Specialty restaurants on Sun Princess

[Aussieflyer]

No, the AIBP was only available for cruises over 7 days. I could see it being advertised on Cruise Personaliser but when you clicked on it, the message about not being available came up. I prepaid some OBC and this was a pretty good rate do and it made it a lower 'bill shock' :)

[MicCanberra]

No, the AIBP was only available for cruises over 7 days. I could see it being advertised on Cruise Personaliser but when you clicked on it, the message about not being available came up. I prepaid some OBC and this was a pretty good rate do and it made it a lower 'bill shock' :)

 

I think this is the easiest way to pre pay for some of the on board expenses.:D

[Pushka]

(OT but Taster cruises are a great way to improve loyalty status when based on number of cruises and not nights. )

Edited June 12, 2016 by Pushka

[MicCanberra]

(OT but Taster cruises are a great way to improve loyalty status when based on number of cruises and not nights. )

 

They can come in handy for getting you to the next level so that the next (longer) cruise is at that level.

[GUT2407]

They can come in handy for getting you to the next level so that the next (longer) cruise is at that level.

 

Except my status is growing quicker by days than by cruises.

[mrs and mrs]

Except my status is growing quicker by days than by cruises.

 

Same,same,gutster,but this is what happens across the road,they do so many short cruises and end up with so many elites its almost comical.

Anyways,i think the share concept is about sharing tables and being bored to death by uninteresting people.

I have been watching our curtis on food network lately(from the states)and quite frankly he comes across to me as a bit of a tosser.But that could be for the market;)and the show.

Last night we went out to dinner and shared a long table,was i must say quite interesting and enjoyable.

But of course we are talking Aussies,with i might add a german cpl thrown in.And no-one mentioned the w$#

 

I say bring on the Golden OCT yeah.

Edited June 12, 2016 by mrs and mrs
additional info

[GUT2407]

And no-one mentioned the w$#.

 

I did, but I think I got away with it.:D

[OzKiwiJJ]

I have been watching our curtis on food network lately(from the states)and quite frankly he comes across to me as a bit of a tosser.But that could be for the market;)and the show.

 

Nah, I've seen him on MasterChef and MKR and he comes over as a bit of a tosser on those!

[GUT2407]

Nah, I've seen him on MasterChef and MKR and he comes over as a bit of a tosser on those!

 

What do the three of you (OzKiwi, Mrs and Mrs) mean by a bit....

 

Tosser I understand.

 

But a bit, I'd say total, but that's most of those chefs.

[mrs and mrs]

What do the three of you (OzKiwi, Mrs and Mrs) mean by a bit....

 

Tosser I understand.

 

But a bit, I'd say total, but that's most of those chefs.

 

I think Curtis is marketed for the american market,blood and guts,win at all costs,screaming,stressing OMG my life is on the line if this chicken pie isnt perfect.It comes across as a failure in the pork belly (mdr,princess)hopeless,bloody hopeless.A beautiful dish,destroyed by a mass produced meal cooked in a rego-thermic oven.

Chicken and leek pie,how hard can that be.Really.

I feel sorry for the concept,being let down by a not well thought out menu.

SHARE,pffft,good concept.

What is the concept of share,family sharing peasant food.

These tosser chefs,always go back to peasant food and try to reinvent it into something glamorous.

Heres a classic,de-constructed apple-pie,or pavlova.Its called de-constructed.

My take is I f#$%@% up cooking it,so ill call it de-constructed.(alah Eton Mess).

Or lets start on the old hat Fusion Cooking.

Give me strength please.

Edited June 12, 2016 by mrs and mrs
additional thoughts

[OzKiwiJJ]

Sometimes he can be OK, especially on MasterChef, giving tips and encouragement to the contestants, so that's why I wouldn't call him a complete tosser. :D

 

I can't comment about the food at Share until we board Sun, but the three MDR dishes aren't what is really needed as "always available" dishes. They are too :confused: ... trying to think of a suitable term ... heavy, almost clumsy in presentation, homestyle in a not very good way. They replaced a couple of very basic offerings - salmon and tournedos (aka a nice bit of fillet steak), both of which are the sort of dish people want when they don't want a heavy or fancy meal. To me chicken and leek (soup) pie, and ossobuco are winter meals, not what I want on a warm weather cruise and, although I love pork belly, it is quite fatty and also is hard to cook to perfection in large quantities.

[OzKiwiJJ]

My take is I f#$%@% up cooking it,so ill call it de-constructed.(alah Eton Mess).

 

Take a look at this dish. http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/masterchef/recipes/anna-s-mess

Read the last step of the Assembly part of the recipe. :eek: :D

 

That really is a mess. :D

[mrs and mrs]

Confirming what i have said,hes being marketed to the american market.Now please dont get me started on taco and tortilla fillings.

One thing you cant change the protein(ie Meat etc),you can change the cooking method.All you can do is muck with the sauces and presentation.But what is old,is new again.My 2 boys come home on a fri,sat and say whats this mum,i say oh some-exotic name,makes no difference,its gone,their asleep,in front of tv and we are cleaning up.In fact we ussually kick them out of the pub back home to eat.Sundays are hilarious.

P/S forget the b-b-q looking forward to a good old hangi on the back of a boat,could be interesting.

[GUT2407]

Sometimes he can be OK, especially on MasterChef, giving tips and encouragement to the contestants, so that's why I wouldn't call him a complete tosser. :D

 

I can't comment about the food at Share until we board Sun, but the three MDR dishes aren't what is really needed as "always available" dishes. They are too :confused: ... trying to think of a suitable term ... heavy, almost clumsy in presentation, homestyle in a not very good way. They replaced a couple of very basic offerings - salmon and tournedos (aka a nice bit of fillet steak), both of which are the sort of dish people want when they don't want a heavy or fancy meal. To me chicken and leek (soup) pie, and ossobuco are winter meals, not what I want on a warm weather cruise and, although I love pork belly, it is quite fatty and also is hard to cook to perfection in large quantities.

 

 

I thought the Pork Belly was poor.

 

The osso buco, not as good as the lamb shank I'd had on an earlier cruise.

 

The Chicken leek pot pie wasn't bad, once they started to put some filling in it.

 

But no matter they shouldn't have, in my opinion, dropped those always available items, maybe in addition to.

 

Now I don't know that Curtis can be blamed I bet he had little to do with training the cooks.

 

We had the same problems in other parts of the ship. The Steak and Kidney pie, one Pub Lunch was also empty, the Pork Belly in the buffet was pretty much identical to the share version, except cut into strips.

 

But then I found the same on other lines with celebrity chef themed restaurants if your using the same cooks, you're going to get similar results in my opinion.

[OzKiwiJJ]

If he's put his name up against those dishes then he should take some responsiblity. From what I've heard Marco Pierre White regularly travels on P&O UK to ensure the meals in his restaurants are up to scratch.

 

I think part of the problem is lack of quality control in the kitchens though. It will be interesting to go on Sun again. Of all the ships we've been on so far that had the best overall MDR food. In comparison, Dawn was nowhere near as good, and those two trips were only about 9 months apart. Golden was halfway between the two.

 

BTW the pork belly in the buffet was probably identical to the share version because it was leftovers. :D

[mrs and mrs]

totally agree,i love my food.Im cooking it and serving it for a living.Serve me,Serve me,but if im paying top dollar,for mediocre food,im the bitch in heels.;)

I actually loved the Dawn.

Golden is going to be interesting.:)

[GUT2407]

If he's put his name up against those dishes then he should take some responsiblity. From what I've heard Marco Pierre White regularly travels on P&O UK to ensure the meals in his restaurants are up to scratch.

 

I think part of the problem is lack of quality control in the kitchens though. It will be interesting to go on Sun again. Of all the ships we've been on so far that had the best overall MDR food. In comparison, Dawn was nowhere near as good, and those two trips were only about 9 months apart. Golden was halfway between the two.

 

BTW the pork belly in the buffet was probably identical to the share version because it was leftovers. :D

 

Nope it was in the Horizontal Court A couple of days before Share started in the MDR

Edited June 12, 2016 by GUT2407

[mrs and mrs]

Whatever comes first they are using stone items in the mdr,to hook people into share.

And its not working.

Classic business marketing ploy.

[Aussieflyer]

Some interesting comments about Share. FWIW, the stand out dishes when we ate there were the ones that did not need cooking! The charcuterie plate was very tasty; fresh and high quality ingredients that could stand on their own. The accompaniments were interesting and really added to the dish (though did not actually mirror what was on the menu). The burrata and tomato salad likewise was excellent. it was only when they came to cooking that things went downhill. The chicken (roasted) was so moist I wondered if it had been infused with liquid but of course it was the way it was cooked. It came with a buttermilk coleslaw. The beef cheek pot pie was very heavy and not served with anything. We were supposed to share these as well - plopped in the middle of the table.

I have the menus and will see if I can post them for general information.

Agree on the tosser description of CS or perhaps he is just a young prat.:)

Edited June 12, 2016 by Aussieflyer

[Aussieflyer]

Delete - repeated message

Edited June 12, 2016 by Aussieflyer

[OzKiwiJJ]

the Pork Belly in the buffet was pretty much identical to the share version, except cut into strips

 

Nope it was in the Horizontal Court A couple of days before Share started in the MDR

 

Well, I wondered about that, but you're the one that compared it to Share. :rolleyes: ;) :p

[GUT2407]

Well, I wondered about that, but you're the one that compared it to Share. :rolleyes: ;) :p

 

That's my point it was basically the same stuff, and it was awful both times. But one was from the buffet, then from the Share menu in the MDR.

[The_Big_M]

People seemed quite upset/annoyed that the well-loved pizzeria had been ditched for this somewhat overpriced eatery.

 

I'm in that camp as well. However, Princess had descoped their pizzeria some months ago, oddly changing the menu, dropping some unique options unnecessarily and fiddling with alternates where it didn't run. As a result its loss has been on the cards.

 

The ironic thing is that their onboard book still praises Princess' renown for pizza - yet the only way to get any onboard now is through room service! Unlike all their competitors they oddly didn't even put a substitute in either the buffet or grill area, so they're now behind all of them. Bizarre!

[Aussieflyer]

Not sure why Princess got rid of the pizzeria when it was so popular but would suspect it has been part of the rush to have 'celebrity chef' restaurants like some other lines.

I can see why they put Share there as they would need galley facilities for the main course and there was a cooking area for the pizzas I think (based on Dawn P) . We remarked that they would have been better off removing Kai but on thinking it over because it serves mostly sushi etc it does not require a galley - only a place for the chef to make the sushi. Pity as it would have been a better location and the size would be fine given the lack of patronage we saw at both.

I forgot to mention Amuletto. It seemed neither here nor there - still part of the buffet and the cakes on offer were no different from around the corner. Coffee/tea etc was still the buffet variety. It seems silly to label it as a dining area/restaurant offering.

[MicCanberra]

Princess's pizza is one of the things that I would rate above all other cruise lines. A real shame if it has gone only to room service.