Pinnacle Breakfast

We usually have coffee in the Lido. That is all I wan,t but my partner likes the variety in the Lido. He likes to "graze" the offerings. On our last HAL cruise, a TA from Rome to Fort Lauderdale, we tried the Pinnacle for breakfast twice. Each time they ran out of basics. One time it was fruit of some kind and the other time it was bagels. I substituted an english muffin.

We were not there early, but were not the last people. I was surprised. Certainly, for me, the Pinnacle breakfast was a big disappointment.

I imagine if the Pinnacle didn't have bagels, the rest of the ship didn't either. Since it was a repo cruise, there was no place to re-provision is my guess. My issue with the Pinnacle breakfast the last time I had the privilege of sailing in a Neptune Suite was the service.

I could never figure out who was my server. Three people would ask me if I wanted coffee, and then I would get no coffee and have to flag down someone running by me carrying a coffee pot.

The pastry tray would come by twice but no one would take my order. Very disorganized, and I couldn't figure out how these same servers would be able to serve a multi-course Pinnacle dinner.

Roz

We usually have coffee in the Lido. That is all I wan,t but my partner likes the variety in the Lido. He likes to "graze" the offerings. On our last HAL cruise, a TA from Rome to Fort Lauderdale, we tried the Pinnacle for breakfast twice. Each time they ran out of basics. One time it was fruit of some kind and the other time it was bagels. I substituted an english muffin.

We were not there early, but were not the last people. I was surprised. Certainly, for me, the Pinnacle breakfast was a big disappointment.

This is the second thread on suite issues that you have started so now I am curious, what ship were you on please? I hope you addressed this issue on board as well as in your survey.

We had one "bad" pinnacle a number of years ago. And I do mean bad. Efforts to correct were unsuccessful until the end of the cruise when the Manager was replaced. Reports after were that it was up to snuff and great. (Didn't help us though ;) ).

But the rest of the breakfasts in the PG on our other cruises have been fabulous. Never ran out of anything and offering everything. Service is usually very good and if you are lucky enough to score certain waiters and waitresses it can be a lot of fun as well ;)

I, too, am curious as to which ship you sailed on.

Only once did we have a bad Pinnacle manager and you could tell that the servers did not like him. On that cruise we stopped going to the Pinnacle for breakfast. Other than that, we eat all our breakfasts in the Pinnacle -- great service -- never ran out of anything.

I'm sorry. The cruse with the poor Pinnacle breakfast was the Westerdam TA, Rome to Ft. Lauderdale November, 2017. The dinners in the Pinnacle were very good as was the service. The breakfast was good as well. It was the depletion of the "basics" that was amateurish.

I passed bagels when I wnt to the Lido for a coffee refill that morning. Also I believe that the baking of basics, bread, rolls it done on board using frozen dough which comes from the company's on shore food facilities.

We were on Rotterdam west Caribbean cruise 4 March - we tried Pinnacle breakfast one time - never again. I had to ask for peanut butter 4 times before it ws brought. And staff were not smiling. service in MDR was much better and at least as fast. We also tried lunch once. Waitress tried to take order during captain's announcement over loud speaker system and them stood across table to take order. Not a Pinnacle experience at all.

I'm sorry. The cruse with the poor Pinnacle breakfast was the Westerdam TA, Rome to Ft. Lauderdale November, 2017. The dinners in the Pinnacle were very good as was the service. The breakfast was good as well. It was the depletion of the "basics" that was amateurish.

 

I passed bagels when I wnt to the Lido for a coffee refill that morning. Also I believe that the baking of basics, bread, rolls it done on board using frozen dough which comes from the company's on shore food facilities.

Thank you for telling us your ship.

Our bad experience with the Pinnacle Breakfast was on the Neiuw Amsterdam a few years ago (14 day cruise)

All the cutbacks I discussed were on the Westerdam in 2016 -- didn't even know the captain. And most of the time we stay in the PS and are 5 star Mariners.

I imagine if the Pinnacle didn't have bagels, the rest of the ship didn't either. Since it was a repo cruise, there was no place to re-provision is my guess. My issue with the Pinnacle breakfast the last time I had the privilege of sailing in a Neptune Suite was the service.

 

I could never figure out who was my server. Three people would ask me if I wanted coffee, and then I would get no coffee and have to flag down someone running by me carrying a coffee pot.

 

The pastry tray would come by twice but no one would take my order. Very disorganized, and I couldn't figure out how these same servers would be able to serve a multi-course Pinnacle dinner.

 

Roz

Your experience with the disorganized service and "who really is my Steward" exactly mirrors my Pinnacle Grill Breakfasts on the Westerdam. Each of the Stewards seemed to be responsible for one separate tasK: the juice woman, the pastry man, the order taker, the coffee pourer. Trying to get a second cup of coffee was futile. Tried PG Breakfast twice during that 7 day cruise and twice was once two too many. Room Service provided far superior service for Breakfast.

Come to think about it, disorganized or not coordinated is a good way to describe the "service ". And not smiling. Starting at check in podium. Even at dinner.

....

 

I could never figure out who was my server. Three people would ask me if I wanted coffee, and then I would get no coffee and have to flag down someone running by me carrying a coffee pot.

 

The pastry tray would come by twice but no one would take my order. Very disorganized, and I couldn't figure out how these same servers would be able to serve a multi-course Pinnacle dinner.

 

Roz

That has been our experience with PG breakfast, also. So we no longer eat there on the rare occasion we are in a Neptune.

It's really unfortunate that breakfast in the PG is supposed to be a Neptune Suite perk, and is so pathetic. Used to not be that way. Better service in the MDR.

Roz

It's really unfortunate that breakfast in the PG is supposed to be a Neptune Suite perk, and is so pathetic. Used to not be that way. Better service in the MDR.

 

Roz

Right, but a perk should be nice and enjoyable.

I, too, am curious as to which ship you sailed on.

Only once did we have a bad Pinnacle manager and you could tell that the servers did not like him. On that cruise we stopped going to the Pinnacle for breakfast. Other than that, we eat all our breakfasts in the Pinnacle -- great service -- never ran out of anything.

Usually, we rave about our Pinancle experiences but this one was really bad.

I, too, am curious as to which ship you sailed on. Only once did we have a bad Pinnacle manager and you could tell that the servers did not like him. On that cruise we stopped going to the Pinnacle for breakfast. Other than that, we eat all our breakfasts in the Pinnacle -- great service -- never ran out of anything.

I have dined in the Steakhouse on Carnival Liberty, Carnival Pride, and Carnival Freedom. My experience: cuisine and service far exceeds any Pinnacle Grill dinner that I have had.

My best PG dinner was a special Oriental-themed dinner on the Statendam during her final HAL voyage.

I've had a couple of PG lunches and those have been better than my dinner experiences.

Your experience with the disorganized service and "who really is my Steward" exactly mirrors my Pinnacle Grill Breakfasts on the Westerdam. Each of the Stewards seemed to be responsible for one separate tasK: the juice woman, the pastry man, the order taker, the coffee pourer. Trying to get a second cup of coffee was futile. Tried PG Breakfast twice during that 7 day cruise and twice was once two too many. Room Service provided far superior service for Breakfast.

We've mostly had good service at Pinnacle breakfasts (on the Vistas and the Amsterdam), but this last cruise on K'dam it was a mess. You're right about all the separate tasks. I think they want to impress you by having so many people wait on you. The first morning, the order taker and the juice woman were at our table at the same time. Each had a job to do and made no effort to wait for the other. The order taker reached for my menu as the juice woman tried to set down my juice. The result was a collision and orange juice all over my shirt.

Two mornings our orders had something wrong. Sausage missing, little things like that. But come on, this is the Pinnacle, supposed to have such good service, right? Service fell apart after more than 4 tables were occupied.

The killer was the morning we sat and sat while others were served. Our order had been taken before nearby tables had ordered, but no food arrived. Our fruit plates never materialized, and when the main courses finally did arrive, DH's omelet was fine but my waffle was cold and rubbery. Rather than call someone over, I waited to see if anyone would check on us, possibly notice that only one of us was eating anything. Nope, I might as well have been invisible. When someone came to take DH's empty plate, he saw that I hadn't eaten anything and asked what was wrong. He said sorry, but I don't think he even asked if he could get me something else. I had breakfast at the Lido.

The next morning, we went to the MDR, where breakfast was as ordered and service was good. I guess it "popped" in the system that someone in a NS went to the MDR instead of the Pinnacle, and somebody asked the manager of Pinnacle what was going on. She called our room later that day to apologize for the problem the day before, and said she hoped we would give the Pinnacle another try.

So the next morning, we went back to Pinnacle. Nobody said anything about our bad experience. It was only as we were leaving, one of the servers thanked us for giving them another chance. She hadn't served us that morning or the problem morning, so she owed us no apology. I think the manager told her to say that on behalf of the Pinnacle staff. But the manager herself should have said something or come to our table to make sure that breakfast was correct.

The next day was our last day and we always do room service, so that was the end of the Pinnacle for that cruise. I suppose I could have complained to someone (and I did mention it on the survey), but I felt like they didn't really care and it wasn't worth my time to complain.

We've mostly had good service at Pinnacle breakfasts (on the Vistas and the Amsterdam), but this last cruise on K'dam it was a mess. You're right about all the separate tasks. I think they want to impress you by having so many people wait on you. The first morning, the order taker and the juice woman were at our table at the same time. Each had a job to do and made no effort to wait for the other. The order taker reached for my menu as the juice woman tried to set down my juice. The result was a collision and orange juice all over my shirt.

 

Two mornings our orders had something wrong. Sausage missing, little things like that. But come on, this is the Pinnacle, supposed to have such good service, right? Service fell apart after more than 4 tables were occupied.

 

The killer was the morning we sat and sat while others were served. Our order had been taken before nearby tables had ordered, but no food arrived. Our fruit plates never materialized, and when the main courses finally did arrive, DH's omelet was fine but my waffle was cold and rubbery. Rather than call someone over, I waited to see if anyone would check on us, possibly notice that only one of us was eating anything. Nope, I might as well have been invisible. When someone came to take DH's empty plate, he saw that I hadn't eaten anything and asked what was wrong. He said sorry, but I don't think he even asked if he could get me something else. I had breakfast at the Lido.

 

The next morning, we went to the MDR, where breakfast was as ordered and service was good. I guess it "popped" in the system that someone in a NS went to the MDR instead of the Pinnacle, and somebody asked the manager of Pinnacle what was going on. She called our room later that day to apologize for the problem the day before, and said she hoped we would give the Pinnacle another try.

 

So the next morning, we went back to Pinnacle. Nobody said anything about our bad experience. It was only as we were leaving, one of the servers thanked us for giving them another chance. She hadn't served us that morning or the problem morning, so she owed us no apology. I think the manager told her to say that on behalf of the Pinnacle staff. But the manager herself should have said something or come to our table to make sure that breakfast was correct.

 

The next day was our last day and we always do room service, so that was the end of the Pinnacle for that cruise. I suppose I could have complained to someone (and I did mention it on the survey), but I felt like they didn't really care and it wasn't worth my time to complain.

If the P'dam is the same as it was in the past, I think you will really enjoy your experience at the PG this time :).

You might even be enchanted :). I sure hope so.

If the P'dam is the same as it was in the past, I think you will really enjoy your experience at the PG this time :).

 

You might even be enchanted :). I sure hope so.

Best Pinnacle breakfast was on Zuiderdam in 2017. They had French Press coffee! Bliss!!!

I'm looking forward to P'dam. It will be odd to go from HAL's largest to smallest.

Is there a cost for breakfast in the Pinnacle ?

There's no added cost but it's only open to Neptune Suite guests.

Roz

Sent from my SM-S820L using Forums mobile app

I just upgraded ourselves from SS to SC guarantee, so excited. What are the hours for the Pinnacle Breakfast?

Thank you.

This is the second thread on suite issues that you have started so now I am curious, what ship were you on please? I hope you addressed this issue on board as well as in your survey.

 

We had one "bad" pinnacle a number of years ago. And I do mean bad. Efforts to correct were unsuccessful until the end of the cruise when the Manager was replaced. Reports after were that it was up to snuff and great. (Didn't help us though ;) ).

 

But the rest of the breakfasts in the PG on our other cruises have been fabulous. Never ran out of anything and offering everything. Service is usually very good and if you are lucky enough to score certain waiters and waitresses it can be a lot of fun as well ;)

Our friend Clifford-the best!

I just upgraded ourselves from SS to SC guarantee, so excited. What are the hours for the Pinnacle Breakfast?

Thank you.

Same as the MDR. You won't see Pinnacle listed for breakfast in the daily program, so check the MDR times. Sea days it's usually 8:00 and for port days 7:30.

I don't think it's been mentioned on this thread, but it's the same menu as in the MDR. Just a quieter ambiance and (usually) better service.

I just upgraded ourselves from SS to SC guarantee, so excited. What are the hours for the Pinnacle Breakfast?

Thank you.

Same hours as MDR. Depends on port day or sea day. PG is happy to fulfill special requests within reason. If they have the materials.

Same hours as MDR. Depends on port day or sea day. PG is happy to fulfill special requests within reason. If they have the materials.

Thank you, Frank.