Grand Princess Food

[Gizmograndad]

What is the dining room food like on the Grand Princess

[TeaBag]

Glad you asked this.  I want to know too since we are booked on her and it is 20 years since we last sailed on this ship.

[chrysalis]

Not too good today.....but in all seriousness, it depends on the executive chef, and no one knows who that will be in the future. Generally, I think Princess DR food is pretty good.

[skynight]

This is what it was pre shut down. DR selections were from standard menu items and presentations across the fleet. The Exec. Chef can choose which items he wants. Longer cruises, more selections. There are certain selections that are always available, such as grilled chicken, fettuccine alfredo, ceaser salad. All presentations are basically good quality banquet foods. If you are in club class there is one selection extra each evening. DR breakfast selections such as pancakes, french toast, omelettes, eggs are pretty much cooked to order as are some of the lunch selections, for example burgers. Full suite passengers get special mimosa breakfast in Sabatini's.

Edited May 20, 2020 by skynight

[Cruise Raider]

Our last few sailings have been on the Grand.  We are not crazy about their buffet but found the food in the MRD to be quite good, in Club Class, even better!!  The Grand also has Alfredo's, which is excellent, as is the Crown Grill.  I'm not a fan of Sabatini's, though.  

 

[Cuedon]

It's not even really a case of the chef choosing what they want in the MDR; there's an ID on the bottom of each page that'll be like "D1/17" that they just cycle through. (Look at the lower right corner of the image, for example.) If you take the same route multiple times in a single season, you stand a very good chance of seeing the same menus in the exact same order, even if you're on different ships... I don't think the 7-day MexRiv out of LA has changed their menu at all in two years, other than the one that's a different class.

 

...Okay, the insert other media button appears to be broken for me, so... here's the image link directly instead: http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/princess-cruise-menu-2.jpg

[Gizmograndad]

Thanks for the information, we are hoping to go next year and we usually have good food on all the other cruise lines we have been on

[Thrak]

Beef in the main dining room will be poor. That's pretty much a given on Princess ships these days. You may have the option to get beef from Crown Grill served in the main dining room but it will have an extra charge.

[Ombud]

Skip the eggs benedict. Hollandaise sauce is cooked firm. 

[getting older slowly]

It really comes down to your expectations.... fine dining... not in MDR.... 

Specialty restaurants.. have had some great dinners there......

 

If you like good hotel food.... that is where i would place the MDR food.... but sometimes it is better or worse depending on the dish......

 

Also the thing to remember you are being waited on , no cooking, no cleaning up... makes it taste better.....

 

Enjoy....... but remember food is such a subjective thing......

 

In 100 odd days on princess   most of food has been pretty good ( and have never sent a meal back ) lol

 

Cheers Don 

[Cuedon]

The steakhouse (Crown Grill on the Grand) I find is actually pretty good about getting their steaks cooked in the vicinity of where they should be and is over all pretty decent. My 'problem' with them is that they're, ultimately, 'yet another steakhouse', and, unfortunately, not of the world-class variety.

 

Sabatini's has a more 'interesting' menu, though whether or not its to your taste is a different story. They also have at least three different menus depending on what ship you're on, and occasional seasonal items that may not be listed.

 

My family loves the sitdown breakfasts, though I don't find it worth dragging myself up and out to, but give it a shot if you normally eat before noon.

[eagletwo]

1 hour ago, getting older slowly said:

It really comes down to your expectations.... fine dining... not in MDR.... 

Specialty restaurants.. have had some great dinners there......

 

If you like good hotel food.... that is where i would place the MDR food.... but sometimes it is better or worse depending on the dish......

 

Also the thing to remember you are being waited on , no cooking, no cleaning up... makes it taste better.....

 

Enjoy....... but remember food is such a subjective thing......

 

In 100 odd days on princess   most of food has been pretty good ( and have never sent a meal back ) lol

 

Cheers Don 

Best response I have seen in a long time. Don is right, I don't have to cook and someone is waiting on me. The MDR is usually good and we have been spoiled the three times in Club Class. Same food for the most part, just outstanding service  

[getting older slowly]

2 minutes ago, eagletwo said:

Best response I have seen in a long time. Don is right, I don't have to cook and someone is waiting on me. The MDR is usually good and we have been spoiled the three times in Club Class. Same food for the most part, just outstanding service  

 

Thanks eagletwo..... ( also a fan on Marvin )

 

Have to agreed on that as we generally go in a suite  Club Class is very good... love being able at arrive when you are ready ..and no waiting...and we have always got great service....

Also breakfast is pretty good in one of specialty restaurants ....

 

Cheers Don

 

 

 

[Thrak]

5 hours ago, Ombud said:

Skip the eggs benedict. Hollandaise sauce is cooked firm. 

 

I ask for extra Hollandaise on the side. Works pretty well. However, the English Muffin is generally tough as fiberboard. Princess just doesn't seem to have a clue... The only way to actually improve their Eggs Benedict is with the extra Hollandaise and a few dashes of Tabasco. (Really, sad to say but that can help their EB a lot.)

[caribill]

7 hours ago, Ombud said:

Skip the eggs benedict. Hollandaise sauce is cooked firm. 

 

Ask for the sauce to be served on the side. You will not have that problem.

[Lucky TGO]

With all the trouble the cruise lines are in the new menu will be the same for cruise lines.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday Peanut butter sandwiches 😋

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday grilled cheese sandwiches 😋😋

Sunday’s  Special will be leftovers 😋😋😋
I’m sorry I couldn’t help my self LOL. I hope this put a smile on your face. 

Tony

[EDDY0827]

Monday, Wednesday and Friday Peanut butter sandwiches 😋

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday grilled cheese sandwiches 😋😋

Sunday’s  Special will be leftovers 😋😋😋

 

Hey Tony- Is this the regular MDR menu on the Row Boat, or is this for suite guests only?

Grilled cheese sammiches 3 days a week? Be still, my heart!

Is there a "Meatloaf Madness" night?

Any aft balconies or suites available for booking?

[INeedAMaiTai]

Last year, in June, the food was good.  Not excellent, but decent.  The lobster tails were rubbery, but everything else was pretty good.  I never let a bad meal stick in my brain because there are so many others that make up for it.  Do not expect to walk in to the MDR and have the meals be gourmet, but they are delicious.  I think they do a pretty damn good job in the food department with the amount they have to make, keep hot, keep cold, etc.  

[npcl]

18 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

It really comes down to your expectations.... fine dining... not in MDR.... 

Specialty restaurants.. have had some great dinners there......

 

If you like good hotel food.... that is where i would place the MDR food.... but sometimes it is better or worse depending on the dish......

 

Also the thing to remember you are being waited on , no cooking, no cleaning up... makes it taste better.....

 

Enjoy....... but remember food is such a subjective thing......

 

In 100 odd days on princess   most of food has been pretty good ( and have never sent a meal back ) lol

 

Cheers Don 

Unfortunately I am not even sure if the MDR even qualifies as hotel banquet food any more.  The seem to be doing some new things the past couple of years, (such as putting the lobster tail on top of a green risotto) that just  do not work.  Quality dropping.  We used to prefer eating on the ship to the ports.  Now we will take a port restaurant over the ships any day.

 

Used to be I could always find 2 or 3 items I wanted  to choose from on any nights menu.  These days there are nights where nothing is appealing. Even the fettuccine Alfredo varies is quality across the fleet.

 

Was last on the Grand in November.

Edited May 21, 2020 by npcl

[tailspintom]

15 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

I ask for extra Hollandaise on the side. Works pretty well. However, the English Muffin is generally tough as fiberboard. Princess just doesn't seem to have a clue... The only way to actually improve their Eggs Benedict is with the extra Hollandaise and a few dashes of Tabasco. (Really, sad to say but that can help their EB a lot.)

I really like well made Eggs Benedict. I have found that Caribbean Pincess improved their product significantly in the aft section by making smaller quantities. Waiting for the freshly made eggs was well worth it. For the other mass produced ones, I just skip them for the reason you cited.  My Celebrity experience was quite similar.

[Roberto256]

1 hour ago, npcl said:

Even the fettuccine Alfredo varies is quality across the fleet.

 

Mourn the passing of the parmasian bowl.

 

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, tailspintom said:

I really like well made Eggs Benedict. I have found that Caribbean Pincess improved their product significantly in the aft section by making smaller quantities. Waiting for the freshly made eggs was well worth it. For the other mass produced ones, I just skip them for the reason you cited.  My Celebrity experience was quite similar.

 

Hmmm... When I sailed CB I only found Eggs Florentine. Very similar but they have (ewwwww) spinach on them. Nope, nope, nope. I'm booked on CB again next May. If that cruise actually happens I'll watch for Eggs Benedict in the aft area. We definitely preferred the selections back there rather than in the main portion of the buffet. Eggs cooked to order beat the heck out of the ones sitting out under lights. For some reason most folks never made it back that far to check things out so we always found a spot to sit and didn't have much of a wait for omelets. We were quite pleased.

[jondfk]

Food on Grand on our recent February 21 sailing was 'normal', neither notably better or worse than other recent trips on Princess.  That is, until day 13 when we were sent to cabins at the conclusion of lunch, but that's another story.  

 

The food very much deteriorated from there and took a further step down at Travis, but again, that's another story.  We will greatly miss Grand.  After a decade of loyal service she deserved a far better final sailing from San Francisco.

[Cruise Raider]

3 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

 

Mourn the passing of the parmasian bowl.

 

 

I haven't tried but I hear you may be able to get one if you order it ahead of time, especially if you are in traditional seating.  

[Lucky TGO]

This is a photo of my favorite thing to have on my Princess Cruise.

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony