Dining on the Emerald - Our Experience

[Plato123]

We recently cruised on the Emerald.  It was our second Princess cruise and our 25th cruise overall. Earlier this year we cruised on the Royal.

We had a large aft suite and the Premier package on both cruises.

Most days we dined in the Reserve dining room, Da Vinci. Overall the food was good and the service was excellent. 

On both cruises we had dinner in a specialty restaurant on embarkation day and on each occasion we used the free bottle of wine coupon and saved the wine for the cabin. This time we received an Aussie shiraz.

On the Royal we dined in the Crown Grill a few times and it was terrible, so on the Emerald we dined in Sabatini's on embarkation and it was not great. My wife hates the smell of truffles and the arancini on the Emerald contained truffles.  Those on the Royal did not. She also ordered the veal marsala and the coating on the veal was very thick and doughy. 

We tried the Crown Grill two more times on the Royal and it did not improve.

We tried the Crown Grill on the Emerald and it was very good and exceeded our expectations based on our Royal experience. I ordered the Chilean sea bass and a ribeye.  Both were very good but the ribeye was just a bit too big a steak but cooked properly. My wife had a filet she said was very good. She also ordered the potato with marrow and it was excellent on the Emerald but not so on the Royal.  As I ordered two mains I was told there would be an additional charge which never did end up on our bill.

We tried Sabatini's on The Emerald a second time and it was better, but the experience was marred by the same annoying waiter we had the first time..

Sabatini's on the Royal was excellent both for dinner and breakfast, whereas the breakfasts on the Emerald were not as well prepared as on the Royal.  In addition we preferred the ambiance in Sabatini's on the Royal. On the Royal I ordered eggs florentine with a side of prosciutto and chunks of grana padano cheese, and they prepared it.  On the Emerald I ordered the same except for the cheese and they said it would be prepared for me the next morning.

We tried Slice on the Emerald and Alfredo’s on the Royal and preferred Alfredo’s.  We tried the premier desserts on the Emerald and won’t do that again.   It is odd that these concoctions are available in the Premier package but gelato is not.  We would have preferred the gelato which it seemed no one was opting to pay extra for.

We enjoyed Steamers on the Emerald and went there twice.  The second time we skipped the scallops ceviche and clam chowder, not because we did not enjoy them, but because we could not finish the main course if we had, as it was so much food.  We tried Planks once and it was good except for the brisket which tasted as if it had been sitting around on a steam table for too long.

The Salty Dog Gastropub was a bit of a disappointment.  My wife had the poutine and it was a few fries with a pile of sauce on it.  My SDB was fine but not something I would order again.

On the Emerald the wines offered in the Premier package were very good and the selection varied by venue quite a bit. Should you wish to try some of the excellent Italian wines available in Sabatini’s but do not plan to dine there, just go to the Adagio bar next door and they will have those wines available.  It is also a quiet bar most of the time.

We were very disappointed in the buffet on the Emerald. From soggy Buffalo wings (and no blue cheese sauce) to dried out fish there was not much that interested us.  In addition the black labels with micro grey print did not make it easy to read what the dishes were supposed to be.

One last comment applies to room service and, on occasion, the International Cafe.

When ordering coffee and tea for delivery to our suite I specified it was “to stay” not “to go” and most times the beverages were delivered in a to go cup.  The same applies to the International Cafe where they just assume you want it to go.  What a waste.

[canadarocks]

Thank you for your honest review. Sorry your food experience was so poor. We'll be onboard the Emerald soon, so I'm reading everyone's comments.

Currently I have our dining reservations in Da Vinci, but we do not have Reserve Dining. Do you know if that MDR is open for non-Reserve guests as well?

[startedwithamouse]

20 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

Thank you for your honest review. Sorry your food experience was so poor. We'll be onboard the Emerald soon, so I'm reading everyone's comments.

Currently I have our dining reservations in Da Vinci, but we do not have Reserve Dining. Do you know if that MDR is open for non-Reserve guests as well?

One small section of DaVinci is Reserve, the rest of it is not.

 

The Emerald buffet is excellent, especially the variety in the salads section. Everything was fresh and delicious. Also a few good Filipino and Indian dishes were enjoyed. We don't eat the fried junk food that a lot of people want. 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by startedwithamouse

[canadarocks]

7 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

One small section of DaVinci is Reserve, the rest of it is not.

Thanks so much!

[startedwithamouse]

19 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

Thanks so much!

You're welcome.

Reserve enters on one side and regular enters on the other.

[Don_In_AZ]

"the ribeye was just a bit too big a steak but cooked properly"

I'll count that as a plus!

[XBGuy]

22 hours ago, Plato123 said:

I ordered the Chilean sea bass and a ribeye.  Both were very good but the ribeye was just a bit too big a steak but cooked properly. My wife had a filet she said was very good. She also ordered the potato with marrow and it was excellent on the Emerald but not so on the Royal.  As I ordered two mains I was told there would be an additional charge which never did end up on our bill.

 

I'm sorry, @Plato123, but I had to chuckie at this.  It seems that you are saying the the ribeye steak is too big for somebody who orders two main courses.

 

It is outstanding that your steak was prepared to your specification.  My Crown Grill experience on a half-dozen Princess ships has been hit or miss with the preparation of red meats.

 

 

22 hours ago, Plato123 said:

In addition we preferred the ambiance in Sabatini's on the Royal.

 

I agree completely.

 

In our one (14-day) Royal Princess cruise we had dinner in Sabatini's four times.  We were one and done with Crown Grill.  My problem with the Crown Grill is that the dining area is almost an adjunct to the adjacent bar.  When we were originally seated, we were almost in the bar.  The annoying problem was that there was a very maudlin singer performing.  Immediately after being seated, she finished one song, and the bar patrons offered some applause.  Some of the restaurant patrons seated in our area also felt compelled to applaud.  As soon as she started the next song, we summoned the hostess and asked for a different table.  The second table was more towards the center of the restaurant, but still well withing earshot of the singer.

 

I have often posted here on the Cruise Critic Princess board that service levels in the specialty restaurants is variable.  You have to remember that the crew is constantly changing.  So, if Mauricio provided excellent service in Sabatini's on the Crown Princess, there is no guarantee that he will be on the ship even a week later.  More importantly, the management also changes.  It does not take long for me to determine whether the headwaiter in any specialty restaurant cares about his customers and instills an excellent service attitude in the service staff, or he/she is just going through the motions and allows the service staff to have the same philosophy.

 

 

Thank you, @Plato123, for a very comprehensive and interesting report.

 

[trbarton]

I’m on the Emerald now & have found the dinner service extremely slow. This is my 37th cruise on Princess so I’m surprised as to the service & am nor sure why it’s so slow. I’m in the Da Vinci dinning room. 
 

Tom😀