Pinnacle Grille Breakfast

[TV Dad]

Does anyone know if the Pinnacle Grille still serves breakfast to Neptune suite passengers?

 

If so, are they allowed to bring guests to breakfast, even at an upcharge?

[*Miss G*]

Yes, they still serve breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill on the non-Pinnacle ships.  If you are on the Koningsdam or Nieuw Statendam your breakfast will be in Club Orange.  No, you cannot bring in non-Neptune Suite guests, even at an upcharge.

[taxmantoo]

Yes, they do...except on the Koningsdam and the Nieuw Statendam where the suite breakfast has been relocated to the new Orange Club. 

Pinnacle Grill breakfast is for Neptune Suites occupants ONLY, i.e. no guests... except on the two ships mentioned above where guests can pay $50 a day for the privilege 🙄 but they have to purchase for the entire cruise.

[*Miss G*]

Oh yes!  I forgot about the Club Orange amenity!  OP, that $50/per day is per person; not per room.  You are also able to eat dinner in there.  But all this is moot if you are not on a Pinnacle-class ship.

[ithaca gal]

There are no guests allowed for breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill --- whether they are family members, traveling in another cabin with you, etc. 

[AncientWanderer]

2 hours ago, ithaca gal said:

There are no guests allowed for breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill --- whether they are family members, traveling in another cabin with you, etc. 

Now, this is one place that I think HAL might go a long way in booking more suites if they changed this rule a bit.  (We have a cruise coming up, and I notice that almost all the Neptunes are still available.)

 

For families/groups traveling together, it makes so much sense for one party to book the big suite as a gathering place, and then the other people in the party can book as they wish.  Example:  We are taking our daughter and her 18-month-old on a cruise.  We booked a verandah suite for us and an inside across the hall for them  If they could have joined us for breakfast, we would have booked the Neptune suite for the four of us to gather.  No way would we want another big Neptune for the young mom and baby.

 

Maybe really big groups would abuse this, but I don't think so.  Usually there's just two couples traveling together or something like that.  Seems like something could be worked out, since the Neptune and Pinnacle suites come at such an upcharge, and really don't offer very many perks.

[erewhon]

As well as checking the stateroom key card, we have seen the Pinnacle Grill Manager and staff check the photos of the Neptune and Pinnacle stateroom occupants to ensure they are entitled to breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill, and seen passengers denied entry.

[*Miss G*]

7 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

We have a cruise coming up, and I notice that almost all the Neptunes are still available.)

 

Maybe; maybe not.  If people have purchased guarantees (i.e. haven’t chosen a specific room) the unchosen rooms will show as available until that last room is gone.

Edited May 21, 2019 by *Miss G*

[AncientWanderer]

1 minute ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Maybe; maybe not.  If people have purchased guarantees (i.e. haven’t chosen a specific room) the unchosen rooms will show as available.

 

H'mmm, food for thought.  Is that possible?  If people book them, the guarantees will have no staterooms.  There's very little wiggle room to upgrade them.

I'm scratching my head.

[*Miss G*]

17 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

H'mmm, food for thought.  Is that possible?  If people book them, the guarantees will have no staterooms.  There's very little wiggle room to upgrade them.

I'm scratching my head.

 

Sorry for not being clear.  Let’s say there are 10 Neptune Suites.  9 people have purchased guarantees so you see them all available.  The final suite is sold so now none of them are available. Does that make sense?

[3rdGenCunarder]

26 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

Now, this is one place that I think HAL might go a long way in booking more suites if they changed this rule a bit.  (We have a cruise coming up, and I notice that almost all the Neptunes are still available.)

 

For families/groups traveling together, it makes so much sense for one party to book the big suite as a gathering place, and then the other people in the party can book as they wish.  Example:  We are taking our daughter and her 18-month-old on a cruise.  We booked a verandah suite for us and an inside across the hall for them  If they could have joined us for breakfast, we would have booked the Neptune suite for the four of us to gather.  No way would we want another big Neptune for the young mom and baby.

 

Maybe really big groups would abuse this, but I don't think so.  Usually there's just two couples traveling together or something like that.  Seems like something could be worked out, since the Neptune and Pinnacle suites come at such an upcharge, and really don't offer very many perks.

 

Because a Neptune is such an expensive cabin, if I'm in a Neptune, I would not appreciate non-Neptune guests joining friends who have a Neptune. It isn't about exclusivity, it's about HAL giving away something that others are paying for.

 

 

15 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

H'mmm, food for thought.  Is that possible?  If people book them, the guarantees will have no staterooms.  There's very little wiggle room to upgrade them.

I'm scratching my head.

 

The point is that until guarantees are assigned, lots of cabins may appear to be unsold. HAL keeps track of how many guarantees there are. For example, if there are 30 unassigned cabins at a particular level and 20 people have guarantees, there really are only 10 cabins available. However, all 30 cabins will appear to be unsold when you search the website, and if you want to book one, you may book the one of your choice. Once HAL has made the total of 30 bookings, either through people choosing their cabin or taking a guarantee, that cabin grade will show as sold out. 

 

That's why checking the website doesn't give you a true idea of availability. The guarantees are wild cards.

[AncientWanderer]

2 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Sorry for not being clear.  Let’s say there are 10 Neptune Suites.  9 people have purchased guarantees so you see them all available.  The final suite is sold so now none of them are available. Does that make sense?

Yes, it does!

Thanks for the clarification, Miss G.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Sorry for not being clear.  Let’s say there are 10 Neptune Suites.  9 people have purchased guarantees so you see them all available.  The final suite is sold so now none of them are available. Does that make sense?

 

You managed to make that more concise and clearer than I did. 🙂

[AncientWanderer]

13 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Because a Neptune is such an expensive cabin, if I'm in a Neptune, I would not appreciate non-Neptune guests joining friends who have a Neptune. It isn't about exclusivity, it's about HAL giving away something that others are paying for.

 

 

 

I know.  I've seen this argument before, and to some extent I agree with you, but in practical terms for groups traveling together, it really is awkward.  Even if one is willing to book multiple suites for the "breakfast benefit," there may not even be multiple suites available.

 

I bring this up because we did just put together a family vacation and it was apparent really quickly that HAL comes up short in "family accommodations."  We couldn't even find two verandahs close to one another.  A Neptune and a verandah would have been ideal...if we could have had a breakfast together.

 

Edit to add that a nice compromise would be if the suite guests could extend "invitations" to others in their traveling party and those others could pay for the opportunity to dine in PG for breakfast, or the suite guests could pay to "host" those others.  

There are ways it could work comfortably.

Edited May 21, 2019 by AncientWanderer

[3rdGenCunarder]

23 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

I know.  I've seen this argument before, and to some extent I agree with you, but in practical terms for groups traveling together, it really is awkward.  Even if one is willing to book multiple suites for the "breakfast benefit," there may not even be multiple suites available.

 

I bring this up because we did just put together a family vacation and it was apparent really quickly that HAL comes up short in "family accommodations."  We couldn't even find two verandahs close to one another.  A Neptune and a verandah would have been ideal...if we could have had a breakfast together.

 

Edit to add that a nice compromise would be if the suite guests could extend "invitations" to others in their traveling party and those others could pay for the opportunity to dine in PG for breakfast, or the suite guests could pay to "host" those others.  

There are ways it could work comfortably.

 

Buy into the suite breakfast by buying the Club Orange pass.

 

[RocketMan275]

30 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

I know.  I've seen this argument before, and to some extent I agree with you, but in practical terms for groups traveling together, it really is awkward.  Even if one is willing to book multiple suites for the "breakfast benefit," there may not even be multiple suites available.

 

I bring this up because we did just put together a family vacation and it was apparent really quickly that HAL comes up short in "family accommodations."  We couldn't even find two verandahs close to one another.  A Neptune and a verandah would have been ideal...if we could have had a breakfast together.

 

Edit to add that a nice compromise would be if the suite guests could extend "invitations" to others in their traveling party and those others could pay for the opportunity to dine in PG for breakfast, or the suite guests could pay to "host" those others.  

There are ways it could work comfortably.

I can't think of a thing that would be more subject to abuse.  It's a very short step too 'why can't we bring our very good friends we met last night to have breakfast with us.'

 

BTW, you can still have breakfast with your family in the MDR.

[AncientWanderer]

8 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Buy into the suite breakfast by buying the Club Orange pass.

 

 

I'm hoping that Club Orange is just a bad dream and will go away.  LOL  😉

[AncientWanderer]

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

I can't think of a thing that would be more subject to abuse.  It's a very short step too 'why can't we bring our very good friends we met last night to have breakfast with us.'

 

BTW, you can still have breakfast with your family in the MDR.

 

Oh...I was only thinking of people who have linked reservations.  Nothing like "come one, come all."

And, of course our family will be together in MDR.  But we would have preferred to book one Neptune.  Why do that, though, if the breakfast is useless to us.

But enough of my booking dilemma,  Just musing....

[RocketMan275]

3 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

Oh...I was only thinking of people who have linked reservations.  Nothing like "come one, come all."

And, of course our family will be together in MDR.  But we would have preferred to book one Neptune.  Why do that, though, if the breakfast is useless to us.

But enough of my booking dilemma,  Just musing....

I appreciate your concern and your dilemma.  However, being family isn't the only reason for linking reservations.  Once the word got out that groups can book one neptune and everyone gets suite privileges ... I think you see the point.  

 

BTW, this comes up fairly often.  For example, a family of four wants to book one neptune for mom and dad and a veranda for the kids.  Especially when the kids are young and there must be an adult booked in each room.  Only one adult and one child has privilege.  It also comes up about bringing the whole group to the neptune lounge.

Edited May 21, 2019 by RocketMan275

[3rdGenCunarder]

6 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

I'm hoping that Club Orange is just a bad dream and will go away.  LOL  😉

 

I've very curious to see how it works on the other ships, since it will be very different from the venue on K and NS. Don't want it, just curious.

[AncientWanderer]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

I appreciate your concern and your dilemma.  However, being family isn't the only reason for linking reservations.  Once the word got out that groups can book one neptune and everyone gets suite privileges ... I think you see the point.  

 

BTW, this comes up fairly often.  For example, a family of four wants to book one neptune for mom and dad and a veranda for the kids.  Especially when the kids are young and there must be an adult booked in each room.  Only one adult and one child has privilege.  It also comes up about bringing the whole group to the neptune lounge.

 

I think the answer there with the parents and the kids is to book one of the larger suites as a pleasant gathering place for a lovely room service breakfast.  There are plenty of eggs and pastries onboard for all.

🤔  H'mmm....just might be what we need.

 

 

[RocketMan275]

7 hours ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

I think the answer there with the parents and the kids is to book one of the larger suites as a pleasant gathering place for a lovely room service breakfast.  There are plenty of eggs and pastries onboard for all.

🤔  H'mmm....just might be what we need.

 

 

 

That is a solution.

Be aware there is only one table seating four... and not a lot of room to sit the plates for serving... chairs are limited.

 

Depending upon how many people, you're probably better off going to the MDR.

Edited May 21, 2019 by RocketMan275

[3rdGenCunarder]

11 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

That is a solution.

Be aware there is only one table seating four... and not a lot of room to sit the plates for serving... chairs are limited.

 

Depending upon how many people, you're probably better off going to the MDR.

 

And that table is on the balcony. OK for a warm cruise, but it could be too chilly in Alaska.

 

Doesn't the Pinnacle suite have a proper dining room table?

 

[RocketMan275]

16 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

And that table is on the balcony. OK for a warm cruise, but it could be too chilly in Alaska.

 

Doesn't the Pinnacle suite have a proper dining room table?

 

Point well taken. 

IIRC, when we had a Pinnacle on Rotterdam, the table seated either 8 or 10.  Pretty expensive way to serve breakfast.

Another factor,  Room Service for a large group implies some rather large tips...

Edited May 21, 2019 by RocketMan275

[3rdGenCunarder]

8 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Point well taken. 

IIRC, when we had a Pinnacle on Rotterdam, the table seated either 8 or 10.  Pretty expensive way to serve breakfast.

Another factor,  Room Service for a large group implies some rather large tips...

 

Yes, it is expensive. Don't think I'll ever get there unless the Upgrade Fairy is very kind.

 

I find it annoying that HAL is moving away from the adjustable coffee tables. They aren't large, but two people could squeeze their dinner plates on one and eat at a normal height table. We had a NS on Amsterdam, and if we wanted room service breakfast we had to eat at the desk or hunch over the low coffee table. (Too cold and rainy in Alaska for balcony dining that trip)

 

Does HAL have any of those old-fashioned hotel room service carts, like you see in old movies? White tablecloth, flower in a little bud vase...