Are the upcharge restaurants on the Crown worth it?

Are the upcharge restaurants on the Crown worth it? Can these be booked online before the cruise? Looking at Princess's website most the the restaurants don't have a menu listed or how much the price is. Is there somewhere with this information?

We have gone to the Crown Grill many times over the years, but with the last increases in pricing have decided it's just not worth the money. We haven't gone the last couple of cruises, and haven't missed it.

We have gone to the Crown Grill many times over the years, but with the last increases in pricing have decided it's just not worth the money. We haven't gone the last couple of cruises, and haven't missed it.

I miss the live Maine lobsters and the 12 ounce lobster tails. :(

I miss the live Maine lobsters and the 12 ounce lobster tails. :(

What do they have now?

What do they have now?

They went to a very small 4 ounce tail.

Not sure if they even have it anymore.

On the CB last month we ate there twice and I didn't even bother to look for it. :(

They went to a very small 4 ounce tail.

Not sure if they even have it anymore.

On the CB last month we ate there twice and I didn't even bother to look for it. :(

Ya that size is definitely not worth the upcharge of the restaurant. Does Princess still have lobster in their MDRs on a formal night? Or is that the only restaurant you can get it?

Ya that size is definitely not worth the upcharge of the restaurant. Does Princess still have lobster in their MDRs on a formal night? Or is that the only restaurant you can get it?

Yes it will be on formal night [emoji6]

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

my 100 dollar review of the UBD. short answer YES it's worth it but i have the math broken down here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=54782262&postcount=4

my 100 dollar review of the UBD. short answer YES it's worth it but i have the math broken down here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=54782262&postcount=4

Great review!

Thank you this is really helpful! That's a great idea to look at the menus ahead of time to see what nights I won't mind missing. Does Princess have an app where they would have that information or would I only be able to get it at the restaurant?

 

We picked traditional dining because I had read those reviews about the Anytime dining having long waits and I do like to get to know my waitstaff throughout the cruise. We typically like to eat earlier than later so we picked the 5:30 time, 6pm was a waitlist. Could that 5:30 turn into 5 or is that time locked in? 5pm would be way too early for sure. Also, if we have an excursion that gets back later than our dinner start time could we go to Anytime dining to eat whenever we get back or would our only option be to eat at the buffet?

As far as I know, the menu plan is only on board.

As reported in another thread and based upon my own experiences, the ship staff may alter the exact seating times for Traditional Dining. It happens regularly and is believed to be a result of best accommodating passengers on each cruise, so there's no predictable pattern.

There seem to be more upset posters here when 5:30 gets moved to 5PM, and passengers begin using Anytime Dining causing long waits. You mentioned a late excursion return and its impact on your early seating. You can arrive too late for your seating and be refused, since they have another seating at your table following yours. So you'd potentially miss the menu you wanted as you were forced to the buffet or endure chaos of an overloaded ATD. (You wouldn't be the only passenger back late from an excursion.)

The Crown Grill is scrummmmmmptious!! If you like steak, go there! Yes, you can now pre-book it online. If you want to go on Formal night or a holiday, I highly recommend you book as soon as possible as those nights fill up fast.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

The Crown Grill is scrummmmmmptious!! If you like steak, go there! Yes, you can now pre-book it online. If you want to go on Formal night or a holiday, I highly recommend you book as soon as possible as those nights fill up fast.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

How would I know which night is formal night to book then? My fiancé loves steak he might want to eat here more than once

As far as I know, the menu plan is only on board.

 

As reported in another thread and based upon my own experiences, the ship staff may alter the exact seating times for Traditional Dining. It happens regularly and is believed to be a result of best accommodating passengers on each cruise, so there's no predictable pattern.

 

There seem to be more upset posters here when 5:30 gets moved to 5PM, and passengers begin using Anytime Dining causing long waits. You mentioned a late excursion return and its impact on your early seating. You can arrive too late for your seating and be refused, since they have another seating at your table following yours. So you'd potentially miss the menu you wanted as you were forced to the buffet or endure chaos of an overloaded ATD. (You wouldn't be the only passenger back late from an excursion.)

I’ll have to talk to my fiancé about that since 5 would be way too early to eat, he might be ok with switching to the later. Is there somewhere to grab a quick bite to eat to hold him over to a later dinner? He can get hangry lol.

free tapas if you order a glass of wine at Vines...or just stop by the Int'l Cafe

free tapas if you order a glass of wine at Vines...or just stop by the Int'l Cafe

Thanks!

Are the upcharge restaurants on the Crown worth it? Can these be booked online before the cruise? Looking at Princess's website most the the restaurants don't have a menu listed or how much the price is. Is there somewhere with this information?

Very much so to many. Not so much to us. My wife would be fine if we never used specialty dining again. :p Fortunately for me, we will have another go at it in May as it's included in our cruise fare.

Very much so to many. Not so much to us. My wife would be fine if we never used specialty dining again. :p Fortunately for me, we will have another go at it in May as it's included in our cruise fare.

It seems you like it and your wife not so much? Any reason why she doesn’t? I figure we’ll try it out for two nights, one to celebrate our honeymoon and one to celebrate my birthday

It seems you like it and your wife not so much? Any reason why she doesn’t? I figure we’ll try it out for two nights, one to celebrate our honeymoon and one to celebrate my birthday

Well... I'm not especially a fan either. I want the Rib Eye but can't even come close to eating that much so I end up ordering the Filet Mignon. I'm not a huge fan of Filet Mignon as it's quite lean and the really flavorful cuts aren't. Even with the Filet I have a hard time finishing the dinner. I really don't like wasting food. Not at all. I know... Everybody says to order whatever I want, eat as much of it as I want, and ignore the rest. I just wasn't raised that way. Wasting stuff is not how I'm wired. I may finally give in on our May cruise where it's included but, if I do, I will feel bad about all the waste. Yes, I'm weird.

My wife isn't a fan because she has never had a specialty dinner that comes close to what we get in a nice restaurant on land (albeit for more money) so she can't see spending the extra money when we could have a perfectly acceptable dinner in MDR. We both enjoy the food in MDR (although I will never order another steak there!) and that's already included in the cruise fare. We have never had an evening where there was nothing to suit us in MDR and, for the most part, it has always been quite good. (The last steak I ordered, however, will be the last steak I order. It was pretty flavorless and terribly tough. Not cool. Not cool at all.) We have had some dishes that we felt needed more spice but were extremely pleased on a recent (last October) cruise to find that the chef on that cruise understood spices. Even the curry (while not nearly as hot as I would have liked) was quite good and had spicy hotness.

Well... I'm not especially a fan either. I want the Rib Eye but can't even come close to eating that much so I end up ordering the Filet Mignon. I'm not a huge fan of Filet Mignon as it's quite lean and the really flavorful cuts aren't. Even with the Filet I have a hard time finishing the dinner. I really don't like wasting food. Not at all. I know... Everybody says to order whatever I want, eat as much of it as I want, and ignore the rest. I just wasn't raised that way. Wasting stuff is not how I'm wired. I may finally give in on our May cruise where it's included but, if I do, I will feel bad about all the waste. Yes, I'm weird.

 

My wife isn't a fan because she has never had a specialty dinner that comes close to what we get in a nice restaurant on land (albeit for more money) so she can't see spending the extra money when we could have a perfectly acceptable dinner in MDR. We both enjoy the food in MDR (although I will never order another steak there!) and that's already included in the cruise fare. We have never had an evening where there was nothing to suit us in MDR and, for the most part, it has always been quite good. (The last steak I ordered, however, will be the last steak I order. It was pretty flavorless and terribly tough. Not cool. Not cool at all.) We have had some dishes that we felt needed more spice but were extremely pleased on a recent (last October) cruise to find that the chef on that cruise understood spices. Even the curry (while not nearly as hot as I would have liked) was quite good and had spicy hotness.

I've lived your dilemma many times in Crown Grill. The Rib Eye is the best but hard to finish after the other great items.

So the trick I've learned is to focus on the prize: Rib Eye. That's what I'm there for, so I'll start with the Onion Soup and pass on the many great choices* for appetizers and salads, remembering I'm there for the steak.

And when it comes to the vegetables, I specifically ask the server NOT to bring "family style servings." Instead I ask for one 6" plate with a small dollop of mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and spinach. I reason with them that if I want more I'll ask.

FSUGuuurrrrllll: you betta jump on that boat quick before alls they serv'in is hamburger or PB&J!!! See footnote.

____________ __________________________

*Footnote: Because I couldn't remember if it was spinach on the menu, I went and looked up the Crown Grill menu. CUTS, CUTS, CUTS!!! I see that gone are the Diver Scallops, replaced with cheap & tiny Bay Scallops featured in a different appetizer, Sausage is added to reduce the mussel portion, just as the Chilean Seabass portion was reduced to share a plate with shrimp. One word for sure is NOWHERE on the menu: PRIME as in USDA Prime. But I don't know that Crown Grill ever claimed to serve USDA Prime Beef.

I miss the live Maine lobsters and the 12 ounce lobster tails. :(

Yes, it has definitely changed over the years, and not for the better.

Food is subjective so you have to go and form your own opinion.

Food is subjective so you have to go and form your own opinion.

Yes and do it without the lobsters. :(

Yes and do it without the lobsters. :(

Keith, I totally agree with you. I think the lobster is awful!!!

Tony

Keith, I totally agree with you. I think the lobster is awful!!!

Tony

I hear ya Tony!

Thank you this is really helpful! That's a great idea to look at the menus ahead of time to see what nights I won't mind missing. Does Princess have an app where they would have that information or would I only be able to get it at the restaurant? Not available on a digital device.

 

We picked traditional dining because I had read those reviews about the Anytime dining having long waits and I do like to get to know my waitstaff throughout the cruise. We typically like to eat earlier than later so we picked the 5:30 time, 6pm was a waitlist. Could that 5:30 turn into 5 or is that time locked in? 5pm would be way too early for sure. Also, if we have an excursion that gets back later than our dinner start time could we go to Anytime dining to eat whenever we get back or would our only option be to eat at the buffet?

On embarkation day look in the daily newsletter (The Patter) which will be in your cabin when you board. It will list the time and place that the Maitre d' will have a session for those who need to change dining arrangements. He will probably be able to get you changed from the "5:30" time to the "6:00" time (realizing that neither of these times may be the actual times on the ship). Also ask him your question about late returning excursions. He will let you know if you have his approval to eat in Anytime those evenings.

On embarkation day look in the daily newsletter (The Patter) which will be in your cabin when you board. It will list the time and place that the Maitre d' will have a session for those who need to change dining arrangements. He will probably be able to get you changed from the "5:30" time to the "6:00" time (realizing that neither of these times may be the actual times on the ship). Also ask him your question about late returning excursions. He will let you know if you have his approval to eat in Anytime those evenings.

We decided to switch the time to 8:15, is it possible this time could end up being later? We looked at when most excursions end and feel like the 5:30 would be tough making it most days, so to eliminate stress we just switched to later and will find snacks on the ship to tide us over until then. We would need his approval if we do anytime dining for a night or two?