Alfredo’s

[Steelers36]

7 minutes ago, Insomniacs said:

Does Princess plus allow for just ordering a single pizza ala carte or do we have to order the two separate 3 course meals.  The reason I ask is we usually just want to share a pizza and order some drinks and I someone said they do not allow sharing of the 3 course meal which implies we would have to order two and that would be just wasteful.

Sure you can order a pizza and share it.  That said, there are still some outstanding questions around what is PCL doing in terms of policy in practice on the ships. 

 

Scenario 1:  A couple orders 1 meal under prix fixe (now a cover charge) option, plus two beers.

If they are both on Standard Fare, what happens if the other person eats part of the pizza?  The person ordering could take away half the pizza and then anyone could eat it (of course this defeats the idea of dining together).

If they are both on Plus Fare, do they charge the second person who only ordered a beer one of their allowed visits even though they ordered nothing other than a beer?

If they are both on Premier Fare, it would seem no action is required since the allowed visits are unlimited.

 

Scenario 2:  A couple orders 1 meal as prix fixe and 1 appetizer, plus two beers.

If they are both on Standard Fare, what happens if the person who ordered an App also has one section of the partner's pizza?

If they are on Plus, presumably the only charge is the cost of the extra appetizer.  What happens if the second person has one slice of the other's pizza?

Again, with Premier, it doesn't matter since visits are unlimited and the guests could just ask to charge up two full meal cover charges, but hold the Main and hold the Dessert for one person.

 

Scenario 3:  A couple orders 1 pizza and two beers.  They share the pizza.

Under Standard Fare, there is no issue and they are charged for each item ordered a la carte.

Under Plus, the couple would have to request to be charged a la carte pricing as with Standard if they wanted to preserve their full-meal benefits.

Under Premier, they can both request to be charged with a cover charge visit for no charge, but hold all the extra items.

 

Is Princess going to require both persons to order prix fixe if one does?  That would make it easier for Princess and the crew.  What happens when two couples dine together?  And they are on different fare packages?  The possibilities are not quite endless, but documented policy is not clear at this point I believe.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Sure you can order a pizza and share it.  That said, there are still some outstanding questions around what is PCL doing in terms of policy in practice on the ships. 

 

Scenario 1:  A couple orders 1 meal under prix fixe (now a cover charge) option, plus two beers.

If they are both on Standard Fare, what happens if the other person eats part of the pizza?  The person ordering could take away half the pizza and then anyone could eat it (of course this defeats the idea of dining together).

If they are both on Plus Fare, do they charge the second person who only ordered a beer one of their allowed visits even though they ordered nothing other than a beer?

If they are both on Premier Fare, it would seem no action is required since the allowed visits are unlimited.

 

Scenario 2:  A couple orders 1 meal as prix fixe and 1 appetizer, plus two beers.

If they are both on Standard Fare, what happens if the person who ordered an App also has one section of the partner's pizza?

If they are on Plus, presumably the only charge is the cost of the extra appetizer.  What happens if the second person has one slice of the other's pizza?

Again, with Premier, it doesn't matter since visits are unlimited and the guests could just ask to charge up two full meal cover charges, but hold the Main and hold the Dessert for one person.

 

Scenario 3:  A couple orders 1 pizza and two beers.  They share the pizza.

Under Standard Fare, there is no issue and they are charged for each item ordered a la carte.

Under Plus, the couple would have to request to be charged a la carte pricing as with Standard if they wanted to preserve their full-meal benefits.

Under Premier, they can both request to be charged with a cover charge visit for no charge, but hold all the extra items.

 

Is Princess going to require both persons to order prix fixe if one does?  That would make it easier for Princess and the crew.  What happens when two couples dine together?  And they are on different fare packages?  The possibilities are not quite endless, but documented policy is not clear at this point I believe.

Sounds like they are simplifying things for sure, eh?  😳

 

Would be nice if we could get feedback from those OB now.

 

 

[Pat King]

On 9/3/2023 at 2:28 PM, Purdey16 said:

I’m currently on sky princess and been watching the dinning at Alfredo’s and it has been literally empty since boarding day

Any update on this observation? On our 5 Sky Princess cruises, including 3 Trans Atlantics, we ate dinner there at least 4 times a cruise. We liked it as a less stuffy alternative to the MDR, at no additional cost, and we liked the proximity to the dancing and music in the Piazza.
I know on future Sky cruises that the new charges for dining will change our routine. A real shame, in our opinion.

[Tedferg]

14 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Sure you can order a pizza and share it.  That said, there are still some outstanding questions around what is PCL doing in terms of policy in practice on the ships. 

 

Scenario 1:  A couple orders 1 meal under prix fixe (now a cover charge) option, plus two beers.

If they are both on Standard Fare, what happens if the other person eats part of the pizza?  The person ordering could take away half the pizza and then anyone could eat it (of course this defeats the idea of dining together).

If they are both on Plus Fare, do they charge the second person who only ordered a beer one of their allowed visits even though they ordered nothing other than a beer?

 

Interesting scenarios, particularly where a group of people are together with various Std / Plus / Prem packages and an assortment of pizzas on the table - who ordered what and is anyone taking a slice from a pizza they did not order? Impossible to police and crew usually avoids anthyng that might be confrontational.

My specific interest is one couple on Plus sharing a Pizza - is this one visit or two? I can see the crew just logging it as two visits by default. We have a 20-day cruise coming up. We will have Plus so four visits instead of two would be nice. Though paying for a couple of pizzas will not break the bank.

Edited September 10, 2023 by Tedferg

[Cruise Raider]

18 hours ago, Insomniacs said:

Does Princess plus allow for just ordering a single pizza ala carte or do we have to order the two seperate 3 course meals.  The reason I ask is we usually just want to share a pizza and order some drinks and I someone said they do not allow sharing of the 3 course meal which implies we would have to order two and that would be just wasteful.

 They have an a la carte menu.  

[Purdey16]

On 9/10/2023 at 2:11 PM, Pat King said:

Any update on this observation? On our 5 Sky Princess cruises, including 3 Trans Atlantics, we ate dinner there at least 4 times a cruise. We liked it as a less stuffy alternative to the MDR, at no additional cost, and we liked the proximity to the dancing and music in the Piazza.
I know on future Sky cruises that the new charges for dining will change our routine. A real shame, in our opinion.

Apologies for not replying sooner, we are just about to disembark sky this morning, so our view is now that there was always someone dining roughly about 15 at lunchtime and about 20 in the evening but still plenty of free tables left . 

[Grandma Rambo]

Please excuse me if this has been answered, but I haven't been able to find it.  We are both on the standard fare.  If we eat a pizza at Alfredo's that we pay for.  Do we tip in this instance?

[MissP22]

16 minutes ago, Grandma Rambo said:

Please excuse me if this has been answered, but I haven't been able to find it.  We are both on the standard fare.  If we eat a pizza at Alfredo's that we pay for.  Do we tip in this instance?

I suppose it would be expected but IF I were to go there feeling the way I do after being cheated on our next cruise, I seriously doubt I would tip anything. 

The ship should be tipping them from the extra charge of $14.99 per person.

[coo359a2]

When it was free did you tip?:  Same food - same service as you have always had at Alfredo's - free or pay.

[sunviking90]

On 9/5/2023 at 7:59 AM, MissP22 said:

I'm not to sure they were that popular. They seem to have disappeared from all the ships. 

Yes, you may be right. I loved the beet salad on one cruise. 3 days later all salads were gone and they only had sandwiches.

[NavyVeteran]

1 hour ago, Grandma Rambo said:

Please excuse me if this has been answered, but I haven't been able to find it.  We are both on the standard fare.  If we eat a pizza at Alfredo's that we pay for.  Do we tip in this instance?

The Afredo's staff are included in the Crew Appreciation - the same as the MDR staff, so you are already tipping them. You can always tip for exceptional service if you want, but it isn't necessary. Personally, I don't carry cash. At the end of the cruise, I will give extra tips to room steward, to waiters if I use the same ones throughout the cruise, and to bartender if I go to the same bar throughout the cruise - if the service is exceptional. But this decision is up to you.

[sunviking90]

On 9/3/2023 at 7:56 PM, Coral said:

I will be curious how Planks goes over. I don't think it was popular last time and honestly, I don't think Princess has ever done BBQ well. 

 

I don't eat seafood so I can't comment on Steamers.

We are just off the Emerald Princess and Planks and Steamers were each open about every 3rd night. We didn’t eat there, but they seemed very popular with waits to get in at times. I was surprised. I do think by looking at their menus people perceive more bang for their buck there.

I always thought that a $5 cover would be appropriate for Alfredo’s, but unless we have a LOT of OBC to burn I don’t think we’ll be eating there now, at $14.99 per.

[voljeep]

we have tipped in Alfredo's before - we ate there embarkation day - packed - and our waiter still did a good job, no tip - really didn't think about it.  (and I will state here, we don't tip in the mdr)

Went back to Alfredo's, had the same waiter - he remembered us (don't know if he just said that or not) - not crowded and we had excellent service.  We  tipped him then - I'm guessing a few $$ - maybe $5?

[stoneharborlady]

On 9/6/2023 at 12:33 AM, Lucky TGO said:

Can someone tell me what the changes at Alfredo are. I haven’t taken a cruise. Since my wife got sick.

She loved Alfredos.

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

 

So sorry to hear this Tony.  

[dreaminofcruisin]

On 9/16/2023 at 7:56 AM, Grandma Rambo said:

Please excuse me if this has been answered, but I haven't been able to find it.  We are both on the standard fare.  If we eat a pizza at Alfredo's that we pay for.  Do we tip in this instance?

 

It's up to you, but if you want to, you'll have to bring cash. You don't get a bill or anything. When you are done, you just leave. The cost for many of the pizzas now are $8.50, if that matters.

 

[Steelers36]

On 9/16/2023 at 8:56 AM, Grandma Rambo said:

Please excuse me if this has been answered, but I haven't been able to find it.  We are both on the standard fare.  If we eat a pizza at Alfredo's that we pay for.  Do we tip in this instance?

Did you tip when it was free?  PCL seems to always have a baked in gratuity amount with dining locales, so I would presume it to be the same for a la carte items.

[Grandma Rambo]

• Thank you, everyone, for your replies.  Of course we don't tip in the MDR.  There is no charge there.  Specialty restaurants, yes we do.  No, we didn't tip before in Alfredo's because it was included like the MDR.  This is entirely different.  We never ate a la carte.  There has to be a bill to sign for the $8.50. I'm sorry for being so dense.  Thanks again.
•  

[NavyVeteran]

4 minutes ago, Grandma Rambo said:

• Thank you, everyone, for your replies.  Of course we don't tip in the MDR.  There is no charge there.  Specialty restaurants, yes we do.  No, we didn't tip before in Alfredo's because it was included like the MDR.  This is entirely different.  We never ate a la carte.  There has to be a bill to sign for the $8.50. I'm sorry for being so dense.  Thanks again.
•  

I don't understand your distinction. Assuming you leave the standard Crew Appreciation, that is shared by all of the serving staff, including Alfredo's, specialty restaurants, and MDR. If you want to tip extra for exceptional service, that's up to you - but it is tipping extra. Personally, I would be much more likely to tip an MDR waiter who served me for the entire cruise than a specialty restaurant waiter who served me only once.

There does not have to be a bill for you to sign. You don't sign a bill every time you buy a drink. They charge it to you and it shows on your onboard folio.

[Grandma Rambo]

1 minute ago, NavyVeteran said:

I don't understand your distinction. Assuming you leave the standard Crew Appreciation, that is shared by all of the serving staff, including Alfredo's, specialty restaurants, and MDR. If you want to tip extra for exceptional service, that's up to you - but it is tipping extra. Personally, I would be much more likely to tip an MDR waiter who served me for the entire cruise than a specialty restaurant waiter who served me only once.

There does not have to be a bill for you to sign. You don't sign a bill every time you buy a drink. They charge it to you and it shows on your onboard folio.

Thanks.  I haven't been on a medallion cruise and we don't drink, so no bar experience, so I thought you sign something.  We do tip waiters if we have the same one.  We do tip extra to the room attendant and specialty venues.  It's clear now.  Just didn't want to not do the correct thing.  Thanks again.

[NavyVeteran]

36 minutes ago, Grandma Rambo said:

Thanks.  I haven't been on a medallion cruise and we don't drink, so no bar experience, so I thought you sign something.  We do tip waiters if we have the same one.  We do tip extra to the room attendant and specialty venues.  It's clear now.  Just didn't want to not do the correct thing.  Thanks again.

As long as you don't remove the standard Crew Appreciation, you are doing "the correct thing". Anythin extra you want to give to anyone is completely up to you.

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, Grandma Rambo said:

Thanks.  I haven't been on a medallion cruise and we don't drink, so no bar experience, so I thought you sign something.  We do tip waiters if we have the same one.  We do tip extra to the room attendant and specialty venues.  It's clear now.  Just didn't want to not do the correct thing.  Thanks again.

You should also be aware that a portion of the SD cover charge ($35/$39) is for a gratuity.  So, you have provided extra tip that way.  If you feel the service warrants more, then by all means feel free to add some cash.  But there is no expectation to do so.  The same applies to charges at casual dining. 

[Grandma Rambo]

5 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

You should also be aware that a portion of the SD cover charge ($35/$39) is for a gratuity.  So, you have provided extra tip that way.  If you feel the service warrants more, then by all means feel free to add some cash.  But there is no expectation to do so.  The same applies to charges at casual dining. 

Wow, didn't know that either. After not sailing for five years it looks like I needed a refresher course.  We always pay auto gratuities before boarding and then extra as appropriate. So many changes have taken place that it boggles the mind.  Your kindness and patience have clarified this 84-year-old mind. We will leave our wallets in the safe and just use the new, modern way of charging to our room and so much more with medallion.  Happy sailing to all.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Grandma Rambo said:

Wow, didn't know that either. After not sailing for five years it looks like I needed a refresher course.  We always pay auto gratuities before boarding and then extra as appropriate. So many changes have taken place that it boggles the mind.  Your kindness and patience have clarified this 84-year-old mind. We will leave our wallets in the safe and just use the new, modern way of charging to our room and so much more with medallion.  Happy sailing to all.

Yes, there have been a number of changes, but that gratuity has been there since the beginning.  It is 17% BTW.  Example:  $39 = $33.33 + $5.67.

[memoak]

4 hours ago, Grandma Rambo said:

Wow, didn't know that either. After not sailing for five years it looks like I needed a refresher course.  We always pay auto gratuities before boarding and then extra as appropriate. So many changes have taken place that it boggles the mind.  Your kindness and patience have clarified this 84-year-old mind. We will leave our wallets in the safe and just use the new, modern way of charging to our room and so much more with medallion.  Happy sailing to all.

As far as I can tell tipping really hasn’t changed at all in many years

[katmigordon]

On 9/4/2023 at 9:33 AM, rosevew said:

Not sure what there is to be excited about, no choice at all, just the 3 simple courses, it would appear from the menus posted

Where are these menus?  I was under the impression it was a pick one app, one main and one dessert.