First time trying specialty dining…

[Texascruiser2008]

We are heading out on our first Princess cruise next week and I booked two specialty dining nights. They charged my credit card $116 which is correct but what about the 18% gratuity, is that charged to the room once we have been? Thanks! 

[caribill]

There is no mandatory tip for specialty restaurant meals.

 

The staff there are included in the tipping pool that everyone contributes to.

 

So the $116 you have paid is all that is due.

 

Of course of you think the service is extra special, you can always give the staff an additional cash tip the evening you dine there.

 

(Of course if you purchase a beverage while dining in a specialty restaurant, the beverage will have an 18% gratuity added to its cost. If you have a Plus or Premier beverage package, then beverages within the allowed price range will have no cost or gratuity added.)

[skynight]

7 hours ago, Texascruiser2008 said:

We are heading out on our first Princess cruise next week and I booked two specialty dining nights. They charged my credit card $116 which is correct but what about the 18% gratuity, is that charged to the room once we have been? Thanks! 

$116 is everything. Dining gratuity is included in the daily crew incentive. Extra tipping is up to you and is best by just providing cash to the waiter. If you charge the tip to your cabin account then the amount indicated will be placed into the the fleet pool and not go directly to your waiter(s). 

[rbtan]

We've found the specialty DR's on Princess to offer decent but not outstanding food. The fee does include tips.You can add more. do so in cash so it goes direct to the person taking care of you. The food in these rest. is far less in quality than say on Celebrity. Still you get more attention to detail & better food. What we now do more often is to choose items on the MDR menu that come from the specialties. The Lobster tail is much better than the standard one you get on formal nights. Same with the beef meals. It's your choice as to do this or attend the rest. themselves. As we do club Class we already get the fine service, but the food is still standard MDR fare, which for the price you pay is quite a let down. Princess needs to upgrade the menus for Club Class or offer a special dining venu for those in that accommodation.

[AZjohn]

5 minutes ago, rbtan said:

We've found the specialty DR's on Princess to offer decent but not outstanding food.

Totally agree!

Our recent experiance being not that great, and we had better dinners in MDR.

So back on topic, no we did not give an additional tip.

[cruzsnooze]

The gratuity is included in the upcharge. You already tipped (for dinner you aren't eating in the MDR) if you did any portion of the auto gratuity. You tipped a second time in the $29 upcharge, If you choose to tip a third time that's your choice but when is enough!

[rbtan]

2 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

The gratuity is included in the upcharge. You already tipped (for dinner you aren't eating in the MDR) if you did any portion of the auto gratuity. You tipped a second time in the $29 upcharge, If you choose to tip a third time that's your choice but when is enough!

We're in the hospitality field. When you deal with people who at times feel they live in the old plantation times by the way I've seen staff treated. Sometimes there's never enough(as you would say)

[sloopsailor]

3 hours ago, rbtan said:

We've found the specialty DR's on Princess to offer decent but not outstanding food. 

 

Agree. The only advantage is the quieter, more intimate environment. Otherwise, the food quality is no better than the MDRs. Specialty restaurants on the other lines we have been on have been far superior to those on Princess.

[Texascruiser2008]

Thanks everyone for your answers….much appreciated!

[Rick&Jeannie]

3 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

...Otherwise, the food quality is no better than the MDRs. 

I have to disagree as far as the Crown Grill is concerned.  There really is no equivalent available in the MDR if you want a good steak.

[sloopsailor]

The steak I had on our last cruise on Grand was nothing to be excited about. It was mediocre at best. I did not try any equivalent offerings in the MDR, so can't compare. I can compare Crown Grill steaks with those I have had at Tuscan Grill on Celebrity and Pinnacle Grill on Holland America, and Princess is a distant third.  

[wowzz]

44 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

can compare Crown Grill steaks with those I have had at Tuscan Grill on Celebrity and Pinnacle Grill on Holland America, and Princess is a distant third.  

Just for information purposes, how do the prices compare? 

[sloopsailor]

11 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Just for information purposes, how do the prices compare? 

 Pinnacle Grill on Holland America was $29 before the pandemic (the last time we dined there) and I have read that it is now $35. 

 

Tuscan Grill on Celebrity is $30 the last time we sailed on Millennium four years ago. Not sure about today.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I have to disagree as far as the Crown Grill is concerned.  There really is no equivalent available in the MDR if you want a good steak.

 

Some ships have offered in the main dining room the opportunity to purchase a Crown Grill steak and/or lobster. So for extra cost, you can have the Crown Grill quality in the MDR.

[wowzz]

18 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

Tuscan Grill on Celebrity is $30 the last time we sailed on Millennium four years ago. Not sure about today.

Simple to find out. Now $45. 

So, is the Celebrity meal 50% better than Princess ?

Answers on a postcard! 

[Rick&Jeannie]

8 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Some ships have offered in the main dining room the opportunity to purchase a Crown Grill steak and/or lobster. So for extra cost, you can have the Crown Grill quality in the MDR.

Hah! Have never seen that. I learn something almost every day here on CC!

[sloopsailor]

 

9 minutes ago, wowzz said:

So, is the Celebrity meal 50% better than Princess ?

 

Yes. I would rather pay 50% more for a great steak than end up with a mediocre steak for a few dollars less. Quality has it's worth.  

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2022 by sloopsailor

[wowzz]

2 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Yes. I would rather pay 50% more for a great steak than end up with a mediocre steak for a few dollars less. Quality has it's worth.  

Thanks. I haven't been on Celebrity since 1998, so am out of touch !

But, paying $15 more for a steak seems a lot. Hopefully it would be a 35 day aged Wagu steak for that money ! 

[sloopsailor]

9 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Thanks. I haven't been on Celebrity since 1998, so am out of touch !

But, paying $15 more for a steak seems a lot. Hopefully it would be a 35 day aged Wagu steak for that money ! 

 

It's not only the quality of the steak, but the quality of the entire meal and service. Celebrity's Tuscan Grill has always been a higher end experience than Princess' Crown Grill. Celebrity food in general is better than Princess, not only in my opinion, but also for many cruise industry experts.

 

Princess is good, but not great. 

 

Edited October 16, 2022 by sloopsailor

[rbtan]

4 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I have to disagree as far as the Crown Grill is concerned.  There really is no equivalent available in the MDR if you want a good steak.

I'll agree there. The steak quality is no higher than USDA Select, however. The Ultimate Balcony dinner or the Chef's table are choice to perhaps Prime, especially the Chef's table dinner.

[rbtan]

3 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

 

It's not only the quality of the steak, but the quality of the entire meal and service. Celebrity's Tuscan Grill has always been a higher end experience than Princess' Crown Grill. Celebrity food in general is better than Princess, not only in my opinion, but also for many cruise industry experts.

 

Princess is good, but not great. 

 

Again agree here. I do recommend Oceania if you're a true foodie like us.

[rbtan]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Some ships have offered in the main dining room the opportunity to purchase a Crown Grill steak and/or lobster. So for extra cost, you can have the Crown Grill quality in the MDR.

That's what we did on our 2020 Hawaii trip. The Lobster tail is far superior to what's offered in the MDR for final formal night.

[rbtan]

3 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

 Pinnacle Grill on Holland America was $29 before the pandemic (the last time we dined there) and I have read that it is now $35. 

 

Tuscan Grill on Celebrity is $30 the last time we sailed on Millennium four years ago. Not sure about today.

It was about a $50 upcharge. No one ever paid it as we ALL felt it was not justified. They had to lower it to about 30-35 to fill the specialty rest.

[AZjohn]

Everyone has different taste and experiences.

We had a free (well, I guess included when we purchased our cruise) specialty dinner that we picked Crown Grill one night on Enchanted a week and a half ago.

 

Both my wife and I decided on the $10 up-charge to have the filet and lobster.

My wife liked (not loved) her steak while mine was so overcooked i couldn’t chew more than two bites.

Lobster was small (not tiny) and baked potato was the smallest I have ever been severed anywhere (baked potato in MDR was twice the size).

 

So, it’s just my experience in Crown Grill that I would take MDR meals and staff any day of the week. That does not mean someone else’s opinion is false, just likely different 🙂

 

Cheers  

[rbtan]

20 hours ago, AZjohn said:

Everyone has different taste and experiences.

We had a free (well, I guess included when we purchased our cruise) specialty dinner that we picked Crown Grill one night on Enchanted a week and a half ago.

 

Both my wife and I decided on the $10 up-charge to have the filet and lobster.

My wife liked (not loved) her steak while mine was so overcooked i couldn’t chew more than two bites.

Lobster was small (not tiny) and baked potato was the smallest I have ever been severed anywhere (baked potato in MDR was twice the size).

 

So, it’s just my experience in Crown Grill that I would take MDR meals and staff any day of the week. That does not mean someone else’s opinion is false, just likely different 🙂

 

Cheers  

We did find the items(steak,Lobster)that we chose in the MDR menu that came from Crown Grill to better than the ones we actually ate in the Crown. Still don't know the case for this.