MikeyA53 Posted January 16, 2019 Author #51 Share Posted January 16, 2019 We ate at the Symphony Anytime Dining room 3 times during the week. The food was very good overall. Our first meal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 16, 2019 Author #52 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Our second meal. No photos of our entrees, we love our deserts and many times throughout our three cruises we would share 3 and a couple of times 4 desserts. Our third meal time Second lobster He was preparing cherry jubilee and it was fun to watch him. He would leave at times to get ingredients and someone else would come along and add something to the bowl. When he would return he would get annoyed with them for messing with his recipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 16, 2019 Author #53 Share Posted January 16, 2019 We dined at the Crown Grill twice and once at Sabatini’s. The cover charge was $29 per person and well worth it. The cost is the same if you pre-book before the cruise or wait until you are on the cruise. In addition we did the Super Tuscan Wine Dinner in Sabatini’s. Cover charge was $60 per person. Overall it was a good experience with nice wines and delicious food. We wanted to do the Chef’s Table Lumière but could not get reservations. The only thing missing on Royal Princess was an Asian restaurant. Crown Grill Lounge where you can sit and relax with a drink before your reservation. Our meal at Crown Grill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AF-1 Posted January 16, 2019 #54 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Wow your pictures our great. Thank you for taking the time to post this review. Each ship has its own little niche. I don't know if I would sail Celebrity. To boring. I just switched to Princess last year. Again, thanks for sharing your great review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 16, 2019 Author #55 Share Posted January 16, 2019 Sabatini’s Super Tuscan Wine Dinner at Sabatini’s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 16, 2019 Author #56 Share Posted January 16, 2019 The International Café was also a great spot for specialty coffees, gourmet sandwiches and sweets. They had different sandwiches each day and you could get it grilled. Across from the International Café was Gelato which served ice cream and gelato. I indulged myself several times during the week with ice cream sundaes made to my specifications (lots of different topping and sauces to choose from) for only $3. The only places we didn’t try was Alfredo’s Pizzeria and Trident Grill. International Café Morning menu, the sandwiches are display starting at lunch Gelato Alfredo’s Trident Grill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 18, 2019 Author #57 Share Posted January 18, 2019 MSC Seaside The ship has 2 buffet restaurants, the larger one on deck 8 and the smaller on deck 16. We usually had breakfast and lunch in the larger one. Overall the food was good but they practically had the same menu all week. I had difficulty finding something new to try each day. We had the Mealtime Restaurant Drink Package included in our cruise fare. This meant unlimited beer, wine, bottled water and soft drinks in the buffet and dining room during lunch and dinner but not in the specialty restaurants. I believe they had 2 types of beer, two red wines, two white wines and one rosé wine to pick from. They had coke products for soft drinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 18, 2019 Author #58 Share Posted January 18, 2019 They had self serve machines in the buffet for all three types of drinks, however the machines only had one type of beer ( Heineken), one red and white wine (no rosé) which was convenient. They also had a bar in the buffet where you could also get your drinks and they had waiters serving at tables. Whenever I needed a beer or soda outside meal time I would bring a empty coke bottle and fill it up for takeout. They had self serve machines in the buffet for all three types of drinks, however the machines only had one type of beer ( Heineken), one red and white wine (no rosé) which was convenient. They also had a bar in the buffet where you could also get your drinks and they had waiters serving at tables. Whenever I needed a beer or soda outside meal time I would bring a empty coke bottle and fill it up for takeout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 18, 2019 Author #59 Share Posted January 18, 2019 We ate in the dining room twice, the food was good. The portions were a bit smaller than on Princess and Celebrity so big eaters like us had to order multiple dishes. When Tracy ordered a glass of wine on our drink plan they brought the bottle and kept it near our table. The waiter kept re-filling her glass throughout the meal. Ipanema Restaurant Our first meal, forgot the entrees Our second meal, Thanksgiving dinner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 18, 2019 Author #60 Share Posted January 18, 2019 On 1/16/2019 at 3:35 PM, AF-1 said: Wow your pictures our great. Thank you for taking the time to post this review. Each ship has its own little niche. I don't know if I would sail Celebrity. To boring. I just switched to Princess last year. Again, thanks for sharing your great review Glad you like it. 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MaryBethV Posted January 18, 2019 #61 Share Posted January 18, 2019 This is the best comparison review I've read. Thank you for all the great info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 19, 2019 Author #62 Share Posted January 19, 2019 We had pre-purchased the Trio Specialty Dining plan for $89 per person. The three restaurants included in this plan were Ocean Cay, Asian Market and Butcher’s Cut. The price onboard for the Trio package was higher than the pre-purchase cost. They had a fourth specialty restaurant called Teppanyaki which could only be booked onboard. If you booked Teppanyaki you had three different choices of a 3 course meal to pick from and if I remember correctly, the cost of a three course meal ranged between $30 and $60 per person. The trio package purchased before or during the cruise had a smaller menu of items to pick from. I found the choices were not much better than what you can get in the regular dining room. If you did not like the choices offered on this smaller menu you could trade your appetizer, entrée or dessert for an a la carte choice on a larger menu for half its price. The prices seemed inflated on this menu. I ended up choosing a dry-aged porterhouse 22oz steak which was $50 and got it for half price. It was very good but I ended up paying a total of $30 for the package plus $25 for the steak for a total of $55. On Princess everything is included in the menu except the surf and turf which I paid an extra $10 for a lobster tail. I also made a change at the Asian Market restaurant that cost me an additional $21.85. Then at Ocean Cay I made the mistake of ordering a second appetizer thinking I would pay half price for it but since it was not an exchange but rather a second appetizer I paid the full $16 for an appetizer not worth more than $12 in most land base restaurants. In addition with the dining plan you can only have one appetizer, one entrée and one dessert. On Princess and Celebrity you can have several appetizers and desserts. All the food was very good but I don’t like how they had this two menu system. All 4 restaurants are conveniently located together on deck 16. Butcher’s Cut Our meal at Butcher’s cut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 19, 2019 Author #63 Share Posted January 19, 2019 3 hours ago, MaryBethV said: This is the best comparison review I've read. Thank you for all the great info! Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 19, 2019 Author #64 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Ocean Cay Our meal at Ocean Cay Asian Market Our meal at Asian Market Bar amongst the restaurants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 19, 2019 Author #65 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Teppanyaki We were engaged in a conversation with people we met at our meal and I forgot to take photos of our meal. One other dining venue we tried was Venchi Cioccogelateria-Coffee Bar which had specialty coffees, chocolates and ice cream. The ice cream sundaes where smaller and more expensive than on Princess. I think I paid between $6 and $7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky TGO Posted January 19, 2019 #66 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Thanks for sharing great review & photos. I know a Mountie always catches his man. It looks like you caught the girl to. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 19, 2019 Author #67 Share Posted January 19, 2019 5 hours ago, Lucky TGO said: Thanks for sharing great review & photos. I know a Mountie always catches his man. It looks like you caught the girl to. Tony I sure did, she was in the musical ride for two years touring Canada, the US and the Britain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AF-1 Posted January 19, 2019 #68 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Which cruiseline had the best creme brulee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moresun Posted January 19, 2019 #69 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Thanks for this review, grew info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 19, 2019 Author #70 Share Posted January 19, 2019 1 hour ago, AF-1 said: Which cruiseline had the best creme brulee? As you can probably tell I love crème brulee, I really don't know which cruise line has the best. Most of the ones I've tried are really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 19, 2019 Author #71 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Celebrity Equinox The buffet was very good overall with lots of different items to choose from each day. I believe they had a different theme each day such as British, Mexican, American, etc. They even had an ice cream station with a nice variety of gourmet ice cream flavours. One complaint I had was the difficulty of finding a table some of the times. Bar service Desserts on last sea day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 19, 2019 Author #72 Share Posted January 19, 2019 We had Select Dining and ate at the Silhouette restaurant 3 nights. The food was also very good, definitely better than Seaside and slightly better than Princess for both the buffet and restaurant. Silhouette Dining Room Our first Chic Dinner Our second Chic Dinner Tonight menu Scallops Rockefeller Double Baked Blue Cheese Soufflé Slow Herb Roasted Leg of Lamb Beef Wellington Tracy’s two desserts My two desserts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 19, 2019 Author #73 Share Posted January 19, 2019 We had pre-purchased a 4 meal package for $125 per person, saving some money compared to buying them individually. We ate at Tuscan Grill (Italian) Silk Harvest (Asian), Murano (French) and Sushi on Five. We also had a lunch at Murano for $25 per person. Again we really enjoyed all the restaurants. At one sitting I had ordered a steak for my entrée and asked the waiter a question about the lobster tail entrée and he asked me if I would to have one on the side at no cost. Quite a contrast to how we were treated on Seaside. I only wish Equinox had a steakhouse restaurant with a variety of steak cuts to choose from. Silk Restaurant Our waiter at Silk suggested we order several entrees and share them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyA53 Posted January 20, 2019 Author #74 Share Posted January 20, 2019 (edited) Murano Our dinner at Murano Warm Goat Cheese Soufflé Diver Scallop Wellington Style Our waiter cutting our Chateaubriand for Two Our lunch at Murano Seared Scallops Roasted Filet Mignon Ivory Caramel Tart Gianduja Soufflé Edited January 20, 2019 by MikeyA53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimiq Posted January 20, 2019 #75 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Very good comparesion so far can’t wait for the rest. We’ve done the 3 lines as well and similar ship and so far we pretty much agree with lots of your opinios. Thanks in advance sea ya Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now