Sabattini's Question

Hey! First, the good. We have eaten in Sabattini's on two different cruises - the Saphire and Crown. The food has been great. I love that citrus key lime pie type dessert they have - I think it's my favorite on the ship. Love the chef's pasta, usually have that as my main course. However, we were wondering if our experience about two issues is just "luck of the draw" or if this is standard.

 

The meals took 2 and 1/2 hours. We know it's supposed to be a relaxed meal with time for talking, etc., but this seemed excessive. Perhaps it seemed excessive because of issue #2.

 

Our water glasses were left unfilled, drinks orders slow in being filled, the last main course my husband got was cold. The coffee was cold. The waiters have not have assistance - they were doing the bread, water, drinks, etc. We didn't send back the entree or complain about the coffee because we didn't want the meal to take even longer.

 

Wondering if this is the case others have experienced?

 

The difference in these aspects was markedly different in the Crown Grill. The meals took 1 and 1/2 hours, and the waiters had helpers that did water/bread, etc. Everything was served at the right temperatures.

 

After the last cruise, my husband wrote in to Princess asking if this was standard or not. They phoned us back, saying they didn't know why the isues occurred, but they would let the ship know.

 

Before anyone writes back that we should have complained before we left the restaurant, we're more interested in finding out if this is typical? Does the meal usually last 2-1/2 hours? Is it supposed to? Do they have waiter's assistance normally? Was our experince just a fluke?

 

Thanks for your experiences.

I find it very easy to speed things up by just asking, we have had situations in both the CG and Sabatinis where service has been slow and off. This has happened in the MDR as well.

We have had similar issues at the Crown Grill on multiple occasions....and yet others say that they have always had great meals.

Having not eaten there with the new menu as a caveat, I'd say 1.5 to 2 hours is more typical, but my wife and I are fast eaters. Back when you had all the tastings, 2 1/2 hours for a decent group with wine etc would not be excessive in my book.

We typically don't eat at Sabatini's. We have noticed on our recent cruises when we have eaten in the Crown Grill, Stirling Steakhouse or Bayou Cafe that we have only had one waiter and no Jr. Waiter. In the Bayou Cafe the supervisor did help with the drinks. Our meals have typically run about two hours or less. I assume that there might have been more walk-ins when you were there and there was not sufficient waitstaff. I would fault the supervisor as they should have limited the number of dinners, requested more staff or stepped in to help like the supervisor did during our meal at the Bayou Cafe. The last time we were in Sabatini's for diner the supervisor also checked to see how we were doing and helped out. On a recent cruise the service was disorganized in Sabatini's at breakfast and the supervisor did not appear involved with the waitstaff. The experience was not up to par with other cruises when we have been in a suite and ate there for breakfast. The supervisor can make all of the difference in your dining experience as we have noticed a number of times. That is my opinion.

 

 

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We stopped eating at Sabatinis shortly after the restaurant came online.

The menu and food was way too much.

 

After they started the new menus we started eating there again and its much more enjoyable. ;)

Our one and only time in a specialty restaurant was Sabatinis on the Golden in December 2012. So I don't know if our experience is the norm or not. Only three tables were in use at that time so maybe that was a factor as we had our own waiter and assistant waiter as did the other tables. Maybe if there's a lot of diners eating at the same time, the waitstaff is spread more thinly, which would probably make a difference in service. We didn't have the issues you did with cold food, etc. I don't remember how long the meal took.

Our first visit to Sabatini's (Ruby, Dec 2008) was so over-the-top fantastic that we couldn't wait to get there again.

 

IMHO, it's been downhill ever since and a bit "less good" each time. (Never bad, though) Food quality is usually good to excellent, but service can be "meh."

 

They do take a very long time. Our first visit took almost three hours, but there were 12 of us and we had the semi-private dining area with the very long table.

 

We are not fans of the new menu. We preferred the tasting menu and wish they had just cut portion size. They could have totally done away with the main course and kept all the other tastings and we'd have been very happy.

 

We are 50/50 on Crown Grill. Out of 6 total visits, 3 have been excellent and 3 have been lacking in some way; usually service. They definitely don't have enough waiters.

We loved Sabatinis on the Royal.. Have eaten there several times as well as the crown grill. I think your experience was unacceptable. I can understand not wanting to complain during the dinner but unless they know something's wrong it can't be fixed. Certainly not after the fact.

 

Generally, I've found that food in the specialty restaurants do take longer as they are supposed to be prepared to order. It's very easy to tell the waiter you have a show to get to or something else to do and have things sped up.

 

Bad nights are not limited to ships or restaurants. We once waited over an hour in the MDR for apps! We spoke to the maître de and more waiters were added.

I also think your experience was unacceptable, especially the cold coffee, not re-filling water etc. I am not crazy about Sabitini's new menu and think the CG is a much better deal.

I was on the Grand in Jan. and the head waiter in the CG was the same head waiter in Sabitini's on a previous cruise. I was in a suite that cruise so when I was on the Grand he immediately remembered me. I ate 3 nites in the CG on the Grand because I really enjoy that menu. Janus told me that bookings/revenue from Sabitini's is down fleet wide and they are considering some big changes in regards to that particular venue. Whether that ever comes to fruition is yet to be seen.

We went to both Sabatini's and the Sterling Steakhouse on the Sapphire last month, and were decidedly underwhelmed.

 

Food is very subjective so my remarks are just my opinion. In Sabatini's, I started with the prosciutto and melon, which was good. My sister had the crab cakes which she said was excellent. We then both had the pasta ravioli which was excellent. I had the lobster three ways which was awful. The lobster was overcooked, rubbery, bland (and I like relatively bland food) and obviously frozen and not defrosted well. Overall, good but not worth spending anything extra for.

 

As for the Sterling Steakhouse, I'd been with friends in January and it was excellent. I ordered the same things in March and it was mediocre to poor. The NE clam chowder was watery, tasteless and bland. We both ordered petit filet mignon and the first time it came out, both were literally purple and raw inside, even at the edges. I like it medium rare but this was like a 10-second grill. They took it back and re-cooked. Still undercooked. Three time's the charm so 15 minutes after first being served, we finally got our meals. Still a bit rare but it was OK with me. I don't mind very pink and bloody but purple is not good.

 

I don't think I'll try Sabatini's again. I've been a number of times over the years but it's not to my taste nor have I found the food very good. That's subjective as what I dislike, someone else might love. I'll continue to go to either the Crown Grill or Sterling Steakhouse as I've usually had really good meals there.

Pam, I want to try the CG on the Royal but will wait and see what my friends want to do. One friend is doing the TA portion with me and another friend is doing the Baltic portion with me.

Like you I am totally done with Sabitini's. Went on the Crown last summer but it didn't cost me anything - the only reason I went.

I also think your experience was unacceptable, especially the cold coffee, not re-filling water etc. I am not crazy about Sabitini's new menu and think the CG is a much better deal.

I was on the Grand in Jan. and the head waiter in the CG was the same head waiter in Sabitini's on a previous cruise. I was in a suite that cruise so when I was on the Grand he immediately remembered me. I ate 3 nites in the CG on the Grand because I really enjoy that menu. Janus told me that bookings/revenue from Sabitini's is down fleet wide and they are considering some big changes in regards to that particular venue. Whether that ever comes to fruition is yet to be seen.

We have eaten at Sabatini's twice since the menu change. Most of the entrees are uninspiring. I grew up in the Midwest and don't have Pam's east coast expectations. Even with that, the only decent part of the lobster three ways is the lobster risotto. We have tried the strip steak and the veal chops and they were both bearly edible. I think that Princess needs to rethink Sabatini's big time. The Italian theme may be an homage to the Sitmar heritage as probably is the Italian night dinner in the dining room but maybe the venue should go in a totally new direction. We ate there twice with the old menu and found most of the "little bit" mediocre at best. I had hopes for the new menu but it is not much better.

 

 

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We were recently on the CB and ate in both the CG and Sabatinis a couple of times. Our meals in both spots were very good. I thought the food and service in Sabatinis were slightly better.

Gosh, we have had dinner in Sabatini's on various Princess ships. Never have had a problem with the service or the food. :)

LuLu

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Ate at sabatini's on the Golden. The meal did take a while, but that's Italian eating for you. I did find the wait staff a bit overworked, but no complaints about the food at all.

 

The only thing that bothers me about that class of ship is the seem to place the speaker stack for the band next door right against the wall shared with sabatini's... Couldn't hear the waiter over the band.

I would MUCH rather go to Alfredo's than Sabatini's and that's due to food preference, not cost.

 

I've been to the Crown Grill on several different ships and really enjoyed it.

We have eaten at Sabatini's twice since the menu change. Most of the entrees are uninspiring. I grew up in the Midwest and don't have Pam's east coast expectations. Even with that, the only decent part of the lobster three ways is the lobster risotto. We have tried the strip steak and the veal chops and they were both bearly edible. I think that Princess needs to rethink Sabatini's big time. The Italian theme may be an homage to the Sitmar heritage as probably is the Italian night dinner in the dining room but maybe the venue should go in a totally new direction. We ate there twice with the old menu and found most of the "little bit" mediocre at best. I had hopes for the new menu but it is not much better.

 

 

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I would MUCH rather go to Alfredo's than Sabatini's and that's due to food preference, not cost.

 

I've been to the Crown Grill on several different ships and really enjoyed it.

 

I agree that it maybe time to re-think Sabitini's and I do think it's something they are considering.

Pam first wrote a while ago about where can you get a steak dinner such as the CG for $25 and I really took that to heart. Also, if you do like lobster, most waiters or head waiters in the CG will also give you as many lobster tails as you want and they seem much better than the ones in Sabitini's.

I always get the same thing in the CG: scallops & bacon appetizer, blue onion soup, rib eye steak, a few tails, garlic french fries, & the choc lava cake.

OMG, now I'm really hungry and I just finished my dinner.:eek:

 

Brian is right in that I'm a lobster "snob" so take my comments with a grain of salt. :) I love, love, love lobster but I hate lobster on a ship. Living in New England for so many years where you could catch your own lobster from May until September (I didn't but my business partner did and shared) and now that I live in SoCal, I have live lobster shipped directly, there's a huge difference between fresh and frozen. To me, shipboard lobster tastes rubbery no matter how much drawn butter I pour on it.

I have eaten at Sterling Steakhouse ten times, Sabatini's eight times, and Crown Grill four times. Alway had great service, every time, except once. The one time was at Sterling on the Diamond. The glacial service, that time, went along with the glaciers on that Alaska cruise.

 

All of the other times, service has been great!

 

I go to one these restaurants at least once per cruise. I love the smaller, quieter settings.

We think 2 hours is probably close to the norm in Sabbatini's and this is actually quite appropriate. The whole concept of the venue it to be a somewhat upscale Italian restaurant that, to some degree, duplicates an experience one might have while in Italy. This is supposed to be "fine dining" and not fast food. Two hours is actually on the short side for fine dining, and we sometimes spend that length of time just enjoying a nice lunch in Italy. While some customers/passengers are like the OP and prefer to not spend so many hours at dinner, there are many others (including moi) that love a leisurely dining experience. Even in the MDR where we usually dine late (after 8) we normally share large tables that are often among the last to leave the restaurant around 10pm.

 

Hank

Yes, I agree that two hours is about right, considering the number of courses.

 

I start getting restless once the 2 1/2 hour mark has been surpassed. As I mentioned, this did happen once at Sterling on the Diamond. Usually two hours has been my experience.