Sabatini's

[57eric]

For my next voyage the app shows the Crown Grill with no availability whatsoever on almost every night.  Conversely, Sabatini's is wide open every evening.  I've seen some posts that suggest that Sabatini's used to be very good but isn't any longer.  What do recent diners have to say?  Was it worth it?

 

Is Sabatini's standardized across the fleet, or is it likely to vary by ship?

[LACruiser88]

On our recent TA on the Enchanted this past Nov/Dec, we dined at Sabatini's twice.  We had great dinners and service.  The menu is the same fleet wide.

 

As far as the Crown Grill being booked-up on the app, call the "Dine Line" as soon as you board as they always leave space for onboard bookings.

 

 

 

Edited February 6 by LACruiser88

[Auntiejo]

We were on Enchanted last month and thought Sabatini's had lost it's lustre a bit. On that particular ship the location has moved but that's not why we were disappointed in it. The menu is much more narrow and the selection didn't wow us. A few dishes were very good but most were just ok. The Osso Bucco which has always been our favorite dish there, was bit tough and just not the same as before. The caprese salad was really disappointing and used to be our favorite appetizer. Super small portion and tomatoes that weren't even ripe and almost no olive oil or balsamic - we had to ask for more. We also had terrible service 1 of the 2 nights we dined there but that's not to say it would be that way elsewhere - probably a fluke since our first night there we had great service.

[XBGuy]

8 minutes ago, 57eric said:

Is Sabatini's standardized across the fleet, or is it likely to vary by ship?

 

Definitely not standardized.  Each ship has its own unique staff.  My experience with Sabatini's (and the Crown Grill is the same) is that there is variation between service level and, even, food preparation from one ship to another, and I attribute that variation to differences in personnel--especially, in management.  Also, you cannot generalize by the ship.  Personnel are moving in and out from one cruise to another.  So, the headwaiter who did an excellent job of ensuring that his diners received top service, might leave the ship and be replaced by one who is lazy and gets by with minimum effort.  That will send an unfortunate message to the service staff, and the ones who suffer are the diners.

 

I take Cruise Critic opinions on every venue with a grain of salt.  The only opinion I trust is my own.  Also, I do not trust my memory of any venue from a previous cruise.  On every cruise, I will go to these venues with very little expectation.  Whether or not I make a subsequent visit to that venue during the rest of the cruise depends on my experience on that first visit.  

[memoak]

Just off the Crown and the food at Sabatini’s was still wonderful but the service was super small and seemed confused

[skynight]

There should be openings once on board. Call the dine line on boarding day. There probably will also be openings the evening of boarding day. You could book Sabatini's . Once on board you could cancel if you manage to book the Crown Grill, or try both.

Edited February 6 by skynight

[Sunwanabe]

Our group dined at Sabatini's, last August on Crown and last March on Discovery. Thoroughly enjoyed the menu and portions. Signed up again for our upcoming March cruise. 

[JStar]

Opinions are just that. For contrast we ate at sabatini’s on the Enchanted last month and it was great. Service was excellent. I was not happy to see its new location where the bistro used to be but was pleasantly surprised that it was not a factor in our enjoyable experience.

[57eric]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

On our recent TA on the Enchanted this past Nov/Dec, we dined at Sabatini's twice.  We had great dinners and service.  The menu is the same fleet wide.

 

As far as the Crown Grill being booked-up on the app, call the "Dine Line" as soon as you board as they always leave space for onboard bookings.

 

 

 

Yes, I jumped on the Crown Grill as soon as I made final payment.  I booked embarkation night and a second night in case we loved it.

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, 57eric said:

 I booked embarkation night and a second night in case we loved it.

You most likely *will* like it!

[satxdiver]

We both love Sabatini's and go there every cruise at least once.  Neither of us like red meat so the CG is out as the choices are limited for non-red meat dishes.  

[PurpleHays]

We are trying Sabatini's for the first time on our next cruise. We have thought about it several times, just never did it.

[rideev]

Just my thoughts, but my meals in sabatini's have been better than my meals in crown grill.

[lahlah57]

30 minutes ago, rideev said:

Just my thoughts, but my meals in sabatini's have been better than my meals in crown grill.

I agree! On Discovery this past november........Crown grill an utter disappointment but Sabatini's was perfection!

[voljeep]

I will offer the counterpoint from personal experience.

 

Crown Grill may hold back some reservations for "suite" / "casino" passengers. (I stated 'may' because I don't have personal experience with that situation.

 

I do have personal experience with immediately upon boarding going straight to CG - sorry, booked all week.  You can stop by during the cruise at dinner hours and see if we have seating for a cancellation.

I can book you into Sabatini's, but only for tonight ... we took that ... and continued to call the dine line at various times during the cruise - nada, sorry.

 

So, it is unfair to posters to think that the dine line is magical.

[New2cruise2022]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

I will offer the counterpoint from personal experience.

 

Crown Grill may hold back some reservations for "suite" / "casino" passengers. (I stated 'may' because I don't have personal experience with that situation.

 

I do have personal experience with immediately upon boarding going straight to CG - sorry, booked all week.  You can stop by during the cruise at dinner hours and see if we have seating for a cancellation.

I can book you into Sabatini's, but only for tonight ... we took that ... and continued to call the dine line at various times during the cruise - nada, sorry.

 

So, it is unfair to posters to think that the dine line is magical.

It’s a good counterpoint. And also, these forums stay active because mileage really does vary from ship to ship and from week to week. 
 

It doesn’t hurt to try going to the specialty restaurant directly and asking. It doesn’t hurt to call the dine line and try there. It might hurt to go to the casino and play through $4000 to try to get a comp at one of the restaurants. Haha. 

[jec2016]

Family recently sailed on the Royal in NZ.  They said there is not only the specialty dining charge of $50 now but also you have to pay for the meals.  Has that been your experience?

[Steelers36]

13 minutes ago, jec2016 said:

Family recently sailed on the Royal in NZ.  They said there is not only the specialty dining charge of $50 now but also you have to pay for the meals.  Has that been your experience?

A communication misunderstanding?  The only upcharge is if one orders an extra main or adds a lobster tail.

[jec2016]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

A communication misunderstanding?  The only upcharge is if one orders an extra main or adds a lobster tail.

Thank you. I couldn’t imagine that happening either but with all the cutbacks on extras in cruising these days you never can tell!

[Rick&Jeannie]

7 hours ago, jec2016 said:

Family recently sailed on the Royal in NZ.  They said there is not only the specialty dining charge of $50 now but also you have to pay for the meals.  Has that been your experience?

Huh?  I don't think so...

 

[startedwithamouse]

21 hours ago, rideev said:

Just my thoughts, but my meals in sabatini's have been better than my meals in crown grill.

This ^

[beshears]

We plan to be on the Regal the 25th of this month, and the 8 of us are booked for Sabatini's. Guess we'll see (I had read that there is a LOT of food to eat with several courses) how we like it. As someone mentioned, everyone has different opinions, and I do like to read them, but I go with the "thinking" this may be better than what some people say. 🙂

[rideev]

13 hours ago, beshears said:

We plan to be on the Regal the 25th of this month, and the 8 of us are booked for Sabatini's. Guess we'll see (I had read that there is a LOT of food to eat with several courses) how we like it. As someone mentioned, everyone has different opinions, and I do like to read them, but I go with the "thinking" this may be better than what some people say. 🙂

A few years ago, we were gifted a specialty dining meal as part of a special package we booked.  I was hoping for Crown Grill, but we ended up with Sabatini's.  Oh well, it was free, so we went.  That meal was sooooooo good.  We have been back on a few more cruises (we don't do very many SD as we find the MDR to be very good) and they have also been exceptional.  I plan on going to Sabatini's on our Transpacific this fall, at least once.

[lor74]

We enjoyed our recent meal on the Sky.  My veal marsala was so tender and yummy!

[redflag216]

Is it typical for Crown Grill to be “sold out” of dining times? I just went to make a reservation, and there is no availability. I have thought about Sabatini’s, but my spouse is on a keto diet. So, I would be eating all the pasta and bread; not that there’s anything wrong with that! I just don’t know if we would get our money’s worth, if carbs are out of the question?