Vista class friends sharing Pinnacle Grill breakfast with us

[gregma60]

Had this pop up in another topic, wanted to break it out in it's own.  We are going to be in a Neptune class cabin on our Volendam Alaska cruise in August.  Our best friends will be on the same deck, but in a vista class cabin.  Anyone experience the pinnacle grill allowing vista cabin guests sharing the table with neptune cabin guests for breakfast?

 

-gregma

[Real NHDOC]

The crew may allow it because they don’t like to say no to anyone but your fellow guests who paid for the extra attention might not appreciate it. Imagine if everyone brought friends or family traveling with them. Then I wonder who would be complaining about how they overbooked the service and there was a line to get in. Probably you. 
 

When we traveled with our family that was in a neptune suite we never asked to join them because we felt it was inappropriate.  They joined us in the MDR on the pinnacle class for dinner and our waiter brought them the Club Orange menu which they could order off of but we didn’t ever join them in CO either. 
 

Since the breakfast menu is identical you might just “slum it” and join your BFs in the MDR if you want to eat breakfast together. 😃

Edited March 14, 2023 by Real NHDOC

[gregma60]

27 minutes ago, Real NHDOC said:

The crew may allow it because they don’t like to say no to anyone but your fellow guests who paid for the extra attention might not appreciate it. Imagine if everyone brought friends or family traveling with them. Then I wonder who would be complaining about how they overbooked the service and there was a line to get in. Probably you. 
 

When we traveled with our family that was in a neptune suite we never asked to join them because we felt it was inappropriate.  They joined us in the MDR on the pinnacle class for dinner and our waiter brought them the Club Orange menu which they could order off of but we didn’t ever join them in CO either. 
 

Since the breakfast menu is identical you might just “slum it” and join your BFs in the MDR if you want to eat breakfast together. 😃

Those are great points!  This is our first cruise, so I'm still getting the feelings of things.  I think we will not worry about it, maybe have a few breakfasts in the pinnacle grill and a few in the MDR.

 

-gregma

[Real NHDOC]

If it’s like it was on the Zuiderdam you will hardly notice any difference except maybe the food will be hotter and come out faster in the MDR since it all comes out of the main kitchen at breakfast anyway. We only had breakfast a few times in pinnacle despite having a neptune suite for 45 days. 

[OlsSalt]

We still got fresh squeezed OJ in the Pinnacle breakfasts, pre-"covid".  Don't know if they still offer this now.

[Real NHDOC]

I hope it’s not the same fresh squeezed juice they have in the Neptune lounge. Unfortunately they have it in a dispenser that allows it to separate so that all of the pulp is floating on top and the watery stuff comes out of the bottom when you take it.
 

Another case of them going to a great deal of effort but fumbling the presentation, unfortunately. 

[stairMaster]

   2 hours ago, Real NHDOC said:  The crew may allow it because they don’t like to say no to anyone but your fellow guests who paid for the extra attention might not appreciate it. Imagine if everyone brought friends or family traveling with them. Then I wonder who would be complaining about how they overbooked the service and there was a line to get in. Probably you.    When we traveled with our family that was in a neptune suite we never asked to join them because we felt it was inappropriate.  They joined us in the MDR on the pinnacle class for dinner and our waiter brought them the Club Orange menu which they could order off of but we didn’t ever join them in CO either.    Since the breakfast menu is identical you might just “slum it” and join your BFs in the MDR if you want to eat breakfast together. 😃  

 

I understand the desire to share a table with others but if Neptune guests were dining at the MDR then they would also be taking spots away from regular MDR diners. It works both ways.  Perhaps the solution is to have breakfast together at the Lido and dinner in specialty restaurants.

[Moriah]

I really don't think this is much of an issue. I have always wanted to consider breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill a great perk of the suite life, but in reality it never panned out that way.  Often in port the "view" from the Pinnacle Grill can be just a cement wall, LOL, for one thing, and if at sea, still, as was pointed out, you get the exact same food in the MDR, only it takes longer and is colder by the time it reaches the Pinnacle. Nothing special.  i have never ever been to a Pinnacle breakfast that was even slightly crowded.  Usually it's a ghost town in there during breakfast.  I really don't think that you taking a table for 4 instead of 2, and having breakfast in there with your friends, is taking away from the quality of anyone's cruise.  If, on the other hand, your friends were a family of 8, obviously, a different story. I think it's the Maitre D's discretion, and it's really not a big deal. It's not as if the chef is going to be creating some super special breakfast for your friends that "regular" cruise guests can't eat.  I personally don't even eat in the MDR in the morning.  Service is very slow. For both venues the only perk is the relative quiet.  I get that people sometimes prefer the Pinnacle and/or MDR for breakfast to avoid the zooey atmosphere of the Lido buffet, and to each his own, but as for bringing "guests" to your perk-breakfast, if they say yes, then okay.  If they don't, I'm sure they have reasons, so I would just go eat somewhere else with my friends.  Wow, I must be more opinionated that I thought about this! What a long reply I've just given for something I myself just said is 'no big deal' LOL

[Moriah]

Oh, and something I forgot to add.  Best thing IMO would be to order room service breakfast and eat with your friends on the veranda of your Neptune suite.  Much nicer experience, I think, than breakfast in the Pinnacle.

 

[gregma60]

1 hour ago, Real NHDOC said:

I hope it’s not the same fresh squeezed juice they have in the Neptune lounge. Unfortunately they have it in a dispenser that allows it to separate so that all of the pulp is floating on top and the watery stuff comes out of the bottom when you take it.
 

Another case of them going to a great deal of effort but fumbling the presentation, unfortunately. 

oh yuck!  Although I am a pulpless person, that just sounds wrong.

 

-gregma

[gregma60]

7 minutes ago, Moriah said:

Oh, and something I forgot to add.  Best thing IMO would be to order room service breakfast and eat with your friends on the veranda of your Neptune suite.  Much nicer experience, I think, than breakfast in the Pinnacle.

 

Hadn't considered this.  That would be really nice I think (depending on the weather).  This is Alaska 🙂  There will only be 4 of us.

 

-gregma

[gregma60]

11 minutes ago, Moriah said:

I really don't think this is much of an issue. I have always wanted to consider breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill a great perk of the suite life, but in reality it never panned out that way.  Often in port the "view" from the Pinnacle Grill can be just a cement wall, LOL, for one thing, and if at sea, still, as was pointed out, you get the exact same food in the MDR, only it takes longer and is colder by the time it reaches the Pinnacle. Nothing special.  i have never ever been to a Pinnacle breakfast that was even slightly crowded.  Usually it's a ghost town in there during breakfast.  I really don't think that you taking a table for 4 instead of 2, and having breakfast in there with your friends, is taking away from the quality of anyone's cruise.  If, on the other hand, your friends were a family of 8, obviously, a different story. I think it's the Maitre D's discretion, and it's really not a big deal. It's not as if the chef is going to be creating some super special breakfast for your friends that "regular" cruise guests can't eat.  I personally don't even eat in the MDR in the morning.  Service is very slow. For both venues the only perk is the relative quiet.  I get that people sometimes prefer the Pinnacle and/or MDR for breakfast to avoid the zooey atmosphere of the Lido buffet, and to each his own, but as for bringing "guests" to your perk-breakfast, if they say yes, then okay.  If they don't, I'm sure they have reasons, so I would just go eat somewhere else with my friends.  Wow, I must be more opinionated that I thought about this! What a long reply I've just given for something I myself just said is 'no big deal' LOL

It sounds as if there is a a disadvantage to having breakfast in the pinnacle...  Doesn't sound like much of a perk?

 

-gregma

[Moriah]

1 minute ago, gregma60 said:

Hadn't considered this.  That would be really nice I think (depending on the weather).  This is Alaska 🙂  There will only be 4 of us.

 

-gregma

 

Yes, in Alaska the veranda can be a chilly place, but sometimes it's "just right"!  Also, room service for you and your friends right inside your suite is a nice quiet choice as well.

[Moriah]

1 minute ago, gregma60 said:

It sounds as if there is a a disadvantage to having breakfast in the pinnacle...  Doesn't sound like much of a perk?

 

-gregma

 

For me, it's not much of a perk.  As i said, it's quiet. That's about it as far as why it would be "better" than eating elsewhere.  And if you are in any kind of hurry, don't eat in Pinnacle OR MDR.  Get room service or eat at the buffet, where the food is fast, delicious, plentiful, and fresh.  I'd rather have an omelet cooked right in front of me on the Lido than order one in the Pinnacle and wait half an hour for it to arrive cold.  But that's just me.  I'll let others chime in now 🙂  In any case, you will love your Alaska cruise in a Neptune Suite! 

[Moriah]

Oh wait, I know I said I'd shut up, but I just noticed you are sailing on Volendam.  Keep in mind the Pinnacle Grill has NO WINDOWS on that ship.  It's a lovely dinner venue, but at breakfast, I don't know about you, but especially in Alaska, I don't want to miss the scenery!

[gregma60]

7 minutes ago, Moriah said:

 

And if you are in any kind of hurry, don't eat in Pinnacle OR MDR.  Get room service or eat at the buffet, where the food is fast, delicious, plentiful, and fresh.   

 

That's really one thing that worries me.  We do have one excursion for each port of call.  And the excursions are all 1/2 hour after it says the ship arrives.  Arrives at 8am, excursion leaves at 8:30.  Ship arrives at 11am, excursion leaves at 11:30, etc.  I'm thinking I have to be ready and at the disembarkation place 1/2 hour before the ship arrives, which means eating earlier.  Say would have to eat at 6:30am, finish by 7:30am, grab everything and be back down by 8:00am?

 

-gregma

[gregma60]

9 minutes ago, Moriah said:

Oh wait, I know I said I'd shut up, but I just noticed you are sailing on Volendam.  Keep in mind the Pinnacle Grill has NO WINDOWS on that ship.  It's a lovely dinner venue, but at breakfast, I don't know about you, but especially in Alaska, I don't want to miss the scenery!

Dont shut up at all!  🙂  I appreciate everyone's opinion.  This is my first cruise, first time in Alaska, first for everything.  

 

-gregma

[DaveOKC]

17 minutes ago, gregma60 said:

 

That's really one thing that worries me.  We do have one excursion for each port of call.  And the excursions are all 1/2 hour after it says the ship arrives.  Arrives at 8am, excursion leaves at 8:30.  Ship arrives at 11am, excursion leaves at 11:30, etc.  I'm thinking I have to be ready and at the disembarkation place 1/2 hour before the ship arrives, which means eating earlier.  Say would have to eat at 6:30am, finish by 7:30am, grab everything and be back down by 8:00am?

 

-gregma

Pinnacle breakfasts are normally set for the same hours as the Main Dining Room.  On our cruise last month that meant opening at 7:30 am on port days and 8 AM on sea days.  As I recall, open for 1.5 hours.

[3rdGenCunarder]

26 minutes ago, Moriah said:

Oh wait, I know I said I'd shut up, but I just noticed you are sailing on Volendam.  Keep in mind the Pinnacle Grill has NO WINDOWS on that ship.  It's a lovely dinner venue, but at breakfast, I don't know about you, but especially in Alaska, I don't want to miss the scenery!

 

I was going to post that I love how bright the Pinnacle Grill is. But you're right, on the R class ships, it's dreary.

 

17 minutes ago, gregma60 said:

 

That's really one thing that worries me.  We do have one excursion for each port of call.  And the excursions are all 1/2 hour after it says the ship arrives.  Arrives at 8am, excursion leaves at 8:30.  Ship arrives at 11am, excursion leaves at 11:30, etc.  I'm thinking I have to be ready and at the disembarkation place 1/2 hour before the ship arrives, which means eating earlier.  Say would have to eat at 6:30am, finish by 7:30am, grab everything and be back down by 8:00am?

 

-gregma

 

I have always loved the Pinnacle breakfast when I've been in a Neptune Suite. But early excursions have made me go to the Lido, when it seems everyone else is getting an early breakfast. The restaurants do open a half hour earlier on port days than on sea days, but sometimes that isn't early enough to eat and get myself ready to go ashore.

 

[Crew News]

42 minutes ago, gregma60 said:

 

That's really one thing that worries me.  We do have one excursion for each port of call.  And the excursions are all 1/2 hour after it says the ship arrives.  Arrives at 8am, excursion leaves at 8:30.  Ship arrives at 11am, excursion leaves at 11:30, etc.  I'm thinking I have to be ready and at the disembarkation place 1/2 hour before the ship arrives, which means eating earlier.  Say would have to eat at 6:30am, finish by 7:30am, grab everything and be back down by 8:00am?

 

-gregma

Just for clarification and what I learned on my first Alaska cruise, the time on your itinerary is the time that passengers are able to leave the ship, not the ship arrival time.  The ship will arrive 30 minutes to one hour before the time listed on your itinerary.  It takes time to secure the ship to the pier and to get clearance from the local authorities.  If you are on a balcony during the 90 minutes sail-in and docking, you can get some great photos.  You will not get that experience sitting in a restaurant.  Room Service breakfast on your balcony on early port days is the best plan to see all of the surrounding scenery in the morning golden hour (photography terminology).

 

Once onboard, your excursion will be on your Navigator app with a time/place to meet ashore.  There is no rush to get off the ship for your excursion as it will not leave without you unless you are 15 minutes late.  There is no best seat on the buses taking you to your excursion so there is no reason to be the first to board the bus.   

 

FWIW I have experienced hundreds of passengers packed into stairwells and gangway areas so tightly that you could not bend over to pick up anything you have dropped.  The excursion buses will wait for you and the stores ashore don't have discounts for the first 10 customers each day.  Don't rush as it will just be frustration with no reward.

Edited March 14, 2023 by Crew News

[gregma60]

8 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Just for clarification and what I learned on my first Alaska cruise, the time on your itinerary is the time that passengers are able to leave the ship, not the ship arrival time.  The ship will arrive 30 minutes to one hour before the time listed on your itinerary.  It takes time to secure the ship to the pier and to get clearance from the local authorities.  If you are on a balcony during the 90 minutes sail-in and docking, you can get some great photos.  You will not get that experience sitting in a restaurant.  Room Service breakfast on your balcony on early port days is the best plan to see all of the surrounding scenery in the morning golden hour (photography terminology).

 

Once onboard, your excursion will be on your Navigator app with a time/place to meet ashore.  There is no rush to get off the ship for your excursion as it will not leave without you unless you are 15 minutes late.  There is no best seat on the buses taking you to your excursion so there is no reason to be the first to board the bus.   

 

FWIW I have experienced hundreds of passengers packed into stairwells and gangway areas so tightly that you could not bend over to pick up anything you have dropped.  The excursion buses will wait for you and the stores ashore don't have discounts for the first 10 customers each day.  Don't rush as it will just be frustration with no reward.

This is GREAT information!  Thank you so much!

 

-gregma

[Moriah]

26 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I was going to post that I love how bright the Pinnacle Grill is. But you're right, on the R class ships, it's dreary.

 

 

I have always loved the Pinnacle breakfast when I've been in a Neptune Suite. But early excursions have made me go to the Lido, when it seems everyone else is getting an early breakfast. The restaurants do open a half hour earlier on port days than on sea days, but sometimes that isn't early enough to eat and get myself ready to go ashore.

 

 

Shore excursions that start half an hour after "arrival", which it's been pointed out already actually means "time you can disembark the ship", don't have to be rushed to.  You will be fine. If you have an excursion set for half hour after "arrival" please do not think you have to rush to be the first ones off the ship.  If you arrive in Juneau, for example at 8 AM, and your excursion meets at 8:30, I would get off the ship at 8:15, and walk the few steps to the meeting place for your excursion.  You'll probably still have to stand there for a while as stragglers arrive 🙂  Plenty of time for breakfast, but I have found, especially when you have a suite and it's comfortable for eating, room service on an early port day is sublime.  Have them deliver breakfast at 7:30, take half an hour to eat, then get ready and head for the gangway.  Don't stress! This is your vacation! 🙂

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 minutes ago, Moriah said:

 

Shore excursions that start half an hour after "arrival", which it's been pointed out already actually means "time you can disembark the ship", don't have to be rushed to.  You will be fine. If you have an excursion set for half hour after "arrival" please do not think you have to rush to be the first ones off the ship.  If you arrive in Juneau, for example at 8 AM, and your excursion meets at 8:30, I would get off the ship at 8:15, and walk the few steps to the meeting place for your excursion.  You'll probably still have to stand there for a while as stragglers arrive 🙂  Plenty of time for breakfast, but I have found, especially when you have a suite and it's comfortable for eating, room service on an early port day is sublime.  Have them deliver breakfast at 7:30, take half an hour to eat, then get ready and head for the gangway.  Don't stress! This is your vacation! 🙂

 

I prefer room service for a morning when I can dawdle in my bathrobe. On my last cruise (Eurodam), I found the Lido easier to navigate than I recalled from pre-covid cruises. But then, my last pre-covid was on the K'dam where everything is crowded. Having breakfast early and having plenty of time getting off the ship promptly for a tour is my way of avoiding stress. 

 

On my excursions in January, the stragglers were the ones arriving at the "tour meets at" time!

 

 

[gregma60]

20 minutes ago, Crew News said:

Just for clarification and what I learned on my first Alaska cruise, the time on your itinerary is the time that passengers are able to leave the ship, not the ship arrival time.  The ship will arrive 30 minutes to one hour before the time listed on your itinerary.  It takes time to secure the ship to the pier and to get clearance from the local authorities.

Ahh, that is nice to know!  I kinda thought that as it takes a while to dock, throw the lines, secure the lines, etc, etc.  Thank you!

 

 

21 minutes ago, Crew News said:

FWIW I have experienced hundreds of passengers packed into stairwells and gangway areas so tightly that you could not bend over to pick up anything you have dropped.  The excursion buses will wait for you and the stores ashore don't have discounts for the first 10 customers each day.  Don't rush as it will just be frustration with no reward.

Oh no, that would put my anxiety level at 1000, I'm not much for crowds!  lol  If I have to get up at 4am to avoid that, I will.

 

-gregma

[KAKcruiser]

I think it would be highly unusual for someone to be admitted to the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast who does not have a right to be there.  They are very strict about it.