what do you guys think?

[smudgie]

Has anyone gone to the two pay places to eat? And what did you think of them?

sorry on the Coral ship

[Crzn-Life]

Some people really like Sabatini's but we don't. We don't think it is worth the extra money and we get a voucher from our TA for a freebie there every cruise and sometimes we don't bother to go even when it's free.

 

We haven't gone to the Bayou because we weren't that impressed by the menu, but the music is good.

 

It's all a matter of taste and preferences. Some people really like the experience and others don't.

 

The only alternative dining for which we've heard consistently good reviews is the Crown grill & there isn't one on the Coral.

 

We did go to the Chef's Table on the Island and would recommend that in a heartbeat.

[Ms. Alpha]

On our cruise our TA gave us vouchers for the Bayou Cafe. I was put off by the menu at first since it features "New Orleans Style" food, but DH pointed out all the different steaks listed. We eventually picked a night and tried it.

 

It was a great experience. I even tried the Gator Ribs but since I was waffling I took the waiter's suggestion of a combination plate. DH got the same size serving of his sausage appy as I did, plus I got the ribs. They really push the New Olreans style food and offered appy sized portions of the Jamalaya or the Gumbo. We agreed to try the Jamalaya which was good but we didn't eeat it all to save room for the steak. The beef was great, cooked to perfection and a very generous cut!

 

I would definitly say this was worth the $15 surcharge (even though we didn't have to pay it) Will have to try Sabatini's another time.!

 

P.S. Had sweet potato pie for dessert - yummy!!

[smudgie]

My husband wants to try them both, I dont know why, I am hearing all the other free places are just as good..

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

We didn't try either one mainly because I'm vegetarian and it just seemed easier somehow to stick to the anytime dining room or, less often, the buffet.

 

However, many people do rave about the two places and say that it is definitely worth the extra cost... if you do a search like I explained to you on a different thread, you will see lots more opinions and then this may help you to decide ;)

[JudithLynne]

Hi Smudgie,

 

We have tried Sabatini’s once and will never do it again. It is a long drawn out evening. The food is over seasoned and later that night, I had the worst case of reflux that I have ever had. I don’t tend to get reflex, but this was unbelievable.

 

Judith

[1 HappyCruiser]

The food at Sabatini's is OK but hardly worth the extra cost since the main dining room food is just fine with us. If you do go be prepared for a looooong drawn out evening which also means you'll probably miss out on one of the shows if they don't repeat it another night.

[AndyTheK]

We were on the Coral over Christmas. The idea of how Sabatini's arranges the meal did not appeal to us, and since Italian is not one of out favorite cuisines, we passed it up. We went to Bayou and loved it! New Orleans has a special place in our lives, so the idea of New Orleans style food was a great incentive. For appetizer, I had the gator ribs and the jambalaya, DW had the gumbo. Neither were true New Orleans, being rather ubderspiced. Main dishes were the ribeye, done perfectly to my specification of "bloddy rare" for me, and the tiger shrimp for DW. Both were excellent. Desserts were, like all Princess desserts, great. The music is a major part of the experience. On his break, the pianist came over to the table and conversed with us.

 

All in all, well worth it.

 

Shalom, Andy.

[smudgie]

you guys are so helpful, thank you! :)

[Celandine]

I am definitely going to try the Crown Grill on my upcoming cruise, and I'd like to try Sabatini's but my mum would definitely not like Sabatini's, so I probably won't go.

 

Maybe next cruise.

[freddie1974]

We ate at the Bayou on the Coral last summer - the food was fantastic, especially the gator ribs, rib-eye steak and spicy fries.

 

We only had breakfast at Sabatinis (DW is allergic to seafood so gave dinner there a miss) which was fantastic.

 

Enjoy the Coral, she's a great ship.

[Cruise Junky]

We try and go to Sabbatini's once a cruise and really enjoy it.

[gertz]

To each his own. We have done all of them except the Bayou and think they are all great. And we have been on the Coral and Island think 5 times but we will get it next time.:D

[soloracer]

This was on the Caribbean princess but we really enjoyed Sabatini's. The meal is long and drawn out so plan on enjoying long meal. Our reservations were at 8:00 PM and we finished up around 10:30.

 

We did not eat at the Steak house - we could not get reservations. I have heard that the Bayou Cafe has been replaced by Sterling Steak house on the Coral. Hopefully our trip in November we will be able to try that.

[billet]

We always go to Sabatini's. It is a fun evening with a plentiful amount of food and very different from the normal dining room menu. I went to the Bayou a few years ago, it is certainly different and if the menu suits then it can be a pleasant evening.

[flamomo]

On various cruises, we have eaten at the Bayou Cafe (very good), Sterling Steak House (great beef, well prepared), Sabatini's ( excellent meal, but way more than just a meal... it's a true dining experience), Crowne Grill (excellent both times we dined there). The service was outstanding in every one of them. Believe it or not, it was worth every penny of the premium that was charged in each instance.

So we give a definite thumbs up to the extra $$ .... well worth it in every case.

 

The finest dining experience, with truly superior food and service, was the Chef's Table on the Golden. Believe it or not, it was worth every cent of the $75 charge. Would we do it again? .... absolutely!

[Duck Duck Cruise]

I really appreciate the OP's question as we will be on the Coral in September. We have tried Sabatini's on the Golden for Breakfast and Dinner. We will be eating there on the Coral and are looking forward to trying the Bayou.

 

We figure $50 per night for dinner at a specialty restaurant. If you ate every night for 7 nights it would be $350. So.........we forego one Overpriced Ship Excursion and that pays for some nice relaxing evenings in a very quiet beautiful restaurant!

 

Counting the days!

Lin

[1 HappyCruiser]

 

We figure $50 per night for dinner at a specialty restaurant. If you ate every night for 7 nights it would be $350. So.........we forego one Overpriced Ship Excursion and that pays for some nice relaxing evenings in a very quiet beautiful restaurant!

 

Counting the days!

Lin

 

$50 per night plus the cost of the meal you've already paid for that goes uneaten in the dining room.

[Iamcruzin]

Has anyone gone to the two pay places to eat? And what did you think of them?

sorry on the Coral ship

 

If this is your first Princess cruise I would skip the specialty restaurants and eat in the main dining room. Don't get me wrong I love Sabatini's and the steakhouse but the food in the main dining room is just as good. If you have never sailed Princess before every night in the main dining room will be a new experience with a different menu each night. We started going to the specialty restaurants just to try something new or because we didn't want to participate in one of the formal nights.

[Griller]

Tried Sabatinis on Golden ( SO SLOW..) and the Painted Desert steak place on Grand, I can buy a better steak at WinnDixe supermarket.

 

So won't be doing those again, Chef's Table for $75 on Grand recently was excellent food and presentation but they were very stingy with the wine.

[Putterdude]

We love Sabatini's....if you are in a hurry to take in a show or something then forget it....you have to be in a frame of mind for their 2 to 3 hr gastronomic experience. We do not do the steak houses as I can do a pretty good steak on the grill at home but neither DW or I are good at Italian.:)