Royal Princess dining. What are your favorite spots?

[moonjelly]

Hello fellow cruise lovers.

 

We will be aboard Royal Princess on the August 26th sailing to Alaska. We are used to doing traditional dining on Princess, so with the "new" method of reserving various restaurants, I'm looking for some advice 🙂

 

We will be a party of four and we'll lean toward reserving one restaurant, hopefully the same table with the same weight staff for the week. (Haha I see the auto correct mistake, but find it funny and appropriately named 😁, so will leave it).

 

One of our travel companions is mobility impaired, and their cabin will be near the mid/ forward elevators, so maybe something near that vertical corridor would be best.

 

If we do want to try a specialty restaurant, what would you recommend?

 

We would love any insights and suggestions, even outside these general parameters 🙂.

 

What are your favorite things about dining on Royal P? Favorite meals? Desserts?

 

Thank you! 🦥

[neverbeenhere]

Are you writing about NCL Freestyle dining? 

 

If you would like the same table and staff on Princess, talk with the maitre d' upon embarkation.

[snoozecrooze]

Make a reservation for four in either Concerto or Symphony; neither are in the aft like Allegro. If you have a table preference, just talk to the manager in that dining room you're sitting in and let them know if you have a preference or if you'd like to revisit the table you were given on day one. Most managers should understand this because it's been done for us post-comeback with Dine My Way.

 

I have no preference on the specialty dining but I do think the dinner buffet can be underrated. Check the evening menu theme - it could be interesting, so have a look and embrace the options.

[SuzieQ521]

Reservations dining is just in Concerto or Allegro (Aft); Symphony is walk in/anytime. We had a group of 9 and usually went around lunch time to try to see if we could get a table together for dinner (although I had also made separate reservations on the app before we sailed). Staff was very amenable to helping us out. 

 

We were just on the Royal a couple weeks ago and thought the MDR was pretty good...we tried a variety of dishes (my husband would even order 2-3 entrees and the waitstaff was more than accommodating; you could also get a pasta entrée appetizer size if you just wanted a little; desserts were great too, especially the gelato Baked Alaska!).

 

If you want another "free" dining option, Alfredo's restaurant has really great pizza, also salads and antipastas. 

 

For a quick bite, the 24hour international cafe is great with sandwiches and different desserts. 

 

On the pool deck you have the grill with burgers, tacos, loaded fries, hot dogs, etc. and more pizza near by. Also the buffet which we ate at a couple times.

 

The ice cream place on the 6th or 7th deck has those giant specialty desserts if you have as part of the package...my son loved those.

 

We never felt a need to spend the money on a specialty restaurant; a couple family members were comped for Crown Grill and they liked it.

 

You can also order room service of most things from the App (although I would allot up to an hour since they are usually busy).

 

We loved our time on the Royal...enjoy your trip!

Edited June 9, 2023 by SuzieQ521

[moonjelly]

22 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Are you writing about NCL Freestyle dining? 

 

If you would like the same table and staff on Princess, talk with the maitre d' upon embarkation.

Hi neverbeenhere,

I am writing about dining aboard Royal Princess, not NCL freestyle. Thank you for the tip!

 

[moonjelly]

22 hours ago, snoozecrooze said:

Make a reservation for four in either Concerto or Symphony; neither are in the aft like Allegro. If you have a table preference, just talk to the manager in that dining room you're sitting in and let them know if you have a preference or if you'd like to revisit the table you were given on day one. Most managers should understand this because it's been done for us post-comeback with Dine My Way.

 

I have no preference on the specialty dining but I do think the dinner buffet can be underrated. Check the evening menu theme - it could be interesting, so have a look and embrace the options.

Thanks snoozecruise! This will be my first cruise with Princess Dine my Way and making reservations on the ap pre-cruise. Good to know that talking to a person once onboard is still a good option.

 

When you have requested the same table, have you gotten the same waitstaff at that table? Or do they move around?

 

Thanks for the tip about the dinner buffet 🙂

[moonjelly]

9 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

Reservations dining is just in Concerto or Allegro (Aft); Symphony is walk in/anytime. We had a group of 9 and usually went around lunch time to try to see if we could get a table together for dinner (although I had also made separate reservations on the app before we sailed). Staff was very amenable to helping us out. 

 

We were just on the Royal a couple weeks ago and thought the MDR was pretty good...we tried a variety of dishes (my husband would even order 2-3 entrees and the waitstaff was more than accommodating; you could also get a pasta entrée appetizer size if you just wanted a little; desserts were great too, especially the gelato Baked Alaska!).

 

If you want another "free" dining option, Alfredo's restaurant has really great pizza, also salads and antipastas. 

 

For a quick bite, the 24hour international cafe is great with sandwiches and different desserts. 

 

On the pool deck you have the grill with burgers, tacos, loaded fries, hot dogs, etc. and more pizza near by. Also the buffet which we ate at a couple times.

 

The ice cream place on the 6th or 7th deck has those giant specialty desserts if you have as part of the package...my son loved those.

 

We never felt a need to spend the money on a specialty restaurant; a couple family members were comped for Crown Grill and they liked it.

 

You can also order room service of most things from the App (although I would allot up to an hour since they are usually busy).

 

We loved our time on the Royal...enjoy your trip!

Hi SuzieQ,

This is all great information, thank you! It's great to hear you loved your trip. So many reviews are so negative with "everything has gone downhill" as a common theme, especially regarding food. 

 

Loved the tip about appetizer-sized pasta. I always want to try the pasta, but never want a big bowl.

 

GELATO BAKED ALASKA !!😍 Yes, please!

 

I love the international Cafe. On our last Princess Alaska cruise (circa 2012) it was very near our cabin and we frequented it to take the edge off that between-meals void 😁.

 

We don't have the package with the specialty desserts, but we do have an ice cream freak with us. Can these specialty desserts be purchased a la carte?

 

I appreciate all your tips!

[snoozecrooze]

1 hour ago, moonjelly said:

When you have requested the same table, have you gotten the same waitstaff at that table? Or do they move around?

Yes, the same table at dinner will have the same waitstaff every night.

[SuzieQ521]

2 hours ago, moonjelly said:

Hi SuzieQ,

This is all great information, thank you! It's great to hear you loved your trip. So many reviews are so negative with "everything has gone downhill" as a common theme, especially regarding food. 

 

Loved the tip about appetizer-sized pasta. I always want to try the pasta, but never want a big bowl.

 

GELATO BAKED ALASKA !!😍 Yes, please!

 

I love the international Cafe. On our last Princess Alaska cruise (circa 2012) it was very near our cabin and we frequented it to take the edge off that between-meals void 😁.

 

We don't have the package with the specialty desserts, but we do have an ice cream freak with us. Can these specialty desserts be purchased a la carte?

 

I appreciate all your tips!

 

Yes, the specialty desserts can be purchased a la carte but not sure about the price.