Specialty Dinning Tips?

[Justprettynpink]

Hi All,

 

Thank you in advance for any information!

 

We are sailing on our first Princess Cruise next month (Ruby). We are looking forward to experiencing her :-)

 

We have learned from other cruise lines that there are tips for specialty dinning. Such as Celebrity offering a reduced rate for booking a specialty for the first night of the cruise or knowing that NCL has lobster the first night in the dining room.

 

Is there any tips or information about Specialty dining or dining in general that I would be wise to know?

[GweninTX]

You can call the dine line to book any specialty restaurants when you first board the ship. Princess does not allow booking online before the cruise departs. The menus for the main dining rooms are posted outside the dining rooms every day so you can decide if you want to eat in that venue or choose the buffet or specialty dining room.

 

If you are in a suite you can dine in a specialty dining room for free the first night of the cruise. You can also eat breakfast in Sabatini's each morning if you are in a suite.

 

On boarding day you can eat a lovely sit down meal in a dining room till 1:30 PM. The dining room serving will be listed in the daily newsletter called "The Patter" which will be in your room when you first get onboard. On sea days you can eat a wonderful Pub Lunch for free usually in the wheelhouse bar - it will be listed when served.

 

If your ship has an International cafe all the food is free except for gelato. Coffee also has a charge. This venue has wonderful breakfast treats including a made to order egg mcmuffin. At other times it has great salads and panini's that they grill. They have a soup of the day also. Try the shrimp and chicken salad, they are my favorites! The bran muffins are great also!

[sminfiddle]

I love Gwen's list, not much to add.

On Italian night in the Main dining rooms, if you order a limoncello the glass is free for you to keep. 7 different glasses if you're a collector.

 

In the main dining rooms Fettuccine Alfredo entree comes in a crisp Parmesan cheese basket but you can also order a Caesar Salad in that basket.

 

 

 

 

 

~sent using Cruise Critic app~

Edited November 17, 2013 by sminfiddle

[caribill]

We have learned from other cruise lines that there are tips for specialty dinning. Such as Celebrity offering a reduced rate for booking a specialty for the first night of the cruise.

 

Except for the free first evening for suite passengers (as noted above) and the same for some who booked the cruise with certain American Express cards, there are no discounts or specials for eating in the two specialty restaurants.

[clmom]

We now always dine in one of the specialty restaurants on the first night of a cruise. Since we choose Anytime Dining when just the two of us our traveling, we don't have table mates/waitstaff to meet. We have found the specialty restaurants are usually less busy and the other dining rooms tend to be a little chaotic that night.

[IdahoCruises]

Hi All,

 

Thank you in advance for any information!

 

We are sailing on our first Princess Cruise next month (Ruby). We are looking forward to experiencing her :-)

 

We have learned from other cruise lines that there are tips for specialty dinning. Such as Celebrity offering a reduced rate for booking a specialty for the first night of the cruise or knowing that NCL has lobster the first night in the dining room.

 

Is there any tips or information about Specialty dining or dining in general that I would be wise to know?

 

We just got back from the Grand to Hawaii and our favorite was Sabatinis, second favorite, Crown Grill, least favorite, Crab Shack (too much Old Bay seasoning for us....)

 

International Café is great as other posters have mentioned.

 

We also liked Alfredo's Pizza which was great.

 

Happy Cruising!

[boomerone]

Hi All,

 

Thank you in advance for any information!

 

We are sailing on our first Princess Cruise next month (Ruby). We are looking forward to experiencing her :-)

 

We have learned from other cruise lines that there are tips for specialty dinning. Such as Celebrity offering a reduced rate for booking a specialty for the first night of the cruise or knowing that NCL has lobster the first night in the dining room.

 

Is there any tips or information about Specialty dining or dining in general that I would be wise to know?

Tried the Crown Grill on Crown Princess several weeks ago and afterwards wondered why we had not taken advantage of specialty dining venues sooner. The service and food quality was extra special and the ambiance was a step up from the MDR. We enjoyed the lobster cake as a starter, salad, soup, and a filet mignon or lamb chops with a side of lobster tails as an entree. It was a truly wonderful and unhurried dining experience well worth the $25pp fee.

[RetiredNTraveling]

We just got back from the Grand to Hawaii and our favorite was Sabatinis, second favorite, Crown Grill, least favorite, Crab Shack (too much Old Bay seasoning for us....)

 

Just a question about the Grand to Hawaii, please. We were on the Golden last Mar/April and there was a great Hawaiian Atmosphere on the cruise. How was the Grand? We are planning a return cruise and looking for info on times and the Grand.

Thanks

[IdahoCruises]

We just got back from the Grand to Hawaii and our favorite was Sabatinis, second favorite, Crown Grill, least favorite, Crab Shack (too much Old Bay seasoning for us....)

 

Just a question about the Grand to Hawaii, please. We were on the Golden last Mar/April and there was a great Hawaiian Atmosphere on the cruise. How was the Grand? We are planning a return cruise and looking for info on times and the Grand.

Thanks

 

They have a similar experience on the Grand with Kimo and Locolina who do the hula lessons, lei making, uke lessons, as well as entertain in the Piazza.

 

I have also posted a copy of the Patters from our trip here so you can see what is going on. Hope that helps and happy cruising!

 

Here is the link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1946763