Menu in Horizon Court vs Menu in Dining Rooms

[Tikibird]

I was just wondering if the dinner menus are the same? We really prefer a more casual atmosphere and don't want to bring dress-up clothes on this cruise but would also like to try any interesting dishes that are being served in the dining rooms. We are booked for Anytime Dining but will probably take our meals in HC unless there is something we really want and it's only obtainable in the dining rooms.

[Coracii]

The menus are not the same at all. There may be times where there's a bit of overlap between the items available at HC and those in the MDR, but typically they're completely different menus.

[Colo Cruiser]

There is no menu in the HC.

 

The food would be different in each place.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Although the menus can be close at times, the dining room usually has the better meals & why people choose to eat there on formal nights even though some aren't formally dressed. We experienced an unusual thing on the Emerald recently when they served lobster claws and crab claws on the second formal evening and I also heard that on the Grand a few trips ago they had both lobster claws and lobster tails on one of the formal evenings in the Cafe Carib. If you check in advance with the head person they can tell you what main items to expect on an individual evening at the buffet.

[Coracii]

There is no menu in the HC.

 

The food would be different in each place.

 

It's all in the semantics. A menu is nothing more than a group of identified food items to be served at a meal. Generally it would be expected that it would be written and presented to the diners like at a traditional restaurant, but this isn't necessarily the case. Technically, anytime there's food being served there is a menu, it's just a matter of how formally the menu is presented. Even going to a cheap drive through and requesting a #6 super-sized off the board is ordering off the menu.

[Pam in CA]

The buffet is just that, a buffet. While there might be a list of the entrees at the entrance, it's still a buffet. Some dishes are just not conducive to being served buffet-style, so the entrees are not the same.

[luvinretirement]

I was just wondering if the dinner menus are the same? We really prefer a more casual atmosphere and don't want to bring dress-up clothes on this cruise but would also like to try any interesting dishes that are being served in the dining rooms. We are booked for Anytime Dining but will probably take our meals in HC unless there is something we really want and it's only obtainable in the dining rooms.

 

We are going on our 15th cruise with Princess soon and we don't take dress up clothes anymore -- for one thing there are too many restrictions on luggage these days. We sign up for the Anytime Dining and if something tickles our fancy (they post the menus outside the Horizon Court so you can see what's being offered) we have smart casual clothes to wear into the dining room. Even on formal nights DH just wears a long sleeved shirt and they are happy -- we only had an issue once for not having a jacket and tie :eek: and later when we complained the food services manager apologized to us saying we should never have been turned away. If we don't see anything on the menu, we have never been disappointment with the meal in the Horizon Court. We are not fancy eaters and so long as the food is hot and good we are happy.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes #6!

[Tikibird]

We are going on our 15th cruise with Princess soon and we don't take dress up clothes anymore -- for one thing there are too many restrictions on luggage these days. We sign up for the Anytime Dining and if something tickles our fancy (they post the menus outside the Horizon Court so you can see what's being offered) we have smart casual clothes to wear into the dining room. Even on formal nights DH just wears a long sleeved shirt and they are happy -- we only had an issue once for not having a jacket and tie :eek: and later when we complained the food services manager apologized to us saying we should never have been turned away. If we don't see anything on the menu, we have never been disappointment with the meal in the Horizon Court. We are not fancy eaters and so long as the food is hot and good we are happy.

That's basically our thing, my outfits pack up light and would be fine for all but the most formal occasions but it's formal menswear and shoes that take up all the weight in the bag and we are light travellers.

 

Can you get that fettucine in the parmesan bowl in the HC?

[Toto2Kansas]

Can you get that fettucine in the parmesan bowl in the HC?

 

NO, sorry, that is not offered in the HC that we have ever seen. And we dine there many times on every cruise.

[caribill]

Depending on the ship, the dinner buffet will often have a theme (German, oriental, etc.) that is totally different from what the dining rooms have that evening.

[geoherb]

There are only two formal nights even on our upcoming 10-night cruise. So that leaves eight nights we can eat in the dining room with casual clothes. On one of our 10-night cruises, I forgot to pack a pair of slacks. All I had was the khakis I had worn on the flight down. I don't think anyone noticed that I wore them every nonformal night.

 

And on our last cruise, we left the tuxedos at home and brought along sports coats instead. They don't take as much room since we did not have to bring black shoes and all the other things that go with dressing formal. And by wearing a sports coat, dress shirt, and tie, I was pretty close to the standard Princess requests and dressed better than many of the gentlemen in the dining room on formal nights.

[1 HappyCruiser]

We are going on our 15th cruise with Princess soon and we don't take dress up clothes anymore -- for one thing there are too many restrictions on luggage these days. We sign up for the Anytime Dining and if something tickles our fancy (they post the menus outside the Horizon Court so you can see what's being offered) we have smart casual clothes to wear into the dining room. Even on formal nights DH just wears a long sleeved shirt and they are happy -- we only had an issue once for not having a jacket and tie :eek: and later when we complained the food services manager apologized to us saying we should never have been turned away. If we don't see anything on the menu, we have never been disappointment with the meal in the Horizon Court. We are not fancy eaters and so long as the food is hot and good we are happy.

 

We do just about everything the same as you but I've never seen a menu (other than generic selections) posted for the buffet. What ship did you see it on?

[Coracii]

We do just about everything the same as you but I've never seen a menu (other than generic selections) posted for the buffet. What ship did you see it on?

 

They've had the basic menus posted outside of the Horizon Court the last two times I was on the Diamond (in 2008 and 2009) and also when I was on the Ruby (in 2009). There's never much detail, usually just five or six items listed. Further back than that I can't remember if they were there or not.

[itslin561]

Just returned from a 10 night on the Emerald. We did not bring formal clothes so we booked at the Crown Grille and Sabatini's for the formal nights. It worked out great and we had wonderful meals at both of the alternative restaurants.

 

After over 30 cruises, we decided to skip the formal wear and enjoy the hassel free packing !

[luvinretirement]

We do just about everything the same as you but I've never seen a menu (other than generic selections) posted for the buffet. What ship did you see it on?

 

Sorry for any confusion -- They post the dining room menu outside the Horizon Court between the elevators. At the back end on the Star/Grand/Golden -- depends on the location of the buffet court.

[luvinretirement]

Can you get that fettucine in the parmesan bowl in the HC?

 

They don't even have the parmesan bowls in the dining room very often now -- depends on which ship you are on. If we feel like having fettucine we go to the dining room.

[gertz]

Let me think? Between the Coral's dining room and the HC?

Not much to think about IMO.

[AlaskaGolden]

They don't even have the Parmesan bowls in the dining room very often now -- depends on which ship you are on. If we feel like having fettuccine we go to the dining room.

 

On five different Princess ships, I have always been able to get the cheese bowl. Even when I ordered a smaller size of the fettuccine as an appetizer I requested, and received, the cheese bowl. The bowl makes the fettuccine something special. No land restaurant I've been to offers this.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Sorry for any confusion -- They post the dining room menu outside the Horizon Court between the elevators. At the back end on the Star/Grand/Golden -- depends on the location of the buffet court.

 

I was really hoping you were correct about posting the buffet menu since if I don't like the DR menu I'll know what they'll be serving at the buffet. Oh well, I'll have to keep asking the hear waiter at the Horizon- he has a small menu in his pocket.

 

On five different Princess ships, I have always been able to get the cheese bowl. Even when I ordered a smaller size of the fettuccine as an appetizer I requested, and received, the cheese bowl. The bowl makes the fettuccine something special. No land restaurant I've been to offers this.

 

I often request the bowl when served as an appetizer but the problem is they fill the darn thing like a regular dinner portion & I hate to waste it.