Tell me about dining on Princess

[familycruzer]

I am looking into the Crown Princess and have never cruised with this line before. Can you all tell me what is the dining experience like on Princess? I am a very picky eater and enjoy steak and chicken more than anything else. I also enjoy the formal dining rooms. What options would I have on Princess and what about fees?

 

* I would use search, but it never comes up with what I am looking for*

[Pam in CA]

You'll find chicken and steak on the "anytime" left-hand side of the dinner menu. That means that chicken and steak is offered every single night. So is the Caesar salad. The nightly specials are listed on the right-hand side of the menu. There are usually five main course choices: a fish, a pasta, a poultry, and a beef. Sometimes, there are two fish, sometimes two beef, etc.

 

The dining experience closest to Royal Caribbean is the Traditional seating. However, if you want to eat at the time you want to rather than a set time, you can choose the "Anytime" dining. These are one to three dining rooms, depending on the ship, set aside for walk-up diners. The atmosphere and menu is exactly the same as the Traditional dining -- the main difference is the time you want to eat. There is NO charge or fee for either Traditional or Anytime dining.

 

Princess ships now also have specialty restaurants for which there is an extra fee. They are (usually) the Sterling Steakhouse and Sabattinis. The extra fee per person is between $15 and $25. You'll find fabulous steaks and service at the Sterling Steakhouse and Sabattinis is a fine Italian dining experience (not your local pizza joint).

 

Another alternative for dining in the evening which is more casual is the buffet (on most Princess ships, this is the Horizon Court but some ships have other names for the buffet) which offers many of the dining room menu items in a casual atmosphere. There is no fee for the buffet dining at night.

 

Princess offers 24/7 dining, unlike RCCL, so that you can find or get a meal at any time of the day or night. I've been on RCCL where they had NO menu or choices for the evening and just served everyone the exact same thing. You won't find that on Princess.

[arlenemilt]

Can you all tell me what is the dining experience like on Princess? I am a very picky eater and enjoy steak and chicken more than anything else.

 

 

This is the perfect question for me; a very picky eater. :) I'm getting ready to embark on my 21st and 22nd Princess cruise (July 26) for a total of 46 days. Most likely 40 of those 46 days I'll be having chicken breast for dinner. The other days will be lobster or crab legs days. Sometimes I even have a steak. So, in summary.........Princess will take care of your picky needs quite well.

 

Arlene

 

P.S. I usually have a salad for lunch, but sometimes a burger or chicken breast from the grill.

[britsbest]

Sample menus including everyday menu are here http://community.webshots.com/user/britsbest

with some pix from Golden Princess last year

 

Bob

[cruiseapril]

Our dining experience on Princess consisted of the wonderful 5-course evening meals in the dining room (Personal Choice), some Horizon Court buffet meals, the Sterling Steakhouse which was excellent, the pizza place which was also excellent, and the Grill for lunch by the pool. We also had nachos and salsa (from the Horizon Court) with drinks at about 5 each day, while we listened to music by the pool. And then, we went to Afternoon Tea a few days also! What a lotta food.

 

The thing I noticed most, in the dining room, was that the waiters were very tuned in to the personal desires of each diner. One person couldn't decide on dessert with or without sauce, so the waiter brought both!

[familycruzer]

Thank you all so much. It sounds like Princess could be just what I am looking for and I loved the any time menu picture.

[negc]

 

Princess offers 24/7 dining, unlike RCCL, so that you can find or get a meal at any time of the day or night. I've been on RCCL where they had NO menu or choices for the evening and just served everyone the exact same thing. You won't find that on Princess.

I'm not sure that I understand this comment. In RCI's dining rooms and in the Windjammer there are menus with a number of choices available in the evening. Afterwards, depending on the ship you are on, there is a variety of foods on the menu at Johnny Rockets, the Seaview Cafe, and/or Cafe Promenade. There is also a room service menu with food available 24/7.

Our late night experience in the Horizon Court on our Panama Canal cruise on Dawn Princess a few years back was less than fantastic, with limited foods available and a less than enthusiastic staff of servers. Frankly, I found the late night food availability on Carnival to be superior to what we found on our Princess cruise. I'm not sure what your experience was on RCI but it doesn't sound typical.