Alaskan "King?" Crab Legs !

[cattman]

Having just returned from the May 19 Alaska sailing of the Island, I have to say we had the same lousy experience with the crab legs... and when I asked for more, I was told they were out!

 

Lobster was pretty disappointing also, tho I was prepared for that. Ironically, those were the only real disappointments with the food.

 

And the dining was a heckuva lot better than the food - both selection and quality - aboard the Radiance during our Alaska trip last Summer. Neither crab legs nor Halibut were served. Imagine... no Alaskan seafood on an Alaska cruise.

[emilysmimi]

I had the crab legs the same night as the OP did.....I think that must have been the tiniest piece on the plate! My crab legs were piled high on the plate and not one was that small. They were cut in half and pieces for easy eating and they were absolutely delicious!

[Sanz]

We were on the Crown Princess out of New York last July and also experienced tiny "King Crab" legs. This was our first Princess cruise. We did not bother to ask for more because we did not enjoy them. Upon being served we thought the size of the crab was disgraceful. :mad: We had never seen "King Crab" legs that small and thought at the time why do they bother to serve this, when the size is more than likely to disappoint people. We've had snow crab at an $8.99 chinese buffet that were larger and tasted better! We will be on the CB this summer and will remember to ask about the size of the "King Crab" legs, because we know will find other things on the menu that will be much more appealing, if this was an example of the best "King Crab" legs that they have to offer.

[MoonPet]

Is it possible that Princess is/was having problems with their local supplier? I am not in the food business, but I would imagine that there are many things that could cause a problem.

 

You could always contact Princess, tell them of your disappointment and concern, and ask for an explanation. It could be a potentially interesting and informative reply.

[cubfan60004]

Its not King Crab season now either. You get your best King Crab in late January and usually seafood restaurants will have Crab month during February. Looking for the "best" in a seasonal food during off season sometimes can be disappointing. I know I dont typically buy certain fruits during off season because they are just not the same. I would imagine the same goes for certain seafood.

 

There are also different types of King Crab. They are not all the RED KING CRAB, which are the best of the best.

 

Brown King Crab

Sold as "Golden King Crab"

Blue King Crab

Also sold as "Red King Crab"

Red King Crab

[AlinaMaria]

Just back from Dawn Princess, 05-27 to 06-06. Alaska King Crab legs were served on at both restaurants. They were great!!! I enjoyed them tremendously and even asked for a second portion and they brought it without any complaints! They were really good!!!

 

BTW, Lobster Tails (good size) with 2 large prawns were offered on the 2nd formal evening, Farewell Dinner. Lots of people asked for seconds, and they were brought in without any questions!

 

AlinaMaria

[FLACRUISER99]

I never order "King Crab Legs" on a cruise ship anymore. The Cruise lines and a good portion of the people responding to this thread simply do not know how large true Alaskan King Crab legs are. In over 40 cruises I have never seen true Alaska King Crab. Of course if you price them in a restaurant you will see why. To the people that enjoy them I am happy for you.

[cflutist]

Just back from a B2B Alaska cruise on the Coral. I noticed that the crab legs were small too, but they were good. They were larger on the 5/19 leg (ha ha) of the cruise than they were on the 5/12. The waiter brought everyone seconds without even asking.

 

The same was true about the lobster tails, small but good. There were 3 of us at the table that had 5 tails each. The waiter seemed upset that we didn't ask for more ... she kept saying "I'm here to serve you". We were each served 2 to start with, then we asked for 2 more pp, but she brought 3. She must have thought we were all pigs ;)

 

I just bought one Alaskan Crab Leg at the grocery store today and it weighed almost a pound itself ... like it came from the crab that Mikey posted :D

[hel0013]

The same was true about the lobster tails, small but good. There were 3 of us at the table that had 5 tails each. The waiter seemed upset that we didn't ask for more ... she kept saying "I'm here to serve you". We were each served 2 to start with, then we asked for 2 more pp, but she brought 3. She must have thought we were all pigs ;)

 

Now this sounds like a waiter who deserved a larger tip... Kudos to her... :)

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

DH and I were going to book a 10 day Alaska sailing on Princess yesterday. However, after being so unhappy with the cuisine on the 19 day sailing of the Island Princess last month, I decided to do more than my usual research for the Alaska cruise. As such, we have decided to forego the Alaska cruise on Princess because we were disenchanted with the reviews we were seeing on that ship. Now, I would like to note that we do not cruise for the food; however, when you spend more than $6,000 for a balcony cabin, is it too much to expect an enjoyable dinner??? This past February we did a 15 day sailing on the Diamond and loved every minute of it. What is going on here??? Do we really need to be afraid to sail Princess now??? I fully realize that not all ships are equal, but to have such disappointing food like we had last month is something I don't wish to repeat. And I'm really sick and tired of reading that the cruise lines need to make a buck. Just look at Carnival's profit and loss statement. They are not hurting at all from the looks of their annual statement. Well, all I can say is this Alaska booking is one that Princess is losing because of their shortsightedness. BTW, we are currently holding a res on a 15 day Golden sailing. I will be monitoring the reviews constantly; and if I see more questionable quality on that ship, I will not hesitate to cancel that booking.

 

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh :)

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

All I am saying is that it was what it was. I'm sorry that the picture is so dark but it was taken in our cabin under the lamp. Maybe reducing the size of it for posting caused the darkening.

I was fuming in the dining room. Unfortunately I am one who does not verbally vent. When we left I took photos of the shell I brought back to our cabin. And no, it was not a leg tip. That was a crab leg from my dish. Maybe 15 or 18 total pieces. Some a little larger some (yes) smaller.

This was day 6 of our cruise from NY and yes, the crab legs were significantly larger in Horizon Court on the first night. Not humoungous, just larger.

Maybe they were just emptying their supply for replenishment on the next cruise. But they should not have offered these morsels on their menu.

If anyone was on the May 26th cruise on the CP from NY and was in the Palm dining room on Sunday evening, June 1 please offer your opinion.

This cruise cost us over $150 per person each day (not to mention the $10.50 per person mandatory daily gratuity charge).

I think Princess could have & should have done better.

I'm searching for a new cruise line.

Thanks for reading this, folks.

 

So you don't verbally vent, but you take a picture and show it on a website. I guess your not very results oriented...

[fathercop]

Attached is a photo of a sample of what was served in the Palm dining room for dinner on the Caribbean Princess on 01 June 2008. I had to use the cigarette for comparison.

The king crab leg is the little red thing on the card. This was not the largest morsel served, however it was NOT the smallest piece either.

The knuckle piece was a bit larger.

This is not "trick" photography. I wouldn't know how.

It is unfortunate that I believe we've sailed with Princess for the last time.

This is not the single reason why.

 

 

Sorry, that is what you recieved at dinner. We have sailed Alaska twice and the Alaskan King Crab legs we had were huge! The crab legs were already opened for us, so all we had to do was take them out of the shell, dip them in butter and feast. Yum!

 

Sorry you probably won't be with Princess any more, but isn't it wonderful that there are so many other cruise lines to choose from?

 

Good luck to you and enjoy your future cruises.

[scapilot]

The only place to get GREAT crab legs is at THE CRAB SHACK in Juneau, Dockside. Small place, Great Legs :D

[Chacooe]

Where in your city could you go for 300 a night INCLUDING accommodation, 3 meals a day +++ and entertainment for 2 people. Sounds like a bargain to me I don't know why you are trying to make it seem likes it's a lot of money! :p

 

In Portland Oregon, it costs that for two people to stay at one the the large motels, but it does not include your meals, entertainment etc. I would say you really got away cheap.

[neecee23]

Maybe the waiters save the smallest crab legs for the most irritating passengers:D

[Casshew]

lol that could well be!

[Sanz]

Maybe the waiters save the smallest crab legs for the most irritating passengers:D

 

If my DH and I meet you on one of our future cruises, I hope that you have the grace to blush at your thought.

[neecee23]

I have to apologize to Cruzin42. I made fun of him when this thread started. However, after completing my first Princess cruise, I find I have to agree with him that the King Crab legs are much less than "king size". My husband and son ordered them in the dining room on the Star Princess. My son loves king crab. The legs he received were pretty thin, although not as thin as Cruzin shows in his picture. We have purchased much larger crab at our local grocery. I humbly ask for forgiveness and grovel at his/her feet! And yes, Sanz, I am blushing!:o

[Shawnesville]

neecee23 you are totally cool!

[LadyPandora407]

I have NEVER seen them this size on ANY Princess cruise. They are always huge. Don't believe that they were all this small. Must be part of a leg. Ridiculous post.

 

I agree, are you sure this was not a snow crab leg :confused:

[cleavesteam]

If crab legs mean that much to you, and they obviously do, then why not sail the Cornelia Marie from Deadliest Catch on your next cruise? :p

[GBeret]

Hmmm ... the picture was a terrible.

 

I've had Alaska King Crab on every voyage that I have taken on Princess. I'm an elite member, so that is a few cruises.

 

I have always had fairly good sized 'legs;' however, had they been small or not to my liking for any reason, I would have addressed that with my waiter and if that didn't do it, to the dining room's head waiter.

 

I have, when Alaska King Crab is served, always had many refills and have always left the dining room stuffed!

 

I just don't really no why you allowed this to happen to you. It makes no sense to me what-so-ever! My waiters have always provided anything within reason, that I have asked for and if I wasn't happy with some part of my meal they have replaced it with something to my liking, ASAP! They normally, bend over backwards to keep you happy!

 

I haven't been to happy with the size of the lobster tails, on recent voyages; however, I can't complain about the number of tails that they brought me, after I told my waiters I liked lobster! I had to tell them enough, I'm full! The same with escargot, even getting it on nights they are not on the menu.

[mii]

Just a reminder that this thread was started in June. someone just brought it back up.

 

mairlyn

[Sandytoes]

Cruisin42 -

Thanks for posting the Crab photo.

 

On our 8\6 cruise we were served tiny crab legs.

Too tiny to even be called KING CRAB.

:rolleyes:

 

Very disappointed. :(

We are use to being served huge, succulent legs.

What happened?

 

Lobster on Formal night changed too.

 

On our Crown cruise

we were served really nice size Lobster Tails.

 

 

On our recent 8\6 CB cruise

this is what they served

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attached is a photo of a sample of what was served in the Palm dining room for dinner on the Caribbean Princess on 01 June 2008. I had to use the cigarette for comparison.

The king crab leg is the little red thing on the card. This was not the largest morsel served, however it was NOT the smallest piece either.

The knuckle piece was a bit larger.

.

[cleavesteam]

All this talk about crab legs has me yearning for them even more and my cruise is over two months away.

 

I think Princess has some of the best food out there, and I especially like the crab legs drenched in butter. Probably bad for my health but as long as I only have them once or twice a year I will be sure to indulge.