Loreni

I, too, am Celiac and often opt for a bunless hot dog at the grill. So far I've never had a problem. I look forward to hearing from others as we will be boarding the Grand in November. Have a great cruise.

Shredie makes a good point about IC. I remember the Pavlova was good and something I would never make at home. Also, once a week they have something called gf fruitcake...it is actually pound cake with some candied fruit or citron...very good.

However, when I ask if the salads are GF, nobody knows. Are they? For example the watermelon and feta and the mesclun greens certainly should be.

If you are on board before 1:30 (?) you can eat in the MDR. I'm assuming it will be open. The staff there is very good with food allergies and the like. It would be your best bet. I think they have some GF things always available at the IC.

Good point about IC.

Thank you. I think we will just skip it. Really, it doesn't look very healthy. Just thought it would be nice to try something new, but not if DH has to bring his own food. Too bad there is no salad.

Does anyone know if we can have MDR lunch on embarkation day on the Grand? DH has Celiac disease, so Alfredo's is out since they need one day's notice for GF pizza. Eating at the buffet risks cross-contamination and we hate to ask for help selecting food when HC is SO busy.

I would like to try the Pub Lunch, but DH needs gluten free food. I doubt anything on the pub menu is gluten-free. DH would be happy with a salad.

Does anyone know if salad is available (or any gluten-free options)?

Thank you all for your insight. I may have been mistaken when I said that land-based steakhouses disclose the grade of steak. After reading a WSJ article on steakhouses and checking some online menues, it seems they really can be quite deceptive. For example, "Prime" does not mean "USDA Prime" and "custom aged" does not mean "dry aged." Wet aging is cheaper but does not produce the same flavor. In some ways, Princess is more forthcoming than many of the well-known (and expensive) land-based steakhouses.

It also seems that some of this apparent deception is a recent trend. So where can I find a restaurant that serves USDA Prime, dry-aged steak to use as a current benchmark of quality. I would like to try the truly authentic experience and then try Crown Grill. I expect the Princess experience will be inferior, but if it is reasonably close, I may eat at Crown Grill once a year instead of land-based steakhouses.

Following my cariologist's advice, I rarely eat well-marbled steak (maybe once a year). But when I do, I let the experts prepare it...and I want it to be worth the risk. Now, I find that one of the steakhouses that I trusted has deceptive wording on the menu. (I do prepare free-range, grass-fed beef at home...but this is an entirely different animal so to speak...very lean and it requires special preparation methods that I have mastered. I also am lucky to know a rancher, so I have a good source.)

We have been in every catagory except a full suite. We don't have a strong desire to sail is a suite, but we are curious. We would go with 10 days in a mini and no flying. I have toured Princess suites and they were not that much nicer than a mini. Breakfast in Sabatini's is tempting (but room service is great...and with a view from your balcony). I would also be very tempted if I thought it was my only chance for a suite. Also, the standard balcony furniture is not very nice on Princess anymore, so if you expect to lounge on your balcony, a suite could be better. But Alaska is more for sitting than lounging, so I think the standard furniture would work.

I don't like to fly more often than I need to. This would be the deciding factor for me. Flying introduces potential risk (these days) and certain hassle. I often pick up a cold when I fly. Ten extra days cruising also sounds good. We find there is a big difference in a 10-day vs 7-day cruise and rarely book cruises less than 10 days anymore.

I believe the main benefit to a suite on Princess is Sabatini's. Don't forget, you get a tub in a mini suite on Princess, this is not true on most other lines. So Princess minis are very ice.

So I agree with your ultimate choice. Have a great retirement cruise!

Does anyone know? Is is USDA prime, choice or select....or something else. It says it's Sterling Silver Corn Fed. I looked this up and only found that it is USDA certified very tender, but this is a new designation and does not indicate the USDA grade. Or if it does, I can't find it.

We are considering trying Crown Grill for the first time and do not want to let down as we were with Sabatini's.

Princess has increased the price to 29 dollars. Many people say that this is a fraction of the cost of a quality steakhouse on land, but land-based steakhouses generally disclose the grade of beef they are serving. Also, people are reporting that only very small lobster tails are being served. Is this another cutback or have they always been small. Or are they only small if one asks for surf and turf...so if one orders just the lobster tail would it be one large lobster tail. Are these warm water lobster tails?

Even if we cannot learn the USDA grade, have you been satisfied with the quality of the beef? It would be great to hear recent reports or see recent pictures of the different food options.

Look forward to your insight.

We see these people all the time at the IC or the Horizon count and they just don’t get it. On our last cruise on the Crown I encountered this woman reading her book at the IC at a table for 3. No coffee, no food just reading her book. The place was packed with people looking for a place to sit. I had my morning snack a donut and my wife was getting her tea so being the person I am I sat down with here and she said pardon me I’m sitting here. As I sat down, I said “Hi how are you today” she looked at me and said “this table is taken, I’m sitting here”. I said “I see that but there is no were else to sit and you’re at this table all alone, I’ll only be here a few minute while I eat my snack and then we’ll move along”. My wife comes over with her tea and this lady goes sideways and tells us that we are the rudest people she’s ever encountered on a cruise and with that she slams her book closed and leaves. The people next to us about died laughing, they said that she had run off some other people right before I sat down. I’ve done the same thing a couple of times up at the Horizon Court buffet. What’s wrong with people why can’t they share? We always share a table if there is room for someone else, we’ve met some really nice people that way. It’s not like the end of the world.

I think what you did was very reasonable.

I wonder how many people will be buying coffee/tea AND Norman Love treats when there is no place to sit at the IC. I know I won't. Well, maybe I would under one condition: Princess returns the comfortable furniture to the balconies so I can take my treats there. Even better, return to good balcony furniture AND offer room service for Norman Love treats and espresso based drinks.

As it stands, I won't continue to pay for a balcony I can't use. I'm not sure what the Princess thought process is. It seems the nasty new furniture was calculated to drive people to revenue producing venues. So, OK, I capitulate, then I find it is not so easy to spend my money unless I wish to stand. Um, no.

Maybe we do need more than one cafe. I couldn't care less about the Piazza entertainment, so if Crown Grill, for example, became a cafe and pastry and light bite place, for a fee, during the day, I'd probably go there.

Things are constantly changing in the cruise industry, even on Princess.

Or build ships like they used to with adequately sized public spaces and decent card rooms. Specialist restaurants can't be used after about 4pm for playing cards or games.

Instead of adapting existing ships by taking out public space and turning it into more cabins.

Greedy cruise lines are the culprits here.

This is the current trend with all cruise lines. They are, after all, operating as businesses.

I don't think cruise lines are that eager to attract the card-playing camper crowd. This could be why card rooms are shrinking or vanishing. My understanding is that Celebrity is trying to deal with this problem by blasting house music throughout the public areas of its ship in an attempt to drive away these cruisers. DH and I are several decades younger that the average age of the passengers we encounter on the long cruises that we take (we are lucky to be able to work anywhere that we can carry our laptops), but I don't think we would enjoy this loud music either. So, I hope Princess does not copy this strategy from Celebrity.

On our last cruise, I believe that the Crown Grill was offered up as a sort of concession...Princess probably hoped that it would draw card-playing campers away from the IC so that the IC could operate as a profit center. Nothing wrong with that, especially when so many passengers are willing to pay for quality coffee or tea.

If I were to find the IC and Piazza totally packed with people buying coffee and tea, I'd think Princess had a winning strategy to generate onboard revenue and, while I might be frustrated that I can't find a table, I'd at least be glad that the base price of my future cruises would have a good chance of remaining low.

For those who say they or their family members are essentially Piazza campers and this is their right, keep in mind that this only works for you if the vast majority of people onboard don't think the way you do. Maybe the Piazza can function as intended with 10% campers. If the number of campers grows too high, people will need to start getting up very early to reserve their spots...and there still won't be enough room for all the would-be campers. As some have reported, this is happening, with camping beginning at 4 am.

It's a sad world where the lack of consideration for others is considered an acceptable norm. :rolleyes:

Yes, it is.

Um, if they're playing cards, they aren't going to be taking any notice of the entertainment. :confused: :confused: :rolleyes:

Who knows, maybe they can multi-task. Or maybe not, they do seem pretty oblivious to all the people who can't find a table.

The OP also assumed that passengers with their own thermos have not purchased anything. I am a coffee lover, so I bring my own stainless steel thermos and purchase or use a coffee card to obtain coffees and the staff puts the drink in my thermos. It's not a good idea to assume they have not purchased their drink just because they're using a personal thermos...just saying...

Valid point. I myself carry water to the promenade. But do you bring your thermos to the cafe and also bring cards and also stay for hours at a time? The only way the IC really works out well for everyone, is if people don't camp out there for hours and hours at a time whether or not they buy a cup of something.

One way to help the situation would be to have the IC waiters stop turning over their tips. My understanding is that they don't get to keep their tips. If they did, they would make things a bit less comfortable for the campers, I think. It would be a pretty cold-hearted person who would play cards for hours while denying the waiters a chance to earn their livings. Princess would gain revenue. And many more paying passengers would have an opportunity to enjoy the cafe. A few selfish card-players would need to move to the lovely Crown Grill. They could return to the Piazza to view the entertainment, they might need to stand, but they were OK making others stand, so this is not a bad thing.

I think Princess should line up all the thermoses and blow them up. Problem solved.. No more cheap selfish people drinking items that weren't purchased and sitting in the entitled persons seat.

 

It always amazes me how impacted people are by others actions when they are just going about their day minding their own business. I think you have described the wrong individuals as selfish. Look deep.

 

 

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Let me know what you think would happen, if everyone brought thermoses to the cafe? Would we still have a cafe?

Maybe the answer is to move all the balcony chairs into the IC. :p;):D

I could actually get onboard with this :D. I only spend about a half hour in the IC at a time and I can easily put up with the balcony chairs that long!

I can answer that. She started another thread thanking Princess for showing her that she can downgrade from mini suites to inside cabins and like it. She states that now that she doesn't have a balcony she finds a public place on the ship to enjoy looking out the windows. So, she is pissed that now that she doesn't have a balcony she deserves to find a great place around the ship to enjoy her cruise since she isn't enjoying staying in her inside cabin.

This is not correct, you did not read carefully. I do spend much of my time on the promenade deck outside and I like it. I would have stuck with the mini-suite, if I could tolerate the furniture.

Now, it is disingenuous to pretend that Princess does not expect to generate revenue from the IC. It is not easy to do so, when those people willing to buy coffee and tea cannot find a chair because others are camping out with their cards and thermoses.

I suspect some people think everything should be included for free. Maybe they think they are teaching Princess a lesson by sitting at a table for hours and buying nothing. Maybe they also think they are teaching a lesson to elitist snobs who belong on Cunard (you know, those folks who are willing to spend 2 dollars for a pot of tea or cup of coffee, if only they could find a table).

Be careful what you wish for. If you cut off enough revenue streams by driving people out of the IC or by playing board games in bars during shows, how might Princess respond? Well, I guess they could lower cruise prices and throw in more freebies. Or they could raise prices and privatize even more of the ship.

Based on min-suite plus, I wonder which direction they will go. I have heard rumors that comfortable balcony furniture will be provided for mini-suite plus. If this turns out to be true, if the mini suite plus dining is significantly better, and maybe if they throw in a cafe where I have a reasonable expectation of getting a seat, we'll give it try!

Reading this. I have never been on these ships but just curious where people would/should go to play cards or board games? I can understand not in restaurants proper especially during meal times.. I see where some here say not on the Lido, not in the atruims but is there somewhere for a group to meet and do this without taking place bar or cafe space?

 

I don't recall anywhere on any ship I've been on..... although I haven't played cards or a game. I have sat and read though. I would think unless someone had a suite of some type there would't be room in a cabin for 2 or 3 couples or a family to be able to sit and play cards/games.

 

Maybe this is what people have alluded to when they say the ships are putting in more cabins, bars etc which is leaving less public spaces?

 

Addendum: I do recall a friend mentioning there was a card room on one ship she was on but only if you were an adult that played Bridge..????

The beautiful and large Crown Grill was opened for cards and other games.

As for those who do not understand that Princess is selling coffee, tea, and drinks in the Piazza, what can I say. Do you really think Princess expects people who buy these things to have no place to sit? Actually, they probably expect most passengers to behave with consideration.

Sorry Loreni

 

Not understanding, why you feel you have more of a right to sit at a table than others do :confused:

It isn't about rights, it is about considerate behavior. Still stunned that anyone would think it is considerate to occupy a table at the (crowded) IC for hours to play cards and drink from a thermos while those attempting to dine cannot find a chair.

Sorry you are so easily confused, but if you can explain to me in what reality this is viewed as considerate behavior, please share.

So all those playing cards would have to do is have one of them get something from the IC and set in on their table while they play cards and that would satisfy you? After all they are now partaking of the items from the IC. The entire area is for any and all uses. I often go there sit and read a book while listen to the entertainment. According to you I should not be allowed to do this. To bad as Princesx has other ideas on the use of this area. Why not find a place to eat BEFORE getting your food like many othets do.

If everybody did as the campers do, you would not be able to sit!

The area cannot be for "any and all" if campers take it over for cards. Other venues are available to them for cards.

If everybody did as the campers do, there wouldn't be any reason for the IC to even exist, because nobody who is actually using the IC to get drinks or snacks would have a place to sit. Most people do not behave like the campers, but are instead considerate of others, therefore Princess is able to monitize the IC by selling coffee, tea, and drinks. On some cruises, there are only a few campers and they are just an annoyance. On other cruises, like mine, there are enough campers to undermine the function of the IC and the enjoyment of many.

And it doesn't need to be this way. Nobody wins except a few card players. And your cruise price will go up, if Princess can not monitize the venue. Do we owe the card players this much?

To answer your query, yes, most definitely , most other "main-stream" cruise lines offer better desserts. At least, the ones I have been on.

 

The desserts at the buffet on P&0 are usually very good, especially at lunch - the chefs did not use a lot of very expensive ingredients like on some other cruise lines (eg nuts, marzipan, liquor, etc) , but what limited ingredients they used, they made them taste fabulous. Their pastries taste "buttery".

 

Celebrity Cruise Line also have pretty great desserts, in spite of the size of the ship (so, not, it is NOT EXCUSABLE if Princess Cruises were to claim that it cannot have a high standard of desserts because the Regal Princess is so large and carries so many passengers - other cruise ships are large too, but they succeeded in making high quality desserts) . On the Celebrity Eclipse, the dessert chef was an Indian guy but that did not stop him from making such wonderful Western style desserts. Which country or continent the chef originates from has nothing to do with the quality of the desserts (as someone on this board earlier had indicated was the reason for poor Western desserts).

 

If you are a cruising fan who really love great quality desserts with all the "bells and whistles", try going on Oceania Cruises - and to a lesser extend, Azamara Cruises(which is still good). The (free) afternoon tea on Oceania has some of the best cakes and pastries one can imagine. Also, in the buffet restaurant on Oceania ships, their desserts are usually "lip-smacking" good.

 

All the above cruise lines generally offer desserts, which in my view, at a MUCH HIGHER STANDARD than that offered by Princess. Princess should change the name of their PASTRY SHOP....because they are so-oooh poor in their PASTRY making !!!!

 

As for your "good news" on not having gain a single pound after your last cruise - congratulations! For me, after my last Princess Cruise - I actually LOST A FEW POUNDS !!! Could it be because the desserts were so poor, or perhaps, each time I wanted a coffee, I had to walk almost half a mile from my cabin to the buffet restaurant to get it, and walk half a mile back. That was in addition to walking to the restaurant(s) for breakfast , lunch and dinner. So, in all, I probably walked 8-10 miles a day on the ship!!!!

This is good to know. It's been a while since I researched Celebrity, but I heard changes were coming to Bistro on the 5. Is it now similar to the International Cafe? Does it have a hostess for seating? Do people camp out there all day playing cards?

You/I have paid for the entertainment by purchasing passage on the ship...not by consuming free or paid munchies in this area.

If you were on my cruise, you'd be enjoying the entertainment standing up, because the card-playing campers wouldn't be moving for either of us.

Entirely different situation. People who go to Starbucks have not already paid to be there.

Not my analogy. Anyway, it isn't a matter of what you can get away with, it's a matter of what is considerate of others. I will never believe that occupying a table at a cafe to play cards and drink from a thermos for hours is considerate behavior and if Princess really wants to monitize their venues (and I assume they do), I hope a hostess appears soon.

The more you comment the less I have respect for you. You are now starting to sound like a Whiner with a capital W. Look, everyone wants a place to sit. I agree people should not occupy a seat all day every day BUT they paid their cruise fare as well. I can't imagine going on a cruise and spending all my time inside playing cards but to each his own.

 

I, for one, have sat at the bar next to the IC for many hours. Yes, even while people were waiting for a seat. Did I move because they looked tired or in need of alcohol or specialty coffee drinks? No. Why should I? I was enjoying my drink.

 

Getting rid of the entertainment in the Atrium is just stupid. As others have said it is meant to bring people together and often you will see people stacked several decks up watching it. I know I have walked by and stopped for a moment or two. If you think the chair hoggers are selfish well then paint yourself selfish. Your desire to find a chair right there inches from the IC counter does not trump hundreds and hundreds that enjoy the atrium entertainment.

 

By the way, we have sat in various shared space areas (like the Wheelhouse Bar) and played games with family and friends. We don't have tables like that in our cabins so we must meet in public areas. We wouldn't have sat down if it was full with a show but that doesn't mean while we were there that an event couldn't start.

So you would not vacate the Wheelhouse after a show started because you are playing a game with your friends, even if others who want to watch the show can't find a seat? Can't even conceive of this decision making process. Couldn't you find a public space somewhere else where no show is starting?

So now when grabbing a snack on the run, one must wait in line for a hostess and then again for a snack. No thank you! One does not see hostesses at Starbucks, coffee houses, bars. iC was not designed nor intended to be a sit down restaurant. That is not the concept, and a hostess would drive people away.

Maybe two lines. One for grab and go and one with a hostess? Anyway, I don't think Starbucks would allow people to play cards in their shops for hours at a time without eating or drinking anything except what they have brought into Starbucks in a thermos.