Emerald Princess dining questions.

[Stockjock]

Booked a cruise on Emerald Princess.  In your view, is Sabatini's or Crown Grille worth the upcharge?  Which do you like?  Do they offer a discount on one or more nights or a discounted package?

And in terms of the standard dining rooms, Da Vinci vs. Botticelli, any recommendations or preferences?  Our cabin is deck 12, kind of mid-aft, fwiw (front part of aft).

This is a quickie 5 night, so any idea when gala night would be?

TIA. 

Edited January 19, 2023 by Stockjock

[bjkTX]

We were on the Emerald in Oct.  We had reservations at the Botticelli dining room because we had a aft facing cabin and it was convenient to go down the aft elevators.  But it seems like every night after dinner we';d go to the casino and end up on the other end of the ship anyway.

 

We joined friends at the other dining rooms during the cruise and didn't notice any difference - they are all pretty much the same with the same menu.  So I guess your pick should be based on convenience to your cabin location primarily.

 

We did not eat at Sabatini's but we did eat at the Crown Grill one evening.  It was very nice, great service and good (not great) food - but some times you (I)  just need a slab of beef - and that's the place to get it.

 

I didn't see or hear of any sales or packages for the Specialty restaurants - doesn't mean they didn't exist - I just never hear of them.

 

As for formal night I would imagine it'll be on your first sea day.  Have a great cruise!

[nini]

We were on the Emerald last May. We really did enjoy our meals at the Crown Grill. One server was rather aloof and the next was very warm. Regardless, the food was excellent!

Edited January 19, 2023 by nini

[Torfamm]

I like the location of DaVinci better than Botticelli. 

[Coral]

Princess doesn't offer discounts if you eat at multiple specialty restaurants like other lines do.

[skynight]

All DRs have the same menu. It's really location. We prefer location the mid ship DRs as they are closer to the activities and easier to walk to and from.

No discounts on multiple specialty restaurant reservations.

Formal night. It will not be the 1st or last evening. That leaves evenings 2, 3 & 4, assuming they actually have a formal night. If you are sailing on May 27th then the formal night will most likely be the 30th when the ship sails from Cabo at noon. If you are sailing on July 1st then the formal night would probably be on the sea day 7/3.

[Raisinette]

I enjoyed both of those specialty restaurants in November, however I think it comes down to personal preference.

If you want meat - go to Crown Grill.  If you like Italian - go to Sabatini's.

We did both restaurants twice on that cruise and I preferred Sabatini's based on the greater variety in the menu.

Here's a PDF of each menu that I saved last January as an indication of the menu possibilities!

Enjoy making a decision!

1364806272_SabatinisMenu.pdf 1449295499_CrownGrilleMenu.pdf