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Loved the Ultimate Balcony Dinner last night on CP!

gaa2

By gaa2,
in Princess Cruises

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gaa2

gaa2

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Thought I would do another quick post from sea on the beautiful Caribbean Princess. We had the Ultimate Balcony Dinner last night as we sailed out of St. Thomas. It was awesome---perfect, down to the last romantic detail. We made the reservations as soon as we got on board. However, it is apparently not in big demand---we were the first ones this sailing to do it! Our waiter told us three couples had it booked for tonight (sailing from St. Maarten). Here are some of the highlights: about 15 minutes before we were scheduled to begin with cocktails, the waiter arrived to "set up" on the balcony, linens, white table cloth, and a beautifully set table. The champagne bucket was also set up to begin cooling the champagne. A fresh flower arrangement was delivered as the centerpiece for the table. Cocktails arrived, and canapes (a really nice selection). During our cocktail hour, the ship's photographer arrived and took our photo sitting at the table on our balcony with one of the islands in the background. As the sun was setting, dinner service began. Our appetizer was two wonderful crab cakes---a very different preparation. They were not breaded and fried. There were large pieces of crab, and it is very hard to describe, but it was delicious. When we were ready, our champagne was poured. The next course was the salad course---delicious. Then came the "Maine" event (pun intended)---one of the largest lobster tails I have ever eaten. Very tender. Great presentation, as was true of all courses. Finally , a heavenly dessert, as if we needed more food. It can best be described as artistically presented mousses in four flavors. We had this with our cafe lattes. By this time, we decided to finish our coffee in our room. We were not sure we could move! The service was elegant and gracious. I was impressed by the discretion and instincts of the three people dedicated to making sure our evening was perfect---the waiter, assistant waiter, and manager of what they call the "Bellbox" service. They did not hover. They served us and seemed to disappear until they anticipated our next "need", leaving us to enjoy our beautiful romantic evening under the Caribbean sky. This was a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary, and I highly recommend it. I think the price may put some people off---that is the only reason I can think of why it is not more popular. But when you consider the fresh flowers, split of Moet champagne, cocktails, and photo alone, coupled with your dedicated wait staff and wonderful food, the $50 per person seemed like a great deal. Hope this answers your questions.

 

Caribbean Princess 6/12/04

Diamond Princess 3/05

 

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prophotogal

prophotogal

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Oh you just made me hungry reading your post!

 

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Caribbean Princess HERE I COME! (9/4/04)

 

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Caribbean Princess here I come again (For MY BIRTHDAY)!(10/30/04)

 

Dawn Princess Southern Caribbean Jan. 2002

Dawn Princess Alaska Sept. 2003

Rhapsody of the Seas Western Caribbean Jan. 2004

Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often!

Peace, Love and Mickey Mouse!

 

~ Heather ~ ºoº

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helen123

helen123

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Great description of a great evening!

I have a few questions. What were the choices of

appetizers, entrees and dessert that you had to choose from. Did you make your choices when you made the reservation or was a menu sent to you?

Have a great rest of your vacation!

Thanks in advance

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cruiserlisa

cruiserlisa

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This sounded so heavenly. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Have a great cruise.

 

Lisa icon_cool.gif

 

PREMIER BIG RED BOAT 1990

CARNIVAL SENSATION 2000

RCCI EXPLORER OF THE SEAS 2001

CARNIVAL PRIDE 2003

CARNIVAL CONQUEST 2004

RCCI MARINER OF THE SEAS 2004

CARNIVAL MIRACLE 2005

CARIBBEAN PRINCESS 2005

 

 

 

SEE MY WEBSHOTS

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UNTIL THE HOUNDS HOWL ON THE MARINER

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HOWLING WITH THE ROYAL HOUNDS ON PRINCESS

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spongerob

spongerob

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Thanks for posting your comments. Now I'm all hungry...

 

Is the menu set, or can you order alternate items for the main course? My wife doesn't like lobster (yes, she's weird) but would otherwise love the service. It sounds like such a nice treat. Is there space on the ticket to add a tip?

 

Completed:

Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess

 

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pattie63

pattie63

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Can you make reservations BEFORE you board (I don't think so). The reason I'm asking is that my sister will be honeymooning (first wedding - she's 43 and he's 48!!) on the CP on October 9 and I would like to arrange this as a gift for them but I don't think it can be pre-arranged and I guess that they would want to choose the night (sounds sooooooo romantic). I guess I can give them a shipboard credit and make up a gift certificate to be used for the dinner. Any other ideas????

 

QE2 - 2000

Grand Princess - 2002

Coral Princess - 2004

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spongerob

spongerob

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Maybe we shouldn't talk this up TOO much. If a buzz gets going, the price of this will go up along with demand. Let's at least wait until we all get a chance to cruise again and experience this before letting the hoi polloi in on the secret. icon_smile.gif

 

Completed:

Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess

 

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davehaj

davehaj

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How warm was it on the balacony? We will be going at the end of August and were wondering if it would be comfortable sitting there throughout the presentation. Thanks, Davehaj.

 

dave hajjar

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sunnyv

sunnyv

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DH is allergic to lobster icon_eek.gif

 

Is lobster the only choice?

 

Vicki

 

12/26/04 Caribbean Princess to Eastern Caribbean

Princess Star 8/03 Alaska

Princess Coral 3/03 Panama

Disney's Wonder 12/01 Bahama's

RCC Majesty of the Seas 11/99 Southern Caribbean

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rob_ n_tam

rob_ n_tam

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Hi,

 

West Coast- its $50/per person

 

Sunny- attached is the link to our review of the dinner. It has the entire menu, I think that they would work with any special needs you might have. My DH is allergic to fish (not shellfish) and has to be very careful about crabmeat because some places might call it a crab cake, but its actually got white fish in it. We checked to Christian the bell box manager and he made sure the crab cakes had no white fish in them.

 

HTH!

 

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=887097554&m=487102591&r=482102691#482102691

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gaa2

gaa2

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To answer some of your questions while we are still at sea....I do not believe there is a way for you to make reservations before boarding, but I will ask Christian, the bell box manager. An alternative to lobster is steak, or you can have both! In fact, they seemed surprised that we did not want "surf and turf." I am not sure if there were alternatives to the appetizer on the menu we got---I will check and see. It was $50 per person, so $100 for a couple, plus tip. My husband tipped $30 for our exceptional service, and wrote it on the slip when he signed for the dinner. It was not too hot...but I am not sure about August. It did get a bit windy at the end, just before we moved inside with our coffee.

 

I will post a full review of the cruise after we are back to reality.

 

Caribbean Princess 6/12/04

Diamond Princess 3/05

 

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