Majestic Princess Specialty Restaurants?

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

I'm going on my 1st cruise in June on Majestic Princess to Alaska.  I'd like to book at least one or two specialty restaurants but can't decide which ones.  I'm inclined to book the Crown Grill and one other.  As it is my first ever cruise I'd like to try out some of everything.  I plan to east some in the MDR and the buffet.  Ideas?  Thanks!

[Bruin Steve]

We were on the Majestic October 31-November 7 and will be back onboard April 30...

Last time, we did one specialty restaurant night--in the Crown Grill...

This next time, we scheduled night 3 in the Crown Grill once again...and we were just given another night in a specialty restaurant...and are doing the Crown Grill TWICE...

I asked my wife if she wouldn't want to spend one of those nights in Harmony?  She said no...She likes Crown Grill that much...

And we try NEVER to eat in the buffet...

Princess even opens one of the MDRs for embarkation day lunch...So we go there...

It's not very relaxing to eat in a buffet...You end up never actually eating together as someone is always getting up to find more food.   We'd rather have the SERVICE.

We only use the buffet for between meal or late night snacks...or if we have a shore excursion too early to allow for breakfast in the MDR...

 

 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Bruin Steve

[Cuedon]

Currently on the Majestic...

 

Free restaurants:

Alfredo's - Good enough pizza, if you like the thinner crusts and lighter flavors. Most of my party prefers the agnolotti pasta over anything.

Poolside Noodle bar - Surprisingly decent, if inauthentic. Meat is kind of fatty though. Order system is haphazard; people keep trying to steal my soups.

Poolside Grill - Burgers, hot dogs, and tacos. Nothing spectacular. The BLT burger is fine, though sometimes the onion jam comes out a horrifying shade of grey.

Buffet - Hit or miss. Always check all the sections, as sometimes a mostly closed area can have a specialty station open. (Ramen and sushi were two that I noticed last week.) I personally prefer the freedom of the buffet (most MDR dishes can be found up here, albeit in a simplified form), though the post-COVID staff-served form is supremely annoying if you have unusual dietary habits... like I love one of their spiced chickpea sort-of-a-curry things, but trying to get them to understand that you want an entire bowl of it so you can eat it like a stew is practically impossible.

MDR - Service is hit or miss based on how busy they are. It's easy to check the dinner menu in the mornings if you want to bother with this or something else though, so that's a plus.

 

Paid restaurants:

Crown Grill is a solid steakhouse, and the marrow potato is fantastic and a fairly rare item. Don't fall for the photos that show the tartare as a carpaccio though; it's still actually a tartare.

Sur la Mer can't quite seem to decide if they want to aim for a bistro, a cafe, or fine dining... and kind of ends up as a jumble. The food itself is fine, if you like seafood (I'm allergic to shellfish, so this is based on other people I've travelled with; the non-seafood options are passable), but the service is godawful slow. Over two hours for a 3-course, plus whatever they name the dish they place on the table by default.

Harmony... most non-Asian people rave about it, but the Americanized menu is downright boring to me, and (unlike some of the other restaurants) I can cook everything on this menu to a better degree. The (psychologically) Asian continent that I've spoken to mostly view it as something closer to their palette, but not quite right.

[Buckeye10640]

On Majestic you have only 3 specialty dining choices, Crown Grill, Harmony, and the French Bistro. For us, there really is no decision here. We will go to Crown Grill once, possibly twice if we have extra OBC. And  Alfredos (free)  for  dinner one night. 

[jwattle]

We were on Majestic for a heavenly two weeks; we've sailed Princess before and had enjoyed Crown Grille previously so we thought we'd branch out. We ended up very glad that we did. Both Harmony and Sur LaMer were a delight for us! Yes, Sur LaMer takes a bit longer, but I think that it's because in the style of a French bistro, they want you to linger and enjoy your meal. If you're in a hurry tell them, and they can speed it up for you. The tuna appetizer was amazing! At Harmony, don't miss the Peking Duck salad and Lemon Chicken main dish.

Have a great time whatever you choose!

[dfields1814]

Crown Grill and Le Mer.  

[startedwithamouse]

14 hours ago, Cuedon said:

Currently on the Majestic...

 

Free restaurants:

Alfredo's - Good enough pizza, if you like the thinner crusts and lighter flavors. Most of my party prefers the agnolotti pasta over anything.

Poolside Noodle bar - Surprisingly decent, if inauthentic. Meat is kind of fatty though. Order system is haphazard; people keep trying to steal my soups.

Poolside Grill - Burgers, hot dogs, and tacos. Nothing spectacular. The BLT burger is fine, though sometimes the onion jam comes out a horrifying shade of grey.

Buffet - Hit or miss. Always check all the sections, as sometimes a mostly closed area can have a specialty station open. (Ramen and sushi were two that I noticed last week.) I personally prefer the freedom of the buffet (most MDR dishes can be found up here, albeit in a simplified form), though the post-COVID staff-served form is supremely annoying if you have unusual dietary habits... like I love one of their spiced chickpea sort-of-a-curry things, but trying to get them to understand that you want an entire bowl of it so you can eat it like a stew is practically impossible.

MDR - Service is hit or miss based on how busy they are. It's easy to check the dinner menu in the mornings if you want to bother with this or something else though, so that's a plus.

 

Paid restaurants:

Crown Grill is a solid steakhouse, and the marrow potato is fantastic and a fairly rare item. Don't fall for the photos that show the tartare as a carpaccio though; it's still actually a tartare.

Sur la Mer can't quite seem to decide if they want to aim for a bistro, a cafe, or fine dining... and kind of ends up as a jumble. The food itself is fine, if you like seafood (I'm allergic to shellfish, so this is based on other people I've travelled with; the non-seafood options are passable), but the service is godawful slow. Over two hours for a 3-course, plus whatever they name the dish they place on the table by default.

Harmony... most non-Asian people rave about it, but the Americanized menu is downright boring to me, and (unlike some of the other restaurants) I can cook everything on this menu to a better degree. The (psychologically) Asian continent that I've spoken to mostly view it as something closer to their palette, but not quite right.

Our little hole in the wall dive Chinese is much better than Harmony cuisine. 

[Mike45LC]

I was given a complimentary Harmony dinner.  After reviewing the menu, I  decided I prefer my local Chinese restaurant and I switched it to another dinner at Crown Grill.