Just a few Princess questions

[grouchomarx]

I have not sailed Princess in 5 years and will be sailing on the Sky in December.  I have a few questions to get updated on Princess.

-Can you buy a day pass for the thermal suite or is it only for the whole week?

-Same as above for the Sanctuary

-How would you generally rate MDR food?  My last cruise (Regal), we were not loving it like we did in the past and did a lot of specialty dining.

-How would you generally rate Sabatinis?  I have never tried this "new" menu and it looks quite dull.

-Are drinks still reasonably priced?  We will need to decide on the drinks package, not sure (we drink a good deal).

Thanks.

[voljeep]

11 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

I have not sailed Princess in 5 years and will be sailing on the Sky in December.  I have a few questions to get updated on Princess.

-Can you buy a day pass for the thermal suite or is it only for the whole week?

-Same as above for the Sanctuary

-How would you generally rate MDR food?  My last cruise (Regal), we were not loving it like we did in the past and did a lot of specialty dining.

-How would you generally rate Sabatinis?  I have never tried this "new" menu and it looks quite dull.

-Are drinks still reasonably priced?  We will need to decide on the drinks package, not sure (we drink a good deal).

Thanks.

pass

pass

subjective

subjective

6-7 alcoholic drinks per day , every day , is about break-even

 

[riffatsea]

We are generally happy with the MDR menu and food. Some days are better than others but my taste buds and yours may be very different!!

We had one dinner at Sabatinis and didn't enjoy the food at all for the main courses.

Again, My taste buds and yours are not the same so hard to tell if you will enjoy it or not.

Drinks on all ships are priced like hotels on land. To me the prices are fine and we don't quibble about them. We don't think it is worthwhile to buy a drinks pkg but then our habits of drinking may well be different than yours.

You are asking a lot of subjective questions!!

[nukesubsailor]

16 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

I have not sailed Princess in 5 years and will be sailing on the Sky in December.  I have a few questions to get updated on Princess.

-Can you buy a day pass for the thermal suite or is it only for the whole week?   Never use it so can't help.

-Same as above for the Sanctuary  As soon as you board make reservations for either the entire cruise or just for the specific days you will want to use the Sanctuary.  You can reserve just a half day also.

-How would you generally rate MDR food?  My last cruise (Regal), we were not loving it like we did in the past and did a lot of specialty dining.  We check the menu every afternoon.  If it appeals to us we will dine there.  If not we make other plans.

-How would you generally rate Sabatinis?  I have never tried this "new" menu and it looks quite dull.  The menu at Sabatinis does not appeal to us.

-Are drinks still reasonably priced?  We will need to decide on the drinks package, not sure (we drink a good deal).  I don't consider $8-$10 for a drink to be reasonable.  To decide if the drink package is good for you, just do the math based upon how many drinks per day you will want.

Thanks.

 

[sandyoftheseas]

You can't buy a day pass for the Thermal suite on the ships I have been on.  You could only purchase it for the entire cruise.

 

The Sanctuary- You can buy a day pass I think it is $40 for a full day and $20 1/2 day.  I don't know that for sure because we book for the entire cruise.  Some ships you can book for certain days on embarkation other ships you need to be there at 6am on the day you want to book.  

 

As far as the MDR food we feel most  of the dishes and good to very good.  the same with Sabatinis. but nothing to rave about.

 

I can not comment on the drinks as we don't drink that much.

[partybarbie]

Lots of pictures, and food descriptions, of Sabatini's are given on this recent thread, https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2674152-images-of-sabatinis-italian-trattoria-dishes/?tab=comments#comment-57758520

Edited July 8, 2019 by partybarbie

[JF - retired RRT]

50 minutes ago, sandyoftheseas said:

The Sanctuary- You can buy a day pass I think it is $40 for a full day and $20 1/2 day.  I don't know that for sure because we book for the entire cruise.  Some ships you can book for certain days on embarkation other ships you need to be there at 6am on the day you want to book.  

You're correct in the pricing, Sandy. Also, $30/day if you book for the whole week.

[Qcruise]

3 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

I don't consider $8-$10 for a drink to be reasonable.  To decide if the drink package is good for you, just do the math based upon how many drinks per day you will want.

Thanks.

Honestly.....I'm not sure where you frequent to purchase drinks,  but I find Princess drink pricing very reasonable when compared to many other places.  If you've traveled with RCI lately you'll find they charge around $12 dollars per average drink while Princess is closer to $8.....many lines are pricing to get you into their "package" and at the higher price it's worth just paying for it.   If you don't drink that much then ala carte is a better way to go on Princess.

[memoak]

Totally agree that drink prices are close to what I would expect to pay in a nice restaurant.  That being said we still have the beverage package every cruise since it pays for us once you add in waters and specialty coffees 

[PMGS247]

Can't add much that hasn't been said on the other topics so I'll just chime in on Sabatini's - my wife and I are huge fans. Have always enjoyed it..the old menu and the new menu.  One of the appetizers on the new menu is a lamb ravioli and is just fantastic.  I could live off that stuff the rest of my life.  As for the menu there's not a lot of items on the menu that appeal to me, but there are 1 or 2 things in each section that I would eat, and that's what I've ordered; I've never had a plate I didn't enjoy.  It's always on our to-do list when we get on board.

[grouchomarx]

We did the drinks package last cruise, I think because it was the first time it was offered and it was exciting.  Having done them on some other cruise  lines, I've come to think it does encourage over drinking. Plus, we have 4 good ports we will be going to so not spending all day every day on the ship and getting so much value out of it. So I think we'll probably do a la carte since the Princess prices are decent. I heard that NCL is charging crazy prices for drinks to as to get you to take the "free" drinks package.  I'm glad Princess is  not going that route.  I know my food questions are subjective that's why I said a general impression would be helpful.  For example how the old Sabatini's menu compares to the new one, and how the MDR 5 years ago compares to now.  Is the quality and selection still there is what I am trying to figure out.  We eat low carb so I don't know if Sabatini's is worth it since I will likely forgo the pasta course, and the mains look rather lame.  Thanks for the input.

[polmcs]

One other plus for the Royal class ships (Sky is part of this family) is that the buffet onboard far surpasses all other buffets in the Princess fleet. I avoid buffets like the plague, but onboard the Royal in 2017, I would forgo the MDR for breakfast and lunch, which is unheard of for me and opt for the buffet instead. Dinner was always in the MDR though. One can’t let standards slip too far! 😉

 

Here’s hoping the buffet on the Sky is just as good (though I’m not stepping on board until it has a Crooner’s) and hopefully the Royal still has the same high standard with buffet for my Thanksgiving Cruise later this year.

[grouchomarx]

13 minutes ago, polmcs said:

One other plus for the Royal class ships (Sky is part of this family) is that the buffet onboard far surpasses all other buffets in the Princess fleet. I avoid buffets like the plague, but onboard the Royal in 2017, I would forgo the MDR for breakfast and lunch, which is unheard of for me and opt for the buffet instead. Dinner was always in the MDR though. One can’t let standards slip too far! 😉

 

Here’s hoping the buffet on the Sky is just as good (though I’m not stepping on board until it has a Crooner’s) and hopefully the Royal still has the same high standard with buffet for my Thanksgiving Cruise later this year.

It's funny I think we did the same thing on the Regal because the buffet was so user friendly and the food was good. It was easier than having to fully dress for the MDR at lunch time too.

I did notice there is no Crooners, but there is a jazz lounge so maybe that'll be similar, or even nicer.  I am super excited for a French restaurant so it's ok with me for no Crooners on this ship.  I've been waiting for Princess to finally have additional specialty dining as that's our thing.

[nukesubsailor]

1 hour ago, Qcruise said:

Honestly.....I'm not sure where you frequent to purchase drinks,  but I find Princess drink pricing very reasonable when compared to many other places.  If you've traveled with RCI lately you'll find they charge around $12 dollars per average drink while Princess is closer to $8.....many lines are pricing to get you into their "package" and at the higher price it's worth just paying for it.   If you don't drink that much then ala carte is a better way to go on Princess.

I compare the cost of a drink to the cost of a bottle, not the competition.  Take my usual drink for an example - Grey Goose and tonic: A 1 liter bottle of Grey Goose vodka costs $42. (Princess may get a better price by buying in volume.)  That bottle will make 33 single shot drinks.  At $9 per drink that means a revenue of $297.  The ice and tonic in the drink cost very little.  The 18% gratuity would cover the cost of the labor of the waiter for the time he spends taking my order and bringing me the drink.

Princess drink prices might beat other cruise lines but that doesn't make them reasonable in my opinion.  I used to own a bar many years ago and I made a very good profit selling a vodka and tonic drink for $1.  Now the price of a bottle has gone up 6 fold since them but the Princess drink price has gone up 9 fold.

[voljeep]

8 minutes ago, nukesubsailor said:

I used to own a bar many years ago and I made a very good profit selling a vodka and tonic drink for $1. 

and I used to go to Nickel  Beer Night !!!

Edited July 8, 2019 by voljeep

[PMGS247]

27 minutes ago, grouchomarx said:

We eat low carb so I don't know if Sabatini's is worth it since I will likely forgo the pasta course, and the mains look rather lame.  Thanks for the input.

 

Having eaten at Sabbatini's twice in the last 12 months, I can confirm that your first reason, avoiding carbs, is a good reason to skip it.  On the other hand, I firmly disagree with the second, the mains are anything but "lame" 🙂

[grouchomarx]

Just now, PMGS247 said:

 

Having eaten at Sabbatini's twice in the last 12 months, I can confirm that your first reason, avoiding carbs, is a good reason to skip it.  On the other hand, I firmly disagree with the second, the mains are anything but "lame" 🙂

By lame I mean compared to the old menu.  For example the salt encrusted Branzino that was delicately taken apart and served tableside. Also the amazing veal chop. And the lobster 3 ways.  There don't seem to be any dishes that compare to those from the old menu. No higher end proteins available.  

[PMGS247]

Just now, grouchomarx said:

By lame I mean compared to the old menu.  For example the salt encrusted Branzino that was delicately taken apart and served tableside. Also the amazing veal chop. And the lobster 3 ways.  There don't seem to be any dishes that compare to those from the old menu. No higher end proteins available.  

 

Tough to say based on a menu 🙂 I'm hardly a food critic, can't properly do it justice.  Sounds like you were well decided before asking for input.  I'll move along.  Have a great cruise!

[skynight]

48 minutes ago, nukesubsailor said:

I compare the cost of a drink to the cost of a bottle, not the competition.  Take my usual drink for an example - Grey Goose and tonic: A 1 liter bottle of Grey Goose vodka costs $42. (Princess may get a better price by buying in volume.)  That bottle will make 33 single shot drinks.  At $9 per drink that means a revenue of $297.  The ice and tonic in the drink cost very little.  The 18% gratuity would cover the cost of the labor of the waiter for the time he spends taking my order and bringing me the drink.

Princess drink prices might beat other cruise lines but that doesn't make them reasonable in my opinion.  I used to own a bar many years ago and I made a very good profit selling a vodka and tonic drink for $1.  Now the price of a bottle has gone up 6 fold since them but the Princess drink price has gone up 9 fold.

No cruise line, high end resort, resort hotel or high end restaurant works this way. What you describe is more like an American Legion or VFW hall. I have been on Princess cruises since the 90's. I remember drink prices around $5, maybe $6. The increase to $10 is 100% not 900% as you indicate. If you wish to cruise on main stream lines be prepared to pay the drink prices.

[tailspintom]

27 minutes ago, PMGS247 said:

 

Tough to say based on a menu 🙂 I'm hardly a food critic, can't properly do it justice.  Sounds like you were well decided before asking for input.  I'll move along.  Have a great cruise!

We are all food critics because we consume.  And, you seem to have done the new menu justice.  Having said that, I and Wifey are of those who like the old menu.  We have cycled through the the three Sabatini"s iterations that have evolved since we started to cruise regularly and have found the current the least appetizing .... to us.  I must say that the preparation and service has been consistently excellent.

 

To the OP.  Try the Sabatini"s menu and decide for yourself.  In the realm of things it is a small investment to find out if you like a specialty restaurant offering.  From your initial post, one could assume that you have tried Crowne Grill on the Regal. 

[tlovesdis]

We loved Sabitini's and can't wait to eat there again in February!  The beef cheeks were to die for!!!   

[Colo Cruiser]

We don't care for the current Sabatinis menu at all.

Will not be back until it is changed again.   🙄

[MixerDave]

23 minutes ago, tlovesdis said:

We loved Sabitini's and can't wait to eat there again in February!  The beef cheeks were to die for!!!   

I just checked out Sabatini's menu - Did not see the beef cheeks -

[neverbeenhere]

10 minutes ago, MixerDave said:

I just checked out Sabatini's menu - Did not see the beef cheeks -

 

A SHARE menu item?

Edited July 8, 2019 by neverbeenhere

[tlovesdis]

51 minutes ago, MixerDave said:

I just checked out Sabatini's menu - Did not see the beef cheeks -

Sorry!  It's not called beef cheeks but that's what I call it!  LOL

 

Here it is...

 

Buckwheat Pappardelle wide ribbon pasta, celeriac, nebbiolo-braised beef cheek

 

Here's a pic...