Pinnacle Grill

[DixieCaribe]

I have never had the pleasure of dining in the Pinnacle Grill aboard any of our cruises. I have to ask, does the twenty dollar per person surcharge cover the entire meal, or does that just get you in the door? It seems that everyone I've talked to that dined there enjoyed it, and I would like to take my parents there at least once on our next cruise, and am curious as to the specifics. Thanks!

[waiting2retire]

It is now up to $30 per person, and yes, it includes everything except alcoholic drinks. We had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill on the Zaandam last month, and I'm glad I experienced it. I don't know if I would go again, since I love eating in the main diningroom, and thought the food was comparable. That having been said, it is definitely an enjoyable experience and great for celebrating a special occasion or just to have a change of scenery if it is within your budget.

 

Bonnie

[Len3]

I faxed HAL the pre-cruise form for booking the PG and got a call from them today. On the Volendam, they have gone up $10.00 pp, so now it's $30.00 pp - it better be really good.

[innlady1]

The surcharge in the Pinnacle covers everything, except drinks, of course. However, the surcharge was $30 on the Noordam recently...so may have gone up across the board. Well worth it, I might add! :D

[sail7seas]

It is $30 per person for dinner in Pinnacle Grill on all the ships and IMO, well worth it.

 

We have enjoyed some really wonderful evenings in various Pinnacles on the different ships.

 

Any tip you may wish to leave is additional.

We have always chosen to tip the stewards.

 

[eldercruser]

Everyone has their own opinion on this. My wife and I strongly disagree with those who rave about the Pinnacle. In the past we have not found the food that much better and neither is the service. At the new rate of $30/pp it is way overpriced in our opinion.

[Funny Daddy]

It's a nice experience, I like it when it has an Italian menu, most of it steaks etc. I prefer the main dining room, but it gives you a more intimate atmosphere!! Rgds, Pimp Daddy!! :cool:

[MamaCat.]

Just curious does anyone have the menu? I can't seem to find the Grill menu anywhere. I am still trying to decide if it is worth it or not.

[jtl513]

Just curious does anyone have the menu? I can't seem to find the Grill menu anywhere. I am still trying to decide if it is worth it or not.

Don't forget to add in the value of the meal that you're not eating in the dining to come up with a true cost. :)

[BuckeyeGal1956]

Personally I don't find it worth $30 MORE than the dining room. And, luckily, I didn't have to pay it ... one of the amenities in the group I was with was a free dinner there.

Steak lovers rave about it ... those of us who aren't in that category probably do just as well with the varied choices in the dining room.

[Len3]

We pre-paid this. It would be a shame not to experience everything onboard even if it's just once. $30.00 pp is nothing when you consider what the entire cruise costs.

[Schplinky]

Personally I don't find it worth $30 MORE than the dining room.

 

I think that sums up our feeling about it, too. We have been to Chops on RCL and this was exactly the same experience. Some of the desserts were different but otherwise, it was stunningly similar. We tried it to try something new but found ourselves missing the dining room (and the lobster night, which they did on a casual night during our cruise :confused: ). I don't know why we didn't realise it was just a steak-house; that's pretty clear on the HAL web-page.

[Sea King]

Pinnacle, IMO, is a wonderful alternative to the main dining room

 

the key word is "alternative"

 

IMHO, the beef in Pinnacle is normally far superior to the "steak" or lamb served in the dining room .. over the past several months, changes have also been made to the basic Pinnacle menu including entrees and appetizers

 

the $30 charge (which includes appetizer, dessert, and side dishes) is well below what the same meal would cost you at any comparable fine dining steakhouse on shore .. the cost of a prime ribeye at Morton's/Ruth's Chris/Palm/Smith Wolensky in Boston, New York, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale is in the range of $45+ on the average .. when you add on the appetizer, side dishes and dessert at the shore side restaurant, you're over the $30 ship charge by at least $40-$50 pp (and don't forget the sales tax)

 

the single biggest criticism I've consistently seen on CC about Pinnacle is the price, not the quality of the food, the ambience, the service or the entirely different wine list using as a criteria that the dining room is included

 

simply put, it's all about choices .. isn't it?

 

the dining room is wonderful; even then, some Pax still prefer informal dining at Lido nightly or room service ..

 

Pinnacle is an alternative for which a charge is assessed .. the fee IMHO is more than reasonable

 

whether you go there or not is your decision ..

 

to be critical based solely on price because the dining room is an included item is not, IMHO, fair, or quite frankly, right

[sab490]

I think that sums up our feeling about it, too. We have been to Chops on RCL and this was exactly the same experience. Some of the desserts were different but otherwise, it was stunningly similar. We tried it to try something new but found ourselves missing the dining room (and the lobster night, which they did on a casual night during our cruise :confused: ). I don't know why we didn't realise it was just a steak-house; that's pretty clear on the HAL web-page.

 

IMO Chops on RCI was noticeabley better, at least for a steak person. I liked the menu better, my steak itself was much better, and the service was definitely better. We also had a "freebee" to PG, so I can't say it wasn't worth it, but we also will probably stick to the main dining room in the future and reserve specialty dining for RCCL and Celebrity.

 

- Steve

[dolls4sell]

When we were on the O in 04 we had a suite andwent to the Neputne Lounge.

They told us for the first night only if we ate in the PG it would be $10.00 per person so we did. I did not like it as the service was awful and the food was cold, thank goodness it was only $10.00 pp. Does the ships still do this for the 1st night?

[mcarroll2]

We were on the 2/10 cruise of the Oosterdam. We have eaten in the Pinnacle the last three cruises. Once on the Westerdam and twice on the Oosterdam. We truly thought the Pinnacle was an excellent dining experience, but not this year. The price is $30. The service was uninspired and the steak was not as good as last year. We had a couple of loud mouths at the table next to us and along with the crappy piped in music that was too loud ( we asked twice if it could be turned down) it made for a not great evening. The food overall was no better than the DR. I doubt I will pay for dining in the Pinnacle again.

[littledylansmom]

Just off Noordam today...I got filet and my husband got another kind of steak don't remember which one but it was terrible...Very Salty :( Totally not worth the extra $. Food in Dining room was really good!!!

[jtl513]

it was only $10.00 pp. Does the ships still do this for the 1st night?

I'm pretty sure they don't.

Just off Noordam today...I got filet and my husband got another kind of steak don't remember which one but it was terrible...Very Salty :( Totally not worth the extra $. Food in Dining room was really good!!!

We tried the P.G. twice when it was still $20 pp. Both times the food wasn't notably better than the dining room, and the service was notably stuffier. We enjoy the dining room meals much more. I'm not sure I'd even go back to the P.G. for free. :p

[SakeDad]

While I have no problem with the price it seems if it's not MUCH better then the main dining room I'll be spending that $60 on another shore excursion or cocktails!:p Living in Vegas I can take my mom to some of the best places in the world....so I think we'll stick to making new friends at a large table or the week, although I reserve the right to change my mind once on board:rolleyes:

[only1chicken]

I agree with Sea King on this one.

We dined at the Pinnacle at the end of our recent Westerdam cruise.

You can not compare the food and service of the Pinnacle to the Dining Room. The $30 fee per person is nominal.

The appetizers were incredible, I had the crab cake that consisted of jumbo white crab meat. My husband ordered a filet and it was at least 3 inches thick, tender and top quality. I ordered the shrimp scampi and the shrimp were 6-7 inches in length and cooked to perfection. The wine selection, the dessert, the presentation and the service. No comparison really.

You would not find comparable food and service for this amount in any of the finer restaurants on land.

[mamaofami]

HAl used to discount the meal in the Pinnacle on the first night of the cruise, but they didn't do that on the Noodam so I don't know if they do it anymore on any of the ships.

 

In my opinion, it was a great meal. If I ordered a steak and it was too salty, I would send it back. I won't eat food that's not good for me. My steak was perfect and so was my DH's. Our TA treated us for the meal. I've heard from a lot of people that their TA's did that too.

 

The steak is of far better quality than that of the diningroom because it is aged, just like at the finer steak houses.

 

Hope you try this alternative. :)

[caviargal]

It's a nice experience, I like it when it has an Italian menu, most of it steaks etc. I prefer the main dining room, but it gives you a more intimate atmosphere!! Rgds, **** Daddy!! :cool:

 

The menu does not change and I have never seen an Italian option:confused:.

 

I like the PG personally. we opted for it 6 of 7 nights on the ZUI for the intimate ambiance and the service. We have pre-booked for three nights on the OS coming up in 6 weeks.

 

These days, we seem to opt for ala carte dining most nights on most lines, and all on some (like RCI). It is worth it for us in order to have dining times and companions (or not) or our choosing, a quiet and virtually child free dining experience and a much more elegant atmosphere.

 

We do not gamble or do excursions and consider the surcharges for dinners in our general budget.

 

To each his own but we do like having this option.

[sail7seas]

I think it possible FunnyDaddy may be thinking back to the days of Marco Polo and Odyssey Alternative Restaurants on Rotterdam/Amsterdam, Zaaandam/Voldendam. Those restaurants, the forerunners of Pinnacles, had wonderful Italian menus. The spaces on those ships were redesigned to be Pinnacle Grills from the former Marco Polo/Odyssey.

 

[Schplinky]

I think it possible FunnyDaddy may be thinking back to the days of Marco Polo and Odyssey Alternative Restaurants on Rotterdam/Amsterdam, Zaaandam/Voldendam. Those restaurants, the forerunners of Pinnacles, had wonderful Italian menus. The spaces on those ships were redesigned to be Pinnacle Grills from the former Marco Polo/Odyssey.

 

 

That explains something we wondered while we were there. We kept seeing "Pinnacle Grill at the Odyssey" and had no idea what this referred to. It made it sound like the PG was a restaurant within a restaurant but we couldn't make sense of it. This explains it. Thanks.

[calbob]

I agree, as well...I guess because you are paying 30.00 rather than 0 at the dining room you expect that much more, which is hard to accomplish...However, as someone commented on another board...If you are a steak lover, the cut of beef is no comparison what you get in the dining room, along with the appetizers. I think the presentation is better as well...It's a nice treat, and I think well worth the money...

CALBOB