Diamond Princess Sterling Steakhouse

[Momma Rene]

I was planning a lovely birthday dinner for my husband and thought the Sterling Steakhouse sounded nice.  However, I just found out it is part of the Horizon Court.  Does anyone know anything about it?  I was planning it for one of the dressy nights and going into the Horizon just is not appealing unless I am misunderstanding it.  Thanks.

[Moondogy]

6 minutes ago, Momma Rene said:

I was planning a lovely birthday dinner for my husband and thought the Sterling Steakhouse sounded nice.  However, I just found out it is part of the Horizon Court.  Does anyone know anything about it?  I was planning it for one of the dressy nights and going into the Horizon just is not appealing unless I am misunderstanding it.  Thanks.

Looking at the deck plans it looks like a separate section. Crown grill some of the ships that have them are part of the Wheel house bar. I've never been on this ship, But I'd say it's kind of closed off from horizon court.

[that]

21 minutes ago, Moondogy said:

Looking at the deck plans it looks like a separate section. Crown grill some of the ships that have them are part of the Wheel house bar. I've never been on this ship, But I'd say it's kind of closed off from horizon court.

It is simply the screened aft

starboard section of Horizon Court

with tablecloths and a delicious menu

similar to Crown Grill.

[californiagirl]

When we went to Sterling Steakhouse on the Grand several years ago it was a separate section of Horizon Court.  The food was good but it is not at all like a specialty restaurant such as Crown Grill.  IMHO.

[blizzard44ca]

We went on the Sapphire in 2019.  They do dress it up a bit and turn down the lights. Access is restricted, so people aren’t wandering through from the back deck.  It is not AS nice as a dedicated space, but we thought the food and service were very good, and worth paying the upcharge.

[SiliconCruiser]

On 8/4/2022 at 8:27 PM, californiagirl said:

When we went to Sterling Steakhouse on the Grand several years ago it was a separate section of Horizon Court.  The food was good but it is not at all like a specialty restaurant such as Crown Grill.  IMHO.

But the Grand has a Crown Grill.  It does not have a steakhouse in the buffet, but they use to use a portion of it for Crab Shack (or something like that.)

 

[SiliconCruiser]

On 8/4/2022 at 5:52 PM, Momma Rene said:

I was planning a lovely birthday dinner for my husband and thought the Sterling Steakhouse sounded nice.  However, I just found out it is part of the Horizon Court.  Does anyone know anything about it?  I was planning it for one of the dressy nights and going into the Horizon just is not appealing unless I am misunderstanding it.  Thanks.

The Diamond is a ship that is intended for the Asian market.  Years ago,the last time that we were on it, some guy at our table in the MDR was grumbling not liking that evening's offerings on the and wanted to know if he could get a steak.  When told that there was an up-charge,  he grew even more grumpy.  I looked at the up-charges and realized it was the Crown Grill entrees and a reduced price.  I tried to explain it to him, but to no avail.  Maybe that is why they came up with the Sterling Steakhouse.

 

[californiagirl]

16 minutes ago, SiliconCruiser said:

But the Grand has a Crown Grill.  It does not have a steakhouse in the buffet, but they use to use a portion of it for Crab Shack (or something like that.)

 

My apologies…you are correct!  It was on Sun Princess in 2003 to Alaska.  They couldn’t turn the lights down as it stayed light very late. 

[skynight]

Food and menu is similar to the Crown Grill. Surroundings are private, but lacking as compared to the Crown Grill. You can dress up if you wish or dress smart casual.

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/Onboard_Experience/Sterling-Steakhouse-Menu-Sample.pdf

[polmcs]

I did the Sterling Steakhouse on the Diamond Princess back in 2005 before it headed to the Asian market and even back then, it was simply a partitioned off part of the horizon court with table cloths and proper steak knifes.

 

As as mentioned above, it is reasonably quiet, so no buffet guests trundling through the area. That said, it does not have the ambience of a proper steakhouse,  or the Princess equivalent of a Crown grill.   

[XBGuy]

We had multiple dinners in the Sterling Steakhouse on the Sapphire Princess on our very first Princess cruise in 2011.  We thought it was very nice.  We also had meals in the Sabatini's during that cruise, and we preferred Sterling Steakhouse.  Here is the most important thing about Princess specialty restaurants--the front of the room management.  The meals that come out of the galley are consistent, although, I admit that I prefer the Sabatini's menu .  However, the front of the room service can vary.  I find that if the headwaiter is fully engaged--greeting and chatting with diners, looking for problems on the floor, pitching in and helping the service staff--then the staff will be equally engaged and will provide diners with a pleasant experience.  In the days of that first cruise, the headwaiter acted as the sommelier and prepared Caesar Salads tableside,  Sadly, they don't do that anymore.

 

I'm not sure why some have posted that the Sterling Steakhouse is not like a specialty restaurant.  It is closed off from the buffet, and it is fairly quiet.  The Crown Grill on Deck 7 of many of the other Princess ships is much nosier.  I would definitely describe the Sterling Steakhouse as a "white tablecloth" restaurant.  One thang that may bother some is that there is no booth seating.  All seating is at tables.  Mrs. XBGuy prefers dining in a booth, but, if there are none, she is OK.