Not so PINNACLE after all ...!

[Ray in NH]

One has to wonder just what type of influence the "Explore 4 Package" might have on service in Pinnacle Grill?

Ray in NH

[lovetocruise2020]

One has to wonder just what type of influence the "Explore 4 Package" might have on service in Pinnacle Grill?

Ray in NH

 

I would never go there after explore 4, herding cattle.

[SilvertoGold]

I am wondering if the Pinnacle Manager was around that evening at all.

He/She should have been and certainly should have noticed that the servers "kept disappearing".

 

This is an outstandingly bad expereince! We've had slow, uninterested service, but nothing close to this.

 

Hope your next try at the Pinancle goes much, much better!

[TheEmerson]

They are not disappearing. They are running between MDR and Pinnacle. Attend to some tables, run to the MDR, change outfits, attend some tables, run to Pinnacle, change outfits. Sorta Mrs. Doubtfire meets Basil Fawlty.

[Typhoon1]

I know the Pinnacle can have a bad night or two. However, we have never experienced anything but The Signature of Excellence in the PG.

[sapete]

Just back Sunday night from our 19 day Dawson/Denali Plus cruise tour, ending with a 7-day cruise on the Statendam, from Seward to Vancouver. We had a great time, with just a few little glitches, and we are so glad we were able to make the trip. We had some amazing experiences!

 

Our last dinner on the ship, however, was not so amazing. On the last night of the cruise, we went with our Travel Pals to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner. We had a 6:30 reservation and had requested a table by the window (didn't want to miss any whales!). We showed up right on time and got a nice table. We sat down ... and we waited, and we waited, and we waited, and we waited ... and finally someone showed up to fill our water glasses and drop off menus. Then we waited & waited & waited for someone to take our orders. Finally, got our orders in. Wine steward came by, took our order. Took her a long time to get back with our bottle, but she finally arrived & poured.

 

Almost finished with the first glass, when we got the "chef surprise" little bit-sized appetizer. A mushroom ravioli. With pastry dough. Extremely tough pastry dough - chewy & inedible. Now all the water glasses are empty, too ... we flagged down a passing waiter & asked for refills, and we waited & waited & waited a very long time before the water pitcher was brought to our table.

 

Waited another long time before the appetizers were served, but at least they were yummy. We had to wait a long time for the empty dishes to be removed. Had to keep waiting for water refills, too.

 

It took almost another 30 minutes for our entrees to be served. They were all fine except for one - Mr Chew had ordered the NY strip steak but was brought a porterhouse instead, a two-pounder by the looks of it. Rather than wait another 30 minutes, he decided to eat part of it. Ate almost half. We all finished about the same time and sat for another 30 minutes waiting for our dishes to be cleared. Dessert was finally ordered and took - you guessed it - almost 30 minutes to arrive - and one of the orders was incorrect.

 

Mr Chew had to be somewhere and left without his dessert. As soon as it arrived, the Other Dude in our party jumped up and delivered it to him. When Mr Chew's ice cream was brought to him, the staff who were present were aghast at the reason, and arranged for us to have a full refund of our dinner.

 

Other Dude had also ordered decaf but is pretty sure he was served regular - he was wired & up all night. No other reason than the coffee!

 

Of our 3 and 1/2 hours spent in the PG that night, almost two of them were spent waiting & waiting & waiting to be served or for dishes to arrive or for dishes to be removed. There is a difference between a leisurely dinner and just poor, slow service! The food was yummy, but the service was crummy.

 

We have also eaten in the PG on the Amsterdam with no service or food issues. I wonder if it has to do with having 7-day turnaround cruises? Anyone have a similar story?

 

This is a spot on description of both my experiences in the PG, which is why I shall never go there for dinner again. Breakfast and lunch are different, both DW and myself enjoy both....but dinner...Never again!

[COLLEYBERRY]

Being held hostage by the wait staff/kitchen/management of a dining venue is condoned by those who choose to remain and endure the abuse.

Your time and patronage is far too valuable to be shown such disrespect.

I applaud your patience. My DH would have politely requested more attention, had disinterest continued,we would have been dining elsewhere that evening.

[G&G]

Being held hostage by the wait staff/kitchen/management of a dining venue is condoned by those who choose to remain and endure the abuse.

Your time and patronage is far too valuable to be shown such disrespect.

I applaud your patience. My DH would have politely requested more attention, had disinterest continued,we would have been dining elsewhere that evening.

 

Totally agree.

 

Last two trips to the PG took so long that we walked out when we finished our main course. And this was after we had told the Manager that we had a function to go to at 7:15 PM (PG reservation was at 5:30 PM and we were first couple in PG). The PGM told us it would be no problem.

[SilvertoGold]

Totally agree.

 

Last two trips to the PG took so long that we walked out when we finished our main course. And this was after we had told the Manager that we had a function to go to at 7:15 PM (PG reservation was at 5:30 PM and we were first couple in PG). The PGM told us it would be no problem.

 

Really appreciate your imput.

Which ships? With a cruise booked for soon, we are getting nervous for our 4 Pinnacle bookings!

 

We never book the Pinnacle on a VIP party night: was that the function? What a mess!

[G&G]

Really appreciate your imput.

Which ships? With a cruise booked for soon, we are getting nervous for our 4 Pinnacle bookings!

 

We never book the Pinnacle on a VIP party night: was that the function? What a mess!

 

It was on the Ryndam March 2013. Just my DW and myself. No special function or occasion.

 

We are also nervous about making reservations at the PG with 4 free dinners under the 5 Star Mariner Program on our Maasdam cruise in October. I do not know if it is worth it.

 

We just completed our first Oceania cruise in April. The ship had 4 speciality restaurants and the service was not only excellent but what someone would expect !

 

As previously posted the best service we ever experienced in the PG was when the PG Manager helped the staff and was not just a figure head.

[SeaBands]

we are usually 2 but have been 4 as well. Usually out in about 2 hours.

[SilvertoGold]

It was on the Ryndam March 2013. Just my DW and myself. No special function or occasion.

 

We are also nervous about making reservations at the PG with 4 free dinners under the 5 Star Mariner Program on our Maasdam cruise in October. I do not know if it is worth it.

 

We just completed our first Oceania cruise in April. The ship had 4 speciality restaurants and the service was not only excellent but what someone would expect !

 

As previously posted the best service we ever experienced in the PG was when the PG Manager helped the staff and was not just a figure head.

 

We did our two 5 star dinners in the Pinnacle on our last cruise. No problems, except the Manager seemed somewhat leery, but it all worked out very well. This was the Zaandam.

 

The accounting was weird. The first dinner was charged 12.50 (for 2!) and credited 12.50 and 6.25.

The second dinner was charged 12.50 and credited 6.25.

So it worked out right! But how strange.

 

The Pinnacle doesn't do anything about the charges, the Front Desk does this. No need even to tell the Pinnacle that you are doing the 5 star dinners.

[Boytjie]

Don't expect much. Our Le Cirque dinner on the NA was pretty bad. The food was worse than the service.

 

Our Le Cirque dinner on the Eurodam in February was excellent - even better that the regularPinnacle dinner we had on the same cruise. :)