Pinnacle Grill Format Change

[AWED23]

I would really like to know if others out there besides me would like to see the Pinnacle Grill return to an Italian venue... They can continue to charge an addittional fee but I have a real yen to have a genuine up-scale Italian Resaurant as an alternative dining venue....What say YOU ??????...:confused:Be sure to vote in the Poll!!!

[Old As Dirt Mom]

AWED, I vote for a really good Italian restaurant. The Pinnacle Grill is advertised as having "Northwest Cuisine", but I can tell you they don't even come close. I can go out for dinner any day here in the Pacific Northwest, and get a better, fresher, more well-prepared dinner than in the Pinnacle Grill. The Pinnnacle Grill isn't awful, it's just very uninspired. It's like the typical American surf/turf dining experience of forty years ago:eek: . Is my comment opinionated and subjective? You bet. Will others disagree with me? Of course. Take my vote for what it's worth!:p ;)

 

Karin

[hammybee]

I am not going to vote because I prefer to see alternating venues. Like MaM, I don't quite get the Pacific NW theme and agree it's more of a surf/turf place.I do however, appreciate that this may be what many pax want from their cruise. We have enjoyed the PG on every cruise.

 

I also enjoyed it when they served Italian and think it's an opportunity for HAL to go back and consider doing it again.

 

I think there is opportunity for both on a cruise.

[bepsf]

I'm sure that if HAL believed that it could justify $20-$30 extra charge for the original Marco Polo - they would have gone that route.

My understanding is that Eurodam will have an Italian restaurant located in a section part of the Lido Restaurant during the evenings. No idea if it will be extra charge, but probably will be reservations only.

In addition, Eurodam will of course have the Pan-Asian restaurant & lounge in the glassed-in roof-top pavillion - and that will be extra tariff.

[dakrewser]

My understanding is that Eurodam will have an Italian restaurant located in a section part of the Lido Restaurant during the evenings. No idea if it will be extra charge, but probably will be reservations only.

 

eeww! That sounds a lot like the Sterling Steakhouse we encountered aboard the Dawn Princess and which I said had "all the ambiance of an Altoona Holiday Inn"!

 

I'd like to see the old Marco Polo returned...

[earl_m]

They can do what they want. Just as long as I can still order a big steak,spinach and scallop potatoes.

[SmokinActuary]

We happened to have a great meal at the Pinnacle.

 

IMO Italian has to be STELLAR to be worth it.

[sail7seas]

Only four ships ever had Italian. Marco Polo Restaurants were only on Volendam and Zaandam. Odyssey was on Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Those four were converted to Pinnacles. All the others ships had Pinnacles built from space previously used as King's Room, Maitre d's office and a small piece of Explorer's Lounge.

 

We enjoy our evenings in Pinnacle and while we welcome some menu changes/specials, we are happy for them to continue with the basic menu and have changing specials.

[mamaofami]

We love the Pinnacle just the way it is. :)

[Typhoon1]

Ditto to the above.

[kakalina]

I would like to see a truly good Italian restaurant in addition to the PG. More than two dining alternatives would be nice.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

I would like to see a truly good Italian restaurant in addition to the PG. More than two dining alternatives would be nice.

 

I agree, would work for me. Keep everybody happy!:)

 

Multiple dining alternatives a la E-dam with its Asian, Italian, and Pinnacle Grill options sounds good to me.

 

Awed, I think we've been outvoted. Looks like the majority prefer the Pinnacle Grill as it is.............

[GOLFER3]

I would also like to see an upscale "authentic" Italian Restr on HAL. Even better would be keeping the so called "steak" venue and adding a second Italian Restr. After speaking with a number of the wait staff and maitre de in the current Pinnicle Restr and asking them why the evening meals have been so empty they all stated that they believe it is because of the $30 person charge. They said they served a lot more people when the charge was $20 to $25.

[mamaofami]

I'm sure the additional surcharge is a factor keeping people away from the Pinnacle. I recall when they used to have it for $10 the first night of the cruise. That was a real bargin and usually seemed to be sold out.

[bob brown]

I dined at the Odyssey on the Rotterdam back in '02, and I believe at that time there was no surcharge, with only a requirement for a reservation. I remember that the food and service were upscale from the main dining room. If I had my way, the cruise lines would improve the fare served in the main dining rooms with higher quality and more selections. The trend toward specialty restaurants is simply another way for cruiselines to recoup the discount fares offered to get more passengers on board. I will say that the beef served in the Pinnacle is some of the best I've had at sea, but still can't compare with the best shore-side steak houses such as Peter Luger's in New York.

[josephone]

I think the best point made so far is that the Pinnacle is uninspired. The food is simply ok. The food combined with mediocre service made it a bad choice in our minds.

 

I'd love to see an interesting restuarant like a good Thai or Malaysian or Indonesian restaurant. The food is particularly boring.

 

I voted, but notice we are still outnumbered.

 

Josephone

[ocngypz]

To warrant a hefty surcharge, it would have to be spectacular Italian!

 

But I prefer my lambchops in the Pinnacle.

[JDRMYS]

We've taken only one HAL cruise, on the Noordam in January. We loved the Pinnacle Grill and ended up eating there every night. We are beef lovers & the steaks were really first rate prime beef, beautifully charred & perfectly cooked. At home, in New York, we have access to some of the best prime beef in the world, and the beef in the PG was the real thing. Our feeling is that, if we are going to shorten our lives by raising our cholesterol levels, the beef had better be the very best. We are not willing to risk out lives for the sake of 2nd rate beef! We also got excellent bernaise sauce which is my favorite sauce to accompany a char-grilled steak and the chicken and veal dishes were excellent too as were the side dishes, especially the potato gratin. I am allergic to all fish and seafood products so I could not sample any of these.

 

As far as an Italian restaurant goes, I doubt that HAL (or any other cruise line) could come up with a really top grade one. I've lived in Rome and know that the best Italian cooking relies on using only the freshest ingredients and cooking in relatively small batches. This is not really possible on a ship. The best that could be accomplished would be the equivalent of a medium-high quality Italian-American restaurant. There is nothing wrong with such places, but they are not the magical places that are the best restauants in Italy.

 

On our cruise, we found the main dining room on the Noordam to be sub-par, so that is not an option for us. Without the PG, we would never take another HAL cruise but stick to Regent Seven Seas and Seabourn despite the fact that they don't sail out of New York.

 

BTW, I know that some HAL fans will scream with anger at this post. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I am expessing our own tastes and preferences and a plea to keep the Pinnacle Grill!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Voted for the Italian.

 

Before Pinnacle we had the Marco Polo and Odyssey which were Italian and we really loved them!!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes - at one time the Marco Polo and Odyssey were FREE!!! And you were ab le to get a petite filet - which was just as good as the ones at the Pinnacle.

[Bramcruiser]

I enjoyed our Pinnacle Grill night on the Oosterdam but I do agree with the "uninspiring" comments. I had the fortune to eat at the Todd English alternative restaurant on the QM2 and I can report that the TE experience is what an upgraded experience should be all about. However, I voted to stick with same-old, same-old. Simply because.............sure, it can be improved but I didn't have a bad experience with it. Also, I tend to agree that any Italian (or any ethnic restaurant) would have to be mighty spectacular as some here have said. I love Italian food but do enjoy my steak now and then.

 

David

[Dolphins]

If HAL wants to upgrade their specialty restaurants, they should follow NCL's example. NCL features three such restaurants- Cagney's Steakhouse, Le Bistro (French) and an Asian restaurant. The prices range from $15. to $20. per person with occasional half-price nights (HAL's $30. price is too high). In addition, NCL also has an Italian restaurant and a Tex-Mex restaurant at no extra charge. IF HAL would add only one of the above, that would be an improvement over the current Pinnacle offering which tempts me not at all.

[jhannah]

We have thoroughly enjoyed the Pinnacle Grill the times we have eaten in them. We didn't on our last cruise, and probably won't any more. The surcharge is too high for what they offer, IMO. Mediocre is probably a fitting description.

[sab490]

To me, a specialty restaurant would have to be pretty exceptional for me to be willing to pay a surcharge, especially if the food and service in the main dining room are very good as they were on Noordam. For what it's worth here are my feelings about the specialty restaurants we have experianced.

 

RCCL Chops - Food (Steaks) exceptional, Service very good, would go again.

RCCL Portofino - Food very good, service very good, might go again

Princess (Italian - can't remember name) - Food fair, service fair, would not do again.

Celebrity Normandy (Summit) - Food exceptional, Service exceptional(almost too good - very overdramatic). Would do again.

HAL PG (Noordam) - Food very good, Service fair. I agree with "uninspired" as a good description. Would not do again unless comped again by TA or HAL.

 

- Steve

[kelmac]

We have thoroughly enjoyed the Pinnacle Grill the times we have eaten in them. We didn't on our last cruise, and probably won't any more. The surcharge is too high for what they offer, IMO. Mediocre is probably a fitting description.

 

Jim,

 

I agree 100%. We will only do the Pinnacle for lunch. The only alternative restaurants that merrit a $30 surcharge are on Celebrity's Millennium class ships.

On our recent Maasdam cruise, the Pinnacle never seemed to be more than 40% full during dinner. The day we ate lunch there, everyone but us had a voucher from their TA, or from HAL, for a free visit to the Pinnacle.

We had a wonderful lunch!:)

 

Kel