So, about Pinnacle Grill...

[dogo88]

7 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

Comparing a baked potato to a filet or ribeye is a bit of a stretch, don't you think? Just ask for two halves. I bet you get them -- no charge.

 

No stretch at all. I ordered my meal with a baked potato. Didn't order a half of a baked potato. But got a half. And the menu didn't list half a baked potato.  

 

If the 5 oz filet you get was half a 10 oz one would that be ok? 

[Ready2go11]

So in summary, some people have had good experiences, some people have had poor experiences, some people have higher expectations than others, and the service and food quality can be inconsistent from ship to ship or even on different different nights in the same ship.  All that is true of land based restaurants as well 
 

On one hand, any restaurant can have a bad night leading to poor experiences and as noted in a prior post ship, restaurants have different challenges than land-based ones

 

However, if you were paying for a meal, you would expect the experience to be better than the included meal (MDR). And everyone except those who receive the meal for free from their TA or as a five star are paying something.

 

Even for those where the meal is included with HIA are paying something since HIA has an up charge cost when it is added to your reservation. 
 

Those paying full price for the pinnacle experience should be most upset when paying $54.28 pp for the upgraded experience. 

In the end, everyone has a choice of whether or not to go. If you consistently have poor experiences, even if your meal is included in the HIA, maybe you are better off just not going. You have to weigh any real cost to you vs the cost of your frustration if you have a poor experience. 
 

I have had many experiences in the Pinnacle, some very good and most with some issue. However, I am not expecting perfection, I am on a cruise vacation, usually with no other place to be, and with people I want to spend time with. I do not have to cook or clean up. Having that attitude means, I have an enjoyable experience every time! 

 

 

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, dogo88 said:

No stretch at all. I ordered my meal with a baked potato. Didn't order a half of a baked potato. But got a half. And the menu didn't list half a baked potato.  

 

If the 5 oz filet you get was half a 10 oz one would that be ok? 

 

This is where the server should have mentioned the half potato and let the guest decide.  If the server forgot, they should have gone back.  Either way, it is a management issue.  The ball is being dropped.

[sojodave]

Images of the suspect known as a half potato.

https://images.app.goo.gl/z2q3QDn1SWYcnoi76

Edited 16 hours ago by sojodave

[Niagarawine]

On 9/26/2024 at 9:20 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Very true.

 

I was on Rotterdam in late August and had two dinners at PG included. Otherwise I wouldn't have eaten there as I'm not much of a steakhouse fan. 

 

The first meal was terrible. The filet mignon was cooked well over asked-for temperature and had a funny taste. I sent it back and received one cooked right (well, still a tad above temp) but almost ludicrously small, which I assumed was out of spite since I asked for it to be redone. 

 

I also received no breadbasket until I finally asked for it, halfway through my salad. And I ordered the baked potato as a side -- what I received was half of a baked potato. I'm not kidding. It had been sliced in half and placed on a plate with the sliced side down as if to disguise that it wasn't whole. If HAL can't afford to give a whole potato, then they are really in bad shape....

 

Finally, either the waiter purposely set out to con me or was woefully ignorant of the wine menu -- which happens now and then. I had the SBP and asked for a suggestion for a glass of red that fit or was close to the SBP limit, since the ones on the Pinnacle menu are all more expensive. He gave me a patter about a great bottle of wine, a variety I like, that was worth purchasing as a bottle with my discount. I thought, why not try it? It was actually quite good. But...I found out the next day that it is available by the glass and would have been free under my package. I felt I'd been had. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt except that he was clearly a very experienced waiter and not new to HAL either based on our conversation.

 

I almost didn't go back for my second night, but I finally made a last-minute decision to go one night when I couldn't face the noise and rushed MDR service. It was night and day. Food and service were both very good.

 

Go figure....

 

 

I had half potato on Rotterdam last year. Was odd and looked gray. I didn’t eat it but on Koningdam had same baked potato and it was delicious, whole meal was great. Food in mdr on Rotterdam was better but on Koningsdam was the reverse. 

[Niagarawine]

On 9/26/2024 at 9:20 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Very true.

 

I was on Rotterdam in late August and had two dinners at PG included. Otherwise I wouldn't have eaten there as I'm not much of a steakhouse fan. 

 

The first meal was terrible. The filet mignon was cooked well over asked-for temperature and had a funny taste. I sent it back and received one cooked right (well, still a tad above temp) but almost ludicrously small, which I assumed was out of spite since I asked for it to be redone. 

 

I also received no breadbasket until I finally asked for it, halfway through my salad. And I ordered the baked potato as a side -- what I received was half of a baked potato. I'm not kidding. It had been sliced in half and placed on a plate with the sliced side down as if to disguise that it wasn't whole. If HAL can't afford to give a whole potato, then they are really in bad shape....

 

Finally, either the waiter purposely set out to con me or was woefully ignorant of the wine menu -- which happens now and then. I had the SBP and asked for a suggestion for a glass of red that fit or was close to the SBP limit, since the ones on the Pinnacle menu are all more expensive. He gave me a patter about a great bottle of wine, a variety I like, that was worth purchasing as a bottle with my discount. I thought, why not try it? It was actually quite good. But...I found out the next day that it is available by the glass and would have been free under my package. I felt I'd been had. I'd give him the benefit of the doubt except that he was clearly a very experienced waiter and not new to HAL either based on our conversation.

 

I almost didn't go back for my second night, but I finally made a last-minute decision to go one night when I couldn't face the noise and rushed MDR service. It was night and day. Food and service were both very good.

 

Go figure....

 

 

We had no read basket at all on our Alaskan cruise on Koningsdam.going on Rotterdam and hope they bring the bread as it’s really good. Maybe because it was a seven day cruise?

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, sojodave said:

Images of the suspect known as a half potato.

https://images.app.goo.gl/z2q3QDn1SWYcnoi76

 

Well, at least that doesn't look half baked.

[albingirl]

2 hours ago, Niagarawine said:

We had no read basket at all on our Alaskan cruise on Koningsdam.going on Rotterdam and hope they bring the bread as it’s really good. Maybe because it was a seven day cruise?

They have bread on 7 day cruises.  It's not all spartan.

[Ka Honu]

On 9/25/2024 at 4:13 PM, EtaC said:

... I have to say that I find the comments that assume universal awfulness to be totally self-righteous and misguided. Maybe my taste is not as refined as yours but give it a break. Next time order chicken and avoid the disappointment.

 

Funny, but your response doesn't quite seem to reflect the review I posted. Apparently you missed the part where I said that the Filet Mignon was "as advertised and properly cooked."

 

As to the rest, I've been called "misguided" often and "self-righteous" occasionally (although I don't recall anyone ever saying I had bad taste). Not my problem.

 

No offense taken.

 

On 9/26/2024 at 10:34 AM, Shmoo here said:

...  The only thing I've ever ordered I didn't really like was the asparagus side, just wasn't to my liking.

 

Can't argue that. I think there were 3-4 small overcooked stalks .

 

 

 

18 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

So I decided to re-read the OP. Either they fancy themselves as a butcher or decided to insert some book "definition" of the various cuts, as to how they think they "should" be...

 

I'm not a butcher but have done enough meat-cutting and preparation over the last 60 or so years to know what cut is what (as opposed to how that cut is advertised on menus, in stores, etc.). Apologies if my pedantry caused people to miss my point. 

 

What all that was leading up to was that Pinnacle described two steak entrees identically on the same menu as "ribeye" and they were totally different cuts of beef. That's just flat-out unacceptable. Any additional comments on method and quality of preparation method were a separate issue.

 

The complaint that the steak was too thin is a legitimate point, unfortunately they are working to a raw weight specification.

 

The steak wasn't "too thin." The problem was that the 14-ounce ribeye and the 15-ounce ribeye on the same menu should have been roughly the same shape and thickness (raw weight) because they were being sold as the same cut of meat although prepared differently. They weren't even close.

 

 

 

[Haljo1935]

11 hours ago, Niagarawine said:

We had no read basket at all on our Alaskan cruise on Koningsdam.going on Rotterdam and hope they bring the bread as it’s really good. Maybe because it was a seven day cruise?

Think not - I've been on several HAL 7-day cruises and have never received no bread basket in PG.

I will be expecting bread when we board Eurodam tomorrow 🤞

[cccole]

If you order a baked potato and half a baked potato is not enough for you can't you ask for another half? Possibly it is not cost cutting but the fact that many leave half of a whole baked potato on their plate.  Frankly I would prefer half, but that's just my opinion, and that's how I serve them at my house so the guest can load them with whatever they want.  I would be surprised if you asked for another half baked potato you would be denied.    JMO. Cherie

[Niagarawine]

40 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Think not - I've been on several HAL 7-day cruises and have never received no bread basket in PG.

I will be expecting bread when we board Eurodam tomorrow 🤞

There was bread in Pinnacle but not in mdr.

[Niagarawine]

9 hours ago, albingirl said:

They have bread on 7 day cruises.  It's not all spartan.

Not on mine,it was odd and I have been on over ten cruises with HAL

[oakridger]

Just now, Niagarawine said:

There was bread in Pinnacle but not in mdr.

 

Did you ask for some?  

[Niagarawine]

1 minute ago, oakridger said:

 

Did you ask for some?  

Nope

[Blackduck59]

So maybe ask for bread? How hard is that?

[Kay S]

4 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

So maybe ask for bread? How hard is that?

I guess the fact they didn't offer it is a problem...  I find there is too much bread offered. 🙂  I eat it and then can't finish the entree.

[EtaC]

I had bread at every dinner recently. MDR, Pinnacle, Caneletto. Not sure why experiences vary. 🤷‍♂️