princess cruises

how is the Buffet on Princess cruises ship regal princess and how about the speciality restaurants thanks

the buffet is great. More information here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197

Welcome to Cruise Critic! I suggest posting this on the specific Princess Board (there is one for each major cruise line) where it will be seen by many more Princess cruisers: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197.

We haven't sailed on the Regal Princess but have over 50 days on her sister ship, the Royal Princess. We usually avoid buffets (I'm not much for large crowds and accompanying chaos) but we make an exception for that on the Royal. The buffet is large, well organized, staffed with wait staff to bring you drinks, etc., and offers interesting theme dinner nights (in addition to 'normal' food) such as Bavarian night, Mongolian Barbeque, etc. A free dining experience we greatly enjoy is Alfredos - pasta, pizza, and antipasto. Specialty restaurants are Sabitinis (Northern Italian) and the Crown Grill (steak and fish). We usually visit each once a cruise. Finally there are two special dinners usually offered at least once a cruise: the Chef's Table (multiple courses with wine pairings) and the Winemaker's Dinner (3 course menu with accompanying wines from a single vinter). The Chef's table is usually too much (delicious) food for us but it does include a private galley tour including champagne and hors d'ouerves and costs (if I remember correctly) $115 p/p. The Winemaker's dinner has no tour and is 'only' 3 courses and costs (again, if I remember correctly) $40 p/p and is both delicious and, we think, a very fair price. If interested, sign up early at the customer service desk or call the DINE line - each meal is restricted to no more than 10 or 12 passengers.

You have started two threads with the same title. Both threads have recommended you do your Princess research on the Princess board here, with links...If you follow those links, and do some reading there, you might find you don't have to ask any more questions...EM

The buffet on the Regal (and Royal) is about the best you will find on any ship. Princess alternative restaurants are nothing special and we are not big fans of their Crown Grill or Sabatini's. But on the Regal you do have Alfredo's (which is free) that has some terrific pizza and a few other Italian dishes. We also like the International Cafe on the Regal (and other Princess ships) which is open 24/7 with a rotating selection of free snacks... and decent coffee/tea drinks (these are not free).

Hank

The buffet on the Regal (and Royal) is about the best you will find on any ship. Princess alternative restaurants are nothing special and we are not big fans of their Crown Grill or Sabatini's.

Hank

Not everyone would agree with you that the buffet on the Real and Royal are the best you will find on any ship. I don't think they are at all, and food is so subjective I wonder how you would say that.:)

Not everyone would agree with you that the buffet on the Real and Royal are the best you will find on any ship. I don't think they are at all, and food is so subjective I wonder how you would say that.:)

Like you say, it is subjective and I am giving my "subjective" opinion. And I should have stated that it applies to only mass market lines as some of the ultra luxury lines (such as Regent and Crystal) are somewhat superior. As to my credentials, while any opinion is subjective by definition we do have forty+ years of cruising on 14 cruise lines and over 65 different vessels so our "subjective" opinion is based on our own basis of comparison.. I will also admit that our mere 24 Princess cruises make us less than expert on that line.

But the problem I have with your post is that nearly every opinion here on CC and in any cruise book is also subjective :). It is the nature of the beast! But when somebody asks for an opinion (read the OP's post) it is reasonable to give them an answer.

Hank

Like you say, it is subjective and I am giving my "subjective" opinion. And I should have stated that it applies to only mass market lines as some of the ultra luxury lines (such as Regent and Crystal) are somewhat superior. As to my credentials, while any opinion is subjective by definition we do have forty+ years of cruising on 14 cruise lines and over 65 different vessels so our "subjective" opinion is based on our own basis of comparison.. I will also admit that our mere 24 Princess cruises make us less than expert on that line.

 

But the problem I have with your post is that nearly every opinion here on CC and in any cruise book is also subjective :). It is the nature of the beast! But when somebody asks for an opinion (read the OP's post) it is reasonable to give them an answer.

 

Hank

Easy big guy, I wasn't trying to be difficult. I merely disagreed with your opinion.:):)

As others have suggested, you will get more answers on the Princess Boards.

However, we have cruised with Princess for 40+ years, but haven't sailed on any of their new Royal Class ships. We have experienced a steady decline in standards, up to and including our final cruise with them, which was the 2015 World Cruise.

We found the meals were well presented, but many of the meats were of poor quality and many meals were served cold - MDR & buffet. In the steak house, which we normally visit at least once per week, they could only cook steaks well done or almost raw.

Easy big guy, I wasn't trying to be difficult. I merely disagreed with your opinion.:):)

LOL that is fine but I would be interested in your opinion on Royal/Regal vs other ships/lines. What other mass market lines do you consider better ? We are always trying to learn other's opinions and may even act accordingly. My comment re the buffet on Regal/Royal is simply based on our personal experience on the Regal (multiple cruises). While we think that the quality of the buffet selections is not as good as it was 20+ years ago, what we have experienced in the Lido on the Regal (primarily breakfast and lunch) is the best we have found currently. The Celebrity Solstice Class ships used to be at the top of our list but recent cut-backs have moved them down our personal list.

Hank

LOL that is fine but I would be interested in your opinion on Royal/Regal vs other ships/lines. What other mass market lines do you consider better ? We are always trying to learn other's opinions and may even act accordingly. My comment re the buffet on Regal/Royal is simply based on our personal experience on the Regal (multiple cruises). While we think that the quality of the buffet selections is not as good as it was 20+ years ago, what we have experienced in the Lido on the Regal (primarily breakfast and lunch) is the best we have found currently. The Celebrity Solstice Class ships used to be at the top of our list but recent cut-backs have moved them down our personal list.

 

Hank

I think that the food on Celebrity is better, and this is after numerous crises on Princess to achieve elite status. Also have cruised on RCCL, Carnival and cruise lines that are no longer in service. Last cruise on princess was on the Regal and we no longer eat in the buffet. We are not fans of the buffet. In fact we rarely eat in the MDR on most ships. On Celebrity we eat in Luminae or Blu, or the specialty restaurants.

We were on a 15 day cruise last year on Celebrity and did not eat one meal in the buffet or MDR.

As mentioned before, it is just our preference, and I remember that food is very subjective.:)

I think that the food on Celebrity is better, and this is after numerous crises on Princess to achieve elite status. Also have cruised on RCCL, Carnival and cruise lines that are no longer in service. Last cruise on princess was on the Regal and we no longer eat in the buffet. We are not fans of the buffet. In fact we rarely eat in the MDR on most ships. On Celebrity we eat in Luminae or Blu, or the specialty restaurants.

 

We were on a 15 day cruise last year on Celebrity and did not eat one meal in the buffet or MDR.

 

As mentioned before, it is just our preference, and I remember that food is very subjective.:)

Fair enough...and truly thank you for sharing. We are Elite on Princess (for many years) and Elite Plus on Celebrity with over 200 days on each line (not boasting but establishing experience). Up until about 2 years ago I would have agreed with you about Celebrity having better food (in their MDR, alternative restaurants and their buffets). But when Lisa Lutoff-Perlo took over the line (she comes from RCI) there were immediate cut-backs (which continue) along with large price increases. Now we think that Princess and Celebrity are nearly comparable in their MDRs. Celebrity still has far superior alternative restaurants although nothing on Celebrity compares to the International Cafe. But when it comes to buffets, we think Celebrity has gone downhill in a big way while the new Royal/Regal buffets were a quantum leap forward. That being said, we never eat dinner in a buffet (any buffet) as we love to "dine" which can only be done in a restaurant.

About a year ago we spent 21 days on the Celebrity Eclipse where we used to enjoy Aqua Class. But even AQ had gone downhill so we decided to book a regular balcony (saved us a lot of money versus AQ) and then we were able to purchase a dining package (at 20% off) which put our alternative restaurant cost at about $25 per passenger day. We spent a majority of our evenings dining in Murano which is an amazing venue (far superior to anything that Princess offers). My big complaint about Princess is that their Crown Grill and Sabatinis are nothing special and not even close to some of their competition. On the other hand, we do like Alfredos for lunch.

But I stand by my original statement/post that the Lido Buffet on the Royal/Regal is the best mass market cruise line buffet in the business. The Celebrity S-Class can no longer compete. Perhaps Celebrity will do something special on their new Edge....but that remains to be seen.

Hank

Thank you for that information Hank. I am looking at the reservations for speciality restaurant on princess regal and I only see 2 restaurants. When i look at other section I see crab shack and other places. Is this on different ships

Thank you for that information Hank. I am looking at the reservations for speciality restaurant on princess regal and I only see 2 restaurants. When i look at other section I see crab shack and other places. Is this on different ships

The Crab Shack doesn't have a dedicated unique space. It is only offered occasionally - it will be noted in the Patter in advance - and is held in a section of the buffet separated from buffet diners. Unlike the buffet, the Crab Shack has full table service.

Thank you for that information Hank. I am looking at the reservations for speciality restaurant on princess regal and I only see 2 restaurants. When i look at other section I see crab shack and other places. Is this on different ships

I've only done one Regal cruise, but we really enjoyed the Winemaker's Table. I think it was $40pp and had an amuse bouche and cocktail, soup and white wine (maybe another app too?), filet and red wine, and dessert and limoncello. It wasn't much more than a specialty restaurant (esp. with the wine included) and a very nice evening. It does last several hours and you will likely dine with others (I think our dinner had 12 people). After the wine started flowing we all opened up and became great friends (at least for the meal;)). The service was spectacular as well as the food.

We also enjoyed Alfredo's for lunch, but only made it one day of our short cruise.

There was a British pub lunch offered one sea day (fish and chips/scotch egg/mushy peas)- it was very disappointing to us.

Thank you for that information Hank. I am looking at the reservations for speciality restaurant on princess regal and I only see 2 restaurants. When i look at other section I see crab shack and other places. Is this on different ships

As somebody posted, the Crab Shack is done in a reserved section of the Lido Buffet area. They actually have several different dining concepts which they do in this Lido Section and it simply makes better use of available space. We have found that most of these dining concept ideas (with a limited menu such as the Crab Shack, BBQ, etc) are somewhat overpriced and do not fit our personal taste. There are obviously others who enjoy these different ideas and we do give kudos for Princess for offering these extra dining options. The staff will normally put some large signs near the Lido entrances which explain the various dining concepts and they are also mentioned in the daily Princess Patter.

I think one could say there are actually three alternative restaurants since not only do you have the Crown Grill and Sabatini's (these are both long time Princess venues) but Alfredos which is a sit down restaurant...that currently does not charge extra for its menu items. Unlike the Crown Grill and Sabatinis, the Alfredo venue does not require advance reservations. Alfredo's does quite well at lunch time but generally is not crowded in the evening.

Hank