Specialty restaurants on Sun Princess

[Aussieflyer]

Although the taster cruise is only 2 nights I am keen to try at least one speciality restaurant on the Sun.

It seems that I cannot prebook online beforehand as my cruise personaliser says to book early online through Dine in the Cabin. Is this usual for Princess as I have always prebooked on other lines?

Also the Sterling Steakhouse menu is on line and looks quite good - any comments from those who have been?

I think we will not go to Share as there are only 2 of us and it seems a bit pointless if we are supposed to be sharing plates.

The other one is Kai Seafood (which I understand Kai Sushi has morphed into). Has anyone been there or could point me to a menu. Princess online still has the sushi menu but according to the press release it is now a seafood restaurant.

 

Thanks in advance

[GUT2407]

Princess don't take pre bookings.

[Aus Traveller]

The Stirling Steakhouse has great food and great service. I feel it is worth the surcharge. We haven't been to Kai Seafood because it is new. I wouldn't go to Share Restaurant because we were not impressed with the Curtis Stone items on the MDR menu. The cost is also much more than the Stirling Steakhouse.

[Aussieflyer]

Princess don't take pre bookings.

 

Thanks GUT for the information; I wasn't sure if this was the usual for Princess or something different as it is a short cruise.

[GUT2407]

The Stirling Steakhouse has great food and great service. I feel it is worth the surcharge. We haven't been to Kai Seafood because it is new. I wouldn't go to Share Restaurant because we were not impressed with the Curtis Stone items on the MDR menu. The cost is also much more than the Stirling Steakhouse.

 

Love Stirlings.

 

The only time we've been on a ship with Kai was in Diamond, never saw a single person in there.

 

Not a fan of Curtis Stone, but may give it a go next cruise, pretty sure the girls want to give it a whirl.

[Aussieflyer]

Thanks Aus Traveller. I think we will try to get a booking at Sterling but would like to try out the seafood one; they may well be open at lunch as it is a sea day. If they are pay by the item it might work ok as we would not need to eat too much.

 

We once did a similar short cruise on Radiance and ended up with 3 specialty restaurants including lunch at Giovannis followed by Chef's Table for dinner. A bit of an overkill really.:o

 

For interest, what is the surcharge for Sterling?

Edited April 27, 2016 by Aussieflyer

[GUT2407]

Thanks GUT for the information; I wasn't sure if this was the usual for Princess or something different as it is a short cruise.

 

When you board there will probably be a table taking bookings or call the dine line as soon as you get on.

[GUT2407]

Thanks Aus Traveller. I think we will try to get a booking at Sterling but would like to try out the seafood one; they may well be open at lunch as it is a sea day. If they are pay by the item it might work ok as we would not need to eat too much.

 

We once did a similar short cruise on Radiance and ended up with 3 specialty restaurants including lunch at Giovannis followed by Chef's Table for dinner. A bit of an overkill really.:o

 

For interest, what is the surcharge for Sterling?

 

I think it's gone up to $29 each.

[Aussieflyer]

Thanks for the information - will keep an eye out when we board.

[Kinkacruiser]

I think the "Share" concept is all about sharing travel /cruise gems with others, not your meal.

[Aus Traveller]

I think the "Share" concept is all about sharing travel /cruise gems with others, not your meal.

I think the name 'Share' is unfortunate.:)

[Aussieflyer]

Oh, I see and when I had a better look at the menus you are right - individual serves. I thought it might be more like Giovannis on RCI where although some menu items are individual many of them are designed to be shared by the table.

Not sure the extra cost looks worth it, given we only have two nights on board.

[Stuartm]

I think the name 'Share' is unfortunate.:)

 

IMHO I think the whole concept is unfortunate. One of the things I love about cruising is that you often find yourself 'sharing' a meal with complete strangers whether you are in the buffet or one of the dining rooms.I don't think you need a gimmicky restaurant to facilitate this. I understand that they are also encouraging you to share your meal but after seeing photos of some of the dishes I'd want to keep the two mouthfuls to myself.

 

The decor looks very 'hokey' with light fittings etched with inspirational phrases such as 'friends', 'family','love' etc. Interior design by Hallmark.

Maybe at the end of the meal we will all be holding hands and singing 'Kumbaya'.

 

Ok, I'm being harsh and if I am on a ship with Share I will probably try it out but surely Princess could have come up with a better idea.

 

cheers

 

Stu

[Aussieflyer]

.......

 

The decor looks very 'hokey' with light fittings etched with inspirational phrases such as 'friends', 'family','love' etc. Interior design by Hallmark.

Maybe at the end of the meal we will all be holding hands and singing 'Kumbaya'.

 

Ok, I'm being harsh and if I am on a ship with Share I will probably try it out but surely Princess could have come up with a better idea.

 

cheers

 

Stu

 

Eek, the thought of Kumbaya is frightening, very very frightening. Certainly the kitschy decor doesn't augur well. :eek:

Edited April 28, 2016 by Aussieflyer

[dizzy1948]

Steak house for sure.........................worth every penny get in quick :p by the way - this is from someone who had the pork chop :eek: fantastic. Though DH and grandsons did the steak. They've done it twice. Superb. The starters and desserts just round it off nicely. It is fantastic value - even if it has gone up.

Edited April 30, 2016 by dizzy1948

[Aussieflyer]

Thanks dizzy, will try and book as soon as we board.

[GUT2407]

We rarely miss the Steakhouse, but it was better when it was a seperate restaurant rather than just a part of the buffet.

 

But I guess it's about optimising the space.

[dizzy1948]

Thanks dizzy, will try and book as soon as we board.

 

DH went straight up to deck 14 when we boarded the last time and booked straight away whilst we went to the cabins. Friends that were with us tried to book later on - and couldn't get in any night - fully booked. This was a 4 nighter.

Though reading some of the posts - seems you can book when you board - assuming that's at one of the desks - don't know about that. DH just hoofed it up to the top as most people go to the buffet after boarding - and would probably book it when they get up there.

Edited May 1, 2016 by dizzy1948

[Aussieflyer]

Having just disembarked from Sun Princess this morning, I thought I would post my impressions of the specialty restaurants on board as a way of thanking those who provided lots of great information to my original query.

We were only on for a short 'jaunt' from Brisbane to Sydney, a couple of nights away as it were but as MrAF is not a fan of the MDR or buffet we tired all three of the Sun's offerings.

I was a little concerned that online pre-booking is not available on the Princess site but as GUT had posted, we had no difficulty in making any speciality restaurant bookings.

On the fist night we went to Share. I can't see how this restaurant is going to succeed at all on this ship. There were three tables or maybe four occupied and that was it. The first two courses were excellent with extremely fresh and interesting food. We had serrano ham (Spanish prosciutto) and a salami with 2 cheeses to share. This was followed by two salads with the burrata and tomato salad being the standout with extremely fresh mozzarella cheese. The two mains (a roasted chicken dish and the beef cheek pie) were nothing special, just somewhat boring and uninspiring. Deserts of citrus tart and a chocolate dish of some kind were very tasty.

People seemed quite upset/annoyed that the well-loved pizzeria had been ditched for this somewhat overpriced eatery. Given the price it suffers that it is in a walkthrough area so there is not the warm/exclusive restaurant feel at all. That with the lack of table cloths gives it a much more informal feel which would be OK if the cover charge was less. We didn't work out what the cost of a la carte would have been. Service was odd - as they were so quiet, waiters kept appearing to see if everything was OK. The wine waiter certainly needed more training in that he assured us that the Australian shiraz was a sweet wine! Of course it wasn't and it was a very nice wine as it happened.

The next night it was Sterling Steakhouse. The was much better patronised though certainly not full. Again its location is problematic with no 'special' feel being a roped off area of the buffet. Service was more professional here and the food first rate. Much better all round.

We had lunch at Kai Seafood. Again there were very few diners and it seems the seafood dishes are a way to try and garner a few more. Most of the dishes were still the original sushi/sashimi, only 2 new seafood offerings. We had oysters (very nice and were freshly shucked) and prawns. These were not a good choice and we should have stuck with our original intention to have sushi. The prawns were flavourless and for $17.95 for a dozen, quite poor value.

Well there it is. Thank you to those who posted in response to my questions. In my opinion, Sterling Steakhouse was the best and I would visit it again but wouldn't bother with either of the other two.

Edited June 11, 2016 by Aussieflyer

[GUT2407]

Having just disembarked from Sun Princess this morning, I thought I would post my impressions of the specialty restaurants on board as a way of thanking those who provided lots of great information to my original query.

We were only on for a short 'jaunt' from Brisbane to Sydney, a couple of nights away as it were but as MrAF is not a fan of the MDR or buffet we tired all three of the Sun's offerings.

I was a little concerned that online pre-booking is not available on the Princess site but as GUT had posted, we had no difficulty in making any speciality restaurant bookings.

On the fist night we went to Share. I can't see how this restaurant is going to succeed at all on this ship. There were three tables or maybe four occupied and that was it. The first two courses were excellent with extremely fresh and interesting food. We had serrano ham (Spanish prosciutto) and a salami with 2 cheeses to share. This was followed by two salads with the burrata and tomato salad being the standout with extremely fresh mozzarella cheese. The two mains (a roasted chicken dish and the beef cheek pie) were nothing special, just somewhat boring and uninspiring. Deserts of citrus tart and a chocolate dish of some kind were very tasty.

People seemed quite upset/annoyed that the well-loved pizzeria had been ditched for this somewhat overpriced eatery. Given the price it suffers that it is in a walkthrough area so there is not the warm/exclusive restaurant feel at all. That with the lack of table cloths gives it a much more informal feel which would be OK if the cover charge was less. We didn't work out what the cost of a la carte would have been. Service was odd - as they were so quiet, waiters kept appearing to see if everything was OK. The wine waiter certainly needed more training in that he assured us that the Australian shiraz was a sweet wine! Of course it wasn't and it was a very nice wine as it happened.

The next night it was Sterling Steakhouse. The was much better patronised though certainly not full. Again its location is problematic with no 'special' feel being a roped off area of the buffet. Service was more professional here and the food first rate. Much better all round.

We had lunch at Kai Seafood. Again there were very few diners and it seems the seafood dishes are a way to try and garner a few more. Most of the dishes were still the original sushi/sashimi, only 2 new seafood offerings. We had oysters (very nice and were freshly shucked) and prawns. These were not a good choice and we should have stuck with our original intention to have sushi. The prawns were flavourless and for $17.95 for a dozen, quite poor value.

Well there it is. Thank you to those who posted in response to my questions. In my opinion, Sterling Steakhouse was the best and I would visit it again but wouldn't bother with either of the other two.

 

 

Thank you for the feedback.

 

We too loved Stirlings for a special night, but find the location on most ships (part of the buffet) a let down. Personally I'd swap its location to one of the more intimate locations.

[Aussieflyer]

Thank you for the feedback.

 

We too loved Stirlings for a special night, but find the location on most ships (part of the buffet) a let down. Personally I'd swap its location to one of the more intimate locations.

Princess is the only line where I've seen this restaurant set up.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We were very disappointed with the Sterling Steakhouse on Sun, in December 2014. The food was quite good, but not outstanding, and once we lost the views it was more like dining in a draughty hotel corridor next to the kitchens than a restaurant. There was zero ambience. Furthermore from half way though our main course there was an incessant plate-clattering noise coming from the kitchen area. Instead of relaxing over our desserts, we ended up just having a few mouthfuls then leaving, the noise was so unpleasant.

 

We didn't bother going to the one on Dawn. Once bitten, twice shy.

[MicCanberra]

Princess is the only line where I've seen this restaurant set up.

 

I find it very lacking.

Edited June 11, 2016 by MicCanberra

[Aussieflyer]

We were lucky with the noise OZKiwi; at least it was quiet! But I agree with the observation that the restaurant has zero ambiance. I probably would visit again, but would try for a table near the windows away from the buffet and kitchen.

Dawn and Sun seem well past their prime and even though it was only a short cruise it was enough to get a good idea of the ship, especially as most of the passengers had already been on for the trip from Sydney to Port Douglas. The ship was full and its small size for the number of passengers was very obvious. I much preferred the Golden Princess.

[sheeps daughter]

Very interesting feedback about the restaurants! Was an all inclusive alcohol package available on board? the reason I ask is I thought they weren't on a 4 day Aussie cruise but we are going in September next year and it gives me the option to pre-purchase one on my cruise personalizer. thanks.