New Pinnacle Price!!!

[sing]

Activated95b,

 

Head to HAL's main site:

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/main/Main.action

 

Click on: "For Booked Guests"

then click on: "On board gifts"

then click on: "On board gifts" (again)

Log in (create a log in if you don't already have one)

click on: "Make Pinnacle Grill Reservations" (give the gift to yourself)

check out

 

Hope this helps!:rolleyes::)

Kel

 

Quoting one of the previous posts here (thanks to Kel) - you'll find it quite simple if you follow the instructions.

 

Sue

[Pokeynose]

:) Thank you very much. I made our reservations for a second night. I assume the dress code is nice outfit for ladies and sport coat, shirt and tie for men. I'm not a long dress type of gal.:D

[RuthC]

I assume the dress code is nice outfit for ladies and sport coat, shirt and tie for men. I'm not a long dress type of gal.:D

The dress code in the Pinnacle follows the dress code for the evening. Although jackets are not required on smart casual nights, you will see many men in the Pinnacle wearing them.

[SeaRay48]

I will use the $180.00 I saved by HAL eliminating the fuel charge to pay for several nights in the Pinnacle grill. :) Dinner for Two $50.00. corkage fee $15.00, Servers tips $20.00 Evening with my wife "priceless"

[cruisinjudy]

I just tried to do our Pinnacle reservations for Feb Oosterdam and the only reservation that would come up for gifts was our Westerdam in May!:confused:

[cruisecrasy]

Hope someone can help me with this quandry.

 

Have prepaid for 2 nights in the PG (no set dining times) for a cruise in 2009 that we now might have to switch to another time (still in 2009 though) & ship.

Called HAL to ask about the possibility of a transfer of dining nites in the PG to another ship but no one seemed to understand and after waiting for 2 days for a 'call-back' I am turning to CCers for an answer.

 

Do u believe it is possible or do I need to get a credit and recharge the dinners again (bad for me 'cause its a Canuk card so will get hurt with the exchange & service charges to convert)?

 

Appreciate any assistance with this little problem.. Many thanks.

 

Have happy cruisin'!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hope someone can help me with this quandry.

 

Have prepaid for 2 nights in the PG (no set dining times) for a cruise in 2009 that we now might have to switch to another time (still in 2009 though) & ship.

Called HAL to ask about the possibility of a transfer of dining nites in the PG to another ship but no one seemed to understand and after waiting for 2 days for a 'call-back' I am turning to CCers for an answer.

 

Do u believe it is possible or do I need to get a credit and recharge the dinners again (bad for me 'cause its a Canuk card so will get hurt with the exchange & service charges to convert)?

 

Appreciate any assistance with this little problem.. Many thanks.

 

Have happy cruisin'!

Unfortunately I think your best bet is to just cancel these Pinnacle reservations and when you book the new cruise then call in for Pinnacle Reservations. I believe that when you prepurchase your Pinnacle reservations they are tied into your booking number which is why they do not have a way to transfer it unless you have a new booking number for a different cruise. You might want to go ahead and book the different sailing then see if they can transfer it over.

[cruisecrasy]

Unfortunately I think your best bet is to just cancel these Pinnacle reservations and when you book the new cruise then call in for Pinnacle Reservations. I believe that when you prepurchase your Pinnacle reservations they are tied into your booking number which is why they do not have a way to transfer it unless you have a new booking number for a different cruise. You might want to go ahead and book the different sailing then see if they can transfer it over.

 

Good suggestion - with new booking # just might be able to do a transfer...

 

Still no return call from HAL.. :(

 

Most appreciated.

 

Have happy cruisin'! :)

[Philip217]

So many cruisers fail to realize that a cover charge is just a very simple form of crowd control.

If the outlet gets too busy, you increase the cover charge until it is no longer too busy.

If business is too slow, you decrease the cover charge until it is just busy enough.

HAL has finally figured it out with the Pinnacle Grill.

 

I love it when passengers come to tell me that they will NEVER dine in a cover charge outlet due to the price.

 

My answer is, "Thank you. The system is working perfectly."

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hope someone can help me with this quandry.

 

Have prepaid for 2 nights in the PG (no set dining times) for a cruise in 2009 that we now might have to switch to another time (still in 2009 though) & ship.

Called HAL to ask about the possibility of a transfer of dining nites in the PG to another ship but no one seemed to understand and after waiting for 2 days for a 'call-back' I am turning to CCers for an answer.

 

Do u believe it is possible or do I need to get a credit and recharge the dinners again (bad for me 'cause its a Canuk card so will get hurt with the exchange & service charges to convert)?

 

Appreciate any assistance with this little problem.. Many thanks.

 

Have happy cruisin'!

 

HAL's computers are not able to transfer Pre-Paid Pinnacle reservations from one cruise to another.

So you will have to cancel the ones you have booked for the cruise that you are canceling.

Just keep in mind that the price of the Pinnacle will go to $25 beginning on the 15th of December.

So if you are to choose a new cruise before then, make your Pinnacle reservations as quickly as possible.

[Taxguy7]

I know $25 sounds "reasonable" for a delicious dinner, but you have to realize ... on a cruise $25 is quite steep. Even $20 is steep considering you're foregoing a dinner in the dining room that's already paid for when you dine at the Pinnacle. But because the food is so good, it would seem that people are willing to part with $20 ($40 for a couple), but it will be interesting to see if they are willing to part with $50.

 

Time will tell.

 

Also, I'd be interested to know if the majority of people who "splurge" and dine at the Pinnacle while on a cruise are only doing so because they have gift certificates for the dinner, perhaps given to them by their travel agents. I'd wonder how many people who dine there actually pay for the experience.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

Judging from the people I talked to on my recent TA, few!

One lady who dined there with her DD told me she saw a waiter carrying lobster from the regular kitchen to the PG. Don't know if it's true or not, but most I talked to said it wasn't worth the difference, they'd spend the money in a port.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Also, I'd be interested to know if the majority of people who "splurge" and dine at the Pinnacle while on a cruise are only doing so because they have gift certificates for the dinner, perhaps given to them by their travel agents. I'd wonder how many people who dine there actually pay for the experience.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

The only free dinner we get at the Pinnacle is from AMEX Plat -- nothing from TA or anyone else.

On all of our previous cruises we have always been able to dine more than once at the Pinnacle -- which we paid for -- and we felt was very well worth the money.

But on our recent Eurodam cruises -- we were unable to book dinner reservations for the second week of our cruise -- they were completely booked before the cruise for Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed.

[CC Help Michell]

We chose to dine at the Pinnacle last summer, at our expense (being in an outside-which-is-really-inside cabin on the Volendam, nobody was lining up to give us perks or OBCs!). I booked it only when the price dropped to $20 per person. We were able to change the day/time I'd picked once onboard without any issue.

 

Having dined there, I think now that they are creeping the price back up, I have to say I don't think we would do this again. The meat dishes were really good, and worth a SMALL surcharge -- but for US, we thought the best side dish was the mushroom medley. The potatoes, asparagus, and creamed spinach we ordered just... didn't cut it as being so much better than the regular dining room we thought it was worth paying extra for, and the entrees weren't THAT much better compared to the other 13 nights of our cruise.

 

So flame me. :D We're not foodies -- we like good food, we are willing to pay extra for stuff we think's super good -- but (admittedly only one experience) last summer the PG was just not so much better than the main dining rooms that we'd pay extra again to do it.

 

PS I took a Culinary Arts class with the Pinnacle Chef during our cruise and thought he was great. I thoroughly enjoyed the class (at $29, it cost more than my Pinnacle meal) and I use the techniques he taught daily. I think the PG could be a truly "above the norm" experience. It just wasn't for us, despite really good entrees -- we love sides and veggies, and the ones we experienced (again, on this ONE day) were just... meh.

[suse]

We're just back from the Westerdam and ate in the Pinnacle, our cost, for four nights. Worth every dime. Excellent food and service.

[billfromtulsa]

I booked PG reservations right after Christmas, and the price was still $20. I just went in to check the price again, and the online booking said no dates and times available! Looks like they have sold out for our 18 day TA on the Oosterdam.

 

Bill and Pam

[djhsolara]

I know it is risky, but we tend to wait until we are onboard to book the PG. Each time we have received a gift certificate from our travel agent for the PG. The first time it seemed to cause a bit of a problem with getting a refund, etc...so we play the cards and wait until onboard.

 

I know the dinner experience is wonderful but we also tend to enjoy lunch there as well.

[Canuck-Ottawa]

I booked PG reservations right after Christmas, and the price was still $20. I just went in to check the price again, and the online booking said no dates and times available! Looks like they have sold out for our 18 day TA on the Oosterdam.

 

Bill and Pam

 

Bill, they are not sold out. The web site is being updated, and a lot of areas are not accessible. It's been like this for 4 days.

[cruz chic]

I know it is risky, but we tend to wait until we are onboard to book the PG. Each time we have received a gift certificate from our travel agent for the PG. The first time it seemed to cause a bit of a problem with getting a refund, etc...so we play the cards and wait until onboard.

 

I know the dinner experience is wonderful but we also tend to enjoy lunch there as well.

I ate in the Pinnacle grill 4 times on my 26 day cruise (Nov.10 - Dec.6/08) and booked all while on board. It wasn't a problem...especially at lunch. This was the first time I've ever tried the Pinnacle. I was one of those people who would refused to pay extra to eat anywhere. My TA gave me a free meal there and she created a monster! I loved it.

[larsenbiz]

We had dinner in the Pinnacle on our 12/13-12/20 Oosterdam cruise. The price was still $20pp.

[niborHS]

I thought on the Amex Platinum reward for the Pinnacle it was only the first night of the cruise only. Is that still the case? I like to eat in the MDR the first night, so didn't use that, and paid for the Pinnacle when we were on the Oosterdam. I did not think that the Pinnacle was that outstanding, but still felt it is worth the surcharge. However, I feel that the specialty restaurants on Celebrity do serve a meal that is worthy of a surcharge. That being said, I am sure I will dine at least once in the Pinnacle on our upcoming 10 day on the Noordam. As far as why pay extra per person when you are getting food anyway, there is a difference between the steak that is served out Outback, and the steak at Mortons, and that is why they charge a different amount for their food. It seemed to me that the steaks served in the Pinnacle were much better than those served in the MDR, and for that, a surcharge is definitely justified. I don't remember the Pinnacle being open for lunch, but will have to look into that. The menu sounds lovely, and I am not crazy about buffets on the Lido.

[Krazy Kruizers]

When HAL used to offer the first night at the Pinnacle for half price we had a hard time using our Amex Plat dinner coupon the first evening. The half price people were able to book reservations while those of us with Amex Plat had to wait until we were on the ship. Several times we were told that the Pinnacle was completely full the first night and the manager would just shrug his shoulder so we never got to use that free coupon. One manger even asked us to sign the card and turn it in knowing that we couldn't use it. I told him no way. When we got home we called Amex and explained what happened. They were glad that we had refused to sign the card and turn it in as that would have been a dinner they would have paid and yet no one got to eat there.

After awhile some of the Pinnacle managers realized the problem and eased the rules and many of us were able to use the Amex free dinner on a night of our choosing.

But on our recent Eurodam cruises -- it was once again a problem. We didn't even get the card until we were done with dinner the first night in the dining room and had already gone to the Suite cocktail party. The card was sitting on our bed when we got back to the cabin around 8:30. We went down to the Pinnacle to explain the situation. At first they weren't going to let us use it on another night and after talking for a few minutes, the manager relented.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't remember the Pinnacle being open for lunch, but will have to look into that. The menu sounds lovely, and I am not crazy about buffets on the Lido.

 

 

Check the daily program -- the Pinnacle isn't always open for lunch -- but it will be listed there along with the times.

[timothy998]

I literally just printed out my confirmation for the Pinnacle Grill for our 3/22/09 Westerdam Eastern Caribbean Cruise. We were able to make a reservation for $20 per person.