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Ultimate Balcony Dining pictures

Sassy's Mom

By Sassy's Mom,
in Princess Cruises

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scampercat

scampercat

Posted
Posted
We loved it and thought it was a really fair value...

 

Loonbeam,

 

I was reading about this at Princess.com, but it doesn't say too much. I'd like to ask a few questions if you don't mind. You don't have to answer if you don't want to.

 

1. How much is the UBD for 2?

2. Princess says there are 4 courses, what do the servers do between the courses? I would feel anxious if they just stood there or something. Plus if you're trying to have a romantic dinner you don't really want someone standing a few feet away just waiting.

3. Is the food just as hot & fresh as in the dinning room?

4. Is there a set menu or is it just the same menu as the dinning room that night?

5. Someone above mentioned booking it for an upcoming cruise. I have not been able to locate this option on princess.com in my cruise personalizer. Is this somewhere else or something that can only be done during a certain time frame?

 

Thanks for any insite.

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Whimsy

Whimsy

Posted
Posted

Here is my review with photos from our January cruise. You will find photos from our balcony dinner. I have photos of the flowers, crab cake appetizers, salads, entrees and dessert. The only think I forgot to photograph was the canapes but they were basically what you find described in the canapes you can order on the Princess site.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1558424

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Whimsy

Whimsy

Posted
Posted
Loonbeam,

 

I was reading about this at Princess.com, but it doesn't say too much. I'd like to ask a few questions if you don't mind. You don't have to answer if you don't want to.

 

1. How much is the UBD for 2? $100 plus we tipped

2. Princess says there are 4 courses, what do the servers do between the courses? I would feel anxious if they just stood there or something. Plus if you're trying to have a romantic dinner you don't really want someone standing a few feet away just waiting. The servers would go out the door and perfectly time themselves to clear and serve the next course.

3. Is the food just as hot & fresh as in the dinning room? Yes, everything was excellent.

4. Is there a set menu or is it just the same menu as the dinning room that night? Steak and lobster or twin lobster tails. Please see my above link for photos of the courses.

5. Someone above mentioned booking it for an upcoming cruise. I have not been able to locate this option on princess.com in my cruise personalizer. Is this somewhere else or something that can only be done during a certain time frame? Not sure as ours was a gift but I am sure you could call Princess and order over the phone. I think you cannot order things for boarding if you are within a few weeks of cruising.

 

Thanks for any insite.

 

I hope this helps.

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rockymo

rockymo

Posted
Posted

We just did this on CB weeks ago. I preordered for us and another couple (it was their Christmas present from us) When we boarded the ship I called room service to tell them what day we wanted it. I was told later that they only do 2 UBD per night and our "twin" dinners were it that night. We opted to have our tables separate as we had adjoining balconies with the door opened between. Our waiter served us both.We had a wonderful time. Our friends say it was the highlight of the cruise for them. They will ask you before the time if there are allergies or anthing and you have some options as to what they will bring (as a side note anything that is on the regular dining room menu can be included. The food was great, the service excellent. We each also recieved a flower arrangement and a pictures will be taken one of which is included the others can be purchased You have to ask for these at the photo desk the next day they are not displayed. You also recieve nice menus to keep. If you preorder this like I did be sure to keep your receipt, email or other evidence of payment, I was told that a card would be the stateroom on boarding, but it did not come until the day of our dinner. I had not picked a day when I preordered so I wanted to get right on it so I called right away on boarding. You will enjoy it I'm sure.

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cindep

cindep

Posted
Posted

Be aware that you CAN customize the dinner. I had made up a list of things to ask for before we left on the cruise, so I was ready with my variations when I called. They also would have sent someone with the menu and could customize it. In our case, DH had escargot instead of the standard appetizer and a caesar salad instead of the normal salad. We also had creme brulee for dessert instead of the mousse. I don't care for champagne and was able to substitute a bottle of Asti. I'm allergic to lillies so asked them to make sure they were not included in our flowers. Everything I asked the lady taking our order, she was able to accommodate us. So if you want something different, ask. All they can say is no.

 

This is definitely worth the $100 price. I don't know that we would do it every cruise, but we have now decided it is a better value than the alternative restaurants.

 

Also, our waiter had us fill out our room service breakfast card for the next morning and write in anything we wanted. We had omelets the next morning with the leftover Asti (in orange juice).

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Sassy's Mom

Sassy's Mom

Posted
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Posted
Be aware that you CAN customize the dinner. I had made up a list of things to ask for before we left on the cruise, so I was ready with my variations when I called. They also would have sent someone with the menu and could customize it. In our case, DH had escargot instead of the standard appetizer and a caesar salad instead of the normal salad. We also had creme brulee for dessert instead of the mousse. I don't care for champagne and was able to substitute a bottle of Asti. I'm allergic to lillies so asked them to make sure they were not included in our flowers. Everything I asked the lady taking our order, she was able to accommodate us. So if you want something different, ask. All they can say is no.

 

This is definitely worth the $100 price. I don't know that we would do it every cruise, but we have now decided it is a better value than the alternative restaurants.

 

Also, our waiter had us fill out our room service breakfast card for the next morning and write in anything we wanted. We had omelets the next morning with the leftover Asti (in orange juice).

 

Thanks for the info! DH is allergic to shellfish but I love it so we will definitely have to modify the standard menu. I've got to make me "as soon as I get on the ship list" and add calling the DINE line. :)

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cindep

cindep

Posted
Posted

We opted to do surf and turf for DH and I had all lobster (as I don't do well with beef late at night). They can also do all beef tenderloin. I didn't get so specific as certain side items with our entrees, but I'm sure if I had asked for baked potatoes, they could do those too. In our case, we were on a 10-day cruise and we had our UBD the night after sailing so I could enjoy the flowers the rest of the trip. They lasted pretty well the whole time and the roses still looked great when we disembarked.

IMG_2035.jpg.edb11c8fc272418a2dba44d90b049db6.jpg

IMG_1608.jpg.1c050f49f8060ca61f569f0e8dcdf5df.jpg

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sailaway5

sailaway5

Posted
Posted
Thanks for the info! DH is allergic to shellfish but I love it so we will definitely have to modify the standard menu. I've got to make me "as soon as I get on the ship list" and add calling the DINE line. :)

 

Can you pick the night you want to schedule the UBD when you "pre-order" this prior to sailing? Or do you select the night once you are on board. This sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate a special occassion... Thanks for all the information.

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Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

Posted
Posted
No' date=' I couldn't designate which night when I paid for it. She told me there would be a card in the room the first day so I could make the arrangements.[/quote']

That was how it worked for me.

 

Evidently I was the first to call when we boarded so I had my choice of day and time. If this is something you really want on a certain day and time, be sure to call from your room when you board.

By scheduling my UBD immediately upon boarding we were able to have a wonderful dinner on our balcony at sunset in Honolulu. :D

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