Carnival dining changes, will Princess follow?

[Mike45LC]

6 hours ago, Ombud said:

They're charging for the 3rd entree. Obesity is a real issue.  No one needs appetizer + salad + dessert + 3 entrees

Although I have never ordered three entrees, I have also rarely ordered any appetizer, soup, salad or sides.  My normal dinner on Princess is one roll, one entree (without sides) and one dessert.

 

But I still oppose charging for a third entree.

 

[Ombud]

I have no problem with someone ordering 3-4-5-6-7-8 entrees (like that Carnival thread reported) as long as they pay $10 per entree over 2. Obviously it's affordable or the person wouldn't be cruising

[voljeep]

I would gladly pay a 'plate sharing surcharge' in a specialty restaurant ... pay for one dinner plus the surcharge ... and still have plenty to eat ... plenty

 

3 entrees ??? maybe when I was 18 ...

[Kay S]

7 hours ago, Ombud said:

They're charging for the 3rd entree. Obesity is a real issue.  No one needs appetizer + salad + dessert + 3 entrees

 

 

Oh dear.  When  cruise lines start trying to control obesity, we're all in trouble. 🙂

[DrSea]

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

But it's for the 3rd entree.

 

Pretend I'm your patient with a BMI of 30 and relatively inactive. I want to eat 3 dinners. What is your reaction?? Do you still say 'pick another ship if there's a $10 surcharge?'

 

 

 

I would say speak to your doctor.

 

I am in my 30s and I work out 2 hours a day on the cruise ship. So I burn about 3500-4000 Cals per day. 

[XBGuy]

12 hours ago, MissP22 said:

As I recall, SHARE only included 1 entrée per person.

When we saw the portion size we decided to spend our money elsewhere. 

 

It was a six-course meal.  Nobody ever left hungry.

 

I agree that SHARE was monumentally unpopular among the Princess demographic, but it did have its fans.  We thought that it was the best public dining experience on Princess.  The food was superior, for wine buffs the wine list was amazing--a very good selection the poorest priced of which had very reasonable markups and. incredibly, at least one wine, Penfolds Grange (note this @JimmyVWine), was marked DOWN from street price.  The staff was exceptionally well-trained, and, since it was not particularly popular, the room was never filled anywhere near capacity.  This meant that we would receive attentive service from the headwaiter, our server and the runners.  It also meant that the room was fairly quiet so that my wife and I could enjoy our conversation while never feeling that we were part of the conversation in nearby tables.  (For the life of me I never understood why "high energy" dining venues became the fad in the late 20th Century.)  Aiding this was the fact that the tables were well-spaced on the floor.  I remember responding to a Cruise Critic poster that his handicapped son would have no problem navigating his wheelchair between the tables.

 

Yes, SHARE is gone. I understand perfectly that Princess wants to make every effort to respond to the wishes of its passengers.  Apparently, that response is the Salty Dog.

 

My brother is leaving on a Discovery Princess cruise in a few days.  At breakfast this morning we discussed a venue called Bistro Sur La Mer.  I will be interested in hearing his report.

 

[wrongwaywatson]

The only time I have left any cruise ship dining room hungry was when we ate at Sabatini's.  I really disliked it.  I ended up going to the Trident Grill and getting a hot dog a little while later.

[Ombud]

5 minutes ago, DrSea said:

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

But it's for the 3rd entree.

 

Pretend I'm your patient with a BMI of 30 and relatively inactive. I want to eat 3 dinners. What is your reaction?? Do you still say 'pick another ship if there's a $10 surcharge?'

 

 

 

Expand  

I would say speak to your doctor.

 

I am in my 30s and I work out 2 hours a day on the cruise ship. So I burn about 3500-4000 Cals per day

He (in sandals, jeans, tshirt, lab coat) says it's ok to lose #× lbs just fill up on fruit & veggies.

 

Although I'm not against ppl eating whatever they want I am against it costing me in higher fares, delays in getting my service, health insurance.

 

But I feel we've gotten off track. It's just $10 for each entree over 2. 

2 minutes ago, wrongwaywatson said:

The only time I have left any cruise ship dining room hungry was when we ate at Sabatini's.  I really disliked it.  I ended up going to the Trident Grill and getting a hot dog a little while later.

Oh wow!! But that was bc it wasn't great not portions too small. (I haven't eaten there since 2015 -- I go to Alfredos/Gigis)

[DCThunder]

7 minutes ago, XBGuy said:

 

My brother is leaving on a Discovery Princess cruise in a few days.  At breakfast this morning we discussed a venue called Bistro Sur La Mer.  I will be interested in hearing his report.

 

I have not been impressed with the food or ambiance of Bistro Sur La Mer the two times I've eaten there on Enchanted.  From my observations, it is often not very well attended compared to Sabbatini's or Crown Grill.  However, as always, YMMV.

[Mary loves to travel]

@XBGuy from the descriptions, I thought Share was something we'd enjoy quite a bit.   Disappointed it disappeared before we got the chance.

 

As far as Bistro Sur la Mer, on Sky this summer we were there  3 times.   Really enjoyed the food and the experience.    It was pretty full each night by 7 pm, too, so we weren't the only ones.

 

Best,

Mary

[wrongwaywatson]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

He (in sandals, jeans, tshirt, lab coat) says it's ok to lose #× lbs just fill up on fruit & veggies.

 

Although I'm not against ppl eating whatever they want I am against it costing me in higher fares, delays in getting my service, health insurance.

 

But I feel we've gotten off track. It's just $10 for each entree over 2. 

Oh wow!! But that was bc it wasn't great not portions too small. (I haven't eaten there since 2015 -- I go to Alfredos/Gigis)

I didn't like it.  There were 6 of us at the table and only one of us enjoyed our meals.  Usually we are easily pleased.  I will say that I have simple tastes in food, usually, LOL.   We went to the Crown Grill and we LOVED it.  

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, DCThunder said:

I have not been impressed with the food or ambiance of Bistro Sur La Mer the two times I've eaten there on Enchanted.  From my observations, it is often not very well attended compared to Sabbatini's or Crown Grill.  However, as always, YMMV.

Ate there once because it was comped.  I though the food was, well, weird.  I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to seafood, but nothing there was just straightforward seafood.  Cutesy, gimmicky, and the lady at the next table made it clear she wasn't happy.  Crown Grill is the only speciality worth it, IMO.

[Ombud]

2 hours ago, DCThunder said:

I have not been impressed with the food or ambiance of Bistro Sur La Mer the two times I've eaten there on Enchanted.  ...

 

1 hour ago, Kay S said:

Ate there once because it was comped.  I though the food was, well, weird. ....  Cutesy, gimmicky, 

Thats too bad bc it looks good on the menu. I easily picked out 3 courses

[XBGuy]

3 hours ago, DCThunder said:

I have not been impressed with the food or ambiance of Bistro Sur La Mer the two times I've eaten there on Enchanted.  From my observations, it is often not very well attended compared to Sabbatini's or Crown Grill.  However, as always, YMMV.

 

3 hours ago, Mary loves to travel said:

@XBGuy from the descriptions, I thought Share was something we'd enjoy quite a bit.   Disappointed it disappeared before we got the chance.

 

As far as Bistro Sur la Mer, on Sky this summer we were there  3 times.   Really enjoyed the food and the experience.    It was pretty full each night by 7 pm, too, so we weren't the only ones.

 

Best,

Mary

 

Thank you for your comments.

 

I guess I'll be the tie-breaker.

 

😄

[VibeGuy]

In probably a half-dozen meals in SHARE, from the first night it was open on Ruby, onward, I never understood the opprobrium.  My *one* piece of negative feedback to an executive was addressed within weeks - it was way, way too bright in there the first night.  You could have done brain surgery without squinting.  Lower-wattage lights were procured. 
 

The current Sabatini’s menu isn’t my favorite, but the service style is much better for people with allergies than the (distant) past one with salvers of the antipasti and starters.  The room is still nice and looks less like Nonna’s house and more like contemporary spaces. 

Before the current MDR menus reached their current form, Princess went through a phase where things were either described as small or large plates.   Literally nothing changed about them but using a more contemporary definition, and you would have thought they’d installed stripper poles in the dining room and servers were peeling for tips.  So change never sits well.

 

to the OP’s topic:  I admit, I’m a two-entrée diner by Princess standards.  By Edwardian standards, I eat a completely reasonable finfish course and then have an Actual Entrée. 
 

In my perfect world of VibeGuy’s Floating Food and Libation Emporia, everything would be turned towards small plates and guests could hop and skip through the course order at will.   Shrimp cocktail, soup, fin fish, roasted meat, salad, composed dessert, fruit and cheese?  Of course, sir.  Soup, salad, some of the lamb and some of the prawns?   Be our guest.   A salad, dressed cooked vegetables and sorbet?  If sir insists on such abstemious behavior, it is our pleasure.
 

So this doesn’t hit me personally - we usually have enough people at table that a nibble of the second-choice entrée is usually an option, and since we seem to B2B endlessly, we’ll see the menu again. 
 

 

 

[DCThunder]

15 hours ago, Ombud said:

 

Thats too bad bc it looks good on the menu. I easily picked out 3 courses

Calling the food "gimmicky" or "cutesy" are very apt descriptions. 

 

The escargot are "deconstructed" as chopped up snails, mixed with butter and herbs, put inside a breadcrust shell, and deep fried.  The intent is to have little crispy balls of snail and garlic butter that explode in your mouth when you bite into them.  And while they taste good, they are just sort of weird. 

 

The tuna tartare is chopped up ahi tuna, mixed with some other ingredients and then pressed into a mold leaving a disc of hopped raw tuna with a very nice aioli type sauce.  It was good, but an unusual presentation.

 

And Ombud, the baba au rhum was dry as dust and not very good.  I'd give it a pass if I ever went back to BSLM.

 

One consolation is they do make a wonderful French 75.  They say that cocktail is named after a cannon used by the French army in World War I.  Try one of those and you'll understand why.

[Ombud]

How can a Baba au Rum be dry?? Did they forget the rum!

 

[DCThunder]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

How can a Baba au Rum be dry?? Did they forget the rum!

 

Beats me, but it was not like my mother used to make.

[SantaFeFan]

1 hour ago, DCThunder said:

Beats me, but it was not like my mother used to make.

 

In defense of all mothers out there, no restaurant dish is ever as good as what mom made.  

[VibeGuy]

2 hours ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

In defense of all mothers out there, no restaurant dish is ever as good as what mom made.  

Clearly you never saw what my otherwise culinarily talented and conscientious mother could do to a beef roast.  There’s a reason Lawry’s The Prime Rib was my favorite restaurant as a kid. 

[NSWP]

On 11/6/2022 at 3:53 PM, Over from NZ said:

Now I recall. It was Curtis Stone. Didn't take much notice on past cruises. 

A half baked Aussie Chef, now a tv chef.

[c-boy]

2 hours ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

In defense of all mothers out there, no restaurant dish is ever as good as what mom made.  

my mom tried cooking once. She invited the whole fire department over 🚒  👩‍🚒🧯 

Edited November 7, 2022 by c-boy

[Jen1000]

I am just off a Princess cruise and have a Carnival cruise booked for January so I have been receiving Carnival's emails about the changes.  I am not bothered by most of the changes at Carnival because most do not pertain to me.  However, having all room service at a fee (except for some limited breakfast items from 6 AM to 10 AM) does bother me.  On Princess there was only the International Cafe for late night snacks and it was often out of most items so we would order a snack from room service.  There is a good selection of free room service items on Princess.  Carnival is now charging for everything except the "continental" breakfast from 6 AM to 10 AM.  So far I don't think Carnival has any free dining after 11 PM but I cannot be sure.

 

Jen

[Tiggerontheseas]

58 minutes ago, Jen1000 said:

I am just off a Princess cruise and have a Carnival cruise booked for January so I have been receiving Carnival's emails about the changes.  I am not bothered by most of the changes at Carnival because most do not pertain to me.  However, having all room service at a fee (except for some limited breakfast items from 6 AM to 10 AM) does bother me.  On Princess there was only the International Cafe for late night snacks and it was often out of most items so we would order a snack from room service.  There is a good selection of free room service items on Princess.  Carnival is now charging for everything except the "continental" breakfast from 6 AM to 10 AM.  So far I don't think Carnival has any free dining after 11 PM but I cannot be sure.

 

Jen

 

I don't have any Carnival experience post-covid yet but I know that on my cruises the pizza was open very late if that's at all helpful.  

[Wakepatrol]

On 11/2/2022 at 6:27 PM, malba2366 said:

They should...they are being more than reasonable by only charging for the 3rd and 4th entree per guest...if everyone in your party is ordering 3 or 4 entrees then you have some problems.

I’m sure the plumber aboard  will have problems as well