Has anyone actually eaten in Share?

[wishfulone]

A while back there was a lot of discussion on here about the addition of Curtis Stone items to the MDR menu but has anyone actually eaten in Share? If so what was it like? What would you recommend or not? Did you enjoy the experience?

[beg3yrs]

Yes, we've eaten there twice. Both times on the Emerald Princess. Really interesting and delicious choices. Try the leeks if they're still on the menu. Portions are just right too. You'll still be quite full when you're done. It was quiet, just two or three other tables occupied both times.

 

We'll go again.

[Ron the Rev]

Yes, we've eaten there twice. Both times on the Emerald Princess. Really interesting and delicious choices. Try the leeks if they're still on the menu. Portions are just right too. You'll still be quite full when you're done. It was quiet, just two or three other tables occupied both times.

 

We'll go again.

Ditto to that beg3yrs. We went 3 times to Share and 3 times to Crown grill on our last cruise on the Emerald.(couldn't stand the noise where we sat in the MD) Mind you in that 3 times we exhausted the menu. As you say not many tables occupied, so I guess there will be a rethink, by the bean counters, as to if it's a viable restaurant to add across the fleet.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We went to Share twice on Sun Princess - which has a different menu than the other two ships.

 

Some of the dishes were nice but others were very disappointing, especially the beef cheek pie - I can cook beef cheeks better than that, and my sauce is better too.

 

I think we gave it a fair trial but I wouldn't waste my money on the Sun Princess Share restaurant again.

[wishfulone]

Hoping for many more replies here based on the fact there was so much criticism of the MDR dishes. Us included. So, do you really have to share platters of food with others at your table? Try the leeks? Is that the chicken and leek pie from the MDR menu? And yes, OzKiwi I can cook better than his MDR dishes too and present them a little more appealingly. Not like vomit. Come on you lot. Surely many of you have tried Share. We're not prepared to waste $78 without a little more info but we're also aware we can't criticise or praise what we haven't tried.

[sama10]

We went to Share twice on our recent cruise on the Sun Princess instead of doing formal nights. My husband had tried a couple of Curtis Stone dishes when they were on the MDR menu on a previous cruise and was not impressed but thought we would give it a go.

After all the negative reviews we were very pleasantly surprised (although we agree about the beef cheek pie). There was not a shortage of food either. I thought it was a shame that there were very few others there.

The second time it was much busier and this time we had the A La Carte menu as we had struggled with the amount of food the first time. Maybe Princess should consider offering this on other ships. We preferred ordering less and it worked out a lot cheaper than the $39 each cover charge.

I think the name Share doesn't help as people still think that food is shared amongst the diners but it doesn't really work like that. Some of the dishes we shared between the two of us and some not and the table sizes seemed to be mainly twos and fours.

We would certainly go back to Share again. We didn't try it on the Emerald, mainly because of the negative feedback, but wish we had.

Anne

[OCruisers]

We did NOT care for SHARE on our Emerald cruise.

Extremely bright with uncomfortable seating.

Our food was served on the cool side of lukewarm. The waiter told us it was at the temperature the chef intended it to be served. :rolleyes:

[aquilegia]

I went to a demo in Share on Emerald last year. They had all the dishes laid out and the chef explained them all. You weren't able to taste anything though. There had obviously been confusion about the name, as the chef started off by explaining that these are not plates for sharing (which I'd assumed they were). The sharing refers to sharing the experience/ambience or some other marketing speech flimflam. I think it's a very silly name.

[Rauld]

We went to Share on the Ruby twice. The last time was Feb. 2017. We loved the food, atmosphere, and service. We would definitely go back.

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

For the record I've never had a meal at Share, but based on the decor & atmosphere I'll pass. I'm old-school in my cruising preferences & have always enjoyed the sumptuous feeling of cruise ship public rooms. Share doesn't have that soft comfortable feel necessary for me. The lighting alone is migraine headache inducing. Share looks like any other trying too hard hipster restaurant I see all the time in Brooklyn. Why would I want that on vacation on a ship ? Salty Dog is another mistake Princess made, IMHO.

[Thrak]

For the record I've never had a meal at Share, but based on the decor & atmosphere I'll pass. I'm old-school in my cruising preferences & have always enjoyed the sumptuous feeling of cruise ship public rooms. Share doesn't have that soft comfortable feel necessary for me. The lighting alone is migraine headache inducing. Share looks like any other trying too hard hipster restaurant I see all the time in Brooklyn. Why would I want that on vacation on a ship ? Salty Dog is another mistake Princess made, IMHO.

 

We've never eaten at Share and don't really plan to do so. We will be on Emerald for 28 days in October and there is a Share onboard. As for Salty Dog... We likely won't eat there either but they do have an intriguing whiskey menu. :) (I doubt I will indulge there much though as we have the AIBP and most of the items from the whiskey bar that I would really like to drink are far beyond the range allowed under that package.)

 

If Share doesn't increase patronage I doubt it will be included on more ships.

[OCruisers]

For us SHARE was like trying to have a nice dinner in an almost empty public library! :eek:

[SwissDave]

Yes, 3 times on Emerald. Was excellent food an service each time. Cant wait to go again.

 

 

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[getoutandlive]

I went with my husband and son, we all LOVED it. There were 6 courses, charcuterie, appetizer/salad, pasta, land, sea, and dessert. There were 3 or 4 options per course to choose from, the portions were just right considering there were 6 courses, we left stuffed. I had the charcuterie, prawns, pork ravioli, steak, lobster, and the most amazing chocolate dessert. Everything was hot and the flavors were fantastic. I would say it was more of an adventurous menu, not the place for people looking for steak and potatoes. :-)

[dls1277]

My husband and I enjoyed Share on the Ruby and would definitely go back. Food, presentation and service were great. I don't remember any large platters of food or any bright lights on the Ruby. My husband did try the Curtis Stone seafood stew (not sure if that was name) in the MDR and did not care for it thou.

[CoffeHound]

I will preface this by saying that both my sister and I are vegetarian so that you know that does influence our opinion. That being said, we have eaten tasting menus at several high end omnivore restaurants such as French Laundry, Fleur de Lis, Charlie Trotter, Commis etc. so we know that high end can be done well and we do not mind paying (sometimes through the nose!) for a "dining experience".

 

On our last cruise n the Ruby we ate at both the Salty Dog and Share. While we felt the food was good at Share we were disappointed that they really didn't have an alternative to the charcuterie and were not willing to offer an additional side or anything so we did feel like we got "shorted". We were also disappointed in the selection of wines by the glass and the fact that none of the staff seemed to be able to help with food & wine pairing. We did enjoy it, but I do not think we would go back to share because I did not think it was a good value for the money.

 

We might go back to the Salty Dog because we felt the food was just as good and the price and drink selection was better.

[XBGuy]

Last October on the Ruby Princess, we dined at SHARE three evenings. We, very much, enjoyed the entire experience. Neither of us enjoy "high energy" rooms. So, the fact that SHARE is, very much, underutilized was a plus for us. We loved the attention that we received from the servers and the headwaiter.

 

We felt that the menu was excellent. In our three visits, we had the opportunity to try everything. Some of the choices are better than others, but nothing was substandard, and most of it was excellent. I’d never had Beef Cheeks before, and I thought it was very good. I would very much love to visit the posters above whose preparations are superior. They must be wonderful.

 

I don’t know about the different menu on the Sun, but on the Ruby, the SHARE menu was changed immediately after our cruise. So, I can’t report on the current menu, but it actually looks better than the one that we had. It has more courses and appears to have more choices. Several dishes from the old menu do not appear on the new menu.

 

There have been a lot of comment on the décor of the room.

 

Yes, the chairs are wooden. My fat rear seemed OK with it.

 

The tables do not have tablecloths.

 

You do not have to sit at “high” tables. We had a two-top every visit. Our table was fairly large for a two-top. Three people could have comfortably shared a table. Four people could not.

 

The room has hard wood floors.

 

We found the lighting to be a bit dark. It was fine unless you wanted to take a picture.

 

I was asked about wheelchair access, once. There would be no problem for somebody in a wheelchair to enjoy SHARE. The tables are far enough apart to easily navigate a wheelchair, the fact that the floor is not carpeted would make it wheelchair-friendly, and the tables are “standard” height—so, a person in a wheelchair can comfortably use them.

 

I don’t know if you enjoy wine, but the SHARE wine list is superb. Including very excellent pricing for wines such as Tignanello and Penfolds Grange.

 

 

Our next Princess cruise is on the Grand Princess. My wife is disappointed that the Grand does not have a SHARE. On the other hand, she is quite pleased that it does have an Alfredo’s pizzeria.

[PescadoAmarillo]

For us SHARE was like trying to have a nice dinner in an almost empty public library! :eek:

This. With hard chairs to prevent one from falling asleep while cramming for exams.

[floridalover5623]

If Share doesn't increase patronage I doubt it will be included on more ships.

I can't wait till it's replacement arrives. Hopefully it'll be something like the old Sabatini's.

From the sound of the amount of people who actually enjoy SHARE, it would't be long.

[nolaaan]

I tried SHARE on the Ruby in January. Amazing flavors and decent portions (I dined by myself and I was stuffed), but I probably wouldn't go again unless they reduced the cover charge to $29 or less.

 

Let me preface that I am a huge fan of 2 of the Curtis Stone MDR offerings, the seafood stew and roasted pork belly. When I first tried the Curtis Stone MDR offerings on the Crown, I thought they were the greatest things Princess has ever done. I understand a lot of people don't like the new MDR items, but if you appreciate them, you're more likely to enjoy SHARE. I should also probably note that I love Salty Dog and Crown Grill, but find Sabatini's to be too much.

 

The standout dish for me was the curry lemongrass pork ravioli--crisp lemongrass with clean back burning heat, not one to make you cough back the spice, but enjoy the warmth. The rest of the dishes were good, truly good, but not as amazing to me as that pork ravioli. The steak was cooked EXACTLY how I wanted it...score. Bread service was basic MDR rolls in bite size breakaway pieces...ehh. I agree the servers are not knowledgeable about their wine menu, so I decided to pass...with a little training they could've taken more money from me. Service was basic...I've had better in Crown Grill. I didn't mind the ambiance...the Library comparison is an accurate assessment.

[wishfulone]

Thanks for all your wonderful comments. I'm curious as to why so many of you ate at Share three times on the one cruise. Was there a special offer?

[OzKiwiJJ]

Hoping for many more replies here based on the fact there was so much criticism of the MDR dishes. Us included. So, do you really have to share platters of food with others at your table? Try the leeks? Is that the chicken and leek pie from the MDR menu? And yes, OzKiwi I can cook better than his MDR dishes too and present them a little more appealingly. Not like vomit. Come on you lot. Surely many of you have tried Share. We're not prepared to waste $78 without a little more info but we're also aware we can't criticise or praise what we haven't tried.

 

They have table sizes to suit everyone, from 2 tops to a big party table. You can have individual dishes or you can share with your partner, family or friends, tapas-style. We chose to share the dishes as that way we get to try more things.

 

I believe the menu on Emerald and Ruby is much more interesting than on Sun. There are a few dishes on those menus I wouldn't mind trying. However on Sun you have the additional option of ordering a la carte, rather than just paying the fixed price, so it can work out cheaper if you don't want a big meal. We paid around $50 for two of us both times we went.

 

I don't think the leeks mentioned by another poster is the chicken and leek pie.

[wishfulone]

They have table sizes to suit everyone, from 2 tops to a big party table. You can have individual dishes or you can share with your partner, family or friends, tapas-style. We chose to share the dishes as that way we get to try more things.

 

I believe the menu on Emerald and Ruby is much more interesting than on Sun. There are a few dishes on those menus I wouldn't mind trying. However on Sun you have the additional option of ordering a la carte, rather than just paying the fixed price, so it can work out cheaper if you don't want a big meal. We paid around $50 for two of us both times we went.

 

I don't think the leeks mentioned by another poster is the chicken and leek pie.

The leeks aren't showing on the Sun's sample menu. Sounds like dining tapas style would work well. Thanks for the suggestion.

[XBGuy]

Thanks for all your wonderful comments. I'm curious as to why so many of you ate at Share three times on the one cruise. Was there a special offer?

 

Personally, I just think its's the finest dining I've ever enjoyed on a cruise ship.

[wishfulone]

Personally, I just think its's the finest dining I've ever enjoyed on a cruise ship.

That's high praise indeed! Not sure I'll be lining up for your wine selections though. Penfold's Grange isn't often on my shopping list ;)