Recent Experience at Alfredo's Restaurant

[10cruise]

Hi all.  My wife and I will be on cruise next month out of Ft Lauderdale on the Regal Princess.  My question relates to Casual Dining at Alfredo’s.  How busy has this restaurant been since Princess started charging for meals here?  I heard that they are requiring a reservation now.  Is this true?

[DUCHESSRN]

Someone on FB posted a picture of it almost empty on Embarkation Day.

[PacnGoNow]

26 minutes ago, 10cruise said:

Hi all.  My wife and I will be on cruise next month out of Ft Lauderdale on the Regal Princess.  My question relates to Casual Dining at Alfredo’s.  How busy has this restaurant been since Princess started charging for meals here?  I heard that they are requiring a reservation now.  Is this true?

I’ve not heard that at all.  Just the opposite. 

[startedwithamouse]

41 minutes ago, 10cruise said:

Hi all.  My wife and I will be on cruise next month out of Ft Lauderdale on the Regal Princess.  My question relates to Casual Dining at Alfredo’s.  How busy has this restaurant been since Princess started charging for meals here?  I heard that they are requiring a reservation now.  Is this true?

No reservation, but it's no longer a "free" included with standard fare dining venue.

[karatemom2]

It was virtually empty most days on our recent Sky Princess cruise. We never saw more than three tables occupied at any one time and much of the time there was no one there. I don't think you will have a problem getting seated.

[roxievegas]

We have done 10 cruises since Covid stoppage.  Whether it was Alfredo's or Gigi's we never had a problem getting a table.  They were never "crowded" except on embarkation day, 

 

That said, we will not be eating there anymore, as we do not purchase the "plus" package and we will not pay to eat there.  The pizza is fine, but I have no problem with the slice pizza on the upper deck.

I do like the other items on the menu, but again, will not pay for it.

[1965]

2 hours ago, roxievegas said:

We have done 10 cruises since Covid stoppage.  Whether it was Alfredo's or Gigi's we never had a problem getting a table.  They were never "crowded" except on embarkation day, 

 

That said, we will not be eating there anymore, as we do not purchase the "plus" package and we will not pay to eat there.  The pizza is fine, but I have no problem with the slice pizza on the upper deck.

I do like the other items on the menu, but again, will not pay for it.

Same with us. We won't pay to.eat there. 

[Micahs Grandad]

2 hours ago, 1965 said:

Same with us. We won't pay to.eat there. 

The apps are  good the pizza so so and not worth paying extra for

[dickinson]

We were on the Enchanted for a Sept 2 cruise.  Alfredo's/gigi's was not crowded at all.  A few tables being used.  Looks like the new charges has stopped people from eating there.

[cr8tiv1]

12 minutes ago, dickinson said:

We were on the Enchanted for a Sept 2 cruise.  Alfredo's/gigi's was not crowded at all.  A few tables being used.  Looks like the new charges has stopped people from eating there.

 

Exactly what Princess wanted to happen.  Offer a "free" service, no one bites (sorry for the pun), Princess saves money.  

 

Replace Alfredos/Gigis with:  Gym Classes, Specialty Desserts (2x/day maybe), Casual Dining, photos, etc.  SMH...waiting for Princess to raise the cost of the Beverage Packages to reflect EXCELLENT new offerings.  (aka Sheldon Cooper)

[SargassoPirate]

17 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

It was virtually empty most days on our recent Sky Princess cruise. We never saw more than three tables occupied at any one time and much of the time there was no one there. I don't think you will have a problem getting seated.

Pushback by people refusing to be nickel and dined?

 

Free market economy at work.

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

2 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

Pushback by people refusing to be nickel and dined?

 

Free market economy at work.

I realise that was probably a typo but I laughed nonetheless 🙂 

[kitty2264]

5 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

Pushback by people refusing to be nickel and dined?

 

Free market economy at work.

Typo or not,that is a pretty good pun!

[Pickels]

Love the nickel and dined?  That was great!

[Micahs Grandad]

11 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Exactly what Princess wanted to happen.  Offer a "free" service, no one bites (sorry for the pun), Princess saves money.  

 

Replace Alfredos/Gigis with:  Gym Classes, Specialty Desserts (2x/day maybe), Casual Dining, photos, etc.  SMH...waiting for Princess to raise the cost of the Beverage Packages to reflect EXCELLENT new offerings.  (aka Sheldon Cooper)

They run the risk of taking away to many people and people vote with their feet to cruise elsewhere

[SargassoPirate]

7 hours ago, Pickels said:

Love the nickel and dined?  That was great!

It was a fat finger auto correct, but I think it turned out to be a good observation.  Feel free to use it! 👍

[roxievegas]

As with any company, Princess is trying to find ways to make more money.  Unfortunately, we the consumer are the ones they try to get to pay for these changes.  

 

Lucky I have a choice - I choose not to pay extra - but then I miss out on some of the things that I like.  But I have a choice.

 

If enough people make the choice that shows the company made a bad decision, maybe down the road things will go back.  Probably not - but the silent majority has to be heard.

[KetoCruiser]

I won’t pay the extra, when you add it all up, you might as well move up a brand and go for the more luxury end of the market. The quality of food has deteriorated so much that it’s like old school dinners . On Sky last year we had so much Semolina and tapioca, I thought I was back in school.  The quality of food on Cunard and Oceania was so much better, I won’t be cruising with Princess again.
Princess will expect you to pay extra for the entertainment and international cafe next. Where will it end.

 

 

[karatemom2]

The Plus package may be a good deal for some who are able to fully take advantage of all the aspects, but my DH and I did the math and it just doesn't make sense for us, especially on port intensive cruises. We aren't big drinkers, so no way we would get our value through cocktails. We drink soda, but it's easy enough to purchase by the can. We generally have a number of cans to start with our Elite mini bar set up and they aren't that much to buy as we go. My DH is a casino player and we generally get at least one or two meals comped at specialty restaurants, so we don't need it for that . Thanks to our Elite benefits we enjoy reduced cocktail prices at the daily evening cocktail hour which we take advantage of, and we get half price internet. We aren't interested in the ridiculous desserts, juice bar or pizza restaurant. We just finished a 14 day Med cruise on the Sky Princess and our end of cruise tab was nowhere near what the price would have been had we paid for Plus everyday - we for sure would have left money on the table!

[roxievegas]

We have only one cruised booked for the future.  We have would love to do more, but paying extra for food ventures, drinks, just gets in the way of enjoying the cruise.  Our next cruise is Alaska 17 nights - no way we will pay $60 to $80 per day per person for the packages.

 

[ROCruiser]

Will not pay the extra for the packages because we don't drink alcohol at all and we are both diabetics. With the upcoming 26-day cruise on Majestic Princess from L.A. to Sydney, it doesn't make sense to have the same benefits on the Plus package with only 2 days at Alfredo's. Just not worth it after doing the math. We are Platinum and Princess is getting worse. This cruise was booked before the pandemic and has been changed a couple of times by Princess on dates and routes. They should at least honor those booked before this new system and offer certain incentives. 

[reedprincess]

2 hours ago, roxievegas said:

We have only one cruised booked for the future.  We have would love to do more, but paying extra for food ventures, drinks, just gets in the way of enjoying the cruise.  Our next cruise is Alaska 17 nights - no way we will pay $60 to $80 per day per person for the packages.

 

Hmm, so what type of vacations are you moving to instead? I'm curious what will take the place of cruising for you. (And others)

.we do a variety of different holidays, cruising is amongst our top favorites, on many different lines as they all have different strengths and weaknesses... 

 

 

[helby]

Recently on Majestic and saw very few people dining there.  In the past we've eaten there a few times each cruise and even though it's the only place for pizza on the ship  we won't pay extra for pizza  on a cruise and many said they would do without it.  Seeing the low use of the restaurant I wonder how many people with packages even  ate there. 

[AlibearNS]

We are sitting in Alfredos on the Majestic right now. We’re on Plus, it’s 7.30pm on a sea day and we’re the only people here! 

Edited September 30, 2023 by AlibearNS
Added pic

[dog]

1 hour ago, AlibearNS said:

We are sitting in Alfredos on the Majestic right now. We’re on Plus, it’s 7.30pm on a sea day and we’re the only people here! 

Similar to Royal Princess Alfredos this week.

Sabatinis was hopping tonight- we had very disappointing entrees in MDR since Monday. Crown Grill booked for our last night. Room service food is below expectations, as well.international Cafe is our favourite on this cruise.