Questions about Pinnacle

[Leejnd4]

Post 11 gave you a link to menus and it has Pinnacle lunch menu.

 

Oops -- missed that! Thanks...I'll go check it out.

[Leejnd4]

I would stongly urge you to book your Pinnacle Dining online, particularly the last evening which sells out quickly.

 

Since you are new to HAL, here is a link to the Specialty Restaurants, Beverage, and Room Service menus that I scanned Dec 2014:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/hal-regular-and-specialty-restaurants/

 

The Pinnacle Grill menu changed during our Dec 2014 cruise and will be changing throughout the fleet as the Le Cirque, NY, chefs teach the new menu. My DW truly loves the new escargot appetizer and the strawberry pavlova.

 

Somehow I skipped over this post...but I see it now, and I just wanted to say THANK YOU! Great info on that link! I'm pouring over it now. AWESOME!

 

Editing to add...holy MOLY I just read that Pinnacle lunch menu. We're going to have to go there for lunch at least three times just so I can try everything on there I want to try!

Edited February 21, 2015 by Leejnd4

[elycelynne]

This is one area that I have researched fully...including calling HAL, reading their policy online, and reading numerous recent posts in here on this topic.

 

So here's what I've discovered: the current policy is one bottle of wine per person free (no corkage) at embarkation but it must be consumed in your room, or you will need to pay corkage ($18).

 

Unlimited bottles of wine can also be brought onboard, but you pay the $18 corkage for each bottle at embarkation. You can bring these to the dining room without paying additional, since you already paid corkage to get them on the ship. They mark each bottle with a sticker at embarkation, so the waiter knows that you paid the corkage.

 

I plan on shipping a case out to our hotel in advance, and carrying it on the ship.

 

Oops -- I had that ALL wrong. Sorry! Sip away!!! :o

[sail7seas]

You likely are aware but in case someone is not thought I would mention you can bring wine aboard from ports along the way. You will be charged the $18 corkage but on embarkation day, you don't have to bring all the wine you might want for the whole cruise.

[qsuzi]

By the way Pinnacle lunch is also great. Blue Cheese encrusted filet is to die for.

OMG Aliaschief, that does sound like it "is to die for".

[Leejnd4]

You likely are aware but in case someone is not thought I would mention you can bring wine aboard from ports along the way. You will be charged the $18 corkage but on embarkation day, you don't have to bring all the wine you might want for the whole cruise.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll be shipping out a case of wine from our own vineyard in Temecula, so in my situation it will all have to come onboard at embarkation. :) But I'm also gratified to learn that we can bring all the soft drinks and bottled water we want from the ports...so I won't have to load up on that in Ft. Lauderdale, I can buy some in the ports as well.

[aliaschief]

OMG Aliaschief, that does sound like it "is to die for".

 

 

I have asked to have the blue cheese encrust on my dinner filets and they honored my request.

[TedC]

Sail7Seas gave you excellent advice - she's an HAL expert!

 

We've more than 200 wonderful days on various HAL ships and found the food VERY GOOD - especially the cold soups.

 

HAL ships were getting too large for us so we defected to Regent Seven Seas Cruises' smaller ships . And we love the "All Inclusive." NO bill the day you have to leave the ship.

 

Bon Voyage!

[Leejnd4]

Sail7Seas gave you excellent advice - she's an HAL expert!

 

We've more than 200 wonderful days on various HAL ships and found the food VERY GOOD - especially the cold soups.

 

HAL ships were getting too large for us so we defected to Regent Seven Seas Cruises' smaller ships . And we love the "All Inclusive." NO bill the day you have to leave the ship.

 

Bon Voyage!

 

Thank you! Ah yes, we LOVED our Regent cruises...and not feeling nickel-and-dimed was one of the major pluses. Unfortunately we really went all-out on a recent 3-week trip to Bali (well, perhaps "unfortunately" is the wrong term...it was fabulous! :D) so I've had to promise the DH that my friend and I would keep this cruise under a certain budget limit -- and there wasn't a single Regent itinerary...or, really, ANY all-inclusive line...that fit under there. So HAL it is. And I'm looking forward to it! I'm having to adjust some of my thinking, and the way I usually do things on a cruise, to accommodate the HAL way, but...hey, I'm flexible. :)

[SilvertoGold]

OP: you have been given some good advice here and I hope you will enjoy your first HAL cruise!

 

Sincerely suggest you do Le Cirque and any Cellermaster Dinners that are offered on your cruise. They are the best of HAL in our experience.

 

Would you consider coming back to this board and letting us all know your opinion of HAL in general and the food as well?

Edited February 21, 2015 by SilvertoGold

[Leejnd4]

OP: you have been given some good advice here and I hope you will enjoy your first HAL cruise!

 

Sincerely suggest you do Le Cirque and any Cellermaster Dinners that are offered on your cruise. They are the best of HAL in our experience.

 

Would you consider coming back to this board and letting us all know your opinion of HAL in general and the food as well?

 

Yes, I have received excellent advice, which I will definitely put to use!

 

I'm still trying to find out more about these Cellarmaster dinners...if you know anything about them please share.

 

I assure you I will write up a full review upon my return, and will post it here. Sadly, you'll have to wait quite a while...my cruise isn't until January. :o

[retired714]

The first time we ate at the Pinnacle, we were invited by table mates who were celebrating an anniversary and wanted a party. They requested a day or so ahead and the manager was very accommodating. So it doesn't hurt to ask if you meet new friends.

Edited February 21, 2015 by retired714
quoted the wrong post

[sail7seas]

Thank you! Ah yes, we LOVED our Regent cruises...and not feeling nickel-and-dimed was one of the major pluses. Unfortunately we really went all-out on a recent 3-week trip to Bali (well, perhaps "unfortunately" is the wrong term...it was fabulous! :D) so I've had to promise the DH that my friend and I would keep this cruise under a certain budget limit -- and there wasn't a single Regent itinerary...or, really, ANY all-inclusive line...that fit under there. So HAL it is. And I'm looking forward to it! I'm having to adjust some of my thinking, and the way I usually do things on a cruise, to accommodate the HAL way, but...hey, I'm flexible. :)

 

There are posters here who regularly stay in hotels such as the Savoy in London, Hassler in Rome, The Ritz all over the place, Four Seasons all over the place, St. Regis in NYC...... you get the point. I am not saying HAL experience compares to those hotels as it does not but it must be satisfactory to many who are used to fine hotels as they sail repeatedly on HAL. Given the accommodations some book, they really could sail any cruise line they wish. ;)

 

If you go with a realistic expectation keeping in mind you have moved from Six Star to something more mass market but you have acknowledged you are paying less. When one pays less, they expect to 'get less'. :)

 

I sincerely hope you enjoy your cruise and will share some comments about it when you return.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2015 by sail7seas

[visagrunt]

I describe the MDR as high quality banquet food--when a galley is pushing out a couple of thousand entrees each night, there is necessarily a level of standardization that happens.

 

The Pinnacle (and Tamarind on the Nieuw Amsterdam and Eurodam) are significantly better because their galleys are dealing with fewer covers.

 

You can be sure of a minimum of three other dining experiences during your cruise: I would certainly book the Le Cirque dinner on your cruise, along with at least one other Pinnacle Grill evening. You can also book an evening at Canaletto. If you are on either of the Pinnacle ships, then Tamarind is most certainly worth a visit. And if you are on the Eurodam or the Rotterdam then you must certainly book the Taste of Die Librije dinner--the best meal that I have ever had afloat.

[CowPrincess]

I have asked to have the blue cheese encrust on my dinner filets and they honored my request.

 

Oooooh I must remember that :)

[CowPrincess]

Darn, too late to edit! As far as I know, lunch at the Pinnacle is still $10/person, less any Mariner discount that is applicable. DH and I enjoy the lunch at the PG more than we enjoy the dinner.

[Leejnd4]

There are posters here who regularly stay in hotels such as the Savoy in London, Hassler in Rome, The Ritz all over the place, Four Seasons all over the place, St. Regis in NYC...... you get the point. I am not saying HAL experience compares to those hotels as it does not but it must be satisfactory to many who are used to fine hotels as they sail repeatedly on HAL. Given the accommodations some book, they really could sail any cruise line they wish. ;)

 

If you go with a realistic expectation keeping in mind you have moved from Six Star to something more mass market but you have acknowledged you are paying less. When one pays less, they expect to 'get less'. :)

 

I sincerely hope you enjoy your cruise and will share some comments about it when you return.

 

 

All very true! I am definitely doing my best to have a good grasp on what my HAL experience will be like, so I will have appropriate expectations. It sounds to me like I'm going to be quite satisfied with most of my meals...Pinnacle, Le Cirque, Caneletto, and MDR on formal nights will all, I expect, be very enjoyable dining experiences. And on any other night in the MDR, if it's not perfect, that's okay...a few nights of less-perfect dining will be more than made up for by the other great nights.

 

And if we get to dine in Pinnacle for lunch on at least a few days, from what I've seen on that menu, that will make up the difference.

 

I'm a writer, so I promise to post a full run-down of my HAL experience, including the dining. :D

 

Oh, and I did a little more research -- we're on Oosterdam, and it seems the Cellar Master's dinner is not available on that ship. Too bad -- I took at gander at that menu, and WOWZA! But that's okay...Le Cirque looks pretty delicious as well.

[BellBoys]

This is one area that I have researched fully...including calling HAL, reading their policy online, and reading numerous recent posts in here on this topic.

 

So here's what I've discovered: the current policy is one bottle of wine per person free (no corkage) at embarkation but it must be consumed in your room, or you will need to pay corkage ($18).

 

Unlimited bottles of wine can also be brought onboard, but you pay the $18 corkage for each bottle at embarkation. You can bring these to the dining room without paying additional, since you already paid corkage to get them on the ship. They mark each bottle with a sticker at embarkation, so the waiter knows that you paid the corkage.

 

I plan on shipping a case out to our hotel in advance, and carrying it on the ship.

 

We have been fortunate to have status on airlines with our frequent flier membership so taking a case of wine with us cheaper than shipping. We stop by our local wine shop which gives us a box and egg crates to securely pack the wine. Our last trip to Fort Lauderdale we were able to bring up to 3 bags each at 50lbs per bag. The packed wine comes in at about 40lbs so it under the airline limit. We simply tag the box with our hotel address and don't open the box until its in our cabin. On one occasion we opened the box and enjoyed a bottle in our hotel room.

[ithaca gal]

It was great to see you getting so excited while doing your research for your cruise! I quickly glanced at all of the posts here and I don't think too many people have talked about Canaletto other than the first recommendation.

 

Personal taste is relative that we were highly disappointed in our visit to Canaletto. We did not find a lot of choices on the menu that were appealing and did not find the food to be above average at all. Enjoyed meals in the MDR much more and, of course, in the Pinnacle Grill.

[Leejnd4]

It was great to see you getting so excited while doing your research for your cruise! I quickly glanced at all of the posts here and I don't think too many people have talked about Canaletto other than the first recommendation.

 

Personal taste is relative that we were highly disappointed in our visit to Canaletto. We did not find a lot of choices on the menu that were appealing and did not find the food to be above average at all. Enjoyed meals in the MDR much more and, of course, in the Pinnacle Grill.

 

Hmm...good to know. I have to admit to being rather...shall we say..."particular" when it comes to Italian food, given that I'm Italian and was raised in a large east-coast Italian family, most hailing from Brooklyn. My first-generation Italian grandmother taught me to cook! Plus I've been to Italy 7 or 8 times, and even took a cooking class there.

 

I'll take a gander at the menu, and if it doesn't look appealing, we might skip Canaletto. Truth be told, I can get the best Italian meal ever just by going to my Aunt's house. Or my sister's. Or, dare I say it...my own kitchen, thanks to my grandmother's expert tutelage! :p

Edited February 22, 2015 by Leejnd4

[aliaschief]

Be daring. Try Canelleto one evening. Nice change at least once on a cruise.. Of course IMO.

 

We are foodies and find all choices acceptable.

 

Beats cooking.

[Leejnd4]

Be daring. Try Canelleto one evening. Nice change at least once on a cruise.. Of course IMO.

 

We are foodies and find all choices acceptable.

 

Beats cooking.

 

Abso-freaking-lootely! :D

 

I checked out the menu and there are a few things on there worth trying. So we will give it a shot.

[kazu]

Yes, I have received excellent advice, which I will definitely put to use!

 

I'm still trying to find out more about these Cellarmaster dinners...if you know anything about them please share.

 

I assure you I will write up a full review upon my return, and will post it here. Sadly, you'll have to wait quite a while...my cruise isn't until January. :o

Love the Cellarmaster dinners. They post the notice fir them on board in the On Location. Sometimes they may go by another name (ie. Sommelier dinner). Price was $69 on our last cruise if memory serves,

[fla_sunshine]

Lunch in the Pinnacle Grill sounds like a winner! Are they open for lunch on port days? There is at least one port my DW and I expect to stay on board and it would be an excellent alternative to the Lido.

[Crew News]

Lunch in the Pinnacle Grill sounds like a winner! Are they open for lunch on port days? There is at least one port my DW and I expect to stay on board and it would be an excellent alternative to the Lido.

 

I checked my On Locations from the Caribbean and Alaska, 2014. The Pinnacle Grill was open for lunch on all of those days that I checked.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Crew News