Thanksgiving on board

[GetGlowing]

Hello - we are booked on the Caribbean Princess Thanksgiving cruise this year, 4 nights to Grand Turk. I'm wondering what we can expect onboard for Thanksgiving day. I presume turkey & gravy in the main dining rooms. Any other special activities etc? Thanks.  

[Rick&Jeannie]

We are in the "same boat", so to speak.  We'll be on the Sun for Thanksgiving.  Curious as to what will be done.

[Pirateskigirl]

Last year on the Ruby Princess, they did some Thanksgiving decorations and they did offer a traditional turkey dinner in the dining rooms.  Not to much but it was nice. 

[PR-Texas]

I'm interested in this also.  We will be on the Royal headed back to Sydney from New Zealand.  Obviously we're not near the US but wondered if there might be an something on the menu for the US folks.

[wrongwaywatson]

Turkey Dinner is on the menu in the dining room, amongst other items!

[karatemom2]

There is a traditional Thanksgiving option on the MDR menu, but it is honestly one time where you will get a better meal in the buffet if you want traditional Thanksgiving fare. The sides are hot and and Turkey is carved fresh. You can pick and choose what you want. The MDR serving is dry and blah. And skip the pumpkin pie and opt for another dessert. They just cannot quite figure out good old American pumpkin pie!
 

There will be decorations in the Piazza and maybe a Thanksgiving trivia, but that is about the extent of the observance. 

[waltd]

Don't expect a down home type of turkey dinner.   It is not.    Just be happy you are on the cruise and fix a turkey dinner when you get home.  

Have done Thanksgiving a number of times and they try but it's disappointing.  

[CruzeQueen2]

If you want to be sure to have a turkey dinner on the right day, be sure to mention it to one of the restaurant managers at least 24 hours ahead of time. The staff always appreciates getting these requests in a timely fashion.

I was on Majestic last October and wanted a turkey dinner for Canadian thanksgiving. The kitchen put together exactly what I had requested for my meal that day. I know from experience that it is far better to ask ahead of time for any special requests rather than wait to see "if" they provide exactly what you want on any given day of celebration for your culture. IMHO

Enjoy your cruise! @GetGlowing

 

[Wishing on a star]

I remember seeing 'LIVE' threads, maybe just last Thanksgiving.  You might do a search.

To be honest, the Thanksgiving Turkey dinner did not look really great.

I think what I saw was all served on a regular sized plate, with some cranberry 'sauce' on the plate, running everywhere.   Not a huge Thanksgiving Feast.

Maybe the Buffet would give the options and the larger servings???  But I would prefer a sit down meal for a holiday.

Then again, it is Thanksgiving on a cruise!!!!  Happy Dance!!!!

[voljeep]

13 hours ago, GetGlowing said:

Hello - we are booked on the Caribbean Princess Thanksgiving cruise this year, 4 nights to Grand Turk. I'm wondering what we can expect onboard for Thanksgiving day. I presume turkey & gravy in the main dining rooms. Any other special activities etc? Thanks.  

from a former SE Tennessee ...  we were on the CB over Thanksgiving 2 years ago. The ship was packed - over the 100% double occupancy (3 and 4 people in a cabin).  Had the typical Turkey. dressing. potatoes. gravy. etc.  2+ hours to eat each night in the mdr - and we sat at a 2 top but were treated as a 8-10 top with the other 2 tops around us.   Crooners packed every night, finally found a single stool at the bar, I stood behind her, which is certainly no big deal to me.

 

had some OBC, so waited to get onboard to book Specialty dining - big mistake - only able to book Sabatini's on opening night, at their time of 7:30 or so.  No other openings any night and no Crown Grill at all.

 

(waiting for blah, blah, blah, suite, casino, blah, blah, blah, never had a problem booking onboard, blah, blah, blah, longer cruises, eating after 7:30)  Does that apply to this cruise - you decide...

 

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the cruise?  Actually OK - we hung in Vines at the bar - no problem getting drinks.  Ordered off app to cabin multiple times - only one dropped, not delivered.  I ordered 2 cabs and a chard one day, took the chard down to my wife freshening  up some clothes - major points for that gesture.  

 

CB is just not for us anymore, unless major sale out of Port Canaveral starting in the fall, I believe.

 

Just be prepared

[GetGlowing]

Thanks everyone for the comments and the buffet suggestion -- not a bad idea. 

We will be sailing after the change back to traditional dining and I'm going to try to get all our family on the same dining rotation. So maybe MDR service will improve? I'm curious to see how that works. 

[JF - retired RRT]

4 minutes ago, GetGlowing said:

Thanks everyone for the comments and the buffet suggestion -- not a bad idea. 

We will be sailing after the change back to traditional dining and I'm going to try to get all our family on the same dining rotation. So maybe MDR service will improve? I'm curious to see how that works. 

It used to work quite well. I hated the Anytime/Anywhere that they foisted on us. I've always been a fan of TD.

[voljeep]

13 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

It used to work quite well. I hated the Anytime/Anywhere that they foisted on us. I've always been a fan of TD.

and I'm not sure we would sail if traditional was all that was offered in the mdr.  Hated it the one time we had it on The Big Red Boat - seated with another family - yuck - just not me at all...

[DCThunder]

28 minutes ago, GetGlowing said:

Thanks everyone for the comments and the buffet suggestion -- not a bad idea. 

We will be sailing after the change back to traditional dining and I'm going to try to get all our family on the same dining rotation. So maybe MDR service will improve? I'm curious to see how that works. 

One thing you won't get is a football game playing in the background during dinner.  In the Caribbean you'll get the NFL games on MUTS and in the casino bar/Take Five, but not in either the buffet or the MDR.  And if you're looking for college football, it'll be non-existent.

[c-boy]

14 hours ago, PR-Texas said:

I'm interested in this also.  We will be on the Royal headed back to Sydney from New Zealand.  Obviously we're not near the US but wondered if there might be an something on the menu for the US folks.

we were down under Thanks Giving day. The dining rooms were decorated, roasted turkey, stuffing, smashed potatoes, gravy, peas, and cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie with whipped cream. It was a nice surprise and we were grateful. 

[warthog2608]

We really struck out on a T-giving cruise on the Royal in Nov '22.  I was imagining nice fresh carved turkey but instead got some kind of a processed turkey meat like sandwich meat.  Bleh...

But the decorations around the ship were nice!

[555]

15 hours ago, karatemom2 said:

There is a traditional Thanksgiving option on the MDR menu, but it is honestly one time where you will get a better meal in the buffet if you want traditional Thanksgiving fare. The sides are hot and and Turkey is carved fresh. You can pick and choose what you want. The MDR serving is dry and blah. And skip the pumpkin pie and opt for another dessert. They just cannot quite figure out good old American pumpkin pie!
 

There will be decorations in the Piazza and maybe a Thanksgiving trivia, but that is about the extent of the observance. 

The only time we had a decent turkey meal was when they prepared a whole turkey and sliced it at the buffet. All other times when we had it in the DR it was silced turkey breast (dark meal unavailable) it wasn't the best. The best part of the dinner is that we didn't have to prepare it not clean up afterwards.

We've tried their pumpkin pie on many ships over the years and have yet to have one that was even paliatable. For some reason they just don't know how to make it. (Along with their version of Pecan pie, which is always overcooked.) 😄 

[Kay S]

Another vote for the buffet.  You can pick out your own sides and don't have to settle for sweet potato mash with giblets. 🙃  You can also get a serving of gravy larger than a tablespoon.

[DCThunder]

Last November, I boarded Island Princess on Thanksgiving Day in Civitavecchia, so the first night's meal was the Thanksgiving meal.  Let's just say that the evening meal in the MDR was not an "over the river and through the woods" Thanksgiving feast.  

[JF - retired RRT]

5 hours ago, voljeep said:

and I'm not sure we would sail if traditional was all that was offered in the mdr.  Hated it the one time we had it on The Big Red Boat - seated with another family - yuck - just not me at all...

It won't be TD on the whole ship, just one MDR (or less depending on how many sign up).

We've had some tablemates who were great and some...not so much.

My most unfavorite was when we got stuck at a table for 8 (even tho' we requested 4). The man sitting next to me was never taught table manners. He chewed with his mouth open, talked with his mouth full of food, dropped some bread on the floor and put it on his plate with a scoop of salad dressing and ate it... there was more. We requested to be reassigned and never saw him again. Altho' we did get some "where did you disappear to" looks from some of the other people who had been at the table.

[PR-Texas]

17 hours ago, waltd said:

Don't expect a down home type of turkey dinner.  

 

1 hour ago, Kay S said:

Another vote for the buffet.  You can pick out your own sides and don't have to settle for sweet potato mash with giblets. 🙃  You can also get a serving of gravy larger than a tablespoon.

The only down home type turkey dinner I've ever had is AT home. Restaurants just can't make Thanksgiving dinner like momma did.  And even in the US what is served varies by what part of the country you're in. Thanks for the suggestion about the buffet.  That sounds like a winner.

And no cleanup - whoopee.

Edited June 5 by PR-Texas

[pppatpc2]

On 6/5/2024 at 11:14 AM, GetGlowing said:

Thanks everyone for the comments and the buffet suggestion -- not a bad idea. 

We will be sailing after the change back to traditional dining and I'm going to try to get all our family on the same dining rotation. So maybe MDR service will improve? I'm curious to see how that works. 

We had thanksgiving on the Crown in 2022 in the South Pacific.  It was wonderful.  They had a huge buffet for lunch, pretty much anything you wanted including a steamship of beef.  For dinner they had a lovely menu with one of the managers making a homemade gnocchi dish to order, in addition to all the traditional choices.

 

Request a set time in the deck 6 aft dining room, the service there is superior to the piazza dining rooms.  It is not going to be a Thanksgiving dinner like you have at home, because it is a different animal.  
 

I found if you make it a holiday, the staff picks up on that because Thanksgiving is not something they have experienced, except on the ship.  You have the advantage of having your family along.  Include the staff with some questions about their traditions and share some of yours.  You might be surprised that you don’t miss the ambrosia salad as much.

[donaldsc]

I was on a Princess ship with my kids and grandkids a few years back.  Remember Swanson frozen TV turkey dinners.  They were better than the dry turkey with minimal fixings we got for our turkey dinner.

 

DON