HleeCruiser

Thanks for posting. Does anyone know what happens with menus on a 10 night cruise? Do they just start over? Reason I am asking is we are on a 10 night Med cruise later this month and would like to plan our 3 nights in the specialty restaurants and still take advantage of the really good nights in the MDR.

Thanks,

Henry

I, too, was told once that I could not get soup, salad and an appetizer with my entrée unless I was going to pay for the senses menu. I had already had the premium beverage package so really didn't want to almost double the cost of my already expensive dinner just to get a small salad. I assured the waiter that I wasn't going to order dessert .... I never do. He just wouldn't budge ... think he must have been having a tough day or something. I mentioned this to someone with some authority and was granted another specialty dinner in credit....which was more than fair. I haven't had that problem since. As mentioned, I don't take advantage as I never order dessert but do love their soup, do love their appetizers and do love having a small salad with my dinner. My evening wasn't ruined but no extra tip for that waiter.

We had the same experience on the Summit. I wanted an appetizer, soup and a salad. Waiter refused. I asked for a supervisor and he also said this was not possible and not in a nice way. What is the policy in the Celebrity specialty restaurants regarding what one may order? We just returned from a Princess cruise and while in the Crown Grill we were actually encouraged to order whatever we wanted including the entrees. IE steak and lobster. Is this not possible on a Celebrity ship? Want two desserts, just order them! BTW the price in the Crown Grill is just $25 per head vs. $45 to $50 on Celebrity. The steak on Princess was much better than the Tuscan Grill.

We are booked on the Equinox and are curious what to expect. Anyone care to share their experience?

Thanks

Stayed there in 2015 and are booked for April this year. Both times through hotels.com which had the best rate when we booked. About $220 USD per night.

We stayed at the Jazz in 2015 at a rate of $220 USD. Loved the hotel and location. We are staying there in April 2016 pre and post cruise for about the same daily rate. Highly satisfied.

Didn't want to start a new thread, but if anyone is interested I put together a quick video montage of our recent Equinox Eastern Caribbean cruise :)

 

Nicely done. Thank you. We are on the Equinox out of Barcelona on 29 Apr. 16

In practice "Evening Chic" means there is no dress code. Wear what you want and feel comfortable. All the cruise lines are drifting this way. Was on Crystal recently and saw guys in blue jeans and women in shorts in the dining room.

While the cruise lines pretend to have a dress code, it simply does not exist.

I am not takings sides, but my wife and I are traditionalist and will continue to dress up on "formal nights" and country club casual on casual nights.

Just returned from cruise on the Caribbean Princess and I must say it was one of the best cruises we have been on. The food in the MDR exceeded our expectations. The Chocolate Celebration desserts were outstanding. The steaks were tender and cooked as ordered. We dined in the Crown Grill and it was one of the best meals we have had on a cruise ship. For frame of reference, we have cruised on RCCL, Azamara, Crystal, Regent, Silver Sea, NCL, HAL and Carnival. The entertainment was ok but not outstanding. I do not think any of the cruise ship shows are outstanding but do entertain. The pizza on Princess was very good while the pizza on Equinox was only ok. Burger and hot dog bar was good but not outstanding. About the same as Equinox. I liked the pool arrangement on Princess with the lap pool and the pool on the back. The MUTS on Princess is a nice touch. Caribbean Princess does not have interactive tv. Not sure about Equinox. Can not remember.

We were on the Equinox a couple of years ago in Europe and enjoyed it very much. Loved the layout of the ship and the Concierge Cabin especially the bathroom/shower. Much better than Princess. The food in the MDR was ok but not as good as the last Princess cruise. The Oceanview was very good with lots of variety. Better than Princess. We did the three dinner package and really enjoyed all of the meals. Just not up to what we just experienced in the Crown Grill. The pastry restaurant is very well done but does not measure up the the International Café on Princess. Princess does not have anything like the Aqua Café which we really enjoyed for lunch.

The entertainment on Equinox was a cut above Princess.

To sum it up, we loved cruising on Celebrity and Princess. Have just booked another 10 day Med cruise on the Equinox departing 29 April.

We have used Suntransfers.com several times. Cost BCN to Jazz Hotel in city center is 38.5 Euros. Always a nice vehicle that accommodates our two large suitcases and two carry-ons. Driver meets you in terminal where you exit the secure area. We prefer this to the taxi at about the same cost.

Have them booked for our April cruise out of Barcelona.

When dining in a specialty restaurant, are you limited to what you may order?

For example, on Princess you may order more than one entrée. I really love the French Onion soup and ask for a refill on occasion.

Have not been on Celebrity in a long time.

Is this the menu on CB?

Just got off the CB and the always available C.S. items were Flank Steak, Pork Tenderloin and a third one I can not remember. Only one person at our table tried a C.S. entrée. It was the Flank Steak and said it was only OK. The flank steak was sliced fairly thick which is so wrong. Should not be cooked past medium rare and very thinly sliced on the bias.

One item on the left side of the menu was a grilled butterfly shrimp appetizer and it was delicious. Only showed up on the first night though. They always would serve the traditional shrimp cocktail even though not on the menu. We had it a couple of nights.

One other thought, we really enjoyed the food in the MDR. Thought it was one of the best cruises we have gone on and have 19 Princess cruises under our belts. Food ranged from very good to excellent. Never needed to order any of C.S. items. However I do wish the old options were still available.

This discussion just points out the uselessness of the health form. It is a waste of time and paper. How many people do you think answer these forms accurately if they are symptomatic? I am glad the OP is feeling better and will be able to truthfully answer all the questions "NO".

Have a great cruise!!

Our most recent cruise was 14 days but we had both the Chef's a Dinner and the Italian Dinner. Typical menus on a 7 day cruise included Embarkation day menu (Welcome Aboard?), the last night menu (Farewell?), the Captain's Welcome, the Captain's Gala, the Chef's, the Italian and one other. We haven't been on a 7 day cruise with the 50th Anniversary menu but that might be the other dinner or it might have replaced one of the others. On our 14 day cruise we had all seven of the above plus seven other "Princess Dinner" menus.

I am happy to hear they are following the same patterns. Do you have a preference between the Chef's Dinner and the Italian Dinner? Been a while since we cruised Princess and neither my wife nor I can recall any specifics about the Chef's or Italian nights.

Most Princess 7 night cruises I have been on have a Chef's Dinner evening and an Italian Dinner evening. Do they still have these nights? We are trying to decide which menu to skip and dine at Crown Grill. Of course we always go to both formal nights along with the sail away dinner that usually has prime rib.

Any recent cruisers on Princess have any advice to share?

Thanks,

Henry

I want to surprise my wife with some flowers in our cabin when we sail on the Regal January 3rd.

I've pre-ordered them online and requested delivery for embarkation day. Will they already be in the room when we first board?

When I have ordered flowers for our cabin when sailing on Princess they are always in the cabin when we board the first day.

Adventure Mexico has a cooking class shore excursion in Progresso that provides a tour of Merida along with a lunch meal that guest help prepare. It is a private tour.

Does anyone have any experience with Adventure Mexico regarding this tour or any others they provide in Progresso?

Any information is appreciated.

Henry

Ever thought about using a travel agent? We do and get best deals out there plus other benefits. Takes only a few minutes to give details of your planned vacation and then let him/her take care of the time consuming booking, track changes, make air arrangement etc.

Thanks for all the comments. Difficult to draw any conclusions since the responses reflect ratings from disappointing to excellent. None the less we are looking forward to our cruise on April 9, 2014. We have plans to dine in Le Bistro and the Italian restaurant. Balance of meals will be in MDR's and the buffet. On our last NCL cruise the meal at Cagney's on the Sun was very good and Le Bistro was excellent. As a matter of fact we dined in Le Bistro two times!!

We like Asian food and will probably dine in Shogun one evening.

Thanks again for your comments.

hlee

We also loved the new Horizon Buffet on the Royal Princess. There are some areas that are easy to miss, so take your time looking around. We loved the covered outdoor dining area aft of the buffet. Some spots can be very windy, but there are some great ones too. It was never crowded out there, so we considered it a hidden gem if you like eating at the buffet.

 

I would love to see Princess renovate the Grand Class buffets to match the new design on Royal, if at all possible.

Obviously not possible due to the lack of square footage. However having recently been on the Royal and Sapphire I can report the newly configured Horizon Court on the Sapphire is a great improvement. They have increased the serving area by taking some of the seating and converting it to a pastry section thus freeing up space in the hot food area for more variety. The traffic flow is much improved on the Sapphire. Perhaps they will do this on all the Grand Class ships.

Will be on the Spirit in three weeks and was wondering about dining in the MDR'S. Of the two which is the dressier, Windows or Garden? Heard the service can be slow. In order to see the entertainment each evening how much time should we plan for the dinner meal?

Somewhat concerned after reading how spotty the service and the quality of the food can be on the Spirit. We do not expect gourmet meals but have become accustomed to well prepared dishes as we have been on over 30 cruises on most of the cruise lines. Would be very happy if the food and service is equal to Princess and RCCL. Whatever it is, we will make the best of it. To be fair, I have also read in some of the reviews that the food and service are very good.

Very excited about the islands of Spain, Portugal and of course Casablanca and Malaga.

Would love to hear from those who have been on the Spirit recently.

Thanks,

Thanks everyone for the answers to my questions.

I would not want our T.A. know that we are selecting Crown Grill rather than Sabatini's. Do not want to sound ungrateful! I assume there is no way this is communicated to her. Is this correct?

Thanks

Thanks everyone. Looks like we will be dining at the Crown Grill.

Our travel agent gifted us a dinner for two at Sabatini's on our upcoming cruise. Does anyone know if we can dine at the Crown Grill instead and use the pre-paid Sabatini's gift as payment. I think the price for both are the same--$25 per person.

We have experienced Sabatini's many times and would prefer to try the Crown Grill this cruise.

Thanks,

On the Royal Princess, there's so much not to miss it's hard to choose! Alfredo's is delicious (included), the buffet is a WOW!, the International Cafe is taken to another level with lots of goodies (included), the Horizon Bistro is a pastry-lover's dream, etc. It took me several days to find the made-to-order sandwiches and grilled items because there was so much else that tempted me, including 3-4 salad bar sections. Then there's the Crab Shack and Fondue (extra charge) as well as the specialty restaurants. No other Princess ship has the variety that the Royal has. You'd have to be a real grump to say you couldn't find something you liked. :) To be honest, we found the food so varied and good elsewhere that we never made it to the dining room for dinner on a 17-night cruise, and we're not really buffet people.

We are on the Royal next week. Where will we find the made-to-order sandwiches and grilled items?

Just on the Coastal Sapphire in October and the only sandwiches we found were the wrapped in saran wrap pre-made ones in H.C. buffet area.

Thanks,

Thanks for the info. The vinow site shows Havensight for Mar. 5th. My wife will be happy to be close to the shopping.

Appreciate your help.

Henry