Pinnacle Grill

[zorbaj]

I would like to know the procedure for making reservations at the Pinnacle Grill on the Westerdam. Can they be made prior to boarding the vessel? If not when, how and where does one make such a reservation?

[ore-ee-gun]

Yes, you can easily make Pinnacle reservations before sailing by calling Ship Services.:)

[elmorejj]

If you don`t make them ahead of time, just go to the grill as soon as you board, there will be someone there accepting reservations.......jean:cool:

[kaleighsgram]

Personally I would wait until I was on board. You can ask to see the menus for the week and then decide which day is best for you. You wouldn't want to make a reservation for a day in which the dining room is serving one of your favorites.:p

[rhsjr]

I may have missed this in prior threads, but yesterday I called to make a reservation in the Pinnacle Grill on the first night of our cruise thinking about getting in for $10 (1/2 price) and was told they no longer do that discount. Has anyone else ran into that development?:mad:

[newmexicoNita]

I think several of the lines are doing this from time to time. 50% off the first night this sailing, but not next sailing or 50% off on night 3; the next time there is no 50% off anytime. NMNita

[RuthC]

The 1/2-price deal for the first night in the Pinnacle ended last winter; it was posted on the boards.
If you had booked it by a certain date (2/1, I think) then you got the deal; booked later (and since) was full price.

[CM_Mom]

We were on the Westerdam sailing on May 7. We had free vouchers for the Pinnacle Grill from our TA but I would have felt cheated if we had had paid $20 each for that dinner. The food there wasn't really significantly better than the dining room. Based on our experience, I would say the Pinnacle was a different place to eat but nothing special and DD preferred the wine selections in the dining room and the deserts were quite tasteless.

FYI, if you order the scalloped potatoes, expect something cooked in baking dish and cut into rectangles. When the scalloped potatoes that DD ordered were served, she asked our server what was on the plate. Same thing happened to the folks at the table across from us.

Hopefully we caught them on a bad night, but we weren't impressed.

[kaleighsgram]

I know that I've read on these theads that HAL discontinued the $10 bargain special at the Pinnacle on the first night's sailing. However, I remember sailing in April on the Noordam and a gentleman at our table told us he missed the first night's dinner in the restaurant because he was taking advantage of the Pinnacle's special offer. His cabin steward had given him the heads up.:confused:

[duck tune]

We were on the Oosterdam March 18 - 25, 2006 (Mexico cruise) and the wait staff from the Pinnacle Grill was actively seeking reservations in the Lido buffet on the day of embarkation as we ate lunch while waiting for our cabin to be opened. We were offered a 2 for 1 ($10 per person instead of $20) on the first night so took advantage of it.

We just returned from the Zaandam June 2 - 9 (Alaska) and DH made reservations at the Pinnacle for the first night on his own. We did not get the half price deal we had in March but didn't know that the process had changed since we had received it in March. The night of the new "Dinner Show" the Pinnacle was booked solid so keep that in mind.

The food was much better on the Oosterdam in the Pinnacle Grill (we ate there twice) than on the Zaandam. Same food - different preparation!

[sharbin1]

We'll have Pinnacle Grill vouchers from our TA on our Maasdam cruise in October... how does that work? Will they be in our cabin when we board and do we show them when we make reservations or what? Also, I've read somewhere that you can't pre-reserve if you have a voucher... true?

[doone]

I have always been fortunate to have excellent food and service in the Pinnacle when I have dined there. On the Volendam this past February, they advertised, in your cabin, $10 pp for the Pinnacle for the first night. But I heard if you tried to book it a head of time through ships services, it wasn't being offered. Maybe if they have few bookings for the first night, they offer it.

[Green4me]

Good questions Sharbin, we also have the TA vouchers for ourZiuderdam cruise in December. Anyone that has sailed the Z in the Eastern Caribbean have a recommendation for which night is best?

Thanks

[kaleighsgram]

We, too, were given a voucher for the Pinnacle as part of our incentive from the TA. There was supposed to be a white card in our cabin. When we went to the front desk to inquire, we found that our name and many others were not on the list for the free dinners. I was very glad that I had taken the note from the TA and my invoice which stated we were supposed to receive the free dinner. Everything eventually got straightened out but not until day 3 of the sailing. :confused: The Pinnacle on the Noordam was worth the wait.

[AZjohn]

Is there any additional tipping expected at the Pinnacle (for the food waiters)?

[doone]

Yes, I always tip at the Pinnacle.

[AZjohn]

How much $ for good service for two people would be acceptable?
Thanks,
John

[tjcox9]

It was still available on the Noordam recently. Couldn't make reservations in advance but were able to make the first night reservations at $10 once onboard. We were actually doing B2B and tried to make them for the first night, second cruise, but couldn't do that til first day of second cruise.