The LeCirque experience - ??????

[oaktreerb]

For my Mexican Riviera cruise the Pinnacle Grill has gone up to $35 and Le Cirque is $49. I have read on this board that Le Cirque is a very special experience. We had planned a special dinner in the Pinnacle on the last night of our cruise but now that the Pinnacle experience has increased in price I'm not sure it will be worth the $$. Neither of us are big eaters and usually by the end of the cruise I am no longer interested in the food in the dining room.

 

Le Cirque is offered on the evening we are sailing from Puerto Vallarta so we would have to move the special dinner up a couple of days.

 

What is so special about Le Cirque? Are there better food offerings, are the steaks higher quality, is there a special serving style, is wine included? Does it take longer to eat?

 

Do I still get a 4* discount?

[kazu]

For my Mexican Riviera cruise the Pinnacle Grill has gone up to $35 and Le Cirque is $49. I have read on this board that Le Cirque is a very special experience. We had planned a special dinner in the Pinnacle on the last night of our cruise but now that the Pinnacle experience has increased in price I'm not sure it will be worth the $$. Neither of us are big eaters and usually by the end of the cruise I am no longer interested in the food in the dining room.

 

Le Cirque is offered on the evening we are sailing from Puerto Vallarta so we would have to move the special dinner up a couple of days.

 

What is so special about Le Cirque? Are there better food offerings, are the steaks higher quality, is there a special serving style, is wine included? Does it take longer to eat?

 

Do I still get a 4* discount?

 

First of all, you do get the 4* discount.

 

We like doing the Pinnacle on the last night too ;)

 

Le Cirque is a different place setting,some different offerings but choices are more limited than in the Pinnacle Grill.

 

If you haven't done it,why not try it once?

 

Food is subjective -some prefer the Pinnacle and some like Le Cirque.

 

We like both and do both.

 

Take a look at the menu on the HAL website and see if it appeals. The chateaubrian is quite good (at least when we have done it).

[Crew News]

For my Mexican Riviera cruise the Pinnacle Grill has gone up to $35 and Le Cirque is $49. I have read on this board that Le Cirque is a very special experience. We had planned a special dinner in the Pinnacle on the last night of our cruise but now that the Pinnacle experience has increased in price I'm not sure it will be worth the $$. Neither of us are big eaters and usually by the end of the cruise I am no longer interested in the food in the dining room.

 

Le Cirque is offered on the evening we are sailing from Puerto Vallarta so we would have to move the special dinner up a couple of days.

 

What is so special about Le Cirque? Are there better food offerings, are the steaks higher quality, is there a special serving style, is wine included? Does it take longer to eat?

 

Do I still get a 4* discount?

 

The Le Cirque meal offerings are a step up and very limited compared to the PG dinner menu. Meal time should be at the same pace. The Chateaubriand, escargot, and the strawberry pavlova are highly recommended by many.

 

Indeed Mariner discounts are applied based on who is paying. It is a good time to "treat" some HAL first-timers.

 

Wine is not included in the basic meal price.

 

The menus for the PG and Le Cirque are different.

 

Here is the Le Cirque menu with wine list at the bottom:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/LeCirque.pdf

 

Here is the PG menu:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/PG-Dinner.pdf

 

Here is the PG Beverage List:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Pinnacle-Grill-Beverage-List.pdf

[Boytjie]

With a 4* discount it makes it very reasonable. The portions aren't as large as Pinnacle's and a completely different menu. We enjoyed our meal there. I say give it a try.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We are among the first to try Le Cirque when it was first presented on HAL in 2010. There have have a few changes since then. Yes it is a limited meal but we love it and gone to all of them on every ship. We fill it is worth the money.

 

Also we do Pinnacle quite a bit. In fact on our last few cruises we every night in the Pinnacle.

 

We just don't think that the main dining room food is very good any more. JMO

 

Getting 50% off is wonderful.

[ToBe]

For my Mexican Riviera cruise the Pinnacle Grill has gone up to $35 and Le Cirque is $49. I have read on this board that Le Cirque is a very special experience. We had planned a special dinner in the Pinnacle on the last night of our cruise but now that the Pinnacle experience has increased in price I'm not sure it will be worth the $$. Neither of us are big eaters and usually by the end of the cruise I am no longer interested in the food in the dining room.

 

Le Cirque is offered on the evening we are sailing from Puerto Vallarta so we would have to move the special dinner up a couple of days.

 

What is so special about Le Cirque? Are there better food offerings, are the steaks higher quality, is there a special serving style, is wine included? Does it take longer to eat?

 

Do I still get a 4* discount?

We were totally disappointed with the Le Cirque dinner. There were few choices and I had to beg for another tiny beet which was the only vegetable served with a huge piece of tender but enormous meat. No potato, just huge meat. The appetizer was not memorable. The desserts were the same choices we were offered in our MDR over the course of the trip. I had the chocolate souffle which tasted like the one I had had on the MDR, same look too. Perhaps I expected too much for the $49 pp cover, but we have splurged on Celebrity and had spectacular food on their high end restaurant and their sole veronique is outstanding. Celebrity will make changes. The MDR on HAL accommodates and makes changes so easily. They even will make dishes not on the menu if you request in advance. I think what ruined the Le Cirque meal was the inability to change and have something from two different items, and the menu was so limited and the staff was so unaccommodating. We were on a long cruise and thought we would try Le Cirque. Never again.

[Ayrity]

For my Mexican Riviera cruise the Pinnacle Grill has gone up to $35 and Le Cirque is $49. I have read on this board that Le Cirque is a very special experience. We had planned a special dinner in the Pinnacle on the last night of our cruise but now that the Pinnacle experience has increased in price I'm not sure it will be worth the $$. Neither of us are big eaters and usually by the end of the cruise I am no longer interested in the food in the dining room.

 

Le Cirque is offered on the evening we are sailing from Puerto Vallarta so we would have to move the special dinner up a couple of days.

 

What is so special about Le Cirque? Are there better food offerings, are the steaks higher quality, is there a special serving style, is wine included? Does it take longer to eat?

 

Do I still get a 4* discount?

 

We loved the Le Cirque dinner! I have pictures of food if you would like to see them? I can get them uploaded tonight for you.

[RuthC]

My friends and I were not at all happy with our LeCirque dinner the first time we ate there. Food terribly overcooked, and not hot enough. When asked about the meal, we told them our disappointment, but nothing was offered to help make up for it.

We did return to LeCirque, just to give them another chance, and it was better the second time around. But we did not consider it "better enough" to be worth the higher price than a regular Pinnacle dinner (at the time, the Pinnacle was $29, minus Mariner discount).

 

I don't mind paying the price for something that's outstanding, but I'm not going to pay more for the same, or less. The value just wasn't there at Le Cirque.

[taxmantoo]

My friends and I were not at all happy with our LeCirque dinner the first time we ate there. Food terribly overcooked, and not hot enough. When asked about the meal, we told them our disappointment, but nothing was offered to help make up for it.

We did return to LeCirque, just to give them another chance, and it was better the second time around. But we did not consider it "better enough" to be worth the higher price than a regular Pinnacle dinner (at the time, the Pinnacle was $29, minus Mariner discount).

 

I don't mind paying the price for something that's outstanding, but I'm not going to pay more for the same, or less. The value just wasn't there at Le Cirque.

 

Agree that the value is just not there. Why the cost is $14 more than a regular Pinnacle dinner has always puzzled me.

[Ken the cruiser]

We have eaten at Le Cirque a few times. The first time was in July 2014 and it was out of this world. For starters, we had a lobster salad in a bowl loaded with chopped lobster, lettuce and a great dressing along with an order of caviar. Then came the best squash soup we have ever tasted, bar none. We then had the sea bass and lamb chops which my DW and I shared between the 2 of us. For dessert, she had some great chocolate dessert and I had creme boule and another very tasty ice cream-based dessert. In addition back then they also changed the room ambiance and dishes to make you feel like you were in Le Cirque's NY restaurant. We subsequently went to the Pinnacle on that same cruise and weren't all that impressed, especially after eating at Le Cirque.

 

Fast forward to Jan 2016. Because of the great memories still with us after all that time, we pre-booked 2 nights at Le Cirque. Wow, what a let down. The lobster salad turned into a scoop of minced lobster and the caviar was gone from the menu. Their wonderful squash soup was replaced with split pea soup and wasn't even close to being a suitable replacement. At our second seating, we opted for chilled soup and it was even worse. However, the bass and lamp chops were still very tasty. Then came the dessert menu which included a chocolate souffle which my DW enjoyed, but the creme boule was watery like that served in the MDR and no where near the quality from our previous experience. As far as the other two choices, I didn't choose either and I'm the kind of guy if we're paying that much extra I'm going to get 2 desserts and just walk an extra lap to burn off the calories. Lesson learned - in the future make sure you check out the menu before reserving a table. For us since we don't eat steak very often and the food served in the MDR is pretty darn good, we'll use that money saved to pay for unlimited laundry in the future. But that's just us. A lot of folks seem to like both SD experiences. So like someone earlier said, you should give both a try and see how you like them.

[POA1]

With a 4* discount it makes it very reasonable. The portions aren't as large as Pinnacle's and a completely different menu. We enjoyed our meal there. I say give it a try.

Except for the Châteaubriand. It's quite large.

[DeepWaterMariner]

I like them both. The results vary by ship. The first Le Cirque was on the Veendam and it was one of the best meals I've ever experienced. I the last was on the Prinsendam and well still excellent, it didn't live up to the first one. Split pea soup?...in Le Cirque its fresh pea soup which is entirely different and I thought it was great.

[rkacruiser]

IMO, as DeepWaterMariner said: "The results vary by ship." It depends upon the Chef.

 

I don't book Le Cirque on every cruise, but the times I have dined on that evening, I have been pleased.

 

Pinnacle Grill: My experiences most recently have been very satisfactory. On the Prinsendam, I "gambled" (in my mind) and ordered the Pork Chop hoping that it wouldn't be dry. The Chop was very properly cooked, was moist, and flavorful.

 

IMO, HAL have improved the Pinnacle Grill's offerings and service in recent years. (Now, if they would just bring back Sterling Silver Beef.)

[AncientWanderer]

We have tried Le Cirque three times, ordering a variety of the main dishes, and have been disappointed each of those times. We simply prefer the regular Pinnacle menu items more. I keep talking the hubs into giving it one more shot, because I'm a big escargot and pavlova fan, but I really like the way they prepare the escargot in the MDR much more. And given a day's warning, they will prepare them for me there.

 

That said, there are a lot of Le Cirque boosters here on CC, and we may have just had three unlucky off nights. :confused:

[Ken the cruiser]

Split pea soup?...in Le Cirque its fresh pea soup which is entirely different and I thought it was great.

I stand corrected. It was fresh pea soup, but IMHO it still was no match to the squash soup. My DW also reminded me the chilled soup was cucumber soup and neither of us could even finish it. It was that bad. Even our waitress couldn't understand why they stopped serving the squash soup, but kept the cucumber soup on the menu. But again, everyone's taste is different. You definitely need to try all of the HAL SD offerings at least once and decide for yourself.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Ken the cruiser

[81Zoomie]

It has been a mixed bag for us. Sometimes Le Cirque is very good, sometimes not so great. If you have a problem be sure to speak to the maitre'd. We have had success in having charges removed in specialty dining for poor experiences.

[seb1899]

We were aboard the Zaandam from Santiago to Buenos Aires last fall and chose the Cirque Experience and we will not do it again.

We arrived at our reserved time and waited to be seated . With bottle of wine in hand the the mairte’d (sp?). approached . The first words out of his mouth were “Where did you get this?” Not welcome or anything else!!

I calmly told him that I bought the wine at the Concho Y’ Toro vineyard in Santiago and said we wanted to have it with our dinner and a glass right away. The bottle was a 2012 Carmenere Don Melchor that we purchased at the vineyard outside of Santiago. What business was it of him as we paid the corkage on several Concha Y’Toro bottles whan we boarded.

Anyway that set the tone of the dinner and although the food was ok the service was not ‘up to le Cirque’.

The chateaubriand was ok (we are fortunate in that we have Ruth Chris 25 minutes from our home) and we do know what USDA Prime is,

We dined at the Pinnacle later in the cruise and the steaks were better and the service was more cheerful. (we only had Marquessa Carmenere on this occasion).

Would I try the Cirque experience again? NO; would I dine at the Pinnacle YES and I will on our Baltic cruise next year.

[johnmik1]

We have enjoyed the Pinnacle grill many times and the worst meal we ever had on a ship was at LeCirque.Never again!

[kftw]

 

I don't mind paying the price for something that's outstanding, but I'm not going to pay more for the same, or less. The value just wasn't there at Le Cirque.

 

I agree with RuthC. We have tried Le Cirque 3 times now and to us it wasn't any better than a regular meal at the PG.

[AncientWanderer]

We have enjoyed the Pinnacle grill many times and the worst meal we ever had on a ship was at LeCirque.Never again!

 

I didn't want to state it quite that strongly, but, yeah, that was the case for us as well.

[NorthernLite]

We have tried it twice, once for a birthday. Really nothing special at all until it came to the birthday cake. Our server insisted we take it with us and boxed it nicely. Well, next morning I pulled it out of the fridge while the DH went to the Neptune Lounge for coffees. Best thing ever out of their kitchen for a dark chocolate lover who appreciates rich not sweet. We will not be booking the Le Cirque nights on our Panama cruise.

[kazu]

I like them both. The results vary by ship. The first Le Cirque was on the Veendam and it was one of the best meals I've ever experienced. I the last was on the Prinsendam and well still excellent, it didn't live up to the first one. Split pea soup?...in Le Cirque its fresh pea soup which is entirely different and I thought it was great.

 

I think you just summed it up. Results and the meal can vary by ship and by the staff taking care of you. Staff on the Westerdam blew us away with Le Cirque. They prepared a special amuse bouche for one of our friends as she was allergic to the one being offered. Her children arrived after Club Hal and they offered them dessert! The meal was fabulous.

 

It was very good on our next cruise on the Westerdam as well as the Prinsendam.

 

On the Maasdam it was uninspiring - totally different, sadly than a previous cruise on her. That PG was not a good one and we subsequently cancelled all our other PG reservations.

 

The soup is wonderful to watch as they make it "grow".

[KirkNC]

My friends and I were not at all happy with our LeCirque dinner the first time we ate there. Food terribly overcooked, and not hot enough. When asked about the meal, we told them our disappointment, but nothing was offered to help make up for it.

We did return to LeCirque, just to give them another chance, and it was better the second time around. But we did not consider it "better enough" to be worth the higher price than a regular Pinnacle dinner (at the time, the Pinnacle was $29, minus Mariner discount).

 

I don't mind paying the price for something that's outstanding, but I'm not going to pay more for the same, or less. The value just wasn't there at Le Cirque.

 

We are in the same place. We have eaten at LC several times, it's always s been good but we don't find it any better then the regular Pinnacle so the last few cruises we have not gone to LC.

[Aquahound]

I have read on this board that Le Cirque is a very special experience.

<snip>

What is so special about Le Cirque?

 

In my opinion, absolutely nothing, and in no way do I think it's worth the extra $14 per person.

 

I actually like the regular Pinnacle menu better.

[oaktreerb]

I think you just summed it up. Results and the meal can vary by ship and by the staff taking care of you. Staff on the Westerdam blew us away with Le Cirque. They prepared a special amuse bouche for one of our friends as she was allergic to the one being offered. Her children arrived after Club Hal and they offered them dessert! The meal was fabulous.

 

It was very good on our next cruise on the Westerdam as well as the Prinsendam.

 

On the Maasdam it was uninspiring - totally different, sadly than a previous cruise on her. That PG was not a good one and we subsequently cancelled all our other PG reservations.

 

The soup is wonderful to watch as they make it "grow".

 

We will be on the Westerdam so happy to hear the good reports on Le Cirque. With the new America's Test Kitchen partnership beginning on the Westerdam I wonder if it will have an impact on the menus in the dining venues.

 

I think I'll wait until we are onboard. I hadn't even thought about checking out the menu before making reservations. I was under the impression that Le Cirque was an 'event". Now I have a better understanding of what Le Cirque offers.