CLOWN Grill on Crown Princess

[enteroshopping]

I'm surprised by all the comments suggesting to try it again. Even if the OP is not complaining specifically about the wasted money why would anyone want to throw away their money hoping for better results. Personally I would feel foolish if I took that advice and the next time the experience was (also) poor.

 

If it's bad the next time, you refuse to pay. Personally, I don't know why the OP didn't complain immediately to the Maitre D' when they thought there were problems in the first place. If it was that unenjoyable, I'd have made sure they knew it immediately so they can fix it. Last year, I was on the Ruby and had the misfortune of deciding to eat at the Salty Dog one night instead of dining in the Crown Grill like I had every night before... huge mistake. Small portions of awful food. I complained to the waitress immediately and told them that I refused to pay. They removed it from the bill and I left. I ended up eating at the Crown Grill 9 nights out of 10 and it was fantastic each night. I plan to do the same on my cruise next week... and if the service or food is garbage, I'll be sure to complain immediately so they can *fix* it. I won't just come on CC and complain about it because I was too lazy to take appropriate action then.

[Kingofcool1947]

If it's bad the next time, you refuse to pay. Personally, I don't know why the OP didn't complain immediately to the Maitre D' when they thought there were problems in the first place. If it was that unenjoyable, I'd have made sure they knew it immediately so they can fix it. Last year, I was on the Ruby and had the misfortune of deciding to eat at the Salty Dog one night instead of dining in the Crown Grill like I had every night before... huge mistake. Small portions of awful food. I complained to the waitress immediately and told them that I refused to pay. They removed it from the bill and I left. I ended up eating at the Crown Grill 9 nights out of 10 and it was fantastic each night. I plan to do the same on my cruise next week... and if the service or food is garbage, I'll be sure to complain immediately so they can *fix* it. I won't just come on CC and complain about it because I was too lazy to take appropriate action then.

 

Calling the OP "lazy" is kind of harsh and rude, don't you think?

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Tiggerontheseas]

If it's bad the next time, you refuse to pay. Personally, I don't know why the OP didn't complain immediately to the Maitre D' when they thought there were problems in the first place. If it was that unenjoyable, I'd have made sure they knew it immediately so they can fix it. Last year, I was on the Ruby and had the misfortune of deciding to eat at the Salty Dog one night instead of dining in the Crown Grill like I had every night before... huge mistake. Small portions of awful food. I complained to the waitress immediately and told them that I refused to pay. They removed it from the bill and I left. I ended up eating at the Crown Grill 9 nights out of 10 and it was fantastic each night. I plan to do the same on my cruise next week... and if the service or food is garbage, I'll be sure to complain immediately so they can *fix* it. I won't just come on CC and complain about it because I was too lazy to take appropriate action then.

 

I can understand just letting it go, chalking it up to a bad experience and deciding not to chance it again. Some people (me) are not confrontational. I'm hoping that I have a good experience at my first Crown Grill dinner that is coming up but if I don't it's not something that we'll likely do again. There are plenty of other places to eat.

 

I am very happy to hear that you've had wonderful meals there and I'm looking forward to our special evening - I've enjoyed reading and appreciate all the thoughts of people who have dined there recently. Even the bad reviews are helpful and have certainly made me aware enough to temper my expectations. :D

[srpilo]

Calling the OP "lazy" is kind of harsh and rude, don't you think?

 

Enjoy your cruise.

++++ 1

 

I agree 1000% ,sometimes frequent posters think themselves after a few cruises that they're experts on all subjects cruising, and feel that rude posts are their right when responding to those who they feel aren't as qualifided as they are

 

My advise to all of theses posters is CRUISE more and post less

Srpilo

[Cuervosar]

Clown grill / Crown grill. I see what you did there. I see you working. Nice.

[enteroshopping]

Calling the OP "lazy" is kind of harsh and rude, don't you think?

 

Enjoy your cruise.

I don't believe it either harsh or rude. How is anyone supposed to know if something is wrong without telling them? The waiters don't have psychic powers. If you don't like it, fix it. If they don't fix it, complain about them. You just have to do it before the end of the meal. If you don't attempt to fix it and you have a bad time, you've got no one to blame but yourself. These waiters serve hundreds of people every week... they've got no way to know if you like something done in a certain way or not.

[Thrak]

My only real problems with Crown Grill is:

 

I want the Rib Eye but can't eat that much so I end up getting the Filet Mignon. It's tender but not nearly as flavorful as a Rib Eye. I realize I can just eat part of the meal and leave the rest but it seems incredibly wasteful to me to order the big steak and then not eat it. I don't really like paying extra for a cut of meat that isn't what I want to eat. Additionally, my wife has been pretty underwhelmed the last couple of times we ate at a specialty restaurant. I can make a better steak on my own grill...

[yags]

OP, we had a similar poor service from our waiter from Romania and his assistant at the CG on your cruise. We were seated at fhe left side after the entrance. We arrived at 6:30pm and didn't take long to give our order knowing what we wanted. Our dessert were served at 9:10pm.

 

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app

Holy Smokes Easyboy. What day did you go? We were there on Monday with a 6:30 reservation. We could have been there at the same time. there were four of us seated in the far right back corner near the Kitchen door. All of us ate a few bites of our dessert but refused to stay after I talked to the Maitre D'

[yags]

Sorry you had a bad dining experience.

Just curious, what was the ethnicity of you waiter? I ask because it's been our experience, that some service/waiters seem gruff, pushy, and rude, when it is in fact, it's only a cultural thing.

Better luck on your next cruise, and don't let one bad experience turn you off on all the upscale Princess specialty dining venues.

 

Enjoy your cruise, and if God wills, grant you good health, to live and not die, before your next cruise.

 

 

 

"I cruise to eat healthy, and eat my slice of apple pie everyday before I die"

Our waiter was Filipino. Coming from the San Francisco bay area where there is a huge Filipino population I have lived among these folks for years. Even by Filipino standards this waiter was very rude.

[bigenna]

I agree with those that were "underwhelmed " with the Crown Grill. First time food was good and plentiful, but we felt that we waited too long between arrival and taking our orders, and they seemed to completely forget about us once we were served. Made it impossible to really enjoy the meal if something was missing that we wanted to enjoy with the meal. So choice was to either wait and have a cold meal, or eat as is. Same with coffee refills. Way too long to wait.

We decided we would try again on a different ship and this time the service was not only very slow, but the waiter's interaction with us was far from engaging - almost to the point of brusqueness.

Both my husband and I are non drinkers and I suspect that has a lot to do with the mediocre service we received.

Too bad, because I would really enjoy a nice dinner, more upscale from the main dining room at least a couple of times on each cruise. But Princess, you won't be getting our business at the Crown Grill again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[yags]

I don't believe it either harsh or rude. How is anyone supposed to know if something is wrong without telling them? The waiters don't have psychic powers. If you don't like it, fix it. If they don't fix it, complain about them. You just have to do it before the end of the meal. If you don't attempt to fix it and you have a bad time, you've got no one to blame but yourself. These waiters serve hundreds of people every week... they've got no way to know if you like something done in a certain way or not.

The quality of the food was one of several problems. We resented being treated rudely and told what we should order and how we should order it then being ignored and treated poorly. How do you tell a waiter who does not care and is rude that he does not care and is rude. The only psychic powers this waiter needed was common courtesy. I told his boss. Who, by the way, did not care either. I did tell his boss the Chief Maitre D' of the ship. Glad I did not have to deal with you folks.

[laktex]

We just got back from the 3-25-17 sailing of the Crown Princess to the Eastern Caribbean. We had a marvelous time. The MDR was amazing, ports of call were beautiful and almost all staff were really nice. We loved the ship and feel Princess did a good job. EXCEPT FOR the Clown (Crown) Grill. What a disappointment! After all the positive input on the Crown grill on this site, You Tube, and other sites we were most excited about going. We went early in the cruise and early in the evening (6:30 PM) so they were only about 1/3 full. It was a terrible experience. The waiter almost demanded that we order certain dishes. We ordered what we wanted. The food was overcooked, the service was non existent, and when we did encounter our waiter he was rude. We feel it began when (since we do not drink wine, only Ice tea) we did not order wine or designer water for the table. The waiter was pushy and since he was not going to make anything from additional purchases rude and non responsive. We had to wait 30 minutes for our table to be cleared of dinner dishes. Once we ordered coffee we had to wait for it. Our Waiter demanded we ordered desserts and had a verbal altercation with a member of our group because he wanted something different. We sat and watched our desserts on a table by the kitchen for 15 minutes while we waited for a coffee refill. I asked to see the Maitre D' of the dining room and the minute I told the waiter I wanted to see the Maitre D' our desserts were practically thrown on our table. The Maitre D' was very apologetic. I told him we were not looking for a refund. You don't go on a cruise and worry about $29. I told him I wanted changes so the next guest would not be treated like crap. I did not tell him but I expected maybe a hand written note later in the cruise no notes came. We all felt we were just handled and nothing would happen so at the end of the cruise I sought out Neville Saldanha, Head Maitre D' for the Ship and told him what had happened. He sent a bottle of wine to our cabin. I don't think he was listening because I told him that we don't drink wine and we felt that was the basis for the whole problem.

 

This was my first time on Princess and I will go on Princess again. I will NEVER eat at their upscale dining venues and I will always tell this story. If I failed to answer any questions let me know I will be glad to fill in the blanks. In the questionnaire received from Princess on my return I told them I was going to post this on Cruise Critic. I mentioned Cruise critic in all my discussions. Believe me they have all heard of this great site.

 

My inclination would have been to ask (almost demand) a refund - as you say, it may not be the money, but it certainly is the principle.

[GUT2407]

Wow, eat in steakhouse almost every cruise, about once a week on average, I drink Diet Coke with a package, Mrs Gut drinks water (not bottled) never had other than great service.

[weedpindle]

On the Ruby in March, probably the last time for the Crown Grill. Food nowhere near what we have experienced in the past, service meh. Already cancelled the Grill for two cruises next month.

[Kingofcool1947]

The quality of the food was one of several problems. We resented being treated rudely and told what we should order and how we should order it then being ignored and treated poorly. How do you tell a waiter who does not care and is rude that he does not care and is rude. The only psychic powers this waiter needed was common courtesy. I told his boss. Who, by the way, did not care either. I did tell his boss the Chief Maitre D' of the ship. Glad I did not have to deal with you folks.

 

Besides all that you did, I would suggest next time, complete a comment card at the end of your cruise. Deposit your comment card at the PSD. No doubt, Princess management would like to get feedback on your unsatisfactory experience at Crown Grill. A quick letter to the CEO if you feel that inclined. ;)

 

Enjoy your cruise, and if God wills, grant you good health, to live and not die before you're next cruise.

 

 

 

"I cruise to eat healthy, and eat a slice of apple pie everyday before I die."

Edited April 5, 2017 by Kingofcool1947

[FritzG]

We've been to Crown Grill on several cruises in the last few years. One time we had a very nasty waiter--for some reason he was cold and unresponsive from the very start. The only thing we could think of was that when he made our reservation on embarkation day there was a time change involved, and we got a reservation note card for both 5:30 and 6:30. We notified the Dine Line that we only booked the 6:30 time, and we wondered if he had been "reprimanded" for making the double booking.

He was very friendly to the other tables he was serving, and we barely got a one word answer out of him. When I asked about the difference between the beef chop and the rib eye he told me one is a chop and one is a steak. He delivered all of our food without a word, and we had to ask for a dessert menu. We ordered the dessert sampler to share which he brought to the table on its serving plate with no plates for us to eat on. At the end of the meal we brought to the headwaiter's attention. Our dessert plate was still on the table, and he was shocked at the presentation. He took our cabin number and told us he'd get back to us. Within the hour we ran into the headwaiter near IC, and he told us the service we got was unacceptable and our meal was comped. Later we also got a note from the headwaiter. We've been to Crown Grill on every single cruise after that, and we've always had great service and very good to great service including the Star to Hawaii a couple of weeks ago.

This is how your situation should have been handled.

[4cats4me]

We used to be big fans Crown Grille, but in Oct on the Grand we had very poor service and a rather dismissive, rude waiter. We felt so uncomfortable that we cancelled our second reservation there, and also due to the MDR food being very good, we just decided not to go back.

 

On the Regal last month, I had to send my filet back since it was well done and not medium rare. The people next to us also sent theirs back. That was the first visit. On visit number two, dinner took 2:40 minutes, way too long. We felt bad for the waiter who was running around as fast as he could, but we felt that the Crown Grille was seriously understaffed compared to 2015 and 2016.

Our steaks were cooked perfectly on the second visit though. Needless to say, we really aren't big fans of Crown Grille anymore. The magic has worn off.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[pris993]

We did the Crown Grill on the Grand for 10 nights straight... excellent experience...looking forward to doing the same thing next year on the Grand and the same on the Royal on our 15 day TA...

 

You did the right thing reporting the issue while you were still on board.

 

We were on a 10 day cruise many years ago had a head waiter who had an attitude.... we put up with it... thought maybe it could get better... my DH did talk to the head of the dept for Food and Beverage while on board... still things did not get better we should have changed tables... would if ever I was in that position again.

 

Fortunately, we have 24 cruises with Princess... had only may 2 where staff did not measure up well. Not bad in the long run, when you think about the kind of service we find in every day life shopping - eating out -- etc. these days.

[Lucky TGO]

We were on the Royal Princess in 2016 and had a terrible waiter and the food was the same. :mad:

This year we decided to try the Crown Grill on the Royal again and it was just OK. In the past the CG was really good. I don't know why the service and food has gone down so much.

On the 2016 cruise we did complain to passengers services. We told them we were there for 4 hrs. and it was terrible ( BAD SERVICE & CLOD FOOD) They must have check some how because the next day. We all were call to say the charges were takin off our account.

Tony

[myfuzzy]

Everyone who posted here should go to the Princess website and email them about their Crown Grill experiences..There seems to be way too many people who have had underwhelming experiences that should have been 5 star. Let them know. Has anyone noticed this downfall has taken place since they raised the cover charge.

[Kingofcool1947]

Everyone who posted here should go to the Princess website and email them about their Crown Grill experiences..There seems to be way too many people who have had underwhelming experiences that should have been 5 star. Let them know. Has anyone noticed this downfall has taken place since they raised the cover charge.

 

Can you please jog my memory regarding the cover charge to dine at the Crown Grill?

We have always paid $29 per person. What was the cover charge before, and when was the cover charged increased?

Do you consider the Crown Grill a five star steakhouse comparable to these in US?

 

http://www.gayot.com/best-restaurants/top-10-steakhouses/main.html

 

Happy cruising.

 

"I cruise to eat healthy, and to eat a slice of apple pie everyday before I die."

Edited April 6, 2017 by Kingofcool1947

[floridalover5623]

Everyone who posted here should go to the Princess website and email them about their Crown Grill experiences..There seems to be way too many people who have had underwhelming experiences that should have been 5 star. Let them know. Has anyone noticed this downfall has taken place since they raised the cover charge.

They're always counting on their newer customers to backfill the absence of repeat old time customers. When the word finally get around (many years) they'll change the name & begin the whole process all over. ;p

[Astro Flyer]

Can you please jog my memory regarding the cover charge to dine at the Crown Grill?

We have always paid $29 per person. What was the cover charge before, and when was the cover charged increased?

Do you consider the Crown Grill a five star steakhouse comparable to these in US?

 

http://www.gayot.com/best-restaurants/top-10-steakhouses/main.html

 

Happy cruising.

 

"I cruise to eat healthy, and to eat a slice of apple pie everyday before I die."

About a year ago the Crown Grill & Sabatini's increased from $25 to $29. I had noticed a decreased steak quality & fewer waitstaff before the price increase & hoped with the higher cost the CG would return to its previous levels but not for me.

Taste is subjective & some don't feel the quality has changed but poor service is easier to define. While I've never received rude service, I have experienced more slow, inattentive service recently which I partially attribute to fewer waitstaff.

 

Within the past year the Crab Shack increased from $19 to $29. Since that price increase on my cruises it was offered less frequently & guessing that's a result of the 53% price increase. If I'm going to pay $29 then the CG & Sabatini's are better places to spend that amount.

[yags]

We just got back from the 3-25-17 sailing of the Crown Princess to the Eastern Caribbean. We had a marvelous time. The MDR was amazing, ports of call were beautiful and almost all staff were really nice. We loved the ship and feel Princess did a good job. EXCEPT FOR the Clown (Crown) Grill. What a disappointment! After all the positive input on the Crown grill on this site, You Tube, and other sites we were most excited about going. We went early in the cruise and early in the evening (6:30 PM) so they were only about 1/3 full. It was a terrible experience. The waiter almost demanded that we order certain dishes. We ordered what we wanted. The food was overcooked, the service was non existent, and when we did encounter our waiter he was rude. We feel it began when (since we do not drink wine, only Ice tea) we did not order wine or designer water for the table. The waiter was pushy and since he was not going to make anything from additional purchases rude and non responsive. We had to wait 30 minutes for our table to be cleared of dinner dishes. Once we ordered coffee we had to wait for it. Our Waiter demanded we ordered desserts and had a verbal altercation with a member of our group because he wanted something different. We sat and watched our desserts on a table by the kitchen for 15 minutes while we waited for a coffee refill. I asked to see the Maitre D' of the dining room and the minute I told the waiter I wanted to see the Maitre D' our desserts were practically thrown on our table. The Maitre D' was very apologetic. I told him we were not looking for a refund. You don't go on a cruise and worry about $29. I told him I wanted changes so the next guest would not be treated like crap. I did not tell him but I expected maybe a hand written note later in the cruise no notes came. We all felt we were just handled and nothing would happen so at the end of the cruise I sought out Neville Saldanha, Head Maitre D' for the Ship and told him what had happened. He sent a bottle of wine to our cabin. I don't think he was listening because I told him that we don't drink wine and we felt that was the basis for the whole problem.

 

This was my first time on Princess and I will go on Princess again. I will NEVER eat at their upscale dining venues and I will always tell this story. If I failed to answer any questions let me know I will be glad to fill in the blanks. In the questionnaire received from Princess on my return I told them I was going to post this on Cruise Critic. I mentioned Cruise critic in all my discussions. Believe me they have all heard of this great site.

 

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Everyone with varied experiences showed an appreciation for my unfortunate predicament. Even the one poster who said I was "lazy" also had valuable points to share. I learned a couple of things from your input. 1) When we go on Princess again (and there will be another Princess ship in our future) we will give upscale dining a second chance. As I said before our experience in upscale dining on the Carnival Spirit was exceptional no reason it cannot be on a Princess vessel. 2) I am going to write Princess a hard copy letter. Hearing some of the comments here this might be a good time for Princess to tune up their upscale dining venues. I, of course, will mention my experience and back it up with a suggestion to look at Cruise Critic. Again thank you all for your input. Happy and healthy sailing to wherever life leads you.

[GRAYTech]

Lot's of varied opinions and experiences on Princess upscale dinning. Your open mindedness to give it another go is admirable. I'm sure you will but be sure to do just that, keep an open mind about the next meal there. If you go in expecting the worst it may head you in that direction.

 

The only other thing I would say from own experience is if a waiter, CG, MDR. Vines or even the buffet try to steer you away from anything on the menu it's likely because it's sub-par or at least, another option is better. Even at the CG we give the waiter an opportunity to recommend his/her favorite dish on the menu for that evening and order it. If you are willing/able to be flexible this usually yields a great meal and a very engaged wait staff.