The new executive chef on the Golden is outstanding!

[Sandy R]

We sailed on the March 29th Golden Princess and felt the food on this cruise was some of the best we've experienced... and we've sailed 30+ Princess cruises! We attribute the high quality of the food and the artistic presentations to the keen eye of the new executive Chef Jean Peter. We had the good fortune to participate in his Chef's Table dinner, so we were able to meet him personally. His passion about food is immediately apparent.

 

BTW... we had anytime dining and after the first night, being seated at a table for 2 in a location we liked, we requested the same table throughout our cruise, and the Maitre 'd was happy to oblige.

[LARGIN]

Thanks for the report

[cascole]

Thanks for the post! I'm looking forward to experiencing Princess menu for the first time aboard the Golden & it's always good to know the exec chef is passionate about the food!

[ginagirl]

Any idea how long this great chef is expected to be on the Golden??? Hoping he'll be there in October for our cruise.

[Sandy R]

Gina, he's only been on the Golden for the past 4 months. Previously, he was on Seabourne. I expect he'll be on the Golden for awhile and hopefully with Princess for a long time.

[Putterdude]

Well that is great news after the other thread on this topic! Thanks.

[CrusinAgain]

Thanks for your review. Someone else on your same cruise insists the dining food and service was absolutely the worse.

[ginagirl]

Sandy, we are interested in doing the Chef's Dinner while on board and were wondering when you were able to make your reservation for it. Any information you can provide would be so helpful and appreciated. Thank you so much for your advice.:o

[North2Alaska]

I'd like to know more about the chef's table as well. It sounds very interesting.

[Sandy R]

After reading the other thread about the food on the Golden, I just had to start this thread. You can't please everyone but yikes, he really made the Golden sound terrible! After 30+ Princess cruises, we've sailed a few cruises that had a few minor disappointments but hey, being on the ocean, being waited on day and night, not having to be concerned about the daily grind, seeing new and interesting ports and meeting new and interesting people... IMHO is about the BEST possible place to be!

 

Here's my report on the Chef's Table:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=749441

[debsand]

I guess the new Executive Chef must have been on vacation the week I was on Golden....LOL! It wasn't the best by any means. The food looked good, but it was served lukewarm which definitely affected the taste. The cold appetizers and desserts (shrimp cocktail, strawberry soup, cheeses) were outstanding. So is the new Chef from Alaska? Cold items on the new menu seem to be his true speciality, if you ask me. Sorry, couldn't it. But yeah, the food looked great....but we're more interested in a hot meal!

[coiran]

Parrallel Worlds!! There are two Goldens, one in each of the parallel worlds - same people, different opinions.

 

Ron

[coiran]

No, you have to be "elite" to get warm/hot food.

 

Ron

[LARGIN]

Perhaps she will get better food on the Navigator :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[bdjam]

Yup, I guess if I was a Princess Platinum member I'd get warm food too, huh? :rolleyes:

I think we get the point – you didn’t have a good dining experience on Golden Princess, which is contrary to what many of us have experienced as evidence by this thread and our past cruises on other Princess ships. I think there’s been some gang mentality in reporting back your experiences and for some reason you think that denouncing Princess will bring about some big upheaval.

It won’t. And as I suggested in the other thread, you should definitely choose a cruise line where the experience matches your taste – whether that be Regent or RCI. Princess has an excellent reputation and full ships – those of us who sail Princess regularly really don’t mind if you go somewhere else. As for the Platinum crack, I’ve seen people with blue cards taken care of very well on Princess ships – so there must have been something very wrong about your situation. Sorry you won't have a chance to enjoy the perks the black card brings.

[Sandy R]

Two years ago, while we were on a 28 day cruise with 2 other couples, the first few nights our dinner entrees were served lukewarm. We sent the entrees back and the replacements came back hot but we also spoke to the Head waiter and the Maitre 'd... didn't accuse, didn't demand, didn't yell, didn't lose our temper, just requested our entrees come to us hot. The next night and throughout the rest of the cruise, the food that was supposed to be hot, came to us hot... and we were in the anytime dining restaurant.

 

I was a gold and silver member before I became elite. Being platinum or elite shouldn't make a difference as to how you're treated or that you should get your food the way you want it. What does make a difference is how you go about getting what you want! A smile, with a dose of understanding thrown in, goes a long way.

[CrusinAgain]

Yup, I guess if I was a Princess Platinum member I'd get warm food too, huh? :rolleyes:

 

Did you see guests sitting around the tables with their status symbols labeled on them? The servers have no idea what your status is from inside room to suite from first time cruiser to umpteenth cruise.

[CruisinChris]

Everytime you order a drink or buy a bottle of wine (or anything else for that matter) they DO know your CC status - that's the whole purpose of the different colored cards - to help make it easier for the staff to acknowledge the most loyal customers and welcome them back. Not too long ago your stateroom was printed on the card, too, and they do know which rooms are which. For security reasons they don't do that anymore.

[CrusinAgain]

Everytime you order a drink or buy a bottle of wine (or anything else for that matter) they DO know your CC status - that's the whole purpose of the different colored cards - to help make it easier for the staff to acknowledge the most loyal customers and welcome them back. Not too long ago your stateroom was printed on the card' date=' too, and they do know which rooms are which. For security reasons they don't do that anymore.[/quote']

 

Yes Chris, that is correct but we have a poster here who was insinuating that only the Elite gets hot food, therefore unless things have changed the diners do not sit around with labels on them showing their status as to who gets warm, cold, or hot food due to their status.

[coiran]

Yes Chris, that is correct but we have a poster here who was insinuating that only the Elite gets hot food, therefore unless things have changed the diners do not sit around with labels on them showing their status as to who gets warm, cold, or hot food due to their status.

 

That statement was made in jest - the waitstaff doesn't know what your status is unless you buy a drink at the table. And, I also mentioned that I have always had good service and hot food when I was blue, gold and platinum.

Ron

[4cats4me]

We just got back from the Emerald and thought the food was improved from what it had been last year, and quite good.

We were on the Golden last year to the Mexican Riv and thought the food

was sub-par compared to what it had been previously. It's good to

hear the food is much better this year;)

[CrusinAgain]

That statement was made in jest - the waitstaff doesn't know what your status is unless you buy a drink at the table. And, I also mentioned that I have always had good service and hot food when I was blue, gold and platinum.

 

Ron

 

 

Ron, no not your statement this one that was removed I now see that I had used in my above statement and yes I have always had good service also:

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by prasid

Yup, I guess if I was a Princess Platinum member I'd get warm food too, huh? :rolleyes:

[vplsh]

We were on the Golden with Sandy and also thought the food and service were excellent. We shared the Chef's Table dinner with her and her husband and were thoroughly impressed with Chef JP and Maitre'D Salvatore. We are gold members, with this being our second Princess cruise, and we can't wait to sail on Princess again. We had wonderful service, from our waiter, asst. waiter and head waiter, and loved just about everything we ordered.

[karatemom2]

We just returned from the Golden today and I have to agree with the OP that the food was outstanding. We have always found the food on Princess to be very good, but I must say that on our cruise last week it was the best yet. None of our meals was served lukewarm. In fact just about everything exceeded our expectations. Even dishes we have enjoyed before on our other Princess cruises tasted a little bit better. I think the preparation and presentation was fantastic, and no I'm not Elite or Platinum (yet ;) ) and I have been on other lines besides Princess. I know good food and the food was fabulous!