Ultimate Balcony Dining

[Woobstr112G]

Looking for comments from anyone out there who has experienced Ultimate Balcony Dining. I'm sailing on the Emerald (10-03-08) and would appreciate imput on this before I book it.

 

Thanks to all that relpy

 

Bob

 

Future: Diamond Princess Aus to Nz 01/09

Future: Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Constellation Europe 07/06

Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Soverign Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

RCCL Baltic 09/99

Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

[Rob & Beckys mom]

Hey Bob,

I like the traditional seating at the largest table & I just like meeting with tablemates too much to bother with the ultimate dining thingy. Also, I have been married for 30 years!! LOL. Anyway, only you can answer that question as it all depends on the two of you. Have fun!

 

Jan

[Julia’s Journey’s]

We did this in 2006 as a group dinner, there were 9 of us and they cordoned off an area of the horizen court for us, it was wonderful and the food really really good.

Everyone we know that has enjoyed it out on the balcony has enjoyed it too and I personnally haven't heard bad about it.

[readytogo2]

I was able to do a search,Here's a few links to some threads about dining on the balcony,hope it is some help :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=9453073

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=710830&highlight=ultimate+dining

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=686546&highlight=ultimate+dining

 

Looking for comments from anyone out there who has experienced Ultimate Balcony Dining. I'm sailing on the Emerald (10-03-08) and would appreciate imput on this before I book it.

 

Thanks to all that relpy

 

Bob

 

Future: Diamond Princess Aus to Nz 01/09

Future: Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Constellation Europe 07/06

Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Soverign Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

RCCL Baltic 09/99

Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

[cruzinbunny]

We just got off the Caribbean Princess and did the UBD on one of the nights- it was wonderful! We highly highly recommend it, for the money we could not get the quality of food and drink, plus the personalized service at home. For $50 a person you get:

 

Pre-dinner cocktails

Canapes

Appetizer

Salad

Main Entree

Dessert

Half bottle of champagne (we substituted wine instead)

A photo of your dinner

Flowers

 

It was a wonderful, relaxing, romantic evening- if you have any specific questions please feel free to ask!

[07rubicon]

I am going on the CB next week and will be booking the UBD but not sure what is a good day to schedule this. I heard to do it on Carribean night.

[cruzinbunny]

Thats when we did it, and even our waiter commented- 'you must know the menu because the caribbean night is not so good'

[tekdiva]

Can you do UBD if you are solo and have an inside stateroom? :D

[Lynda90]

I was part of the group of 9 that was mentioned above and I highly recommend it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. We did it on one of the formal nights because we were all dressed up for the photos. The food was delicious and the service could not have been any better.

[beckcab]

We did it on Caribbean night also. The food and the service was absolutely fantastic and I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was worth every bit of the price. You can schedule it once you are on board ship but I don't think you can have it unless you are in a balcony stateroom.

[geejay]

We have done this twice, both times on formal nights so we didn't have to dress up. The food is great, a very good experience. Do it early in your cruise so you can enjoy the beautiful flowers.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

I was part of the group of 9 that was mentioned above and I highly recommend it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. We did it on one of the formal nights because we were all dressed up for the photos. The food was delicious and the service could not have been any better.

 

It was fun wasn't it:D :D

[Ms. Alpha]

We will be cruising to celebrate our 25th Anniv. I'm not sure about the dining room menus, but I hope to schedule this on one of the sea days early in the cruise. This gives us longer to enjoy the flowers, and should give us a sunset of our balcony. Later in the trip we will be heading North so would not be facing the western sky. We think the personal service, plus the drinks, champagne flowers and photo included will be good value. Usually we go out for a special dinner for our anniversary anyway and DH always buys me roses if we are at home!

[SHIPMEOUT]

We did the Ultimate Balcony Dinner the evening we left Kauai on our Island Princess Hawaii cruise.

 

The food and the service were unbelievable! I highly recommend this.

 

Just call to reserve it once you're on board...at least 2-3 days before you want the dinner.

 

Enjoy!

[woody378]

Has anyone done the Ultimate Balcony Dining while on a mexican Riviera Itinerary? We'll be on the Golden in a couple of weeks and wonder what the optimal evening would be... a nite while in port or one of the sea days (which might be really cold to be out on the balcony). Any suggestions?

 

Your input is appreciated.

[cusyl]

It's a great way to celebrate a special occasion. Well worth the $50. per person. Here are some pictures of the food:

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561184214LBcBOA

[bhopal21]

Has anyone done the Ultimate Balcony Dining while on a mexican Riviera Itinerary? We'll be on the Golden in a couple of weeks and wonder what the optimal evening would be... a nite while in port or one of the sea days (which might be really cold to be out on the balcony). Any suggestions?

 

Your input is appreciated.

 

We had the UBD twice last month while on the Golden mexican riviera itinerary. The second time was on Friday evening and it became so windy that we actually had it in the suite which was perfectly fine.

 

Mike:)

[mii]

Can you do UBD if you are solo and have an inside stateroom? :D

 

Jackie, I do not see why you cannot have the UBD ini your inside cabin. He sometimes it is too cool to eate outside so they will just set it up on the table in your room.

 

marilyn

[Woobstr112G]

It's a great way to celebrate a special occasion. Well worth the $50. per person. Here are some pictures of the food:

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561184214LBcBOA

 

Cusyl;

 

Thanks for the pictures. They leave little doubt that my wife and I will enjoy this experience

 

Bob

 

Future: Diamond Princess Aus to Nz 01/09

Future: Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Constellation Europe 07/06

Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Soverign Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

RCCL Baltic 09/99

Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

[Lynda90]

It was fun wasn't it:D :D

Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. I often look at the group picture with fond memories. Can't wait to see you guys in November and share some toasted almond tinis!

 

One of the nicest things about cruising is that you meet the most wonderful people and develop long-term friendships. :p :p

[Cruiser7772]

My husband and I had the UBD on the Crown last August and it was our favorite meal of the cruise. We are going on the CB in August and will book it again. I called to book it on the first day of the cruise and I think they called me the day before the meal to go over the menu and the drink order. I mentioned that my husband does not like crabcakes (I believe that was the appetizer) and they asked me what they could substitute for him. I told him that he loves shrimp cocktail and they agreed that this would be fine. They brought him a huge portion of shrimp and he was very happy. I also only drink wine so we ordered 2 vodka and 7's for him as our two complimentary drinks. I had brought a bottle of my favorite wine from home and drank that during dinner. They also give you a half bottle of champagne and when I asked the waitress if we could get some strawberries for our champagne, she immediately sent her co-worker to the kitchen to get us some. She then went so far as to bring us an order of chocolate-covered strawberries with our dessert. We both had the surf and turf dinner and it was excellent. We were apprehensive at first to spend the $100 on this dinner but it was truly worth it to have a romantic dinner alone. The waitress was very good with her timing also. We felt that she appeared at the right times between the courses to clear the dishes and bring out the next course. Truly a great experience and if you didn't already notice, we highly recommend it. Also, one last thing...they send a photographer to your room and they took about 10 pictures and then they pick the best one and give it to you before the dinner is over.

[Chesie]

This is our first Princess cruise for October on Grand. We would like to do this but does anyone know if sugar free desserts would be available? Also, I only drink wine and DH doesn't drink at all. Any substitues allowed? From what I gather you can only book this when you get on board and not ahead of time. Correct? Is dinner only allowed on sea days? I know lots of questions, but as stated we have never been on a Princess ship before.

 

Many thanks in advance for your kind answers!

 

Chesie

[Cruiser7772]

I highly doubt if you would have any issue in getting sugar free desserts. When they call you the day before your reservation, they ask you if you have any food allergies or issues with the menu. Since they definitely have sugar free desserts on the ship, there would be no reason they wouldn't substitute it for you. As for the drinks during dinner, you could always get 2 glasses of wine as your pre-dinner drinks for yourself and your DH could get soda or whatever he drinks (not sure if they would charge you for it). We had our dinner while we were in port in San Juan so you do not have to be out at sea. I believe you are only able to book while you are on board but I could be wrong. Have a great cruise!

[janpatch]

This is our first Princess cruise for October on Grand. We would like to do this but does anyone know if sugar free desserts would be available? Also, I only drink wine and DH doesn't drink at all. Any substitues allowed? From what I gather you can only book this when you get on board and not ahead of time. Correct? Is dinner only allowed on sea days? I know lots of questions, but as stated we have never been on a Princess ship before.

 

Many thanks in advance for your kind answers!

 

Chesie

 

My husband and I enjoyed the UBD on the Grand Princess in early May 2007. I am not sure about the sugar free desserts, but I know that they do allow substitutions for alcoholic drinks. We do not drink, so they brough us virgin strawberry daquiris before the meal. The substituted the amount of $$ the champagne was worth in assorted sodas which they left for us to enjoy the rest of the cruise. The dinner was delicious and the service superb. We had 2 waiters who stayed with us for 3 hours - they stayed out of sight and did not intrude but were there whenever we needed them. Don't miss the Ultimate Balcony Dining! It is wonderful and very much worth the $$ in our opinion! :)

 

Janpatch

[pineapple1176]

We did the balcony dining on the 3/15-22 Crown Princess for our 30th anniversary. It was FANTASTIC. For $100 we got flowers, photos, champagne, wine or coctails, personal waiter and his helper, canapes, appetizer (crab tart), huge salad, very large lobster tail and filet mignon with veggies, choc mousse with fresh fruit in choc cups, choc dipped strawberries, coffee/tea and an anniversary cake. Two dining supervisors joined our waiter and his assistant to sing "happy anniversary" to us with dessert. It is truly a bargain. The service was excellent and the food was delicious. It was a 2 hour leisure dinner under the stars!!!