Crab Shack on Star Princess = NOT TWICE

Tries the crab shack on the Star currently in Alaska. Firstly, the have it in the back section of the Horizon Court under the children's program. The sound track is that of some kind of ball game upstairs. We were told this could not be changed. If they can find a more forward section of HC, this problem will be solved.

The food was disappointing for the additional charge. They served somewhat dry garlic toast as seen in most basic pizza joint only to group it with battered and deep fried shrimp and deep fried Hush Puppies. I had never seen nor heard of Hush Puppies before but they are deep fried corn bread or something close. This was the fare of a midway not a cruise ship.

The clam chowder was very good with whole clams in it. However, we did have to ask for a plate for the shells.

The main course was as ordered but not served very hot. The crab was good but as usual you have to jail break it to eat it. To get some of the crab out, I asked two staff for seafood forks. The first said they just had the regular table forks but the second knew what I wanted and went out of the room to get two. The shrimp in the same bowl were entirely over cooked and very solid. This is not surprising as the corn in the same steamer was cooked to a mush. This bowl was cooked a few hours before ordered -- it seemed. The potatoes were ok.

Dessert was a choice of three basic cakes served by the waiter. No garnish. (Other have said they had pecan pie. Perhaps an 8:00 reservation gets the left overs?)

If the rest of the food was as good as that of the HC and not interrupted by noise, I would consider trying again. It has been 24 hours so I have had time to ponder it all. Now that I am in Juneau, I can see crab on the boat is no bargain and if it is always served like this, why bother.

Does not sound good at all.

Hush Puppies are not Carnival food.

They are very popular here in the US with fish/seafood dinners.

Check out the history of them online.

Thanks for the comments.

Does not sound good at all.

 

Hush Puppies are not Carnival food.

They are very popular here in the US with fish/seafood dinners.

Check out the history of them online.

 

Thanks for the comments.

Completely agree. Hush puppies have a long history and are served in many of today's popular farm to table restaurants. Of course, they do need to be done right.

With all of the recent positive comments about the Crab Shack the OP's disappointing experience could be caused by how the food was prepared. Each of us have subjective taste buds & I'll still try the Crab Shack on our next cruise to decide whether it's tasty or not to me.

Bummer on the over cooked shrimp. I always expect to work for my crab though and I don't mind, but I also know that others disagree. The noise from above is a bummer and I think they should move it forward if that is usually the case.

Hush Puppies however are a southern thing and are traditional. Think fish and chips... hush puppies go with crawfish or a side to seafood boils.

With all of the recent positive comments about the Crab Shack the OP's disappointing experience could be caused by how the food was prepared. Each of us have subjective taste buds & I'll still try the Crab Shack on our next cruise to decide whether it's tasty or not to me.

There have been more then one bad review.

They never should have taken the lobster choices away from the CG.

They could have enhanced that menu and had an excellent venue instead of under the kids club in a back corner of the HC. :rolleyes:

There have been more then one bad review.

Is there any aspect of a cruise that doesn't generate some bad reviews? :p

I wonder if the time of their reservation had anything to do with it?

We were warned off of the Creme Brulee because we ate late. The burnt sugar was soft.

OP- Thanks for the review. It gives us something to consider for our next cruise.

Is there any aspect of a cruise that doesn't generate some bad reviews? :p

None that I have ever seen! I'll be trying the Crab Shack on my upcoming cruise on the Crown....

There have been more then one bad review.

 

 

They never should have taken the lobster choices away from the CG.

They could have enhanced that menu and had an excellent venue instead of under the kids club in a back corner of the HC. :rolleyes:

Did I read this correctly? The CG no longer has lobster?

Did I read this correctly? The CG no longer has lobster?

No, lobster is still available. He was probably talking about the Maine lobster that used to be available (for an extra fee) when the Crown Grill first started...

Did I read this correctly? The CG no longer has lobster?

No......

Sorry should have said the live Maine's and the large 12 oz tails. :(

No, lobster is still available. He was probably talking about the Maine lobster that used to be available (for an extra fee) when the Crown Grill first started...

No......

 

Sorry should have said the live Maine's and the large 12 oz tails. :(

Thank you. You had me worried for a moment.

Interesting. Sorry you were disappointed. I had Crab Shack on the same ship, Star Princess, in December and it was exceptionally good. Everything about it was good. I only tasted one of the hush puppies because I was saving myself for the main course, but hush puppies have a long history here in the US. When I was on the Star, I got a crab cracker with scissors attached, so it was super easy to eat the crab. One of the things I dislike about crab is the work to open them up and I had no problem on the Star. Maybe others have stolen this little gem of a utensil and they don't have any left??? Food is so subjective. Also, it's likely they have different cooks now. For me, I'm looking forward to crab shack again.

Added note: I was just looking for one of those crackers with snips online and couldn't find one. I might have to search one out and buy it for future trips!! LOL.

Like many others have said hush puppies are mandatory in the US south at dinner. They are corn meal balls fried and in our area they put some jalapenos in them to liven them up. They are quite tasty but need to be consumed with care as they are very filling. As for the crab legs, I have only seen them served in the shell. In Maryland they made delicious crab cakes. The legs are always served with a mallet to break them open. Being in a restaurant that specializes in crab legs and hearing all those mallets is intoxicating.

We had the hardware shown in the photos in the link below to extricate our crab the Emerald Princess. Even for a relative crab extrication novice like myself, it wasn't very difficult using these. I'm sorry you weren't provided the same, because obviously a table fork isn't going to do it. Sounds like a lack of training and a head waiter fail.

As for the hush puppies, corn, potatoes and other non-seafood items, while I'm certain they're part of the experience I had one hush puppy and then stuck with the seafood that I can't get at home.

I consider the Crab Shack the best specialty dining for the money that Princess offers.

http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/search/label/Crab%20Shack

We had the hardware shown in the photos in the link below to extricate our crab the Emerald Princess. Even for a relative crab extrication novice like myself, it wasn't very difficult using these. I'm sorry you weren't provided the same, because obviously a table fork isn't going to do it. Sounds like a lack of training and a head waiter fail.

 

As for the hush puppies, corn, potatoes and other non-seafood items, while I'm certain they're part of the experience I had one hush puppy and then stuck with the seafood that I can't get at home.

 

I consider the Crab Shack the best specialty dining for the money that Princess offers.

 

http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/search/label/Crab%20Shack

We had the same set up on the Royal...and we also think the Crab Shack is a hit! :D

Just booked Star Princess, so we will have to try it for ourselves! ;)

We always have second seating traditional dining and don't like to miss more than one dinner during a cruise. We're doing the Ultimate Balcony Dinner on our upcoming cruise, so we won't be trying the Crab Shack. Eventually, though, I think we will. It looks great.

Just booked Star Princess, so we will have to try it for ourselves! ;)

I was on the Star recently and absolutely loved The Crab Shack. Great service and great food.

Looking forward to trying it again on the Grand.

The shells were a cinch to crack with these little scissor things that were provided.

I've noticed that the Crab Shack has been frequently discussed however very little discussion about Fondues...wonder if that means not many people go to it. Like the Crab Shack it also cost $20 & is in a section of the buffet area on some nights. I haven't tried either one however plan to try the Crab Shack but not interested in Fondues.

Sometimes I feel like I must be the only person on the planet who doesn't like crab.

I also don't really want to "work" for my shrimp by having to peel them. I like my shrimp cooked with garlic and lime and maybe a bit of cayenne.

I'll have to pass on the Crab Shack. It's great that so many other people seem to love it though. It would be a sad thing if everybody was the same.

Having been on a number of Princess cruises that offered a Sea Food Buffet in the Horizon Court (no additional charge) How does the Crab Shack ($20 charge) differ from the traditional seafood buffet? I never took part in the buffet so I don't know how they compare.

I'm glad to hear that other people had a good experience in the Crab Shack. We were really disappointed on our visit there on the Star in April. We love King crab and were really looking forward to this meal. We each received one tiny (and I mean "snow crab size") leg with the boiled shrimp. We barely had enough crab for a forkfull each and ask the waiter if we could get more. Obviously, this was a problem that required management to make a decision. About 30 minutes later, we each received one more tiny leg. By that time, we were ready to move on. We mainly eat in the specialty restaurants on board the ships, rather than the MDR, so we were excited to have another choice. Maybe on the next cruise, we will take a peek at the meals being served to see if it merits another try. I am encouraged by the reviews of others. Maybe it was just an off day when we were there. Service was very slow ( a lot of rumblings of frustration with many of the diners) throughout the restaurant (and we were on a Norovirus red alert -- which could account for some of the issues). Thanks for sharing your

experience.

I've noticed that the Crab Shack has been frequently discussed however very little discussion about Fondues...wonder if that means not many people go to it. Like the Crab Shack it also cost $20 & is in a section of the buffet area on some nights. I haven't tried either one however plan to try the Crab Shack but not interested in Fondues.

We did the fondue dinner on the Royal Princess. It was something new, and having done Sabatinis and Crown Grill several times, we wanted to try something different. Plus, DH won't touch seafood, so the Crab Shack was out (when I finally did it, months later, on the Emerald Princess, with was with friends).

We would definitely do the fondue dinner again...I hope it continues to be offered. Here's my review:

http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2013/10/day-3-at-sea-part-2.html?