So, about Pinnacle Grill...

[Ka Honu]

 

WARNING: Rant follows.

 

We returned from our Eurodam Alaska cruise last weekend and were (along with several friends and other passengers) underwhelmed by Pinnacle Grill for a number of reasons.

 

1. When seated (at a table of 5) I ordered a double Glenfiddich neat (covered by our beverage package). The waiter brought me Macallan instead because he said they were out of Glenfiddich. The Macallan wasn't covered by the beverage package so I sent it back and ordered a (covered) Glenmorangie. The ticket for the Macallan was never corrected so I was charged extra and had to sort it out the next morning at the Guest Services desk. 

 

What shipboard steakhouse runs out of a brand of whisky they advertise when there are at least 5 other bars on board where it's available?

 

2. Shoestring Bacon badly undercooked.

 

3. Beef cuts described incorrectly on the menu (also true in other dining venues aboard). Whoever wrote the menu does not understand meat cutting and the difference among:

 

    Rib steak or rib roast/prime rib - both bone-in, varying only in thickness, 

 

    Boneless rib steak or boneless rib roast/prime rib  - both obviously the same as the above but without the bone (but with the tail and cap meat plus fat), and

 

    Ribeye - the "filet" remaining after removal of the tail, cap (and most of the fat) from a boneless rib steak/roast (before cooking)

 

Sorry about the pedantry but the three are totally different and describing them incorrectly on a menu is somewhere between misleading and incompetent. 

 

I ordered a 14-ounce ribeye (medium rare) which should have been roughly an inch thick and received a 14-ounce rib steak (cooked medium) which was about half as thick and included the (unasked for) cap, tail and attendant fat. When informed the manager offered to replace the entree but I declined because I didn't want to delay the rest of the party.

 

Two other guests ordered the "upcharge" Prime Dry-aged Delmonico (ribeye) which they had enjoyed at Pinnacle earlier in the cruise. What showed up was at least a true ribeye but did not appear to be USDA Prime beef or properly dry-aged. The manager agreed and removed the upcharge (but didn't offer to replace the meal or the charge for dining in Pinnacle).

 

In fairness, the other two guests at the table ordered Filet Mignon, both of which were as advertised and properly cooked.

 

Bottom line: Not at all impressed with what was advertised (and priced as) a quality steakhouse. 

 

End of rant...

[SDARCH]

I've never been a fan of PG.  My least favorite specialty to dine in.  Honestly, I've had much better meals at Outback.

[LetItSnow]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience.  I might be able to forgive all but the substitution of brands of scotch.  That's got to qualify as a sin! 

 

My next trip is in November on Rotterdam and we have Pinnacle Grill booked.  It's the second time on that ship and the last time (February) the food and service were great.  

 

[Kay S]

Okay...  Sorry, I guess?

[Hlitner]

We have never been impressed with the PG, for dinner, but do go since our meals are free.  I agree with the other poster that the meals and meat in the Outback are superior!  If the PG were a land-based restaurant it would not survive a few months.  

 

That being said, we have always been satisfied with lunch in the PG :).  But even that has been downgraded with the previous Wagyu burger now using a much lower quality of beef.  But that does seem to be the way of HAL, either downgrade quality or charge an add-on fee (even in the PG).

 

Hank

[Grandmaanne7]

Sorry to hear of your disappointing experience. I was not overly impressed with my one and only PG experience to date and was hoping for better on my upcoming cruise. I will go with lower expectations as it included with my HIA package. I may end up canceling the 2nd and 3rd reservations if it is truly disappointing again. MDR food and service are quite acceptable to me.

[dogo88]

Since 2019 PG has not been the same. We have been disappointed many times on the cruises we've taken since then. I have commented on a few instances in past reviews, but now only do PG for the free night, and reserve more Canaletto and Tamarind.    

[scooter6139]

I'm sorry to hear about that. Our last three dining experiences in the PG were extremely good, and we were quite happy.  

[57redbird]

1 hour ago, Grandmaanne7 said:

Sorry to hear of your disappointing experience. I was not overly impressed with my one and only PG experience to date and was hoping for better on my upcoming cruise. I will go with lower expectations as it included with my HIA package. I may end up canceling the 2nd and 3rd reservations if it is truly disappointing again. MDR food and service are quite acceptable to me.

We agree about PG & we went to a chef-inspired (upcharge) event there & that didn't impress us either.

[canadianbear]

We have been underwhelmed as well and rarely go to the Pinnacle for supper any longer.  I’d rather go to Tamarind if on the ship or Canaletto if not.  We do like the Pinnacle for lunch though.  

[djasinsk]

Lunch at PG is fantastic.  
 

Dinner?  Meh….

 

specifically , other than the filet, the cuts of beef were like a low quality grocery store buy. It was equivalent to what one would get at Sizzler, Golden Corral, or Ponderosa. Mediocre would be giving it too much credit. 
 

for a place asking for an extra 50-60 bucks, this should not happen. 
 

I’ll go back, but only for lunch. The burger, and various other options then are terrific. 

[wdw1972]

7 minutes ago, djasinsk said:

Lunch at PG is fantastic.  
 

Dinner?  Meh….

 

specifically , other than the filet, the cuts of beef were like a low quality grocery store buy. It was equivalent to what one would get at Sizzler, Golden Corral, or Ponderosa. Mediocre would be giving it too much credit. 
 

for a place asking for an extra 50-60 bucks, this should not happen. 
 

I’ll go back, but only for lunch. The burger, and various other options then are terrific. 

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but the Pinnacle lunch menu has changed significantly recently. No more burger. Now it's basically most of the dinner menu, minus the regional specialties and a handful of other things. It was rolled out on Westerdam a couple weeks ago, and it's in the Navigator app for my upcoming Zuiderdam cruise. It might be fleet-wide by now.

 

Dinner has also changed, but to a lesser degree.  Some items are gone, and some new items are on there.

 

Sue/WDW1972

Edited Wednesday at 11:57 PM by wdw1972
updated

[djasinsk]

2 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but the Pinnacle lunch menu has changed significantly recently. No more burger. Now it's basically most of the dinner menu, minus the regional specialties and a handful of other things. It was rolled out on Westerdam a couple weeks ago, and it's in the Navigator app for my upcoming Zuiderdam cruise. It might be fleet-wide by now.

 

Dinner has also changed, but to a lesser degree.  Some items are gone, and some new items are on there.

 

Sue/WDW1972

I literally just had lunch in pinnacle 3x on a cruise ending 09/07.   It’s gone now?  Very sad. 

[wdw1972]

10 minutes ago, djasinsk said:

I literally just had lunch in pinnacle 3x on a cruise ending 09/07.   It’s gone now?  Very sad. 

The lunch menu we knew & loved is gone. A completely different lunch menu (similar to the dinner menu) is in its place.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Hlitner]

9 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

The lunch menu we knew & loved is gone. A completely different lunch menu (similar to the dinner menu) is in its place.

 

Sue/WDW1972

Argh.  Well, I guess that leaves us to the salad station in the Lido.  Even HAL has not been able to screw-up a bowl of lettuce and a few other greens.  But then again, there is the issue of dressing.  Wonder if they will soon implement an extra fee for a decent balsamic?

 

Hank

[DeeniEncinitas]

1 minute ago, Hlitner said:

Argh.  Well, I guess that leaves us to the salad station in the Lido.  Even HAL has not been able to screw-up a bowl of lettuce and a few other greens.  But then again, there is the issue of dressing.  Wonder if they will soon implement an extra fee for a decent balsamic?

 

Hank

+1

🌺🌺🌺🌺

Denise😌

[AncientWanderer]

2 hours ago, scooter6139 said:

I'm sorry to hear about that. Our last three dining experiences in the PG were extremely good, and we were quite happy.  

Same.  We were just on Volendam and had two PG dinners — both really good.  Our biggest concern was health — salt, saturated fat, etc.  The food was seriously delicious.  But the menu will be changing soon anyhow — as discussed here and verified onboard.  So we’ll see what’s cooked up next.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, djasinsk said:

I literally just had lunch in pinnacle 3x on a cruise ending 09/07.   It’s gone now?  Very sad. 

Rolling out to ships on different dates. Have not seen an actual schedule posted like we saw when the extra appetizer surcharge was removed, but would read one if someone was able to secure one.

 

We leave Sat on Eurodam and will happily enjoy PG burgers at lunch if they're still available. 

[BermudaBound2014]

To the OP- Thanks for sharing your experience. It helps us all keep expectations in line. If HAL surpasses, great. If not, disappointment may be lessened.

 

@Hlitner I hesitate to say this out loud, but on pinnacle class the Ny Deli has an awesome lime basalmic.  By the end of 35 days I was getting my salad in the lido and walking it upstairs for dressing. 

[EtaC]

So, another awful review of the ribeye in the Pinnacle. Sorry you had a bad experience, but I had a wonderful dinner on my recent cruise. As in another recent thread (on exactly this same topic) I have to say that I find the comments that assume universal awfulness to be totally self-righteous and misguided. Maybe my taste is not as refined as yours but give it a break. Next time order chicken and avoid the disappointment.

[HUNKY]

I’ve never seen a ribeye in the US that did not have the cap, tail and all of that wonderful marbling!  Why would you trim all of that off?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

8 hours ago, scooter6139 said:

I'm sorry to hear about that. Our last three dining experiences in the PG were extremely good, and we were quite happy.  

We are quite happy there as well.

[VMax1700]

7 hours ago, EtaC said:

Maybe my taste is not as refined as yours but give it a break. Next time order chicken and avoid the disappointment.

and if they order chicken and are served an overcooked old stewing hen, will you still be as unsupportive?

If the menu offers a description of the cut, then the cut should be served or the waiter should advise the customer that the cut is not available.

And I am not paying an upcharge for KFC, thankyou!

 

[iowacruiser]

9 hours ago, EtaC said:

So, another awful review of the ribeye in the Pinnacle. Sorry you had a bad experience, but I had a wonderful dinner on my recent cruise. As in another recent thread (on exactly this same topic) I have to say that I find the comments that assume universal awfulness to be totally self-righteous and misguided. Maybe my taste is not as refined as yours but give it a break. Next time order chicken and avoid the disappointment.

If you read all the comments not all of them are critical of PG. You seem to be a dog with a bone about this topic. 

[cbr663]

The Pinnacle Grill unfortunately suffers from HAL's reputation of being consistently inconsistent.  We have enjoyed wonderful meals at the PG in the past and some less than wonderful.  

 

Our most recent was lunch on the Koningsdam last November that was so poor we promptly cancelled our second lunch reservation.  Both food and service were lacking on that cruise.