D

A ship's cabin is NOWHERE near as nice as a "nice hotel"....unless the cost was equal to a hotel, I'd forgo the very short trip! Too much trouble, IMO!

True, but that doesn't really matter so much on a one day. The 'resort complex' and the food are generally awesome and well worth the cost. I spent almost no time in my room. Too much to do, too little time. :)

I have done three one-dayer Seattle to Vancouver (or vice versa) trips on Princess and had a really good time on them.

Our first cruise the beverage packages were brand new and they were selling it for the day. The last two none of the packages were offered. I guess they quickly realized that people are really good at maximizing the value when it's just overnight.

Dining rooms are open for dinner and one is usually open for lunch. They very aggressively direct you to the Horizon Court for lunch though so don't be surprised if you ask and they flat out lie to you. Go check it out before you give up. :)

The Princess Theater will have a production show and there will probably be another show in one of the lounges (comedians or magician). The bars and lounges will also have entertainment (piano, singers, etc.). One cruise they had karaoke happening for a short time. If you are on a ship with Skywalker's it will be open late.

The casino was not open during any of trips between Seattle and Vancouver.

I hope this helps. You'll have a great time.

Oh, the poster who mentioned the stores and public areas being packed was definitely correct. The duty-free store especially was crazy. They were running out of certain brands of booze the one time we checked it out. :D

Thanks for the responses!!

 

Yes, I am booking from Canada. It never crossed my mind that I was comparing US to Cdn. Makes perfect sense to me now ANNNDDD I feel silly.

 

Thanks again :)

You're very welcome! Don't feel silly. Currency exchange is evil! Unless you're converting US to CAN and then I guess it's pretty great. :)

It may an exchange issue. Are you perhaps paying in Canadian dollars? We just booked in Canadian and that is also what showed up per day (for an Interior). I believe in U.S. dollars they charge $13.50 per day.

The amount credited to you earlier for the free gratuities would probably have been in U.S. dollars. I hope this explains it. It works in my head anyway. LOL!

Has anyone been on a Rockin' the Caribbean cruise? From what I could find, it's rock singers from the 70's and 80's and they will have private concerts. I'll be on the Oasis February 12-19, 2017 and a roll call member posted that they are on the cruise for the theme. Can anyone tell me how large the group normally is and what venues they normally block off? Will they block off the Boardwalk or Aqua Theater?

 

 

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I was on a Rockin' the Caribbean cruise this February on the Freedom. I don't think they've been held on the Oasis class ships before so I don't really know how it'll effect the Boardwalk, etc. But on the Freedom it didn't make any difference at all. I think the group is around 700 people or so? They might increase the number of people for the event on your cruise since the ship is bigger but I don't know.

I noticed that the Star Lounge was roped off during the day once for a private function. I think the ice rink was used a couple of times for their events during times that it would normally have been closed anyway. That sort of thing.

Seriously, if it wasn't for the passengers wearing their purple Rockin' the Caribbean t-shirts, I might not have even realized it was taking place on the ship. LOL!

I think you're missing the point. Some passengers want the same drink every night when they sit down for dinner, and a good waiter will pick up on that and be proactive.

No, I totally got the point. My point was that just because I had ordered coffee every night for three nights wouldn't necessarily mean that I would want it on the 4th and the proactiveness of the waiter would be personally awkward for me. I also said that it was my issues.:)