Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Chef's Table

punkinlr

By punkinlr,
in Princess Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

punkinlr

punkinlr

Posted
Posted

Will be on the Carib Princess in April - and wondering about the Chef's Table. Do they offer it on the Carib? Cost? Worth it? Is there a menu posted anywhere?

 

DH and I have participated in these in the past on other cruises, and most have been lovely.

 

Thanks for any input!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Colo Cruiser

Colo Cruiser

Posted
Posted (edited)

It is usually offered up to 2 times on a 7-10 day cruise depending on interest, its $95pp and its fantastic and worth every penny.

Sometimes they fill up sometimes they don't.

12 people for each one.

A must do at least once. :)

Edited by Colo Cruiser
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

Posted
Posted

When it cost us $60 a person we thought it was worth every dollar. At $75 we thought it was getting a bit too pricy. At $95+ they would have to serve me Beluga Caviar, Chateau Margeaux, Kobe Beef, and fresh Maine Lobster to get my attention...:). We have an upcoming 25 day Princess cruise and DW made it clear that "we will not be doing the Chef's Table." Sometimes I think we leave our good sense (or should we say "cents") behind on trips. Spending over $200 on a dinner for two on a cruise ship, after we have already paid for dinner via our cruise fare, is just not in our future cards. As much as we enjoy the Chef's Dinner we just do not see any Princess meal rising to the plus $200 per couple level.

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites
caber

caber

Posted
Posted

It was still $95 on Emerald Princess this month. Maybe they charge more on Royal as it is in a special area, with the curtains. I would think that the charge should be the same ship wide. I have done it twice in the past and loved it. (as long as you are hungry)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gunner22aa

Gunner22aa

Posted
Posted (edited)

Did it and thought it was worth every penny at $95/person. If you think this is something you would like to do then book as soon as you board. There are far more people that want to do it than they have spaces available normally. Even booking early is no guarantee you will be chosen to participate.

Edited by Gunner22aa
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ocean paradise

ocean paradise

Posted
Posted

What is the best way to book? We tried on our last cruise to book by calling the reservation line very shortly after we boarded and we never heard a word. We really enjoy fine dining and I am thinking this would be similar to that type of experience especially with the wine pairing. Advice please.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Colo Cruiser

Colo Cruiser

Posted
Posted
What is the best way to book? We tried on our last cruise to book by calling the reservation line very shortly after we boarded and we never heard a word. We really enjoy fine dining and I am thinking this would be similar to that type of experience especially with the wine pairing. Advice please.

 

 

Other then calling the DINE line.....

Personally I would hunt down the MD since he is the one that sets it up. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
geoherb "Live from...." Rare

geoherb

Posted
Posted

There hasn't been any rhyme or reason to why we got in the times we did. The first time we tried, I called the dine line as soon as we boarded--and we were on the ship among the first passengers. The woman took my info and let me know we'd receive an invitation if we made the cut. On another cruise, we boarded later and still tried for Chef's Table. We made the cut that time. On the Island Princess cruise to the Panama Canal, we did not hear that we had made the cut until the fifth or sixth day of the cruise.

 

I'm glad to have done it three times. Each meal was great. The best part to me was being able to listen to the chef talk about cooking. The chef on the Sapphire Princess served us one of the best hors d'ouevres ever and also one of the worst. The best was a lovely crab salad served in a martini glass. The worst was a beef tartar served on aspic. The presentation was terrific--a clear acetate "ice cream cone" filled with the aspic with the dollop of the tartar on top.

 

Part of the charge pays for the Princess cookbook. We received five of them. I don't need another. It would be great to have an option to do the Chef's Table for less and give up getting another cookbook.

 

Our new favorite alternative to doing the Chef's Table is the Ultimate Balcony Dinner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

Posted
Posted
Our new favorite alternative to doing the Chef's Table is the Ultimate Balcony Dinner.

If you sail on the Royal or the Regal you may want to consider the Winemakers Dinner. While it's not as extravagant as the CT it's $40/pp which is much less than the $115 for the CT Lumiere. The CT has been very successful without the Lumiere's 'circle of lights' so I hope the Winemakers Dinner is expanded fleetwide even without the 'wine cellar' experience on the Royal/ Regal.

 

If you are not aware of this option, I did a thread on our experiences. As passengers became aware of this new dining option it became very popular and sold out quickly because like the CT participation is very limited.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1939851

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
geoherb "Live from...." Rare

geoherb

Posted
Posted

We did back-to-back 4-night cruises on the Ruby in December and I did not see any mention of the Chef's Table in the Patters.

 

On our Holland America cruise last spring, we had the ship's doctor and his wife join us for dinner on the second formal night. They said that they (and other officers) are assigned to different tables with available space on the formal nights. The ship provided wine for the table, but we had the same menu as the rest of the dining room.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gingera

gingera

Posted
Posted

I think the price is worth the experience....it is more than a meal...it is an experience!

 

One of the courses was lobster risotto....amazing!

 

We learned so much from the chef...and the desserts were out of this world!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Colo Cruiser

Colo Cruiser

Posted
Posted
I think the price is worth the experience....it is more than a meal...it is an experience!

 

One of the courses was lobster risotto....amazing!

 

We learned so much from the chef...and the desserts were out of this world!!

 

Yes its a must do at least once!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Griff4AU

Griff4AU

Posted
Posted
We did back-to-back 4-night cruises on the Ruby in December and I did not see any mention of the Chef's Table in the Patters.

 

You'll never see it in the Patter. It's a "race on the ship to get your name on the list" kind of thing. Usually the list is full before the ship even leaves port. Now that some ships are offering it more than once during a 7 day voyage, or even daily on the new ships, it may lose some of it's exclusiveness, but certainly not the cool factor.

 

I am guessing they simply don't do it during a short voyage, even one with multiple sea days...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...