Will Princess ever improve the food in the Specialty restaurants?

[Woobstr112G]

Food is a very subjective issue. I like the CG over Sabatinis. The food in both venues is good but it doesn't "wow" me. I also think it would be nice for Sabatinis to change up their menu a bit. In addition, I think it is kind of tacky to offer the same Lobster in the specialty dining venues as is offered in the MDR's. I remember back when the whole Lobster was an option. I ordered it but it wasn't what I expected. They took it away and gladly brought the "multiple tails" dish. These tails were huge and very tasty. I have noticed somewhat of a decrease in the overall quality of the food in both venues. It is still mostly enjoyable however. Take the Lamb entree for instance. I remember having a rack on the Ruby (2009) and recently had two chops on the Royal. It was still good, just seemed a little less.

 

One more thing that makes or breaks the meal for me is the whole experience. The food may not have been what I expected but if the service is great, I would tend to enjoy my time/money spent in the venue. Just my two cents......:):):)

 

Bob

Edited November 9, 2013 by Woobstr112G

[Woobstr112G]

I wonder where these people eat at home. I am sure no one ever leaves starving :rolleyes:

 

p.s. and what would you have paid for a similar experience in your hometown???

 

Food is subjective. Different people have different experiences.

 

Bob

[Loonbeam]

As noted it's subjective. I do think some of the other lines do a slightly better job on the Specialty dining front in some venues (I think Chops on RCCL beats CG but Sabatinis beat Portofino based on my personal experiences).

 

That said, so many things can affect a given venue. Could have a less than talented chef for that run for example, Maybe the meat loaded for a given cruise is not so great.

 

I haven't seen a consistent pattern of issues that would make me say the specialty venues NEED improvement.. That doesn't mean there isn't always room for some...

[Astro Flyer]

I wonder where these people eat at home. I am sure no one ever leaves starving :rolleyes:

 

p.s. and what would you have paid for a similar experience in your hometown???

I rarely eat out when at home & meals at home lack the variety & number of courses as on a cruise. The included food at no extra charge is good & no one will ever starve on a cruise. ;)

 

Since those multi course meals are already included then to me the extra specialty restaurant fees are for a better dining experience. Each of us decides how much more it's worth over a meal included in the price of a cruise & thus to me it's not the same as the total cost for a similar experience in my hometown.

 

For us the $25 charge for the CG is worth it for a wonderful steak or other options. At the other end of the spectrum we decided not to pay an additional $230 for the Chef's Table Lumiere feeling that it was not worth that much more than a 'free' meal at the MDR. The CT was a wonderful experience that we enjoyed 4 times when it was $150/couple but at the new price for the Chef's Table Lumiere on the Royal we won't do it again. To us it's no longer worth the extra cost vs. an included MDR meal although for others it will be worth it...it's good to have choices. :)

Edited November 9, 2013 by Astro Flyer

[chrysalis]

We have had very bad luck with the Crown Grill....both on the Ruby and Emerald....of those 4 tries, 3 of those experiences were not good at all. Two of those times were on the same sailing and the 8 of us could not believe that we were on the same ship and eating in the same venue...the taste was so different and so bad.

 

One occassion, the service was beyond terrible. That server was removed from the restaurant and the next day was cleaning tables in the AT dining room.

 

It will be a while before we try it again.

[Cruise Junky]

I wonder where these people eat at home. I am sure no one ever leaves starving :rolleyes:

 

p.s. and what would you have paid for a similar experience in your hometown???

 

As someone who went to culinary school, we eat very well at home thank you. I don't cruise for the food as it is what it is, but when I'm up charged on a ship I expect it to be at least on par with what I can do. My last experience in Sabatini's and Crown Grill wasn't. Could have been a fluke, could have been off nights, but it wasn't worth $50.

[e2011]

To answer the OP question, no they won't. They need to cut cost to help offset the money the are losing in the Carnival and Costa's divisions. The food in the specialty restaurants on the Royal was horrible.

[Astro Flyer]

The food in the specialty restaurants on the Royal was horrible.

Taste is very subjective & to me both Royal specialty restaurants were the same as on other Princess ships. Paying the extra fee was worth it to us so not everyone thought it was "horrible".

 

With this being your 1st Princess cruise & not on your favorite RCCL there's no way to compare the Royal's specialty restaurants to other Princess ships. I thought the RCCL's specialty restaurants weren't as good as on Princess. Guess that's just one of the reasons why you prefer RCCL & me Princess...it's good to have choices. :)

Edited November 9, 2013 by Astro Flyer

[blondietoo]

We have always gone to the speciality reataurants however this past year on 2 different ships we went to Sabatinis...once on each ship and Crown Grill/Sterlings once each ship. All 4 meals were very disappointing and IMHO not worth the extra money. So we will not bother on our next 2 cruises next month.

Edited November 9, 2013 by blondietoo
spelling

[faiz23]

I personally don't care for Italian food and having to pay $25 per person. I will pay for filet mignon and lobster tails. The black and blue soup just reminded me of TGIF french onion soup. Nothing better but nothing worse. The dessert sampler along with tea and cappuccino was worth it. I would personally do the crab shack for $20 over sabatinis for $25. I will continue to do the crown grill at least once every cruise The breakfast in sabatinis was amazing and probably the only reason I would step foot in that speciality restaurant. I wish princess would sell breakfast at sabatinis as an option and not just for suite passenger. I don't think i could afford a suite every time unless they keep spoiling me with 100% FCC ;)

Edited November 9, 2013 by faiz23

[Woobstr112G]

I personally don't care for Italian food and having to pay $25 per person. I will pay for filet mignon and lobster tails. The black and blue soup just reminded me of TGIF french onion soup. Nothing better but nothing worse. The dessert sampler along with tea and cappuccino was worth it. I would personally do the crab shack for $20 over sabatinis for $25. I will continue to do the crown grill at least once every cruise The breakfast in sabatinis was amazing and probably the only reason I would step foot in that speciality restaurant. I wish princess would sell breakfast at sabatinis as an option and not just for suite passenger. I don't think i could afford a suite every time unless they keep spoiling me with 100% FCC ;)

 

I personally don't think that would work. On the Royal, there were a couple of days when Sabatinis was sort of crowded for breakfast. While the service was still outstanding, it did seem to be somewhat slower. I think opening it up to paying passengers as well as suite passengers would overwhelm their capabilities to offer a fantastic breakfast experience for suite passengers. IMHO

 

Bob

Edited November 9, 2013 by Woobstr112G

[Cruiserkenn]

could not disagree more. anyone wondering about chosing this option just order the artichoke suffle and the fish dish for 2.( forgot the name) OUT OF THIS WORLD . 12 cruises and picky

 

Yes, for sure, I love the baked fish preparation for two at Sabatini's. A bottle of Verdicchio is excellent to wash it down:)

 

The espresso creme brûlée at Sabatini's and the Chocolate pecan pie at Sterling are both fabulous:)

 

Bon appetit!

[e2011]

Taste is very subjective & to me both Royal specialty restaurants were the same as on other Princess ships. Paying the extra fee was worth it to us so not everyone thought it was "horrible".

 

With this being your 1st Princess cruise & not on your favorite RCCL there's no way to compare the Royal's specialty restaurants to other Princess ships. I thought the RCCL's specialty restaurants weren't as good as on Princess. Guess that's just one of the reasons why you prefer RCCL & me Princess...it's good to have choices. :)

 

You are correct, it is subjective. However I have to say on the Royal I did not find any fellow passengers who thought it was as good as other Princess ships. They all said don;t judge Princess by this ship. I thought that was an interesting observation.

[faiz23]

I personally don't think that would work. On the Royal, there were a couple of days when Sabatinis was sort of crowded for breakfast. While the service was still outstanding, it did seem to be somewhat slower. I think opening it up to paying passengers as well as suite passengers would overwhelm their capabilities to offer a fantastic breakfast experience for suite passengers. IMHO

 

Bob

 

That is exactly what one of our servers at Sabatinis said was the traffic would be overwhelming. I think Princess could offer same food choices / service in a separate main dining room for an additional fee and be able to accommodate folks who would take advantage of that. Leave sabatinis for suite and one of the other dining rooms for fancier breakfast options for a small charge. My wife enjoyed the eggs Benedict, mimosa, cappuccino and I enjoyed the fresh squeezed orange juice, fresh real scrambled eggs with cheese, belgian waffles, french toast and the pastries as well.

[Astro Flyer]

You are correct, it is subjective. However I have to say on the Royal I did not find any fellow passengers who thought it was as good as other Princess ships. They all said don;t judge Princess by this ship. I thought that was an interesting observation.

That's what happens when each person has an opinion. ;)

 

I've been able to cruise often the past couple of years & mostly on Princess who provides me with the best experience for the price. That certainly doesn't make me any sort of an expert only that to me the MDR was the best I've experienced. Other frequent Princess cruisers I talked to on the Royal felt the same way & I've read positive reviews about the food.

 

Obviously there is no definitive answer that everyone would agree with but now you've heard from at least one person who enjoyed all of the restaurants. :)

[Carolyn R]

I was on the Royal transatlantic. I found the food everywhere on the ship to be up to par, no complaints from any of my cruise mates either. Alfredo's was fantastic. Rack of lamb in the Crown Grill and steamship round in the HC were standouts. We had Leo as our waiter in the in the Symphony dining room and no request was too much trouble for him to fulfill. I was very happy with the variety and quality of the food on the Royal Princess.

 

Aloha Frank. Sorry I didn't get to meet you. Maybe next time!

[Carolyn R]

I was on the Royal transatlantic. I found the food everywhere on the ship to be up to par, no complaints from any of my cruise mates either. Alfredo's was fantastic. Rack of lamb in the Crown Grill and steamship round in the HC were standouts. We had Leo as our waiter in the in the Symphony dining room and no request was too much trouble for him to fulfill. I was very happy with the variety and quality of the food on the Royal Princess.

 

Aloha Frank. Sorry I didn't get to meet you. Maybe next time!

[Tak8]

Sorry you had a bad meal. I like both restaurants. In fact, we went to Sabatini's twice on our last Princess cruise. Good wine selection, very good food and great service.

[Astro Flyer]

Aloha Frank. Sorry I didn't get to meet you. Maybe next time!

Aloha Carolyn...it would have been good to 'talk story' & hopefully it'll happen on a future cruise. :) We're Island-bound soon...aloha. :D

Edited November 10, 2013 by Astro Flyer

[cruzsnooze]

We just got off the Golden Princess this week. We ate at the Crown Grill Weof would go back. Service was indifferent and we had to ask for everything, more bread, butter, veggies. The desserts were pretty but not that good, overly sweet & sugary. I'll stick with the MDR from now on.

[Mapu]

We had an excellent dinner t the Crown Grill on the Royal last week. It was worth every $ of the surcharge.

[Thrak]

My favorite specialty restaurant is the Bayou Cafe. We got a great filet there, just like in the Crown Grill and the lobster tail was an 8 ounce size. That was twice the size of the ones served in the MDR. In addition, the Cajun food items were great. We have only eating dinner once in Sabatini's. The food was good and I loved the calamari. We won't eat there again because we can't stand the prolonged exposure to opera music.

 

Hopefully you do realize you can order more than one in MDR? If you like the lobster there simply ask for 2 or 3 tails with your meal. If you do so please specify that you don't want 2 or 3 entire dinners. I'm appalled at the amount of food that is wasted by people ordering multiple dinners when all they want is a multiple portion of one of the entrees.

[Thrak]

As someone who has only cruised twice (so far) I realize I'm not the best judge of the specialty venues. However, I had a truly wonderful filet in Crown Grill onboard Star Princess. My son agreed and he is extremely picky (and much more financially "able" to be picky than I am). I had the absolute worst prime rib I have ever had in MDR on Sea Princess. I sent it back and received a replacement that was just as bad. I didn't eat it. I'm a bit gun-shy of beef in MDR now. Maybe it was just a fluke but I've read a multitude of other posts where people decried the quality of the beef entrees in MDR on Princess ships.

 

As for Sabatini's, I haven't tried it. I rarely eat at Italian venues because I almost invariably find that I make Italian food that I like better than what I get in a restaurant. I love the fettucini alfredo in the parmesan bowl in MDR but wouldn't pay extra for it in a specialty restaurant. I like to cook and I find Italian pretty easy to make. I've tried multiple Italian restaurants and have always been disappointed to pay for food that I make as well or better at home so I'm unlikely to ever try Sabatini's unless I'm on a very long cruise.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

For me Sabatinis had lost its appeal, so had not tried it for a few cruises,

 

so while on the Crown this year I thought I would try it again and

 

found it had got back its special feeling,

 

The Crown Grill on the Royal was excellent,

 

my advise to anyone is watch what others are selecting and pick what looks nice, speak to others who have ate there and find out what is good

 

not all items are the same.

 

 

yours Shogun

[NETSEG]

After reading the comments on Sabatini's, I guess the experience depends on the entree ordered and the ship. We got off Emerald yesterday and dined once in Sabatini's. Our experience was similar to the original poster. The lobster three ways was a disappointing entree -overdone, poorly presented and served with an unusual barley side that was supposed to be like a risotto. It was sent back. The veal chop was ok, but the accompanying mushroom ragout had a strange burnt flavor. The appetizers and dessert were fine. In all, we thought the room was lovely but the food was better in the dining room. Overall, a disappointment.