Crown Grill comes to MDR

Didn't Princess hire some F&B bigwig from Royal Caribbean? Who is being blamed for the changes in the Elite lounge? If so this is likely just another case of forcing an outside idea where it doesn't belong. Where it will be as useful as a screen door on a submarine--especially if when someone tries to order the upcharge items and they are told "the steakhouse is to busy for outside orders tonight" which has been reported on the RCI board.

I've never read that or heard that, and every RCI cruise I am on they push Chops in the MDR. Once they started w Chops in MDR it wasn't long before Chops menu got dumbed down and then also now carries items at extra charge, and food that USED to be in the MDR vanished.

The "nominal" fee for a steak or other items is likely going to be 70% in the MDR compared to just going to the restaurant; you aren't getting the special appetizers, sides, or desserts, the atmosphere, or service.

This absolutely leads to downgrades in baseline offerings and opens the door to further upcharge items. I don't like it on RCI, Carnival, NCL, and now it has moved to MSC. Princess is next.

Anyone want to take bets when new ships will be launched without MDR's at all, or significantly smaller ones that come with a package? Base = buffet dining; midlevel package = dining room; uplevel package = individual themed restaurants.

2023???

2017 - club class mini suites

those cost extra, right?

As a CCL stockholder I say go for it, revenue! As a cruiser, I now sail Viking Ocean.

Amen! It's things like this that make me want to move on to more inclusive cruise lines.

Kids price has gone up......$29 per person (adults & children over 12 years of age) $21.75 per person (children 3-12 years old) No charge (children 0 to 2 years old)

Seriously, $21.75 for a 3 year old. LOL :D

I'll bet they get a load of takers for that one. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Now, if I could just get the dining room Creme Brulee added to the Crown Grill dessert menu, my life would be happier.

I emphatically second that motion. While at it, do the same for the Caesar salad.

Seriously, $21.75 for a 3 year old. LOL :D

I'll bet they get a load of takers for that one. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Maybe they don’t want them there.

I was a big fan of the steakhouse, till they started plonking it in part of the buffet.

As for this idea, I guess it depends on the price, for $20, nah I’ll just eat in the specialty or more likely skip it anyway.

$10 I’d be tempted on nights the standard menu doesn’t take my fancy.

Princess have tried this a few times and failed, up charges in the buffet with specialty desserts, failed. Certain items in the ic, failed. Alfresco son the Regal, nearly caused a riot. Some night club thing on the Regal, that failed to, maybe the Princess demographic won’t stomach it, let’s hope so. And yes I am a ccl shareholder, and I don’t think selling steak in a dining room will make any difference to the share price

We may be alone in welcoming this concept, but we loved it on RC and I’m sure we would use it frequently on Princess.

Don’t think Princess isn’t already well down that slippery slope; several times on the Golden Princess DH ordered the hamburger served without a bun simply to get chewable beef. Many, many nights there wasn’t a beef entree option at all. He is a beef eater; I don’t eat meat, and neither one of us eats the kinds and amount of sides and desserts served in the Crown Grill. This allows him to eat a quality steak every night for a fraction of the cost of two of us dining in the CG.

Didn't Princess hire some F&B bigwig from Royal Caribbean? Who is being blamed for the changes in the Elite lounge? If so this is likely just another case of forcing an outside idea where it doesn't belong. Where it will be as useful as a screen door on a submarine--especially if when someone tries to order the upcharge items and they are told "the steakhouse is to busy for outside orders tonight" which has been reported on the RCI board.

I suspect any Crown Grill items in the main dining rooms will be just an option to order better quality food that will be prepared in the regular galley, not actually at the Crown Grill. After all, the cooks in the regular galley know how to cook a steak or prepare a lobster.

I am more concerned that the space these items will take on the dining room menu will require the removal of even more regular choices from the menu.

It will be an upsell for steaks and maybe lobster both of which I can do without. Princess is under pressure to increase the bottom line for the big wigs in Miami. It appears that the commoners are not in agreement so we will see how it goes. Maybe shades of the SHARE fiasco here.

We may be alone in welcoming this concept, but we loved it on RC and I’m sure we would use it frequently on Princess.

 

 

 

Don’t think Princess isn’t already well down that slippery slope; several times on the Golden Princess DH ordered the hamburger served without a bun simply to get chewable beef. Many, many nights there wasn’t a beef entree option at all. He is a beef eater; I don’t eat meat, and neither one of us eats the kinds and amount of sides and desserts served in the Crown Grill. This allows him to eat a quality steak every night for a fraction of the cost of two of us dining in the CG.

I agree. Once they removed the steak (or was it beef tournedos?) entree from the Always Available dinner menu and substituted a hamburger, which sorry, no, doesn’t work for me, it makes getting decent beef entrees difficult on some nights. As we have done on Royal Caribbean, I would be inclined to do it.

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Sounds like just another case of copy-catting other cruise lines. First it was the ugly paint job that looks like a sea monster with a wide open mouth being added to the bows of the ships, now if this new one flies, it's going to start affecting what we eat.

IMO, what's on the menu in the Crown Grill needs to stay exclusive to the Crown Grill.

Whoever is in charge and making these decisions is ultimately diminishing the classiness and quality of experience that we have always felt was associated with cruising with Princess.

Most disappointing!

In October on a Royal Princess transatlantic cruise we didn’t notice any decrease in MDR quality & choices...except for most of the beef courses. It didn’t appear to be due to the preparation but to the lower quality of beef. Also for years most of the lobster tails we’ve had in the MDR & CG haven’t been great either...mostly small with a rubbery texture. We had a good lobster tail on that cruise but that was during the wonderful Ultimate Balcony Dinner. Taste is subjective but this is what my tastebuds tell me. ;)

 

Now comes the new option to purchase better cuts of steak & possibly a better lobster tail. I think that a decline in most beef (in particular steaks & Prime Rib) has already occurred. And that some passengers may be willing to pay a nominal fee for the new MDR options.

 

That option has been available for years in the RCI & Carnival MDRs but it has not expanded to an ala carte menu. I haven’t sailed those cruise lines in several years so I don’t have an opinion about whether it’s resulted in a deterioration of their MDR food.

 

A recent post from the Regal after beginning implementation of Ocean Medallion shows photos of an expanded room service menu with more fee based items. Like the new MDR options & things such as Club Class some passengers are willing to pay additional for such things. That doesn’t include me & as long as such changes don’t negatively affect my cruise experience then it’s not a major issue for me.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=55000559&postcount=9

Thanks for your reasonable response. Too many "the sky is falling" responses. It comes down to choices and if you are willing to pay to get better quality (isn't that what we are doing when we go to a specialty restaurant?), then you have that option, now in the MDR. If you aren't, then that is your choice. I don't believe the current quality of the MDR food is purposely being lowered to force people to pay for premium items. Food is subjective and seems plenty of people find the food in the MDR to be just fine while others think it is getting worse. I've been on 9 Princess cruises and I have found the food to be just fine and haven't noticed the quality going downhill. Once I do, it will be time to look at other cruise lines.

Seriously, $21.75 for a 3 year old. LOL :D

I'll bet they get a load of takers for that one. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

I think maybe that is a GOOD thing!!!

Seriously, $21.75 for a 3 year old. LOL :D

 

I'll bet they get a load of takers for that one. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

When did the CG prices change? It still showing $14.50 for children in the Reservation system.

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When did the CG prices change? It still showing $14.50 for children in the Reservation system.

 

 

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I was the one that posted the prices, and it was a cut and paste from the Princess website (dining venues PDF).

We may be alone in welcoming this concept, but we loved it on RC and I’m sure we would use it frequently on Princess.

 

Don’t think Princess isn’t already well down that slippery slope; several times on the Golden Princess DH ordered the hamburger served without a bun simply to get chewable beef. Many, many nights there wasn’t a beef entree option at all. He is a beef eater; I don’t eat meat, and neither one of us eats the kinds and amount of sides and desserts served in the Crown Grill. This allows him to eat a quality steak every night for a fraction of the cost of two of us dining in the CG.

I like the idea and fully agree with the above. My wife just can't eat the CG portions. We never have dessert there and I find the cost for two of us is not justified just so I can have a nice steak. I've said for years they should offer one or two premium options in the MDR at a modest cost say a maximum $10. That way we get to enjoy a room/table we're comfortable with and one us us gets to have a special dinner without impacting the other.

Hope they try it on the Emerald in October to Tahiti!

We may be alone in welcoming this concept, but we loved it on RC and I’m sure we would use it frequently on Princess.

 

Don’t think Princess isn’t already well down that slippery slope; several times on the Golden Princess DH ordered the hamburger served without a bun simply to get chewable beef. Many, many nights there wasn’t a beef entree option at all. He is a beef eater; I don’t eat meat, and neither one of us eats the kinds and amount of sides and desserts served in the Crown Grill. This allows him to eat a quality steak every night for a fraction of the cost of two of us dining in the CG.

You are not alone at all.

I rarely eat beef but Mr Indy loves it and this would be a great option for us. We could eat in the MDR and both of us would be happy with our options.

I say bring it on. Those who don't like the idea do not have to order that option but those who do can. Win-win

Once they removed the steak (or was it beef tournedos?) entree from the Always Available dinner menu and substituted a hamburger, which sorry, no, doesn’t work for me

There's no steak on the Always Available dinner menu any more? Ouch. It's the thing that dh is most looking forward to on the cruise. What else has been cut from the MDR menu? Is there a place to see the cruise menus for the Caribbean Princess?

The more I read here, the more I think we should have gone with one of the all-inclusive lines.

There's no steak on the Always Available dinner menu any more? Ouch. It's the thing that dh is most looking forward to on the cruise. What else has been cut from the MDR menu? Is there a place to see the cruise menus for the Caribbean Princess?

 

The more I read here, the more I think we should have gone with one of the all-inclusive lines.

Yes, they removed the ny steak from the "anytime" menu. They substituted it with a "burger". To be honest, the burger is better than the grissled tuff and stringy cut of steak. We're probably better off.;)

Then the lobster... I've had shrimp bigger than those things. Kind of sad. The last couple of cruises I've started to see the buffet in a better light. Not that the food is so darn good.... it's just that at least with the large variety, you can find something you might enjoy.

I believe they're purposely lowering the quality to push you into buying a decent meal at an extra price. When you lose the value of a cruise, land vacations become more attractive. We have been taking some cool road trips and less cruises. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to quit cruising, it just isn't the value it used to be in my opinion. This opens up opportunities for different types of trips.

Yes, they removed the ny steak from the "anytime" menu. They substituted it with a "burger". To be honest, the burger is better than the grissled tuff and stringy cut of steak. We're probably better off.;)

 

Then the lobster... I've had shrimp bigger than those things. Kind of sad. The last couple of cruises I've started to see the buffet in a better light. Not that the food is so darn good.... it's just that at least with the large variety, you can find something you might enjoy.

 

I believe they're purposely lowering the quality to push you into buying a decent meal at an extra price. When you lose the value of a cruise, land vacations become more attractive. We have been taking some cool road trips and less cruises. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to quit cruising, it just isn't the value it used to be in my opinion. This opens up opportunities for different types of trips.

I've found the lobster tails to be the same small size for years now.

On our last Royal trip they also served beef medallions on formal night in the Horizon buffet similar to what was once served in the DR all the time.

They also had left over lobster tails the next day at the buffet after formal night. The must have hundreds of them ready to be served.

No self serve although you could have as many as you wanted. One trip my wife said they were great so I waited the next B2B for them.

They did have them BUT they were terrible. You could hardly cut them with a fork. Some people had plate fulls & after one bite they went in the garbage.

Yes, they removed the ny steak from the "anytime" menu. They substituted it with a "burger". To be honest, the burger is better than the grissled tuff and stringy cut of steak. We're probably better off.;)

 

Then the lobster... I've had shrimp bigger than those things. Kind of sad. The last couple of cruises I've started to see the buffet in a better light. Not that the food is so darn good.... it's just that at least with the large variety, you can find something you might enjoy.

 

I believe they're purposely lowering the quality to push you into buying a decent meal at an extra price. When you lose the value of a cruise, land vacations become more attractive. We have been taking some cool road trips and less cruises. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to quit cruising, it just isn't the value it used to be in my opinion. This opens up opportunities for different types of trips.

Could not agree more. Fee for this and a fee for that. It's like taxes once there in place they are never reduced or removed. I found norwegian had poor choices in the MDR to incentivize going to the speciality restaurants with its additional fee. If we want better food then charge me another 50 bucks on my cruise fare,IMHO.

Personally I hope it falls flat on its face. Once they start charging for certain kinds of food it is not far behind to start charging for other kinds of food to charging just to eat in the MDR. If you want these types of food there are venues to do that. I would say keep them separate. Remember if you do this you are supporting further charges.

I totally agree with you. Keep trying Princess but no thanks.

Tony

If you look at https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/