When did Pinnacle Grill start charging for appetizer?

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, Laminator said:

You are missing the point. I am willing to pay more for an upscale experience whether it is on land or at sea. The cost is not as important as the experience.

Yes, I would be too if I had free cruises, or cruises where I got a Neptune suite for peanuts. Lots of extra money to spend.  I suspect you are in a small minority with that especially when I see people complaining they have to pay for a Covid test (everyone I know of does) or people that want to park for free  in a neighbourhood for their cruise.  If you want to pay $200 for a meal I’m sure they’d take your money.  I’m not willing to pay for mediocrity,

[Florida_gal_50]

52 minutes ago, Laminator said:

My "Free" cruises usually result in a $20,000 to $25,000 statement at the end of the cruise. So I really get tired of hearing how free they are. That has been my point all along. Nothing is free. I will be more than happy to pay for your cruise if you spend the amount of time in the casino gambling at the rate I do. You play $25 a spin on the slot machine and $100 a hand at the blackjack table for hours on end. At the end of the cruise let's see whose cruise wound up costing more. 
This is exactly how Vegas works. The bigger players are comped for their rooms, meals, massages, shows and whatever else they want. 

Mine is $100,000 at the end of a cruise.  See how easy it is to say.  If you’ve got $20 k to spend just for kicks I imagine you have lot of disposable income.  You and others would not hear anything if there wasn’t constant threads about the subject.  I’ve gotten casino deals through Princess and I don’t say a word.  I get freebies for being a 5 star Mariner, again not starting threads every day.  If you don’t feed something it will die.  It’s clear you can pay $200 for a meal like it’s a coffee.  You are in a small minority.

Edited September 2, 2022 by Florida_gal_50

[Laminator]

21 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Mine is $100,000 at the end of a cruise.  See how easy it is to say.  If you’ve got $20 k to spend just for kicks I imagine you have lot of disposable income.  You and others would not hear anything if there wasn’t constant threads about the subject.  I’ve gotten casino deals through Princess and I don’t say a word.  I get freebies for being a 5 star Mariner, again not starting threads every day.  If you don’t feed something it will die.  It’s clear you can pay $200 for a meal like it’s a coffee.  You are in a small minority.

People get great casino deals spending a few hundred dollars in the casino on a cruise. Pax are willing to spend a few hundred bucks on Club Orange to get a same cabin category upgrade. That same amount of money could get them a free or greatly discounted cabin on a cruise. It amazes me more pax don't try to take advantage of it.

 

[Wakepatrol]

When did this big spending happen? I’ve been on 20 HAL cruises and when I walk in the casino I only see Gertrude with her cup of quarters and a Benson & Hedges hanging out of her mouth with 3 inches of ash on it

[Laminator]

15 minutes ago, Wakepatrol said:

When did this big spending happen? I’ve been on 20 HAL cruises and when I walk in the casino I only see Gertrude with her cup of quarters and a Benson & Hedges hanging out of her mouth with 3 inches of ash on it

I was at the BJ table one night playing a $100 a hand pressing accordingly and that was the least amount being played at the table and there were 5 of us. Between the 5 of us in an hour and a half we had to get the casino for close to $70,000. 2 of the 5 were up $50,000 alone. 
But the whole point of the thread is if HAL wishes to charge extra they should make sure that they provide the food, service and ambience to make that extra charge worthwhile. Give Pax their money's worth.

 

 

Edited September 2, 2022 by Laminator

[canadarocks]

LOL.... pretty sure the point of this thread is that on ONE ship HAL is experimenting with charging extra for appetizers at the Pinnacle Grill. 

[Florida_gal_50]

Uggggg, make it stop!

[Laminator]

5 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Uggggg, make it stop!

You were the one who brought it up.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 minutes ago, Laminator said:

You were the one who brought it up.

Really? Did I ask you to go on and on about how much you spend? Nope.  This is about Hal is skimping out and trying to charge for something that has no value. 
 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

19 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

LOL.... pretty sure the point of this thread is that on ONE ship HAL is experimenting with charging extra for appetizers at the Pinnacle Grill. 

That we know of.  
 

I guess it’s better to have threads like:

 

someone’s posting to much from their cruise

can I get a milkshake or o.j with my beverage package 

Can you please get me every menu that ever existed.  Please don’t enjoy your cruise

 

Personally I would rather hear about something that may be a problem on my next cruise.  If I know I can avoid it.  If I don’t I don’t want a surprised.

[Wakepatrol]

Now this darn thread has given me an Ear Worm😥

 

The minute you walked in the joint
I could see you were a man of distinction, a real big spender

[esimon]

On 9/1/2022 at 12:53 PM, mrspeck said:

I understand the mariner’s discount on the surcharge…I received my 50% discount, but I “assumed” the discount would also apply to upcharges, but I was charged the full amount for those items.  Was just wondering if anyone knew for sure about upcharge items.

wow - you get a discount for dinner and then want a discount on uncharges -  Cruise lines are a business !!!!     pay the up charge or skip that item  !!!!!!

[Florida_gal_50]

7 minutes ago, esimon said:

wow - you get a discount for dinner and then want a discount on uncharges -  Cruise lines are a business !!!!     pay the up charge or skip that item  !!!!!!

What?  It was hal that was offering discounts for those of us that have earned this by supporting them for years and years.  It not something that someone is making up.  You do understand that if someone skips something hal makes zero.  Doesn’t sound like good business to me.

[AFNavigator]

4 hours ago, Laminator said:

You are missing the point. I am willing to pay more for an upscale experience whether it is on land or at sea. The cost is not as important as the experience.

The point I was trying to make earlier when you said, "I would rather have HAL charge $79 or $99 per person and give me the upscale experience", is that HAL is already charging at or near that amount, once you factor in the cost of the MDR or Lido buffet that is already baked into the cruise fare.  If you are talking $79 to $99 per person on top of the MDR value, that brings the Pinnacle Grill cost up to more like $110-$130, if one was to assume the MDR value was somewhere in the $30 range. 

[Nymich]

On 9/1/2022 at 7:10 PM, DaveOKC said:

No and I ALWAYS order two - crab cakes and the lobster bisque - at LEAST 20 times, three of which were in past year.

I heard that's why they implemented the upcharges.  It's the new DaveOKC upcharge policy!

[Wakepatrol]

Where can I get a Pinnacle Dinner on land for $36 or $42 or whatever it costs now? 

[sofietucker]

So here are the specialty menus for 2022, lol...  https://profcruise.com/holland-america-specialty-restaurant-menus-2022/

[Laminator]

4 hours ago, AFNavigator said:

The point I was trying to make earlier when you said, "I would rather have HAL charge $79 or $99 per person and give me the upscale experience", is that HAL is already charging at or near that amount, once you factor in the cost of the MDR or Lido buffet that is already baked into the cruise fare.  If you are talking $79 to $99 per person on top of the MDR value, that brings the Pinnacle Grill cost up to more like $110-$130, if one was to assume the MDR value was somewhere in the $30 range. 

I knew what you meant. Normally we would pay around $250 for a dinner at the steakhouse that I posted the menu in here earlier. My wife will have 2 drinks and i will drink iced tea due to be diabetic. The meal is outstanding and we leave there feeling the dining experience was well worth the expense. I would rather pay that and be very satisfied than pay $92 for 2 people in the Pinnacle Grill and be disappointed. Granted we are 4* so we only pay half of that but a disappointing meal is a disappointing meal no matter the cost. 

[albingirl]

14 hours ago, Laminator said:

My "Free" cruises usually result in a $20,000 to $25,000 statement at the end of the cruise. So I really get tired of hearing how free they are. That has been my point all along. Nothing is free. I will be more than happy to pay for your cruise if you spend the amount of time in the casino gambling at the rate I do. You play $25 a spin on the slot machine and $100 a hand at the blackjack table for hours on end. At the end of the cruise let's see whose cruise wound up costing more. 
This is exactly how Vegas works. The bigger players are comped for their rooms, meals, massages, shows and whatever else they want. 

My point was that not everyone can afford to do what you do.  I'd be in gambler's rehab if that were the case in my life. Way over my head.  But, have fun if that's fun for you.

[AFNavigator]

8 hours ago, Laminator said:

I knew what you meant. Normally we would pay around $250 for a dinner at the steakhouse that I posted the menu in here earlier. My wife will have 2 drinks and i will drink iced tea due to be diabetic. The meal is outstanding and we leave there feeling the dining experience was well worth the expense. I would rather pay that and be very satisfied than pay $92 for 2 people in the Pinnacle Grill and be disappointed. Granted we are 4* so we only pay half of that but a disappointing meal is a disappointing meal no matter the cost. 

The core issue of this topic wasn't the food or service quality, it was the initiation of a surcharge on top of the Pinnacle Grill surcharge.  More so, it was that the surcharge wording was buried in fine print at the bottom of the menu page.  Guests might not have as big of an issue with the upcharge if it was more clearly advertised.

[yerdua]

6 minutes ago, AFNavigator said:

The core issue of this topic wasn't the food or service quality, it was the initiation of a surcharge on top of the Pinnacle Grill surcharge.  More so, it was that the surcharge wording was buried in fine print at the bottom of the menu page.  Guests might not have as big of an issue with the upcharge if it was more clearly advertised.

You are absolutely right. Since this is a course specific surcharge it should be noted in the appetizer section of the menu.

[iceman93]

52 minutes ago, yerdua said:

You are absolutely right. Since this is a course specific surcharge it should be noted in the appetizer section of the menu.

While I still don't like the idea of upcharges at all, your idea here is a good one.  They could even try to convince us it's a benefit with text like "Enjoy a second appetizer for just $8!"

[yerdua]

39 minutes ago, iceman93 said:

While I still don't like the idea of upcharges at all, your idea here is a good one.  They could even try to convince us it's a benefit with text like "Enjoy a second appetizer for just $8!"

LOL

[VMax1700]

We are currently on Rotterdam and have a reservation tonight for Pinnacle Grill.

It is mentioned in both Navigator and the stateroom tv that there is a $15 charge for additional entree.  It does not mention any additional charge for appetisers.

This will be the 'free' one as part of Have It All, otherwise there is no way that we could imagine paying $46 each (including the compulsory service charge)  for what has been recently an less than stellar experience.

 

edit:  just realised that it is Tamarind tonight and PG is tomorrow night. 

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by VMax1700

[LuAnn]

3 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

We are currently on Rotterdam and have a reservation tonight for Pinnacle Grill.

It is mentioned in both Navigator and the stateroom tv that there is a $15 charge for additional entree.  It does not mention any additional charge for appetisers.

This will be the 'free' one as part of Have It All, otherwise there is no way that we could imagine paying $46 each (including the compulsory service charge)  for what has been recently an less than stellar experience.

 

edit:  just realised that it is Tamarind tonight and PG is tomorrow night. 

 

Can you "report" back and tell us what you find re the apps? Thanks!!